Ask HN: Which movies did you watch multiple times?

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall pattern

  • Thread is a massive list of “rewatchable” movies, skewed toward sci‑fi, action, 80s/90s comedies, and cult classics.
  • Titles most frequently mentioned include The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Pulp Fiction, Alien, Fight Club, Star Wars (original trilogy), Groundhog Day, Die Hard, Back to the Future, and various Pixar/Disney and Studio Ghibli films.

Why people rewatch

  • Comfort and mood regulation: many use familiar films as “comfort food,” background while working, or to get into a specific emotional or thinking mode.
  • Visual / audio spectacle: films with strong cinematography or sound design (e.g., Fury Road, 1917, Dune, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element) are rewatched to enjoy their aesthetics and sound systems.
  • Complexity and structure: puzzle or time-bending films (e.g., Tenet, Inception, Primer, Coherence, Predestination) are revisited to understand plots, appreciate structure, or study screenwriting.
  • Humor and quotability: comedies (Office Space, Idiocracy, The Princess Bride, Ghostbusters, Monty Python, Sideways, various cult comedies) are valued for endless quotable lines.

Rewatching habits

  • Some rewatch dozens of times; others rarely rewatch at all, preferring novelty.
  • A few say truly “great” films are often watched only once to preserve their impact; lighter or relatable films become the repeat staples.
  • Several describe annual or date‑based rituals (e.g., specific movies tied to holidays or historical anniversaries).
  • Parents report heavy repetition of kids’ films (Disney, Pixar, Lego Movie, Mario, etc.).
  • Some mostly rewatch individual scenes (famous courtrooms, finales) rather than whole films.

Debates and mixed views

  • Tenet: praised by some as highly rewatchable and rewarding with guides, subtitles, and diagrams; others find it pretentious or logically inconsistent, especially around time mechanics.
  • Prometheus: defended as underrated, visually strong, and an interesting sci‑fi/horror entry; others find it infuriating or damaging to the franchise.
  • Later Matrix sequels and the fourth film in particular draw both appreciation (for meta/recapitulation aspects) and skepticism.
  • One commenter notes few people seem to “love” post‑2015 films, blaming modern franchise/corporate priorities.

Meta‑discussion

  • At least one participant compiled a rough frequency table of movie mentions to identify the thread’s consensus favorites.
  • Others explicitly bookmark or mine the thread as a recommendation list.