Why Do You Rewatch Movies?

I think it's very very difficult (sorry to go all George Gaynes but you take my point) to pin down the reason why we can watch certain films so much beyond their obvious merits. All I can say is that in the case of my favourite film Münchhausen and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen there's an emotional connection and an affinity for me. Something like Alien is much more about appreciating the technical filmmaking achievements of the people involved.

I like watching a movie the first time for enjoyment. I might watch it again to share it with someone or to just enjoy it again. There are some movies like Momento, Lost Highway, Sixth Sense that need to be watched twice because you need to see the whole before you can decipher it's parts. I've always heard that one sign of a good movie is if it can be viewed and enjoyed multiple times. Why buy a dvd if you are only going to watch it once?

Miyazaki movies are infinitely rewatchable because they are not plot driven or at least their main value is the pure cinematic experience they provide. This experience is the reason why I rewatch them: they are like visual music that I experience like listening to an album several times. I appreciate the art, direction and soundtrack, the whole atmosphere created by the majesty of sound and color generated by those films.

Other movies are not rewatchable in general. Movies that are just a story/narrative are not that rewatchable and this includes 99% of the movies. Other highly rewatchable movies include 2001 and Tarkovsky's The Mirror.

So many reasons. Maybe I felt like I didn't "get" everything the movie was trying to do the first time around, maybe I saw it with a rough crowd in a theater and want to enjoy it in peace. A big reason is my mood can often be effected by film, so theres many that I will return to, to see if the film is still capable of making me feel a certain way. Then of course theres all the big, rich films that are so soaked in detail that they practically demand multiple viewings, like Synecdoche New York or 8 1/2. It should never feel like a chore, and there are many films I can throw in the "one and done" bank and feel fine about it.

Watching something again and again seems like it would make entertainment lose its initial appeal. But psychologists have found that repetition breeds affection.

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I'm a Bollywood-loving guy

I can believe it. I know when I watch something once... it might be A TERRIFIC MOVIE. Deserving of many rewatches.

But if I end up not rewatching it... it loses the appeal.

I rewatch movies because I like them. As simple as that. I don't need any other reason.

I would never do that. I don't see the point when cinema tickets are so high.

I really wanted to reply to this thread since I think it's a great question to ask, which furthermore leads up to some hopefully great discussion as well. But I wanted to give a proper answer, so I waited until I had the time. Anyways, I always said rewatching movies is essential and here are some of the basics why...

Well of course, I rewatch movies for a variety of reasons, though my most used one, at this time and with my current love for cinema, is because of wanting to either give a respected film another chance, in the hope of noticing something more, something else, or simply to examine the movie further if it already paid off in one way or another with my first watch.

Then of course there's the sheer pleasure of revisiting something you loved. It's like with anything else in life: a good restuarant, a good holiday destination, a good ice cream from the local supermarket - and the latter can even be used together with a revisit of a good movie! But seriously, movies are fun and interesting to study, but often they are simply just good entertainment, whether surfaced or interlectual, and we love to experience that kind of entertainment over and over again, like going for a 2nd or 3rd ride in your favorite rollercoaster. There's joy to be had when revisiting movies you love, whether you love revisiting the characters, hearing lines you remember and can repeat over and over again, feel the excitement of an energic action scene or the strong feelings of an emotional scene. Sometimes you even love the movie so much it can be an annual thing, like a holiday film or something.

And sometimes it's not that you just like it, but you also see yourself in it. It's personal to you in one way or another, like the movie was made for you... To you... That's also a good reason to revisit a film.

So yeah, rewatching movies can be a lot of things, but when boiled down, you could basically say that you revisit films because you like them and what's in them or because you want to find out for sure if you like them and what's in them... But it's a lot about reliving moments, whether it's for pure pleasure or for wanting to look closer to a film you couldn't grasp the first time or just didn't understand (completely). Sometimes you are also simply curious, because you can't remember the film sincd it has been so long... "How was it?" "Do I still like it?" "What was that thing where..." You get the point.

Rewatching movies is essential, whether for one reason or another.

The obvious reason to rewatch a film is I really like it. Whether the reason is for the love of the art, the story, or just the fun of it.

Some movies I rewatch because I really like the way the movie makes me feel or I connect with it in some way. These are going to be movies like Taxi Driver and Blade Runner. These are films I really like and they give me a special feeling. That feeling where I am completely engulfed in the film. Both in terms of visual style, subject matter, music, the whole damn package. Generally will rewatch a film like this at least once a year.

Other films I rewatch because they do something REALLY well. I have rewatched some great movies because of the excellent action like Mad Max: Fury Road, The Avengers, or Terminator 2. Some films I rewatch for nostalgic reasons like most Spielberg movies; particularly Jaws, the Indiana Jones movies, or Jurassic Park. Same with old Disney movies I watched. Other films make me laugh a lot. I have rewatched the filmography's of Kevin Smith and Mel Brooks multiple times. Some movies I rewatch because I truly appreciate the art. These will be more visual films rather then just films driven by story, plot, or narrative. Films like those by Tarkovsky, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or most recently The Revenant.

Other movies I rewatch because they just are really fun and rewatchable. The Boondock Saints is a movie I can rewatch anytime and still love. I can go to a Rocky Horror screening and have a blast with it's call backs and audience participation. Others I just find rewatching just because like with Heavy Metal, Pink Flamingos, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the original Mad Max, and Tusk.

Then sometimes I rewatch a film because I need to. Certain films require multiple rewatches to fully appreciate. I did it with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Dr Strangelove, and with Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive. I need to do it with the rest of Lynch's movies eventually. Particularly Lost Highway.

Others just put a smile on my face when I watch it like with Flash Gordon and my ultimate guilty pleasure Rock of Ages.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

My main reason to rewatch a movie is to discover details I didn't catch the first time I saw the movie. It could be everything from plot details to camera movement. My secondary reason is to relive and re-experience the movie again. I want to feel what I felt the first time I saw it.

I don't rewatch movies that much anymore, but when I do it's because it's a movie I like so much that I want to relive the experience. Also there has been times where I will like a movie even more on a rewatch. Full Metal Jacket didn't become a top 10 for me til a good 12 years after watching it the first time. So yeah in that case another good reason is revisiting films that I've seen long ago and have forgotten a lot of it.

In the case of whyI'd like to watch a movie over and over again—it's an answer that a few people have already said. It's because it injects a feeling into me that barely any other movie does. For me I like being completely immersed into an epic world (LOTR) or immersed in a fun yet laid-back type of movie (Office Space).

A lot of times I will finish watching a movie and going over it in my mind and several times something will pop into my head that I wandered how that could happen and sometimes the only way to get the answer is by a re-watch because if I don't get the answer, I will not sleep. Sometimes there are particular scenes that I enjoyed so much, that I will re-watch just to see those scenes again.

People that watch a movie multiple time often have an emotional connection to the movie.

i think we watch movies over and over again is because we like them and feel inspired by them.

I almost never rewatch movies.