"Gun To My Head" BD Viewing (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

Would you believe ..... none? If I love/like a movie that love/like remains always. But I watch these movies when I'm "in the mood" for them. I haven't been in the mood for Singin' In The Rain for a few years now but that doesn't mean I love it any less or need a gun to my head to make me watch it. On the other hand, I watch Pillow Talk (my go to "comfort food" movie) about once a year! Reading some of the responses, it doesn't appear that some of these movies were loved in the first place (like Reggie and GWTW) so they don't seem to fit in with the "once loved but not anymore" original post. There are dozens of classics I disliked from my first watch (It's A Wonderful Life, Grapes Of Wrath, Shadow Of A Doubt, Clockwork Orange, Last Year At Marienbad to name a handful) so why would I watch them a second time and I certainly don't need to justify my disliking them. But I've never gotten tired of a film I love/like but then again, I don't watch them until they wear out their welcome.

I am similar, as I do not re-watch favorite films over and over again in a short period of time -- I try to go at least 1-2 years between viewings, which keeps me from getting tired of a film. I do remember getting burned out on Blade Runner after watching all the different cuts over a few weeks when the multi-cut BD set was released several years ago, so that taught me a valuable lesson.

I don't think I'd go so far as to say that anything I like or once liked would be gun-to-my-head viewing, but I will say that I used to really love The Lord of the Rings movies. Then The Hobbit happened, and that was so much worse that it has turned me off to the whole series now. If I pulled the DVDs of The Lord of the Rings off the shelf, I'm sure I would like them, but I haven't felt any desire to do so in many years (but I won't get rid of theme either.) Jackson should not have gone back to that well in a lesser version of what he did the first time, but of course he did, and of course it made WB a ton of money while somewhat tarnishing the legacy of the original trilogy by connection and diminishing returns. I never bought the Blu-rays either.

I love the LOTR films, but did not care for the Hobbit films, either. In my case, though, I've pretty much blocked those Hobbit films from my mind, and I sold my BD copies (still have the digital copies available, but haven't had the desire to watch them). So LOTR remains a favorite series that I revisit every few years, and in my mind The Hobbit films never happened.

 

[Robin9]

Good subject. Something that's happened to me the last few years is looking at a long loved film...& getting bored about halfway through it! Maybe it's all to easy these days with the shelf packed with movies, another reason not to over-view a favourite film. Also, maybe it's not all the getting of wisdom as we get older, I seem to be getting shallower, I wouldn't even attempt some books that I read easily 30-40 years ago, as for films, my attention span is shrinking.

With great regret, I have to admit I know exactly what you mean because I'm the same!

 

[Thomas T]

Speaking of Singin' in the Rain, I love the film EXCEPT . . . the "Broadway Melody" segment is pure torture, just another example of Gene Kelly going "artistic" and ending up pretentious. It's also the only part of the film that has dated; the rest of it is timeless. Thanks to DVD and Blu, though, I can improve the film by hitting chapter advance!

But if you skip Broadway Melody, there's no sexy long legged Cyd Charisse in shimmering green! That's one of the highlights of the movie for me! Skipping Broadway Melody is like skipping The Girl Hunt from The Band Wagon! Unthinkable! It's such an integral part of the film's fabric. But hey, to each his own and hit the chapter button to your heart's content!

 

[RichMurphy]

In my college days, I thought THE GO-BETWEEN with Julie Christie and Alan Bates was one of the most brilliant films I'd even seen. I watched it recently on TCM was wondered what the hell I was thinking back then. I barely made it through the whole movie. And no, I DIDN'T do drugs in college. LOL

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

And no, I DIDN'T do drugs in college.

Perhaps you should have then.

 

[Brent Reid]

2001 a space bore - never could see why this film was so praised.

Lawrence of Arabia- another bore-like watching grass grow.

Short and to the point – I salute your candour, sir!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

it doesn't appear that some of these movies were loved in the first place (like Reggie and GWTW)

Well, this is true and Terry did mention films he once loved that he no longer does in his post but he named the thread "Gun to my head viewing" and I don't really have films I loved and have broken up with and can't stand them anymore.

So, really when I mentioned Jaws, I would not need to have a gun to my head to watch it again nor would I go screaming from the room...I'm just burned out on it a bit. I still love it but we are more in a separation than a full fledged divorce.

I guess the films that I would consider "gun to my head" pictures are ones I did not like in the first place. So, GWTW is a film I really never want to see again. Prometheus is a film I never want to see again and I am a Ridley Scott fan. Gentleman's Agreement is a film I never want to see again and I am a Gregory Peck fan. Crash from 2004 is a film I never want to see again. Brian De Palma's Scarface I will never see again and I absolutely love De Palma.

I think the most common thing for me in this "gun to my head" category is that the film had to be something I wanted to like and was looking forward to seeing but then was really disappointed with.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is about which Blu-ray you can't watch again, right? I edited the thread title to indicate that's what this thread is about. Otherwise, if it's only about which movie you can't watch again, this thread belongs in Movies.

 

[Brent Reid]

Well, this is true and Terry did mention films he once loved that he no longer does in his post but he named the thread "Gun to my head viewing" and I don't really have films I loved and have broken up with and can't stand them anymore.

So, really when I mentioned Jaws, I would not need to have a gun to my head to watch it again nor would I go screaming from the room...I'm just burned out on it a bit. I still love it but we are more in a separation than a full fledged divorce.

I guess the films that I would consider "gun to my head" pictures are ones I did not like in the first place. So, GWTW is a film I really never want to see again. Prometheus is a film I never want to see again and I am a Ridley Scott fan. Gentleman's Agreement is a film I never want to see again and I am a Gregory Peck fan. Crash from 2004 is a film I never want to see again. Brian De Palma's Scarface I will never see again and I absolutely love De Palma.

I think the most common thing for me in this "gun to my head" category is that the film had to be something I wanted to like and was looking forward to seeing but then was really disappointed with.

Eloquently stated and I can relate to your viewpoint, having also been disappointed by many films widely hailed as classics. But I do find the older I get, the less guilty I feel about not liking them. No one can possibly be expected to like everything equally – what a boring world that would be!

For instance, I love both the Alien and Predator franchises and enjoy every film to a greater or lesser degree, with one exception: I'm with you on Prometheus. But to someone somewhere, it's the best of the lot. And I respect that, I really do. Even though they're wrong.

 

[Matt Hough]

Certain long epics I can watch with great pleasure over and over again (Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia), but I'd have to be paid a pretty penny to sit through Heaven's Gate or The Last Emperor again. With the latter, I had to review the theatrical and extended versions on Criterion's original DVD set and then later when it was issued on Blu-ray, I watched both versions each again. That's on top of seeing it in the theater during its original run, so five viewings of The Last Emperor is all I ever want to experience.

 

[TJPC]

Perhaps I put it in the wrong area, I really don’t care what format the movie is in. I have most movies I am interested in on disc already. A lot are still on DVD.

When I replace a DVD with a Blu ray, I watch it right away. I buy the latest movies, but also like to hunt the dump bins at Walmart etc. Some times I see some that are real bargoons. The first thing that goes through my head is “can I watch this again?”. I can’t buy even a $3.99 Blu ray from Big Lots if my answer is no.

Really this gives me the thought that I should cull my collection and get rid of these!

 

[Alan Tully]

This thread is about which Blu-ray you can't watch again, right? I edited the thread title to indicate that's what this thread is about. Otherwise, if it's only about which movie you can't watch again, this thread belongs in Movies.

Yes, but if you want to see a film looking its best (or own it), it's going to have to be Blu-ray. I don't have Blu-rays of Citizen Kane or The Third Man, as I think I've rung out all the pleasure I could get from them, & I only have Gone With The Wind because of the fantastic extras (& most of them have been dropped now). Some films last the course & some films don't (I've just viewed & totally enjoyed Warner's stunning Blu-ray of She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, I'll never get rid of that one).

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm guess I'm one of the few that I don't have a single movie title that I liked at one time and now I've grown tired of watching ever again. The only exceptions might be some films that I liked when I was a kid that don't appeal to me any longer since I'm what they call a mature adult now.

 

[Douglas R]

I certainly think it's a mistake to watch a film too many times. Unfortunately I now find it difficult to watch many great films which I've loved in the past because I know then so well and can run them through my mind. I bought the 4K Ultra HD BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAII but found it a chore to sit through, having seen it countless times theatrically and on video formats over a 60 year period. Sadly, the same applies to such classics as BEN-HUR, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and many others.

There are some films, however, which I've seen an equal number of times and never get tired of seeing again, such as THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS and THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. I think what makes the difference is that those are all dialogue driven films. I think one can (at least I can) more easily re-watch films where the dialogue is literate, meaningful and interesting. Re-viewing action and spectacle in a film inevitably loses its effect and becomes tiresome.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Now, I see "gun to my head", and the thought that immediately springs to mind are what I call: "one and done" films. These are the movies that I simply cannot sit through more than once because no matter how technically proficient and brilliant they are, I cannot sit through them more than once because they are unrelentingly grim. Requiem for a Dream and Clockwork Orange come to mind, as does High-Rise. I also think of critically acclaimed films that just completely lost me on the first viewing, like Saturday Night Fever and Midnight Cowboy. I know people love these movies, but SNF struck me as so narcissistic as to completely turn me off, and Midnight Cowboy left me cold, as I couldn't find a "way in" with any of the characters.

 

[Alan Tully]

Yup, there's films you can enjoy time & again & films you just can't (& some classic films there). And I avoid grim films, real life is grim enough sometimes. I thought Midnight Cowboy was pretty joyless when I saw it at the cinema, & feel no need to look at it again, let alone own it, despite the online joy at its release.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Now, I see "gun to my head", and the thought that immediately springs to mind are what I call: "one and done" films. These are the movies that I simply cannot sit through more than once because no matter how technically proficient and brilliant they are, I cannot sit through them more than once because they are unrelentingly grim. Requiem for a Dream and Clockwork Orange come to mind, as does High-Rise. I also think of critically acclaimed films that just completely lost me on the first viewing, like Saturday Night Fever and Midnight Cowboy. I know people love these movies, but SNF struck me as so narcissistic as to completely turn me off, and Midnight Cowboy left me cold, as I couldn't find a "way in" with any of the characters.

I feel the same way about certain films -- I think they are well done, but are just brutal to watch. Requiem for a Dream is a perfect example -- I thought it was very well done, but I felt so empty and horrible after watching it that I never want to go through that experience again. A Clockwork Orange is similar, although I do have it in my collection and have watched it occasionally, but it's certainly not a "feel good" film.