Why Do You Rewatch Movies?

You know how I've mercilessly teased The Rodent about rewatching Young Guns 24/7/365 days a year?

It's the subject of this thread (sort of - this thread isn't about Rodent and Young Guns - but it can be!)

Why Do You Rewatch Movies?

Why?

Why?

Think about it -- what's the point of even needing to rewatch a movie even once more? What is really the point?!

Yet most of us do it, don't we? With movies we like. Sometimes even with movies we don't like.

Why do you rewatch certain movies? What makes you rewatch something that comes on TV all of a sudden? You could just not watch it again, right? You could say, "Oh, I've already seen it." And sometimes you do. But sometimes you watch it again anyway. Ever wonder about why?

What movies do you like to rewatch? What movies have you rewatched A LOT? Do you ever think about WHY those movies make you want to rewatch them so much? Besides the fact that you feel you like them -- WHY? What is it about those particular movies that make you want to rewatch them again and again and again?

Discuss.

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I've been thinking about this recently because of the thread "5 Movies You Would Watch Over and Over Again", and I've come to the conclusion that it's impossible for me to narrow it down to only five movies. (I've been working on a list of movies that I like to watch over and over again, and so far, I have it narrowed down to about 125 movies. )

There are a lot of reasons why I like to rewatch movies, but I guess the most common one is that the movie sparks some kind of emotional reaction. If a movie makes me laugh or cry, it usually becomes a movie that I can watch over and over again.

-I'm not sure what I think about a movie.
-I know I'm gonna enjoy it.

I watch movies more than once for the same reasons I make love more than once. If watching lots of movies that way makes me a slut, so be it.

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There are tons of reasons, including making some sort of connection to a film.

I find I like to revisit films I didn't like or were indifferent to if I've heard praise for them before and want to give them another try. If a film is an acclaimed one, I tend to feel like I'm missing something that I might finally "get" on repeated viewings. Sometimes that does happen and I'll gain a new favorite in a film I never thought I would, sometimes it doesn't. There are some films that are really acclaimed that I've revisited a few times trying to fall in love with, and it just doesn't work.

The best movies in my opinion are those with a high rewatchability factor. If I watch a supposedly great movie and never want to see it again then for me it isn't so great. Sometimes movies with a big twist can be watched a completely different way second time around, Fight Club for example.

Goodfellas might be my most rewatched film, even when on TV I just end up watching it again.

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1) It's a detail oriented movie that I can find new things in on repeat viewing. Example: Inception and Mad Max.
2) They're great movies that are upbeat or enjoyable to watch again. My favorites list minutes things like Schindler or Requiem for a Dream

Because movies are da bomb.

So I can look good eating popcorn.

One of the reasons I rewatch movies is because they meant something to me at various times in my life. The same goes for certain TV programmes.

These days I'm more likely to watch bits of programmes to pass the time rather than deciding to sit down and watch something all the way through. This week for example all I've sat down to watch is Trapped on BBC Four.

I'm one of the few who don't watch the same movie over and over again. If I watch a movie more than once, it's because it's been years since the first time and I've forgotten the story, so it's like watching for the first time.

1) It's been a long time and I don't remember it very well.
2) I want to pick up details that I missed the first time.
3) I want to watch it with/show it to someone.
4) My wife wants to.
5) Nostalgia/sentimentality (often but not always leading to disappointment. Sometimes this mode of watching shades into some sort of quasi-ritual).
6) I want to clarify my understanding for critical purposes (whether for writing about it or just to compare it to something else I will watch/read/do).
7) I don't know. Sometimes I don't mean to re-watch something but it just happens. Maybe I put the movie in to watch a scene or take a screen-cap. and end up watching the whole thing again. Maybe I'm just bored or sleepwalking/channel surfing and something I've already seen winds up on the screen.

+1

I don't rewatch movies all that often any more. There are so many movies I haven't seen yet that it sometimes seems like a waste of movie watching time to pick one I've already seen. But sometimes I do, and it's usually because...

...it's on TV. Sometimes I've had the dvd on my shelf for years but never bothered putting it on, but if I happen to start watching the start of a film I like because it just happens to be on, I'll probably keep watching it. It's mostly because the effort of making the decision is taken away. Even with netflix I can surf for ages and not decide what to watch.

...or, I'm watching it with someone else, and they've chosen it, or I'm showing it to someone else.

...or, I'm feeling ill and in need of some comfort viewing. Watching something fun you've seen before and know you'll like is comforting and enjoyable without having to think too hard.

...or sometimes I've just seen a film and it's so amazing I need to see it again straight away. Like the next day, or as soon as I can get hold of the dvd. Not often, but sometimes.

Some of you people go and see a movie in a theater more than 10 times, right? Sometimes even more than 20 times. Mark F, did you ever see a movie in a theater almost 100 times? I thought I once read that you saw Star Wars a whole lotta times in a theater or something.

I was kinda more interested in hearing tales about WHY people felt the need to watch CERTAIN movies over and over again. Of all the movies out there available, you pick these certain ones to watch again at times. And what you might have to say about movies you rewatch more than others. Like, if there's a movie you just HAVE to watch EVERY year at least once.

I watch Scrooge with Alastair Sim every year in the lead up to Christmas. I think that started when I was able to get away from those horrible colourized versions and look at the proper film and really appreciate it. That year I enjoyed it so much I watched it about 5 times! So that's a ritual and some years I'm not in the mood but I still watch it. It's not even my favourite version, I like the George C. Scott A Christmas Carol best.

I'd also say that holidays used to be the time when I liked watching a lot and I'd have my favourites lined up. I watched Falling in Love at the beginning of the Christmas break for probably about 6 or 7 years until a few years ago. It's cozy and familiar, but I'm resting it until hopefully it gets a release on Blu-ray.

At Easter I'd sometimes watch The Odyssey and there'd be films like Ulysses and Le Bossu (Daniel Auteuil's my favourite actor) that I would put on. By the Sword is another one that stands out but there are many more.

Did you have a girlfriend during those years? Or did you not and you watched Falling in Love because maybe you longed to fall in love over Christmas break? Christmas time can make lonely people feel lonelier.

Because I can.

And because I often enjoy the movie more on the second, third, or tenth time than I did the first time. Out of the last thirty movies I've seen, fourteen were rewatches.

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

Yeah, that's true and I didn't have a girlfriend. I can't imagine a better time to fall in love than at Christmas but I think in the case of that film I responded to the actors – I particularly like Robert de Niro when he was younger in this and things like The Godfather and maybe there's an awkwardness about him in that particular role that I identify with.

See, I think people probably rewatch stuff to learn something from it -- I think going over something again and again is all about exploring your feelings and who you are and how you can evolve and grow through what you're watching. I think we can experience a lot of contemplation while we put ourselves inside a movie. We probably do the same thing whenever we listen to music, eat, make love, etc. I think it's all a head trip. So I was curious to hear about why people thought they liked to explore the same movie over and over. I personally think "just because I liked it" is too simple of an answer. But I understand if people don't want to -- or can't -- explain what's really driving them to rewatch something over and over.