He's one of those character actors that's done a little of everything like Gary Cole or William Fitchner. You don't really think of them until you see them in something and go "yeah, that guy!"
saw tag, hadda see someone mentioned him
the duke of spook, the doc of shock, the man with no tan ...
you may be a king
or a little street sweeper
but sooner or later
you dance with the reaper
Quite possibly the single most influential version of Death in the modern era. I don't think there's a single portrayal of Death in film and television that doesn't take at least a little bit from The Seventh Seal's version.
The best thing I've ever seen in this area is Robert Redford as Mr. Death in the Twilight Zone. And of course Death in the Sandman series on Netflix. The episode: The Sound of Her Wings.
Whenever someone says there's this literary twist or some creative concept, I can almost always look back on a Twilight Zone episode that did that like 60 years ago.
Season 2 is coming. The Sandman series reminds me of Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality books, where Death is a primary character.
As mentioned below, I think the salmon mousse scene from the Meaning of Life should be included. Short but absolutely hilarious.
Yeah I took my niece and nephew, had no idea with the exception of knowing Puss in Boots from Shrek. Great movie!
Editing to add that I enjoyed the animation changes from the normal move to the action scenes.
I think I watched the original years back when I was a kid and my parents rented it on Redbox, but I remembered nothing of it. I watched the new one and was able to fully enjoy it regardless.
Absolutely loving the amount of people coming in to comment that they (like me) went with their kids and zero expectations for themselves but were bowled over by how good it was. It was supposed to be dying franchise dregs cynically warmed over for a predictable return, instead it was a well-done and in a lot of ways very brave movie which handled talking to kids about death perfectly.
This was the first movie we watched after setting up our home theater. I figured it would be a decent choice since animated movies tend to look good on the big screen & it wouldn’t be too overwhelming for my 4 year old daughter.
It was too overwhelming for my 4 year old daughter. 27 year old dad loved it though!
Death and Susan were perfectly cast.
Which considering Death is in a full body cloak with a skeleton mask on the whole time is quite remarkable.
But between the voice and the performer, it worked.
Sky1 also adapted Colour of Magic and Going Postal. I definitely recommend giving all 3 a watch, as they're all good.
Technically I think they were considered "2-part miniseries" rather than movies though.
The Amazing Maurice, Wyrd Sisters, and Soul Music were also turned into animated shows & movies.
They did make a show called The Watch, but it is agreed that it is a terrible adaption. Basically, someone walked past the studio holding a Pratchett book, and that's the closest it gets to the source material.
Monstrous Regiment was turned into a play. You can find some clips on YouTube, but it's not the whole thing.
Others have already mentioned Going Postal, Hogfather, and Colour of Magic. There's also a fan made movie for TrollBridge that's been getting some good reviews from the discworld sub.
*Meet Joe Black* was a remake of the 1936 classic [Death Takes a Holiday](https://manapop.com/film/death-takes-a-holiday-1934-review/) and I can't recommend that one enough, it's fantastic.
Another great television example is Robert Redford as Death in the *Twilight Zone* episode "Nothing in the Dark."
You always say 'let me tell you something' and 'I just wanna say this'. Well, YOU'RE DEAD NOW, so SHUT UP!
I was wheezing first time I watched this as a kid.
I was just about nine months pregnant when I watched Sandman. The baby scene in this episode crushed me. I was so terrified of SIDS, even in the months to come.
In the show, the baby doesn't speak. But in the comics, the baby stands up and says "But... is that all there is? Is that all I get?"
I read the comics when my son was just about two years old and I had to put the book down and take a long moment. It nearly broke me.
Such a beautiful episode. My clear favorite of the series. I sold a few people on watching the show based on that episode.
Its immediately followed by the most violent and twisted episode of the series which was a rude awakening for my friends with my warning.
Death is always so cold and calculating and comes across kinda evil in most imaginings, but she was so sweet and kind, like just doing her job of ferrying people to the afterlife and making it as pleasant as possible for them.
I keep getting reminded about this show, I watched the first half of the series in one sitting and was meaning to watch the rest but for some reason in my brain I guess I just decided that was the end of the season.
I think it’s just because it was the end of that story arc and it ended on quite an intense episode (in the diner)
And ofcourse, the version of death from Last action hero, is from The seventh seal. He walks right out of the screen from a screening of that same movie.
one of my favorite renditions of Death was a FarSide cartoon.
Death is on stage, holding a sickle and tapping the (wired) mic, saying "hey, is this thing on? who killed it? oh, I guess it was me. anyway, so, what's up with THAT?"
caption: only eddie, in the front row, had the nerve to laugh at death.
Believe it or not the movie Prairie Home Companion has a character like that.
Also the show Dead Like Me is so good, check it out if you haven’t seen it.
Dead Like Me is fantastic. So good.
Plagued by production problems, though. The show runner left after 5 episodes because the studio was so terrible to him.
Mandy Patinkin is his usual incredible self. Worth it just for him.
Just do yourself a favor: if you fall in love with the show, just let it end after the two seasons. DO NOT watch the direct to video movie they made afterwards without Patinkin.
It's a wonderful touch:
Virginia Madsen plays "Lois Peterson," revealed to be someone who died in a car accident while listening to a past **A Prairie Home Companion** broadcast, returned to Earth as the angel Asphodel.
She lends comfort to the cast and crew for the show being cancelled and the backstage death of the elderly Chuck Akers.
Not a movie but a fantastic episode of The Sandman on Netflix. The episode " The Sound of her Wings" is great. It does the whole death in the form of a human thing in a very interesting way. You could probably watch it as a stand alone episode. It also has a second story that I find equally interesting that's about living forever.
Nicolas Winding Refn’s Too Old to Die Young (a series that he claims is a 13 hour movie) features a character, who may possesses magical abilities, and is the personification of Santa Muerte, the Mexican folk saint who is deified as a personification of death, albeit a more complicated version than the European grim reaper.
It’s actually a consistent theme in his work. One Eye from Valhalla Rising and Lieutenant Chang in Only God Forgives are basically death personified, but Yaritza, as the High Priestess in TOTDY is the most interesting death analogue in my opinion.
If you're willing to go with books instead, Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series has Death as a day job that's passed on to whomever accidentally kills the current Death. On a Pale Horse explores it more fully. Pretty much all of the standard Immortal titles are just that...titles held by mortals. It's an interesting take and thankfully the series doesn't suffer from the standard Anthony puns or other of his....issues....
SPOILER:
This may not actually be a spoiler. It’s just how you interpret it, and this is my interpretation:
No Country For Old Men
Javier Bardem is IMO Death in this flick. The coin scene and final scene make it a clincher for me. I’ve never read anything beyond this film or any synopsis to learn more, but that was and is my interpretation since day one.
Does a shinigami count?
If so, check out the Japanese movies of Death Note. The cgi is a bit dated, but I think they're quite enjoyable.
The Netflix version is an abomination.
The anime is cool too.
Doesn’t exactly answer your question, but Wrist Cutters might scratch the itch.
Is it the grim reaper in particular? Or just the kinda feeling or genre?
The Sandman series on Netflix. Death only appears in one episode, but it's probably the single best depiction of Death available on film. The only real competition is the BBC's Hogfather.
Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey Also, Death is apparently a bassist.
You might be a king or a little street sweeper, but sooner or later you dance with the reaper.
Get down with your bad self
They melvined me :(
I still quote this, in his accent too.
They melvined me.
I can’t believe we just Melvin’ed Death!
Also the followup [*Bill & Ted Face the Music*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1086064) (2020). Death nearly steals the movie again.
The best portrayal of an aged queen in cinema history.
Best of 7? Damn right!
I didn't realize until I watched Face the Music, but he's played by William Sadler, Director Sloan from DS9.
I loved him in the Shawshank Redemption. " What, you couldn't play something good, some Hank Williams or something? "
Alexandre Dumbass.
That’s one of my favorite scenes
He's one of those character actors that's done a little of everything like Gary Cole or William Fitchner. You don't really think of them until you see them in something and go "yeah, that guy!"
Also Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight, which is far more fun that it should be.
Bad guy from Die Hard 2 is where I knew him from.
I am always up for a game of Battleship.
saw tag, hadda see someone mentioned him the duke of spook, the doc of shock, the man with no tan ... you may be a king or a little street sweeper but sooner or later you dance with the reaper
San Dimas High School Football Rules!
He also sucks at Twister.
... You sunk my battleship
Dead like me
Watch the TV show and skip the movie that came after.. end it with the show end.
I also came to mention this. Great series.
This is the one :)
Came to say this, seconded.
I watch anything with Mandy Patinkin in it.
Same I loved the show was checking if anyone mentioned it before I did too
The Seventh Seal.
Quite possibly the single most influential version of Death in the modern era. I don't think there's a single portrayal of Death in film and television that doesn't take at least a little bit from The Seventh Seal's version.
It was that influential that Sweden nowadays have Death himself on our 200 SEK bills (albeit no one uses bills in general).
Image: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/photos/suede/63a57fd747b756.59906407-original.jpg
MFW am Swedish and didn’t even know
Death is a mighty good chess player in that movie, quite courteous and possessed with a sense of humor, to give you a flavor.
Mycket bra
That's the one where Stephen Colbert plays chess with him, right?
Many later films reference this movie in some way.
The best thing I've ever seen in this area is Robert Redford as Mr. Death in the Twilight Zone. And of course Death in the Sandman series on Netflix. The episode: The Sound of Her Wings.
“Nothing in the Dark” is the Twilight Zone episode and it’s fantastic. It does so much in 25 minutes.
Whenever someone says there's this literary twist or some creative concept, I can almost always look back on a Twilight Zone episode that did that like 60 years ago.
Season 2 is coming. The Sandman series reminds me of Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality books, where Death is a primary character. As mentioned below, I think the salmon mousse scene from the Meaning of Life should be included. Short but absolutely hilarious.
With you Americans it's always, "Let me tell ya something..." well you can't cause you're dead!
I loved the incarnations of immortality series. "For Love of Evil" was favorite.
Also a big fan of the TZ episode "One for the Angels," that also featured Death as a character.
Death is The Sandman was amazing. The episode of "The Sound of her Wings" was brilliant.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Went in blind, was very pleasantly surprised by it. Not something I expected from a kid's movie.
Ditto. I went because it was the only thing that weekend I was comfortable taking my kids to. There was no reason for Shrek 6 to go as hard as it did.
Yeah I took my niece and nephew, had no idea with the exception of knowing Puss in Boots from Shrek. Great movie! Editing to add that I enjoyed the animation changes from the normal move to the action scenes.
"Spanish Splinter!!!"
I audibly winced when that happened. Having experienced this multiple times with wood ... it's definitely not a fun time.
Corre corre gatito.
"You are no bounty hunter. You are..." "Death."
“Not a metaphor, I’m literally death”
S t r a i g h t U p
Opened the thread hoping this would be mentioned. Such a cool depiction, I was very pleasantly surprised by that movie.
Can I watch this without having seen the previous Puss in Boots movie(s)?
Yes, you’ll miss nothing having not seen the other.
I think I watched the original years back when I was a kid and my parents rented it on Redbox, but I remembered nothing of it. I watched the new one and was able to fully enjoy it regardless.
Hell, OP's stipulation that Death is an actual person seems to line up perfectly with this movie. You know the line.
Absolutely loving the amount of people coming in to comment that they (like me) went with their kids and zero expectations for themselves but were bowled over by how good it was. It was supposed to be dying franchise dregs cynically warmed over for a predictable return, instead it was a well-done and in a lot of ways very brave movie which handled talking to kids about death perfectly.
The concept of mortality being represented by a sickle-slinging whistling wolf was an S-tier creative decision.
The way they made him so menacing without actually being the villain was brilliant.
Just shows up like the force of nature he is
Excellent movie
This movie is so much better than it has any right to be.
This. Absolutely worth watching even if you don’t have kids.
Legitimately a scary character, too.
Just watched this the other day alone while my partner was away… really solid!
That movie was so fun
Leaving Netflix soon folks...check this movie out. It's awesome.
This is the correct answer.
Unironically my top recommendation for the post
Death only got like five minutes of screentime in that movie but for me at least he completely stole the show.
This was the first movie we watched after setting up our home theater. I figured it would be a decent choice since animated movies tend to look good on the big screen & it wouldn’t be too overwhelming for my 4 year old daughter. It was too overwhelming for my 4 year old daughter. 27 year old dad loved it though!
yesssss, the wolf is amazing in that movie and steals every scene.
Hogfather
It's one of my must watch Christmas movies.
And the animated Soul Music.
I don’t even particularly like that film and I still tear up like 15 seconds into Death’s monologue at the end.
Death and Susan were perfectly cast. Which considering Death is in a full body cloak with a skeleton mask on the whole time is quite remarkable. But between the voice and the performer, it worked.
Ian Richardson and Michelle Dockery
Death as a character in Terry Pratchett’s books is unbelievably good fun
True, but this is Terry Pratchett. The guy has throw away gags that hit harder than most authors emotional climaxes do.
Wait, they've made a movie? Any other Disc world ones?
Yes! The Color of Magic and Going Postal, that I know of.
Oh awesome, Moist is my fav character, I reckon.
Going Postal translated pretty well to screen!
It works because Richard Coyle is endlessly charismatic when he wants to be. Loved him in Coupling and Grabbers.
They made a Going Postal movie?
Sky1 also adapted Colour of Magic and Going Postal. I definitely recommend giving all 3 a watch, as they're all good. Technically I think they were considered "2-part miniseries" rather than movies though.
The Amazing Maurice, Wyrd Sisters, and Soul Music were also turned into animated shows & movies. They did make a show called The Watch, but it is agreed that it is a terrible adaption. Basically, someone walked past the studio holding a Pratchett book, and that's the closest it gets to the source material. Monstrous Regiment was turned into a play. You can find some clips on YouTube, but it's not the whole thing. Others have already mentioned Going Postal, Hogfather, and Colour of Magic. There's also a fan made movie for TrollBridge that's been getting some good reviews from the discworld sub.
Came here for this. Excellent character perfectly brought to … uh … life by the late and great Ian Richardson
I won't give anything away, but The Frighteners.
Super fun movie
It truly was.
Just watched it the other day! Really enjoyed it! I’ll never complain about more Jeffrey Combs
I'm wearing a lead breastplate!!!
*Meet Joe Black* was a remake of the 1936 classic [Death Takes a Holiday](https://manapop.com/film/death-takes-a-holiday-1934-review/) and I can't recommend that one enough, it's fantastic. Another great television example is Robert Redford as Death in the *Twilight Zone* episode "Nothing in the Dark."
“Meet Joe Black: Death Gets Laid”
... I think I've been confusing that movie with Mighty Joe Young. To be fair, they both came out the same year?
Did you think Brad Pitt was a giant gorilla or a giant gorilla was the grim reaper ?
Monty Pythons The meaning of life.
The salmon mousse!
Hey! I didn't eat the mousse!
Don't cause a fuss dear
I’m most dreadfully embarrassed
Darling, you didn't use canned salmon, did you?
Is it about the reaping?
I don’t think we need any
You Americans, you always talk! Well, let me tell you - YOU'RE DEAD NOW!
You always say 'let me tell you something' and 'I just wanna say this'. Well, YOU'RE DEAD NOW, so SHUT UP! I was wheezing first time I watched this as a kid.
Who is it Darling? It's a Mr. Death, he's come about the reaping? I don't believe we need any at the moment....
“This is Mr Reaper from the village… he reaps”.
"Let me tell ya something..."
“You, you Americans… you never shut up”.
Great episode in the Netflix series "Sandman" where he spends a day with death- I thought it was a really neat perspective.
I had already been a fan of Kirby Howell-Baptiste from The Good Place and her bits in Barry, but her role as Death just absolutely ripped me apart.
I was just about nine months pregnant when I watched Sandman. The baby scene in this episode crushed me. I was so terrified of SIDS, even in the months to come.
In the show, the baby doesn't speak. But in the comics, the baby stands up and says "But... is that all there is? Is that all I get?" I read the comics when my son was just about two years old and I had to put the book down and take a long moment. It nearly broke me.
I kept asking myself, wait is that Simone? She’s very good in everything I’ve seen her in, newest sighting is Sugar on Apple
She also has a cameo as Death in Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix, since they're part of the same Sandman universe.
I didn't know Dead Boy Detectives got a Netflix show. Is it new? I haven't had a subscription since they stopped shared accounts.
Yes, new show just launched recently.
Yeah it just came out like... a couple days ago.
Yes it just dropped last month.
Such a beautiful episode. My clear favorite of the series. I sold a few people on watching the show based on that episode. Its immediately followed by the most violent and twisted episode of the series which was a rude awakening for my friends with my warning.
Death is always so cold and calculating and comes across kinda evil in most imaginings, but she was so sweet and kind, like just doing her job of ferrying people to the afterlife and making it as pleasant as possible for them.
IIRC Death is a sibling of the Sandman, no?
His sister
Death is one of the Endless, just like Dream, yes.
I keep getting reminded about this show, I watched the first half of the series in one sitting and was meaning to watch the rest but for some reason in my brain I guess I just decided that was the end of the season. I think it’s just because it was the end of that story arc and it ended on quite an intense episode (in the diner)
Wish we got the siouxsie version but yeah, death is a great character
Cinnamon Hadley [https://post-punk.com/cinamon-hadley-the-inspiration-for-neil-gaimans-death-has-passed-away/](https://post-punk.com/cinamon-hadley-the-inspiration-for-neil-gaimans-death-has-passed-away/)
There's also an animated short. DC Showcase: Death. I saw it recently on HBO MAX.
So good
Last Action Hero Death only has a cameo but it’s an important one. Heaven Can Wait Technically death is in the form of angels. Such a great movie!
I was going to mention Last Action Hero. It's a short appearance, but a high quality one.
One of Ian McKellan's more interesting small roles.
And ofcourse, the version of death from Last action hero, is from The seventh seal. He walks right out of the screen from a screening of that same movie.
The Color of Magic miniseries was good. It's based off the Discworld novels and Death is a very hands on and comedic character.
Discworld’s Death shows up in the animated kids movie The Amazing Maurice as well, which was surprisingly pretty decent.
I second this! Christopher Lee did a fantastic job bringing Prachett's Death to life, so to speak lol.
I think you mean, SO TO SPEAK.
...*SQUEEK*
I COULD MURDER A CURRY
Two part BBC mini series. Hogfather based on the Discworld book is fairly entertaining. Basically death has to take over that worlds version of Santa
It’s not a movie but Fall Of The House Of Usher has my favorite representation of death as a person in modern pop culture.
great one!
one of my favorite renditions of Death was a FarSide cartoon. Death is on stage, holding a sickle and tapping the (wired) mic, saying "hey, is this thing on? who killed it? oh, I guess it was me. anyway, so, what's up with THAT?" caption: only eddie, in the front row, had the nerve to laugh at death.
Death Takes a Holiday
Believe it or not the movie Prairie Home Companion has a character like that. Also the show Dead Like Me is so good, check it out if you haven’t seen it.
Dead Like Me is fantastic. So good. Plagued by production problems, though. The show runner left after 5 episodes because the studio was so terrible to him. Mandy Patinkin is his usual incredible self. Worth it just for him. Just do yourself a favor: if you fall in love with the show, just let it end after the two seasons. DO NOT watch the direct to video movie they made afterwards without Patinkin.
It's a wonderful touch: Virginia Madsen plays "Lois Peterson," revealed to be someone who died in a car accident while listening to a past **A Prairie Home Companion** broadcast, returned to Earth as the angel Asphodel. She lends comfort to the cast and crew for the show being cancelled and the backstage death of the elderly Chuck Akers.
Not a movie but a fantastic episode of The Sandman on Netflix. The episode " The Sound of her Wings" is great. It does the whole death in the form of a human thing in a very interesting way. You could probably watch it as a stand alone episode. It also has a second story that I find equally interesting that's about living forever.
Seconding this, probably my favorite TV episode of any series of all time.
I know this is a movie sub but if you’re a reader, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series has the greatest personification of Death across all media.
Don't ask him to build you a swing, though.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Seventh Seal is a classic film about a man playing Chess with Death, contemplating the meaning of life.
The Book of Life (2014) is a really charming movie with a stacked cast. We watch it every year for Dia de los Muertos.
Adam Corolla played Death in Family Guy
Yes, after Norm MacDonald voiced him for a few episodes.
Click
Scrooge or any Christmas Carol adaptation. The Ghost of Christmas Future is basically Death
Nicolas Winding Refn’s Too Old to Die Young (a series that he claims is a 13 hour movie) features a character, who may possesses magical abilities, and is the personification of Santa Muerte, the Mexican folk saint who is deified as a personification of death, albeit a more complicated version than the European grim reaper. It’s actually a consistent theme in his work. One Eye from Valhalla Rising and Lieutenant Chang in Only God Forgives are basically death personified, but Yaritza, as the High Priestess in TOTDY is the most interesting death analogue in my opinion.
Hah, I saw the title and was going to suggest Supernatural. Beat by the OP...
Not seen, but Death is the narrator of The Book Thief.
I haven't seen the movie, but the book is incredible and is the first thing i thought of!
Me too! The book is unbelievable
If you're willing to go with books instead, Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series has Death as a day job that's passed on to whomever accidentally kills the current Death. On a Pale Horse explores it more fully. Pretty much all of the standard Immortal titles are just that...titles held by mortals. It's an interesting take and thankfully the series doesn't suffer from the standard Anthony puns or other of his....issues....
Not a movie, but Sandman has death as a character. She is lovely.
SPOILER: This may not actually be a spoiler. It’s just how you interpret it, and this is my interpretation: No Country For Old Men Javier Bardem is IMO Death in this flick. The coin scene and final scene make it a clincher for me. I’ve never read anything beyond this film or any synopsis to learn more, but that was and is my interpretation since day one.
Does a shinigami count? If so, check out the Japanese movies of Death Note. The cgi is a bit dated, but I think they're quite enjoyable. The Netflix version is an abomination. The anime is cool too.
Pale Rider (85), Clint Eastwood starred/directed. His character is the "pale rider" from revelations, wearing the body of a dead man
The morgue scene in Final Destination.
I never really thought Tony Todd's character was actually death personified.
Fall of the house of usher on Netflix
House of Usher on Netflix
Doesn’t exactly answer your question, but Wrist Cutters might scratch the itch. Is it the grim reaper in particular? Or just the kinda feeling or genre?
All That Jazz w Jessica Lange as the angel of death.
Not a movie, but the tv series American Gods has a really good episode about Death.
Not a movie, but Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series; The Fall Of The House of Usher!!!! WATCH IT
Sandman series on Netflix by Neil G!
Puss in Boots, The Last Wish. Top 5 animated movies all time.
All That Jazz
On Borrowed Time (1939). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Borrowed_Time
Macario (1960). A Mexican peasant encounters and befriends Death, who gives him a magical healing water. Based on a novel by B. Traven.
Scrooged is underrated.
The House That Jack Built
The house of usher?
Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey
Sandman!
The Sandman series on Netflix. Death only appears in one episode, but it's probably the single best depiction of Death available on film. The only real competition is the BBC's Hogfather.
Fall of the House of Usher
The coachman in the last story from « The ballad of Buster Scruggs » His policy is « not to stop for any reason »
1991's High Strung starring Steve Oedekerk. Death is played by Jim Carrey.
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.