Great movies you can't see again...

Braveheart - I loved it, thought it was great, but the end freaks me out too much. My husband watches it every time it's on, and I have to get up and leave the room when Wallace is captured. He says, "But you don't see anything." I think that's worse, actually...

I'm sure there are others, but that's my biggie.

maestrowork said:

What are the movies you like/love but can't see again, at least for a while?

Off the top of my head:

Schindler's List
Children of Men
Jaws (when it first came out)
Se7en

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To be honest, there aren't many films I can watch more than once.

Children Of Men happens to be one of those I can.

The Prince of Tides. I liked it, but it disturbed me too much to watch it again any time soon.

Barton Fink - awesome, but probably a one-time view for me. Film Noir in general makes me lose sleep.
Dancer in the Dark - also incredible, seen it twice, and that's enough.
Bowling for Columbine - I don't even know if I thought it was good, but it was very hard to watch, and not in a fall-asleep way.
House of Sand and Fog.

Although I didn't actually watch all of it (I had my eyes covered most of the time), The Exorcist did everything a horror film should do. It scared the bejeezus out of me. Once was enough. Never again.

I agree with Schindler's List, but I think my husband and I were the only people who thought Apt Pupil was a great film. Too disturbing to watch again, but amazing.

It's the Exorcist (the first one) for me, too.
Alien, the dinner scene.
And Saving Private Ryan.

I thought The Exorcist was a joke from start to finish. I've seen episodes of the Teletubbies that were more disturbing.

scarletpeaches said:

I thought The Exorcist was a joke from start to finish. I've seen episodes of the Teletubbies that were more disturbing.

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ALL the episodes of the Teletubbies are more disturbing than The Exorcist. Freaky little bastards.

Planet of the Apes--the original, of course. I need a good chunk of time between viewings; years, at the very least.

The Usual Suspects--you can watch it twice: the second time for picking up all the clues, once you know what was going on. Once you've done that, what is there?

"Se7en" is a brilliant movie, and I don't ever, ever need to see it again. Brr.

Night of the Living Dead.

I even bought the DVD in an attempt to watch it again, but I'm afraid to take it out of the wrapping.

I never want to see Saving Private Ryan again, but then I didn't think it was a great movie.

And although I don't want to agree with peaches, The Exorcist, I didn't see that until 20 years after it was released and by then I thought it was ho-hum. I can understand why it was probably scary in the day, but by the time I'd seen it, all that had been done before, or I'd heard it all from people who'd seen it.

But a lot of the movies you're claiming you don't want to see again, I just don't want to see in the first place. Like Schindler's List.

Se7en
Schindler's List
Saving Private Ryan.

I'm sure there are more, but those are three that I'm glad I saw, but don't ever want to see again.

I enjoyed "The Sixth Sense" but I doubt I'd see it again. "Primal Fear" is another great one that I can't watch for a long time.

scarletpeaches said:

I thought The Exorcist was a joke from start to finish. I've seen episodes of the Teletubbies that were more disturbing.

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The fact that you're not disturbed by The Exorcist disturbs me more than the movie itself.

ChunkyC said:

The fact that you're not disturbed by The Exorcist disturbs me more than the movie itself.

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I don't know... Exorcist does seem pretty tame by today's standards.

It would be like my grandfather wondering why I didn't faint everytime I saw the silent version of Phantom of the Opera.

Why did people get so spooked by Se7en? You could see the ending coming a mile off and it wasn't even that scary when it happened.

scarletpeaches said:

Why did people get so spooked by Se7en? You could see the ending coming a mile off and it wasn't even that scary when it happened.

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Totally agree! To be honest I thought it was a bit of disappointment.

robeiae said:

Planet of the Apes--the original, of course. I need a good chunk of time between viewings; years, at the very least.

The Usual Suspects--you can watch it twice: the second time for picking up all the clues, once you know what was going on. Once you've done that, what is there?

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A lot of twist-at-the-end movies are like that. The second viewing allows you the fun of reviewing clues; unfortunately, it can help confirm plot holes you might have missed the first time. With (the first film version of) Planet of the Apes, even if you forgive the use of English and human development on a planet the astronauts take to be alien, I really wished they'd bothered with some excuse for these astronauts to never look at the night sky after they landed.

The measure of a well-made film that happens to include surprises the first time around is how much it continues to entertain with the surprises taken away. While I guessed the surprise about the Sixth Sense midway through the first viewing, I find it just as eerie on repeat viewings. Maverick is just as funny, slightly more perhaps, when you know part of the con going on.

I don't think most people remember the 1960s Planet of the Apes primarily for its twist ending, but rather for the new experience of watching fantasy creatures treated as leading characters in a film that wasn't for kids, played by famous actors covered unrecognizably in makeup. That was a new and daring idea at the time. When I first watched those movies on TV in the 70s as a child, even though the makeup technology may seem primitive compared to now, it seemed freakishly realistic at the time and the novelty was still a strong pull. And they had many scenes written with wit and humor. So even today I can watch an old Apes movie to enjoy scene by scene, often catching it on TV without having to watch all the way through, reliving that novelty entertainment.

For me I guess the common denominator is enjoyable character interaction, whether it's a comedy, drama, action film, fantasy, or whatever. That's why I never get tired of the original Stagecoach.

I don't know that I care to watch The Pursuit of Happyness again. Will Smith was great in it, but it was just so frustrating and emotional, I didn't enjoy it.

I keep wanting to watch 'Old Boy' again, but then I start thinking about all the awful things that happen to the main character and I don't.

Last Tango in Paris.

scarletpeaches said:

I thought The Exorcist was a joke from start to finish. I've seen episodes of the Teletubbies that were more disturbing.

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I saw The Exorcist when I was about 14 and it scared the poop out of me. Swore I'd go to church every day after that.

Fast foward to when my husband and I were dating. One night, we were watching it (God only knows why) and two of his friends showed up. From that moment on, it was impossible to take that movie seriously. Somehow they made it a comedy and I still laugh over it today. Sometimes it just takes a little shift in perception for horror to become comedy.