Movies You Appreciated Later In Life!

[Call Me Darkman]

Recently, I re-watched American Beauty. I always liked the film, but it never left a lasting impression on me. The main reason is because as a teenage boy in 1999, I was more interested in movies like The Matrix and Fight Club. But now that I'm an adult, I totally understand all the themes in American Beauty and see it as a great film.

So... are there any movies that you came to appreciate later in life?

 

[Soapy]

Blade Runner.

First time I tried to watch it I was bored to tears, but a couple of years later I gave it a second chance and I was totally engrossed.

 

[Silvermoth]

Hero. It's not like when I went to see it the first time I was an idiot kid or anything but on watching it over and over I understand it a bit better each time.

Great movie.

 

[Call Me Darkman]

First time I tried to watch it I was bored to tears

With Blade Runner, it's always a question of which version you saw first. My first exposure to the film was the original theatrical cut and I hated it. I only saw that version once, but I'm almost certain I would hate it again if I saw it.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

For me its Alien, I always liked it but have grown to appreciate it more and more over the years, I didnt realise how good it actually was until the last few years.

 

[Hotwire]

Not really a movie, but Bill Cosby Himself. The stories he tells in it mean so much more now that I'm a parent.

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

2001

I loved the visuals when I saw it as a child during the '70`s, but the depth I realised it had in later years was quite something.

 

[Laderlappen]

Titanic

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Drop Dead Fred

 

[amazingfantasy15]

When I first saw Pulp Fiction I hated it, actually walked out of the theater. I gave it another chance a couple years later and found it much better. However, now I'm somewhat in the middle, never really want to watch it again, but I can see it's place in movie history.

 

[marvelman2006]

The prestige




on a side note TV show wise 24. After 5 years of being on air I borrowed season 1 from my brother and was hooked.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

The Big Lebowski- I guess I just didn't get it until recently. Now I love it.

 

[Call Me Darkman]

2001

I don't think anyone "loves" 2001: A Space Odyssey the first time they see it. It's definitely one of the more challenging films to watch.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

The twist in Fight Club kind of ruined the movie for me at first. There was a 3 part Batman mini-series in the early 80s called The Untold Legend of the Batman, and the twist was the same kind of thing. BM had an unknown enemy out there and it turned out to be himself, he had developed a split personality after suffering injuries to the head from the batmobile exploding.

So I just thought the reveal in the BM story was a big cop-out twist, ruined the book for me. Even though it was not the exact same kind of twist in FC, I just didn't buy that aspect, that of such an extreme split personality taking place.
But, then I watched it a few more times, disassociated it from my old grievance against the Batman series, brought in some suspension of disbelief for the sake of the story working that way, and came to really enjoy that aspect of the story.

 

[Mace Dolex]

Around the time movies like Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Rain Man, Goodfellas I was a kid that was only interested in superhero stuff but over the years with an adult mind I've expanded my horizons so to speak.

 

[kedrell]

Hmm, boy...this is hard. I can name dozens of movies that I used to like a whole lot more than I do now but going the other way is a task because I usually go out of my way to avoid movies that I know I'll more than likely dislike on my first viewing. And I virtually never revisit the films that manage to slip past my radar and watch/dislike the first time I see them.

 

[humbdrumb]

Blade Runner and 2001 are the only real answers. They're the most noteworthy films people respect and admire more than they enjoy.

 

[danoyse]

Not really a movie, but Bill Cosby Himself. The stories he tells in it mean so much more now that I'm a parent.

We quote it all the time whenever my mom lets my nephew get away with something she would never let us do: "This is not the woman who raised me! You're looking at an old person who's trying to get into heaven now!"

The movie I got into later...A Christmas Story. I just didn't get it when I was younger. Now I think it's hilarious.

 

[Visceral]

Forrest Gump

 

[Lighthouse]

A surprising one for me was Pee Wee's Big Adventure. I loved it when I was a kid, then I watch it as an adult and realize it is way funnier then I thought it was.

 

[Max J Power]

-Another vote for Blade Runner. On first viewing (the 1992 Director's Cut), I appreciated its quality but only enjoyed it somewhat. Five years later, I saw the Final Cut version and loved it.
-Similarly, Minority Report. Always thought it was a good action movie, but when I was older, I had a better appreciation for its thematic depth. I gained appreciation for that kind of science fiction over the years.
-I'd say A Christmas Story too. I always really liked the movie and watched it every year, but it wasn't until I was an adult that I fully appreciated how good a film it is.
-I liked Clerks in high school, but it meant more to me after the age of 20.

 

[Rowsdower!]

To some extent, I would agree with The Big Lebowski. I always liked it, but upon the first viewing, my thoughts were basically that it was a funny movie but not one I would need to revisit. However, several years later a friend of mine got me to watch it again and I damn near fell in love with it. I've seen it multiple times since.

 

[danoyse]

The Sound of Music. When I was kid, I thought it was boring. Now I love it, and totally swoon when Maria and the Captain dance for the first time at the party.

Oliver! - as a kid, I thought the scenes that didn't involve the kids were boring. Now I see how brilliant this scene is.

 

[Call Me Darkman]

A surprising one for me was Pee Wee's Big Adventure. I loved it when I was a kid, then I watch it as an adult and realize it is way funnier then I thought it was.

I'm on the same boat. I enjoyed Big Adventure as a kid, but now, I consider it a comedic masterpiece.

 

[James]

Zodiac springs to mind. I remember thinking it was incredibly boring, but then rewatched it (which shows it probably had *some* effect on the first viewing) and really enjoyed it.