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The most re-watchable movies of the last 50 years, revealed

Movie we can all watch again and again.

The most re-watchable movies of the last 50 years, revealed
Marc Chacksfield
10 November 2020

For the launch of the Pixel 5, Google has teamed up with the BFI to reveal what the most re-watchable movies of the last 50 years are.

Given we are all spending a hell of a lot more time at home right now, there's plenty of opportunity to watch a movie - and one that you have seen before. Yes, there are lots of new movies out but this is a bit of a fallow year for blockbusters and the like, so if you don't fancy something new then the BFI has come up with a list of re-watchable movies that have to follow the blow criteria:

  • One that had a memorable first viewing
  • Great performances and characters
  • A story that makes you want to go on that journey again – You’ve probably seen enough bad films to realise how hard it is to tell a great story,
  • Music that triggers nostalgia
  • Dialogue that's entered the lexicon of popular culture.
  • A movie you want to show to everyone
  • A film that hits you right in the feels – Whether it’s a scary movie making you leap out of your seat, a comedy
  • Something with spectacle .
  • A movie that's complex enough it needs multiple viewings to digest.
  • That one re-watchable moment.

The list, according to the BFI has been compiled in certain categories, with the British Film Institute noting: "Different genres of films work on us in different ways. Ever find yourself choosing a film based on your mood? A comedy to cheer you up? A dead-of-night horror to scare yourself senseless? A romance to weep to?

"We’ve broken down our list of 50 Most Re-Watchable British Films into genres (Laugh, Scare, Romance, Drama, Action, Cult and Biography), but all of them share characteristics that speak to why they’ve become favourites of audiences; a criteria that seeks to examine our nostalgic affinity for our most beloved movies."

The list of the movies is below. Google has revealed that these movies will be available to rent on Google Play as part of its "‘Google Pixel presents Mobile Cinema’ - a unique experience that will let people discover and download films around the UK with Google Maps, from the comfort of their sofas."

This is happening, according to Google, in mid November and is set to show off the speedy downloads of the new Google Pixel 5.

The BFI's most re-watchable movies list is the comfort viewing we all need

The most re-watchable movies of all time

LAUGH

  • East is East (1999)
  • Gosford Park (2001)
  • Shaun of the Dead (2004)
  • Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
  • Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
  • In the Loop (2009)
  • Four Lions (2010)
  • Sightseers (2012)

SCARE

  • 28 Days Later (2002)

ROMANCE

  • A Room With A View (1985)
  • Truly Madly Deeply (1990)
  • Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
  • Sense and Sensibility (1995)
  • Shakespeare in Love (1998)
  • Atonement (2007)
  • Weekend (2011)
  • Phantom Thread (2017)

DRAMA

  • The Go Between (1971)
  • Barry Lyndon (1975)
  • The Long Good Friday (1980)
  • Orlando (1992)
  • The Remains of the Day (1993)
  • The English Patient (1996)
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
  • This is England (2006)
  • Fish Tank (2009)
  • Locke (2013)
  • Pride (2014)
  • The Souvenir (2019)

ACTION

  • Attack the Block (2011)
  • Skyfall (2012)

CULT

  • Performance (1970)
  • A Clockwork Orange (1971)
  • The Wicker Man (1973)
  • Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
  • Quadrophenia (1979)
  • Babylon (1980)
  • Withnail & I (1987)
  • Trainspotting (1996)
  • Dog Soldiers (2002)
  • Children of Men (2006)
  • Moon (2009)
  • Under the Skin (2013)
  • Duke of Burgundy (2014)

BIOGRAPHY

  • 24 Hour Party People (2002)
  • Amy (2010)
  • Good Vibrations (2012)
  • Belle (2013)
  • The Theory of Everything (2014)
  • The Favourite (2018)

Many of these movies are available in the following lists, so if you are a fan then head there and get voting: