pagemaster7

I would guess everyone at one time or another has watched a film again, and completely changed their minds of what they thought of it for whatever reason. A few of mine:

Saturday Night Fever-I hated it the first time I saw it, but I just watched it again for the first time in 12 years and I have to admit I liked it.

History of the World Part I-It seemed much funnier when I was 12.

RyoHazuki

The Matrix. After Reloaded i watched the original and thought, "Man I thought this was bad. This is Citizen Kane compared to Reloaded."

Dr. DVD

Well, I actually thought Reloaded little more than a stylistic action movie after my first viewing. My second and third viewing (the latter on an IMAX) have me convinced that it's better than the first one.
I used to love ID4 (Independence Day), but I now look at it and think it's crap. Same with Titanic. Prime examples of how movies can start to suck once they lose their big screen power.

Goldberg74

When I saw The Fifth Element for the first time in the theatres I thought it was boring and lame.

But then I started to really think about it,k so I went back and saw it again, and then went back again... so I saw it three times in two weeks.

I can safely say that it became one of top ten films of all time. I really like the music and the costumes and the story.

The same happened with AI: Artificial Intellegence... didn't really like it the first time, but it made me think for quite awhile afterwards. Then after I got the DVD and watched it again, I really began to love the film.

Funny how things happen that way...

mwj

I liked The Matrix a lot more the first time than in any of my subsequent viewings. It took two or three times for me to really appreciate Pulp Fiction.

fumanstan

Fellowship of the Ring. I watched it in theaters and fell asleep in the middle of it. Watching the extended edition dvd helped me enjoy it a bit more.

Supreme Sean

Traffic. I thought it was too slow paced and lacked emotion when I saw it in the theatres. Watched it again and recognized how great it was.

Smidget

Everytime I see Shrek, Moulin Rouge, and X-Men it gets worse and worse....... I don't know why.

movielib

Unforgiven. Didn't like it the first time; the second time it was like I was seeing a different movie.

MrX

Fight Club. I fell asleep during it the first time but have grown to like it since.

Groucho

None, really. If I don't like a movie, I'm not too likely to go out of my way to watch it again.

DVDho78DTS

Spaceballs

When I was in my teens I thought it was really funny. I watched it last year and could barely get through it. Put the DVD on eBay right after.

jfoobar

This is a phenomenon I call "outgrowing a movie." I came up with a name for the phenomenon because I have experienced it so many times.

DVDs have allowed us the best opportunity ever to go back and revisit films that we loved when we were younger. "Younger" means very late 70s for early to mid-80s for me, different periods for others.

What is interesting is that some films, most especially comedies and action films, stand the test of time quite well while others just seem, in a word, "lame" now. There have been several films beloved in my youth that I picked up as they were released on the format and sold off after one viewing. Others, surprisingly, are still beloved. While I still proudly own and enjoy Flash Gordon and Caddyshack, DVDs of National Lampoon's Animal House and Cannonball Run have been quickly sold off not long after I removed the shrink wrap.

-------------

As to the original question, The Big Lebowski springs immediately to mind. I didn't like it at all the first time I saw it. I didn't even finish watching it. The second time I watched it, about a year later, I realized it is one of the funniest films ever made and I still feel that way.

Michael Corvin

This is the best example. I thought the same exact thing. Came out thinking, why did I just pay for that? Then I thought about it and watched it many more times courtesy of VHS and DVD.

DVD Smurf

I viewed Blue Velvet back in 1988 when I was 15 and I thought it was horrid. I viewed it again ten years later, and I found it exceptionally intriguing. But there are numerous films I thought were horrid as a teenager such as Wild Strawberries, Annie Hall, and Color Purple among others. I guess I gained some wisdom, or I became more dull over the years.

borisdisco

I hated Raising Arizona the first time I saw it. I caught it on cable a couple of years ago, and I thought it was hilarious.

eedoon

Almost Famous. Thought it was boring like hell the first time I watched it. But after a several viewings, I'm considering myself a huge fan.
It also happens with Casablanca.
Watched FOTR the first time on the 2-disc edition DVD, and I thought it sucked. (Also, the soundtrack almost broke my subwoofer up) But when I saw the EE, it blew me up.
Star Trek: Nemesis. Enjoyed it the first time I watched it, but when I saw it the second time, it was a very boring experience.
Battlefield Earth. It was so terrible the first time I saw that, but I saw the movie for the second time and it was not as terrible as the first time. May be I'm going nuts...

iggystar

I liked Reloaded more upon the second viewing.

As Good As It Gets...first time, thought I was just OK. Now I can quote it.

Spooky

Same here! First time I didn't like it at all, now it's gradually become one of my favorite Westerns.

Pants

While Spaceballs is certainly dumb and infantile and not nearly as good as I thought it was when I was 11, it DOES have some very funny lines that I still use today and all my friends love.

"I always like coffee when I watch my radar!"
"I hate it when my schwartz gets twisted!"
"Prepare! Why are we always preparing for things? Just GO!"

Pretty much all the Rick Moranis stuff is still priceless.

Movie_Man

I have to agree with many that have already been mentioned.

Films I didn't like originally, but appreciated more upon subsequent viewings include The Fifth Element, A.I., The Matrix, Braveheart, and Fellowship of the Ring.

Not the place for this comment, but througt Reloaded was crap. Maybe someday I'll learn to appreciate it. Or not.

inri222

The Royal Tenenbaums

Hated it first viewing.
Loved it the second.

Mazinger

Mostly Kubrick films.

Eyes Wide Shut
2001
A Clockwork Orange

Took me at lease two viewings to actually understand and like the movie.

Joel

Second viewing of Almost Famous, the movie turns out to be better and funnier.

das Monkey

• Quoth movielib •<HR SIZE=1>Unforgiven. Didn't like it the first time; the second time it was like I was seeing a different movie. <HR SIZE=1>

Add another to the list. I saw it for the first time at a family gathering (I know, odd), and I never got engrossed in the real story. It wasn't until I saw it again years later that I was able to appreciate its quality. It was on a very short list I called "Films I'm Most Likely Wrong About and Need to See Again." No, Numanoid, A.I. and Nemesis are not on that list.

das