Great Movies You Can Only Watch Once

[golfnut]

The Exorcist. Wasn't a great movie but saw it when it first came out. Bothered me big time. Must have been the inner Roman Catholic in me.

 

[MRG]

The Exorcist. Wasn't a great movie but saw it when it first came out. Bothered me big time. Must have been the inner Roman Catholic in me.

Bothered me in the 70s. We watched it a couple years ago and it was laughable.

 

[Koolau]

I actually find I enjoy watching older movies over and over rather than "trying" new ones. Most newer movies (last 15 years) just leave me cold. I find very little connection to most current characters. I'm sure it's an age/era thing. Every once in a while, a movie surprises me such as UP IN THE AIR (I could identify with the main character though that made me uncomfortable AND my life bears no resemblance to his.) YMMV

 

[Sojourner]

Schindler's List.

+1

This is the film that immediately came to mind when I saw the thread title. A great movie that is so heartbreaking, you really don't want to re-experience it.

And since it's been mentioned a number of times, I had to chime in about The Sixth Sense. So many people seem to love that movie, but I'm definitely not one of them. I thought the gimmick / big reveal seemed utterly contrived and phony. One of the most overrated movies of the '90s, IMHO. Most of Shyamalan's films are just as bad, if not worse.

 

[ownyourfuture]

Million Dollar Baby
It's a great movie, but every time I've tried to watch it again, as soon as it gets close to the point where Hilary Swank gets hurt, I have to turn it off.

Just too depressing

 

[Mdlerth]

I actually find I enjoy watching older movies over and over rather than "trying" new ones. Most newer movies (last 15 years) just leave me cold. I find very little connection to most current characters. I'm sure it's an age/era thing.

+1

I find very little to enjoy about most recent movies because most of the characters - even the protagonists - are unrelatable. But I'm not sure it's an age thing. I suspect it's because most movie makers live in an insular world, where bizarre behaviors are common. And I'm not just talking about big shot Hollywood celebs. I have worked on amateur independent films and met a number of indy directors, writers and actors. Trust me, there are some strange folks out there!

 

[Skoach]

Schindler's List.

+1, a must see but no way I can bring myself to watch again. I was depressed for days after seeing it.

 

[Major Tom]

Almost all of them.

Me too. I enjoy watching films, but am by no means a movie buff. Once is enough for me.

 

[Scrapr]

Silence of the Lamb. I was half watching it. Then I went home and bought the book to read it because I missed half of the plot. When it became too scary, I just fold the book. Easy Peasy. That's how I got through the book.

or as we call it on my side of our home

SCARIEST MOVIE EVER!!!!

I am literally squirming in my seat the whole time. Mrs has made me watch it a couple times

all other scary movies are in comparison to Silence. As in scarier than Silence? Yes? Then Scrapr cannot watch. (I'm a sissy)

 

[braumeister]

Like others, most movies are once only for me.

But I could watch Blazing Saddles or The Usual Suspects over and over.

 

[MuirWannabe]

"A Boy and his Dog". I guess you could watch it again but you're a pervert if you do.[emoji16]

Well, that confirms it. Hi. My name is MuirWannabe and I'm a pervert. I love that movie. Seen it 3 or 4 times. Love how he chooses the dog at the end.

 

[MRG]

Well, that confirms it. Hi. My name is MuirWannabe and I'm a pervert. I love that movie. Seen it 3 or 4 times. Love how he chooses the dog at the end.

I think there are different releases of the movie. Some are more PG and others NC-17. I guess since I've seen it multiple times I'm a perv too.

Don Johnson choosing the dog is great and one of the best scenes in that genre.

 

[JoeWras]

Conversely, I watched Momento a second time just because I felt like I had missed so much of the plot trying to figure out what was really happening the first time around. Interesting movie!

Great movie. I did watch it again, but in a different order. Watch all the black and white, then the color in reverse order to see the story conventionally. It is still a good movie, just much more boring and a lot more understandable.

 

[Koolau]

A movie i'm ashamed to like is "Body Double." It's not because its all that raunchy - though it has some moments. No, it's because it's full of plot holes and implausibilities. Oh, another one is "Pay Back" with Mel Gibson, though if you can find a copy of "Point Blank" you can see where it came from - not certain which is best though I seem to identify with Mel more than Lee Marvin (But Angie Dickinson is utterly stunning in the film.) YMMV

 

[Bestwifeever]

Sophie's Choice. And Titanic.

 

[like2]

Seven.
The scene where the box is delivered to Brad Pitt.
Never want to see that again, ever.

 

[Sunset]

I pretty much never watch the great movies again, as I know and remember them.

I did watch 6th Sense again, and it was enjoyable even knowing the end.
It is NOT a scary movie, maybe a bit creepy at times, and raise the hair on the back of the neck, but totally GREAT.

But lousy forgettable movies, I've watched more than once, and right near the end, I'm telling DW "haven't we seen this before ?" another wasted rental

 

[Midpack]

But lousy forgettable movies, I've watched more than once, and right near the end, I'm telling DW "haven't we seen this before ?" another wasted rental

DW wants to rent, or starts watching a movie we've already seen sometimes - kinda funny. Sometimes she remembers as soon as they start, sometimes she'll get way in before she recalls. I haven't done that yet, but probably just a matter of time. But then DW even enjoys TV reruns, I think she's seen every episode of The Big Bang Theory twenty times, and will rewatch any movie she likes indefinitely. I go do something else when she watches reruns. I rarely want to see many shows/movies more than once.

 

[Koogie]

Not a movie but a tv show. Game of Thrones.

One scene where a man loses a duel and he is decapitated by the other man, who uses his bare hands to do it.

Another scene where a young girl is sacrificed by being burned alive.

I love GoT and these scenes were well written, well acted and well filmed. But I won't ever watch them again.

 

[John Galt III]

I'd watch some of the Greta Garbo films twice. But then I have a thing for her, and for that style of movie. AMerican Beauty I loved, but I don't want to see it again. I identified with the main character. And there was something about the cinematography that was just "right". Can't explain it. I loved Pulp Fiction, and I saw that twice. Taxi Driver. Saw it 3 times. The great movies have a cinematic feel or Gestalt, if I may, that isn't really definable, it's just there. Or maybe it's just a combo of good acting, casting, story, directing, and all the rest. Probably a boatload of other movies I'd see twice, but I can't think of them right now.

 

[Newventurer]

Blackhawk Down - exhausting, like they fit three action thrillers into one movie

Saving Private Ryan - just gross, and likely not as bad as the real thing even. Makes you appreciate the sacrifice of those that died and even more so of what those that lived have to deal with every day

Any of the Saw movies - nightmare producing

 

[John Galt III]

Manchester by the Sea - well acted, well written, but wish I had those two hours of my life back, however. Loved rewatching The Sixth Sense.

I had high hopes for Manch, but I guess I just didn't get it, plus I found Affleck's acting to be dull, and the whole movie just depressing and way overrated. But hey I'm sure lots of folks get it and enjoyed it, and I acknowledge that. I saw 6th Sense and thought it was just your average scary ghost movie.

 

[ERD50]

For example, The Sixth Sense, one of the best movies I've ever seen. But once you know how it ends, it's just not the same, completely spoils the experience compared to the first time. ...

I (surprise!) totally disagree with you on not watching 6th Sense a second time (but agree it is a great movie)!

I started multi-quoting all the people that agreed with me, but the list got so long, there's no point, it's obvious. I'm not a movie fan, can rarely sit through a movie, but the twist in 6th Sense had me captivated. I realized, I watched an entire movie from the "wrong" view point, which made we want to watch it again, so I could put it all together from the 'correct viewpoint. It was like watching two different movies. DW had it on DVD, so that's exactly what I did, that night! And the next day I watched it again, with the comments, and I think one more time.

Loved that movie!

I guess I don't think of SIXTH SENSE as particularly "scary." Plenty of goose bumps and the ending is way cool. There are only a couple of "gotcha" scenes (where something "jumps out" at you or otherwise startles you.) It's no slasher movie but more in the vein of Psycho. You can really identify with all of the characters and there are only a couple of actual bad people in the whole thing. I really liked it because Bruce Willis was playing against type. Could be his best. ...

Agreed.

A movie i'm ashamed to like is "Body Double." It's not because its all that raunchy - though it has some moments. No, it's because it's full of plot holes and implausibilities. ...

I also thought that was a great movie, the 'raunchiness' just sort of made it unique as it still had all those high level twists/turns, sort of cognitive dissonance. BTW, the plot is from Hitchcock's "Vertigo" - watch that and you'll see the similarity. wiki also says: "The film was a direct homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, specifically Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958), taking plot lines and themes (such as voyeurism and obsession) from both of them."

I can watch "Groundhog Day" over and over again. Ironic, no? But it's true. You gotta love the insurance salesman. And it was filmed near where I grew up, so I recognize a lot of the background scenes, which looked much the same back then as now (The 'Square' in Woodstock, IL).

-ERD50

 

[Maenad]

We just watched Arrival a couple of weeks ago. The end just hit us both like a ton of bricks. Very very good, but yeah, don't think I can watch that one again.

 

[Fedup]

I have not watched Sixth Sense nor Schindler's list but maybe one day when I get off my lazy butt.