A Fun Movie Poll

If there were any justice, Chief Dan George would have gotten an Oscar for The Outlaw Josie Wales.

If there were any justice, Chief Dan George would have gotten an Oscar for The Outlaw Josie Wales.

I’m famous, with my wife at least, for being intractably unwilling to watch movies a second time. Once you know how the plot turns out, why bother? Never felt that way about books when I was young. Dozens that I read multiple times. But I’m not young anymore. And movies tend to be Point A to Point Q or S kind of stuff. If they ever got to Z maybe you could stand watching again. Maybe a lot of you are the same way.

But even I have movies that fall into a special category. If you happen across them while channel flipping, you fall into them and watch them to the end. They don’t have to be the best movies. They’re just the most seductive ones. “I’ll wait till this next great scene.” Then, “The next great scene will be in just a few more minutes.” And finally, “Oh hell. In for a Penny, in for a pound. I’ll stay to the end.”

Saw one last night I hadn’t realized had made this rare list. The Outlaw Josie Wales.

Others? On the Waterfront. Scarface. Die Hard. Fort Apache. Shane. The Big Sleep. Casablanca. There may be others, but it’s a short list.

How about you? Be strict with yourselves. Not movies you like and have on DVD. Only movies you keep getting sucked into because you suddenly discover them playing on TV, even if it’s past your bedtime.

I know nobody’s reading this, but I guess this is another kind of confession. The power of certain films to reach out of the box and grab you by the throat.

So give me your confessions. There’s a special place in movie eternity for phenomena like this. Help me document it. Or don’t.