Think about your favorite movie.
The movie that you've seen over and over. The movie that you're able to quote line by line, scene by scene. For some, it might be one of those mediocre childhood classics (do \The Mighty Ducks"" or ""Home Alone"" ring any bells?). For others, it might be a flick you've seen in the last few years that simply blew you away with its greatness.
Now think about seeing them again for the first time.
Someone asked me what movie I would choose, given the opportunity to view it with fresh eyes. It was a hard question.
Like anything else, movies and the way we relate to them gradually changes. Watching a film for the 42nd time is a very different experience from watching it the first time. And, eventually, the memory of that first point of view is lost completely.
It made me wonder about whether I overwatch movies. People are often baffled by the size of my DVD collection, but I think the bigger surprise would be just how frequently I watch those movies. It's a rare day that I don't have some movie or television series blaring away while I watch, eat, study and sleep. Most of the plots and dialogue are committed to memory-most easily displayed by conversational quote-fests I have with some of my best friends, which always seem to piss off those who fail to get the joke.
Sometimes these conversations can make each person seem like one volume in a living film-reference encyclopedia. It might sound a little cold and superficial, but it's the sort of trivia I can't help but pride myself on knowing. I've heard people argue that society's collective point of reference has slowly migrated from the Bible to classical theater. Today, it's film and television. Definitely sad, but also true.
You can tell that I'm not like some people, who are simply bored when they watch a movie they have already seen. But each time I watch one of my favorite movies again, the original impression slowly fades, replaced by something that can only be described as a shallow appreciation. It's not far off from someone temporarily energized by religion, or falling passionately in love. More often than not, the emotion doesn't last. You can watch it recede as days go by. In those cases, you hope that once the passion is gone, you're still left with something solid and worthwhile.
With great movies, maybe you're just left with a shadow of what you started with. There's no room left for surprises, but there's no room left for fascination either.
What movie would I choose to watch again for the first time?
All of them.
wwtemby@wisc.edu.
