Sightlines · reception
How They Shoot Horses, Don't They? was received
1969 · Sydney Pollack · They Shoot Horses, Don't They? on Sightlines
The arc
A grueling downer that studios barely knew how to sell in 1969, it earned nine Oscar nominations and has since settled in as one of New Hollywood's defining acts of bleakness — the film that proved Jane Fonda was a serious actress.
What’s debated
The perennial fight: is its relentless despair profound Depression-era truth-telling, or two hours of punishment that mistakes misery for meaning?
Its footprint
The title became a full-blown snowclone — 'They Shoot ___, Don't They?' has been riffed by everything from sitcom episode titles to think-piece headlines, often by people who've never seen the film.
Where it stands
A cinephile rite of passage for the 'cinema of exhaustion' — beloved by fans of 70s-adjacent bleakness and regularly cited as Pollack's best film.
Did you know? It received nine Academy Award nominations without one for Best Picture — at the time a record — and Gig Young, cast brilliantly against his light-comedy type as the MC, won Best Supporting Actor.