Movies are sometimes shown to clients and to students to assist them in understanding
of a particular issue and for other educational purposes. If you would like to add to this list,
please email Charlie Dixon at charlie*recreationtherapy.com
(replace * with @ before emailing me)
Film Title |
Description |
| About a Boy (2002) |
Overcoming Challenges |
| Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert Boogie Nights (1997) |
Homosexuality |
| Agnes of God |
mental illness |
| A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) |
Overcoming Challenges |
| And the Band Played On (1993) |
discovery of AIDS |
| Angie (stars Geena Davis) |
It's about a woman becoming a single mother. |
| Amadeus |
Good scenes of mental hospitals in Mozart's time. |
| Andromeda Strain (1971) |
one character has seizure disorder |
| Antwone Fisher (2002) |
A young sailor, Antwone Fisher (Derek Luke), is ordered to see a Navy
psychiatrist (Denzel Washington) who helps him get a handle on debilitating
anger that causes many shipboard scraps |
| A Patch of Blue (1965) |
blindness/racial issues |
| As Good As It Gets |
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder |
| The Aviator (2004) |
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder |
| Awakenings |
use of L-Dopa to treat catatonia |
| Baby Girl Scott (1987) |
TV premature birth/ethical issues |
| Backstreet Dreams (1990) |
Autism |
| Bad Ronald |
Mentally ill teen lives in hiding under stairs after mother dies and
house is sold. |
| Bastard out of Carolina |
Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, directed by Angelica Huston - about child
abuse (sexual, physical, emotional). It's pretty heavy but well acted. Child abuse issues. Rated
R. |
| Beaches |
death of best friend |
| A Beautiful Mind (2001) |
John Forbes Nash Jr. (Russell Crowe) was a brilliant economist -- when
his mind was clear. But life changed forever with the revelation that he
was a schizophrenic. Nash's brilliance persisted amidst the anguish his
mental illness caused for him and his wife (Jennifer Connolly), and 40
years after his diagnosis, he won the Nobel Prize for economics. |
| Being There |
mental retardation/assumptions |
| Bend It Like Beckham (2003) |
Overcoming Challenges |
| Benny & Joon (1993) |
mental illness |
| Best Boy (1979 documentary) |
Philly, who at the age of 52, prepares for life away from his parents. |
| Best Little Girl in the World |
Child abuse issues; eating disorder |
| Bill (w/ Mickey Rooney) |
true story--deinstitutionalization |
| Billy Elliot(2000) |
Self-Esteem |
| Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) |
life in prison |
| "Birdy" |
staring Matt Modine |
| Blossoms in the Dust (1941) |
story of Edna Gladney/orphanages |
| Boogie Nights (1997) |
Homosexuality |
| Born On the Fourth of July (1989) |
Vietnam Vet w/ paraplegia |
| Boxing Helena (1993) |
Drama. Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn. Surgeon operates on object of his
obsession. |
| The Boy Who Could Fly |
Autism |
| The Boys In The Band (1970) |
Homosexuality |
| This Boy’s Life |
Conduct Disorders |
| Boys On the Side |
AIDS |
| The Breakfast Club |
Peer Relationships |
| Brian's Song (1971) |
TV cancer death of football player; Loss and Grief issues |
| Bridge to Silence (1989) |
deafness |
| Brief History of Time, A (1992-docu) |
Life of Stephen Hawking-ALS |
| Brokeback Mountain (2005) |
Homosexuality |
| Brother Sun, Sister Moon |
The story of St. Francis of Assissi and PTSD |
| Butterflies Are Free |
blindness |
| Charles Bukowski Tapes (1987-docu) |
Celebrated underground writer captured in semi-alcoholic stupor |
| Charly (1968) |
mental retardation |
| Child of Rage (1992) |
child sexual abuse/adoption |
| Children of a Lesser God (1986) |
deafness; Self-Esteem |
| Children Of Loneliness |
Homosexuality |
| City of Angels |
Loss and Grief issues |
| City of Joy (1992) |
people w/disabilities in Calcutta |
| Clean and Sober |
substance abuse |
| Coach Carter (2005) |
Samuel L. Jackson plays the titular, controversial coach, a hardliner
who firmly believes that scholarship and a sense of ethics go hand in hand
with excellence on the basketball court. |
| Cocoon, I & II |
aging |
| Color Purple |
Abandonment issues |
| Coming Home (1978) |
Vietnam Vet/paraplegia/sexuality |
| Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt: (1990 docu) |
In this movie AIDS becomes a shared ground for survivors of loved ones.
This stirring documentary is not only a tribute to the dead and dying, it
is a study of how parents, lovers, and friends of victims have learned to
deal constructively with loss. |
| Corrina, Corrina |
Loss and Grief issues |
| Dad |
bereavement/prostate cancer |
| Dangerous Minds |
at-risk youth |
| Days of Wine and Roses |
alcoholism |
| Do You Remember Love? |
Alzheimer's Disease |
| Dead Poets Society (1989) |
John Keating (Robin Williams) is an unconventional English teacher who
lives by a simple motto: Seize the day!; Self-Esteem issues |
| Dolores Claiborne |
child abuse issues |
| Die Laughing |
paranoia |
| Dodes 'Kaden (1970-foreign) |
Akira Kurosawa's first color film, chronocaling the lives of Tokyo's
slum dwellers. Includes children, alcoholics, and the disabled. Illusion
and imagination are their weapons as they fight for survival. |
| Dominick & Eugene (1988) |
acquired brain injury |
| The Dream Team |
psychiatric patients out on the town... Comedy |
| Driving Miss Daisy (1990) |
aging/racial issues/CVA (stroke) |
| Drug Store Cowboy |
|
| Dying Young (1991) |
cancer |
| Educating Rita |
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder |
| Edward Scissorhands (1990) |
allegory about disability |
| Ever After |
bully issues |
| Eye On the Sparrow |
blind couple want to adopt |
| The Fisher King |
|
| Folks (spoof) |
Alzheimer's Disease |
| Forest Gump |
mental retardation/AIDS?/amputation/self-estem |
| Four Weddings and A Funeral (1994) |
one character is deaf |
| Frances |
actress Frances Farmer is lobotomized |
| Fried Green Tomatoes (1992) |
long-term care/amputation/death |
| Gallipoli |
Loss and Grief issues |
| Genie (PBS-TV) |
abused child without language |
| Gaby--A True Story (1987) |
author Gabriela Brimmer has CP |
| Genie |
The wildchild who was strapped to a potty chair for the majority of her
first 10 years of life |
| The Glass Menagerie |
|
| Grand Canyon (1990) |
character has deaf daughter |
| The Great Santini |
|
| Grey Gardens (1976-docu) |
Portrait of two eccentric recluses. |
| Harold and Maude |
|
| Harvey |
mental illness/hallucinations |
| Heidi (various versions) |
recovery from hysterical paralysis |
| Harold & Maude |
suicide |
| Holes (2003) |
Nerdy teenager Stanley Yelnats (Shia La Beouf) is sent to a Texas detention
camp for stealing a pair of sneakers. |
| Hoop Dreams |
Peer Relationships |
| HOPE FLOATS |
Covers shame, divorce, death, abandonment (emotional), recovery, healing
relationships |
| Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte: 1964 |
Horror, Bette Davis, OIivia de Havilland. Half-mad Charlotte lives in
mansion with cousin and doctor. |
| I Never Promised You a Rose Garden |
schizophrenia |
| Ice Castles (1979) |
skater overcomes visual impairment |
| I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can |
prescription drug addiction (?) |
| In the Mouth of Madness (1995) |
Horror, Sam Neill, Julie Carmen. Horror novel drives insurance investigator
insane. |
| Iris (2001) |
Alzheimer's Disease |
| It's A Wonderful Life |
Adjustment Disorder - With Depressed Mood |
| Jane Eyre (1983) |
child abuse issues |
| Joni |
quadriplegia |
| King of Hearts, The (1966-foreign) |
City taken over by inmates of an insane asylum after the town's residents
have deserted it. |
| Last Wish |
assisted suicide of Betty Rollin's mother |
| Leaving Las Vegas |
graphic: alcoholism |
| Let There Be Light: (1944-docu) |
Documentary commissioned by the U.S. gov't, filmed by John huston, about
shell-shocked soldiers, was suppressed because it would discourage enlistment |
| The Light that Failed: 1939 |
Drama, Ronald Coleman, Walter Huston. |
| Kipling's Dick Heldar |
going blind, tries to finish painting |
| La Cage Aux Folles / The Birdcage |
Homosexuality |
| Like Normal People (1979) |
TV couple with MR prepare to marry |
| Little Man Tate (1991) |
child prodigy |
| Litte Miss Sunshine (2006) |
family dysfunction |
| Longtime Companion (1990) |
AIDS |
| Lorenzo's Oil (1992) |
ALD (adrenoleukodystrophy) |
| Lost In Yonkers (1993) |
mental retardation ? |
| The Lost Weekend: 1945 |
Drama. Ray Milland, Jane Wyman. Boozing writer lands in Bellvue with
DTs. |
| Love Letters: 1945 |
Drama, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotton. British officer meets buddy's amnesiac
widow. |
| Love Story (1970) |
terminal illness/death of spouse |
| Mask (starring Cher) (1985) |
neurofibromatosis/death/drug abuse |
| Mean Creek (2004) |
Peer Relationships |
| Midnight Cowboy (1969) |
Homosexuality |
| Mommy Dearest |
child abuse issues |
| Mona Lisa Smile (2003) |
At Wellesley College in 1953, the all-female student population may constitute
the smartest and the best, but they're still measured by how well they
marry. |
| Moonstruck (Cher again) |
one character has prosthetic hand |
| Mr. Jones |
bipolar disease |
| Mr. Holland's Opus |
Deaf child |
| Murder or Mercy? (TV) |
elderly man shoots wife with dementia |
| My Bodyguard |
bully issues |
| My Girl |
Alzheimer's Disease |
| My Left Foot (1989) |
author Christy Brown: cerebral palsy |
| My Life (1994) |
terminal cancer |
| My Name is Bill W. (1989) |
TV program. Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous |
| My Secret garden: 1994 |
Drama. English orphan helps disabled cousin in Uncle's magic garden. |
| Nashville |
one character is deaf, Lily Tomlin signs |
| Nell |
with Jody Foster and Liam Neeson, isolation/aphasic speech |
| Never to Love: 1940 |
Drama, Maureen O'Hara, Adolphe Menjou. Escaped mental patient visits
wife, daughter. |
| Night of the Following Day, The: 1969 |
Suspense, Marlon Brando, Richard |
| Boone |
Two men, drug addict and her brother kidnap girl in France. |
| Night Mother |
suicide |
| No Other Love (1979) |
TV program. Mental retardation |
| Not My Kid |
child abuse issues |
| The Notebook (2004) |
Alzheimer's Disease |
| Nuts (1988) |
psychiatry, competency hearing |
| Of Mice and Men (1992) |
mental retardation |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) |
psychiatric hospital |
| Ordinary People (1980) |
bereavement/suicide |
| On Golden Pond |
Alzheimer's Disease |
| Outbreak! |
Ebola virus |
| Passion Fish(1993) |
paraplegia/substance recovery |
| Patch of Blue, A: 1965 |
Drama, Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters. Man loves blind white teen sheltered
by mother. |
| Pennies from Heaven: 1981 |
Musical Romance. Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters. Sheet music salesman
escapes Depression through songs. |
| Philadelphia: 1993 |
Drama. Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington. Fired by his firm, lawyer with AIDS
fights back. AIDS/protection under law |
| Places In the Heart |
one character is blind |
| Postcards From the Edge (1990) |
substance abuse |
| Radio (2003) |
A small-town high school football coach (Ed Harris) befriends an illiterate,
developmentally disabled man (Cuba Gooding Jr.) nicknamed "Radio," who
has always been the target of jokes and teasing. |
| Rain Man |
Dustin Hoffman. Idiot savant; autism |
| Regarding Henry |
|
| Remember the Titans (2000) |
It looks like fourth down and long yardage when Denzel Washington replaces
a well-respected -- and white -- football coach (Will Patton) in a Virginia
high school rampant with prejudice, circa 1970. |
| A River Runs Through It |
Loss and Grief issues |
| Road to Wellville, The: 1994 |
Comedy. Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda. Story set in a wellness resort. |
| Ryan White Story |
child abuse issues |
| Silence Like Glass |
deals with a young woman discovering she has cancer |
| Silent Fall: 1994 |
Mystery. Richard Dreyfuss, Linda Hamilton. Psychiatrist works with autistic
murder witness. |
| Silverlake Life: (1993-docu) |
Two companions face life, and death of AIDS. |
| Shadowlands |
Loss and Grief issues |
| Stranger in the Family: 1991 |
Docudrama. Teri Garr, Neil Patrick Harris. Mother pushes her amnesiac
teen son to remember. |
| The Sweet Hereafter |
Loss and Grief issues |
| Sybil |
child abuse issues |
| Taxi Driver |
Schizotypal Personality |
| The Three Faces of Eve: 1957 |
Drama. Joanne Woodward, Lee J. Cobb. Psychiatrist treats housewife with
three personalites. |
| Truly, Madly, Deeply |
Loss and Grief issues |
| 12 Monkies |
Brad Pitt plays a mentally ill person |
| Unfinished Life (2005) |
When her husband dies, Jean Gilkyson (Jennifer Lopez) moves herself and
her daughter, Griff (Becca Gardner), into the Wyoming home of her estranged
father-in-law |
| Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh. (1987-docu) |
|
| What Dreams May Come |
Loss and Grief issues |
| What's Eating Gilbert Grape |
Dysfunctional family and mental retardation; eating disorder |
| When a Man Loves a Woman: 1994 |
Drama. Andy Garcia, Meg Ryan. San Francisco couple face alcoholism and
recovery. |
| Who Are The Debolts and Where Did They Get 19 kids: (1978-docu) |
Family made up of adopted muliply disabled children. |
| Feeling Good Feeling Proud - 27 min |
Developmental Disabilities (mental retardation primarily). Discusses
"Theater Unlimited" - a popular program in San Fran.,California in which
the actors are people w/ disabilities acting out perceptions, issues, etc.
that pertain to their lives. |
| Out of the Shadow |
Various disabilities. Demonstrates how recreational therapy can manifest
via many mediums (i.e., grocery store, music, drama, arts & crafts, H2O,
restaurants); the potential skills attained are discussed for each as well
(socialization, ROM, gait efficiency, etc.) |
| National Sports Center: For the Disabled at Winter Park |
Various Disabilities (visually impaired, cancer, down syndrome etc.)
Discusses what activities such as skiing, rock climbing, rafting, etc may
provide for clients that utilize them. |
| Day in the Life of Bonnie Consolo |
17 minutes. A woman without arms - congenital. An inspirational movie
that shows this woman functioning in her society with the "I Can" philosophy. |
| Get it Together |
20 minutes. Parapalegia. Individual involved in accident demonstrates
adaptation techniques (i.e., tennis, driving, softball, etc). |
| Handicaps & Technology |
9 minutes. Various disabilities. Brad Parks (tennis) is in a segment
of the film. Technologies such as nerve innervention for walking and fine
motor skills are demonstrated. Intrinsic barriers and environmental barriers
are discussed in relation to why people w/ disabilities refrain from social
events (i.e., sporting events, movies) |
| Shady Acres |
Cerebral palsy. Camp development and importance stressed |
| Mountain Tops |
Paraplegia. Demonstrates capabilities typically unobserved by people
using wheelchairs (i.e., rock climbing, 3-wheeling, horse ridding, mountain
climbing, hopping around on the grass for extended periods of time with arms,
etc. |
| Nobody's Burning Wheelchairs |
18 minutes ADA legislation Discusses importance of attitude adjustments
in relation to legislation. Legislation is only "a" tool - not "the" tool. |
| Life Climb |
Geriatric - Discusses how individual with 3 previous myocardio infarctions,
fused vertebraes, and cancer abusing substances (i.e., amphetamines, alcohol,
tranquilizers, etc) turned to cognitive therapy via climbing mountains (all
over the world). |
| Learning to Play, Playing to Learn: Recreation as a Related Service |
20 minutes. Information about the role recreation plays in promoting
the education of students with disabilities plus recreation as a related
service from PL 94-142 to IDEA. |
| National Parks System: Planning for the Disabled Systematic Approach
to Access Planning |
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