Top 5 Drug Films

"Choose your future. Choose life... "
Here are the finest five of them all.

5) Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
This movie is like the bastard child of Salvador Dahli and Snoop Dogg. It's as if the entire crew and cast were constantly high during filming. No narration pattern, no storyline, yet such an entertaining movie. Like it or not, it's the only movie to show us what it looks and feels like getting high through the eyes of a junkie. Terry Gilliam's finest hour, Depp's best performance to date, in one word, surreal.



4) Scarface (1983)
This is actually a gangster film, nevertheless it surely deserves 4th place. We watch Tony Montana pursuing the American Dream and finally becoming a drug and crime lord. There isn't much to say for this movie that hasn't already been said, one of Pacino's greatest performances, maybe DePalma's greatest film, but it's the complete lack of political correctness that gives this movie its glory. And this is mainly due to Oliver Stone's script and him fighting over a drug addiction while writing it. Lots and lots of cocaine, drugs here shape each and every situation in the crime world. It's the over-the-top situations and the extreme violence that make this movie unforgettable though, not the drugs, still it's a great drug related movie.

3) Traffic (2000)
Watch this with the right mood and your complete attention and you shall see its greatness. Scripted by Stephen Gaghan, the man who gave us Syriana, this movie has everything. Drug fighting DEA official, junkie daughter, drug smuggling, drug dealing, corrupted officers and so much more, this man knows how to write a script. Soderbergh's eye is intentionally detached from all the characters, giving a documentary-like feeling with his hand-held camera. Trully enlightening movie, deals with every aspect of drug addiction while taking nobody's side. Everything you could ask for from a political thriller.

2) Requiem For A Dream (2000)
It's a movie you 'll probably watch only once in your lifetime, but it will stay in your mind for many many years to come. Extremely depressing movie, it's as if Innaritu made it. It shows you how addiction is a bitch, show you the real decadence of our society. Rarely you find such an exact depiction of everyday flawed characters. Glorious direction, fitting editting (watch Aronofsky's Pi) and soundtrack, plus a breathtaking performance by Ellen Burstyn. You either love or hate this movie, nothing in between.

1) Trainspotting (1996)
It's the drug world from the junkie's point of view. Expains why they do it, how they got started, how they deal with it. Not the best portrayal of characters, you have a comic sidekick, a sleazy bastard, a smart-ass and Renton... But Boyle's stylish and daring take on drug addiction and degradation gave us a film that changed movie history. No cliches here, you see it as it is, be it the infant's death or the heroin injections. The bedroom rehabilitation scene is pure cinematic anthology. Provocative.