Repeat viewings; opinions changed?

Falthyron

Something I read in 'The Last Jedi' thread sparked off a question in my mind about seeing a film multiple times. Has anyone here experienced a dramatic shift in opinion on a film you have seen more than once? I think there is something to be said about seeing a film once, being a little unsure as to what you thought of it so you went to see it again and it improved upon your initial thoughts, but what about seeing a film three or four times?

Naturally, our appreciation of a film or change of opinion can take place over a long period of time due to our circumstances. For example, a particularly family orientated film may not have much influence on your interest if you don't have children. But, as you get older and perhaps start a family and revisit the film something extra might resonate with you. I'm not really looking to get into that sort of a discussion as I think it could be generally agreed that extended periods of time between viewings can lead to a different perspective. Instead, I want to focus on a film you saw multiple times in a relatively short space of time (say, 12-24 months).

This, of course, leads to the most obvious point: if you didn't like it on first viewing, why would you pay to see it again? And that is a fair point, but I am sure there are others who have seen a film once, didn't "get it", so you decided to see it again and something clicked. As such, you became a big fan and saw it a couple more times thus reinforcing, and perhaps, enhancing your positive thoughts on the film.

Or is it the case that self-propagandising can take place? If you see something many times is there a possibility that you will succumb to your own need to justify multiple viewings because everyone else enjoyed the film and you want to as well? Also, the financial and time investment into a franchise, etc.

Personally, I don't think it should take more than two viewings to be able to decide if a film has satisfied your interests or expectations. In my case, I wasn't a big fan of Batman vs. Superman after seeing it in the cinema, but I did watch the Blu-ray release, and the Extended Edition and I can now say it wasn't as bad as I initially thought. Would I watch it again? Hard to say. I might leave it on in the background if it was on the TV, but I am not sure if I would commit my attention to it.

Anybody else have any experiences of having seen a film multiple times in a short space of time and saw their opinion drastically change?

RocketRaccoon

For some reason the first movie that pops into my head is Bridesmaids. Myself and my wife went to watch it in the cinema and while everyone around us was breaking down laughing we just sat there and couldn't for the life of us understand what was so funny.

Fast forward a few months and it is released on DVD and the mother in law says she wants to watch it so the 3 of us sat down one evening and it was only then that we got it. It still stands up today as a fantastic comedy, neither of us can explain what happened that night in the cinema though.

judeboy101

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

For some reason the first movie that pops into my head is Bridesmaids. Myself and my wife went to watch it in the cinema and while everyone around us was breaking down laughing we just sat there and couldn't for the life of us understand what was so funny.

Fast forward a few months and it is released on DVD and the mother in law says she wants to watch it so the 3 of us sat down one evening and it was only then that we got it. It still stands up today as a fantastic comedy, neither of us can explain what happened that night in the cinema though.

You sat down with ur wife and mil for a DVD night in? Who sat where?

MilesMorales1

In the cinema seeing Toy Story 3 I thought it was the greatest of all the toy story/Pixar films, watching it again at home I thought it rehashed way too much of Toy Story 2 and just wasn't keen on it. Also disliked Monsters Inc on the first viewing, love it now.

Oh and Deadpool! Saw that in the cinema, sat there stony faced not laughing hardly at all. Home viewing again with some friends, laughed like a hyena.

Mickeroo

Anchorman and The Royal Tenenbaums did nothing for me on first viewing if I recall but now they're probably two of my most watched films and I can practically quote every line(not watched either in years now though).

Drumpot

Many many movies, especially Zach Snyder movies that I think get better and better on repeat viewing.

Personally I think my expectation plays a big part. I remember going to see “Watchmen” thinking it was an 18s X-men. I didn’t enjoy it at all. A few years later it was on tv and I couldn’t get over how good it was.

I didn’t like BVS on first viewing like many. But on repeat viewing I felt it was extremely good. The extended was even better. Many of the things like the Martha thing didn’t matter because they didn’t need to matter. I also find most Star Wars movies don’t leave me blown away cause it takes me some time accept them into the universe but on second viewing I like them so much better.

It’s funny reading peoples reasons for not enjoying TLJ because to be frank I think most reasons are contradictory when you factor in OT. I think when it comes to reboots or extended universes (like aliens) We choose to let things go or let these things ruin our enjoyment of a movie, that’s what I see when people are arguing about how good a movie is or isn’t met.

I have found that many movies I look forward to do not meet my initial expectations. But through life experience I have learned to amend my expectations to a point whereby I can enjoy the movie we get on second viewing rather then spending most of my movie going experience disappointed. Makes for a much happier life then feeling mostly let down.

Peatys

I watched The Force Awakens at a midnight showing after a 2hr drive. I was too knackered to enjoy it and took it out on the film.

I watched it at home a couple of weeks later, and thought it was great.

Fast forward a couple of years, and i watched The Last Jedi at a midnight showing straight after a 9pm showing off TFA.

I'm hoping a second viewing changes my, short tempered, over tired, opinion of that also.

marienbad

I loved the Shawshank Redemption when I saw it in the cinema , but with each viewing my opinion of it has got less and less and I now just regard it as sentimental manipulative tosh

Drumpot

Peatys wrote: »

I watched The Force Awakens at a midnight showing after a 2hr drive. I was too knackered to enjoy it and took it out on the film.

I watched it at home a couple of weeks later, and thought it was great.

Fast forward a couple of years, and i watched The Last Jedi at a midnight showing straight after a 9pm showing off TFA.

I'm hoping a second viewing changes my short tempered one tired opinion of that also.

Midnight showings don’t work for me. I went to See all three recent SW movies and was knackered by the end of them. Luckily I saw all movies again in cinema and enjoyed them so much more on repeat viewing. If you want to see TLJ again , see it in cinema cause it’s the best way to enjoy any Star Wars movie.

Drumpot

marienbad wrote: »

I loved the Shawshank Redemption when I saw it in the cinema , but with each viewing my opinion of it has got less and less and I now just regard it as sentimental manipulative tosh

Haven’t watched this or the usual suspects or the sixth sense recently but I wonder if movies with twists just can’t be as enjoyable on repeat. I know these aren’t exactly the same kinds of movies but I found it even with TDK (twist where hostages are baddies) isn’t as much fun on repeat. The movies aren’t just about the twists but these elements add to the enjoyment that can only be experienced Once.

Mickeroo

Drumpot wrote: »

Haven’t watched this or the usual suspects or the sixth sense recently but I wonder if movies with twists just can’t be as enjoyable on repeat. I know these aren’t exactly the same kinds of movies but I found it even with TDK (twist where hostages are baddies) isn’t as much fun on repeat. The movies aren’t just about the twists but these elements add to the enjoyment that can only be experienced Once.

Some twist movies can be enhanced on second viewing once you know what's going, Fight Club springs to mind.

Relikk

There have been a good few movies that I've disliked on first viewing and I usually have to see a movie twice to really get a handle on the subtleties, but The Big Lebowski is the only movie I can remember just completely "not getting it" the first time around and then adoring it on subsequent viewings.

megaten

Only time I can think of this was watching Kiki's Delivery Service in the Cinema after watching it at home. I can't remember what I felt differently though.

ohnonotgmail

Starship Troopers. Just didnt get it at all the first time around.

DvB

Mickeroo wrote: »

Some twist movies can be enhanced on second viewing once you know what's going, Fight Club springs to mind.

Funnily enough Fight Club popped into my mind when I read the start of this thread. Went to see it in the cinema with a mate after work one evening & thought it pretty poor. Watched it again on Film 4 one Friday night a few years later & thought it was a superb film & really enjoyed it.

Plenty have gone the other way though, enjoyed the cinematic experience but when watched again at home left me wondering what I'd seen in it first time around.

Drumpot

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Starship Troopers. Just didnt get it at all the first time around.

One of the most fun movies ever. I remember going to see it while in college, it was certainly a "WTF was that" movie but I loved it!

valoren

Titanic.

The love story element was always forgettable, the woeful script not helping a well capable cast. However, there was always was the central showpiece that was the actual sinking which saved it.

Watched it again recently and man oh man have the effects aged terribly. It's only saving grace now gone.

pumpkin4life

Eyes Wide Shut.

Watched it for the first time when I was a teenager because of the nudiness. Hated it.

Watched it a second time a couple of years ago after going through a massive Kubrick binge. Liked it, but thought it was too long and a bit dull at times.

Watched it a third time recently, just happened to be on the telly and had nothing better to do. Loved it and now count it as a criminally underrated film and one of the best of that period.

NyOmnishambles

Mickeroo wrote: »

Anchorman and The Royal Tenenbaums did nothing for me on first viewing if I recall but now they're probably two of my most watched films and I can practically quote every line(not watched either in years now though).

I would echo the above, I hated the Royal tenenbaums on first viewing but liked everything else by Wes Anderson so gave it another shot and loved it

Sometimes you are just not in the right mood for a movie so it is not worth writing them off if you know that it would generally be your cup of tea

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is another one, I came out of the cinema bitterly disappointed with it having been excited going in
On a rewatch I completely changed my mind and am now a huge fan of it

Stone Deaf 4evr

The Last Action Hero, - possibly due to the fact that I was too young to appreciate it for what it was first time around.

didnt like it at all when i saw it first, thought all the stuff about the alternate universe etc was rubbish and I was looking for a mindless Arnie movie. Turns out on a later viewin (and with the benefit of hindsight) that it does a surprisingly good job of poking fun at the whole action movie tropes.

david75

There’s a good few films that I never ‘got’ and couldn’t understand what the fuss was about and then much later they just land for you or in smaller cases you know that they’re bad (the sw prequels) but just learn to take and appreciate the elements in them that really are good and appreciate them.

Used to adore Return of the king but now see it as the most flawed of those 3 films. Still really amazing and I know it had so much to wrap up and accomplish and the extended edition does help somewhat but it’s just not as good as the previous two.

Living in hope that one day Blade runner will reveal itself to me. It’s one of those celebrated films that I just do not get at all. Same with the godfather trilogy.
Completely immune to them.

This Is Spinal Tap.

First time I watched it - "WTF is this shíte?!"

Each and every time since then - "Genius."

david75

Just to add often find the same thing happens with music.
You’ll have an album by a band you love that you simply cannot get into. These ones I tend to spend a lot of time with trying to get it. It won’t happen. Then even years later it just hits you and opens up.
Love when that happens.
It can go the other way too but that’s down to overplaying or nostalgia maybe

quickbeam

david75 wrote: »

Living in hope that one day Blade runner will reveal itself to me. It’s one of those celebrated films that I just do not get at all. Same with the godfather trilogy.
Completely immune to them.

Watched Alien for the first time, probably in my late teens. Didn't get it at all. Watched again a decade or so later, and LOVED it!!

Thought the same might be true for Blade Runner, as I'd watched it for the first time around my late teens too. Didn't like it. Watched it again a decade later. Still didn't like it and don't get the fuss.

Seen The Godfather I and II, didn't much like either of them, though I've not tried either of them a second time.

banie01

One that springs to mind as being giving a very different vibe on a rewatch for me was Leon!
One of my all time favourite movies when I was younger, powerhouse performances from Reno and Oldman and some fantastic action scenes.

Watched it recently with my wife who had never seen it, and tbh I spent more time worrying about whether the lolita theme made me a potential pervert than I did enjoying the movie.

It was really strange to watch it as an adult and see how my own attitudes had changed from I first watched it as a 15y.o and rewatched as a young adult.
It really was a completely different movie, to what I remembered.

My appreciation for it has ony grown, from the original action movie with a plant.
To the precocious tragic and frankly uncomfortable unrequited love story it strikes me as now.
It is a movie that I dont think would be made in the current climate.
The sheer sexualisation of Portman struck a fine line that I didnt really pay attention to in my youth.

Arghus

Usually the more I watch of a film the more problems I begin to see in it.

Except for Slapshot. I thought it was pretty amusing at first, but after subsequent viewings I think it's one of the funniest movies ever made.

yogi37

Mickeroo wrote: »

Anchorman and The Royal Tenenbaums did nothing for me on first viewing if I recall but now they're probably two of my most watched films and I can practically quote every line(not watched either in years now though).

I was the same on Anchorman, not impressed the first time I watched it but loved it the next time. Watched the Royal Tenenbaums a long time ago and did not like it at all. Maybe I should crack that one open some evening and see if my opinion will be different.

2 others that did not impress me initially but I loved them after were Napoleon Dynamite and Talladega Nights.

Cant say what I didnt like about any of them the first time but loved them all on second viewing.

valoren

Definitely Blade Runner. Watched it at 19 and wanted to love it. Found it too slow. Watched it last year again, and appreciated it so much it's one of my favourites.

Relikk

Arghus wrote: »

Except for Slapshot. I thought it was pretty amusing at first, but after subsequent viewings I think it's one of the funniest movies ever made.

Dave's a killer!...

Dave's a mess.

B.A._Baracus

Comedies are definitely one genre that can improve with repeat viewing.
I thought Anchorman and Scary Movie 1 were not funny when I first watched them. Now I think both are some of the best comedies around.

Has to be said that you age and level of maturity plays a factor.

xalot

banie01 wrote: »

The sheer sexualisation of Portman struck a fine line that I didnt really pay attention to in my youth.

the directors cut version isnt so subtle. It's a film I love but the below fact doesn't sit well with me and has put a dampner on it for me

In 1991, Besson began a relationship with a 15-year-old actress named Maïwenn Besco. At the time, Besson was already a 32-year-old and was currently working on Léon: The Professional.

Besson did not only date a minor, he also impregnated her. At the age of 16, Besco gave birth to Besson’s daughter, Shanna Besson. Besson has never actually been convicted for statutory rape because he is from France, and the age of consent there is 15.

Goodshape

Recently, Blade Runner 2049.

The original is, to my mind, one of the all time greats. I think I went into the cinema with expectations as to what the sequel was going to be, and it failed to match them. Maybe not any better or worse than my expectations but just a different film to what I thought I wanted.

But I watched it again recently, at home, and thought it was a great film in it's own right - and a worthy sequel to the original.

dublinman1990

I did this with Man of Steel. When I watched it in the cinema for the first time. I didn't really completely get the story of it. One of the scenes I didn't get was Superman's first flight scene after he spoke to Jor-El. But then I watched it again on DVD at home about 2 years ago & I thought it was great. That flight scene is now one of my most favourite scenes in that movie.

Movies can sometimes do this in reverse though. Watching The Simpsons Movie multiple times over on DVD or TV can either become very enjoyable or just plain repetitive after ball yourself laughing with a full audience after a first watch in the cinema.

And then again movies regarded as classics can leave you wanting to enjoy it more & more after watching them multiple times over.