# Have you ever watched a movie or read a book more than 100 times? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568 "2010-06-26T05:38:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/61 "2010-06-28T14:27:34Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > …I can almost buy reading a John Grisham book in 3 hours (just barely; I can’t buy reading it in 1\*)… > > \*That’s about a page every 10 seconds, without taking anything resembling a break, which is just absurd. Heh. Reminds me of the _Calvin & Hobbes_ cartoon where Calvin has to read a book for a homework assignment. He quickly riffles the pages and declares “Done!” as he runs off to play. Hobbes rolls his eyes and says, “Reading is a snap if you don’t sweat the comprehension.” I don’t think I’ve ever read any book, or seen any movie, more than ten times. Even though I have passionate favorites, there are so many other unseen books and movies I still want to enjoy that I just don’t go back to the same ones _that_ often. My most-reread books are _Aztec_ by Gary Jennings, _Tuf Voyaging_ by George R.R. Martin, _The Lord of the Rings_ by J.R.R. Tolkien and _First Among Equals_ by Jeffrey Archer. My most-reseen movies are _The Fellowship of the Ring, Groundhog Day, Buckaroo Banzai, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Excalibur_ and _Star Wars_. ---
**Author:** ![Morgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Morgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgis)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/62 "2010-06-28T14:52:24Z")
I’ve seen _The Fifth Element_ at least 50 times. I haven’t been keeping track, but that number might be approaching 100. It’s easily my favorite movie and I love it more every time I see it. My family and I quote lines from it to each other all the time, especially “you want some more (in a robotic voice),” “chicken good,” “super green,” and “gimme da cash!” ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/63 "2010-06-28T15:30:07Z")
Probably not. I’ve read the Gospel of Matthew and the First Epistle to the Corinthians many, many times, but I doubt that it’s in the hundreds. Outside of the Bible by most read full-length books would be _The Phantom Tollbooth_, _The Hobbit_, and _Orthodoxy_, all of which I’ve probably read 10-20 times. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/64 "2010-06-28T15:50:35Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Well, thanks for the permission to doubt you all I like, and since you grant it, I doubt you an awful lot. You’re just far more brash and confident than any of the educated literature enthusiasts I’ve ever known (and I’ve known many.) Thinking 2 minutes per page is “more than enough time” for a post-colonial, postmodern labyrinth like The Satanic Verses really drives this home. > > You and I have very different ideas of reading for comprehension. You’re skimming. And even if you are the human embodiment of Merriam-Webster that you seem to be claiming to be when it comes to stopping to contemplate an unrecognized word (which, with your permission, I doubt), Rushdie (to beat that examplehorse far beyond death) makes up words, so if you’re not stopping to contemplate those, you’re not reading for comprehension or completeness. > > If I knew you in real life I’d ask you to read a page of a dense literary novel on a 2-minute timer, and then ask you to explain it thoroughly. I’d videotape it, upload it to youtube under the title “Man stumbles through explanation of book _ **HILARIOUS** _”, and get 10 million views. Well, if we ever do meet in real life, feel free to try your little experiment. You could try it on other people too, if you wanted, because I am not some sort of Speedy Gonzales of the reading world. However, any such experiment wouldn’t exactly turn out how you expect - not least that, even if anyone did actually stumble through an explanation of the book, it would make an incredibly dull video. You have my further permission to sit there chuckling to yourself, certain that you’re right - doesn’t seem any point in trying to argue with you further about _my_ own reading ability. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/65 "2010-06-28T15:59:24Z")
Hey, maybe he’s like Vicky the robot on Small Wonder and can read every single word on a page in a few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/66 "2010-06-28T16:08:32Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Hey, maybe he’s like Vicky the robot on Small Wonder and can read every single word on a page in a few seconds. She, and yeah, I can - most people can! You guys are seriously overestimating how long a few seconds lasts. Obviously, if the work is serious, then you also take some time to think about it, but reading things like lengthy posts on here? Yes, it takes a few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/67 "2010-06-28T16:13:04Z")
Two minutes isn’t that short, though. I mean, if I’m reading something because I have to know it or memorize it, I’ll spend more time on it. But if I’m enjoying myself, I’ll go really fast because I want to know what happens. Sometimes I’ll skim in the process of getting there, but I don’t consider that “not reading.” ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/68 "2010-06-28T16:20:47Z")
I’ve seen the Transformers movie (1986) well over a hundred times. Saw it twice in the theater back in 1986, bought it on videotape as soon as it hit Suncoast Video, replaced that videotape with a better edit, then bought it on DVD when they released it on that medium. There was a period of time when I was watching parts of it DAILY. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/69 "2010-06-28T16:36:04Z")
The only thing that I’ve watched or read that approaches 100 times is Silverado it is my favorite movie and I’ve been watching it abou 4 times a year since I was 5 so. For me rereading or rewatching is like hanging out with old friends. I know what they aregoing to do or how they think and being around those patterns comforts me. Right now I’ve been jonsing to hang around my friends in the Belgariad for a couple of months and I’m waiting to get through my new reads before I start that series over. It’s been about two years since we hung out and I’m not looking for deeper meaning, god knows there is none but I like the characters and enjoy spending time with them. There aren’t any books that I read more then once a year or every other year. The Hobbit probably is tops in total number of reads since I had it read to me the first time at 3 years old and started reading it on my own at about 7 but even then I’m probably only at about 10 or so. I’ve read The Eye of the World about 7-8 times and that is probably a close number two. Movies are easier because they take less time and I cano other thugs while I’m ‘watching’ them. There are 30-40 that I’ve watched over 20 times and probably more then 20 tha are in the 50-75 range. A lot of them are either brainless, I enjoy the Bad Boys movies, comforting, the Music Man or Singing in the Rain, and like a lot of the other rewatchers I don’t understand why someone should limit themselves to a single time being with something they enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/70 "2010-06-28T16:37:27Z")
The only commercial videotape my family had in the mid 80’s was _Star Trek II_. And only then because a cousin gave it to us. As far as my dad was concerned, it was inconceivable that one would _BUY_ a movie. I mean, you’re only gonna watch it once, right? The result is that I watched it two times a week at least for probably a few years. I can quote along with that movie forwards and back. Good thing it’s a good movie. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/71 "2010-06-28T16:43:16Z")
Oh, do comic books count? There are some of those that I’ve read over a hundred times. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/72 "2010-06-28T17:30:57Z")
I’ve read good/favorite books a half dozen times, maybe. I’ve probably seen a movie like Mary Poppins 15 or 20 times all the way through while babysitting or the like. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/73 "2010-06-28T17:51:29Z")
I must’ve seen Rocky Horror Picture Show over 40 times in the theater. Once friends and coworkers knew I had gone, they would beg me to take them because they didn’t want to be obvious virgin visitors to the event. My brother and his partner insisted I take them - when I did they found several of their gay friends in the crowd, dressed to kill, and they almost forgot I was their host. I’ve easily seen “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” well over 50 times. We were the first family in the neighborhood to get a VCR and my dad and I recorded the movie the last time it was shown on local public television. (Movies were all being pulled off the air due to the new video industry.) Needless to say, that movie made our house a very, very popular place for hanging out but we restrained ourselves and never showed the movie more than once a week. There are a few books that I’ve read more than ten times. “Hawaii” by James Michener comes to mind, but I haven’t read it in years now. I am an avid reader and often get the urge to re-read favorites. I usually find some new aspect to think about every time I do a re-read. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568/74 "2010-06-28T18:04:21Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > The only commercial videotape my family had in the mid 80’s was _Star Trek II_. And only then because a cousin gave it to us. As far as my dad was concerned, it was inconceivable that one would _BUY_ a movie. I mean, you’re only gonna watch it once, right? > > The result is that I watched it two times a week at least for probably a few years. I can quote along with that movie forwards and back. Good thing it’s a good movie. When I was a kid we had a just a handful of movies recorded on VHS, so I watched those movies dozens of times. For whatever reason, _Zorro, the Gay Blade_ was one of them, and I can still recite that movie by heart. (“And this hat, which needs re-blocking.”) _Star Trek II_ was another we had on tape, and _Fiddler on the Roof_. But other than those, there’s no movie I’ve seen in its entirety more than a dozen times or so. I do re-read books sometimes, but nowhere near 100 times for any book. There are several childhood and teenage favorites I’ve read a dozen times, and there are some other favorite books I’ve read 4-5 times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-watched-a-movie-or-read-a-book-more-than-100-times/544568.md?page=3)