What makes a movie worth owning?

dar512 · 10-31-2004, 10:17 PM

Or maybe more accurately what makes a movie worth seeing over and over again. I've been trying to develop some rule of thumb that will help me decide whether I'll enjoy watching a movie enough to make it worth buying it.

Here's my latest theory. It's the writing. Not only well written, but witty. "The Thin Man", "Ghostbusters", "The Truth About Cats and Dogs", "Pirates of the Caribbean". I enjoy these movies and their ilk every time I see them.

I'll admit that this answer is not complete. I pull out the various "Jurassic Park" movies from time to time. Yes, even that horrid second one. And this is not witty writing by any means. Maybe there's a testosterone filter that also qualifies a movie.

In the meantime, I intend to do some research into the "witty movie" hypothesis.

Witty movie recommendations anyone?

Happy Monkey · 10-31-2004, 10:27 PM

"Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" is witty out the wazoo. Perhaps too witty in places.

Trilby · 10-31-2004, 10:35 PM

Monty Python's the Life of Brian is hilarious. I laugh every time I watch it.

Elspode · 10-31-2004, 10:43 PM

This is a great question. I have several yardsticks by which I judge a film's purchasable merit. Here they are in declining order of importance:

1) I really like it.
2) It has "classic" staying power.
3) It is truly (a) artistic (b) original (c) engaging.
4) Is it something that I never get tired of watching? Then I buy it.
5) If I cared for the film at all, then price is the final factor. I'll buy things I never went in search of if extremely cheap.

I have something on the order of 100 DVD's and probably another 250 movies on tape.

Vindwyn · 10-31-2004, 10:46 PM

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The Matrix (but not the sequels)

The original 3 Star Wars movies

All of the Indiana Jones movies

Dune

Labyrinth

Mask of Zorro (modern version)

Heck. I don't know what makes these movies so great. They just have really good story lines and memorable dialogue. These are the kinds of movies that you'll be quoting with your friends over lunch.

TheSnake · 10-31-2004, 10:47 PM

Shawshank Redemption, Hoosiers, Forrest Gump, Usual Suspects

I think I tend to like movies where the characters triumph over adversity and show perseverance, or if they are just cleverly written.

breakingnews · 10-31-2004, 11:13 PM

I tend to buy movies that:
a) have an artistic or some sort of coolness factor that I want to share with the rest of the entire effin' world. Films I think everyone should watch, because I feel a friend otherwise might not make the effort to rent or NetFlix the movie on his or her own accord. Examples in my collection include Lost in Translation (as discussed in an earlier thread), American History X, Full Metal Jacket, um - that's actually all I can think of right now after an exhausting liver-punishing weekend in Atlanta.
b) make great group entertainment. I only watch a handful of my movies on any sort of regularity (read: I watch American Beauty, oh, once a month or so); the only other time I get to blow dust off the library is when friends are over and are in the mood to laugh hysterically at Caddyshack, Big Lebowski, Zoolander, Old School and Van Wilder, among others.

Carebear Nihilist · 11-01-2004, 10:23 AM

I usually only buy movies that are either thought provoking enough to watch many times over (Tarantino flicks are a good example), or rank high in something I like to call the "badass factor" (Bruce Campell anyone?).

wolf · 11-01-2004, 10:41 AM

I have a lot of movies.

So many that it would probably be embarrassing were I to actually count them.

In addition to purchased movies, I have a lot of stuff that I "timeshifted" from cable, although I've gotten over that for the most part. (which are tapes that have 3-4 movies each on them).

DVD Extras helps in that regard.

A lot of the films that I considered must buys are ones that have some particular, usually pleasant association with my childhood ... multiple copies of various formats of The Great Escape attest to this, as does purchasing In Like Flint and Our Man Flint shortly after getting a DVD player.

Sometimes it's a matter of quality ... like Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

Sometimes it's a matter of not-quality ... like Mars Needs Women.

Other times it's the fact that "I really liked that" ... thus my collections of Wiseguy, Twin Peaks, and Star Trek, The Original Series.

I was just thinking back to the night (a LOOOONG time ago) when I bought my first VCR. That night I immediately purchased two movies: 2001 and Little Shop of Horrors.

That seems to have colored my video and DVD buying from that point on.

Films that I saw in a theater and thought were way cool to an extreme get bought ... Backdraft, Dances with Wolves, and Better off Dead are all in my hands.

Sometimes it's cheapness. Dementia 13 was $5. So was Creepshow.

Other times, I must admit, it's that bugaboo that gets all of us ... "Oh, what's this box in the mail? Pearl Harbor? Goddamnit. I forgot to send the motherfucking card back and now that I've opened the box you can't invisibly reseal and put back in the mail as 'refused, return to sender' it's going to cost me as much as the movie not to keep the goddamn thing ..."

This is how I purchased Minority Report and the first two Lord of the Rings films (which I still don't like).

Being able to refuse those things on the phone, and then online has significantly improved my ability not to buy movies that I don't want.

Clodfobble · 11-02-2004, 08:44 PM

The only DVDs I ever bother purchasing are anime. We own around 150 DVDs and VHS tapes of anime, compared to 18 DVDs of other genres (not counting the kids' movies) almost all of which were gifts. A big reason for this is the same as breakingnews', I want to share them with friends who might not otherwise experience them.

dar512 · 11-02-2004, 09:13 PM

The only anime I've seen is "Princess Mononoke". Ebert spoke so highly of it that I made my family watch it. They all loved it. (Unlike most of my attempts to introduce something different!)

Anything else you might recommend?

Clodfobble · 11-02-2004, 09:17 PM

For the family? "Castle In the Sky" and "Kiki's Delivery Service," as well as "Spirited Away" for the ones who can handle PG. All three are by Miyazaki, the guy who did "Princess Mononoke."

For the grownups, "Trigun" and "Cowboy Bebop" are two good ones to start with--keeping in mind that they're TV series, so you're in for several hours of watching.

Trilby · 11-03-2004, 12:44 AM

[quote=Clodfobble]For the family? ...and "Kiki's Delivery Service," as well as "Spirited Away" . All three are by Miyazaki[quote]

Kiki's Delivery Service is the best animated movie ever. Absolutely stunning and a great story. I own two copies. Highly entertaining--and gorgeous animation. Other contenders are the Little Mermaid and Lion King--both incredible. Aladdin is classic and Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton) is another 'must'.