[Kain]

One example I can think of is House of 1000 Corpses. When it first came out, I wan't a big fan of the movie. If I watch is again today, I really like it.

Does nostalgia have something to do with this?

 

[Tack]

I can think of a few reasons and they don't have everything to do with age as in multiple years.

One, wrong mood/distracted during the first viewing.

Two, knowing you didn't like it the first time drastically lowers your expectations, creating a lower standard which becomes easier to match or surpass.

Three, initial expectations too high. This happens to me when I watch too many trailers or "cant wait" for a movie to come out.

In your case, 1k Corpses is ~11 years old. You could have some combination of the above or you may be a slightly different person than you were back then. We all change as we grow older, but sometimes it's so slowly that we don't notice it as it's happening. Maybe it's a positive mile marker for you.

 

[thedeskE]

For me, almost all Kubrick films were much better after a little age and more important, my ability to
slow down to the pace and really take it in.

A few drama/actions hit well after a 2nd/3rd view. It happens and it's a very nice
surprise when it does

 

[darthrsg]

With age comes experience. The Road, for example. I read it before I had kids and could taste the ash in the air. Watching the movie post kids and the definition of the word harrowing became super clear.

Another one or two would be Robocop and Starship Troopers. As a young dude I was all about the guns guns guns and bitc hes leaving. As an adult the complex role of the military industrial complex comes into view and helps propel the movie to a higher tier. Similarly, the media portrayal in ST was over my head as a young viewer but as a wiser adult it's dead on in exposing the propaganda we are exposed to as well as being somewhat prophetic in our consumption. "Would you like to know more?"

 

[cargo1]

I think expectation of a movie is quite important as well. When you rewatch something your expectation of it is different. You know what you will get and change your criteria for viewing accordingly as opposed to going into a movie expecting one thing and getting another. Sometimes i will evaluate a movie with the pre expectation and not like it but once ive changed it and watch again i can like it.

 

[Kilgore]

The more I become who I am, the less I am who I was.

 

[iamian]

The more I become who I am, the less I am who I was.

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.

 

[tezster]

The way I see it, the human brain is very efficient at filtering out extraneous information. Over time, it becomes easy to gloss over certain passages you may not like, and concentrate on the ones you enjoy. Conversely, there are occasions when it also works the other way i.e. where a single bad scene increasingly annoys you the more you watch it. For me, the scene in Gravity where

Spoiler

Clooney detaches himself and floats away due to some magical force when all his inertia had already been halted

is one such scene: it has become so unbearable to watch, that I'm compelled to skip that part of the film to make the overall experience more enjoyable.

 

[thedeskE]

is one such scene: it has become so unbearable to watch, that I'm compelled to skip that part of the film to make the overall experience more enjoyable.

It's more enjoyable to never watch again IMO, but people tend to forgive stupid SHT in films cause they would prefer to watch a film, even though Lollywood stopped makin' Em a long time ago ... Lal Lal

 

[darthrsg]

The way I see it, the human brain is very efficient at filtering out extraneous information. Over time, it becomes easy to gloss over certain passages you may not like, and concentrate on the ones you enjoy. Conversely, there are occasions when it also works the other way i.e. where a single bad scene increasingly annoys you the more you watch it. For me, the scene in Gravity where

Spoiler

Clooney detaches himself and floats away due to some magical force when all his inertia had already been halted

is one such scene: it has become so unbearable to watch, that I'm compelled to skip that part of the film to make the overall experience more enjoyable.

I feel you. The agenda of gravity in Gravity is a real bummer for me. I pretty much eject it when the station shatters.

 

[breezy2012]

I sat through some of the Stiller/Wilson movies in bored silence when they first come they've definitely aged well for me. When I see Zoolander or (especially) Starsky and Hutch now I frequently laugh out loud. Something about me has changed for the better, or worse.

I was too young to appreciate The Big Lebowski when I first saw it but now that the age gap between me and the dude is shrinking I adore that flick more and more. It's working its way into my top ten.

 

[NorthSky]

It's not the (some) movies that get better with age, it's us (some).
And because we (some) get better with age, we appreciate the movies (some) better.

 

[MovieSwede]

We should also remember that some movies comes before their time.


Blade runner came in the golden days of Star wars and had Harrison Ford in the lead. The audience wasnt ready for it.

 

[NorthSky]

...Same with 'Planet of the Apes'.

 

[darthrsg]

Another recent flick that isn't really great but I think the central idea will age well is The Purge. It is possibly this generation's They Live, although most from my age would say otherwise.

 

[thedeskE]

Blade runner came in the golden days of Star wars and had Harrison Ford in the lead. The audience wasnt ready for it.

It was indeed out of place in a sense for the moment. Didn't last long, as it lived well past the crap that was in release at the time.

 

[sb1]

"Why do some movies get better with age?"

Because we're stupid and forget how crappy the movie was.

 

[STEELERSRULE]

I agree with most of the posters here who feel that "YOU", the individual" change, not the movies. And that is a really good thing, if you think about it.

Could you imagine being the same person you were 20-25 years ago. I am 42 and am in no way shape(physical wreck )
or form(mentally) am I the same person.

And if you have lived as long as I have, and you still are the same person, I am sorry, but that is pretty PATHETIC.

And I really mean that.

I heard an interview with Brian Cranston on Howard Stern about 6-7 months ago. He was back at his H School reunion, or something of that ilk. And that very statement was posed to him by a classmate he had not seen in 25 years, or longer. And his response was "Well, of course I've changed. Haven't you?!" He felt it was a pretty dumb statement, and I have too agree.

There was A LOT more to the answer than just that, but that pretty much sums it up.

So, NO, movies do not get better, or worse with age/time. Your sensibilities change. You as a person GROW UP. And different experiences make you 1000 X different than what you were 20 yrs ago or longer.

That IS the answer.

 

[sb1]

Could you imagine being the same person you were 20-25 years ago. I am 42 and am in no way shape(physical wreck )
or form(mentally) am I the same person.

I'm about to be 42 in a matter of days. I'm probably in my best shape physically, but mentally I'm a little off and basically an aspiring alcoholic. Just lack commitment. I'm trying, though.

This topic is interesting because it makes me wonder why some movies don't change for us over the span of decades, when others do. And I hate that I won't get to see Keisel on the field anymore.

 

[Kilgore]

I think that of all filmmakers in history, Stanley Kubrick stands out as a director whose films ALL improve with age. Most of his films have been relatively panned at first, only later to be recognized as classic masterworks. Barry Lyndon is one of his greatest films, IMHO, yet it had a lukewarm reception on release. The Shining, recognized now as a horror classic, had a lukewarm reception. Eyes Wide Shut had a lukewarm reception, yet for me has improved with age.