Appreciating movies
 

Lately when watching movies for the first time I have observed that I haven't been that fascinated with a lot of movies instantly after I've watched them for the first time. It is upon second viewing or a while after I have thought about the film that I realize that the films I have watched are really good. Anyone else experience this, or is it just me?

Such as when I watched Vertigo the first time I wasn't that impressed but when I rewatched particular scenes I appreciated it more.

Re: Appreciating movies
 

I give them one shot to impress me. They don't get a second look if they don't pass the first screening.

Re: Appreciating movies
 

Vertigo is not your average film or viewing experience. It seems to defy logic and has few likable characters. However, the photography and music are hypnotic. Vertigo is the kind of film which demands multiple viewings to "get into it", and then eventually you discover that the film is thematically-rich, not only in the way people behave in a relationship but how directors/scripters use their actors and how films use their viewers.

Appreciating film involves many different aspects, including age, education, location, etc. It's easier (in general) for an older person to appreciate an "older" film" because it doesn't seem old or "foreign" to them, and it's probably easier for most Americans to relate to American films more than those from other countries. However, watching movies is not an all-or-nothing proposition unless the viewer makes it so. When you watch films from another time, they should help you to understand that time and hopefullly show you (if you didn't know) that deep down people are still the same now as they ever were. The same thing goes with films from different countries and cultures. The pacing and superficial plotting may seem unusual, but they really demonstrate how close people are the world over.

Then again, some movies are made intentionally to be an alternative, almost offputting experience, so those are the ones you may have to decide the most about rewatching to decide if "it was you or the movie". Some people think "traditional" films are a bore and they need something different to appeal to them. I believe movies can be viewed as entertainment and art, and I actually believe the best ones are both.

Re: Appreciating movies
 

I think this is pretty common; I find even mediocre films often reward a second look. Being freed from trying to follow the events of the film and taking it all in the first time tends to reveal layers that weren't as evident the first time around.

Mainly, though, I think most of us can tell when there's something more to a film, even if it doesn't grab us right away. There are plenty of films I haven't loved at first, but which I could sense had a lot more to them than I was fully able to grasp. Hard to define, but I think you know it when you see it.

It makes sense, I think; even so-so movies have quite a bit of time and effort put into them. Even if they don't engage immediately, there's usually going to be something there that wasn't picked up on the first time. It can take a year to make a film, but only 2 hours to watch one, so it makes sense that there'd almost invariably be more you notice and like when you give a film another chance.

Re: Appreciating movies
 

Most films with the exception of maybe Gigli or From Justin To Kelly do deserve a second look. :)

Re: Appreciating movies
 

I first remember watching 'Without Limits', starring, Billy Crudup & Donald Sutherland, and not knowing this story from history. So, I was a little lost and thought of it as some hyped up American love story. After researching, I discovered what a great talent Prefontaine was, and to my shock, the Man who discovered Nike was his coach.

A fews years ago, whilst getting drunk with some Finish (Finland) blokes, we got chatting about the great middle distant runners of the 70's. Half had no idea what I was talking about, though a few were quite surprised an Aussie knew of their greatness. The only reason being, after I watched 'without limits' and researched, I've seen it a number of times. The story line runs pretty well true, for a Hollywood Movie, anyway.

Comedies are one of those genre's, when you're feeling like a bit of laugh, you'll give a Movie a second chance. On a few occasions a Saturday night Movie has come on the T.V. Even though when I first saw it on DVD, or the Movies I wasn't impressed, but, there's something to be said for....not much else is on, I'll watch it anyway. More often than not, I seem to not be so judgmental and just give the Movie a chance.

Sometimes you just aren't in the mood to appreciate a movie. I'll give a movie a second chance if that was the case

Re: Appreciating movies
 

There are also some movies that I have watched that I just don't understand at all at the end of them like Lost In Translation. Even though I disliked that film I had to give it a 2nd chance just to see if I was missing something. After the second time of not getting it I chalked it up to either myself being stupid or the movie plainly didn't make much sense.

Re: Appreciating movies
 

Lost in Translation is so great to me. It's an honest story, and a very funny movie IMO. Bill Murray standing two feet taller than everyone else in the elevator has me cracking up every time.

You know it may have been the time I watched it. I believe I was 13 or 14 years old and like I said a lot of that stuff just went completely over my head.

Re: Appreciating movies
 

I agree with this. And, stupidly, I sometimes watch movies even when I know I'm in this sort of mood. It's a little disconcerting how much your mood can change your opinion. It makes for some interesting situations, sometimes, when you see a movie for the second time and have a significantly different opinion of it than you did the first time. Though, at least in my case, that's usually because the second time I'm seeing it with a bit more perspective and/or age than I did the first time.

I wasn't that keen the first time I saw it either; mainly because it was billed as a comedy but there wasn't that much comedy in it (I did smile at the whiskey advert though). However when I rewatched it, I actually quite liked it and Murray and Johansson had good chemistry (which is what the film hinges on, really). It's a little like Brief Encounter but set in modern day Japan.

I mostly, but not always, appreciate a favorite film the first time I see it. Sometimes, I'll watch something again and it will be like a lightbulb goes on and all of a sudden I see what everyone is talking about. My friends and family all watch movies in the theater constantly, so I'm often pulled to the same movie more than once. That's pretty fun, as I can really pay attention to framing, pacing, and the like.

I think the place you are in life influences how you experience the film, definitely. I first saw Lost in Translation as a recent college grad who's big "life plan" was not working out so well, so I really connected with Scarlett Johansson's character. If I were a bit younger, I likely would have found it boring.

I either enjoy it or don't enjoy it the first time through. I don't believe in the concept that a viewer must watch a film multiple times in order to "get it." If that were actually the case, then the director has failed at his basic job of communicating with his audience.

As for Vertigo, I disliked it the first time I saw it--the whole plot depends on coincidence and happenstance. And everytime I see any of it, I dislike it more. Yeah, I know the rest of the world likes it. Fine with me. But it ain't my cuppa tea.

I'm not sure how someone can avoid believing in this on some level, except for the "must" part. Clearly, there are many complicated films that reward multiple viewings, and other films that may not have the same impact on a particular viewer the first time around as they do the second.

Heck, the mere fact that we grow as people changes things. There's lots of films I saw when I was 16 or 17 that I understood, but wasn't old enough to appreciate it until I'd experienced a few more things for myself. Aren't there any films you saw a bit before you were able to appreciate what they were saying? I ask this knowing full well that you were probably born grown-up. :D

I agree, but whether or not the director has failed to interest you the first time is unrelated to the possibility that there may, in fact, still be something worth seeing there.

If I don't like a movie, I generally don't watch it again. But if I liked it okay, I'll probably catch it on television or something a few weeks later. Then, it's usually upon that second viewing I realize how much I like it.

Re: Appreciating movies
 

One thing that really gives me a good sense that I have just appreciated a film is when I am walking out of the theater and I feel like I have spent my movie well.

see, this is what I think too and the passing of time, or really rites of passage you go through, then the more open you become to empathise with emotions.

Like when you're young you're dismissive of lovey-dovey stuff but once you've had your heart broken once the hurt all becomes plain. Once you've had kids those children in films who once seemed, well, just kids, become your kids and what if your kid got sick/lost/unhappy ..becomes unbearable. Then you get old and a vast vista of experiences to look back on and draw from. Yeah so people when you don't connect with a film, give it time!
(that was me blubbering in Toy Story 3 when it suddenly dawns on his mum tha Andy's leaving home :yup:)

Oooooh, being 16 I have a lot to look forward to in the future when I watch new films and even ones that I have viewed several times.

Good point, this applies to 90% of comedies I watched when I was younger. There wasn't really anything my mum restricted me from watching when I was younger, but I re-watch some of those movie and think "I mustn't have been able to understand that back then", at-least I hope not. lol