Can you rewatch movies?

[Midpack]

What we've noticed is that we will start watching a movie we think we have never seen before, and about 15 minutes into it, realize we've seen it before... but we cannot predict the next few scenes, sometimes we do know the ending but the middle part is a blank. So we still enjoy it.

We joke that should we both get alzheimer's really bad, we can just buy 5 movies and watch them repeatedly to the end.

+1. We've realized we're watching a movie we've already seen about 15 minutes in, but we remember and stop, as far as we know. Then again, we'll never know for sure - which speaks to your second observation.

 

[Music Lover]

I can't do it...I watch a movie once and that's it.

I once told someone that I originally saw Star Wars at a movie theatre when it first came out and have never seen it since, and have no interest in seeing it again. They didn't believe me...

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

If they pop up on TV and I'm bored, I'll rewatch some of my favorites like: "Saving Private Ryan", "Good Fellas", "Pulp Fiction", "2 Lane Blacktop", and "Barfly" (the last two I always have to watch by myself because I've never ever found anyone who liked them!). Because I have real bad tinnitus, I leave the T.V. on when I'm sleeping, so I can wake up for the middle-of-the-night whiz and something will be on I've seen before, so I'll watch it until I fall back asleep.

 

[Lucantes]

Absolutely, and it is easy for me. If I really like the movie or show I can watch them over and over again with periods of time in-between of course.
More so for movies than shows, but if they make my grade they will probably get watched more than once.
Very good ones in the Sci-Fi or Fantasy genre I can, and have, watched many many times.
I enjoy watching movies and shows, so I watch a fair amount. Sometimes I will just have it on in the background and only pay close attention at certain points that I really like.

 

[Texas Proud]

My answer is that I usually do not.... but there are a few classics that I will watch after a few years of not watching, such as Clint Eastwood....


Now, when I was young, a friend and I used to watch Star Trek and we watched so often we could say which show it was in 15 or so seconds... sometimes it only took a few...

Today, there are so many more options that I really do not want to watch again.... however, my gym has a movie room and I usually go in there and watch 45 minutes of whatever movie they are showing... some are really bad and I go back to the real gym, but some I just use to take my mind off the tread mill...

 

[unclemick]

Yes.

heh heh heh - Too many to list. I try not to memorize the lines though.

Other than 'play it Sam or you'll put your eye out'.

 

[EastWest Gal]

My answer is that I usually do not.... but there are a few classics that I will watch after a few years of not watching, such as Clint Eastwood....


Now, when I was young, a friend and I used to watch Star Trek and we watched so often we could say which show it was in 15 or so seconds... sometimes it only took a few...

Today, there are so many more options that I really do not want to watch again.... however, my gym has a movie room and I usually go in there and watch 45 minutes of whatever movie they are showing... some are really bad and I go back to the real gym, but some I just use to take my mind off the tread mill...

Star Trek played at 6PM every night for years and years. Watched them all over and over again with my family at and after dinner as a teenager in the 70s. It turns out so did DH and his family. We both know the whole series.

I can watch anything over and over.

A lot of it is the music, the acting, etc. Same with music. The more I listen to a piece, the more I appreciate the nuances, the more the best parts get stuck in my head.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[DrRoy]

For me it depends a lot on the movie, but there are many that I can enjoy repeatedly. A partial list includes;

Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Lord of the Rings
A Bridge Too Far
The Music Man
The Matrix

I'm sure there are more, those are just the first ones that come to mind.

 

[donheff]

I tend not to rewatch truly exceptional movies despite loving them the first time around. I tend to get the intended experience the first time thru but not after. On the other hand, I can watch action thrillers again and again. I even enjoy them as background while reading. Maybe it is because I know what is coming, kind of like a catchy tune. Some comedies are like this as well (e.g. Animal House cited above).

 

[Aerides]

I can watch Devil Wears Prada on loop if need be.

Out of Africa, every few years, still weep at the same point every time lol!

 

[calmloki]

Blazing Saddles, Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Oh Brother Where art Thou?, Tampopo (off the beaten path, but wonderful), Kung Fu Hustle - you know, the deep and meaningful stuff.

Wow. How did I manage to answer this thread from the distant past!

 

[ERD50]

DW can watch most movies, all genres, over and over (or TV reruns for that matter). There are very few movies or TV shows I care to watch again. The only exception for me is some 'non-fiction' or how to/DIY shows.

For example, The Sixth Sense [-]is[/-] was one of my favorite movies. It came on again a while back, and just minutes into it I realized I couldn't watch it again knowing how it plays out - it's a one time experience. ...

That's an interesting example. I watch very few movies (DW will watch just about anything), most just aren't worth me sitting there for over an hour, that's just me.

But I actually watched The Sixth Sense three times in two days. The twist ending caught me totally by surprise, and then I realize I had watched this movie under a totally false viewpoint, and I just couldn't imagine that they could pull that off. So I immediately re-watched it, just to appreciate how those scenes fooled me into seeing something I really didn't see. I consider it a masterpiece in that regard.

Then I watched it, and the director comments the next day. Not sure I could watch it again though. ...

I didn't realize this thread was 8 years old - and my comment above still stands, and I recently re-watched it. I do feel it is a masterpiece in its own way. And watching again, I found some connections that I missed. On a re-watch, knowing how it ends allows me to appreciate how they developed it.

It's like learning how a really well done magic trick is performed. Some say it spoils it for them, but for me, it makes me appreciate the skill it takes to pull it off. And even if it seems simple once you learn the trick, I can still appreciate that they fooled me.

 

[disneysteve]

I didn't vote because it really depends on the movie. There are plenty of movies that I will watch any time I catch them on TV. The Harry Potter series, Indiana Jones series, most of the Marvel movies, most of the Pixar movies, any Mel Brooks movies, etc. And I don't care where I come in or how long I watch for because I've seen them all numerous times. But there are also plenty that I won't do that with.

 

[motley]

It can be fun to watch a movie like Sixth Sense or Fight Club knowing the end. Other good movies and shows without suspenseful endings are probably even easier to watch.

Funny, to me that's exactly why I wouldn't want to see it again, i.e. movies where a big part of the appeal was the reveal or big twist near the end.

Mostly I'm not into watching movies again, but sometimes I can, like if it's a movie I really liked and I haven't seen it in a long time, and esp if there are parts I don't remember. It's very rare for me to want to watch something more than twice though. And I really can't explain why I would want to watch this movie again vs another that I enjoyed just as much (other than the plot thing I explained above).

And there are movies I would never watch again because they are too dark/depressing, like Schindler's List. Great movie, glad I saw it. Zero interest in ever seeing it again.

 

[street]

I have a hard time watching any tv, so I voted for the first option.

 

[motley]

There are a few that were really enjoyable to rewatch a few years later: the Illusionist, Like Water for Chocolate, the other chocolate one - that might just have been called Chocolate.

This? Chocolat (2000) 7.2 | Drama, Romance

 

[Lewis Clark]

I can rewatch movies and tv shows (and reread books, and rewatch stage plays) if I enjoyed them.

I've seen the musical "Come From Away" five times, including three times this year. My all-time favorite show and by a wide margin.

 

[FlaGator]

Like Lazarus, another topic rises from the dead......but I missed it the first time, and it's a good one, so I'll jump in

Agree on frustration having the TV on for the visual filler. The ex liked to do that, and that's when I developed my "working in the garage" habit

As for TV, I'm up for a well-written series any time. Cheers, Frazier, Twilight Zone, happy to roll through them every few years.

As for movies there are many I'll gladly watch every year or two, or even more often - Mary Poppins, Toy Story 2, Pythons, Mel Brooks, North by Northwest, Bogart. Generally lighter stuff with details that are easy to miss so re-watching isn't tedious.

 

[MichealKnight]

DW can watch most movies, all genres, over and over (or TV reruns for that matter). There are very few movies or TV shows I care to watch again. The only exception for me is some 'non-fiction' or how to/DIY shows.

For example, The Sixth Sense [-]is[/-] was one of my favorite movies. It came on again a while back, and just minutes into it I realized I couldn't watch it again knowing how it plays out - it's a one time experience.

Just trying to decide who is weirder, me or DW (answer: both of us ). Probably stems from her tendency to want the TV on, where I don't - the less TV the better to me (mostly escape/waste of time). When she watches reruns, I leave and easily find something better to do.

I organized my sock drawer for the first time in my life last week, so I know I am weird & retired...

YES 100%. With a few exceptions, I feel the modern stuff isn't for me. The stuff I was and am used to I feel the humor was better, music wonderful in some cases, the heritage and history and feelings and themes were more to my liking. There were no scenes with people wagging fingers aggressively and swaying their head right to left to right to left.while talking. Let's see in the past week:

DW and I do MASH episodes at night. Family Ties and Growing Pains. We watched Midnight Run (80's movie) yesterday. Re-watching "24" with DD who is a first timer for it. This morning I did 2 Leave it to Beaver episodes and soon I'll do a Head of the Class or two. Some form of a Star Wars movie is on most nights for me and kids. Also doing West Wing with DD. In the next few weeks I'll be watching Shawshank, Karate Kid, Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller - all which I can quote to 95% perfection.

Plan to see Back to the Future 2 in the theater next month - it'll be out for 1 or 2 nights and of course, KnightRider episodes are a weekly thing for me.

One treat: I was a bit too young in the 80's to enjoy Cheers. So we're watching episodes of that a few times a week and I'm loving it.

 

[DrRoy]

There are lots of movies that I can enjoy many times. Lord of the Rings is a good example. Also Last of the Mohicans. It would be a long list.

 

[Amethyst]

There are plenty of movies whose endings I cannot recall after a few years.

There are other movies whose cinematography, or animation, are so wonderful that I'll re- watch them just for visual pleasure.

 

[Amethyst]

Plan to see Back to the Future 2 in the theater next month - it'll be out for 1 or 2 nights and of course, KnightRider episodes are a weekly thing for me.

Saw BTTF at the Kennedy Center and loved it. It wasn't BTTF 2, though - it was the original story. I was very pleased with how it's been adapted for the stage - especially the climactic scene. Even though I knew perfectly well how it all turns out, it was still anxiety-inducing.

 

[old medic]

I have a collection of movies I put on all the time when I cant sleep. Ill move to the couch and put one on and usually nap some. Helps distract my brain.

 

[jollystomper]

If years have passed, I can watch a movie or TV series again and still enjoy it. I tend to look for things I missed the first time I watched it. In college the film organizations would sometimes run movies that I had seen before, but I would still go to them, as I enjoyed the movie and it was a common social event.

Does watching some again that has been "repackaged" count? For example, one of our kids gave me F"The Godfather: The Francis Ford Coppola Restoration" DVD set a several years back. I have seen the Godfather movies multiple times, but not for at least 10-15 years. But this DVD set promises directors cut, remastered, digital sound, supplemental material, etc. Will watching this count as rewatching the original, or something else?

DW grew up with much less movie and TV exposure than I did, so sometimes I will rewatch something with her that she had not seen but has since heard about - either the movie, or the actors/actresses, or the situation the movie was based on - and was curious. I enjoy that.

 

[calmloki]

Had to watch Tampopo again last night. Most of the movies I've seen were watched on television, and years ago. Discovered that, as with Slapshot, re-watching them on TV now is a whole new deal as far as dialogue and visuals go. For me, Slapshot wasn't improved with Newman swearing, while Tampopo was able to really expand on the experience of the sensuality of food. What a treat of a movie!