Movies That Improve With Every Rewatch

Hollywood Classics That Get Better With Age

Hollywood has given audiences a rich history of cinematic classics. However, due to the passage of time, changing culture and shifting genres, even the greatest of classics can lose their appeal with time and age. Other films, like Scream, only get better with each fresh viewing, allowing audiences to pick up on overlooked details and even age with them.

For many people, even their favorite films still require an older viewer to be fully appreciated, and some have mastered the art of becoming more relevant with age. In some cases, this was by design, with writers and directors turning in stories that were designed to be a timeless take on their genre. For others, it’s a simple case of experience and wisdom allowing them to pick up on the nuances of the story. As a result, there are many films that audiences can turn to over and over and still be entertained.

Scream Changed Horror Forever

Scream focuses on iconic final girl, Sidney Prescott, a high school senior in the small town of Woodsboro, California, where a masked Ghostface killer racks up a killing spree. Still reeling from the murder of her mother a year prior, Sidney realizes she’s the killer’s main target, turning to her friends for help. Written by Kevin Williamson, the film single-handedly revived the slasher sub-genre, thanks to its meta approach to horror.

Having since become an institution of horror, every rewatch makes the original film more relevant and interesting as the overall genre has progressed. Given the countless imitations that have come since, the movie is so influential and timeless that it’s the basis of comparison for every modern slasher. The older any horror fan gets, the more they come to understand just how brilliant Wes Craven and Williamson’s masterpiece was.

Gattaca Has Grown More Relevant With Age

Gattaca takes place in a near future where humanity has perfected genetic engineering, creating a society centered around eugenics. This world is stratified into two classes: Valids, those engineered to be the best possible version of themselves, and In-Valids, those conceived completely naturally. The story focuses on an In-Valid, Vincent, as he impersonates a Valid named Jerome, allowing him to pursue his dream of going into space with the Gattaca aerospace company. When his boss is murdered, and an In-Valid is detected, he tries to maintain the facade.

Gattaca is a film that has proven prescient and timely in recent years, serving as a commentary on topics like fate, class and what shared humanity means. With one of the greatest scripts of the 1990s and one flawless performance after another, the film has aged perfectly, challenging Blade Runner as the ultimate sci-fi cult classic. It’s hard to watch the film today without being more moved by its story with each fresh viewing, serving as a warning for something that may be right around the corner.

The Big Lebowski Took Years to Be Appreciated

The Big Lebowski focuses on a carefree Los Angeles bum, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, as he gets roped into a kidnapping plot when he’s mistaken for a millionaire of the same name. Begrudgingly agreeing to help the ‘Big Lebowski’ find his kidnapped wife, he and his friend Walter embark on one comical misadventure after another.

When The Big Lebowski was released, it was a box office bomb, though it defined Jeff Bridges’ career in the United States, taking years to finally earn the respect it deserved. Borrowing elements of old-school hardboiled detective stories and translating them into a 1990s Los Angeles comedy was a stroke of brilliance for the Coen brothers. The film is so funny that every fresh viewing reminds fans of small details and throwaway lines they missed last time, giving them more to appreciate every time.

Reservoir Dogs Started a Legendary Directorial Career

Reservoir Dogs focuses on a group of hired crooks in the aftermath of a botched bank robbery, leaving two of them dead and the rest on the run. With one man bleeding to death, the rest of the group try to figure out who sold them out before the cops can find them. At every turn, the audience learns more about each man, gradually building towards the truth.

Despite having made several classics since 1992, Reservoir Dogs is the Tarantino movie that people have come to better appreciate with time and age. The older someone gets and the more exposure they get to older movies, the more the directorial debut really proves itself to be the perfect crime film. Whether it’s coming to better appreciate the performances of stars like Michael Madsen and Harvey Keitel to relating to the likes of Mr. Pink, it’s a movie that gets elevated from great to perfect with age.

Jaws is the Perfect Summer Blockbuster

Jaws is set in the idyllic island community of Amity, where police chief Brody discovers a dead girl just as the Fourth of July weekend is around the corner. When the mayor tries to downplay the risk of a shark attack, he’s forced to take matters into his own hands to keep his community safe from a killer Great White. Enlisting the aid of a marine biologist and a local fisherman, he heads out to sea to bring the creature down before it can strike again.

Jaws is as timeless a classic as it gets, a film that has been the beating heart of the Hollywood summer blockbuster since its 1975 release and kickstarted a whole franchise. Few films can truly claim to be flawless masterpieces, but, after fifty years, nobody has been able to bring it down from its status as the perfect popcorn movie. As the audience has aged with it, every generation has found more to love about it, from its adventurous spirit to the way it kicked off the shark craze in cinema.

Unforgiven is the Perfect Western That More People Should See

Unforgiven follows Clint Eastwood in the role of William Munny, a former outlaw and murderer living with his children on a small farm. Having sobered up for his late wife and left his life of violence behind, he reluctantly agrees to take one last job to provide for his family. Along with his old friend Ned and an up-and-coming bounty hunter, he pursues a pair of cowboys, only to come face-to-face with the brutal, morally-compromised sheriff, Bill Daggett.

Unforgiven is a film that ages perfectly with the audience. As people get older, they better connect with and understand the depth of the message behind it, especially as it relates to the effect violence has on a person’s heart. Younger people are more likely to love the revenge angle and the movie’s memorable quotes, but the more they watch it, the more they’ll come to appreciate what it’s really saying. After discovering classics like Shane and The Gunfighter, younger fans will find more importance in the film the more immersed they get in the genre.

Clue Is a Cozy Mystery Comfort Movie

A Halloween staple, Clue, follows the arrival of a group of complete strangers to a mansion in the middle of nowhere, where they’re hosted by an odd butler, Wadsworth. Learning from him that they’re all victims of an elaborate blackmail scheme, things take a turn when the alleged perpetrator is revealed, only to be murdered. Realizing there’s a killer in the house, even among the group, they split up and search for clues before they have a chance to strike again.

Clue achieves a rare feat in the whodunit genre in that, no matter how many times fans watch it, it keeps them hooked as if it’s their first viewing. Every fresh viewing brings a new appreciation for its witty script and eccentric characters, whose banter and bickering are enough to keep anyone entertained. Still, the gold standard for the comedy murder mystery, stars like Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd helped make it the ultimate comfort movie.

Tropic Thunder Mastered Satirizing Celebrity Culture

A hilarious War film, Tropic Thunder follows the story of the cast of the fictitious eponymous Vietnam War movie as they head out into the jungle to try and save their dying project. However, when the director is killed, the self-centered actors are left to fend for themselves in the midst of drug trade territory. When the film’s lead is kidnapped and ransomed, it falls to his co-stars to use their talents to try and rescue him.

As a satirical commentary on Hollywood culture itself, Tropic Thunder only grows more relevant with each passing year. Whenever a celebrity embarrasses themselves or there’s a scandal within a studio, it’s hard not to think of characters like Les Grossman and Tugg Speedman. From the film’s hysterical fake opening trailers to the way the characters are self-impressed with their own image, it’s always relevant. In essence, Tropic Thunder is the ultimate parody of celebrity culture, and grows more relevant with each passing day.