Rewatching Movies

Obviously, it depends on the film and whether it's in theatres or on video. This year I caught Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim three times each on the big screen, while at home Space Truckers gets a spin periodically.

I put twice a year, because generally if it's on my own I could watch a movie I love maybe once every year, but if it involves introducing someone new to a film and seeing it through his eyes I can do it like every month.

Yay, I'm an example!

I should add that rewatching a movie in theaters and rewatching one on video is slightly different because with the theatrical release, I'm also trying to capture the thrill of watching a good film with a receptive audience.

With home viewing, I'm one of those assholes that often watch "the good parts" version of movies. I skip around. So while a disc may get a lot of play from me, I won't have necessarily sat through it in full. I often save those for watching it with people.

Theatrically is a different story than a dvd. The last two Bond films got a couple theatrical viewings from me, because it had been a while since I gave a crap about Bond movies in theaters. New dvd discoveries will get two or three visits in a month if I really liked them. I watch favorites off my shelf maybe once every 1-2 years or so.

AAHHH HA HA HA HA HAA!

It's funny cause he does that with Ghostbusters.

You know... that one movie he loves.

Once something makes its way into my 'comfort movie' zone I can rewatch it whenever, though not usually more than once a year. Most films that strike me as good or interesting or compelling I'll give at least a second viewing, usually several months later, just so I can more fully process it. Other than that I'm not really a prolific movie re-watcher. Given the choice I'll usually go for something new over something I already feel pretty familiar with.

I'm with you. I have a list of films I want to watch that is over 1000 entries long. I'll never get through them all so I try not to watch something that is still in my memory (which is about five or six years, any more and it gets fuzzy).
But there are always times where I see a film with one group of friends and see it again with another group not too long after.

It's just foreign to me to feel compelled to watch the same thing over and over. More than twice in the same year and I get a bit bored.

I picked twice a year, but it's really like once or twice, depending on the movie.

Also, like mcnooj, I often skip around to the "good parts," preferring to watch all of a beloved film at greater intervals or with someone who hasn't seen it...

...which dovetails with the point that I can watch things more frequently with someone who hasn't seen it. There's something really cool about sharing great or fun (as in fun to watch with friends) films with folks who haven't experienced them.

For some examples....I watch The Fountain about once every 18 months to 2 years. Dark Knight - once or twice a year. Gladiator - maybe every couple of years. Casablanca - once a year.

But there are a LOT of films I watch piecemeal - or I put them in with the commentary track going, and sort of putter near the TV, listening and half-watching, as I'm doing other things.

I don't really have a rule on the matter. I have a handful of favourites that usually get a yearly rewatch (I'm thinking of The Thing, The Mist, Escape From NY, They Live etc.), and generally try to put some distance between each viewing of a film to make it matter, so to speak. Theatrical releases that particularly strike me also tend to get an immediate revisit as soon as they hit home video.

One thing that I basically never do is to go back to the theatre multiple times for a film, but that's mainly because 99,9% of the cinemas around here only show dubbed prints, not to mention the fact that nobody gives two shits about crowd behaviour. Going to the theatre is an act of masochism for me, so I suffer through a showing only when I'm desperate to catch a movie.

I made a notable exception for Inception after finding a shitty little theatre that somehow managed to snag an english language print. Went back three times.

Totally depends on the movie. Also, I think I'm growing out of obsessive rewatching. When I was in highschool I went through a phase for about six months, maybe longer, of watching all three Matrix films twice a weekend. I liked em and I didn't have anything else going on in my life! Now I buy a lot more DVDs than I used to, and have more of a social life, so I try not to stick to old favourites as much.

There are movies I could probably watch daily though, if I didn't have anything else to do. Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, The Matrix (not so much the sequels any more!) are all massive favourites I just don't get sick of. Watchmen, I would watch a lot more often if it wasn't so long (I have the ultimate edition so it's a big commitment sitting down to watch it haha). Not saying these are the best films I own necessarily (hint: don't tear me to pieces over this post, please), they're just films I love that make me super happy.

Depends on the film. I have a couple of comfort food movies I can throw in any time (The Blues Brothers, The Untouchables, The Departed, Blazing Saddles), and series I'll run through annually (Star Wars, LOTR, Matrix). Any time a new Harry Potter's happened, that series gets a run too, and this week will be no different. Multiple theatrical viewings depends on the film, and it's still a rarity, though this year's been an exception (Went to see Kick Ass, Scott Pilgrim, and Inception three times each under different circumstances).

Everything else? Varies. Though distance is usually the order of the day. Most circumstances, I usually won't even think about another viewing of a film for a month, minimum, less there's commentary or some such feature enabled.

I picked once a year, there are so many movies I have yet to see that I couldn't justfy anything else.

Hell even when I was off work for 6 months I found enough new material to keep me occupied without resorting to re-watching my favorates over and over again.

It really depends on the year and the situation. I would say in terms of pulling a DVD out and throwing it on I'm probably on the once a year plan but I'll also watch bits and pieces of movies I love if they are on TV and nothing else is. Like Die Hard is a movie I usually pull out during Christmas time but if it's on TV in the middle of May and there's nothing else on I'll stare at it for a little bit. That's not to say I'm actively watching it or planned it out ahead of time it's just the circumstance. A better recent example is when Dark Knight was on HBO so prominently this year. I've watched more of that movie on cable than I have on the DVD which I think I've pulled out once.

I definitely went through a period when I was younger where I would keep rewatching the same movie over and over again but the thing I've come to notice is that the movies I did that with back then are the movies I have no interest in watching anymore. High school me would have probably watched In Bruges a dozen times since it came out just because I enjoy it so much. Adult me knows to just wait and enjoy every viewing a lot more.

Ah, the Marshall Gambit, wherein an interesting topic is quickly followed by an unnecessary, and one would even say retarded, personal attack.

Forget it, Rath, it's Spike.

Those were attacks?

Also, for fun: http://chud.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119098

I voted for other. There are certain films I've seen hundreds of times, certain scenes I've seen more than that

JFK I've seen, all the way through, at least 150 times in my life. That is not an exageration

Alexander I must have seen at least 90 times by now, and have rewatched certain stretches of the movie more than that

Which is it?

I honestly don't know. I've been watching RAIDERS steadily since I was 5, but stopped watching for several years when my old VHS tape copy broke

JFK I've seen regularly since I was 11, and many many times since I bought the DVD in HS

I have to estimate the number of times I've seen these movies since I don't keep a log, though looking at my old post 50 times seems very low for RAIDERS. I think I've seen JFK more than RAIDERS as well

It's probably closer to 75, all the way through

Truly interested: JFK? What is it about JFK that gets so many viewings?

I'm not seeing an attack either.

I think he's referring ot the Greg Clark thing? Though that doesn't read like an attack to me.

I don't feel attacked, but I do think I feel like I've been adverb'd. Gay Perry would be proud.

(And does this make me feel good? Yes. Not as good as bustin', though.)

I said once a year. That really only apples to films that are over a year old, though. If it's new and I'm totally digging it (like 'Kick-Ass'), I'll sometimes see it multiple times in the theater and/or on DVD.

I've got a stack of favorites that for whatever reason I end up watching every few months or so, it adds up to be about 3-4 times each a year:

The Royal Tenenbaums
Annie Hall
I Heart Huckabees
Singin' in the Rain
Almost Famous

The comparison has already been made, but I'll repeat it: It's comfort food. These movies are cinematic versions of a nice, big homecooked meal that makes me feel all nice and fuzzy inside.

There was a time of my life where I watched Singin' in the Rain at least twice a week.

CONFESSION: In fifth grade my best friend and I would watch Bio-Dome every day after school. That lasted about two months.

Having trouble seeing I Heart Huckabees as "comfort food", though...

It's a movie whose bubbly energy always leaves me feeling elevated. I know not everyone feels the same way I do about the film, but for me it's really infectious with its goofy energy.

Whoa... leave me outta this. I didn't get shit. From shit.

Got it?

Spike, stop attacking Jared.

Well, it's well acted, fascinating, and probably the best edited film of all time. Stone manages to keep a live wire energy of paranoia and fear alive throughout the 3+ hour run time that is taken up mostly with dialog scenes, and it's a feat nearly unmatched in all of cinema history

I can watch certain scenes or sequences (like the entire 45 minute long trial) over and over again and never get sick of them. Same goes for NIXON, though I've seen it less often. The way Stone plays with film stock ETC just blows my mind. It's a film I like to put on the the background while I do other stuff, or especially while eating. I like films that are dialog heavy for eating, since I can look at my food and not feel like I'm missing anything. JFK fits the bill nicely, but is also enormously exciting and gripping

PS I love when Costner breaks the fourth wall and looks at the audience. It's like Stone is saying "Just in case my point wasn't clear, this isn't ancient history. I'm talking to you, now get off your ass!"


"It's up to you"

Everybody's so damn mean up in here!

Also, agree on rewatching TV. I can put Seinfeld Season 1 on a loop and NEVER get bored.

I voted "other" cause the only thing ever keeping me from rewatching a movie is my mood. If I'm in the mood to watch Blade Runner three times a day you bet your ass I'm gonna do it. Other times I'll get a hankering to watch something I haven't seen or thought about in years like Guyver: Dark Hero. It's all relative to me.

It all depends on the movie, I could probably only watch The Godfather or The Departed once or twice a year max but I could watch Annie Hall or Mean Streets or Boogie Nights  every 2 to 3 weeks and not get bored. I usually try to give a 1st view a 3-4 month breather before a rewatch.