I do love a good film and have a central selection of about 30 which I will happily play on a regular basis as a sort of cuddly. Things like Apollo 13, The Firm, Road to Perdition, Godfather, The Ghost (the one based on Blair), The Queen and many others. However there are some films that I think you can only watch once for one reason or another and I wonder if any of you have any contributions on that score. I am thinking here of films that maybe are particularly harrowing and although brilliant, cannot be revisited. For starters I would nominate Clint Eastwood's films - The Changeling and then the two film set Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. The recent film called The Butler is another which in my view would be hard to see again. I hope I have explained this well enough and look forward to your thoughts.
'The Road' springs to mind. However, 'A Serbian Film' blows everything else out of the water. It is an example of a film that I will never watch again, and I physically couldn't bring myself to watch all of it in the first place.
A great shout JK, The Road depressed me no end (I guess that was the point, but jeez!) Cannot comment on the Serrbian thing but doesn't sound too appealing from your description.
May be I am of a desensitised generation but I can't think of a single film that I couldn't watch again. Well at least because of it's harrowing nature anyway. Plenty that are just to terrible to watch twice. I've seen the road, which I just found frustrating more than harrowing. FoOF and LfIJ were very good films and whilst I have only seen them once so far I can see me watching them again when they appear on one of the viewing services I have and her indoors being out. I also haven't even heard of the serbian one, however I would give it a go. To even come close I guess they have to be fairly real, I am very careful with my directions when I travel through suffolk after seeing wrongturn! Bah!
I've only heard awful things about A Serbian Film. That kind of film isn't something I'd seek out in the first place though, so I've not seen many harrowing films that are good enough to watch again, but I couldn't bring myself to. On a lighter note, and sticking with Eastwood, I enjoyed Gran Torino but would have absolutely no desire to watch it again. I tend to find most biographical films fit this category, The Imitation Game and Theory of Everything offer little to make a second viewing worthwhile.
I find humour and action the ones that draw me back again and again with; Blazzing saddles, Big Lebowski, Predetor, Lock stock and Gladiator, being my most watched. But if I find any film interesting or entertaining I may watch it more than once. Anyone seen the french film, Untouchable? about a rich french quadriplegic and his carer? Great film, biographical and I've already seen it a second time already since a first viewing less than two years ago. (I'm usually very cynical of foreign language films that are critically acclaimed but this one is a must! That's all a bit off topic, sorry TY. Bah!
Great film, that one. On the subject of foreign language ones, I saw 'Wild Tales' at the cinema on Sunday. Argentinian film comprised of several, separate short films. Amusing, dark in parts, and very well acted. I'd recommend it
For a film that can't really be watched a second time despite being fantastic is Memento. It's not because it's sick like all the other films above, but because discovering the storyline is so inherent to the film that it's pointless watching it again!
I was toying with mentioning memento, but I think it's a film that can work twice, but never again. Watching it the second time aware of what happens gives you a different perspective and lets you notice little bits and pieces.
On the DVD you can watch it in chronological order. Takes away from the mystique but if you've already seen it once, it's interesting to see the course of events in order.
Passchendale for me. Recorded it the other night to watch. What a waste of time. Pathetic film. 90 minutes of my life I won't get back
The Pianist is pretty gut wrenching. I haven't watched it a second time yet. I probably could but it's a hard one to get through. I consider my tolerance for pretty much anything very high but a Serbian Film just sounds like grotesque-ness for the sake of it. I've heard enough to know I never want to go near it.
Yeah, fair enough. I guess what you could say about Memento is that the second time you watch it it isn't the same film because of what you know and what you are looking for... So you can't watch it twice!
The Constant Gardener. Unfortunately too accurate regarding many things in Africa. It upset me and I won't watch it again.
Gangs of New York, what utter tripe and I'm probably in the minority when I also think that The Lord of the Rings trilogy was pants too and don't get me started on The Matrix films
