Favorite Movies Revisited...But How Often?

It's been a loooong while since I've posted anything on this blog (I blame Twitter, Facebook, kids...the usual suspects), but as I read over this article over at Cinematical, it coalesced several thoughts that I've had recently when looking over my own DVD collection.

Just the other night, while I was re-watching Collateral for no particular reason other than it was on my 'haven't-seen-it-in-a-while-but-is-it-as-good-as-I-remember?' list (answer: No, though I did enjoy the barely-credited turn by Javier Bardem as the main 'baddy'), I went over to the DVD shelves and decided to start a couple new stacks: one stack of the films that I really enjoy and watch fairly often that I decided I want to re-buy on Blu-ray as soon as financially possible (e.g. Trainspotting, Pirates of the Caribbean I, Princess Bride), and one pile of DVD's that I need to re-watch either because they're old favorites that I haven't watched in a coon's age, or that I want to gut check just like I did with Collateral. Oh - I also jumped on the netbook to order a few more replacements on Blu-ray (thanks Amazon for continuing your Blu-ray pricing war!).

Anyways, the article talks about hesitating and putting off watching our favorite movies for whatever reasons, and I do this as well. I'm in agreement with at least one commenter on that article in that I watch my 'Top 10' movies very infrequently...maybe once every year or two (or three). And there are definitely times when I fully intend to watch one of those favorites, but change my mind at the last minute and choose a...let's say 'not Top 10' alternative. I have asked myself: do I not like these films as much now as I used to? Has the tarnish worn off on some of these? Perhaps. Some of my old favorites certainly don't hold up with age for me (I'm looking at you, original Star Wars Trilogy)...while others definitely do (Indiana Jones Trilogy, you're in the clear). So that does explain some of it.

But to be honest, some of it is my ongoing HD snobbery - I just don't want to watch the smeared out 480p of resolution after seeing some really great new HD transfers with 1080p and amazing lossless sound (Batman Begins, Master and Commander, etc.). So that also explains some of it...I suppose we'll verify that for sure once a lot more of these favorites are re-released on Bluray. (hurry up, studios...and get with the program of quantity > cost per unit and lower your *$%@ MSRPs already, m'kay?)

The other interesting possibility brought up by one commenter is that maybe we 'get' all we need to 'get' out of a favorite movie after several viewings, and after that, we just don't get as much out of them. This sort of resonates with me, as I often love that second viewing just as much as the first one, but after the third, fourth, or fifth viewing, I'm satisfied with that one and can safely put it on the shelf until I get the hunger for it once again...which could be years later.

On a side note, I find myself watching only certain scenes of most rewatched films these days - even my favorites. Maybe it is due to having less free time now that we have a daughter, maybe just my old age and waning attention span. But the nice thing is that I can get through most rewatched films in about an hour or so these days - skipping the parts that are slower or that I don't like in favor of the fast-paced or otherwise memorable scenes. Is this just plain wrong? Sacrilegious? I don't know...but it gets me through more movies these days than I could fully watch in the same amount of time...and that is a good thing to me.

Oops...sorry...I have to jump over to Amazon and buy up another batch of Blu-ray 'replacements'...just don't tell the Mrs., m'kay?