Movie patience 101

Tools    





reporter66's Avatar
Registered User
Avid movie viewers, critics:

I'm interested in what you think about movie patience.

In my experience, there is a time when I know the movie I'm watching is not going to interest me, but I continue watching until
I just can't bare it anymore!

Example: "Ocean's 11", to me, was hokum from the start but I thought it might get better.
The scene where the team casually waltzes out of a buiding with a nuclear detonator was the last straw.
As I ejected the DVD, cursing my video retailer for his recommendation, I realized I had only viewed 30 minutes of the film.

How long does it take before you lose interest in a movie you're watching, and how long before you finally call it quits?
__________________
r66



It depends. If Lawrence of Arabia were, say, an hour and a half, I might've finished it...but I got an hour in, was bored to tears, and decided I couldn't take the last two hours, so I called it quits. Had I only 30-45 minutes more to go, I would've probably stuck it out.



it depends on the movie, and slowness isnt always a bad thing in my book:
lawrence of arabia is really really long, but kept me watching from begining to end both times i watched it, with total interest, except for a couple breaks here and there, to look up some of the geography and such, but i guess that just shows that i wanted to be totally ensconsed in the film.

x/1999: the first time i tried watching it, i didnt last more than 10 minutes, which is odd, since i can usually stick any well-animated film out on the basis of it's technical merits.

solaris: took me a week to get through, in half-hour intervals. i just couldnt sit through it all at once, but i still found it a rewarding watch, and even prefer it to 2001. it's just very, very, very slow.

andrei rublev: another slow russian movie, this one i fell asleep about 2 hours into, woke up a while later, fell asleep again, woke up again, it was still playing, decided not to stick it out, bid good night to my hosts, and never looked back.

the 'bicycle thief', 'tokyo story', and the 'report on the party and the guests' all started out very slow and rambling, but by the end i was thoroughly impressed.



reporter66's Avatar
Registered User
Yeah, I know what you mean about LOA Yoda.

I tried it myself.

I never thought a movie with so much action, intrigue and adventure, could be so boring, so over-acted, so...
well...blah.

Visuals and score aside, this movie is pure melatonin.

This is an instance where you'd finish reading the book before half the movie was over.

Although historically insightful and informative, I say look in Encarta instead:

My LOA interest time: 20 mins
Calling it quits time: 21 mins



reporter66's Avatar
Registered User
Linespalsy;

That's too funny; falling asleep and waking up and the movie is STILL running. Classic.



A novel adaptation.
For me, it not only depends on the movie, but also the mood that I'm in. For instance, the first time I watched 8 1/2 , I had been sick all morning, and thusly was not in the mood to sit through it. So, much like LinesPaisy's experience with russian cinema, I fell asleep, woke up, it was still playing, and I decided that this was not the time to watch it. I rented it again a month later, and was enthralled.

As for just a bad film, I have incredible tolerance. As long as there is nothing else I should be doing, I will literally sit through any movie, no matter how terrible, or trite it becomes.
__________________
"We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glow-worm."
--Winston Churchill



The movie that ran my patience to the extreme was Oprah Winfrey's Beloved. Now, I don't think it was a particularly bad movie, just way too long for the story. Two hours after I had started watching it, I was looking forward for it to end, yet it still had an hour to go. I sat that there getting uncomfortable. like I had to go to the bathroom, except I didn't have to. I was begging the movie to be over, pleading. Damn tape wouldn't listen though.
__________________
"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."



good point, herodotus, i actually had the same first experience with 8 1/2, but never got around to retrying it, as i probably should.

as for russian cinema: yeah, it was pretty redickaliss. i have since seen solaris, and enjoyed it, so i should probably give tarkovsky another chance, but am not ready to try andrei rublev again yet. any recomendations, people?

as for lawrence of arabia: actually, r-66, the book is much tougher to get through than the movie, not that i wouldnt recomend reading te lawrence's 'the seven pillars of wisdom' for those who liked the movie.



Back with a bang!
I usually force myself to sit through it, altoght I don't really know why, since few things are more boring than watching a movie you don't wanna see. It's kinda sitting through a really boring lecture at school, you're practically counting seconds, and time moves soooo slowly.

Altough some movies that I reall like I take a break from for various reasons. The most notable example is probably Life of Brian or The Holy Grail. I love those movies, but the density of the jokes tend to wear you down, and if you watch them from beginning to end, you (or at least I) won't appreciate the jokes towards the end of the movie as much as those in the beginning. And everytime I watch The Godfather, I take a break right after Michael kills Sollonzo and McClusky, just because the movie is so long, and I have seen it so many times it gets quite boring to watch the entire thing in one sitting.
__________________
Ride Johnny ride



Jonny Goodboy's Avatar
Fighting out of the Lions Den
I think it took 5-6 goes for me to finally settle down and watch "2001" for the whole duration.

At least 3 times, I watched only the Ape prologue , then turned off.

I now love this movie. The DVD transfer is outstanding to boot.
__________________
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Vale Tudo (adv.301)><"Fighting Evil with Evil"
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/



Seraph of the Void
It depends on where I am

If I am at home and a movie comes on cable I havent seen before but was interested in...and it turns out to be utter crap then *(CLICK)*

If someone else is watching it then I use my comp of find something else to do

If I am at a theatre and see a crap movie then I MST it (for sanity sake)
__________________
"When I said my quarters were cold, I did not mean "Oh, I think it is a little chilly in here. Perhaps I'll throw a blanket on the bed." No! I said it was cold! As in, "Oh look - my left arm has snapped off like an icicle and shattered on the floor!"



I love Lawrence of Arabia completely and utterly.

I have never in my memory not made it through a film out of boredom. I always stick it out, and if I don't it is because it is late and I have fallen asleep. No joke. I always watch the entire thing.
__________________
www.esotericrabbit.com



I'm the same way, and I also treat books that way. Although, if I find a movie just plain sucks, I'll forget everything about it rather quickly.



I usually watch all way through. I've already made the 90 minute or so time commitment so I might as well see if there is anything of value... usually there is something.

That said...
The only movie I ever walked out of was Austin Powers (the first one) and I haven't even tried to watch the sequels.



The Fabulous Sausage Man
I used to sit through everything but I don't bother now (though I'll never walk out of a cinema). Ever since I discovered online rental, I want to get through so many discs and if a film isn't working for me at all, I'll eject it half-way through, send it back and wait desperately for the next one. It seems I've become really impatient.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
I couldn't finish LOA....

If I knew how bad Ghost Ship was going to be, I would have turned it off after the only good thing it had, then opening.

I wish I turned off BELLY after the opening as well.
__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



It's a shame because I feel like I only watch movies that I feel will interest me. (For example, UsualSuspect, I never saw Ghost Ship because I had an underlying feeling that it would blow, lol). While I'm worried that I might miss out on some good movies with my own personal screening process, I feel that you good people will recommend anything to me that I'm truly missing out on. (yes, I trust all of your judgement very much)

With that being said, if I commit to watching a movie, I always finish watching the entire thing. I have never walked out of a theater, and if I begin to really hate a movie, I try extremely hard to look for something good in it. If I can't find anything, I put it on the mental list of "what not to do", as I am an aspiring writer, myself.
__________________
"Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else..."

"I am."



A system of cells interlinked
It depends. If Lawrence of Arabia were, say, an hour and a half, I might've finished it...but I got an hour in, was bored to tears, and decided I couldn't take the last two hours, so I called it quits. Had I only 30-45 minutes more to go, I would've probably stuck it out.

W...T...F


Tell me you have reversed your opinion on this thing, Chris... please...


__________________
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



The People's Republic of Clogher
The first time I watched LOA I'd grown a full beard by the end (weird, considering I was 12 but there ye go) but over the years I've come to appreciate the sheer beauty of it.

In fact, generally as I've got older, I've come to prefer quiet films to loud ones...
__________________
"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



It's a shame because I feel like I only watch movies that I feel will interest me. (For example, UsualSuspect, I never saw Ghost Ship because I had an underlying feeling that it would blow, lol). While I'm worried that I might miss out on some good movies with my own personal screening process, I feel that you good people will recommend anything to me that I'm truly missing out on. (yes, I trust all of your judgement very much)

With that being said, if I commit to watching a movie, I always finish watching the entire thing. I have never walked out of a theater, and if I begin to really hate a movie, I try extremely hard to look for something good in it. If I can't find anything, I put it on the mental list of "what not to do", as I am an aspiring writer, myself.
My sentiments exactly. Even if the movie is ridiculously boring I watch to the end in hope I will find a glimpse of entertainment from the parts to come. If I don't I optimistically think..well now I can warn others not to watch this one.