I recently encouraged a friend to see Truffaut’s Jules and Jim for the first time and she returned with a glowing, radiant smile, and offered a wildly enthusiastic response to this seminal film from the Nouvelle Vague.
While happy for her and pleased that she liked the recommendation, I felt a curious pang of jealousy that got me wondering: how many beloved films would I like to experience again, with fresh eyes, for the first time?
Surely, North by Northwest (still my favorite motion picture), Taxi Driver and O Lucky Man! 
Also Chinatown, of course. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. M. City Lights. Steamboat Bill Jr. Psycho. The Wizard of Oz. The Quiet Man. It's a Wonderful Life. A Clockwork Orange and 2001 and Dr. Strangelove. Yes, and The Wild Bunch. Let's not forget The Godfather and its first sequel. Goodfellas.
King Kong (1933), although I would also wish to be eight years old again, as that is an optimal age for viewing this creaky old monster movie.Most of the films noir from the classical period, especially Sunset Boulevard.
Jaws, though it frightened me senseless 34 years ago.
Even Die Hard – one of the few films I have seen that lived up to its tagline: “It will blow you through the back of the theater!”
Oh, this list could go on indefinitely.
Which films would you wish to experience again, unseen, with all their secrets and surprises waiting to unfold and make you smile or think or cry or enjoy wild, electrifying exhilaration?
Copyright © 2009 by Steve Evans // dba Cinema Uprising. All rights reserved.
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I bet you would like to see 2001 with fresh eyes... if I recall correctly, you didn't exactly "watch" it when you went to see it for the first time!
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