Ask HN: Which movies did you watch multiple times?

Just sit and watch, while not doing anything else? Die Hard. At least once a year since it came out in 1988. Die Hard and pizza have been a Christmas Day tradition since it came out on VHS in 1989. (I saw it in the theater in 1988.)

Otherwise, if I am watching a movie more than once, it's wile I am doing something else. Working from home, I often have old science fiction B-movies -- both the MST3K versions and unriffed versions -- running in the background. Others I'll "watch" while doing something else are Animal House, Blues Brothers, the Lethal Weapon films, Patton, James Bond, and some others.

Fight Club.

It came out at a time in my life when I was struggling to avoid the pull of consumerism and had a strong sense of isolation in the modern world. I used to watch this quite often.

When it came out I was also at a point in my life when I was interested in screenwriting and was watching sometimes as many as eight movies a week, in part to study screenplays and stories. I would sometimes watch this a couple times a month during that time.

I hear you. Fight Club had a big impact on me as well.

+1 for Fight Club

The Matrix. One of the big things for me in movies is pacing. And The Matrix does it so perfectly. You have highs. You have lows. You have quiet moments, you have intense moments. You're never bored or overwhelmed while watching this movie, and yet it so smoothly transitions you from scene to scene, and you're always in just the right spot for the next one.

And visual and thematic motifs that should seem heavy-handed but somehow just glide past behind all the action (Distorted mirrors! Distorted mirrors everywhere!) Arguably bullet-time was another form of visual distortion. Remember how in the 5 years after the Matrix, bullet-time seemed like it was used fucking everywhere? Movies, video games, TV commercials? This was back when convincing special effects were still thin on the ground, so bullet-time had quite the impact the first time everyone saw it.

Also, in my opinion the social metaphor of The Matrix has become more relevant over time. For 90's sci-fi, it has aged like wine.

Bullet time was used ad nauseum at the olympics this year, and I couldn't understand why, because it added no additional value other than looking cool.

I first watched Pulp Fiction when I was ~13. I had it on DVD and didn't know what to expect. Watched it alone at the farm when I was just bored. I was blown away. For some reason I watched each scene twice in a row, first the scene, then again with the directors commentary. I don't think I ever did that again, but it was one of the most enjoyable movie experiences of my life.

I have to say that it is one of the few movies I’ve watched twice and enjoyed the second time

Like you, I watched it when I was young, and a bunch of stuff probably flew over my head

Watching it as an adult was pretty fun, and it aged better than expected

I watch movies with intensity - 110% pure focus (and never, ever with any distractions). So, it's extremely rare I watch any movie twice. Maybe a total of around five movies ever, usually viewed years apart. Pulp Fiction is the only movie I ever watched twice on consecutive days. I saw it in the theater the first week it came out and went back again the next night.

Of course, it's obviously an incredible movie but the key reason for my immediate rewatch is that the film's structure is just so fascinating. BTW, Blade Runner is the only film I've watched five or more times.

At 13yo I was still reading Donald Duck euro-comics :D I think the PF scene with The Gimp and the gagged dude would have confused me greatly..

I found that I actually only really like a movie or tv show if it is infinitely (aka a lot; more than 50x without getting bored) rewatchable (for me obviously); not many movies are. Some favorites which fall in that category; Alien, Aliens, The Thing, Das Boot, Cold Lazarus (the Dennis P one), ...

It is very personal as looking through what other people mention ; many of those I couldn't sit through once, but if friends tell me to give it another go, I watch 2-10 times to see if it grows. Rarely it does, but there have been cases. Notably everyone likes Pulp Fiction; I saw it at least 15 times and find it unwatchable.

I have watched The Lord of The Rings trilogy- extended edition many times, something like 7/8 times.

There are two series that I have watched 2/3 times- The Wire and Narcos first two seasons with Wagner Moura.

I have also watched 3 idiots quite a few times. I also remember watching Inception and Inglorious Bastards multiple times. I have also watched Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Casino Royale and Skyfall multiple times.

If you want a few random insights into LOTR I was an extra in it back when it was being filmed. I captured a bunch of thoughts / memories and random recollections into a video:

https://customer-yttq5m392rsx80xb.cloudflarestream.com/a44ff...

I'm not YouTube personality so it's pretty rough (I also couldn't upload it to YouTube because of all the footage, hence the CloudFlare link). Anyway, you might like some of my random anecdotes from it.

This is actually awesome, I‘m enjoying this tremendously right now!

Thanks for sharing it. I will surely check it out.

>Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The most fun and rewatchable M:I movie IMO.

  Ghost In The Shell (1998)
  Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
  Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2006)
  District 9 (2008)
  Inception (2010)
  Rouge One (2016)

  A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Ive only ever watched the first Ghost in The Shell, do the others have the same animation style and feel to them?

Nope! All 3 of those movies are very different.

The 2nd has more CGI and more esoteric monologues than the 1st.

The 3rd is more about solving an interesting mystery. The ending doesn't have as big of a wow factor unless you've seen the two installments of of the Stand Alone Complex series. It also builds upon the implications of the first move's ending.

    Original Star Wars trilogy.
    Lord of the Rings
    American Psycho
    Total Recall (1990)
    Blade Runner
    Love Actually
    The Fifth Element
    Unbreakable
    Pulp Fiction
    Four Weddings and a Funeral
    Guardians of the Galaxy
    X-Men
    X-Men the Last Stand

Showing my age here, but I started to lose interest in movies after the 2000s. No I do not want to watch a remake of [Blade Runner, X-Men, etc...]. Also X-Men was great, but my interest didn't stretch to Captain America and Iron Man, so the MCU was a loss for me.

> Lord of the Rings American Psycho Total Recall (1990)

i'd watch that

Groundhog Day, I’ve been watching it every day since it was released.

Deeply ashamed I never thought of that joke

Oh I get now

Do you also watch Memento?

A tattoo on my thigh says I don’t

Themes, respectively: choice, bureaucracy, angst, infiltration, AI, art, negotiation, perimeters, aristocracy, trade, hacking, dogma:

  The Adjustment Bureau
  Brazil
  The Breakfast Club
  Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  CHAPPiE
  Equilibrium 
  Heat
  Inception
  The Leopard
  Margin Call
  Ratatoutille
  Smallfoot

The Winter Soldier is probably the most rewatchable movie I've ever watched. You know exactly what's gonna happen, but you're hyped up regardless.

I don’t know why you got downvoted, you’re absolutely right. It’s very rewatchable.

Mad Max: Fury Road. Great with a surround system, especially the sandstorm section.

1917. Great cinematography

Tenet. Makes much more sense than the first time. Better on surrounds

The Hateful Eight. The small cast feels very much like Margin Call. Great storytelling

Prey. Very good

World War Z. Pure action.

I recommend watching Tenet with the viewing guide, spacetime diagram, and FAQ from /r/tenet.

Primer is what you want.

And subtitles.

I feel like the understanding curve for Tenet is an opens-downward parabola.

The first time you're just along for the ride

The 2nd, 3rd time you're piecing it together.

After you think about it too much you realize that it's great cinema but parts of it doesn't work ("So the Protagonist emerges from the turnstile, going backwards in time, shoots at himself (!!!), misses, and then those bullet holes in the shatterproof glass travel backwards in time until... the glass is manufactured in the glass factory?")

(Yes? Or am I missing something? Let me know if I am - the 'bullet holes going backwards in time' bugs me. Like, why would contractors install the bullet-ridden panel? :) )

At this point , I think it’s quantum that has collapsed at a particular point of time and people just don’t remark (just studied quantum computing). Let say a, b, c, d are successive points in time and c is when the protagonist decides to go back in time and he revert back in b. The whole b-c timeline collapses due to the simultaneous time directions.

I'm going to check out Mad Max for that! My show off my home theatre sound / Atmos go to movies are Edge of Tomorrow, Dune, and the newer Blade Runner.

I very highly recommend World War Z the audiobook version. It's great, and IMO, much better than the movie.

Furiosa didn’t have the grandiosity and great pacing of Mad Max: Fury Road, but it still had great audio. I’d rewatch with a better sound system.

What a great question! Many interesting movies to check out in these comments!

My own list, I re-watch movies the same way I re-listen to music, often to get in a particular mode of thinking, as they become familiar, I mostly daydream while appreciating some particular concept and whatever new minutiae, or ways of understanding, creeps into my mind.

Hackers - 30+ times, for dreaming about a world that never was and never will be, for reminding myself how cool computers used to seem.

The Crow - 20+ times, for thinking about the world

Koyaanisqatsi - 15+ times, for thinking about my life in the world

Alien - 10+ times, for thinking about the future that passed us by

Terminator 1 and 2 - 10+ times, for examining a time that never was, or passed me by, and because Arnold is awesome!

A Clockwork Orange, 10+ times, to reflect on violence and aesthetic

Event Horizon, 10+ times, mostly for the aesthetic, and who dosen't love spaceships from hell ?

1984 - 5+ times, for thinking about humanity and society

Requiem for a Dream - 5+ times, for thinking about the value of life, and what society is

Once upon a time in the west - 5+ times, for thinking about loss, revenge and justice

Genocyber - 5+ times, to think about what life is for anyway

Stalker - 5+ times, frankly, mostly to look at the pretty pictures.

Lots of other amazing movies, I probably forgot some (time to watch again?)

Bonus:

TV Shows I've watched more than 10 times:

Star Trek TNG

Neon Genesis Evangelion

When I was a kid I apparently watched Ghostbusters every day. It was on a stolen rental that had the 2nd movie on after it, but my mother always stopped the video after the first and then would ask if I wanted to watch number 2 the next day, sometimes I did, but I always watched the first. When I realised how the tape player/tape worked and learned to read the box, I would watch them back to back. I think this was between the ages of 3 and 5 and it slowed down to weekly, fortnightly etc. I've probably seen the first movie over 1000 times, know every line and musical jingle.

I tend not to rewatch things anymore, maybe after 5 or 6 years if I really like something, usually with someone who hasn't seen it so I can share it with them.

Oddly enough I have absolutely no love for any further Ghostbusters sequels or the video games. As I said, I'm overly familiar with the first movie, I don't want to hear the same music I associate specifically with the Sedgewick Hotel playing during some other scene, or hear the same quotes or even see the same actors 50 years older. I want something new of the same quality and flavour of the era, which is pretty much impossible at this point in history. The themes, attitudes and imagery of the movie greatly influenced my interests and development as I grew up, even down to the clothes I wear today.

I treated my family’s copy of a copy of Spaceballs the same way. But Ghostbusters could easily have been my babysitter of choice if we’d owned it.

Narrowing the question to more recent times: The Death of Stalin because it made me laugh in the way Spaceballs used to.

Office Space, Demolition Man, Fight Club, City of Ghosts (2004), The Big Short, Ghost Dog, Slacker, most Tarantinos, various 60s italo-westerns, BTTF 1 & 2.

But there's a lot more movies coming to mind that deserve a 2nd watching imo, just haven't done so yet. Eg. most Coen Bros ones come to mind.

I have a handful of "regulars" that I watch repeatedly. Most of them are at the point now that I've seen them so many times that they can work as "background noise" when I'm coding or doing something else. IOW, I can turn the volume down fairly low and it serves a purpose, but I'm so familiar with the story already that I'm not likely to get drawn into actually paying attention to the movie (as opposed to whatever I'm working on) unless I'm at a point where I need a break anyway.

Some of the ones that are on that list for me:

The Matrix

The Matrix Resurrections

The Social Network

Inception

Sneakers

Hackers

Antitrust

Rad

Tron: Legacy

Vision Quest

Rocky (really the entire Rocky franchise)

The Karate Kid

Kickboxer

Bloodsport

Hard To Kill

Above The Law

When I was a kid, VHS home recording was a thing... so my sisters and I watched a few movies wayyyyy too many times.

  The Blues Brothers
  Stripes
  Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  Footloose
  Dirty Dancing
  Amadeus

These days, everything comes and goes from streaming. I'll watch these when they pop up again

  The Expanse
  Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  The Ministry of Time
  Groundhog Day
  Dirty Harry
  Apocalypse Now
  About Time
  Time Bandits

I rewatch many movies quite often. But the ones that really stand out, in no particular order...

  Wargames
  Jurassic Park 
  Evolution 
  Unstoppable 
  Lord of the Rings
  Die Hard 1, 2 and 3
  Alien 1, 2 and 3
  Back to the Future
  Ghost in the Shell (basically all of it, mostly seasons 1 and 2)
  The Martian
  Tron 1 and 2
  Anything by Miyazaki, but Howl's Moving Castle even more so

So I Married An Axe Murderer - so many good quotes!

Real Genius

The Princess Bride

Ghostbusters 1 & 2

Back to the Future

Shawshank Redemption

The Fifth Element (coming to theaters again soon via Fathom Events, already have tickets for me and my kids!)

You call out So I Married An Axe Murderer for good quotes, in a list that also has The Princess Bride? The Princess Bride is like a bottomless well of good quotes!

My first introduction to "beat poetry" was my high school English teacher playing us the Mike Myers scene from So I Married an Axe Murderer.

"Hey Jane, get me off this crazy thing.. called love"

Hunt for Red October

The Outpost

Master and Commander

The Martian

All four Matrix movies

The Godfather Trilogy, best in a single sitting (Connie’s arc is awesome, the cinematography of the third epic; the only problem is how much more of the outside world each of the sequels needs).

Greyhound

A Bridge Too Far (which has changed dramatically as I have learned over the last almost fifty years; I now see it as so subtlety tongue in cheek and cynical).

Draft Day. Possibly the best constructed movie.

If you don't mind my asking, what do you like about the 4th Matrix?

I’ve been struggling with how best to express it, but I think it comes down to the recapitulation, in the musical sense, i.e., how a composer will revisit a theme and take it in a new or at least different direction; to the möbius strip/meta quality; and to the banality of the evil of the antagonist: why, yes, that’s exactly how I would expect a deranged and resentful program to punish its (perceived) enemy.

The continuing question of perception, both of reality and of values, is a key element of all of that.

It’s true to the original, repeating parts of it without ever being the same. The River of The Matrix, or the Matrix of Thaddeus, if you will.

- Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice) Helped during some of the hardest times in my life, it taught me self-forgiveness and empathy.

The original Taking of Pelham123. I grew up in NYC. I rode the subway to high school (Brooklyn Tech) every day. The movie is technically accurate and pretty close to the technically accurate book.

BTW - a friend 'in the system' explains the twisting action necessary in today's subway cars would make "The Gimmick" worthless.

'The City of the Lost Children' and 'Dark City' were movies that made a deep impression on me when they came out, and so I watch them regularly still to this day.

- LoTR, at least annually. Never seen the extended edition.

- Anything by Michael Mann, Miami Vice being one of my favorites (simply noted as it's typically not on many folks favored list).

- John Ford Cavalry trilogy.

- I've seen "13 Hours" several times. Not your typical Michael Bay movie.

- Bowfinger. So funny.

- The two best Star Trek Movies: Star Trek 2, and Galaxy Quest.

I’m also a repeat LotR watcher, but I always watch the extended edition. Any reason why you never watch those?

I simply never bought them.

As a general rule, all movies knock me unconscious. It would probably be 5 years of repeated watching before I caught all the new stuff anyway.

The Hobbit is just OK for me.

Yeah. Somehow the Hobbit movies have all of the ingredients but just don’t come together.

"Groundhog day" of course

most of Schwarzenegger movies because he is cool

Back to the future trilogy

Fight club

Some of the best soviet ones (Kin-dza-dza, Garage, Mimino, Irony of fate etc.)

Rocky

Forrest gump

- Hair (and listened soundtrack hundreds of times)

- Coffee and Cigarettes

- Before Sunrise (and to less extent - Before Sunset)

- Pulp Fiction

- Clerks, Chasing Amy

- Leon Professional

- Motorcycle Diaries

These are not as interesting since I assume they're on everyone's list, but I must admit I'm rewatching all movies in the series, even those which are considered weak:

- Lotr, Godfather, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Matrix

I basically never rewatch movies, but I've seen Dune (2021) at least 8 times. Will probably do the same when part two comes to streaming services. Something about Villeneuve's version really captures the awe of Herbert's universe for me.

One more - The Princess Bride.

Part two has already been released.

I rarely re-watch movies, and will fall asleep if I try, but I can always watch The Fifth Element.

I don't know what kind of deal the creators of The Fifth Element have done but I'm pretty sure more than 50% of the time I check into a hotel if I turn on the tv it will be playing on one of the channels and I'll watch it from whatever point it is up to.

Kiki’s Delivery Service is a parable about creative work and burnout. I often put it on in the background during difficult periods at work.

Tenet to understand wtf they were saying

Jerry Maguire. Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy and sequel (Smiley's People). an obscure film called Cabin of Errors.

There’s a movie version of Smiley’s People?

I love Tinker Tailor and have watched it many times too. I’d love a sequel.

I meant the series, which BTW is on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ld2X0Fvypw

For me, anything based mostly on story or suspense is out, because I know what's going to happen. Even if they are some of my favorites. So usually it's for the visuals, music, or action.

Hardcore Henry I've probably watched the most. Such an absolutely wild action movie.

For visuals, I've watched What Dreams May Come(despite it being pretty heavy) and Tarsem Singh's "The Fall" probably five times each. The latter is hard to find, but definitely worth a watch if you come across it.

I've always loved What Dreams May Come and felt similarly about The Fountain. Do you have any other recommendations?

I actually haven't seen that one, I'll check it out.

I liked the visuals in Life of Pi a lot. Also, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, for obvious reasons.

What dreams may come is sublime, and sad and beautiful. I've rewatched and remain charmed.

Try 2006's The Fall for another special film that surprises your heart and gives a visual treat.

Also really enjoyed What Dreams May Come despite its lack of success at the box office.

People are probably already aware of the fact, but it is based on a novel of the same name by Richard Matheson — who also wrote I Am Legend (which has had its own fair share of film adaptations).

I can't believe I'm not seeing any Guy Ritchie anywhere. Particularly Snatch, but Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels too.

And almost anything with Brad Pitt. Lots of votes for Fight Club, but what about Legends of the Fall, A River Runs Through It, 12 Monkeys, or Cool World?

And now that I'm thinking about it, Dances With Wolves. Lonesome Dove TV miniseries. Braveheart. The Departed. Lots more, I'm sure.

Revolver is underrated.

This is Spinal Tap is burned into my brain, to the point where the jokes stop being jokes and start being basic parts of my cognition.

Some that haven’t been mentioned yet: Matinee, The First Great Train Robbery, Dave, Ghibli movies (Laputa, Mononoke, Totoro, Kiki, …), Mad Max 2, Nightmare Before Christmas, Edge of Tomorrow, Tremors, Godzilla Minus One, Watchmen, The Fly, Dark City, Passengers, Predestination, Strange Days, WarGames, Tron, Timecrimes, Sneakers, The Frighteners.

Love Laputa. Personally Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is probably my favorite Ghibli movie - I've definitely watched that one about a dozen times. The opening song still gives me chills.

I read the Nausicaä manga first (highly recommended), the movie then didn’t quite live up to it for me.

The Mask. It was one of the few movies my grandmother had on VHS, and my sister loved it enough to watch it multiple times, on repeat every time we'd visit.

I binge certain directors from time to time, but I've really got a thing for reading scripts, especially for films that never got made like the Pee-Wee Herman Story or Ghostbusters 3.

The American Alien(s) 1,2 and 3 Limitless The Bourne movies Heat Leon

It's not about the movies themselves but for example with Bourne or the American, it's certain scenes that get me in a mood. A single professional or group doing his / its thing, it's kind of calming.

Feel free to suggest movies in a similar vain.

Here are some not-too-mainstream I'd really liked:

  Second hand lions (2003)
  Hidden Figures (2016)
  Donnie Darko (2001)
  This Beautiful Fantastic (2016)
  Les émotifs anonymes (2010)
  It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
  The Lunchbox (2013)
  Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
  Angel-A (2005)
  Warrior (2011)
  Welcome to the Rileys (2010)
  Tigerland (2000)
  October Sky (1999)
  Arlen Faber (2009)
  Joueuse (2009)

And some mainstream:

  The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
  Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
  The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
  Down Periscope (1996)
  Spy Game (2001)
  Drive (2011)
  The Guard (2011)
  V for Vendetta (2005)
  Lost in Translation (2003)
  Into the Wild (2007)
  The Big Lebowski (1998)

And some animation:

  Megamind (2010)
  How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
  Up (2009)
  WALL·E (2008)
  Ratatouille (2007)

Have fun :-)

- Nolan: Tenet, the Prestige, Memento, Interstellar

- MCU/Marvel: Iron Man 1-3, Cap Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 1-2

- Scifi: Coherence, Volition, Primer, Predestination

- Mystery/Thriller: Shutter Island, Triangle

- Action: Commuter (+anything Liam Neeson), Wanted, Salt

- Comedy: Shaolin Soccer, Wolf of Wall St

- Horror: The Conjuring (+universe)

A person that can appreciate Nolan’s Tenet gets automatically befriended by me.

Likewise:) But the more I watch it, the more I understand why it was labelled as 'pretentious' by first-time watchers.

In case you didn't know: Coherence is almost entirely improv - there was no script, and it was shot in just 5 days. I don't tell people before they watch it, because you can't tell. The cast each got a notecard each day of shooting, but they had no idea what was coming, and even were fed lies about the others.

> "We shot over five days, and instead of a script I had my own 12-page treatment that I spent about a year working on. It outlined all of the twists, and reveals, and character arcs and pieces of the puzzle that needed to happen scene-by-scene. But each day, instead of getting a script, the actors would get a page of notes for their individual character, whether it was a backstory or information about their motivations. They would come prepared for their character only. They had no idea what the other characters received, so each night there were completely real reactions, and surprises and responses. This was all in the pursuit of naturalistic performances. The goal was to get them listening to each other, and engaged in the mystery of it all.

> ...They were completely in the dark. All the surprises you see are real... You’re improvising along with the actors as a director, and cameraman. My DP, Nic Sadler, and I told them, 'You can go anywhere you want in the house and we’ll follow you. We’re not going to rehearse it or block it.' We just treated it almost like a documentary unfolding in front of us."

Source, and spoilers: https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/how-gotham-nomine...

Woah! I knew it was improv, but didn't know it took just 5 days! I'm convinced Coherence trivia is as interesting as the movie.

I don’t usually rewatch movies on my own, so this is mostly a list of movies I thought were special enough to show other people.

Eighth grade

Mother!

The Thing

Rosemary’s Baby

Hereditary

Dead Ringers

Happiness

Synecdoche, New York

The Triplets of Bellville

Prometheus. It's way better as a film than people think. It's a perfect greek tragedy.

It's an incredibly frustrating film that sank my unbesmirched appreciation for Ridley Scott.

it is both of these things

I love this film, despite the hate, and despite its flaws, despite a few missed opportunities ... It's very progressive: it's completely different from what's gone before and opens up possibilities for future directions. It's a great film, though perhaps a better science fiction/horror film than an ALIEN film.

The Ninth Gate (Roman Polanski), which I have seen perhaps 5 times. I think it is the hidden meaning in old books which draws me to this movie. Videodrome (David Cronenberg) and recently Midsommar (Ari Aster) plus many of the already mentioned.

Oh heck, some time back, I sat down and made a list for myself - the films I can watch, and re-watch again and again (WIP) https://brajeshwar.com/film/

Here's what I term my "flypaper" movies. If I happen to glance at the satellite TV guide and notice one of these coming up, there's a good change I'll be watching it.

  Lawrence of Arabia
  The Maltese Falcon
  Most Hitchcock films
  Blade Runner
  The Man From Snowy River
  The Martian
  Monty Python & the Holy Grail
  The Princess Bride
  Serenity
  The Thin Man series
  The Thing
  Tombstone
  Young Frankenstein
  Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  Clerks and most Kevin Smith movies
  Baby Drive and most Edgar Wright movies
  Fanboys
  Spinal Tap
  Kung Fu Hustle
  Apollo 13

i have rewatched the original star wars trilogy and then the prequels with my kids when they were old enough. mostly to make sure that they would see the original trilogy first before watching anything else star wars related as that might spoil some of the surprise moments for them.

generally i only rewatch something if i want to share it with my family or friends. did that with avatar, and will probably do it with lord of the rings, star trek and some other classics. ghostbusters for example. since a new one just came out recently, i am not letting my kids watch that until they have at least seen the original.

Best measure is to check out which movies have not disappeared from the hard disk. And that is both Solaris'es and couple of Kurosawas. And Leningrad Cowboys. Mostly because infinite source of funny snippets and memes.

I am most definitely not a rewatcher of movies, at least not regularly. There are precisely two though I have seen many, many times:

* The Emperor’s New Groove. I have no idea why I find this movie so funny. It feels just so perfectly timed, quotable and something that I relate to. I still laugh at pretty much every joke. * Defending Your Life. Very similar to the above. Albert Brooks’ dry humor is just so perfect. This one gets funnier the more times you watch it. Underrated, IMO.

I walked into the Emperors New Grove as a late teen when it was in theatres. We just wanted to see a movie, didn’t matter what.

We laughed so hard we got evil looks from kids in the theatre.

I still love it to this day.

Worth a read: https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/we-ll-never-make-that-...

The Crow

The Machine (if you like Ex Machina, try it)

Alien

Prometheus

Fight Club

Secretary

Casablanca

Kill Bill

The Emperor's New Groove

Star Wars Episode IV - The original goodness, not the CGI horror-show.

Star Wars: Rogue One

American Beauty

Dredd.

Hellboy (directors).

Blade Runner (theatrical).

Chocolat.

Noise (Australian film, 2007. Love that one).

I try not to watch films too many times in quick succession. The repetition dulls the experience for me.

A couple "Groundhog Day" responses, so I'll add "Day After Tomorrow" for the action version of the time-loop device.

Terminator 2 is also a nearly perfect movie.

Groundhog Day

Very meta response. Also watch out for that step its a DOOOOOOOZY.

- The Sting - The quintessential con movie.

- Amadeus - "Too many notes, Mozart!" A heavily romanticized retelling of the somewhat apocryphal rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

- Disney's Robin Hood - Get the dope on your horoscope~

- The NeverEnding Story - Because who didn't want to soar through the air on a luck dragon?

- Iron Monkey (少年黃飛鴻之鐵馬騮) - A retelling of the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung, with classic wire-fu and excellent fight choreography.

Terminator 1 & 2, Predator, Ghostbusters, Office Space, Step Brothers, Idiocracy, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (I find comedies the most re-watchable)

Of the ~700 movies I've watched (not bragging, just context - actual movie buffs watch thousands by the time they're my age), those I happily rewatch are:

The Thing (1982)

Silence of the Lambs

Alien

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Young Frankenstein

Rocky Horror

Raising Arizona

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Men in Black

Primer

But even those I've only seen a handful of times each. It takes a lot for me to want to watch/read/play something multiple times, as I'm the kind of person who always thinks, "but I could be trying something new, or getting something done".

The Thing and Alien are my two favorite movies. Silence of the Lambs is up there too.

Not movies but I've rewatched X-Files and Twin Peaks repeatedly as well.

Mostly, I will watch a movie a second or third time if I am tired and it's on TV and cannot sleep. So there is only a small intersection of films that I have watched multiple times and would admit to watching even once.

So excluding those, from most to least (probably).

- elf

- the Bourne identity

- groundhog day

- ronin

- Willie Wonka (the original)

- the fifth element

- ghost dog (any Jim Jarmusch)

- the blues brothers

- singin' in the rain

- crouching tiger, hidden dragon

- my friend totoro

I am probably leaving out quite a few, but all these films I have seen enough times to reconstruct in my head, scene by scene.

While there are only a few movies that I have seen in their entirety several times (5+); there are several scenes from certain movies that I have probably seen more than a dozen times.

1) Court scene from 'My Cousin Vinny' 2) Court scene from 'A Few Good Men' 3) Last 20 minutes from 'The Shining' 4) Escape sequence from 'Shawshank Redemption'

Star Wars: over 10 times

Contact: over 10 times

The Quiet Earth: over 10 times

I'm not much of a film buff, there's nothing I've watched over 20 times. Except Butt Babes in Bondage.

Birdman (2014)

Michael Keaton at his best. Edward Norton's great too. Good visual style too - it's presented as one continuous shot.

I keep coming back to this one too. It’s just a really well done movie, and I still sometimes notice new details when re-watching it.

LOTR The Matrix Gladiator No Country for Old Men QT: Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs PT Anderson: Boogie nights, Magnolia, There will be Blood Fight Club Nolan: Memento, Batman Galaxy Quest Dumb and dumber Jurassic Park Terminator 2 Princess Bride Star Wars OT Indiana Jones 1 & 3 Office Space

Every year: Mar 17: The Quiet Man Mothers Day: I Remember Momma May 4: Star Wars May 20: My Fair Lady Jun 4: Midway Jun 6: The Longest Day Fathers Day: Life With Father Jun 21: Midsummer’s Night Dream Sep 15: Battle of Britain Oct 24: LotR Fellowship Oct 31: Arsenic and Old Lace

The Princess Bride. Some parts make me tear up, and I don't think I'm a softie.

+1 for Office Space that others mentioned.

Spirited Away, High Fidelity, Kung Fu Panda, blade Runner (the Final Cut), guardians of the galaxy, stalker, Amelie, 99f

Dr. Strangelove or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb

Casablanca

The first Sean Connery James Bond films, Casino Royale with Daniel Craig

The Matrix

Django Unchained

The Wolf of Wall street

I always find it interesting in these threads that people don’t really love movies made after 2015 or so.

nu-movies aren't aiming to be loved in isolation, they've got more important corporate boxes to tick.

Bruce Willis Die Hard. It always astounds me that he becomes more badass as he gets balder and balder.

And all of Nolan's films.

- Interstellar (I cry like a baby watching Cooper and his daughter…)

- Back to the Future 1, 2 and 3

- Oblivion (Tom Cruise)

- Mission Impossible (all)

- The Hobbit (all)

- The Lord of the Rings (all)

As Above, So Below.

I've always been interested in occultism, philosophy and history; this movie combined all three, and was just so good, in my opinion. I initially watched it twice by myself, and then watched it with a friend, and again with another friend.

Inception (2010), Matrix (1999 was the best), John Wick series, Fast Furious 1, 2, Tokyo Drift.

Back to the Future 1 and 2, but I don't think I've ever successfully seen all of 3.

You are a true connoisseur, bravo!

Movies I think I truly great I usually only watch once, sometimes twice. If a movie ends and I just sit there thinking to myself… “wow”… I will probably never watch it again.

Movies I watch over and over again are movies that I relate to in some way or find comforting. These are ones I’ve watched at least 5 times, and some I’d bet more than 30 times.

- Back to the Future

- Home Alone

- What About Bob?

- It Could Happen to You

- Matilda

- As Good as It Gets

- Office Space

- Cruel Intentions

- Boiler Room

- Finding Forrester

- Training Day

- Super Troopers

- 8 Mile

- The Transporter

- Elf

- Bad Santa

- Mean Girls

- Saved!

- Garden State

- V for Vendetta

- Thank You for Smoking

- Stick It

- Little Miss Sunshine

- Idiocracy

- Hot Rod

- Run Fatboy Run

- The Other Guys

- Wreck-It Ralph

To name a few.

Studio Ghibli's movies. They are basically the confort movies for my kids and wife too.

Schindler’s List. Many times. Anchorman, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Donnie Darko

Interstellar, Inception, Dr. Strangelove, Goodfellas, Godfather, Full Metal Jacket

Movies I rewatch like once a year: Trainspotting (1996), Donnie Darko (2001), La Haine (1995)

Movies I've watched quite a few times and wouldn't mind watching again right now: The Matrix (1999), Akira, Breakfast Club

The Long Goodbye (R. Altman) Akira (Otomo) Cinema Paradiso (G. Tornatore) In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai) Tron (S. Lisberger) Stop Making Sense (J. Demme)

I am surprised to admit that I have watched zero dark thirty at least 5-6 times. Actually not sure why. It is good, but good enough for beyond two views?

For me, there's so many I watch over and over, but I think if I had to choose by the number of times I watched them, the top 5 would be:

Fight Club

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Raging Bull

Apocalypse Now

Cocaine Bear

Home alone Ferris Buhler Blues Brothers Field of dreams

* Laurel Canyon (Christian Bale/Kate Beckinsale)

* World War Z

* The Proposal

* The Dark Knight

* Assassination Nation

* Live Die Repeat

* Real Genius

* Back to the Future

* Top Secret!

* Alien Nation

* Star Wars (the first 2 made)

* American Ultra

* Deja Vue (Denzel)

* Mumford

* Groundhog Day

* State and Main

* Star Trek (Chris Pine)

Batman. Any Batman movie but specially the cartons.

Alien and Aliens. Those two movies are the perfect blend of timeless action, scifi, and horror.

I’m feeling really hopeful for Alien: Romulus.

in no particular order; HEAT, Aladdin, Lost Highway, Waking Life, Sonatine, Apocolypse Now, Punch Drunk Love.. lots more

The Blues Brothers. The Milagro Beanfield War. Caddy Shack. Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss.

All of Stephen Chow's movies.

Hunt for Red October and The Abyss. I like the low light feel of them. Dark mode movies!

God Father, Jason Bourne, Terminator,

All of ‘em, all ‘em sequels - a dozen times.

2001, Office Space, King of Hearts, They might be giants, Godfather trilogy

- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

- Bladerunner

- Alien 3 (also Alien, Aliens, Alien Resurrection, Prometheus)

- Pretty in Pink

- Breakfast Club

- The Exorcist

- Silence of the Lambs

- Inception

- Akira

- Ghost in the Shell

- Buckaroo Banzai

- Ghostbusters

- The Lives of Others

- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Firefly series and Serenity - watching them at least once a year.

Sideways

Back To The Future

Cinema Paradiso

Spaceballs

Up In Smoke (Cheech & Chong)

The Incredibles

Indiana Jones 1-3

Indiana Jones: Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (Rifftrax only)

Falling Down

Office Space

Man Bites Dog

Nothing To Lose

Idiocracy

Space Mutiny (MST3k)

Goodfellas

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Groundhog Day

Barbie

Full Metal Jacket

Mallrats

Flight Of The Navigator

The Founder

One Hour Photo

---

I'm pretty certain I've rewatched Sideways more than any other film.

Saved for the movie recommendations in the comments.

> Saved for the movie recommendations in the comments.

As an alternative to that approach, consider:

Upvoted: https://news.ycombinator.com/upvoted?id=L0in

Favorites: https://news.ycombinator.com/favorites?id=L0in

In your case, this second one would be less to skim through later, and the post title would remind you of the topic.

Bedazzled and Cloud Atlas, more than hmmmmm 50 times?

24 Hour Party People

Dogtown and Z Boys (Documentary)

Godzilla

Rollerball

Monty Python and The Holy Grail

Star Wars

The Hunger

Caddy Shack

Fear of a Black Hat

Straight Out of Compton

You’ve got to be more specific about Star Wars. Are you also counting the one in which Luke drinks milk from the tit of an animal? LMAO

If you ever visit a dairy farm, you may be in for a big surprise...

Whoa - 24 Hour Party People right up there at the top, and in such company.

The Message (1976)

Revenge of the Ninja

All the Chuck Norris movies

All the Schwarzenegger movies

Goonies

Flight of the Navigator

Revenge of the Nerds

Hannibal (2001), Godfather 1 & 2.

Alien, Jurassic Park, The Harry Potter films

Dr Strangelove

hackers, office space, grandma’s boy, indiana jones are movies I’ll watch forever.

A Good Year

Robin Hood (2010)

Gattaca

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Wimbledon (2004)

Supernova (2000)

London Boulevard

Yes, Gattaca somehow stuck with me over the years. It helps me value every team member.

For me, it's all about not leaving anything for the swim back.

Diehard

Speed

Jurrassic Park

To kill a mocking bird

Hear

Terminator - Judgement day

Independance day

Powder

A Beautiful Mind

My most (deliberately) rewatched movies include:

* Breakfast Club

* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

* Penn and Teller Get Killed

* Chungking Express

* Pink Floyd PULSE

* Black People Hate Me and They Hate My Glasses

* Pulp Fiction

* Fringe (not a movie)

You can probably identity my real identity from this list alone. YOLO.

Alien, Aliens

Terminator 2

The Matrix

Heat

Die Hard 1 & 2

Lord of the Rings

Usual Suspects

Star Wars Trilogy (originals only)

Unforgiven

The Predator

X-Men (2000)

Jurassic Park

Total Recall

Bourne Identity

Casablanca

Same here. I first saw it on television more than fifty years ago, and I still go back to it every few years. It has at least one major flaw—the letters of transit being so important even to the Nazis—and some minor ones—the absurdly well-dressed refugees, continuity issues with props appearing and disappearing—but the story, script, and sentimentality all redeem it for me.

Trading Places

Coming to America

Home Alone

Back to the Future

Gladiator

Snatch

Donnie Darko

Halloween (1979)

Anything by Tarantino

Blue Velvet

Scream

- Office Space

- Idiocracy

ET. I have no idea why.

All Tarantino movies.

Young Frankenstein

Master and Commander

Redline (2009)

Ocean's Eleven

Interstellar

Sneakers (1992)

(Saddened to see no love for such a great movie ...)

The Killer (Chow Yun-Fat by John Woo) There was a box in the Blockbuster that said, "This movie used more bullets than any in history!" There are multiple stories pulling in different directions, not just action.

Children of Men

For convenience, I asked ChatGPT to create this table, which summarizes how many times each movie has been mentioned in this conversation so far. It got a few counts wrong (as usual), but it still gives a good sense of the frequency. I hope it can be useful to someone:

| Movie | Number of Mentions | |-------------------------------------------|---------------------| | The Matrix | 9 | | Lord of the Rings Trilogy | 8 | | Pulp Fiction | 8 | | Alien | 7 | | Fight Club | 7 | | Ghostbusters | 6 | | Die Hard | 5 | | Back to the Future | 5 | | Inception | 5 | | Star Wars Trilogy (original) | 5 | | Groundhog Day | 5 | | Terminator 1 & 2 | 5 | | Jurassic Park | 4 | | The Thing | 4 | | The Fifth Element | 4 | | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | 4 | | Ghost in the Shell | 4 | | Interstellar | 4 | | Casablanca | 3 | | Office Space | 3 | | Shawshank Redemption | 3 | | The Godfather Trilogy | 3 | | The Blues Brothers | 3 | | Blade Runner | 3 | | Mad Max: Fury Road | 3 | | Unforgiven | 3 | | Total Recall (1990) | 3 | | The Crow | 3 | | The Princess Bride | 3 | | Akira | 3 | | The Big Lebowski | 3 | | Guardians of the Galaxy | 3 | | American Psycho | 3 | | Indiana Jones Trilogy | 3 | | Kiki’s Delivery Service | 2 | | Ratatouille | 2 | | A Clockwork Orange | 2 | | Mission Impossible (various) | 2 | | Casino Royale | 2 | | Skyfall | 2 | | Ferris Bueller's Day Off | 2 | | Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan | 2 | | Apocalypse Now | 2 | | The Shining | 2 | | Groundhog Day | 2 | | Donnie Darko | 2 | | Dune (2021) | 2 | | Gladiator | 2 | | Predator | 2 | | Seven/Se7en | 2 | | The Dark Knight | 2 | | Snatch | 2 | | Prometheus | 2 | | Schindler’s List | 2 | | The Wolf of Wall Street | 2 | | Dr. Strangelove | 2 | | Silence of the Lambs | 2 | | Kill Bill | 2 | | Real Genius | 2 | | Top Secret! | 2 | | Tenet | 2 | | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | 2 | | The Adjustment Bureau | 2 | | The Expanse | 2 | | Pulp Fiction | 2 |

Unforgiven

Moonstruck

Sense and Sensibility

Enemy At The Gates

Das Boot

Sink The Bismark

The Cruel Sea

Moana

Frozen

Lego movie

Mulan

101 Dalmatians

Super Mario Bros

——

Having kids does that to you.

Sicario

Fight Club

The Matrix

Seven/Se7en

fantozzi

TL;DR: Rewatching this trilogy is a cultural inception.

Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colours trilogy (French: Trois couleurs, Polish: Trzy kolory)

- Three Colours: Blue (1993)

- Three Colours: White (1994)

- Three Colours: Red (1994)

. . .

Rewatching the Three Colours trilogy rewards with an ever deeper appreciation — Kieślowski's nuanced storytelling, interconnected narratives, and recurring symbols become more apparent and meaningful, with each viewing revealing new layers of meaning in the films' themes of liberty, equality, and fraternity, explored through irony and ambiguity.

Rewatching allows for a greater appreciation of how music, color, and composition work together to evoke specific emotions and convey complex ideas, enabling a richer understanding of their cultural context and how Kieślowski subtly critiques and plays with the political ideals of the French Republic.

Kieślowski's work is rich with subtle connections between characters and storylines across the trilogy. For instance, the brief appearances of characters from other films, like Karol's courtroom scene in Blue, create a cohesive narrative universe that rewards attentive viewers. These cross-film connections highlight the director's meticulous planning and the philosophical underpinnings that run through the trilogy.

Each film’s unique perspective on its respective theme – Blue as an anti-tragedy, White as an anti-comedy, and Red as an anti-romance – allows for various interpretations, making the trilogy an ideal subject for repeated viewings. Several rewatchings let viewers see beyond the surface narrative and explore the deeper existential questions Kieślowski poses about human connections, fate, and the meaning of freedom, equality, and fraternity.

In my experience, few film series reward multiple viewings as richly as Kieślowski's Three Colours trilogy. It's so layered that every rewatch feels like a new conversation with a brilliant, nuanced filmmaker -- a cultural inception.

. . .

If you enjoy the director, see also La double vie de Véronique (English: The Double Life of Veronique, Polish: Podwójne życie Weroniki) exploring themes of identity, love, and human intuition, through the lives of a Polish singer and French music teacher who are "doubles".

Of course, the connection Kieślowski explores is not just about the modern relationship between these countries, steeped in centuries of shared history and cultural exchange, but even more how European nations, despite their "alternate timelines" through history, share common human experiences and values today.

I believe you're correct but using the adverb 'deliberately' watched multiple times would be a slightly more accurate measure.