On Rewatching Movies

It's different now

In my earlier discussion of comfort films, I touched upon why certain films welcome us back again and again. I considered why we as viewers might have the desire to go back to the same films many times.

This discussion is a slightly different angle on the earlier one. Here, I hope to sort through the reasons why we might revisit a film beyond the comfort or emotional impact we are seeking from that film. I also want to muse on the various things that can happen when we rewatch a movie. Furthermore, I plan to touch on something I discussed a bit in an earlier piece: why we might not want to rewatch a movie.

During my return to the theater in 2024, I saw several films multiple times. Part of this was because I needed an escape from all the job applications I was writing. I needed to occupy my time, and with AMC A-List, the theater was affordable.

One reason why I wanted to rewatch films was because I wanted to see them in different screening formats. There are several different viewing options available, including the various different kinds of IMAX screenings and the Dolby Cinema. I sometimes didn’t know which format would be best for the film, so I went to multiple shows if I could. And sometimes, I couldn’t get tickets to one format until later, either because the tickets were sold out or because the new screening format hadn’t been released yet. This happened when watching Oppenheimer and Barbie last year. I couldn’t get tickets to IMAX 70 MM for Oppenheimer until additional shows were added. I’m immensely grateful that I got that chance. For Barbie, the IMAX release didn’t happen until weeks after its initial release.

Beyond this, a lot of the films I ended up rewatching were films that I wanted to derive more out of. My initial viewing was impactful, but I felt that there was more I could feel and think as a result of seeing the movie.

A great example of this is a film I’ve discussed: Talk to Me. It’s a harrowing, bleak, heartbreaking, and powerful horror film. It takes a similar toll on the viewer that tragedies do; I would call the experience of watching it enriching but not pleasurable. Yet, I came back because I felt that there were layers or details in the film that I had missed during my first viewing. My second viewing definitely helped me see more nuances and subtleties.

I do believe that attention to detail is an important aspect of making meaningful art. The artist should know why every element is the way it is, as much as possible. I think, for this reason, a lot of well-made movies benefit from multiple viewings. The mind can only take in so many details at once, so repeat viewings allow the less obvious elements to leave their mark. Thus, one reason to rewatch a movie is to pull more from it intellectually and emotionally.

However, all works of art are flawed; I don’t believe that perfection is attainable. Therefore, on repeat viewings, the shortcomings of a film can become more and more apparent. If the film has far more strengths than weaknesses, then this experience of rewatching would not diminish its quality. On the other hand, if the flaws are significant, then the repeat viewings can make them even more apparent. For this reason, some films for me become stronger on repeat viewings, and some films diminish. Of course, what counts as strengths and weaknesses, as well as how they measure against each other, is a matter of subjectivity.

Here are a few more examples. I’ve watched Ryan Coogler’s 2018 Black Panther many times, and every time I watch it, I find a new detail or new subtlety in a scene that enriches the film for me. Coogler has incredible attention to detail, and every element feels deliberate. Every element means something.

The film that brought me back to the cinema was Oppenheimer, which was also the first film I’ve written about in this space. I loved it on my initial viewing, but I loved it even more on my rewatches. I saw it in theaters five times. After my first viewing, I felt that the pacing was off near the end, but after my subsequent viewings, my mind changed. Knowing how the film was supposed to unfold, I got a better sense of its structure, and I saw patterns and connections between scenes that I hadn’t noticed before. For this reason, I felt that the pacing wasn’t as big of an issue in my later viewings.

While Black Panther and Oppenheimer got stronger on repeat viewings, other films I like diminished. I really like the 2018 Halloween legacy sequel. I think it’s a strong follow-up to the original 1978 film by John Carpenter in terms of how it depicts the returning characters and explores new themes. Also, a lot of the suspenseful sequences are masterfully directed, in a way that comes close to the incredible direction of the original. It’s a flawed film, though; some of the supporting characters are annoying or boring, and some of the scenes are dull and unnecessary. On my first viewing, the things I liked about the film outweighed the things I didn’t like. However, I’ve revisited the film with my brother and also a few times after whenever I’ve been in the mood for a good recent slasher. The things I liked about it, I like more now. However, the things I disliked about it, I dislike even more now. The flaws have weighed on me more than they did on my first watch. On the whole, the film has lessened a bit in my eyes.

Thus, the way we regard a film can be impacted by how many times we watch it. For this reason, I choose not to revisit certain films because I want to preserve the power that they have had on me. I want to keep them as precious, preserved memories. I don’t want the magic of my first special viewing to be diminished. I might change my mind about these films in the future, but this is how I feel for now.

Another reason I don’t watch certain films is something I’ve talked about before; some films have such a devastating emotional impact on me that I can’t bring myself to see them a second time. I don’t want to put myself through that ordeal. I do hold these films in high regard because of how they have left such a profound impression on me.

In a different way, some films I don’t rewatch because I think one viewing is enough. There are films that I admire on the level of craft and that have moved me, but that I don’t feel the urge to see again. These are by no means bad films or films that are flawed in significant ways. I don’t see them as that; I just consider them to be good for one viewing.

Going back to reasons to rewatch films, I’ve touched on series and sequels, and I do revisit earlier entries in a series when a new entry is about to come out. I find this to be both a fun trip down memory lane and a refresher in the continuing plot threads. Before Daniel Craig’s final performance as James Bond was released, I rewatched all of his films. A few of the films with Daniel Craig as James Bond I’ve rewatched several times because I love them so much, but I even revisited what I deem to be the weakest of the bunch, Quantum of Solace, because I wanted to remind myself of all the aspects of the character’s journey.

On the whole, rewatching a film can have a variety of different effects, some expected and some unexpected. You can never see something with a fresh pair of eyes more than once, but interesting things can happen on repeat viewings. One thing I mentioned in my discussion of comfort films is that the films themselves don’t change; we the viewers do. This fact is heavy, as it reminds us of the irreversible passage of time, but it’s also exciting because the possibilities for the future can be vast and surprising.