The One Film We Could Watch Every Day for a Year

81 days ago, a guy named Lawrence decided to start a blog about a singular cinematic project:  he is watching the film Julie and Julia every day for a year.  We floated this idea around The Loft and came up with the following films that we could, if forced, conceivably watch for 365 consecutive days.


Alyson Hill, Projectionist

RUSHMORE / ELECTION

I'll have to go with Rushmore, since I basically did that when I was 15, and Election, because it will never not be funny.

Amy Harclerode, Development Director

SISTER ACT 2: BACK IN THE HABIT

Don't judge me.

Anthony Cutrone, Floor Staff:

COMMANDO

My 10 Reasons why:
1. Best opening title sequence ever.

2. Arnold!

3. Best one-liners [Matrix has thrown a pipe through Bennett]
Matrix: "Let off some steam, Bennett."

4. David Patrick Kelly.

5. Body count: 81.

6. "We Fight for Love" by Power Station.

7. Sherman Oaks Galleria Mall.

8. It's just as good on Telemundo.

9. James Horner's score.

10. Bill Paxton's cameo.

Christian Ramirez, Floor Staff:

RUSHMORE

I'd totally watch Rushmore every day for a year. I've pretty much already done that in my old house, I'd just leave it in my DVD player and just let it run whenever I was at home and needed background noise. The dialogue is so witty, and even though I've seen the movie so many times it's still hilarious. I'm also totally in love with Max Fischer, Mr. Littlejeans, and Bill Murray can do anything and I'll happily watch it. Also- it easily one has of the best soundtracks ever. Basically, it's great.

Dan Steen, Assistant Manager

GROUNDHOG DAY

Groundhog Day, because that's basically what the movie is about. It would be repetition within repetition! Although I might be forced to turn down the volume during the Sonny and Cher alarm clock scenes.
Also, the Grumpy Old Men movies and Christmas Vacation, as they have already proven themselves to be nearly infinitely watchable.

Daniel Terry, Assistant Manager

YOUNG GUNS

I saw it 3 or 4 times in the theater and when it finally hit HBO I taped it and DID watch it everyday for at least 6 months. I don't know what it is about that flick but I never get bored of it.

Dave Paiz, Facilities Manager

EXCALIBUR

Largely due to the fact that I must have watched it at least 20 or 30 days in a row back in the early '80s when it first hit cable, John Boorman's Excalibur is numero uno among a tiny handful of flicks I think I could watch every day for a year and not get sick of. It's a truly epic adaptation of the classic tale of Love, Betrayal, Forgiveness and Redemption. Tons of bloody, bone-crushing action too. Great music and a great cast that includes a scorchingly fetching Helen Mirren as the sorceress Morgana. The last twenty minutes of this one sends me scrambling for the Kleenex every time I see it. 365 days straight of that might get a bit much. In that case, maybe I should've said Jaws, The Blues Brothers or The Big Lebowski. Oh well, too late. Damn.

Evan Salazar, Floor Staff

SHERLOCK JR.

This was a much tougher question than I initially gave it credit for. While my favorite film is ANNIE HALL, the idea of watching it for a whole year sounds like the most grating experience imaginable. I love Woody, but watching Woody be Woody for a year... that sounds like a bit too much. I decided my criteria would be that it would have to be relatively short, funny, and the jokes have enough replay value to at least illicit a "I recognize this joke as humorous even though I am not laughing or smiling" response in my head by the 100th viewing. So, with that in my mind, my choice is Buster Keaton's SHERLOCK Jr. First of all, it's 45 minutes. Perfect. Also, Keaton can just look at anything with no discernible expression on his face and I laugh. Thinking about it, if I had to watch SHERLOCK JR. every day of the year, it would probably put me in a perpetual great mood. How can that classic stone face not make your worst day just a bit better?

J.J. Giddings, Operations Director

CITY OF LOST CHILDREN

Always fun to watch, and since there's no plot that I can follow, I probably wouldn't get bored by the story after 365 viewings.

Jeff Yanc, Program Director

BLOOD OF A POET

A surrealist French film from the ‘30s about the hell of being an artist might not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but this film is absolutely amazing. Any film I’d watch every day for a year would have to be non-narrative, otherwise the plot would drive me crazy. Luckily, BLOOD OF A POET is both non-narrative AND crazy. This film is beautiful and bizarre and endlessly fascinating, and it seems to mean something different every time I see it. Cocteau was a genius when it came to whipping up hypnotic strangeness. Watching this movie is a bit like falling asleep and having a really sweaty, opium-soaked dream, then waking up and freaking out because you suspect you’re probably still dreaming. This was a major influence on such great weirdo filmmakers as David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky, but it’s really unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s over 80 years old, and the special effects are still confounding. And it’s only 55 minutes long!

Kyle Canfield, General Manager

WILLOW

Because in a world with only one movie to watch, I want something fun, a little intense with a lot of imagination and something that will make me laugh, then cry, then smile and remind me of nothing of the real world that has lost every movie except one... and I think it would probably piss George Lucas off, at least a little.

Luanne Withee, Membership Director

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Liza is fantastic and I have always loved DeNiro. To top it off Scorsese directs! This film is sumptuous & stunning to look at - the sets, costumes and cinematography are terrific. But what really makes it so watchable for me is the MUSIC! The score by Kander & Ebb and all the great nostalgic songs and big band numbers makes this one of my favorite films of all time! This film is a real homage to the big, splashy Technicolor musicals of the 1930’s & 40’s and I LOVE it!

Pedro Robles, Assistant Manager

ROBOCOP / RAISING ARIZONA

1. Robocop: There are so many things going on in this Reagan-era action / sci-fi movie. This film is thick with social satire, existential questions and, my personal favorite, over-the-top on-screen violence. What else can you ask for? Verhoeven's best American film.

2. Raising Arizona: A film of nostalgia for me. I could watch this Coen brother crafted fever dream any day, everyday. The pace of it is so fast, it feels like a 35 minute short film. It's brand of comedy helped shape the person I am today.

Peggy Johnson, Executive Director

STRANGER THAN PARADISE

The film I could watch every day for a year is Stranger Than Paradise. While I'm somewhat opposed to the concept of watching the same film over and over since there are so many wonderful films to discover, if I had to choose it would be this. I think that the only film I could see that often would have to offer an experience very close to listening to music with little emphasis on plot. Stranger Than Paradise is like listening to jazz, with quirky riffs and a rhythm that fits my life.

Peggy Springer, Office Specialist

HOWL

Being a lover of poetry, I also love poetry in film/on film. The format of "Howl" is such that the title poem is recreated (almost) documentary-style, as well as in animation. The courtroom trial of whether or not the work should be censored, along with James Franco's wonderful portrayal of Allen Ginsberg, along with the idea that every word in the film was actually spoken by the people speaking them in the film makes me feel like I'm watching some sort of American History channel about poetry. (Franco) Ginsberg says at the end of the trial/end of the film that the point of the poem "Howl" is frankness--say what's on your mind. Express yourself. I could watch this movie and listen to this movie everyday.

Steven Soloway, Office Manager

SWING TIME

After having seen the 1936 Astaire-Rogers musical SWING TIME at least a dozen times, I could easily commit to watching it every day for an entire year. Stunning visuals coupled with a tuneful Jerome Kern score, not to mention the gravity defying dance sequences, make this film a perennial favorite of mine.    

Tim Keene, Floor Staff

THE BIG SLEEP

Humphrey Bogart.

Zach Breneman, Business Manager

DR. STRANGELOVE or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Much like The Big Lebowski, this movie gets funnier every time I watch it.  I'm sure there's some kind of bell curve there, and I may regret such a dialogue-heavy movie about 45 days in, but for now, I can't picture not enjoying the hell out of Peter Sellers and the rest of the brilliant cast.