Which movie(s) do you remain "loyal" to?

[The Larch]

Another Bram Stoker's Dracula fan over here. 

One of the winning things it has, at least for me, is how everyone on it is totally comitted to their part. Nobody half-arses it, everyone chews the scenary when it's their turn. And it's a gorgeous film to watch, even after so many years. The effects are very endearing, and the costumes are magnificent.

It's also one of the more faithful adaptations of the source material.

Yeah, for instance it's the only film ever to try to replicate the epistolar format of the novel. At the same time it takes lots of creative liberties with the material and can be blamed for almost singlehandedly creating the "romantic vampire" trope. 

I always really enjoyed this comparison exercise they did at Cinemassacre about which Dracula movie is most faithful to the original novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9D74m628gQ

[Sheilbh]

Another one is JFK. The whole thing is a conspiracy theorist fantasy, but it's so thrilling and well-edited. I get sucked in every damn time.

Yes - I love that film

#3 would be Romeo+Juliet 

It's great

But I have never seen a Baz Luhrman film I've not enjoyed (not least because I've never watched Australia).

[Duque de Bragança]

Hard to say as I intentional don't re-watch films I really loved first time around, unless there's a special reason or people to watch with/again.

'Apocalypse Now' might fit the premise for me and I've only seen it once in the cinema and once on DVD.

I think the 1980's 'The Thing' still works well, great film in the cinema and still fun to watch again, which I've now done a couple of times.

Also I feel historical films don't so easily get caught up with the emotions/naivety of one's earlier self, so films like 'The Great Escape' is easy to re-watch and enjoy again.

Films I've only watch when they originally came out and I feel I could envoy similarly again, might include 'The Mission', that Klaus Kinski film set in S.America.

Apocalypse Now, The Thing I have been rewatching over the years, both in cinemas and at home. Apocalypse Now, which paved the way for 5.1 sound (Disney's Fantasia is different) is a marvel to behold in a top cinema, 70 mm, Dolby Vision etc.

As for the Kinski, I believe you mean Aguirre the Wrath of God? The Mission stars Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons. Great movie as well, but one that I have only watched twice, though the last one was at the Cinémathèque, not too long ago. Aguirre made quite a strong impression on me the first time I watched on TV. My German improved since then, so I can enjoy more the German version. No direct sound, so no real original version and a German-speaking conquistador might sound weird but it is the preferred version. The Kinski-Herzog movies are very rewatchable indeed. Cobra Verde might ruffle a few feathers for the ID politics crowds since they deal with the slave trade in a non-ID politics-friendly way.

As for more personal choices, John Woo's masterpieces such as the Killer or Hard Boiled I can watch every now and then. Hard Boiled on the big screen of the Cinémathèque is one of my favorite memories.

I am not a great fan of Westerns, but the Wild Bunch, so influential in later action movies is a great movie to see once in a while.

As a genre cinema fan, rewatching genre classics often means rediscovering them. But then, this also applies to so-bad-it's good-movies. I have been lately on a Sword & Sorcery then Post-apocalyptic binge due to lockdowns and curfews. From Conan the Barbarian, a bona fide classic, to various rip-offs. Mad Max 2/the Roadwarrior is also one movie I rewatch, along with the cheap knock-offs be them from the Philippines or Italy. But then 2019 After the fall of New York, one of the better knock-offs, was plagiarized by artsy-fartsy pretentious genre film Children of Men. 

Favorite directors in their heyday also get their movies rewatched every now then such as John Carpenter. But then in France, he is considered as an auteur, even by les Cahiers du Cinéma, snotty heirs of the Nouvelle Vague.

OTOH, In some cases, such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, opinion significantly improved following a posterior bad sequel.  Return of the Jedi does does no longer get significant criticism as well due to some movies I won't mention. 

Still, I can't say I will rewatch regularly Jean Rollin's work except perhaps for Zombie Lake a.k.a Le Lac des Morts-Vivants (might be a bit too slow/auteurisant for Viper). 

PS: I'd rather watch Tromeo and Juliet than Romeo + Juliet, as Syt.

[The Larch]

Films I've only watch when they originally came out and I feel I could envoy similarly again, might include 'The Mission', that Klaus Kinski film set in S.America.

As for the Kinski, I believe you mean Aguirre the Wrath of God?

Or Fitzcarraldo.

[Syt]

PS: I'd rather watch Tromeo and Juliet than Romeo + Juliet, as Syt.

I think Luhrmann's R+J is still great.

[Sheilbh]

Thinking about this for a while.

The ones I don't revisit because I think it might ruin my memories of them are basically John Hughes/80s high school films. I am very suspicious that if I re-watched them I'd enjoy them less - luckily there's no more referential genre than high school movies so I can just watch Easy A, Cluelss, Booksmart instead.

Dirty Harry and Silence of the Lambs are films whose politics do jar more now, but I still love. Dirty Harry is a 90 minute long celebration of police violence (and I actually find this with cop things  in general lately - even The Wire has Pryzbylewski's arc which, now, is more uncomfortable - how many second chances does he get v the kids he's hurt) - but it is still, I think, a great film and one that is perfectly of its moment and place.

Silence of the Lambs is kind of gross in terms of its treatment of trans issues (and this was a big thing in thrillers of that time - Thomas Harris also always makes his villains in some way physically "abnormal" which I didn't notice at the time). But I love it. I think it's an incredible film - it's one of the few thriller films that I re-watch because I find the tension still increases even though I know what's coming (Zodiac is another). Jodie Foster and Hopkins given terrific performances and it's just so stylish. I have a soft spot for 90s thrillers and this is kind of like the ur-text.

And on that point most horror films which have dreadful gender politics. But I enjoy them and also enjoy the very vigorous feminist readings and engagement with the genre - so Men, Women and Chainsaws was probably the first criticism/theory book I read. So they have a special place in my heart for actually opening my eyes to criticism, theory and what they can do.

[The Larch]

Silence of the Lambs is kind of gross in terms of its treatment of trans issues (and this was a big thing in thrillers of that time - Thomas Harris also always makes his villains in some way physically "abnormal" which I didn't notice at the time).

Lindsay Ellis had a video recently on the topic of trans portrayal in cinema and how terrible it has consistently been until very recently. Besides their treatment in thrillers (Psycho and Silence of the Lambs are the films she dwells the most on) there's a whole section on the for a while quite popular trope in some comedies of the 90s and 00s of characters reacting by puking violently upon discovering that a female character they were attracted to or even had some sort of relationship with is actually trans. I don't think that such a joke could pass muster nowadays.

[Sheilbh]

Lindsay Ellis had a video recently on the topic of trans portrayal in cinema and how terrible it has consistently been until very recently. Besides their treatment in thrillers (Psycho and Silence of the Lambs are the films she dwells the most on) there's a whole section on the for a while quite popular trope in some comedies of the 90s and 00s of characters reacting by puking violently upon discovering that a female character they were attracted to or even had some sort of relationship with is actually trans. I don't think that such a joke could pass muster nowadays.

I'll have to give it a watch. But yeah it was a thing, I mean even just on Friends which is also pretty bad on homophobia.

[Valmy]

Friends is complicated since the gay characters were all portrayed positively and they had a gay wedding in it which was kind of wild for 1995 or whatever. But the constant joke for the three male leads is LOLZ ur gay. I think it was attempting to be progressive for the time since one of the producers was gay but it did not age well.

I don't know if it is "homophobic" or hateful in anyway it is just like "this is quirky and not normal" heteronormative deal.

[celedhring]

Didn't the modern Tootsie musical get a bit of flak when it was released? Fine movie, but not the best gender politics all around.

[The Larch]

Lindsay Ellis had a video recently on the topic of trans portrayal in cinema and how terrible it has consistently been until very recently. Besides their treatment in thrillers (Psycho and Silence of the Lambs are the films she dwells the most on) there's a whole section on the for a while quite popular trope in some comedies of the 90s and 00s of characters reacting by puking violently upon discovering that a female character they were attracted to or even had some sort of relationship with is actually trans. I don't think that such a joke could pass muster nowadays.

I'll have to give it a watch. But yeah it was a thing, I mean even just on Friends which is also pretty bad on homophobia.

Here you have it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHTMidTLO60

It's pretty long (almost one hour) but she's a very good narrator and it is well divided in chapters in the progress bar (the part about puking is from the 26 minute mark onwards). It also focuses quite a lot on the JK Rowling controversy about her latest book with the cross-dressing killer, as that's a bit of the hook for the entire video.

[mongers]

Hard to say as I intentional don't re-watch films I really loved first time around, unless there's a special reason or people to watch with/again.

'Apocalypse Now' might fit the premise for me and I've only seen it once in the cinema and once on DVD.

I think the 1980's 'The Thing' still works well, great film in the cinema and still fun to watch again, which I've now done a couple of times.

Also I feel historical films don't so easily get caught up with the emotions/naivety of one's earlier self, so films like 'The Great Escape' is easy to re-watch and enjoy again.

Films I've only watch when they originally came out and I feel I could envoy similarly again, might include 'The Mission', that Klaus Kinski film set in S.America.

Apocalypse Now, The Thing I have been rewatching over the years, both in cinemas and at home. Apocalypse Now, which paved the way for 5.1 sound (Disney's Fantasia is different) is a marvel to behold in a top cinema, 70 mm, Dolby Vision etc.

As for the Kinski, I believe you mean Aguirre the Wrath of God? The Mission stars Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons. Great movie as well, but one that I have only watched twice, though the last one was at the Cinémathèque, not too long ago. Aguirre made quite a strong impression on me the first time I watched on TV. My German improved since then, so I can enjoy more the German version. No direct sound, so no real original version and a German-speaking conquistador might sound weird but it is the preferred version. The Kinski-Herzog movies are very rewatchable indeed. Cobra Verde might ruffle a few feathers for the ID politics crowds since they deal with the slave trade in a non-ID politics-friendly way.

As for more personal choices, John Woo's masterpieces such as the Killer or Hard Boiled I can watch every now and then. Hard Boiled on the big screen of the Cinémathèque is one of my favorite memories.

I am not a great fan of Westerns, but the Wild Bunch, so influential in later action movies is a great movie to see once in a while.

As a genre cinema fan, rewatching genre classics often means rediscovering them. But then, this also applies to so-bad-it's good-movies. I have been lately on a Sword & Sorcery then Post-apocalyptic binge due to lockdowns and curfews. From Conan the Barbarian, a bona fide classic, to various rip-offs. Mad Max 2/the Roadwarrior is also one movie I rewatch, along with the cheap knock-offs be them from the Philippines or Italy. But then 2019 After the fall of New York, one of the better knock-offs, was plagiarized by artsy-fartsy pretentious genre film Children of Men. 

Favorite directors in their heyday also get their movies rewatched every now then such as John Carpenter. But then in France, he is considered as an auteur, even by les Cahiers du Cinéma, snotty heirs of the Nouvelle Vague.

OTOH, In some cases, such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, opinion significantly improved following a posterior bad sequel.  Return of the Jedi does does no longer get significant criticism as well due to some movies I won't mention. 

Still, I can't say I will rewatch regularly Jean Rollin's work except perhaps for Zombie Lake a.k.a Le Lac des Morts-Vivants (might be a bit too slow/auteurisant for Viper). 

PS: I'd rather watch Tromeo and Juliet than Romeo + Juliet, as Syt.

Duque, hanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely have a go at rewatching Mad Max 2 and Conan the Barbarian, not seen those in 30 years!!

You're right about the 'Wild Bunch' , I watched it a year or two ago and still held up very well.

[Duque de Bragança]

Silence of the Lambs is kind of gross in terms of its treatment of trans issues (and this was a big thing in thrillers of that time - Thomas Harris also always makes his villains in some way physically "abnormal" which I didn't notice at the time).

Lindsay Ellis had a video recently on the topic of trans portrayal in cinema and how terrible it has consistently been until very recently. Besides their treatment in thrillers (Psycho and Silence of the Lambs are the films she dwells the most on) there's a whole section on the for a while quite popular trope in some comedies of the 90s and 00s of characters reacting by puking violently upon discovering that a female character they were attracted to or even had some sort of relationship with is actually trans. I don't think that such a joke could pass muster nowadays.

I hate to think of what would happen if they were to stumble upon Gene Simmons' portrayal of a trans (hermaphrodite in fact) in Never too young to Die /Stargrove.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091621/

[Duque de Bragança]

Friends is complicated since the gay characters were all portrayed positively and they had a gay wedding in it which was kind of wild for 1995 or whatever. But the constant joke for the three male leads is LOLZ ur gay. I think it was attempting to be progressive for the time since one of the producers was gay but it did not age well.

I don't know if it is "homophobic" or hateful in anyway it is just like "this is quirky and not normal" heteronormative deal.

La Cage aux Folles (1978), which got the Criterion treatment on blu-ray some years ago, a.k.a Bird Cage, must be quite the shocker as well. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077288

PS: no idea about the crappy remake

[Grey Fox]

Back To The Future Trilogy.