The Best Movie, You Never Want to See Again?

Irish Aris · 15-09-2020 9:24am

Lee Tamahori's feature film debut Once Were Warriors.
I remember getting out of the cinema in a state of shock. A powerful film about domestic violence, very grim with no real resolution in the end.
It's been 25 years since its release and I have it on DVD but never attempted to rewatch it.

Fritzbox · 15-09-2020 9:28am

A lot of Tarantino's films I enjoyed watching the first time but have no interest in watching them again. Reservoir Dogs is the first film to spring to mind.

Spon Farmer · 15-09-2020 9:31am

Dades wrote: »

Requiem for a Dream.

Man, that was a tough watch. But the type of movie that really stays with you, like great films do.

The very one I was going to post about.

The Accused is another.

Both are powerful but Good God were an experience to be sure.

Spon Farmer · 15-09-2020 9:34am

brevity wrote: »

Yes. I was trying to think of this one.

That is another movie that is an experience.

Spon Farmer · 15-09-2020 9:42am

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I don’t think there’s any film I find to disturbing, unsettling or raw that I can revisit it again, but the ones I’m unlikely to rewatch (at least for many, many years) are gruelling long form films like Satantango or Shoah. Both films are harrowing in their own way, but I think it’s the sheer length of them - 7.5 and 10.5 hours respectively - that make them such a challenge.

Shoah of course is also a startling, relentless and matter-of-fact account of one of modern history’s evilest atrocities, and Bela Tarr films offer no shortage of long shots of misery: even the directors’ shorter form works aren’t ‘easy’ watches. But I think when a film goes well beyond the three or four mark, requiring a substantial chunk of one or two days, a sort of physical exhaustion sets in alongside the gruelling subject matter. Both films are among the greatest films ever made and worthy of any cinephile’s attention - but they’d both be a hard thing to sit through again until at least a decade or two after that first viewing.

I’ve never heard of Bela Tarr or either of those films.

How have I not heard of films over 7 hours long?

pixelburp · 15-09-2020 9:49am

Certainly noticing a consistency of responses here in terms of tone: most of the answers centring around movies that really grind the viewer into the dirt through emotional turmoil - or in the case of Johnny's inevitablly left-field suggestions, pure misery & despair :pac:

Hard not to interpret the take away point here, that as artisitcally worthy or authentic those experiences might be, it's hard to want to return to something that intentionally makes you feel a horrible internal crawling sensation. Why visit that vicarious agony upon yourself a second time? Why even want to? A passing visit to another time or place, a 2 hour soujourn, can feel important in understanding perspectives outside your own - but I don't understand what SEVEN hours of intense torment can deliver that 90 minutes cannot? Beyond fast-tracking a visit to the GP for perscribed anti-depressents?

Daily life in of itself can be a tough slog - especially at the moment - so why take a work-day's length of time to emotionally smother yourself that much? It's a bit perplexing at first blush. It just reads like torture, akin to those US "black sites" that play Barney music without stop.

Dades · 15-09-2020 10:34am

pixelburp wrote: »

Daily life in of itself can be a tough slog - especially at the moment - so why take a work-day's length of time to emotionally smother yourself that much? It's a bit perplexing at first blush. It just reads like torture, akin to those US "black sites" that play Barney music without stop.

I agree daily life can be tough enough so I tend to veer toward watching stuff on the more "entertaining" end of the scale.

I didn't even finish Uncut Gems, as I just didn't want to watch the spiral of sh*t just getting worse any more.

The grimmest thing I've seen in recent years is The Apostle. And only because I like Gareth Edwards and Dan Stevens. Another great film I'll never watch again.

Spon Farmer · 15-09-2020 10:42am

pixelburp wrote: »

Certainly noticing a consistency of responses here in terms of tone: most of the answers centring around movies that really grind the viewer into the dirt through emotional turmoil - or in the case of Johnny's inevitablly left-field suggestions, pure misery & despair :pac:

Hard not to interpret the take away point here, that as artisitcally worthy or authentic those experiences might be, it's hard to want to return to something that intentionally makes you feel a horrible internal crawling sensation. Why visit that vicarious agony upon yourself a second time? Why even want to? A passing visit to another time or place, a 2 hour soujourn, can feel important in understanding perspectives outside your own - but I don't understand what SEVEN hours of intense torment can deliver that 90 minutes cannot? Beyond fast-tracking a visit to the GP for perscribed anti-depressents?

Daily life in of itself can be a tough slog - especially at the moment - so why take a work-day's length of time to emotionally smother yourself that much? It's a bit perplexing at first blush. It just reads like torture, akin to those US "black sites" that play Barney music without stop.[/QUOTE]

I did not know that was a thing they used to torture people.

It seems that I'm a hard man after all. I've experienced days upon days of the Barney song. Even the meteor of it has me tapping my feet.

Spon Farmer · 15-09-2020 10:43am

Irish Aris wrote: »

Lee Tamahori's feature film debut Once Were Warriors.
I remember getting out of the cinema in a state of shock. A powerful film about domestic violence, very grim with no real resolution in the end.
It's been 25 years since its release and I have it on DVD but never attempted to rewatch it.

I had heard of the movie when it was first released but didn’t get to see it until years later on DVD. I thought it was about parents trying to get their son away from gangs by educating him on the old Maori ways.

I had been to New Zealand a couple of times and everyone was so happy and laid back that i had it is my sub conscience that there was no crime or such.

For the first 10 minutes (?) the film is exactly what I had thought and then we get the literal

slap in the face

.

Mantis Toboggan · 15-09-2020 10:44am

Whiplash

Very good film and one that I've seen recently. I've recommended it to people but also told them I won't be watching it again.

Markitron · 15-09-2020 10:46am

I don't really watch dramas or challenging movies in general, so i would have to say Logan. Amazing film, but it is just a bit too much for me to handle.

loyatemu · 15-09-2020 10:48am

xieann wrote: »

Carlitos Way.

Al Pacino a criminal who wants to clean up.

His lawyer is coked out Sean Penn, perfect performance

Once is enough to watch

xieann wrote: »

Donnie Brasco

Undercover cop's life experience in the mafia.

Johnny Depp with great support from Al Pacino.

really? I've seen both of those at least twice and would happily watch them again. What's disturbing or difficult about them?

Markitron · 15-09-2020 10:54am

loyatemu wrote: »

really? I've seen both of those at least twice and would happily watch them again. What's disturbing or difficult about them?

I can kinda see how someone would feel that way about Donnie Brasco, its 3 hours of a good person risking his life everyday for years and in the end it completely ruins his personal and professional life.

Spon Farmer · 15-09-2020 10:57am

Markitron wrote: »

I can kinda see how someone would feel that way about Donnie Brasco, its 3 hours of a good person risking his life everyday for years and in the end it completely ruins his personal and professional life.

We all different limits I guess but if Carlito's Way and Donnie Brasco are a "tough watch" for someone then I think it is save to tell them avoid, like the plague, some the others mentioned in the thread. :eek:

The Raging Bile Duct · 15-09-2020 2:20pm

A Simple Plan, The Mist, Requiem for a Dream, La Haine, Marriage Story, Still Alice - I don't know if enjoyed is the right word but they were good movies that I don't know if I ever want to sit through again. There's other films that were just a bit too relentless and I don't know if I'd have the heart to sit through them again - Tetsuo 2: Body Hammer and Martyrs spring to mind.

Stuff like Million Dollar Baby I could never sit through again because it was just misery porn.

King of them all though is the documentary Dear Zachary. Best watched without knowing anything about it for maximum 'why is life so terrible?' pondering afterwards.

The Raging Bile Duct · 15-09-2020 2:31pm

Spon Farmer wrote: »

I had heard of the movie when it was first released but didn’t get to see it until years later on DVD. I thought it was about parents trying to get their son away from gangs by educating him on the old Maori ways.

I had been to New Zealand a couple of times and everyone was so happy and laid back that i had it is my sub conscience that there was no crime or such.

For the first 10 minutes (?) the film is exactly what I had thought and then we get the literal
slap in the face
.

Another one that springs to mind is Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth. I really only knew Kathy Burke from Harry Enfield when it came out so I was probably expecting some drama with a bit of light relief thrown in by herself. I was totally wrong on that score... it was a harrowing watch.

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 4:57pm

American Sniper.

US Sniper in the Second Gulf War. The Iraquis hate the American troops more than ever.

He finally kills the leading sniper on the side of the terrorists. However, the target is regarded as a National Hero and Martyr by the Native population.
The Americans have to retreat back to base.

This movie is worth watching for the true depiction of war and conveys why the Iraqi populace came to utterly despise the Americans in the way they did. They go back to America. He develops PTSD.

I don't want to watch it a second time.

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 8:53pm

The Deer Hunter

with Robert De Niro.

Don't want to see it again... the revolver roulette game. The insanity: Christopher Walken is brilliant. The Length of the movie.

flasher0030 · 15-09-2020 9:40pm

This may not qualify as the "best movie" part. But it's a film I saw in the cinema and I never ever want to see one minute of it again.

The Passion of The Christ. One big long torture scene.

Nedington · 15-09-2020 9:44pm

12 years a slave

ixoy · 15-09-2020 10:32pm

'Dancer in the Dark'. Just got bleaker and bleaker as it went along.

johnny_ultimate · 15-09-2020 10:48pm

pixelburp wrote: »

I don't understand what SEVEN hours of intense torment can deliver that 90 minutes cannot? Beyond fast-tracking a visit to the GP for perscribed anti-depressents?

There are aesthetic and emotional experiences IMO that can be achieved in deeper and stranger ways when it comes to very long films (4 hours plus). Satantango uses extreme long shots to quite stunning effect - the way you look at interpret shots and scenes can shift quite dramatically when you have to confront it for upwards of 15 minutes. That it’s full of haunting, even beautiful imagery and genuine narrative intrigue (in a very Hungarian arthouse sort of way) doesn’t hurt!

Shoah, meanwhile, uses its extreme length to really interrogate and explore survivors experience of the Holocaust. It’s so thorough and detailed that it goes some way towards capture the sheer overwhelming impact of the atrocities, and all without using archive footage or shock tactics. It’s an essential historical document and cinematic achievement, and a very human one. It always strikes me that the two great cinematic explorations of the Holocaust are at opposite ends of the length spectrum: Shoah at over ten hours, and Night & Fog at just 30 minutes. Two very different but equally vital films.

As said, while the subject matter and tone in both films can be bleak, it’s not that that would dissuade me from returning. I think putting aside the time to experience these great works of art is a standout moment in exploring the vast canon of cinema: monumental works that require significant amounts of time and attention. It’s something that’s hard to easily replicate again, even though there are obviously new depths that would emerge on a revisit. I don’t think those two films are easily recommended - Lanzmann’s shorter Shoah ‘sequels’ and Tarr’s more traditional length films are definitely worth a go before committing to the marathon of their masterpieces - nor would I pretend they’re for everyone. But cinema is a vast and diverse medium: delving into a long form film over the course of a day or a weekend offers many rewards IMO (as long as you pick the right film!)

nix · 15-09-2020 10:53pm

xieann wrote: »

The Sniper.

US Sniper in the Second Gulf War. The Iraquis hate the American troops more than ever.

Do you mean American Sniper?

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 11:08pm

^^^mea culpa yes.

JFK

about the murder of President Kennedy

Kevin Costner stars as officer Garnett
Joe Pesci great as David Ferry.

Compelling but very long.

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 11:38pm

The Raging Bile Duct wrote: »

King of them all though is the documentary Dear Zachary. Best watched without knowing anything about it for maximum 'why is life so terrible?' pondering afterwards.

oh god i read about this at the time and couldn't even watch it the *once*

4Ad · 15-09-2020 11:46pm

Addle wrote: »

Similarly, the Wind that Shakes the Barley.

You'd be fair angry and rebellious alright !

bradolf pittler · 16-09-2020 6:33am

2 Films spring to mind for me,

Come and See.
Russian WW2 drama about the Nazi occupation of Belarus.Its just relentlessly harrowing.
Theres an image of the young soldier with a gun pointed to his head by a Nazi officer that stuck with me for a long time.The sheer terror in his face is so believable. There was a story that the young man in the main role had to be treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after filming was finished.

The War Zone.
English drama about a family who moved to the coast to start a new life.
Starred Ray Winstone and a very young Colin Farrell in a small role.
There were a couple of scenes in this film that literally made my blood boil,stomach churn and skin crawl at the same time.

Although I've seen both films only once and thought they were decent i have no desire to ever watch them again.

brevity · 16-09-2020 10:59am

bradolf pittler wrote: »

The War Zone.
English drama about a family who moved to the coast to start a new life.
Starred Ray Winstone and a very young Colin Farrell in a small role.
There were a couple of scenes in this film that literally made my blood boil,stomach churn and skin crawl at the same time.

I remember this movie and I had the exact same reaction.

[Deleted User] · 16-09-2020 11:05am

Done excellent movies already mentioned.

I'm going to throw in schindler's list and mystic river.

Schindler's while excellent, was grim and any genuine crime mystery film just isn't the same when is solved.

AllForIt · 16-09-2020 11:06am

Defiantly more recently The Joker. Got the DVD copy but never watched it. Maybe in 10 years when it has faded from my memory.

The Best Movie, You Never Want to See Again?

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