What have I got
against action movies?
The main point of the preceding argument was to offer a rationale
or license to turn off the TV and not feel obligated to continue watching
something if for some reason or another you would prefer to do it over time. I
believe with many, typically longer and slower films, there are advantages in
breaking up the viewing experience over time. But this is not to say one way is
definitely better than another.
On the flip side, I would hardly tell someone they had to
stop watching a film if they wanted to continue on without pause. Films which
grab you and do not let go can speak for themselves. For example, anyone who can
stop watching in the middle of Raiders of
the Lost Ark or Star Wars is an
unusual sort of person and clearly outside the reigns of these discussions. The
reason I even bother with the one-sitting category at all is precisely to be
able to mention a film like Seven Samurai.
Because there are in fact, on rare occasion, films of
tremendous length, which actually do fit the mold and can sustain the pace for
a longer than usual duration. Perhaps
My point is that I simply wish to alert people to the fact
that if they do begin such films, they may be committing themselves to a two or
more hour sitting, over which they will have no bodily power to interrupt. It’s
more a warning than any kind of suggestion.
April 2008