The title pretty much sums this list up. Typically, I see a film in theaters and wait for it’s release onto BluRay/Netflix and watch the film over and over. But every so often, I find myself heading back to the theaters to see the film again because I just can’t wait! I’ve listed the films in order of how many times I’ve seen them in theaters from least to greatest.
The Wizard of Oz // Viewed 1 ½ Times?
Okay… this one needs some explaining. The first week of July in 2011, the Prytania Theatre was screening the Wizard of Oz daily for one week only. I had always wanted to see this film on the big screen and for $5? You can’t beat that kind of a deal. So I sat in the dark theatre and re-experienced child-like wonder as I watched Dorothy get carried away from her dull sepia-toned life in Kansas to the magical and colorful merry old land of Oz. I even cried when Oz handed out a brain, heart, and courage. Cried. And it sucked cause there was a very attractive blonde next to me and she wasn’t crying to I had to hide the tears… I digress. I left the theatre feeling light as air and was happy until I got home. When I got home I realized I could check something off my Film Canister List!! (it’s a bucket-list for cinephiles) I was determined to return to the theatre the next day, headphones and iPod in hand, and sync up The Dark Side of the Moon to the Wizard of Oz ON THE BIG SCREEN!! Yeah, mind blown. It was incredible. I had to do some volume checks to as not to disturb the family next to me but it was everything I’d hope for and more. And here’s where I come to my dilemma. Syncing up Dark Side of the Moon to Oz only lasts until Dorothy puts her heart to the Tin Mans chest to heart for a heartbeat. At that point in the album, you hear a heartbeat slowly fade away (bad ass). You’re supposed to wait and then restart the album but, I’m a purist, and a once-through is mind-bending enough for me. So I got up and walked out. The cute brunette behind the counter asked if something was wrong. I told her no, to which she quickly replied, but the film isn’t over. I just smiled, looked over and said it is for me. Bad-Ass right!?!! But… that being said, have I seen this movie twice I theatres? Or just 1 ½ times?
Dinner For Schmucks // Viewed 2 Times
It was actually by happenstance that I saw this movie twice. I went and saw it at its midnight release and then the very next day, went and saw it with some pals in PA for my buddies birthday. Weird right! Didn’t even expect to see the movie again. I was honestly happy with one viewing and haven’t seen the film the whole way through since. But I wanted to point out that it was this film that I re-crossed paths with some old co-workers from Best Buy. There was Lindsay, Jason, Will, Rob, and his girlfriend Jess. That’s right! It was the FTSers! They told me about their blog and podcast and that I should be a guest sometime. And the rest… well, you’ve been reading and hearing the rest through the FTS website and Podcast so there’s no real explanation needed!
The Hangover Part II // Viewed 2 Times
This is going to sound pretentious, but when I lived in The Big Easy, I was apart of the New Orleans Film Society (NOFS). For $25 a year, I saw a free movie the First Tuesday of every month at the Prytania Theatre, a free movie every Thursday at the Chalmette Movies, and the occasional advanced passes for screeners, etc. It happened to be a Tuesday and I went and saw The Hangover Part II and I enjoyed it. I thought it was funny and ballsy (literally), despite being a near copy-cat version of The Hangover. I left the theatre after the first screening and sat in the lobby for a few minutes as the crowd let out. Some thought it was “Hilarious Bro” others thought it was “disgusting” so on and so forth. I walked over to the girl at the concession stand and asked if it would be cool if I went in for the next showing. She had no problem with it, so I went back in sat down, and re-watched the entire film almost immediately. I’ve NEVER done that with a film before. NEVER. I haven’t done it since then either. I have no idea what possessed me to do it, but as I began to watch the second one, I started watching it as if it were a serious dramatic character study of three friends slowly losing their grip on sanity. These three went through all kinds of hell and stress to find their friend, and now they had to do it again in a city they know nothing about. It was then that I found the film to be incredibly fascinating and even thought about writing a very thorough post on how brilliant the films are together; I might have to save that for when Part III gets released later this month.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus // Viewed 3 Times
I was going through a rough time in my life around the release of this film. I was in a struggling relationship, between jobs, and I had just lost both my grandparents within months of each other. Needless to say, I needed an escape. Terry Gilliam films have always fascinated me, but for this film, I was particularly intrigued with how they would handle the rest of Heath Ledger’s role, which was left unfinished due to his untimely death. I had heard that Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell would be finishing the role in honor of him. I was immediately sold because how is that possible? They don’t really look like him. Gilliam pulled it off and worked it so that whenever Ledger went into the dream world, he would be transformed into a different person. It was very clever and it worked really well; at least well enough to lure me into the theatre two more times. The film helped me escape the world I was living in and allowed me to live in a dreamland for a while (approx. 123 minutes) and oddly enough, Ledger’s character “Tony” was transformed by visiting 3 different dream worlds and I saw this movie 3 different times. Coincidence? Probably.
Prometheus // Viewed 3 Times
This is pretty obvious. I went back two more times after my initial midnight release viewing just to try and put it all together or at least feel like I was putting it all together. I own the film now and the more I watch it, the more I become less confused but at the same time, I become more confused. I solve one problem, but discover three more, and I’m okay with that. Prometheus is a film that will never be 100% solvable and while that will upset some people, I’m okay with it. Story aside, it’s an incredibly gorgeous film and when I saw it in IMAX 3D, it looked even better.
Inception // Viewed 4 Times
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHNN. BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHNN. BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHNN.
Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. Again, I was going through a time in my life where things were shaky and I needed some answers. I turned to this film and I couldn’t wait for the BluRay so I knew as soon as the credits began to roll, that I’d be seeing this film again, and soon. In some ways this was the wrong film to turn to because I found the pessimist in me really leap out, especially at the end. In other ways, it was a great film because it helped me move on from some pain I was dealing with. This is a film that will always be talked about and will always have the Best “Best/Worst Ending” in a film ever.
The Dark Knight // Viewed 7 Times
I don’t think this is a surprise. It was the summer after my first year in college and this is all we talked about that winter semester. What’s it about? Who’s in it? I was visiting college friends in PA when the film was released and clearly, we knew what we’d be doing with our time. And even though I had seen it three times in PA, when I came back to Baltimore, I’d find myself heading to the local theatre out of boredom to see this film again. “Nothing going on? Guess I’ll go spend another $8 on Dark Knight.” But it was the best investment because I every I saw the film, mesmerized by every word, every move, every note, and every explosion of every scene.
It was really neat seeing this film at the Drive-In because I had seen it so much already; I began quoting the damn thing, which was annoying to everyone else in the car. Most recently, and most fitting, I watched the film as part of AMC’s Dark Knight Trilogy Marathon last July. Reliving the film on the big screen felt like slipping into your favorite pair of shoes. You knew what to expect and it felt so good. The Dark Knight is easily one of my favorite films, and in my opinion, stronger than The Dark Knight Rises. But that’s a conversation for another post.
What films have you seen multiple times in theatres? Why? Leave your comments below!!