Do you remember every film that you watch?

As background, I’m a longtime cinephile and have a long history of recording what I’ve watched via IMDB and other sites.

I’m someone who likes to always know exactly what I’m watching and what I’ve watched and when.

Always been like that.

However, I’ve had discussions with friends in the past about film watching habits and always found it fascinating.

I imagine a discussion with folks following a list like 1001 Movies would be interesting.

For me, this centers around the need to remember (at least roughly) what I’ve seen, otherwise it seems somewhat pointless.

It would feel like a real waste of time if I just started forgetting films and re-watching without even knowing if I’d seen them.

I have a bit of a photographic memory with most things, and people have always commented on my ability to remember obscure plot details, actors, years of films, etc etc.

I even remember where I was and who I watched things with. It’s not just film, either, but that’s another discussion.

Personally, I have a deep desire to remember what I’ve seen. It makes it worthwhile. I like to make the connections between films and eras and movements.

But as you watch more stuff and you put more time distance between what you’ve seen, it seems harder to retain everything.

What is retention to you? Is it enough just to remember a rough synopsis or do you need to remember everything about a film?

Or do you just need to remember the way a film made you feel?

But, sometimes when I’ve had this discussion with people, they point out a desire to just watch for the moment they’re in. Kind of a ‘just be present’ thing.

These are like most of my friends – people who watch mainstream films and TV shows and never keep track of what they’ve watched.

They’ll regularly rewatch stuff and sometimes not even know it’s a re-watch until the end.

I see both sides of the discussion. Where do you stand?

I think it’s a really relevant discussion when considering 1001 Movies, film critics and the wider idea of cinema love in general.

It sometimes amazes me the amount of films critics have seen.

Is it even possible to accurately remember where these films fit in the canon and remember their ranking appropriately.

Most people find it hard just to WATCH 1001 Movies, let alone actually remember them and what was good and where it stands in film history!

How do you feel about this?