How Do You Watch Movies? (cinema, films, scene, dvd)

[Wanli Tan]

As an amateur movie-watcher and a newcomer to this forum, I am interested in hearing about how you watch movies.

Before watching a movie, especially if it is in a genre and/or by a director you're unfamiliar with, do you read a brief synopsis of it and/or skim other reviews before watching it?

During a film, if you are confused about a certain section, do you read reviews/synopses for explanation, or do you just try to figure it out yourself?

Do you watch an entire film in one sitting, unless it is extremely long (4+ hrs, for example)? Or do you usually break up films into smaller, more manageable chunks (1-hr-long sections, for example)?

Do you watch a movie once and then move on, or do you watch every movie twice just to make sure you are not making any impressionistic judgements about it, or do you only watch certain films two or more times if you were confused?

If you rewatch films, do you watch it back-to-back, or do you watch it some time later (a month or more later, for example). Do you take notes when you watch every film, or simply films you want to talk and/or write about, or none? How often, if at all, do you go through a film shot-by-shot?

Any response is much appreciated.

[himain]

Usually with wine

[Forever Blue]

I love movies & TV. It's one of life's simple pleasures! Before COVID, I went to the movies quite a LOT, but on Mon-Thurs, not really on Fridays or the weekends because I've always tried to avoid crowds when I can.

Since COVID, I haven't seen 1 new movie in the last 9 mos. The last movie I saw in the theatres was Bloodshot (starring Vin Diesel).

I have quite a DVD movie collection going...I'd say about 400 (fiance's & my DVD movies together, haven't actually counted lately) & we'll get more, but I want to see the new stuff I've been missing out on these last 9 mos. I don't belong to any streaming service, but I guess I'll be looking into it because I don't want to go to any theatres anytime soon, plus in my area, they're still closed. I've always have cable TV, but haven't had HBO, Cinemax, etc. in years...cable TV prices are high enough as they are.

I almost always watch a movie in 1 sitting, but usually not the sequels in 1 sitting. I'll graduallyy watch them over the course of days.

I watch from the comfortability of my sofa. I don't want to watch a whole movie from my computer at my desk.

I have DVD movies in which I haven't seen many of them in years, so needless to say, I'm never bored at home during this COVID time. I have a lot to keep me busy. My more favorite movies I may rewatch once a year.

Watching while eating good food for dinner's great. I enjoy that a lot!

[oeccscclhjhn]

From the thread title, I thought my answer would be: streaming (Amazon Prime, netflix, rentals (Amazon, Vudu, etc.). I used to watch DVDs exclusively, but then I stopped watching t.v. decades ago, so watching a DVD on the t.v. is a no-go for me. I do replay DVDs on my pc now and then.

Originally Posted by Wanli Tan

Before watching a movie, especially if it is in a genre and/or by a director you're unfamiliar with, do you read a brief synopsis of it and/or skim other reviews before watching it?

Most people can sift through what would interest them by the title / subject. Sometimes you have to look up the title to see what it's about lol - I use the wiki page since there are less chances of spoilers. My last resort is to open a review, since they are notorious for spoilers. So yes, I will sometimes check out the synopsis. From all of the cinematic detritus that is put out today / out there, it takes a discriminating filter to find what you'll like - and the true test is if you actually finish what you start. I keep a searchable dnf list (did not finish), so I don't make the same mistake twice.

I have a list of directors and will seek out and watch anything they put out - here's a partial list:

Kore-eda Hirokazu
Richard Linklater
Gus Van Sant
Bong Joon-ho
Jim Jarmusch
Kelly Reichardt
Abbas Kiarostami
Aki Kaurismaki
Corneliu Porumboiu
Jeff Nichols
Paul Thomas Anderson
Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Wes Anderson
Park Chan-wook
Sean Baker

^ Those are the living. I've sought out as many as I could find from those who have departed:

Yasujiro Ozu
Akira Kurosawa
Andrei Tarkovsky
Kenji Mizoguchi

Many more, but you get the idea.

During a film, if you are confused about a certain section, do you read reviews/synopses for explanation, or do you just try to figure it out yourself?

Rarely. I like / try to watch it first and then look up later.

Do you watch an entire film in one sitting, unless it is extremely long (4+ hrs, for example)? Or do you usually break up films into smaller, more manageable chunks (1-hr-long sections, for example)?

I stop for any number of reasons - which gets back to how I watch. Since I now watch streaming for 99.9 percent of the time, it's easy to pause, or stop, and pick it up later.

[quote]Do you watch a movie once and then move on, or do you watch every movie twice just to make sure you are not making any impressionistic judgements about it, or do you only watch certain films two or more times if you were confused?/quote]
For me, there has to be a good reason to watch a movie twice back to back. It happens, but rarely. I frequently rewatch a movie. I will rewatch a lot of foreign films with English subtitles and just focus on the action / acting and ignore the subtitles on the second watch.

If you rewatch films, do you watch it back-to-back, or do you watch it some time later (a month or more later, for example). Do you take notes when you watch every film, or simply films you want to talk and/or write about, or none? How often, if at all, do you go through a film shot-by-shot?

Rarely. Every now and then I'll replay a scene and jot down the word for word quotes.

[TamaraSavannah]

Blindly. I try to go into a movie knowing nothing about it. I certainly don't read about it ahead of time. If the movie has too many flaws that question its disbelief, then I disregard such and just enjoy the movie for what it is. I take movies with a very open mind. Take, for instance, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Yes, I noticed that the archer's quiver tended to refill without explanation. I just put it down that there were supply depots for her to pull from.

I try to do it all in one sitting but some nights, I am just too tired and may have to do it in more than one sitting. Most movies I only see once because I just have so many movies in the library, DVD/tape, to see. Streaming is impossible at the house due to having only satellite Internet so the movies I see depend on what movies are in the library. As such, there are more movies from the last century than the current one.

What movies are there can depend of subject, they may be ones that were picked up at the dollar store, a video store liquidation, or VHS bought cheap (ie, this looks like an interesting cover, this looks good, get that, grab it, at a buck apiece, it's worth a quick grab), or it may be there because it was bought up on an actor buying spree. For example, when Philip Seymour Hoffman died, I had never heard of him. People recommended that I watch him so I did a buying spree of his flicks (I think Catching Fire, though, was bought at the dollar store in a grab). A lot of VHS are copied into a DVD working copy and then the tape is stored forever; it is the DVD working copy that is in the library, that I watch.

I try to watch movies on the ARAMCO schedule I saw when in jhs. Then, the TV broadcast only came on for a few hours a night. We had a TV show or two and then the nightly movie. So I try to watch a TV show, using the theme below, then the evening movie.

Movies are on theme nights. Tuesday is DIE, SPY! so tonight I watched The Good Shepherd.

Wednesday is SUPERCHICK so that could be romance, The Quick and The Dead, whatever flick where the woman has the lead.

Thursday is Cops & Robbers. Friday is Horror/Fantasy. Saturday is Sci Fi/Fantasy.

Sunday is Men&Women of Steel which is when I tend to watch my Westerns and War flicks but it could also be a heist flick (different kind of steal), an android/bionic flick, or a sword flick but........

........usually sword flicks are reserved for Monday for Clubs & Swords night. The themes are variable to whatever night; it is just a matter of interpretation.

[wickedmountain]

Originally Posted by Forever Blue

I love movies & TV. It's one of life's simple pleasures! Before COVID, I went to the movies quite a LOT, but on Mon-Thurs, not really on Fridays or the weekends because I've always tried to avoid crowds when I can.

Since COVID, I haven't seen 1 new movie in the last 9 mos. The last movie I saw in the theatres was Bloodshot (starring Vin Diesel).

I have quite a DVD movie collection going...I'd say about 400 (fiance's & my DVD movies together, haven't actually counted lately) & we'll get more, but I want to see the new stuff I've been missing out on these last 9 mos. I don't belong to any streaming service, but I guess I'll be looking into it because I don't want to go to any theatres anytime soon, plus in my area, they're still closed. I've always have cable TV, but haven't had HBO, Cinemax, etc. in years...cable TV prices are high enough as they are.

I almost always watch a movie in 1 sitting, but usually not the sequels in 1 sitting. I'll graduallyy watch them over the course of days.

I watch from the comfortability of my sofa. I don't want to watch a whole movie from my computer at my desk.

I have DVD movies in which I haven't seen many of them in years, so needless to say, I'm never bored at home during this COVID time. I have a lot to keep me busy. My more favorite movies I may rewatch once a year.

Watching while eating good food for dinner's great. I enjoy that a lot!

Get a Roku Box much better and cheaper then Cable

[Forever Blue]

Originally Posted by wickedmountain

Get a Roku Box much better and cheaper then Cable

Thanks, got a Roku about 2 mos ago now & even signed up for a couple of streaming services for limited times when they were on promo prices (Curiosity Stream & HBO Max). But still have cable for now & don't know if I'll ever, "cut the cord" as they say.