Movies You’ve Watched More Than 10 Times (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

Most of my favorite movies fall into this category.

In particular, I watched Aladdin so many times that the VHS broke simply from overuse and I had to head to eBay to buy another one when it was out of print, long before the DVD came out. True story.

My all-tome in-theater record for a single theatrical release is Slumdog Millionaire with six. This doesn't count movies that have been re-released; if it's a childhood favorite, in particular, I'll usually go back, and I didn't track how many times I went as a kid like I do now. I've seen The Lion King in theaters three times since its original release, once in its 2002-3 IMAX engagement and twice during the 2011 wide reissue. So, if you added those to however many times I went in 1994, which I'm guessing was two or three, it might match or exceed Slumdog in total views, but I'm not positive.

I would love to see Aladdin again in a theater, but Disney has constantly passed over it for re-release, so I haven't had the opportunity since 1992-3.

 

[AlanJ]

"Many of my friends and I were then intensely interested in this admittedly unscientific survey question and frequented those revival theaters almost weekly as well as watching modern movies in regular theaters even more frequently.

Have to say the results were shockingly obvious. In virtually every case, a good/great older movie KICKED ASS with the audiences in terms of eliciting an emotional response the filmmakers clearly intended to elicit. They laughed big where the laughs were meant to come, they dabbed away tears, gasped in fear, were gripped with tension and worry over what would happen next and so on. Those movies took their audience for a group "ride" that felt glorious. Not in absolutely every case, of course. But often and consistently enough to suggest this was no mere accomplishment of a rare few classics.

Meanwhile, for the most part, the emotional "ride" provided by those then modern 1980s/1990s films was as tepid as hours old dishwater. Not saying the stories, filmmaking techniques and performances were bad exactly. It's just that audiences somehow managed to watch them in more of a passive state, not really being required or even asked by the filmmakers to produce much of an emotional response. Yes, there were exceptions here and there. But precious few."

Cineman, that is such a wise reply, and it mirrors my own experiences exactly. I remember, quite recently, seeing a revival of the ORIGINAL (Lana Turner) "Postman Always Rings Twice", and, when it ended, the cinema was absolutely abuzz with people turning to total strangers around them or behind them to TALK about the movie. At the end of a revival of "Three-Ten to Yuma", the audience applauded, and I was so touched, because it was always, in my mind, right up there with the great westerns, and I thought no one else cared. The last time, and the second and third-last times, that "A Star is Born" (the Garland one) was revived, the audience applauded IN THE MIDDLE, as if they were at a live concert. "North by Northwest" ALWAYS gets applause.I could go on and on. Those old filmmakers (in order, Tay Garnett, Delmer Daves, George Cukor, Alfred Hitchcock) knew how to INVOLVE the audience.

Now go back to five years ago, when my teenage daughters were working in a snack bar in a cinema complex (showing only new movies), and needed picking up. While I waited for them, I used to watch the audiences coming out of two or three different sessions. I never knew, of course, WHAT films they were coming out of. But it didn't matter. The response was always the same. Each group walked out like zombies, not looking at each other, not smiling, not saying a word... just thinking about where they had parked the car. The impression they always gave was, "Well, we did our duty, and now that's over, so let's just move on." This went on month after month for nearly two years. I never ever noticed one person -- young or old -- who looked like they had just had an experience of ANY kind, much less one that they were involved with. I don't know what it is, you tell me: is it the directors, the actors, the script? Somehow, movies have lost contact with the audience, and people seem to go along to the latest tepid offering because... well, because you HAVE to, don't you? That's just what everyone does! Well, that's a sad comment on the entertainment industry of the twenty-first century.

Thanks for posting such a deep analysis. Is there a solution, I wonder?

 

[Stan]

"The Empire Strikes Back" at least 30 times. Worked at a movie theatre and we had agreements with others so employees could go to shows free of charge.

"Aliens", "Titanic", "The Abyss", pretty much anything James Cameron does.

 

[Mysto]

"Many of my friends and I were then intensely interested in this admittedly unscientific survey question and frequented those revival theaters almost weekly as well as watching modern movies in regular theaters even more frequently.

Have to say the results were shockingly obvious. In virtually every case, a good/great older movie KICKED ASS with the audiences in terms of eliciting an emotional response the filmmakers clearly intended to elicit. They laughed big where the laughs were meant to come, they dabbed away tears, gasped in fear, were gripped with tension and worry over what would happen next and so on. Those movies took their audience for a group "ride" that felt glorious. Not in absolutely every case, of course. But often and consistently enough to suggest this was no mere accomplishment of a rare few classics.

Meanwhile, for the most part, the emotional "ride" provided by those then modern 1980s/1990s films was as tepid as hours old dishwater. Not saying the stories, filmmaking techniques and performances were bad exactly. It's just that audiences somehow managed to watch them in more of a passive state, not really being required or even asked by the filmmakers to produce much of an emotional response. Yes, there were exceptions here and there. But precious few."

Cineman, that is such a wise reply, and it mirrors my own experiences exactly. I remember, quite recently, seeing a revival of the ORIGINAL (Lana Turner) "Postman Always Rings Twice", and, when it ended, the cinema was absolutely abuzz with people turning to total strangers around them or behind them to TALK about the movie. At the end of a revival of "Three-Ten to Yuma", the audience applauded, and I was so touched, because it was always, in my mind, right up there with the great westerns, and I thought no one else cared. The last time, and the second and third-last times, that "A Star is Born" (the Garland one) was revived, the audience applauded IN THE MIDDLE, as if they were at a live concert. "North by Northwest" ALWAYS gets applause.I could go on and on. Those old filmmakers (in order, Tay Garnett, Delmer Daves, George Cukor, Alfred Hitchcock) knew how to INVOLVE the audience.

Now go back to five years ago, when my teenage daughters were working in a snack bar in a cinema complex (showing only new movies), and needed picking up. While I waited for them, I used to watch the audiences coming out of two or three different sessions. I never knew, of course, WHAT films they were coming out of. But it didn't matter. The response was always the same. Each group walked out like zombies, not looking at each other, not smiling, not saying a word... just thinking about where they had parked the car. The impression they always gave was, "Well, we did our duty, and now that's over, so let's just move on." This went on month after month for nearly two years. I never ever noticed one person -- young or old -- who looked like they had just had an experience of ANY kind, much less one that they were involved with. I don't know what it is, you tell me: is it the directors, the actors, the script? Somehow, movies have lost contact with the audience, and people seem to go along to the latest tepid offering because... well, because you HAVE to, don't you? That's just what everyone does! Well, that's a sad comment on the entertainment industry of the twenty-first century.

Thanks for posting such a deep analysis. Is there a solution, I wonder?

We used to live near Detroit and were lucky to have the Detroit Theater Organ club not too far away. On a regular basis they had silent movies with organ accompaniment. One showing was a Laurel & Hardy festival. The laughter in the theater was long and loud through the entire presentation. No widescreen - no color - no sound (talking) yet the audience was howling. This wasn't just older adults (although I doubt many of us went to the show in 1920) this included kids and TEENAGERS. A good movie was and is a good movie.

Perhaps it's as Ben Mankiewicz has stated - Movies before Hollywood knew how to blow stuff up.

And in staying on topic - I have many Laurel and Hardy movies on my over 10 list. Number one is probably March of the Wooden Soldiers - We have watched this every Christmas (along with Holiday Inn) for many years.

 

[Todd H]

Way too many to list but I will say I've seen each of the films in the original Star Wars trilogy, the first three Indiana Jones films, and Jaws over 100 times each easily.

 

[JPCinema]

Vertigo
Days of Heaven
The Lion in Winter
Women in Love
Sunset Blvd
All About Eve
After Hours
The Egyptian
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Cleopatra
Lolita
Room With a View
Howard's End
Chinatown
Rosemary's Baby
The Sound of Music
Doctor Zhivago
Psycho
The Pink Panther
A Shot in the Dark
The Nun's Story
Gypsy
Splendor in the Grass
The Sand Pebbles
The Innocents
SOB
The Yellow Rolls Royce
Move Over Darling
The Apartment
Body Heat
La Dolce Vita
The Cardinal
El Cid
West Side Story
Midnight Cowboy
Passage to India
Law of Desire
Little Shop of Horrors ( musical version)
Hud
In Harms Way
The Searchers
Jules and Jim
Grand Prix
What a Way to Go!
To Kill A Mockingbird
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
L'Avventura
Barry Lyndon
2001
Patton
Youth
The Great Beauty
Il Gattopardo
The Conformist
The Sheltering Sky
Bob and Ted and Carol and Alice
and many more ....

 

[Martin Dew]

Jaws
Where Eagles Dare
North by Northwest
Apocalypse Now
Ben-Hur
Schindler's List

 

[BobO'Link]

I'm always fascinated seeing films I absolutely do not like on others 10 or more viewings listings. I always want to know why someone likes a film I do not like. I often come away with a greater appreciation for such films, even if it doesn't sway my overall opinion. That, too, makes for "good" cinema.

 

[Kyrsten Brad]

Skatetown USA (1979)
Star Wars Original Trilogy (1977-1983)
Star Wars, The Phantom Menace (1999)
Star Trek, The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek II, The Wrath Of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III, The Search For Spock (1984)
Star Trek, Generations (1994)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1966)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
Licence To Kill (1989)
Goldeneye (1995)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Casablanca (1942)
Way Way Out (1966)

 

[Raul Marquez]

Jaws
Where Eagles Dare
North by Northwest
Apocalypse Now
Ben-Hur
Schindler's List

Yup,

Where Eagles Dare

and The Dirty Dozen


Both films we used to rent them in our high school in 16mm (remember those?) for fundraisers. My father had a Bell & Howell 16mm projector and since I was the projectionist at school, I took the films home over the weekend and used to watch them endlessly.

To this list I must add: The Great Race, Doctor Zhivago, Grand Prix, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, The Magus, and Woodstock, among others...

Good Memories !

Raul

 

[Mark Booth]

‘The Greatest Showman’ will make my viewed 10+ times list by the end of the month. So much fun!

Mark

 

[Urbadec]

The Blood of Heroes (1989) I've watched about 8 times
American Mary (2012) I've watched about 6

 

[Mysto]

I decided to go back over these lists. What a wonderful diversity of choices. Because of the selections I am obtaining movies I had not watched and re-watching others that I had neglected. For everyone that posted - Thanks. Anybody else want to share?

 

[John Dirk]

I decided to go back over these lists. What a wonderful diversity of choices. Because of the selections I am obtaining movies I had not watched and re-watching others that I had neglected. For everyone that posted - Thanks. Anybody else want to share?

I couldn't agree more This is ultimately one of the things that draws me here most.

 

[John Dirk]

Most of my favorite movies fall into this category.

In particular, I watched Aladdin so many times that the VHS broke simply from overuse and I had to head to eBay to buy another one when it was out of print, long before the DVD came out. True story.

My all-tome in-theater record for a single theatrical release is Slumdog Millionaire with six. This doesn't count movies that have been re-released; if it's a childhood favorite, in particular, I'll usually go back, and I didn't track how many times I went as a kid like I do now. I've seen The Lion King in theaters three times since its original release, once in its 2002-3 IMAX engagement and twice during the 2011 wide reissue. So, if you added those to however many times I went in 1994, which I'm guessing was two or three, it might match or exceed Slumdog in total views, but I'm not positive.

I would love to see Aladdin again in a theater, but Disney has constantly passed over it for re-release, so I haven't had the opportunity since 1992-3.

I watch movies in a "theater" every night. A dedicated home theater room trumps commercial theaters in pretty much every category. If you have one that's awesome. If not, you probably don't know what you're missing.

 

[Mysto]

I watch movies in a "theater" every night. A dedicated home theater room trumps commercial theaters in pretty much every category. If you have one that's awesome. If not, you probably don't know what you're missing.

Finally I've figured out a way to have my own theater. Only had it for about 3 months after over 70 years of waiting. The room is a part time guest room part time home theater. We only have room for two (four if we crowd) but I have DTS 5.1 and a 140" screen (and that's at about 10 feet), I love it.

 

[John Dirk]

Finally I've figured out a way to have my own theater. Only had it for about 3 months after over 70 years of waiting. The room is a part time guest room part time home theater. We only have room for two (four if we crowd) but I have DTS 5.1 and a 140" screen (and that's at about 10 feet), I love it.

Mine seats five and, with respect to others, I like it that way.

 

[jcroy]

Idiocracy

(Watched it too many times).

Out of all the optical discs I have, Idiocracy has had an extremely high replay value for me. I have probably watched it over 100-200+ times already.

 

[jcroy]

The only other thing I've watched over 100+ times already, is season 1 of the original Battlestar Galactica.

 

[Mysto]

The only other thing I've watched over 100+ times already, is season 1 of the original Battlestar Galactica.

That is something. I have a few that maybe have hit 20 but nothing in the 100 times range. It's great you have found something you enjoy that much.