Films you appreciate more later
 

so - i'm watching wes craven's new nightmare - just got it with a dvd of the last four freddy films and already re-watched freddy v jason.

anyway - so i'm watching it and recognizing why it doesn't work but also appreciating the idea of it, the ingenuity, etc.

i think what failed wes craven is that the 'real world' parts of the film seem too melodramatic and overwrought to feel 'real' - i couldn't help but feel if it had been done with more of the cinema verite style that has become so popular (almost mock-documentary) it would have worked really well. the idea of freddy slipping out of the fiction and into the real world is pretty cool - but the 'real' world in the film just feels to much like a movie to make the impact work (i think the same problem hit Last Action Hero - which was another film to try the trick)

SO - now ot the point of my thread - are there films you've watched again and appreciated more in reviewing it, perhaps because the flaws of the film seem more apparent and understandable??

i have 2 excellent examples - probably mentioned them before in another thread ..

1) Beatlejuice. disliked it the 1st time is saw it ... i had a completely different expectation and it took a couple of viewings before i appreciated it for what it was.

2) The Core. the 1st time i saw it i thought it was crap ... then i heard a critic mention that it was like an old Jules Verne type movie which in 1 second flat totally changed my perspective of the film.


those are the only 2 times i can recall changing my position on a film - for the better.

My all time favorite film The Warriors was like this to me.

When I first saw it I didn't appreciate it and was disappointed. A re-watch a few years later cemented its greatness to me.

Salo: 120 Days of Sodom. The first time watching it was pretty intense and disturbing. The message of movie (my own interpretation and Pasolini's) didn't hit me at first. I was too overcome by what was happening on the screen to actually appreciate why it was happening. After watching it a couple more times and reading through the book that came with the Criterion re-release, I have to say that while I won't exactly watch this movie on a weekly basis, I do appreciate it on a whole other level.

Brazil. The first time I watched it I had no idea what to expect. It was way back when I paid no attention to directors and the style of movies they made. The over the top humor and dark surrealism was just too much at the time. I liked the movie, but couldn't really say that I really grasped the totality of it. Now though, it's easily one of my favorite movies. It probably goes without saying then that Gilliam is also one of my favorite directors.

Eraserhead
First time I saw it I was more then a little baffled but every time I re-watch it I enjoy it more. It'll never be an easy to watch movie but it is a great one.

Best examples - Alien 3 & 4.

Pink Floyds "The Wall"

It flew completely over my head the 1st time viewing it....perhaps I was too young.



or too sober :D

That flick can be interpreted a number of ways. I'm not sure what side of the fence I sit on to be honest. Part of me sees it as a total art wank excuse to live out some Pedophile fantasy while part of me sees it as an attack on authority and shows how "absolute power corrupts absolutely".

This mostly happens with surrealist films for me. the first time i watch i try to hard to understand it, and think 'what the fuck is going on?"
then I usually watch it again without trying to understand. much more enjoyable.
Naked lunch is a good example.
I've also only seen Suspiria once, a couple years ago, didn't like it. I have a feeling if I watch it again I'd like it more.

Phantasm is the one that comes immediately to mind. Couldn't stand it the first couple of times I tried to watch it, but finally finished it recently, and I really liked it. No idea why I never really connected with it before.