Are we capable of watching slow movies anymore?

[JimC]

I have almost reached the point where I am incapable of watching any movies.

[Red Celt]

Well, the trailer for Tree of Life almost made me hurl. So, yeah, I think I agree with you!

I didn't see the trailer. I got the film as a random download and watched it. I'm still in therapy.

[Animavore]

I don't get it. "Slow movies". You mean like My Left Foot?

[Red Celt]

I don't get it. "Slow movies". You mean like My Left Foot?

When I hear the term "slow movie" I imagine that they mean that it didn't include a car chase. I love "slow movies".

[tattuchu]

...

A lot of people like Thin Red Line. I thought its pacing (among other things) was pompously slow. I got bored and fell asleep. But objectively speaking, it probably moved faster than Babette's Feast-- I just don't think it did enough to fill the slow space.

I despise Thin Red Line and hence anything Terrence Malick.

Well, the trailer for Tree of Life almost made me hurl. So, yeah, I think I agree with you!

I remember really enjoying Badlands many years ago, and have been meaning to pick it up on DVD, but haven't been able to get into any of the other Malick films I've watched (though I may give Tree of Life a try, despite this). I don't mind slow-paced films, though. That's not a problem for me. A slow moving film can be elegant and poetic. Of course it can also be a tiresome bore. Depends upon the film, of course, but I have no problem with slow-moving in and of itself. And even with my computer and video game addiction, I do yet still retain an intense dislike for very rapid-paced and hyper-kinetically edited film geared toward the ADD crowd. I feel my mouth, of its own volition, contorting into a sneer when I watch them.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The slowest movie I own is "Triumph of the Will".

[tattuchu]

The slowest movie I own is "Triumph of the Will".

Aptly named

[Tero]

Speed is not a problem. Length is. For 3 hours, I prefer 3 episodes.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"Hogfather" was pretty damn slow if you ask me.

[amused]

I want a real story early on. It can take its time getting to the climax, but I want to know that there is a story on the screen, not just a bunch of wanking.

[tattuchu]

I have almost reached the point where I am incapable of watching any movies.

Why, Jim? Because they're all mostly shit? In my case, I have a hard time watching movies because, with my ADD, I have a difficult time investing the amount of time and attention required to sit and watch an entire film, so I always put it off for another time. Once I actually sit my ass down and pop the DVD in, though, make the commitment, I'm usually fine. It's just a matter, for me, of making that decision, "Okay, I'm going to watch a movie now."

[rachelbean]

I enjoy slow movies, often ones people label as boring but I end up finding them quite the opposite. A good example would be Broken Flowers.

[rasetsu]

I remember one time, I got together with some college buds of mine — all guys — who had developed a ritual of regularly getting together at one of their houses to watch videos.

Me, being a girl and a newbie, they let me pick both films for my first night. I picked Eraserhead and The Bostonians.


They never let me pick a movie again.

[JimC]

I have almost reached the point where I am incapable of watching any movies.

Why, Jim? Because they're all mostly shit? In my case, I have a hard time watching movies because, with my ADD, I have a difficult time investing the amount of time and attention required to sit and watch an entire film, so I always put it off for another time. Once I actually sit my ass down and pop the DVD in, though, make the commitment, I'm usually fine. It's just a matter, for me, of making that decision, "Okay, I'm going to watch a movie now."

Books do it for me, rather than movies, almost all the time. A movie is dictatorial in its demands on my attention. A book, I can put down whenever I want...

[Red Celt]

Ooo... not sure if this should go elsewhere, but I watched Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) last night. It is "slow" (no car chases) and I can highly recommend it. It's set in 1984's East Berlin, based on the Stasi.