In the movies, a lot of American but also French directors have decided to focus on these substances that are banned by law. From Requiem for a Dream to Bad Trip, there really is a wide range of films available if you are interested in this subject and want a fun night.
Films about drugs are portals to other mental dimensions. These works of abstract art offer a transition to alternative states of consciousness, all sprinkled with a lot of imagination.
The cinema has this unique ability to build replicas of experiences of real life, and imbue them with creative imagination. That’s why movies about drugs have such cultural mystical power! All these films have become cult classics in having dared to debunk the seductive world of substances.
Each offers its own artistic vision on alternative states of perception, abstract thinking, and niche – against cultures. The films below are the best of their kind. All films that follow are very original, well directed, with emotional performances, amazing scenes, and well-crafted plots.
Let’s now have a look at the top ten junkie movies of all time, which we selected carefully:
10. Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)
The basic reality is challenged with this post-modern vision of lucid dreamlike landscapes. The viewer has embarked on a surreal journey through a series of philosophical dreams. The inability to wake up the main character drives the realization of being only a fragment of her subconscious dreams.
Life becomes an infinite series of illusions, which illustrated a greatly different animation style of each existential encounter. The strange action scenes blend into lively atmospheric style design elements. Finally, the character realizes that the only way to the repetition of broken dreams is to dissolve into infinity.
9. Taking Woodstock (Ang Lee, 2009)
The hippie paradise is beautifully represented in this homage appropriate sentimentally legendary Woodstock festival. The adventure includes a memorable LSD sequence in a wonderful classic Volkswagen van. An incidental catch of hash brownies made miracles by bringing a family based rather distended.
The atmosphere of the 1960s is enhanced by cross-cultural references to the Vietnam War and gay communities underground. Danny Elfman surrounds the film with a soundtrack swaying and transcendental.
Danny Elfman is one of the main reasons why many films became so successful thanks to his incredible songwriting skills. You can read more about him in this Wiki article
8. Spun (Jonas Akerlund, 2002)
With morbid intelligence, this comedy with black humor explores the vices of methamphetamine while delving deep into the sex industry. Many transactions go very wrong, and the viewer attends pornographic delusions very alive in this explosive tour.
Mickey Rourke is more than credible in the role of The Cook, and this strangely hilarious spiral dives into very realistic places such as strip clubs, squats addicts, and a meth lab in motel rooms. The tension of this subculture is lightened by the presence of bondage and nudity.
Mickey Rourke is a highly successful American actor who even got nominated for an Oscar among his many award wins and nominations, check them out on his IMDB page
This film contains the superbly torrid Brittany Murphy at his best and Billy Corgan offers him an extremely well-crafted music.
7. Limitless (Neil Burger, 2011)
This fast action thriller reveals how drugs extend the limits of the intellect and the physical. NZT is an experimental substance that is discretely distributed in the streets of New York. A writer procures this powerful drug and uses it to finish writing a major work. Unfortunately, he becomes dependent and the illicit source of the drug is killed.
Dubious contracts with large companies complicate the situation, and amnesia access hides the identity of the key victims of assassins. Despite a violent paranoia, great political successes are achieved through lobbying of large companies. This presentation fiction shows how pharmaceutical companies use methods worthy of the mafia to control the government.
6. A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006)
Double agents employ incredible ways to hide their identity in a future dominated by a devastating drug known as Substance D. All those who have tried to succumb addiction, but investigators must take from it to win the confidence of the drug lords. Keanu Reeves plays the lead investigator in this science fiction film, the adaptation of the ingenious Phillip K. Dick.
The story is the prediction of a coming era that is all too possible. With trembling digital animation layers, the film contains scenes and very faithful descriptions lack syndrome, played by a team of actors including Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, and Robert Downey Jr.
5. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
The cinema was revolutionized by this breathtaking criminal saga. A non-linear approach creates confusion and disorientation that matches the actors on the screen. The majority of the plot revolves around dark exchanges about high-quality heroin, and an impressive mass of corpses is quickly generated.
Uma Thurman plays the most faithful imitation of an overdose ever shown in a movie, but the demonstration by John Travolta of the joys of drug sedation gives a glamorous look to the syringe. His character also mentions his love of hashish.
4. City of God (Fernando Mereilles, 2002)
The film breaks the myth of the glamor of drug countercultures by presenting the hellish reality of gang wars. The landscapes of exotic beaches smooth the rough edges of this brutal exploration of the world of drugs in Brazil.
Three loyal friends gain power as thieves in the late 1960s, but in the following decades, they split into different factions who will soon go to war. The film’s title refers to the slum that is the setting for this tale of betrayal. This drama of non-fiction presents the training of drug cartels, police corruption and teams of child soldiers.
3. Blow (Ted Demme, 2001)
This piquant film presents the life of a man doing cocaine smuggling goes a long way to show the origins of the Medellín Cartel. Johnny Depp plays the famous George Jung in his quest all throughout his life to reach the top through criminal organizations.
I can hardly count how many great movies are out there with Johnny Depp playing the main role, he was productive for sure. Find more films with Johnny Depp on this list by Fandango
A failed marijuana smuggling allowed George to build relationships in prison that allow it to conduct highly profitable operations in Colombia. Penelope Cruz plays his sensual wife delivering a pivot performance that perfectly illustrates the rise and fall of this mafioso.
2. Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969)
This flagship film of the hippie period begins as two hippies carry large quantities of cocaine from Mexico to Los Angeles. They quickly sell their goods and use their illegal profits to travel to the Mardi Gras celebration. Along the way they live experiments with LSD. A smart camera game captures their feelings.
Free love has many opportunities with the girls with the particular open mind of this generation. Cannabis is presented in a positive light compared to the ravages of alcohol. Jimi Hendrix propels this quest with an angelic soundtrack, and the surprisingly dark end serves as a warning to all pacifists.
1. Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)
The literary masterpiece of Irvine Welsh who created a movie that immediately became a cult film. He represents boldly different kinds of personalities of people becoming addicted to heroin. It also gives emotional depth to the battles faced by heroin users.
The film is based on the epic book of Irvine Welsh that you can also order right away from Amazon.
The reported traumatic events range from HIV through the overdose until the death of a baby. The madness of the events quickly gets out of control and all suffer the consequences of their folly.
Thank you for reading our article. We hope that you will read the next one too, which will be about the top six French movies of all time. I am really excited about this topic, I love French cinema!