Addictive "Nightlights"

[devlinnn]

I don't think it's a gay thing - mine is 'single woman with parasol'.

[zedz]

The music comparison is absolutely the right one, but I rarely watch movies in the same way that I listen to music. There are many times when I'll have the overwhelming urge to listen to In a Silent Way, Fear of a Black Planet, the first two Bartok Piano Concertos, Revolver, Mag Earwhig!, Pour Down like Silver or Sunny Border Blue for the hundredth time rather than tackle the latest purchase.

Interesting list! This makes me wish we had a music sub-forum...

You shouldn't say things like that out loud.

[Cinesimilitude]

If that's masturbation (I'm not saying this is your opinion, I'm speaking hypothetically to whomever would say this is masturbation), then so is repeated lifetime listening to music...

I sort of agree with the idea of ‘mental masturbation' in the sense that it is a method by which someone is giving pleasure to themselves

I went so far as to rip down and edit together a DVDR of three to four minutes sequences

I made a DVD-R of a bunch of 3-4 minute clips a few years ago, and it was entirely for masturbatory purposes.

[Damfino]

I relate to the musical aspects as well, as much as I'm completely in love with and immersed in film, more of my familiar "comforts" tend to be musical. So this may not count, but The Beatles Anthology series falls into this category for me. It's well-made, fun, I can have it on in the background and when I turn to it I can completely lose myself in it again. To a slightly less extent, A Hard Day's Night also falls in this category (I could watch that scene of Ringo puttering around alone almost every day, and lord know how many times I actually have!)

I love minor, predictable but adorably charming romantic and screwball movies mainly from the 30's and 40's, and mainly starring Cary Grant. Once Upon A Honeymoon, Once Upon A Time, My Favorite Wife, The Awful Truth, Thirty Day Princess, Holiday, I Was a Male War Bride, Every Girl Should Be Married, Monkey Business and sans Cary- I Married A Witch, It Happened Tomorrow, Desk Set, Bells Are Ringing, It Should Happen to You! and Happy Go Lovely.

A lot (not all, I know) of that stuff is overlooked and derided for being banal and forgettable, but something about their innocent sweetness and dated material make them endlessly re-watchable and fun for me. More highly regarded but similar are most of Lubitsch's (American), Sturges and Hawks output, the main ones being Sullivan's Travels, Ninotchka (I was so happy when the DVD was finally released, I had nearly worn out my VHS copy off TCM), That Uncertain Feeling, The Lady Eve, Trouble in Paradise, His Girl Friday, Twentieth Century, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Christmas in July, The Palm Beach Story, To Be Or Not To Be, The Shop Around the Corner, Miracle on Morgan's Creek, Unfaithfully Yours, Hail the Conquering... well, you get the idea. As much as I've seen ALL of these, I never get burned out on them and I used to think I'd "outgrow" my fondness as I kept seeing more "serious" cinema... but it hasn't changed one iota. I love fresh sushi and calamari, but I also love marshmallow Peeps, which is the movie equivalent of those fluffy old movies to me.

I also seem to attach myself in the same way to films that focus on what happens after a war, or to the family during one, such as Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives and The Last Metro. It goes way beyond admiring how they're made, I just love watching them again and again and usually get a good cry out of them, which is very therapeutic for me.

[Scharphedin2]

As a teenager, and in my early twenties, when I first began to purchase films (on laserdisc), my budget was about 8-10 titles a month. I chose them very carefully, and when they arrived in a box from New York once a month, I spent the next three or four days in film heaven. The rest of the month, I would devote to reading and re-view films. Often I would also spend an evening revisiting a string of favorite scenes and moments in my little film collection. It happened that it became very late, and I would find myself falling asleep to a particular clip, but most often I would just wrap up at some point (not wanting to leave my equipment on while I was sleeping, because if it broke down, I would not have been able to afford replacing it).

Like Devlinn, the film that I most consistently revisited in this way was The Magnificent Ambersons – I would usually view one side of the laserdisc release (the film being spread to three sides), and each side had moments that almost moved me to tears. The one that I probably viewed the most was the first side with that wonderful opening that brings us so vividly into the times and world of the Ambersons, with Welles doing the greatest piece of cinema narration that I have ever heard.

Ambersons was a film I purchased early on, and thus I spent many, many evenings with it. Amongst other titles that were part of the really early laserdisc days for me was 2001: A Space Odyssey. The scene that I have viewed scores of times is the one of the astronaut running around inside the hamster wheel of the Jupiter space vessel, as we hear the suite of Katchaturian's “Gayennaâ€

[Michael]

Is it a gay thing?

Must be. I have this ongoing fetish - the Lady lost in the other world -on the journey to enlightenment or death or whatever. With high heels, even better.

- the sublime opening of Lisa and the Devil with Elke Sommer running through empty Spanish alleys. And the rest, of course.

- Pretty most of Carnival of Souls.

- Celine and Julie Go Boating. What a dream.

- Veronika Voss being locked in the clinic complete with a disco ball and different chambers of her old world. I just love her clothes and shoes ... and everything.

- Summer/Le Rayon Vert. Oh yes.

- The Birds, Suspiria, L'avventura, INLAND EMPIRE, Cleo From 5 to 7...I'm sure there's more.

Geez, what does that say about me?

[Scharphedin2]

After reading Schreck's initial post and the rest of this thread, and then adding my own list of "nightlights," I kept returning to this topic over the past week in my mind. One thing that kept coming back to me was a quote I remembered from a book by Harold Bloom entitled "How To Read and Why":

I know many people who continually recite poems to themselves in the awareness that the possession of and by the poem helps them to live their lives.

I am quite convinced that the films (and clips) mentioned above have been helpful for me in living my life. They have helped to shape me into the individual that I am today, for better or worse, and there is therefore great recognition and comfort in returning to them again and again.

There is in re-viewing the same film(s) or clips thereof the element of the familiar, as in spending time with an old friend or a romantic partner. In a different thread, Schreck compared the repeated viewing of films, and the enrichening effect this can sometimes have in the experience of a given film to that of knowing another human being over time. I think the comparison is apt. When we encounter other people for the first time, we do not (normally) reveal ourselves completely, but, if we are drawn to that person, and as a relationship with that other develops, we open ourselves more and more, and we explore each other on deeper and deeper levels, thus constantly expanding upon and revising that initial impression. The viewing of films or reading of books is similar, and I think we return to certain works for the same reasons that we fasten ourselves to certain people in the course of life. We are initially drawn by something we respond to in the work, and we return to it out of a sense of comfort and familiarity, and in the process the work (in some cases) becomes richer, and it becomes ours, and a part of who we are.

Aside from people here in the forum, I do not really know anyone else, who shares in my passion for film. However, I interact with many people through my work, and I often hear how they are fastened to a specific television show, or even certain films that they too return to again and again, usually because they respond to a certain actor or actress, or the humor of a certain comedian. So, I think this is a very commonplace phenomena, and that most people to some extent have their "nightlights," and that the difference between people here who have a very intense relationship to film differ only in degree to the more casual viewers.

As I was leafing through Bloom's book, and re-reading some passages at random, I chanced upon another brief quote (or, more like two quotes), which I thought was quite close to what this thread is about, and sums up most of what I have already tried to express:

We read deeply for varied reasons, most of them familiar: that we cannot know enough people profoundly enough; that we need to know ourselves better; that we require knowledge, not just of self and others, but of the way things are... There is a reader's Sublime, and it seems the only secular transcendence we can ever attain, except for the even more precarious transcendence we call "falling in love."

This is really a great thread, and I hope that there is still more that will be said in it, even if David has already started singing.

[zedz]

Aside from people here in the forum, I do not really know anyone else, who shares in my passion for film. However, I interact with many people through my work, and I often hear how they are fastened to a specific television show, or even certain films that they too return to again and again, usually because they respond to a certain actor or actress, or the humor of a certain comedian. So, I think this is a very commonplace phenomena, and that most people to some extent have their "nightlights," and that the difference between people here who have a very intense relationship to film differ only in degree to the more casual viewers.

This is my experience as well. I know a lot of non-cinephiles who view their own favourite films over and over again. At its most mainstream there's the phenomenon of The Sound of Music and Titanic already mentioned, but it gets right down to the domestic level as well. I know a couple who watch Aliens every couple of weeks (once was enough for me!), and years ago I used to be incredibly frustrated by my friends who would insist on always renting the same films (Flatliners - urgh!). Of course, if you have kids, this phenomenon takes on a quite different, involuntary cast.

[Michael]

I know a couple who watch Aliens every couple of weeks (once was enough for me!)

I have to laugh. The couple isn't alone. My partner watches Aliens every week.

[Tommaso]

Aside from people here in the forum, I do not really know anyone else, who shares in my passion for film.

This is precisely my feeling, too, and that is why I'm glad this place exists. Still, I often regret that it is only seldom possible to have those kinds of 'earnest' conversations in 'real life'. Problem seems to be that it is hard to communicate one's passion for a certain film if that passion has nothing to do with the plot or with the acting. Especially silent films come to my mind here, as they often miss everything the 'normal' cinema-goer (and I don't mean that pejoratively in any way) wants to have: 'naturalistic' acting, and of course, dialogue.

However, I interact with many people through my work, and I often hear how they are fastened to a specific television show, or even certain films that they too return to again and again, usually because they respond to a certain actor or actress, or the humor of a certain comedian. So, I think this is a very commonplace phenomena, and that most people to some extent have their "nightlights," and that the difference between people here who have a very intense relationship to film differ only in degree to the more casual viewers.

Sure, but it's also a difference in point-of-view. A lot of my friends (female, mostly) share my passion for "The Lord of the Rings", but they invariably come up with Orlando Bloom or Viggo Mortensen as the reason for this passion. While I on the other hand would never deny that I'm attracted by Miranda Otto, she alone would not be a reason for me to re-visit these films again.

But since you mention TV series, there are at least two that I tend to watch over and over again: one is the Irish series "Father Ted" (which I find incredibly funny), and the other one is the German 'space opera' series "Raumpatrouille Orion" from the 1960s, a totally hilarious attempt to copy "Star Trek". I have no idea whether this is known outside Germany, but here it is a pure cult phenomenon.

[HerrSchreck]

Sounds a bit like the SPACE PRECINCT series which I totally adored and if I could justify financially I'd gladly plunk a good fortune down to grab the whole series... but I just can't. A Korg d3200 has my name on it and I must discipline.

Sigh.

[Tommaso]

Sounds a bit like the SPACE PRECINCT series which I totally adored

Now that is a series I have never heard of, but looking at the images on the linked site it looks far more modern and accomplished. "Raumpatrouille" was black and white, the foreign planets were filmed on a garbage dump near Munich, and the interiors of the spaceship featured all sorts of converted kitchen utensils (including the famous clothes' iron) for achieving that 'futuristic' look. Thankfully, the actors knew what they were in and played the whole thing very much tongue-in-cheek, but really: Fritz Lang's "Woman in the Moon" looks like "Matrix" compared to this. But it emptied the streets when it was first shown in the 60s. Here's a rundown (also in English): http://www.orionspace.de

[FrauBlucher]

Haha. I work very early hours and am usually home by 12:30/1 in the afternoon. I take a nap when I get home, to TCM or some noir that I’ve DVRd. By the end of Eddie Mullers intro I’m sound asleep

[Zot!]

Moving discussion of One Battle After Another in this regard over here.
While I do not partake, I typically zone out to some re-runs, sports, or something similarly inconsequential, I did used to work at a theater where I got free movies, and I found the experience of nodding off to something I had already seen akin to a sensory deprivation experiment, some very lucid dreaming I've not experienced otherwise. I know it's not uncommon to attribute the cinema to something of a shared dream, and feel that is probably true.

[therewillbeblus]

My comfort films are almost all Antonioni - I'll put on his work often as a relaxation technique. There's something about the way he examines life that just fits with my worldview so well, like I feel 'seen' or a 'part of' through art

[Finch]

Imagine falling asleep to Lost Highway or Inland Empire, the dreams could be pretty unpleasant!

[Lowry_Sam]

Imagine falling asleep to Lost Highway or Inland Empire, the dreams could be pretty unpleasant!

I fall asleep to anything and everything that I happen to be watching. I get home from work, have dinner, often to some YouTube interest, then after cleaning up I try to tackle my watch list if I’m still wide awake. But if it’s been a long day (more often than not) I fall back to my comfort movies which are B&W, full frame, no subtitles needed, 90 minutes or less: noir, Bette or Joan or Barbara Stanwyck or Marlene, classic horror, British drama, or something campy. I’ll first look to the Criterion Channel to see what is leaving then look to my library for recent acquisitions. I usually hold off to the weekend the weightier or more involved or subtitled titles on my list.

[TechnicolorAcid]

I always find myself falling back on It’s Such a Beautiful Day, partially because it arrived at a horrific low point in my life, where I was comforted by the soothing narration of Hertzfeldt and the staggering beauty of Hertzfeldt’s imagery and it’s become a movie I’ve grown accustomed to watching whenever I find myself spiraling again.

[Finch]

Thanks for reminding me, TA, I should get that BD out and watch it this weekend. My mum passed from cancer last October and my dad is in intensive care right now with a tumor (and also, my dachshund died on Monday so this has been the week from hell) so I need to hold on to something.

I often fall asleep during movies now and I keep having to rewind to the last point I remember! With all this dying business in my family right now, I won't be watching any horrors for a few weeks. I am also really struggling with any movie depicting violence never mind sexual violence against women since I sat at my mum's side as she passed.

Maybe Tubi has some uplifting cartoons.

[FrauBlucher]

Finch, you have my sincerest condolences

[TechnicolorAcid]

Thanks for reminding me, TA, I should get that BD out and watch it this weekend. My mum passed from cancer last October and my dad is in intensive care right now with a tumor (and also, my dachshund died on Monday so this has been the week from hell) so I need to hold on to something.

I often fall asleep during movies now and I keep having to rewind to the last point I remember! With all this dying business in my family right now, I won't be watching any horrors for a few weeks. I am also really struggling with any movie depicting violence never mind sexual violence against women since I sat at my mum's side as she passed.

Maybe Tubi has some uplifting cartoons.

Terribly sorry you’ve been going through all of those things, hopefully things get better for you, hopefully you’ve been putting aside time for yourself to grieve and again, hopefully you prevail through all of these horrific events that have been happening to you.

[Yakushima]

Thanks for reminding me, TA, I should get that BD out and watch it this weekend. My mum passed from cancer last October and my dad is in intensive care right now with a tumor (and also, my dachshund died on Monday so this has been the week from hell) so I need to hold on to something.

I often fall asleep during movies now and I keep having to rewind to the last point I remember! With all this dying business in my family right now, I won't be watching any horrors for a few weeks. I am also really struggling with any movie depicting violence never mind sexual violence against women since I sat at my mum's side as she passed.

Maybe Tubi has some uplifting cartoons.

Finch, I am very sorry for your loss and hope things will get better.

[Lowry_Sam]

Thanks for reminding me, TA, I should get that BD out and watch it this weekend. My mum passed from cancer last October and my dad is in intensive care right now with a tumor (and also, my dachshund died on Monday so this has been the week from hell) so I need to hold on to something.

Sorry for your loss. I have been also having a rough go & in talking to people, it seems like there is something in the air. An unusual number of people I know have been going through more trials than they've encountered previously in life. For me things started to spiral with the onset of Covid. I stopped paying attention to serious drama tv series because I almost feel like I'm living in one.

I often fall asleep during movies now and I keep having to rewind to the last point I remember! With all this dying business in my family right now, I won't be watching any horrors for a few weeks. I am also really struggling with any movie depicting violence never mind sexual violence against women since I sat at my mum's side as she passed.

Maybe Tubi has some uplifting cartoons.

I also become much more sensitive to violence on screen, but for me it's a product of the current political climate.

For changing my mood, I enjoy more ascerbic or outlandish humor, movies that replay tragedy in a way that either distances itself from my own similar tragedy or makes it so absurd as to laugh: Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, Eating Raoul, Female Trouble, Happinness, Fleabag, early Woody Allen, Welcome To The Dollhouse, Fun With Dick And Jane, Absolutely Fabulous, Up The Sand Box, Smile, Honky Tonk Freeway, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Almost anything with Peter Sellers in it also seems to work.

Some life affirming but bittersweet dramas (but tear-jerkers) that I fall back on: Ponette & Nights Of Cabiria.

My single favorite mood-changing short: Bugs Bunny in What's Opera, Doc?

[Finch]

Thank you all. Still kinda hoping things will be okay with Dad though the sparkle in his eyes went with my mum's passing. We'll know more Monday.

Lowry Sam, I think I'm going to get the Looney Tunes BDs out too this weekend.