Bloody Disgusting recently had an article series that pitted two remakes against each other. In one, they asked which was better: The Fly (1986) or The Thing (1982)? Most of you know that I come down very strongly on the side of The Thing. Nothing against The Fly, it's an amazing film and while I do find a lot of Cronenberg's work very enjoyable if slightly sterile, I LOVE The Thing.
Discussing it with Elizabeth, I realized that there are few films that I like better than The Thing. In fact while thinking about it I could only put Halloween above it. I realize this makes me a huge Carpenter homer but that's a badge I proudly wear. My question is this: Do you ever see or think about a film and realize that it occupies a different place in your estimation than you realized?
All the time. Whether it's during a re-watch or thinking about it after the fact, where a film lies in my own personal pantheon is something that's constantly subject to change.
ReplyDeleteA big part of this is no doubt due to the effect watching similar movies has on this ranking process but I'd also attribute a lot of it to simply getting older. For example, I watch something like The Shining in a much different way, and hone in on different things, than I did when I first discovered the film in my early teens. And films like The Fly, The Thing and Halloween, also being very rich in terms of what you can pull out of them, work very much the same way for me.
Unfortunately there are also plenty of films out there that tend to diminish with repeat viewings or when you start thinking about them but even they can occasionally gain something with a well-timed re-watch.
Sorry this is a long-winded response but it's a can of worms this subject... In short, I think you could say, like you can never step in the same river twice, that you never really watch the same film twice either.
You have hit the nail on the head here. Your mention of never stepping in the same river twice is crazy apt. Timing can be everything as well as viewings of like minded films. There are so many films that I watched without proper context that lead to 'incorrect' first impressions. Take The Devil's Wedding Night for example. At first it was a fun z grade film. Then with Richard's championing, an eye for Joe D'amato's excellent cinematography, and seeing other similar films of the period, it became a lot more. Also, The Shining is a great example by the way.
DeleteCredit to old Heraclitus for the river analogy... who knew ancient philosophy would come in handy when chewing the fat about movies?
DeleteI think you definitely gain appreciation for a film the more familiar you are with the talents behind it and their other work... and funnily enough, Joe D'Amato is one of those who've gone up several levels in my estimation in the last six months for that very reason. And Riccardo Freda is another.
My favorite ancient philosopher is Simon Wright.
DeleteHa! I'm merely standing on the shoulders of giants but cheers nonetheless!
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