Great Movies You Will Never Watch Again

[Curt McGirt 8,232]

Alien is one of the only films that has ever actually scared me. (The other two would be Jacob's Ladder and Altered States. The latter gave me a bit of a panic attack one night but I can still watch it. Jacob's Ladder, I refuse to. It's on the list with a select few films like Monster where it's like "seen it, done it, no need to open that wound up again".) Maybe it's because of familiarity, but this viewing didn't freak me out. Then again, I was waaaaaaaay away from the screen. If it was in IMAX...

[Travis Sheldon 234]

5 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

Alien is one of the only films that has ever actually scared me. (The other two would be Jacob's Ladder and Altered States. The latter gave me a bit of a panic attack one night but I can still watch it. Jacob's Ladder, I refuse to. It's on the list with a select few films like Monster where it's like "seen it, done it, no need to open that wound up again".) Maybe it's because of familiarity, but this viewing didn't freak me out. Then again, I was waaaaaaaay away from the screen. If it was in IMAX...

I feel the same way about Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and Dancer in the Dark (2000).

Once was (more than) enough.

[Brian Fowler 13,313]

It didn't scare me, but the top movie on my "glad I watched it, I never will again" list is Day of the Women/I Spit on your Grave"

[odessasteps 11,156]

Things I would on that list

Cook, Thief, ...

Last Year at Marianbad

Lots of experimental 70s stuff 

Berlin Alexanderplatz 

[RIPPA 29,340]

I split this out of the Horror thread. Ironically I had been thinking about the topic a bunch recently.

Again - we all have movies that we enjoyed but will never ever willing sit through them again

I still think the #1 answer for me is Schindler's List

[Execproducer 860]

Are we defining this as films you’ve only seen once? Because I’ll bet I saw Star Wars a dozen  times when it was released. No desire to ever see it again.  It’s one I feel like I need to see in a theater and Lucas killed all the joy of it anyway. I do not feel the same way about Empire.

[nate 4,730]

Irreversible.

[RIPPA 29,340]

5 minutes ago, Execproducer said:

Are we defining this as films you’ve only seen once? Because I’ll bet I saw Star Wars a dozen  times when it was released. No desire to ever see it again.  It’s one I feel like I need to see in a theater and Lucas killed all the joy of it anyway. I do not feel the same way about Empire.

I would lean to the former but like you noted - there was a specific event that changed your feelings towards it.

[J.H. 1,632]

Gone With the Wind
Fuck that movie

James

[iamcdn12 24]

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas/

God damn that movie

[Technico Support 7,151]

Requiem for a Dream

[RIPPA 29,340]

1 hour ago, J.H. said:

Gone With the Wind

You will probably get some people who will say that isn't a "great" movie 

For the record - I will probably never watch GWTW again either but that is entirely due to its length

[Kuetsar 1,563]

The first movie that came to mind for me is Snowpiercer. I won't deny its quality, but depressing as hell.

[Sublime 876]

1 hour ago, Technico Support said:

Requiem for a Dream

This was the first thing I thought of. It's an amazing movie but I don't know if I'm ever gonna watch it again. Heck, I can still vividly recall most of the ending it's burned into my brain and it's been years, those images just don't fade. 

[Bustronaut 4,190]

IDK if it counts as "great" but the twist in MEMENTO made me never want to watch the movie again.

[Contentious C 606]

Gonna third Requiem.

Foxcatcher was something I bought on a lark, and the whole thing is pretty damn solid, but, yeah, also undeniably depressing since it's taken from real life.  I bought 127 Hours on the same trip to the record store, and the biggest reason that's not on this list is because I haven't worked up the nerve to watch it the first time.  Clearly my interests that day involved "not sleeping for a month".

I could probably rewatch Schindler's if I wanted; same with Saving Private Ryan.  Just haven't gotten around to either.

I own Jacob's Ladder and Altered States, and I don't feel like either of them quite holds a candle to the mind-fuckery of Audition, which I watch every couple of years.  Henry was interesting enough stylistically that I'll probably give that a rewatch at some point, as long as it stays on Amazon Prime.  But these four are all considerable races between the feelings of "how much Nightmare Fuel am I consuming?" versus "how much am I going to geek out again at the bits that make them great?"

I couldn't make it past the first 5 minutes of Irreversible with that nauseous camera work and the two creepy old guys in their fucking underwear talking about their shabby lives.  Anything that wastes peoples' time with the opening shot/scene probably isn't that fucking great.

Oh.  Ding-ding-ding.  We have a winner.  I feel real anxiety - and more than a shred of self-loathing - every time I pick up my copy of Grave of the Fireflies, consider watching it, and then put it right back on the shelf, because, uh, nope nope nope nope nope.

 

[Curt McGirt 8,232]

You couldn't pay me to watch Grave of the Fireflies, nor The Day After, nor (DEFINITELY) Threads. Schindler's List is on the list, too. 

Henry has never bothered me and I've watched it multiple times, but I can see why it's on The List. I Spit On Your Grave is amateur hour IMO. Go watch Men Behind the Sun or its sequel and come back to me. 

[Ace 4,640]

3 hours ago, Execproducer said:

Are we defining this as films you’ve only seen once? Because I’ll bet I saw Star Wars a dozen  times when it was released. No desire to ever see it again.  It’s one I feel like I need to see in a theater and Lucas killed all the joy of it anyway. I do not feel the same way about Empire.

A friend of mine promotes a monthly geeky movie series at a theatre in L.A. For his birthday, he'd do free screenings of the original trilogy in their "original" cut. (Episode 4 is obviously not the original cut which didn't call itself episode 4.)

 

Mine, on the other hand, is the most recent version of The Star is Born, as I felt the 

Spoiler

fairly graphic suicide

was triggering.

Edited June 10 by Ace

[AxB 6,114]

I've watched both Irreversible and Requiem for a Dream more than once. The films I only want to watch once and never again are usually films I dislike, and wish I'd quit on before the end. Like the Lion King. I thought that was a load of shite.

I've only seen Kentucky Fried Movie once, but I'd totally watch it again.

[AxB 6,114]

Bubble Ghost. I wish I'd only seen the Toy Story movies one time or fewer. That cosy sentimentality everyone loves? Not for me. It doesn't make me feel all warm inside. It makes me angry and resentful.

No, I'm OK.

Edited June 10 by AxB

[Curt McGirt 8,232]

That's why I don't watch Disney films. I think the only one I ever enjoyed was Fantasia.

EDIT: Oooo, speaking of I rape-revenge movies, Ms. 45 is kind of on The List. I'm glad I watched it, but it isn't as great as its made out to be and honestly just left a bad taste in my mouth. I love Abel Ferrara to death but that one was a miss. I felt the same way about Death Wish the last time I watched it too (after I actually bought it! Go figure).

Edited June 10 by Curt McGirt

[The Natural 23,977]

Up for that fucking opening montage. 

Grave of the Fireflies and how the main character goes.

Night Will Fall is horrific using footage of Nazi concentration camps and deemed too intense for the general populace at the time.

Edited June 10 by The Natural

[Curt McGirt 8,232]

Johnny Got His Gun. Never seen it but the video for "One" is enough.

[odessasteps 11,156]

11 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

Johnny Got His Gun. Never seen it but the video for "One" is enough.

That video creeped one of my friends out so badly he would wig out if we even threatened to show it to him. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 19,495]

Just reading about Grave of the Fireflies here has my eyes welling up. I'm never watching that EVER.