Are Movies Better the Second Time?
Filed under: Critical Thought, Fandom, Home Entertainment
Have you ever dismissed a movie as an unmitigated piece of junk, and then seen it a second time and thought, "That wasn't so bad"? Xan Brooks in The Guardian raises the question: "Who's at fault if a film fails on a first viewing and succeeds on the second? The viewer, the film-maker, or the tangled, criss-crossing dialogue between the two?"
He notes the turn-around he experienced with the Chilean drama Tony Manero, which is due for US release shortly. and admits that he is "nagged by the suspicion that there may be many other films in need of hasty reappraisal." The influential film critic Pauline Kael famously said she never watched a movie more than once, but Newsweek film critic Joe Morgenstern completed changed his mind about Bonnie and Clyde after describing it as a "squalid shoot-em-up for the moron trade." His mea culpa read in part: "I am sorry to say I consider that review grossly unfair and regrettably inaccurate."
I'm not suggesting that every bad movie will suddenly blossom into a classic with a second viewing. Our own Scott Weinberg recently watched Howard the Duck again, and that sucker is still a "$40 million dollar poop-nugget." On the other hand, my estimation of the original Friday the 13th rose with a recent reviewing, and Peter Bogdanovich's films have been rising in stock for me lately after falling through the floor for a period of my critical life.
What about you? Have repeat viewings changed your mind, perhaps after a period of years, either for good or for bad? Are you now convinced that Citizen Kane isn't so bad after all, or ready to give Watchmen a second chance when it hits DVD?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-08-2009 @ 10:38PM
Andy said...
Boy, you know...I would say a lot of movies are...in particular in IMAX.
The spectacle of the experience can be overwhelming on first viewing.
The first time I saw The Dark Knight in IMAX last summer, I missed a lot of plot points that I picked up only during a second viewing. The IMAX was just kicking my ass the first time out.
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4-10-2009 @ 9:10AM
LordPaul said...
Heh, I was the otehr way round - at the IMAX I was indeed overwhelmed but every time I've put the Blu Ray on I've ended up asleep.
4-08-2009 @ 10:48PM
c said...
Movies to me are like music. Some bands you just like from the first time you hear them. While others it takes a couple of times to really enjoy the music.
Movies are the same way in reverse.. Usually I like a movie better the first time then after watching again I don't care for it as much. Except Akira Kurasawa's movies I like better each time I watch them.
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4-09-2009 @ 12:17PM
Dan said...
The first part of what you said, about having to see some flicks more than once to appreciate them (like music) is perfect. I feel the same way. Some of my favorite albums are ones that I either hated on first listen or skimmed through, whatever.
One particular movie that comes to mind for me is Miami Vice. When I saw it in theatres when it first came out, I thought it sucked. Then about a month ago or so I watched it on USA, surprised the hell out of myself by loving it, and went out and bought it.
4-08-2009 @ 10:52PM
Arif said...
I gotta agree with you on this one. When I saw Sin City for the first time, I wasn't impressed but a second viewing made me a fan of it. Same goes with Quantum of Solace. I guess for QoS I had big expectations after Casino Royale but the 2nd time, I had lowered my expectations and it certainly was better.
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4-08-2009 @ 10:51PM
Germain said...
I think movies are best the third time. Here's why.
The first time you watch a movie, you are digesting the story. That's your main point of concentration and whether or not you enjoy that story is the main thing that will decide what you liked about it.
The second time, the film has an expectation attached to it. Whether you loved it, hated it or are in the middle, you are EXPECTING something from the movie. And it delivers but it can't live up to that first showing cause nothing is new.
On the third viewing though, there's nothing to live up (or down) to. You aren't surprised. You can enjoy the minutia of a film and watch it almost like a filmmaker - from inside the movie.
That, to me, is the best experience. When a movie has no expectations to live up to and it doesn't surprise you. Then, and only then, can you truly appreciate it.
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4-09-2009 @ 10:27AM
Jerald Brewer said...
You are exactly right. A great movie delivers time & time & time again. Case in point: I just finished SAVING PRIVATE for the 4th time. This time I was really struck at how good the non-action scenes were! Does anybody doubt that this movie got stiffed by the Academy! It is a classic!
4-09-2009 @ 12:44AM
Greg said...
I probably shouldn't admit this, but I hated Batman Begins the first time I saw it. But I saw it again about a year ago and liked it. I really don't know what I disliked about it, but at least I was able to give it a second chance because if I hadn't, I might never have experienced The Dark Knight. If that had happened, I would have missed out big time.
Also, I saw The Dark Knight in IMAX and was able to follow all of the plot points, but I guess everyone is different.
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4-09-2009 @ 10:28AM
Jerald Brewer said...
Andy, I'm with you on TDK. IMAX tends to overwhelm everything, but I still love it.
There are 3 notable movies I've done 180s on: the 2nd Indy movie, CASINO & TRAINING DAY. I wasn't prepared for how dark & brutal they'd be. CASINO physical violence caught me off guard & I hated Denzel's work in TD --on 1st viewing.
CASINO is now 1 of my 3 favorite Scosese movies (along w/ GOODFELLAS & TAXI DRIVER).
And Denzel's bad cop is 1 of the top 10 performances by an actor ever.
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4-08-2009 @ 11:19PM
Brice_J said...
despised @ first, loved second time: das boot, lawrence of arabia, boogie nights
despise right now sans second viewing: crash (2004), the matrix, fight club
despise no matter how many times i see: the usual suspects, 2001: a space oddyssey, the prestige
yes, they are all critically hailed.. but aren't those the ones we usually give a second chance anyway? i don't see many people giving 'in the name of the king' a second viewing after dismissing it the first.
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4-09-2009 @ 5:07AM
pete thomson said...
Its all a question of taste. I love The Prestige a complex layered movie that stands up really well. The first 3 Alien movies are excellent, anything by Atom Egoyan and Sunshine as long as you turn it off 15 mins before the end. Anything by Hitchcock too! The Usual Suspects doesnt work because you recognise the whole thing is a fabrication so there is zero suspense that isnt a problem is The Prestige because the concept is genius.
4-09-2009 @ 12:58AM
Mike said...
It's not often I even rewatch a movie I strongly disliked the first time around, let alone end up enjoying it more upon further viewing. One exception I can think of offhand is the first Austin Powers. Really did not like it initially. Thought it was slow and stupid. But it grew on me. Although I haven't had any desire to revisit it for years.
There are a lot of movies I appreciate more and more with repeated viewings. Movies I enjoyed initially, but enjoy even more over time.
And then there are the films I hated as a child and wonder if I should revisit. Maybe I was too young to appreciate them. Movies like Quick Change and L.A. Story have a strong following, but I remember hate, hate, hating them.
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4-09-2009 @ 1:14AM
Hamid said...
I can quote many examples but the recent one is the "Quantum of Solace".
I watched it in cinema first and didn't like it that much. Off course I was comparing it with "Casino Royale" but watching it again on the DVD made me realized how unfair I have been about this film and so went my third viewing which was the most pleasurable.
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4-09-2009 @ 1:57AM
Wendy said...
I know this isn't necessarily what you're talking about, but I feel like a lot of the films I like more the second time have to do with my own maturity more than the film itself.
In second year of university I saw Breathless, and wasn't particularly impressed by it, but after watching it again last week I realized how much I absolutely love it.
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4-09-2009 @ 2:10AM
ElevatorHappyFun said...
Memento was amazing the first time I saw it.
The second time was great because I picked up so much more.
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4-09-2009 @ 4:00AM
Eric said...
It's usually the complex films that have this effect. I highly recommend people go see Once Upon A Time In Mexico more than once. I didn't know WTH was going on the first time, but the second viewing blew my mind.
Also, some directors tailor their films to allow for repeated viewings. You'll see what I mean if you watch Pan's Labyrinth or Oldboy.
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4-09-2009 @ 8:55AM
Chris Glemaud said...
I try to never watch a film more than once. Sometimes, by chance, I'll catch it a second time (like Memento) or if I really love it (ex. Mulholland Dr.) but usually, if I don't love it the first go, I won't watch it a second time.
But, there are films that I've hated at first, then come to love it the more I THOUGHT about it (again, Mulholland Dr.) so maybe I'm just rewatching it in my brain. Who knows.
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4-09-2009 @ 10:37AM
Mike said...
It sounds like you're saying that you make it a point not to watch any film more than once. Why would you do that? Why wouldn't you want to revisit a movie that you enjoyed? Or, at the very least, why would you make it a point not to?
I just don't understand how someone can like movies, but not want to see any of them again.
4-09-2009 @ 10:44AM
Chris Glemaud said...
I like to see new film. There are very very few movies that I'll revisit, but I'd rather watch something I've never seen before. I'm the same way with almost everything, I won't read a book twice, I won't see a piece of art twice (the only exception is music.) I just feel that once you experience it, it's time to move on to something else.
4-09-2009 @ 8:56AM
ML said...
The only examples I can think of off-hand are movies that I saw when I was too young to appreciate them, then saw later as an adult, say, Vertigo and The Red Shoes. (Try on The Red Shoes for size when you're four or five ...)
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