About a month ago I turned to TCM and caught most of The Long, Long Trailer starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. I didn’t see the begining, though, and started watching from when they get the trailer stuck in the mud and Lucy is trying to prepare food while the trailer is slanted. Sliding eggs and Lucy falling down ensues.
Just yesterday I turned to TCM to catch the same movie in the same exact spot. Someday I will see the begining!
Sergio Leone movies. I’ve seen the beginning of Once Upon a Time in the West several times, and the end at least once, but never the middle.
Same thing with A Fistful of Dollars. I’d seen the beginning and the end, but never the whole thing until just last month.
I once caught a few minutes of Battlefield Earth. It was unclear what was going on, but John Travolta was really overacting.
Anyone else remember that scene?
The African Queen (Katherine Hepburn)
I’ve come in on that movie 3-4 times, always during the same scene, where she’s floating down the river in a boat with a man, and Nazis or somebody are shooting at them. Gonna have to actually watch the whole movie someday.
Ghost World. I’ve seen it maybe 3 or 4 times. I almost always tune in during the “party” with all of the nerdy record buffs. I think one time I tuned in during the porn store scene. I still have no idea exactly how the two girls got involved with Steve Buscemi. Apparently it involved some kind of cruel practical joke involving a blind date (or something…).
Enid and Rebecca find this personal ad written by Seymore (Buscemi’s character). They think it’s hilarious and call him up pretending to be the girl he’s asking about in the ad. Enid (she’s the one who calls) asks him to meet at this retro diner. He shows up but of course the woman never shows. They follow him back to his house. They go back a day later and see that he has a garage sale. Enid buys an old blues record from him and that’s how their relationship gets started, because she’s fascinated with this record.
Years ago, my brother was on a Beetlejuice kick and decided to tape it, and watch it endlessly. Whenever I was on the computer, I pretty much had to endure it. But I rarely saw the second half. A couple of years ago, I saw it in its entirety…the thing is, though, I never really connected the first part with the second. I knew it was the same movie, but for me, BJ was Barbara and Adam Maitland dealing with being dead, with Lydia bitching about her parents a bit. The part where the Deitzes realize the house is haunted…that just feels so unfamiliar. Even though it is an integral part of the movie, it feels strange to watch it.
The Andromeda Strain.
I always miss at least the first half hour. If I hadn’t read the book, I would have no idea who these people were or what they were doing in that underground lab.
Hamlet -
“Which version?” you ask.
Doesn’t matter.
I’ve never seen the ghost scene in any version of Hamlet.
I’m pathetic.
I’ve seen the first 20 to 30 minutes of Dances With Wolves exactly 4 times. The 1st time was at a buddy’s place drinking beer and I rapidly lost interest when more people showed up and a party broke out, the following 2 times I fell asleep at about the same point, and the 4th time, when I sat down determined to finally watch it all, I was so crushingly bored I turned it off at that same spot. To this day I’ve never seen the rest of the movie and I couldn’t care less.
Another example was when A&E seemed to be running The Right Stuff on a weekly basis. I always seemed to tune in at the spot where the junior Whitehouse staffer runs into the conference room and breathlessly informs everyone “It’s called Sputnik!” to which the reply is “We know. Sit down.” This exchange, of course, signalled the end of any plans I may have had for that Sat/Sun afternoon because I always feel compelled to watch that movie whenever I come across it. To-date I’ve probably seen TRS all the way through 6 or 7 times and a dozen more in bits and pieces. I’ve been tempted to buy the recently released DVD but I’m afraid I’d never leave the house again.
I’ve rented “Joe vs. the Volcano” a couple of times just to watch the first fifteen or so minutes, especially where he quits his job and really tells off his jerky boss. 
I’ve always had this happen with Grease. But that’s ok, because I don’t like that movie anyway.
Also, when I was in college, we had a channel on the campus closed-circut TV that showed movies on a rotating basis. They’d pick 7 or 8 movies a month, and show them over and over along with various sporting events and such. One month, The Shawshank Redemption was one of the movies picked. This also happened to be a months where TNN (or TNT? or TBS? One of those) was showing The Shawshank Redemption about 4 times a day as well. So I’d get back to my room, turn on the TV, and no matter what time of the day it was it seemed like I could always find The Shawshank Redmeption playing. And I’d have to watch it till the end, because it’s one of my favorite movies. Needless to say, I didn’t get much work done that month…
The Beastmaster was the undisputed king of this phenomenon for me. Always on TV, always the same damn scene when I tuned in: The ferrets running down the corridor with the keys in their mouth, being chased by that rabid, hooded crazy guy.
Lately it’s been The American President - always the scene where Sydney first visits the White House and embarrasses herself.
Heh, I had forgotten about The Beastmaster! For me it is always the beginning I catch.
Not a favorite of mine, but good for a laugh.
CLUELESS- I find it totally hilarious but I’ve never caught it from the start
This happened a lot to me as a kid, when we would watch movies at night and I would have to go to bed early or I’d nod off in the middle.
In The Princess Bride a few main scenes that define it for me are the part where the prince in disguise goes after the three guys, first the swordsman, then the giant, then the leader. After that it’s a bit of a blur, then they’re in the forest with flames and giant rats. Then another blur, and suddenly the swordsman and the giant are in a village reuniting. Then there’s a blur until the swordsman says his line (I forget his exact name, but he says it and then “You killed my father, prepare to die”). Those scenes are pretty much all I remembered from the movie until I watched it again recently and filled it all in.
A less complicated one is The Bear, which I ended up watching the first half hour or so of multiple times, but until recently never saw the rest of the movie.