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  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

Is there any point in re-watching films/TV shows?

I understand your point that the movie/tv show is presented exactly the same every time (excusing different viewing mediums), but your mentality and emotions, going into the viewing, are different every time.
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I re-watched Memento for the second time today as an experiment. I could appreciate that it was a beautiful film but it didn't engage me at all. The first time I saw it I was absolutely blown away.

So now I've created two memories of watching the film. One memory that the film was wonderful and another memory that the film was, because I had already seen it, mediocre. The memories are then cross-referenced in my brain.

In other words I have possibly detracted from what I permanently think of the film by watching it a second time.

Co-incidentally the main character in Memento (Leonard) has something to say on the matter as well.

Memento said:
Leonard: How can you read that again?
Leonard's wife: It's good.
Leonard: Yeah, but you've read it like a thousand times.
Leonard's wife: I enjoy it.
Leonard: I always thought the pleasure of a book was wanting to know what happens next.
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It's a matter of personal taste TheDeceased.

Perhaps you don't get anything out of re-watching it, in fact you may even lose something from doing so.

But for others, we get some enjoyment out of it.

Nobody is right and nobody is wrong in this particular situation. :)
 
^ Thank you. I think that sums it up nicely.

Re: Sopranos - YES. I re-watch episodes when they're on TV. I would do this with The Wire too if it were on TV. I think they might have to change/bleep even more than The Sopranos though. Sort of an annoying part of it not being HBO. :\
 
Glad I'm not the only one who rewatches The Sopranos repeatedly. Probably more than any other TV show, and even more than most movies, The Sopranos lends itself well to repeated viewings because the storyline and the development of the characters are so complex. There are lots of small details that are only truly make sense when later elements of the story are known.

I just watched The Departed for about the 5th time last night, not so much because new things are revealed each time, but because the performances are so enjoyable to watch. Plus, it took me a couple, three viewings to really understand everything in that film. :\
 
I understand where you're coming from. We only got so much time, don't we.

but i still enjoy and laugh out loud to early 90's simpsons reruns i've seen literally countless times before. the only other tv show i've rewatched quickly would be Oz. I just love that quick drama.

but i seldom watch tv. the only way i watch any of the new shows is by watching one episode every morning over breakfast (mad men season 1 episode 2 this morning). i've gone through most of sopranos, the wire, the first season of heroes (lame), some breaking bad and true blood and some others this way, and i won't watch any of them again. too much new stuff i'm interested in and i still want to revisit star trek ds9 (i don't think i saw it all the first time around).

TD, nice couple of threads, mate. :)
14.gif
 
TheDeceased said:
I re-watched Memento for the second time today as an experiment. I could appreciate that it was a beautiful film but it didn't engage me at all. The first time I saw it I was absolutely blown away.

So now I've created two memories of watching the film. One memory that the film was wonderful and another memory that the film was, because I had already seen it, mediocre. The memories are then cross-referenced in my brain.

In other words I have possibly detracted from what I permanently think of the film by watching it a second time.

Co-incidentally the main character in Memento (Leonard) has something to say on the matter as well.
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Hah, that is actually a nice coincidence.

The choice of Memento was a good one. For me, the re-watchability of a film will factor highly in how I judge and inevitably rank it (as one who enjoys his top 100 list). I put a lot of weight onto re-watchability so as to not let things like surprising plot twists skew what I get out of a film as a whole. It is why films like The Usual Suspects and Memento were once on my Top 100, but are no longer, and why Fight Club (which is still there) has slid, slowly but surely. They are all still entertaining movies to me for other reasons, and I like them all, but re-watching them a certain number of times has allowed me to more accurately judge their true worth, according to how I value movies. This probably sheds some light on why I tend to like ambiguity in film.
 
AmorRoark said:
^ Thank you. I think that sums it up nicely.
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Yeah, now that I've had time to sleep on it, I think it was a really bad answer. And I'm talking bad on a fundamental level.

For example, if "re-watchability" were simply a function of the natural human desire for predictability, then it would apply to any movie a person happened to like.

And yet, there are clearly movies I've seen before that I liked, but would definitely not see again. And, as EJ pointed out, the movies with a high rewatchability factor tend to be the all time greats.

So, either there's a really deep answer here, that has the ability to explain something profound about human aesthetics...Or, maybe it's just because the "all time greats" tend to be very complex, and hence enjoyable on many levels. Which isn't really deep at all.
 
if i had the seasons of simpsons which i loved the most on dvd, i would not watch them (i did buy and own one season at one stage), but catching them randomly seems to never tire me.

it's weird how the serendipity of catching random episodes can contribute to my enjoyment.
 
The desire to know what happens next is not the sole reason for watching a film or a tv show. If that were the case, nobody would have watched Titanic.

There are plenty of movies that I loved as a kid, but that I find tacky now. And there are also movies that I didn't appreciate on first viewing, but enjoyed on when I watched again.
 
I am aware of that. However there were a large number of people who saw Titanic multiple times in the cinema and then bought the DVD and watched it repeatedly again. I think this is kind of sad. I'm not suggesting that nobody should ever want to watch a film based on a true story.

For example, I saw Frost Nixon the other day and I enjoyed it.
 
TheDeceased said:
I am aware of that. However there were a large number of people who saw Titanic multiple times in the cinema and then bought the DVD and watched it repeatedly again. I think this is kind of sad. I'm not suggesting that nobody should ever want to watch a film based on a true story.

For example, I saw Frost Nixon the other day and I enjoyed it.
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So do you have any clue as to why you dislike re-watching movies if it's not because of the loss of the feeling that comes with wanting to know what comes next?

I understand your point about there being so many films and tv shows in the world that you will never have the time to watch them all. But even if you never re-watched something, you still wouldn't even scratch the surface of a fraction of all that is out there. You may as well just be happy for that which you do interact with and not stress the stuff you'll never see.

I love to become really familar with movies that I absolutely love. I've seen Trainspotting and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas around 14 times each and can act out most of the scenes and quote most of the lines. I can also have drawn out conversations with my friends about the character dynamics and the driving forces behind each character in Trainspotting (and to some extent for Fear and Loathing.)
 
why sad?
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I think some people idolize and obsess over certain celebrities/ films/ tv shows/ etc and thereby limit themselves to the number of ideas they can be exposed to.

I love to become really familar with movies that I absolutely love. I've seen Trainspotting and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas around 14 times each and can act out most of the scenes and quote most of the lines. I can also have drawn out conversations with my friends about the character dynamics and the driving forces behind each character in Trainspotting (and to some extent for Fear and Loathing.)
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But do you really need to watch them 14 times? I mean they aren't particularly complex films (the ones you mentioned). I don't see how there could possibly be much more to be absorbed from the film after the 2nd viewing, let alone the 13th.

I understand your point about there being so many films and tv shows in the world that you will never have the time to watch them all. But even if you never re-watched something, you still wouldn't even scratch the surface of a fraction of all that is out there.
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I don't mean only films/tv shows. I mean there are SO many things to do in this life. So many things to experience. When people die they often regret what they haven't done (well this is one of the classic cliches anyone). Personally at the end of my life I don't want to look back and see myself watching the same film 14 times.

Out of interest, Rated E, have you seen: The Acid House, Where the Buffalo Roam, Shallow Grave, Last Exit to Brooklyn, etc?

Whenever you encounter a new film there are branches connecting to dozens of others. Other work by the same writer/director/actors/producers.... or other films that are cited as influences... and then from each of those films are brances to dozens of others.

My point is, rather than becoming really familiar with films that you absolutely love, why not find other films that you absolutely love instead?

You can't honestly suggest that you gained something from the 14th viewing of Trainspotting.
 
On second thought, 14 is a bit of an exaggeration. However the point is still the same.

TheDeceased said:
I don't mean only films/tv shows. I mean there are SO many things to do in this life. So many things to experience. When people die they often regret what they haven't done (well this is one of the classic cliches anyone). Personally at the end of my life I don't want to look back and see myself watching the same film 14 times.
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I could just as easily become concerned over the level of concern you show about other people's viewing habits. What happens when you look back on your life and realise that you wasted time worrying about what other people did and liked?

TheDeceased said:
Out of interest, Rated E, have you seen: The Acid House, Where the Buffalo Roam, Shallow Grave, Last Exit to Brooklyn, etc?
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Nope. I thought about tracking down Where the Buffalo Roam, but I heard bad things and they don't have it at the local video store.

TheDeceased said:
Whenever you encounter a new film there are branches connecting to dozens of others. Other work by the same writer/director/actors/producers.... or other films that are cited as influences... and then from each of those films are brances to dozens of others.
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Yea I know what you're talking about. I do this with music a lot.

My love of Trainspotting lead me to read Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Which lead me to read Porno by Irvine Welsh. I'm going to read Glue next.

Trainspotting also got me into Underworld and Lou Reed / Velvet Underground.

I've seen most of Boyle's other films (28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Slumdog Millionare, Sunshine, The Beach), and to be honest, I didn't like them nearly as much, though I did really like certain aspects of Sunshine, and 28 Days Later is pretty awesome.

TheDeceased said:
My point is, rather than becoming really familiar with films that you absolutely love, why not find other films that you absolutely love instead?
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Why not do both? I don't really see an issue.

TheDeceased said:
You can't honestly suggest that you gained something from the 14th viewing of Trainspotting.
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Enjoyment and the desire to watch it again. ;)

A question. How do you approach music? Because personally, I don't even consider myself to be "into" an album until I've listened to it all the way through at least a couple of times. The kind of album / music it is while determine how many listens before I properly become aquainted with it.
 
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