A Matter of Life and Death was on BBC2 this afternoon, so of course I watched it. That makes perfect sense because it is the best film ever made, but less sense considering I already own 3 (maybe more) copies, I must have seen it at least 10 times, and last time I looked it was on YouTube and I could have watched it any time I wanted to even if I didn’t have a hard copy.
Is there anything that you will watch when it was broadcast even when you don’t need to wait? A film that will stop you in your tracks as you channel hop despite having a copy on a shelf a few feet away?
Tunes of Glory….’nuff said….
Spinal Tap, Blues Brothers and Quadrophenia are guaranteed surf-stoppers.
In Bruges has also attained this status
TV wise, Minder and The Sweeney also have this effect
I tend not to get drawn into watching things I already own on Blu Ray, but I did go through a little phase of watching Shaun of the Dead every time I happened upon it. But recently it’s Layer Cake, despite only having bought and watched the Blu Ray last year. Every time I watch that film I like it more. And every time I watch it I feel sorry for Daniel Craig for the very unfortunate time to get abducted! It’d cost them a few quid more to put that cast together again.
Layer Cake – that would be another on my list.
Who knew the Singing Detective could be quite so sinister?
Sexy Beast.
Is there another actor who can play loony and unhinged quite as loony and unhinged as Ben Kingsley?
He was bloody terrifying!
Just try calling him Ben instead of Sir Ben. Makes his performance in Sexy Beast look tame!
I always find myself drawn into Napoleon Dynamite if I find it while flipping channels.
Ooh – that one will not only make me break my thumb in my hurry to switch away from it, but want to switch the whole tv off. And possibly throw it through the window just to be on the safe side.
“Cross Of Iron” would be a must-watch if I ever spotted it on the TV schedules. Best WWII action movie ever made. Bar none.
Have only seen Cross of Iron the once many years ago, need to remedy that.
Never seen it but must do!
That Thing You Do.
The Searchers.
Where Eagles Dare.
You’re telling me you would walk away?
I forgot to include Where Eagles Dare in my brief comment above…my sister and I watched it so many times that we now quote lumps of it to each other, in relation to family stories from the early ‘70s…and I still have to watch it when it’s on the telly…
In recent years, I recall “I’ll just watch this bit” becoming “hold on, this bit’s good too” and ultimately hanging around ‘til the death for The Great Escape, Midnight Run and Aliens. And, in each case, more than once..
School for scoundrels
Two way stretch
I’m all right jack
Early St trinians movies
Guys and dolls
On the town
Cutting edge, I am.
You are me! To which I would add:
Ice Cold In Alex
The Dam Busters
A Matter of Life and Death
Passport to Pimlico and pretty much anything else Ealing
The Big Lebowski
An American in Paris
Little time to watch TV at the moment and the box is filling up with endless recordings of films and documentaries I’ll watch “one day”, but the world stops for half an hour every week while Only Connect is on.
Surely the only way to watch Only Connect is with the finger on the pause button so we always watch it on the planner after the series link has kicked in. How can you try to do the walls with the contestants blathering on and making the tiles flash? Sometimes we also pause round 2 but the missing vowels is sacrosanct, that must never be paused!
Scott Pilgrim vs the World is the most recent one for me, twice in the last month. Oh, and if I stumble across an episode of the Inbetweeners (and it’s on all the time) I’ll likely watch ’til the end.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Bullitt
Any ‘Road To’ film
The Saint
The Avengers (Diana Rigg years only)
The Rockford Files
Children Of Men, or Black Hawk Down – catch 15 seconds of either and you’re in for the ride to the end.
I haven’t seen a Black Hawk Down since it was in the cinema and I don’t remember thinking much of it. Maybe time for a reappraisal.
Children of Men is magnificent though.
Bonnie and Clyde, Heat, The Day of the Jackal and – despite its inordinate length – It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Even though, like most here, I can watch them on demand and I have them on DVD.
Heat is a good one. For a long film which ‘feels’ slow and uneventful, there’s a baffling array of sub plots and side characters to get drawn up in. It’s quite dense, therefore ripe for rewatching.
(Compare to, say, The Deer Hunter, which is a good film but is one in which an hour of drama is stretched thin out to three hours plus).
I think it’s Michael Mann’s masterpiece. You’re right about the sub plots and side characters. Most of them revolve around the themes of family / family life – pretty traditional and familiar. And then there’s the look of LA in the 90s. Great film!
One flew over the cuckoos nest
Fargo
Whistle down the wind.
Cool Hand Luke
The sort of British war film not shown much anymore…i guess the target audience has well…died.
The Cruel Sea
Ice Cold in Alex.
The Yangtse Incident……just googled correct spelling.
Regardless of the hour i cannot pass Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction by either.
Zulu
Get Carter
The Untouchables
Get Carter – a definite must watch.
Rarely on TV, although I stumbled across it on FilmFour (or one of those movie channels at the bottom of the Virgin Guide) over Christmas – it was about midnight, but you can’t not watch it
Good shout for The Untouchables. A real joy – pure hokum but one of the most tightly coiled and efficient scripts you’ll ever see. Plus Morricone! De Niro! Connery! Em, Costner! (Actually Costner is rather good and suits the role well).
(Plus I’m in it – at least according to my avatar here….)
When the Cambridge Arts Cinema reopened following a renovation, for a year they screened a classic film every weeknight at 5pm. I bought a year-long membership so each showing cost me a quid. I was often the only paying person in the audience, often just me and with some of the staff. I was working 200 yards away, which helped.
Get Carter on the big screen was a highlight, as was The Third Man.
There are plenty of films that I would happily sit through on multiple occasions, but they aren’t on the telly very often.
Of the ones that seem on hard rotation on ITV / film 4 I can easily get caught up re-watching The Bourne Identity, Shaun of the Dead and Back to the Future. I do have a soft spot for The Day After Tomorrow which is on most weeks, it seems. I Robot used to be on every other day and would regularly reel me. The first half hour of Casino Royale is pretty bloody brilliant, too.
You’re missing an obvious one surely, Mr ‘Marwood’…
I can never resist watching On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Every time I hope the ending changes………..sadly it never does.
When my daughter was younger we’d both drop everything if A Close Shave or The Wrong Trousers came on. In spite of the fact we’ve had them on DVD for yonks anyway.
It’s the Black and Whites that tend to do it for me. As already mentioned I can hold everything and watch The Cruel Sea and The Dam Busters.
It’s rarely on but also Ben-Hur.
The never-ever fail at any time is Hobson’s Choice. By Gum!
I went through a phase of catching “The wild geese” on telly and though it is hardly great art I have to watch it. “Raefer…!”
Otherwise Kill Bill 1 and 2 always grab me when they pop up in a late night surf.
Zulu
A Bridge Too Far
Eagle has landed
Day of the jackal
The Italian Job. Just so i can recite the dialogue along with the actors.
This car belongs to the Pakistani ambassador
Yes I used a machine gun
Camp Freddy, you all know
Your car…….Pretty car
Cheer up you miserable buggers
Get the, get the wheels in line
Ect ect ect
Hang on lads, I’ve got a great idea
You were only supposed to…. (sorry, I’ll stop there….)….
The snooker
Gregory’s Girl … I once watched it on DVD, finished it and was about to switch off as it started up on Channel 4 … just had to watch it again … the idea of Clare Grogan twice in one night is just perfect !!
Oo er. I think I once had a dance with Clare Grogan (and tried to chat her up) but I was so drunk I am not sure it really happened.
I could pop into her restaurant here in Crouch End and ask her if she remembers you, if you like. 😜
I once saw her at the bar during a gig (possibly Maria McKee) in Dingwalls. She looked really pleased as I approached, expectant of giving me an autograph. She then looked totally deflated as I walked past and ordered a round.
I’m not a total cad – I did ask if she wanted a drink and, no, she didn’t.
She’s even shorter than Mrs F.
Watch Groundhog Day every time it’s on
Watch Groundhog Day every time it’s on
Watch Groundhog Day every time it’s on
Some obvious ones from me I’m afraid.
Withnail and I. The dialogue. The swearing.
The Great Escape. Loved watching it as a kid.
Gregory’s Girl. Just fab. (favourite bit…Chic Murray playing the piano. “Off you go, you small boys!” I have no idea why but that bit makes me laugh every time.)
A double bill of “Gregory’s Girl” and “That Sinking Feeling” would be worth dropping everything for.
Films – Dead Poets Society, High Society (no relation), Simgin’ In The Rain, Casablanca, Batman Begins, any Bourne film.
TV – Buffy, The West Wing.
One TV show I wish they’d repeat or have on-demand boxsets is NYPD Blue.
Seinfeld
Cheers
Big lebowski
Beautiful Girls
Wonder Boys
Anchor Man 1 & 2
Bridesmaids
Curb Your Enthusiasm
I likes to larff