Gorging Yourself On A Movie - Page 2

1. 2001
2. It's got to be somewhere in the 50s by now.
3. There's always SOMETHING new, depending on my outlook on my life and humanity at that specific moment. The last time, thanks to a few comments in the 60s draft thread, I noticed the comedic potential of the Blue Danube scenes.
4. I've TRIED to ignore that movie. I always end up getting sucked into it. Though the meeting leading to the Moon exploration mission does provide me a nice getaway point for my brain.
5. Um....YES.

1. Videodrome

2. I was never big into rewatching movies many times but I think it's 6 or 7 (Once with commentary)

3. Entertainment and sort of trying to deconstruct it. I like the ways I can think about it and the way it can make me think.

4. Sitting watching it. It moves so quickly and I never notice the time slipping.

5. God yes, I like it more and more the more I watch it. S/E still hold up and it never feels bloated.

1. Mine: Star Wars, The Right Stuff, Casino, FellowShip of the Ring EE, Ran, Evil Dead 2, Dawn of the Dead (1978),
2. I've seen each at least 20 times (more like 40-50 times for The Right Stuff.
3. Depends. The Right Stuff I genuinely find new things (a scene stands out that did not, nuance in a line of dialogue etc). For the rest, it's the experience.
4. Mostly I watch them straight through
5. Not in the same way, but if it's been a while I can come back and watch the movie in question and say "damn! this is a great movie!"

But I've always had a tendency to get obsessed over things for a time only to drop them. As a teen I bought only one Clash album, Combat Rock, because I just felt that was a perfect piece of art and could never be matched (and though I now own and love all of the Clash albums, I still think Combat Rock is their highest peak)

The movies above are the ones that "made the cut" and still get a looksee.

1. Tremors
2. Has to be around 50 at least
3. Fred Ward's performance. "Stay on dem residual boulders!" Plus the whole movie is great. With the greatest delivery of "fuck you" ever put on film.
4. All of the above. It's on TV all the time and if I see it on I'm powerless to change the channel. Doubly so if it's on basic cable, because the TV dubs are hilarious. I have actually never owned the movie because if I want to watch it all I have to do is flip through the channels.
5. I still love every minute of it. It's one of my very favorites.

Terminator 2 and Jaws would probably qualify too, but I could still watch Tremors daily while I usually space out my viewings of the other two. I've seen Jaws so many times for the same reason, because it used to be on TBS, TNT, USA, Sci-fi, etc. every day, but they stopped showing it years ago it seems so I stopped watching it so much. Since I've had the DVD for a couple years I've only watched it all the way through once. Terminator 2 I watched every day as a small child because it would keep me glued to the TV for 2.5 hours while my parents could sleep. Now it's just too long to watch that often.

1. Without a doubt, Star Wars.

2. Well...there were probably 10-15 theatrical viewings, what with all the re-releases before the invention of home video. Once it hit cable and VHS, there were probably forty or fifty viewings over the years. All in all, probably less than a hundred, but more than fifty.

3. The "comfort food" aspect is big. On the other hand, I do legitimately consider it a rare perfect film. Even its flaws (weak dialogue) contribute to its Saturday morning movie serial quality, and strengthen the overall package. I love every minute of it.

4. I never do this, with any movie. If something's running in the background, it's music. I'm far too hypnotized by a running movie to get anything else done.

5. Oh yes. There aren't very many films that take me back to my youth, or for that matter, make me feel good about my youth. But Star Wars does. I was interested in movies before 1977, but that movie turned it into passion. It's still a stunning display of unlimited possibilities. I can't honestly say that I get anything new out of it anymore. But I still genuinely enjoy the experience. And every once in a while, I need a reminder that movies are capable of anything. There aren't that many movies (and never were) that really invoke a sense of wonder. Ironically, I look to a movie that I can practically play in my head to remind myself of it.

edit note:
In the period between when the movie finally quit playing (it ran over fourteen continuous months where I lived) and the invention of home video, I hit one of the drive-in re-releases with a cassette recorder, and made an audio recording of the entire movie. I spent a good chunk of my teens playing that tape over and over. So I guess if that counts, it ups my "viewings" significantly.

1. The Blues Brothers.

2. more times than I could count, I know I drove my parents up the wall with my repeat viewings as a kid.

3. There's the music ,obviously, but I still laugh at all the jokes, and still find all the car stuff exciting/funny.

4. I've tried to have it just on in the background but that never takes.

5. I still love the characters and the flat out ridiculousness of it all. It's also now become almost like a period movie.

I guess what keeps people coming back to movies time and time again, is they become like private little jokes. I've got a friend who way back in the day I was watching an especially bad episode of deep space nine with and these crappy gambling aliens had a goodbye/farewell gesture that involved having your hands in praying position then opening your hands like you're opening a book while bowing. 10 years later that's still how we say goodbye to each other. There's no earthly reason why we should still find that amusing, I think it's kind of the same with movies.

Blues Brothers also managed to stay somewhat fresh due to the way in which I viewed it, when I was a kid I had a copy taped off T.V with a crappy reception and ad breaks, then when I was a teenager it got released on home video and all of a sudden it was clearer AND it had swearing in it, it was like my favourite movie had reinvented itself just for me, then DVD came along and I got an extended edition (which I now subsequently don't like anywhere near as much as the original cut).

There's also almost a feeling of ownership with movies that have become old friends, it's as if you know it so well it's as if it could have been you that made it.

1. What movie have you watched more than any other movie? I bet it is Natural Born Killers
2. How many times have you watched it? I saw it upwards of a dozen times theatrically. I was working at a movie theater and doing an ungodly amount of drugs in 1994. We would get fucked up, more often than not on acid, and watch it almost every night for a couple of weeks. Paid almost $100 for it when it was released on VHS. Watched it a ton for a few months after that. Then bought the 2 tape extended VHS version and probably watched that a handful of times, then another maybe 3-4 times on DVD. All told I probably sat and watched it beginning to end 60 times, but for a while after it was released on Home Video It would run all the time at my apartment, so there are parts or moments or scenes I've probably seen 200+ times.
3. What can you possibly be getting out of it at this point? Haven't watched it in years, but I've been eyeballing the Blu Ray. I will probably revisit it soon.
4. Are you sitting and watching it, or just running it in the background while you do other shit? See question 2.
5. Can anything you once found special about the film still work for you? You know what, fuck it. I'm gonna watch it now and report back regarding this question.

Well, I sort of alluded to it earlier, but because you know the movie so well you can start picking up on things you missed the first time around. You stop concentrating on dialogue since you know it backwards and forwards and start paying attention to the details that make the film come to life. Paintings in the background*, a hand gesture, etc. Seeing as Chewers are more film connoisseurs, many folks probably do this the first time around. Also, I like revisiting films after some time has passed or to see if it holds up with later knowledge I have. Watching The Matrix after having experienced Reloaded and Revolutions makes me see it in a different light. And sometimes its just pure escapism (T2). It is still just a fun flick to me and makes happy, even if its just playing in the background.

*I just thought of another film I never get tired of watching: The Royal Tenenbaums. I'm reminded of the closet scene where Chaz takes Royal to talk about his feelings. Spotting a favorite childhood game I used to have on the shelf makes me smile. This film just hits me on an emotional level. Even after numerous viewings, I experience happiness, sadness, and all the beats in between every time.

** Edit 2: I just read horrid's post about the hand gesture thing with his friend. I have similar things with mine. These films were bonding moments with certain friends and still play a role in our interactions today.

I come back to certain films over and over again because either a) there are lots of fine details/subtleties to pick up on, and/or it's just rewarding, and mostly b) for comfort.

The Big Lebowski and The Royal Tenenbaums do this for me as well. O Brother Where Art Thou as well. These are all contenders, and in the long run, some of these will eclipse Fellowship in terms of number of viewings.

Those ones I can literally watch almost on loop and never, EVER get tired of them. I laugh just as hard each and every time, and enjoy it just as much.

Laughter is a key component with those. It's nice to laugh, and something that can do it on the spot each and every time is a very valuable "life tool."

1. Rocky III... it was my first "favorite" movie when I was around 3 and I've just never really stopped watching it over the last 27 years.

2. Probably 3-4 times before I was age 5, didn't own the VHS but probably 2 times a year on TV between 1984 and 1997. 5 times a year when working at video stores 1997 - 2002. Nearly once a month on DVD from 2002 to present, so we'll say 10 times a year. What's the math on that? around 130 times or so?

3. Part of it goes back to what Devin was saying about people's love of the book "Where the Wild Things Are". In some odd way this flick has been that for me. Just takes me back to being a kid. Besides that, it's a tight movie, it never drags and seems to have a great scene I love to see play out every 5 minutes or so.

4. Sometimes just watching it, sometimes its on while I dick around on the net. Either way, its getting my attention every few minutes.

5. Somehow it still works for me. It's been there since I can remember, so it's pretty much as "real" to me as any other memories or experiences from my past.

Admittedly, it's an odd movie to have fused into my DNA but who chooses these things? I didn't sit around asking mom to pick a movie that would stick with me for the rest of my life! As a kid that had a pretty messed up childhood this one was one of those good things I latched onto. I have a lot of what I consider "Warm Blanket" movies... Rocky III, Friday the 13th 6, Summer School, Back to the Beach... I watch these all the time and have for years.

ETA: Just to save some face... Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, The Royal Tenenbaums, There Will Be Blood, Fear and Loathing... they are all high on my list too. I'm not totally swimming in a sea of nostalgia over here.

1) It's a tie between Star Wars: Episode IV and Jaws.
2) Over 50 times each.
3) Picking out random little moments. Background characters, small quirky bits of performances/line readings that I hadn't noticed, directorial choices that still floor me.
4) Sitting and watching like a monk in front of a goddamn Buddha statue.
5) I still get chills when Han swoops in at the last moment in Star Wars. Robert Shaw's monologue still hypnotizes me. There's plenty more moments in both which still amaze/awe/amuse/other a-words.

Movies I've grown up with, those that I've just always known without remembering first watching them (Star Wars, Raiders), I can still watch anytime. Flipped past Jedi the other night and watched the last 20 mins quite happily. Ghostbusters would be another. Gone With the Wind. They're just part of my consciousness.

Fellowship of the Ring was different. There I was as an adult watching it for the first time, and I proceeded to overdose on it. Big time. I don't know how many times I watched it. The result? It hasn't seen the inside of my DVD player in 4 years, and I skip right past it on TV. It makes me kinda sad, especially since I did it to myself (no sense in blaming the film for being so good). Maybe one day I'll be able to go back to it. It's definitely a mistake I won't make again.

1. When I was a kid, it was Monster Squad.
2. We recorded this off of HBO and had it on a tape that also included Karate Kid and Space Camp. I must've watched Monster Squad every day for an entire summer.
3. I haven't actually watched it in years, but the last time I did I learned that it held up as an adult. The humor and gore is surprisingly bordering on R for a movie that's structured like Goonies.
4. My attention was rapt at the time. Knew all the words to the rap song at the end.
5. Finding out it was written by Shane Black years later blew my mind.

I think I only really did this as a kid. As an adult, I'll only rewatch (not counting showing to friends and such)a movie once or twice a year, I think. So yeah I could say The Good, The Bad & The Ugly or Singin' In The Rain (two movies my dad exposed me to at an early age), but fact of the matter is I take huge breaks in between viewings so they never feel "memorized".

1. Raising Arizona.

2. Difficult to say. Probably around a hundred. When I was 10, we had a setup in my house that you could put a VHS on in the front room and watch it through a TV in any other room. This way, I would watch some or all of the film every schoolday when I got home for a good 6 months. In the years since, I've probably watched it once or twice a year.

3. While I know every word of it, there is something comforting about the rhythm of the dialogue, editing and music.

4. I watch it top to bottom every time now.

5. I still laugh out loud at certain bits and still marvel at some of the Raimi-esque camera work they pulled off. The cast is spot on to a man and I maintain that Nicholas Cage has never been as good. Plus, nearly any John Goodman is good John Goodman.

1. JAWS
2. At least 50 times.
3. It's mostly comfort food. Relaxes me.
4. Most of the time, I do sit and watch it, although I can do other things while it's on. But once Quint, Hooper, and Brody go out to sea, I'm in it to win it.
5. I'm kinda stunned by the editing. I think Verna Fields is probably one of the best film editors to have ever lived, just on the work of JAWS alone. Her cuts have punch to them, every scene cut for maximum impact. I know everyone seems to love Thelma Schoonmaker, and she's great, but had Fields lived and done more work after JAWS, man, I dunno.

1. Bachelor Party
2. Probably 100+
3. It still makes me laugh
4. Both. Love when I find someone that hasn't seen it before. I made my mother-in-law watch it with me once, and she thought it was funny.
5. It reminds me of my college days, because a group of us would quote the movie constantly in conversation.

Close second: Gross Pointe Blank. Probably not first because Bachelor Party came out in 1984.

1. The Last Boy Scout.
2. Hard to tell but I'm going to guess over 60 times.
3. Depends. It's mostly that I don't think I'll ever stop finding the jokes or the way they're delivered not funny. But it has many other uses. Once I even used it as part of my recovering from finding out my girlfriend was cheating on me.
4. Again it depends. Mostly background though, with tuning in for the more interesting parts.
5. I still very much like the more subdued Tony Scott of old. And as I said before, the script will keep working for me until the end of time.

Tie

1.Ghostbusters
2.Blues Brothers

My first instinct is GB just because its my easiest 'I'm bored, what should I watch' pick. But Blues Bros might intercede on that record due to its placement as my offical hangover movie. If I'm Hung the fuck Over, I'm chillin with Jake and Elwood.

2.Hundreds...easily

3.GB - Cinematic Perfection as it pertains to my personal tastes
3.BB - The music is sublime and I don't have to have my eyes open to enjoy it

4. Both.

5.GB - The chemistry between Murray and Ackroyd, and to a lesser degree Egon.
5.BB - The music...the cameos....chicken wire.

Some of the films that I've 'killed' I literally CANNOT WATCH anymore except under special circumstances.

As an example: 'Fletch'. This was a college movie for me (back in the late 80s/early 90s) that we quite literally watched ONCE A WEEK with a ton of alcohol and sorority girls. It was a bonding experience, and my college friends and I would quote lines from the movie (and the sequel) to each other all the time. I'm still friends with some of my college buddies, and we got together a couple of years ago to re-watch 'Fletch' with a couple bottles of scotch. It was quite a bit of fun, but I really dont' need to do it again. It belongs in my memory.

1. It's probably Lynch's Dune, but nipping at its heels are True Stories, Big Trouble in Little China, and Buckaroo Banzai. Brazil and Holy Grail are up there too.
2. At a guess, 25-35 times. 1-3 times a year for 20+ years, with a bigger cluster of viewings back when we first got the VHS. Smaller clusters occur with each new format. The HDDVD release was a revelation.
3. Every time, I marvel at the fact that a film so deeply flawed can be so utterly compelling. It's a simultaneously personal and compromised film. There is absolutely no other film like it.
4. Dune always sucks me in. I have to watch the whole thing.
5. The look of the film, bad blue screen effects excepted, and the over-the-top Toto score (which, given my usual musical tastes, I should loathe) both still work completely.

My sister is seven years younger than I am, so by osmosis during summer vacations and weekends before I moved out for college, I've probably actually seen The Little Mermaid more than any other film.

Other than the normal childhood obsession with Star Wars and Raiders I would say that what really made certain movies that I watched over and over and over again stand out from other movies that I merely watched over and over again was music*.

The Blues Brothers- I had moved from Chicago to California when I was really young and the movie made me feel connected to my old home and the family that was still there. But beside that I think Landis really did pay tribute to the music, and what Cab Calloway, John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and James Brown brought to the film made it that much more watchable than the other comedies I watched a lot- like Young Frankenstein, Holy Grail, Airplane, etc...

Goodfellas- The most recent film that I really gorged myself on in my late teens and twenties**. Comfort food to an extent, but I found that I was watching because I enjoyed the musical cues and rhythm of the scenes more than anything.

* if I were to do a top 5-7 list of most watched movies of all time it would probably include Meet Me in St. Louis and, yes, Grease.

** This decade it's probably Memento and No Country, both less than five viewings each and not counting the LOTR films, which I watched a few times more because my wife and kids love them so much.

No offense, but you're really not gorging.

This (KidNtheHelmet mentioned it too), but I'll roll anyway.

1. Die Hard

2. I definitely lost count after the 20th viewing or so, but it sure is a shit-ton and there's been years in which I've watched it 3-4 times. It's also my definitive Xmas movie and my summer movie (so much so that I tend to honor it's July 12th 1988 release by taking it for a spin every year or so).

3. Same as Spike too. It's as flawless as it gets for an action flick, but I'd kill for rewatching it in the theater (I initially caught it that summer with my grandparents and -at 11- was "blown away through the roof" by it).

4. Same as Spike.

5. Same too. Plus, knowing some of the dialogues by heart in two languages makes for some playful experience in which I get to decide how I wanna hear it initially or flip audios midway through. Matter of fact, I wish I knew people who hadn't seen it to introduce them to it.

1. AIRPLANE! (1980)
2. Impossible to count, but at least a few dozen now, not counting the times I've watched five minutes here, five minutes there.
3. It's not exactly thematically dense, I'll admit, but it's visually rich enough to keep from going stale. The screen is packed with little jokes and references, and while I can't say I find something new with each viewing, there are enough different things to focus on that each viewing can be different. It also still makes me laugh. Every. Single. Time. In the end, that's really all that matters anyway.
4. Seems sort of useless to have it on in the background. I'd just end up watching it anyway.
5. The beauty of this particular movie for me is that everything I find special about it still works. I know it's inevitable that a fickle psyche will wear down the emotional effect of just about any movie after repeat viewings, but this movie still evokes the same visceral reaction from me that it did the first time my dad sat me down and made me watch it. I just laugh my ass off. It's impervious to any urge I might otherwise have to pick it apart.

That's what I meant by-

I was 13 when Star Wars came out, and back then it was like a badge of honor to out-do everyone else about how many time you saw it. I don't remember the number of times (that was a looong time ago), but I was in the running for sure. Over 20 times in the theatre easily.

But this goes in streaks for me. Others that I put in the DVD player every day on a nearly continous loop would be Raiders, Matrix, Underworld, Lord of the Rings trilogy. Oh about that, I was in Afghanistan when LoTR came out, and one of the stations for the base had that on a continuous loop for the 3 months I was there. I really don't know how many times I watched it then, but it had to be a shitload.

I will every six months or so watch the whole extended Rings trilogy in a day.

I love all types of movies, but I'm pretty much a big nerd/geek at heart. Thanks Star Wars.

You know what? I totally forgot about A Christmas Story. That's got to be my answer.

Good call... I'm pretty sure even Jews and Muslims have this one pretty high on their list.

There are many movies that this would apply to. But I'll narrow it down to my personal favorite...

1. An American Werewolf In London
2. A lot. Several times a year since I first saw it on late night TV at the age of 10 and became obsessed with it. And I watch it at least once a year since my teens. Sometimes more.
3. I don't know what I'm getting out of it besides pure enjoyment. I can recite lines of dialog verbatim and right along with the screen... But I never do. I still get sucked into the story and charmed by the characters.
4. Only movies I can use as "background music" are the Qatsis. So no. I sit down and watch it straight through.
5. I still think Landis' balance of humor and horror is unequaled in the genre. I'm still haunted by Elmer Bernstein's great score. I still think the first 20 minutes and change (from opening credits to the attack) are a mesmerizing piece of filmmaking. I'm still wowed by the transformation sequence. Still tap my feet to the soundtrack... So, yes.

Basically, a good movie should be like a good song or a great album. Or a wonderful painting. Just as we can spin The White Album or Ok Computer or The Queen Is Dead hundreds of times, the experience of watching a movie really shouldn't be any different. That's what the appreciation of an art is all about.

Slight thread parenthesis... I would also find it distracting to make love while a movie plays... (Well... A real movie. I'm okay if it's the work of Luc Wilder or Randy West). Like most, I just put on music. (Too obvious? Who cares? I have nothing to hide. I just don't want to annoy people with the sounds of ecstasy).

But this can lead to weird things too... I was with a girl recently... Got through the foreplay and, just as we began to get into the central event, a song from her ex-boyfriend's band started blasting... So - you can imagine that it was just... wrong.

But, yeah. White noise would drive me insane.

...

Back to the real topic of discussion...

1. The Godfather
2. Probably can't be measured with current technology - when it's on, chances are my ass will be in a seat watching.
3. Probably the performances - everyone involved brought their A game to it, and despite all the behind-the-scenes issues during production, the final product is magnificent. Plus you get Duvall, Brando, Pacino, Caan, Cazale, Shire, AND Abe Vigoda all in their prime!
4. Sitting and watching - if I channel surf and spot it, on it goes.
5. I gotta go back to the performances and the overall look and tone of the film - I'm still mesmerized by the locations and set designs. Love the Italy scenes with Michael and Appolonia, old New York City (even more so with Godfather Part Two).

Great questions, really.

I have two answers. I re-watch a lot of movies when showing them to new people because I want to see how they react to them and I want to see how our reactions compare. On a pure visceral level, you could even say that I like to watch THEM watch the movie to see if we connect in similar ways. I mean, that's why people see movies in the first place, right? To connect with something larger then themselves. And that's not just the movie stars and directors but people in the audience as well.

When I show a film to my students, I'm always looking at how they react to it. I've seen the Paths of Glory, the original Scarface and The Grapes of Wrath more then any other movies I can remember. I love them all and I certainly don't need to see them again. Most of the time I'll be grading papers or doing other work during the movie. But I'll be goddamned if I can resist looking around the room (or even at the screen, sharing the experience) when, say Timothy Carey crushes that cockroach, or when Paul Muni first gets a machine gun, or when Kirk Douglas tells the general to go to hell. I can't help it. My love for the movie pulls me in every time. Maybe it's nostalgia, but I think its more than that. It's the connection you first make with the thing. If it's a movie you love, that never goes away.

Which is why, say, if I'm sitting around the house I'll pop in Pulp Fiction, Back to the Future, After Hours, whether I'm doing other shit or just sitting down to actually watch it. It's comforting on one level. I'm not going to say its like an old friend or anything like that, but its the same as listening to a really great album as you're doing the dishes (something I'm more inclined to do then watch a movie, since it doesn't involve viewing).

Plus, you can never stop with great movies. You can always find new things, even if you're just reading into something. There's always something else to find, to connect with, to love. Even if they're (god forbid) faults! You revel in those faults. You learn to love them. Just like in a real relationship. The faults define them just as much as everything else. That goes beyond film appreciation and dips into territory of love.

Lets face it. None of the people on these boards merely "likes" film or "appreciates" film. We love it. For what it can do, what it can show us and how it makes us feel. The best movies are like the best wives, husbands, girlfriends, buddies or whatever. They give a little more each time.

Man, I don't think I've seen anything past 50 times.

There's probably little value analytically in seeing a film more than, say, 3 times. For a lot of us it's probably comfort food. Now there are films I've seen a whole bunch of times that I still get something out of artistically - for me I've seen SEVEN SAMURAI at least 20 times and every time I get something new from it. But some movies I just put on and fall asleep to them.

I don't know if I should be questioning my dedication or celebrating my sanity for not having watched a movie more than 6 times.

Man, maybe you should get out less then.

I was going to say Ghostbusters, but i think these two win.

1. What movie have you watched more than any other movie?

Gremlins and Scrooged

2. How many times have you watched it?

Pretty much every christmas since I was 10 (so, 23)

3. What can you possibly be getting out of it at this point?

Not only are they both great movies, for me, they are now part of the christmas ritual

4. Are you sitting and watching it, or just running it in the background while you do other shit?

I'm normally watching Gremlins while wrapping presents. But in the last few years Scrooged gets watched on Christmas Eve, curled up on the sofa with the wife.

5. Can anything you once found special about the film still work for you?

With Scrooged, I used to love it because it was Bill Murray but since meeting the wife it's become a film we can both watch and love together. Gremlins is bizzarly comfort food. For some reason it's the best film to wrap presents to.

1. What movie have you watched more than any other movie?
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

2. How many times have you watched it?
I'll be damned if know. It was my movie of choice while growing up. You know how every kid has this magical fantasy land they'd love to escape to when life becomes too boring or hard? The chocolate factory was mine.

3. What can you possibly be getting out of it at this point?
Nostalgia. I find I actually prefer watching the movie with the audio commentary of all the kids remembering it's production after they all grew up. It heightens the nostalgia factor and, in a way, makes me feel as if I'm reminiscing with old friends.

4. Are you sitting and watching it, or just running it in the background while you do other shit?
It usually starts as background, and then I find myself being drawn to it and sitting and watching it an hour later.

5. Can anything you once found special about the film still work for you?
Yes, it is in the childrens' expressions when they first walk into the chocolate room. They really were seeing it for the first time.

Because the thread needs to be resurrected.

1) Joe Versus the Volcano
2) Likely close to fifty times.
3) I get the philosophical themes of the movie if I'm watching it to cheer me up (bad day at work, feeling down about life etc.) or I just really enjoy the sparkling dialogue by Shanley, the beautiful sets, the great use of symbolism or the wonderful performances by everyone.
4) It's a watching movie for me. I've had it on in the background and I'll get sucked in to it every time.
5) All of it still works for me. I find it that amazing mix of fairytale and film that very few films have ever got right.


It makes me feel good or it re-energizes me to go back to writing. It reminds me why I want to make films. If I can make one film that affects someone the way Joe affected me, it'll be worth all the effort.

1. What movie have you watched more than any other movie?
Probably ALIENS or EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

2. How many times have you watched it?
At least 20 (each). Likely more.

3. What can you possibly be getting out of it at this point?
The cinematic equivalent of comfort food. Looking for things I've missed or forgotten. Seeing how the story hits me at different ages. Remembering the rush each film gave when I first saw it.

4. Are you sitting and watching it, or just running it in the background while you do other shit?
I haven't watched EMPIRE in a long while (at least five years or more), but both of these films are "sit and watch films" for me; I may try to have them as background films, but they'll suck me back in pretty quickly.

5. Can anything you once found special about the film still work for you?
Yes. For EMPIRE, I still love how it expands and deepens the world established in the original film, as well as Han's storyline. Luke I find mostly boring. For ALIENS, I still love the combination of balls-out action and humor, as well as Cameron's design sensibilities nicely integrated with that of the first film.

Glen A. Larson's...Battlestar Galactica! My sister and I used to watch repeats of both...Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers In The 25th Century...Every day on WOR 9! She eventually got tired of Battlestar and Buck Rogers. I of course did not tire of these 2...Classic Glen A. Larson's Series! Both Pilot episodes were released on the silver screen too.

I would say, I watched...Glen A. Larson's Battlestar Galactica at least...25-30 times! I still never get tired of it, even all these Years later.

I've killed so many films due to the gorging habit, but a few still survive to get played on special occasions. Halloween being the most important, as I'm really looking for a film that I know will evoke a certain ambiance and mood that is perfect for the holiday. I'm not sure how many times I've seen CREEPSHOW - too numerous to count really, and most of those were during my childhood when I wore out an old taped-off-of-cable version until it was nothing but red, blues and static - but it still puts me in the perfect frame of mind come Halloween time. I don't think any of that satisfaction comes from a narrative sense, though. It's the production design, sound effects, soundtrack, etc. that does it for me.

It seems like these day I've shifted into gorging on long form "making of" documentaries. I think there are quite a few films now where I have watched/listened to how it was made more times than I have actually watched the film, itself. These are usually played in the background to get me in a creative spirit. The more obsessively detailed the better.

5. Can anything you once found special about the film still work for you?

1. The Big Lebowski
2. Not sure. I'd say around 20.
3. A lot. Aside from drooling over the incredible dialog and characters, there's A LOT of really little stuff to notice. Really cliche to say that, but fuck, it's true. Also, aside from drooling over the dialog, watching The Dude take it easy is always a good way to remind myself to stop stressing about whatever is currently stressing me.
4. I actually watch it. There have been times where I'll put on a particular section or conversation before bed or whatever, but if I'm putting it in the DVD player, I'm actually watching the whole thing.
5. Yes and no. As I've said, it's hard not to let The Dude inspire me, or the characters themselves or the dialog. BUT. I have burnt myself out as of late. I decided that my New Years Resolution for this year (and probably next year as well) is that I will not watch it all year. I need to take a long break to recharge my Lebowski batteries.

1. What movie have you watched more than any other movie?

Probably Star Wars.

2. How many times have you watched it?

In its entirety? Probably in the 35-40 times range.

3. What can you possibly be getting out of it at this point?

Shit ton of nostalgia, both for my childhood and old-school Lucas/filmmaking.

4. Are you sitting and watching it, or just running it in the background while you do other shit?

Both.

5. Can anything you once found special about the film still work for you?

Absolutely. Basically everything once they get to the Death Star still works like gangbusters. Even the SEs can't sully that half of the film. And, it goes without saying, but John Williams' score is Hall of Fame greatness.

1. What movie have you watched more than any other movie?
I'm guilty of gorging on, then dropping many films. The most viewed? It's a tie between Star Wars, The Right Stuff and John Carpenter's The Fog

2. How many times have you watched it?
Probably 40-50 times each

3. What can you possibly be getting out of it at this point?
With The Fog and Star Wars it's just comfort food: it's that with The Right Stuff too, but I always tend to focus on details in certain scenes that I missed before (The Nurse's glasses reflecting Gordo Cooper, making him look real small after he comes on to her, Gus and his wife fighting it out after her screws the pooch etc)

4. Are you sitting and watching it, or just running it in the background while you do other shit?
Most of the time I get right into the film: if I can't, I turn it off

5. Can anything you once found special about the film still work for you?

Yes: as mentioned above, there is so much intricate detail in The Right Stuff it just never gets old. It also works as an immersive experiecne that I can enjoy as satire, as patriotic inspiration, as drama, as SF etc etc.

The Fog is more a recent comfort food choice after I visited Point Reyes and walked where Adrianne Barbeau once walked (sigh) (The Lighthouse). Also the music, Dean Cundy, the cast and that damned creepy Fog! Also, Glowing Eyed Leper Tom Savini!

Star Wars is the cinematic equivalent of taking a 1970's TransAm out on a desert highway and just seeing how fast that sucker can go

This is why Bottin has retreated from the world.

1. What movie have you watched more than any other movie?
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

2. How many times have you watched it?
30, 40 tops.

3. What can you possibly be getting out of it at this point?
My favorite comedy of all time. That if you're a pretty good team, you'll be saving money already. That I went to a musical ice cream shop on vacation when I was 13 and instead of singing "Blueberry Hill" for my blueberry sundae, I sang "Three Coins in the Fountain" in the same tone-deaf voice Steve Martin sings in. I got booed at and wore a dunce cap. Apparently, another table started singing the theme from The Flintstones. It was the first and last movie I ever watched on my 19-inch RCA TV before I bought a flat-screen in 2007. Thanksgiving viewings of the film, either on the day of or before, is required.

4. Are you sitting and watching it, or just running it in the background while you do other shit?
Yeah, background movies that suck you in by their power sounds about right.

5. Can anything you once found special about the film still work for you?
I quote it regularly. It's still the only movie where I laugh my ass off like a nuclear holocaust was happening the next day, and then successfully pulls off the emotional aspects of the film. If the culmination of Neal and Del's motel argument or any time you hear Dream Academy come on or the last ten minutes alone doesn't bring your emotions out in the slightest (and this is coming from someone who literally tears up at the latter part), you don't know what comedy is. It's the best work of Martin, Candy, Hughes, and possibly Dylan Baker. Only John Hughes could have made shower curtain rings such a hot commodity and virtually cast Kevin Bacon as an extra. God bless this film.

Seconded. Perfect example is when I painted the living room and kitchen. Put the box set in and could visualize everything as it played in the background. Sad, I know.

Also..any James Bond flick - preferably the Connery and/or Moore years. I especially love the week long marathons around the holidays. Don't even really watch, just turn on the TV and glance over occasionally. Drives the wife crazy.

When I was a kid, STAR WARS. Think I was 3 or 4 when I first saw it during the re-release before EMPIRE.

Since the mid 90s, HEAT. I get immersed in it whenever I watch it. It's so perfectly realised - ok ,maybe apart from the Natalie Portman sub-plot - I don't get bored.

In the last decade - FELLOWSHIP or THE TWO TOWERS. For all the reasons stated above.