Have you ever watched a movie twice? Or three times? How about ten times? Maybe twenty? What about thirty?
I’ve watched It’s a Wonderful Life, my favorite movie, at least 15 times all the way through. I hope I eventually watch it fifty times. It may not be the best movie ever made, but show me a movie that has just as much depth of character and range of emotions. At turns, it’s funny, sad, happy, mad. I love it!
And sure, I’ve seen some of the Star Wars films maybe 10 times. Jerry Maguire and Top Gun? Probably around the same amount. Good Will Hunting and As Good as it Gets? Seven or eight Times. Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, and Out of Sight? Probably 5-7 times. I could keep going, but…
Doesn’t this seem odd to you? How many of you watch any given film over and over? I know kids do? How many of you have watched (or heard) Frozen playing in the background over the last few months? The same can be said of the Wizard of Oz, the Harry Potter films, or any of the animated films by Disney or Dreamworks.
I can only imagine that people watch movies again and again because they’re relatively short (compared to books, anyway) and because some of them have lots of excitement, humor, or romance. For instance, I’ve watched Titanic (one of my favorites) only three or four times. Why? Because it’s so long. And I kind of need that ramp up of the story before we get to the second half, which is incredibly nightmarish. Now, I could watch the second half many times. But I don’t because I need to get my emotions ready to care about what happens to the characters in the second half.
But I’m guilty of watching romantic comedies by Julia Roberts too much as well. I’ve probably seen Pretty Woman 10 times and both Notting Hill and My Best Friend’s Wedding five or six times.
So why do I (or other people) watch the same movie over and over again? Probably to get a hint of the emotion you felt upon first watching the film. We’d all be hard-pressed to laugh as hard at the same movie every time you see it. I just re-watched We’re the Millers over the weekend, and none of the scenes were as funny as the first time around, but they were still funny. I’d guess the same goes for any movie, whether it’s action-oriented or dramatic. We long to feel the same way we felt when we first saw that film.
It could also be a memory of watching the film. Have you ever gone to see a movie on a date? And since you really liked that guy or girl, you really liked the film? And then later, if things didn’t work out between you, you re-watched the film and thought…what was I thinking? That movie sucked!
Or have you ever remembered a time when the air smelled a certain way that took you back to a time in the past that was either happy or sad? I think that’s why we ultimately re-watch movies; to return to a feeling or sensation, to remember what was back when, and to try and bring those emotions into the present?
What do you think?
