Great Article: Book Review, How to Watch a Movie

http://www.denverpost.com/books/ci_29331626/review-how-watch-movie-by-david-thomson

From the article:

"it will teach you that film is an adventure in which you are meant to see more than the things before your eyes. The things seen are not just the view; they are windows that open it up." 

This is a book review of a book I now want to read, a piece on how one enjoys a movie. The article is fun and goes over some of the films covered (some Noir and many contemporary), and also hits on what I feel is a slight elitist nature to the book (that I would tend to agree with, but I am very careful about expressing because of the flame worthiness of the standpoint).

Are some films only worth viewing once? I feel so, they are more roller-coaster, one-time-only experiences worthy of a ticket and that's about it. The problem comes when someone lumps someone else's favorite movie into that category and all hell breaks loose. People often confuse these two points of view:

• Only worth viewing once for me becuase I will get little out of repeated viewings.
• I just love the film and I can watch it over and over again.

That whole "for me" thing is what people don't understand, and we have too many "if I love it, then I will attack anyone else who has a slightly different point of view" people out on the Internet to have a meaningful discussion that doesn't last three or four posts before the trolls jump in. It's not that I don't appreciate the film, or think you shouldn't, I just have different tastes and get less out of watching some films repeatedly than others.

The quote too is very enlightening, "meant to see more than the things before your eyes" and "an adventure" and "not the view; they are the windows" all hit the right notes with me, and that is how I enjoy films and write my books. I enjoy this deeper level of enjoyment in films and books very much, and it is heartening to see a book which describes that point of view.

Anyways, please check out the review and the book if you are interested, and I am interested in this as well. Any book which describes how one might enjoy a film on a deeper and more meaningful level is right up my alley, and something I would love to read.