Movies: Does anyone else do this?

[Carolinas Identity*]

So, I have this weird thing that I do that drives my roommates and girlfriend bonkers, but I have friends who do it as well, does anyone else do this?

I have this weird habit of if I see a movie on TV that I like, and that I also own, I will watch it on TV rather than getting the movie from the shelf and watching it.

This actually just happened like an hour ago, so I was sitting downstairs on my couch flipping channels, and I saw that Alien 3 was on TV, and I was like "Sweet, I love that movie." and put it on and my roommate goes "If you wanna watch it, why don't you watch the unrated directors cut that you own on Blu-Ray, instead of the edited for TV version, that A) - has commercials, and B) - started almost an hour ago?"

And I was just like "Meh, I know what happens. I'll just watch it on TV."

Anyone else do this?

Click to read more...

 

[Belieber]

Yep, this is me all the time. I own Alien and there I was a few days ago watching it with commercials on tv.

 

[Osprey]

No, you're weird.

I don't understand how anyone can watch movies on television when they're edited and interrupted by commercials. I refuse to watch movies that way. I can't even remember the last time that I watched an edited movie with commercials. It was probably the early 90s. Besides the edits and the interruptions, such movies take 30-45 minutes longer to watch because of the commercials, which is time that could be spent doing something else, like watching an episode of a show or ranting on HFboards. I'll watch a movie on TV only if it's from a disc (BR/DVD), on a premium channel (HBO/Starz/etc) or via streaming (OnDemand/Netflix/local/etc).

I really don't understand how people can watch originally-R-rated movies, particularly horror movies like Alien, on commercial television. All of the good parts (the gore, the shocking deaths, etc.) are edited down or out completely. Also, all of the tension builds up only to cut to a commercial break. "It's on the other side of the door! We're doomed! <cut to black> *ding dong* Pizza delivery!" Why even watch it in the first place? I don't understand it. Why can't everyone just be normal and completely anal about how and where they watch movies, like me?

Come to think of it, maybe this is why I'm still not married...

 

[WTFetus]

Yeah, I can easily watch something like Forrest Gump or The Incredibles On-Demand, but there's something satisfying about being able to change the channel and have a break during commercials.
Same thing with watching like an episode of Seinfeld on TBS instead of Netflix. You watch it because it's on, not necessarily because you want to.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

If I actually want to sit down and deliberately watch the movie, I'll get it from the shelf.

If I'm flipping through channels or otherwise sitting around the house and don't really care to devote the attention to watching it as the primary focus of my attention, then I'll leave it on the tv.

Sometimes with R rated stuff I'll recite the smutty lines as the cast would normally be saying them if it's on an American channel that's all uptight about naughty language.

 

[Ozz]

Getting a DVD from my media area (basement) and putting it in is a commitment I'm not often ready to make!

 

[Shareefruck]

I get the inclination, but it is pretty dumb. I think it's just born out of laziness and nothing else.

 

[NyQuil]

The only thing I do like about it is that I can do chores and stuff during the commercial breaks.

It seems like less of a full-time investment.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

Before I started really getting into movies and having a massive collection, watching them on TV was the only way I would watch movies.

Nowadays I can't do that and I won't even stream it from Netflix. If I'm gonna invest my time into watching a movie, I'm watching it in the highest quality on a bluray.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

Similarly, I can have a song on my phone or on a cd, both readily available to play while driving, and yet if I'm thumbing through the radio and that particular song comes on I'm usually going to listen to it.

It's the element of randomness/surprise that makes it more appealing. I certainly wouldn't call it dumb or born out of laziness.

 

[Blender]

I do this all the time actually. Must be the spontaneity of it I guess.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

I despise commercials. They can't even make one in five commercials at the Superbowl funny these days. With the exception of those that provide the option to take a whiz, commercials can all burn in a fiery hell

 

[TP]

I get the inclination, but it is pretty dumb. I think it's just born out of laziness and nothing else.

Nailed it.

 

[Shareefruck]

You don't lose any of the spontaneity/randomness/surprise by putting in the better copy when a random thing (like it playing midway through on television) reminds you of it. And you don't lose any chore time pausing it after every couple scenes.

I'm pretty sure it's just a convenience/not wanting to bother moving a muscle thing.

 

[KaylaJ]

My DVD collection is dusty and only really used for travel or when the cable goes out. I'm pretty sure it's a commitment thing for me since when I'm in the car and hear a song on the radio I like, I'll still flip around to make sure a better one isn't one.

 

[Blender]

You don't lose any of the spontaneity/randomness/surprise by putting in the better copy when a random thing (like it playing midway through on television) reminds you of it. And you don't lose any chore time pausing it after every couple scenes.

I'm pretty sure it's just a convenience/not wanting to bother moving a muscle thing.

It might sound stupid, but if I go intentionally put something on there is some level of commitment there to watch the entire thing. Where if I see something on tv I like, I may not watch the entire thing and will often flip away if I see something better. It's not laziness, it's "well I like this movie so I'll watch it for a bit, but if something better comes on I'll go for that."

 

[Shareefruck]

It might sound stupid, but if I go intentionally put something on there is some level of commitment there to watch the entire thing. Where if I see something on tv I like, I may not watch the entire thing and will often flip away if I see something better. It's not laziness, it's "well I like this movie so I'll watch it for a bit, but if something better comes on I'll go for that."

That explanation makes a little more sense to me on an impulsive psychological level, so you're right, maybe it's not entirely laziness. Definitely seems like an arbitrary/self-imposed rule that doesn't have any real practical benefit, though.

 

[Arizonan God]

No. I'm a bit of purists when it comes to watching movies at home, so it drives me nuts when movies are played in the wrong aspect ratio/at lower quality/censored/interrupted with commercials.

I'll take the blu-ray version everytime.

 

[les Habs]

I've done this quite a bit myself. I'm usually online while the movie is playing. It's just the ones on HBO though. For example Dead Poet's Society will be on a certain time of year and they'll show it multiple times over the course of say a month and I'll just leave it on.

 

[x Tame Impala]

If you own something and want to watch it you have to actually choose to do it. Sometimes it's nice when you're being lazy and a good decision is made for you.

 

[One Blurred Eye]

I enjoy once in awhile picking out the ridiculous things they leave in vs cut out. For example some years ago Cartoon Network was playing School of Rock on a Sunday afternoon--so presumably the intended audience was kids. The commercials seemed to back up this assumption, being mainly for toys and such. They edited the language in the movie pretty heavily, even though the language in the original is fairly tame. But they left in the joke (after the central scheme falls apart) about Jack Black's character "touching" and "being touched" by the kids he was teaching (accidentally implying to the parents' horror that he was molesting them), an "artistic" choice that amuses me to no end even today.

Then of course some movies like Roadhouse and Robocop are just singular experiences because the overdubs are just so funny. It's interesting coming across the occasional example where an edit completely changes the "meaning" of a scene or whole movie, or where the film just works better in its chopped up form. The perversion of cinema (and even syndicated tv shows) for the purposes of cramming more commercials in/skirting regulations/appeasing sponsor or audience sensibilities is nearly an art form unto itself and provides interesting and frustrating insights into the societal psyche, serving as a collective map of sorts of our glorious moral inconsistencies and contradictions. Not always a fruitful venture, but not an unworthy exercise on the whole for those not lacking in imagination or an appreciation for media mangling (or at least an interest in the broader scope of its usage and effects when it comes to revision, editing, censorship--valuable things to ruminate upon now again for anyone working in or for the arts).

 

[zombie kopitar]

I can get on board with it....like when a song you love comes on the radio you just want to jam out a bit more then if you just played the cd/mp3/stream. It's cause people are collectively enjoying the experience with you?? Idk haha, but I haven't had any sort of broadcast tv for like 5 years so I don't really experience that anymore.

 

[Osprey]

It might sound stupid, but if I go intentionally put something on there is some level of commitment there to watch the entire thing. Where if I see something on tv I like, I may not watch the entire thing and will often flip away if I see something better. It's not laziness, it's "well I like this movie so I'll watch it for a bit, but if something better comes on I'll go for that."

Doesn't it bother you when you do decide to watch a movie from start to finish and you realize at some point that you're rewatching, say, 30 minutes of it that you saw not too long ago? That would spoil it for me, since I'd lose interest as soon as it started getting too familiar.

Maybe my habits are just different. I always commit to watching entire movies and I don't like watching them again until many years have passed. Even my favorite movies of all time, I'll typically watch only once every 5 years or so, so that they're more enjoyable when I do watch them (and not spoiled by me having the scenes, their order and their dialogue memorized). I'm probably at one extreme in this regard, while people who watch their favorite movies multiple times per year, even if just parts of them, are at the other extreme.

No. I'm a bit of purists when it comes to watching movies at home, so it drives me nuts when movies are played in the wrong aspect ratio/at lower quality/censored/interrupted with commercials.

Those are two things that drive me nuts, too. Even if there are no edits and no commercials, if I know that the picture has been cropped, I won't watch it. That was a much bigger deal in the 4:3 TV days, but can still be an issue with 2.35:1 (or greater) films. You particularly lose a lot of the grandeur of the old Cinemascope/Panavision classics (ex. Bridge on the River Kwai, Ben-Hur) when you watch them in "only" 16:9. As for image quality, I can tolerate lower quality if it's my only option, but, if I own a better quality, I'll always watch that, instead.

 

[Oscar Acosta]

Me and TBS - Back to the Future all the time.

I've never watched my special edition DVD set or Blu Ray set once. But on TV - yup, I'm game.