There are lots of other movies that I’ve seen plenty (like Leon, Lethal Weapon, Jet Li’s Fist of Legend) but there’s something about the Fifth Element, I don’t know, it’s a bit like a 90 minute video of a music song you like, it has a lot of intensity and there’s so much to watch and listen to. And there’s a lot of warmth in there, also. Luc Besson got a really interesting group of people together to make this film. I recently saw Hero, which is also such a visual treat. Face Off also has such elements, like the scene near the end with a big firefight, where Nicholas Cage’s (character’s) son gets his walkman on and you see a slow-motion of people getting shot while listening to “Somewhere over the Rainbow”.
Of course, there are plenty of awesome movies out there many of whom I’ve seen a lot of times. I think though that since I got surround sound 12 years ago and a few years ago a nice (nothing special, just your average 82cm 100hz) widescreen TV made it’s entrance, I’m a sucker for audio-visual treats. A brilliant story line doesn’t last in the same way. But great acting (like in Heat, or As Good as it Gets, and so many others) and beautiful audio-visuals somehow keeps my interest longer … A movie like Speed captures me through great atmospheric sound effects and brilliant camera work.
Yiou grew up in the metropolitan NYC area, too, huh"?
My recollection is a little different - I remember them playing the same movie twice in a row, literally right after itself. For years I was confused about exactly where King Kong started…
Million Dollar Movie used to open with a big production clapboard rising over the skyline of manhattan, accompanied by the theme from Gone with the Wind, a film I didn’t see until years later. To this day I associate the music more with grade Z monster films rather than with Tara.
Another institution that shaped my childhood was Chiller Theater on WPIX 11. I think they must have owned their library, because they showed them over and over again: The Cyclops
The Ape Man
Attack of the 50 foot Woman
Voodoo Island
The Black Sleep
The Cape Canaveral Monsters
Plan Nine from Outer Space
She Demons
Man, I’m in some weird minority here. I’ve never seen a movie more than three times, and I’m hard put to list what movies I have even seen twice. The original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be on the list for for sure, but with a 20-year interval between viewings. I can’t conceive of watching a movie 100 times.
so good to see Planes, Trains and Automobiles on so many lists… I worked at a pizza shop in grad school and we watched it every night after work over beers… one could be expected to complete a line of dialog or answer a trivia-based question at any time of the day… Owen was a cult hero…
so true… a running gag in my house while scrolling through the menu of channels…
Tombstone (Greatest movie of all time. Often gets put on in the background.)
Underworld; Not Another Teen Movie (I just like these 2 movies)
Starship Troopers (My roommate and I moved into a new apartment, and we each had a VCR, but it was about a month before we got cable hooked up. We rented it, and watched it about every day for a month.)
This is just guesstimating, since I haven’t tried to keep any kind of actual count:
a good 20+ viewings, even 30+:
Animal House
Jaws
Star Wars (IV, but considering both versions together)
Withnail & I
Monty Python & the Holy Grail
The Wicker Man
around 20 or so:
The Sound of Music
The Empire Strikes Back
Miracle*****
Annie Hall
15-20-ish?
The Ninth Gate
Midway
Spartacus
While You Were Sleeping
in that same general league, at least a dozen viewings:
a couple of Tom Clancys/most of the James Bonds/many Hitchcocks/Mel Brooks’ 1974 output/Alien & Aliens/Independance Day/several Woody Allens/The Princess Bride/Spinal Tap/the remaining Monty Pythons/Airplane!/Naked Guns/Trading Places/Caddyshack/Love at First Bite/The Jerk…
*****Miracle is really riding a bullet on my chart, since I’ve owned the DVD for less than two years. Dammit if the Soviets don’t lose that game every time, though…
Stop Making Sense, about 40 times; it never gets old. The days of my being able to run in place with the band during Life During Wartime are drawing to a close, however.
(1) Star Wars (Original - New Hope - Ep IV):
I’ve seen Star Wars more than 187 times. I lost count at 167 (It’s a BeetleJuice thing - “And it keeps gettin’ funnier, every time I see it”). Yes I can probably finish any single line from the movie. Reciting from scratch I can do if I try really hard.
(2) Wizard of Oz:
Just under 100 times, but only 2 times per year for the last 4 years. I’m getting rusty – time to watch it again.
(3) Back to the Future:
60+ times. I can recite half or so, if prompted.
IT’s a horrible waste of time. My recommendation is, don’t do it.
Pete’s Dragon
Beauty and the Beast (Disney)
Lion King
Princess Bride
Wizard of Oz
A Muppet Christmas Carol
A Christmas Story
Jaws
Goonies
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Grease
A Goofy Movie
