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A general rule of thumb that I've adopted is to intentionally skip the first 10 minutes of any movie. This happened accidentally with Memento [0], it it became

A general rule of thumb that I've adopted is to intentionally skip the first 10 minutes of any movie. This happened accidentally with Memento [0], it it became an incredible film. Without all that setup in the first scene, you exist with the protagonist as he discovers his world. I've tried it with other films and they give away too much information, you the viewer are practically handed the whole script. Give it a shot, you might like doing it that way. [0][https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/ ]

usrusr 4y ago
I observed a similar effect with University lectures: being there from the start I often lost myself in some embarrassing state of deep distraction, but when I missed the beginning I went into attentive panic to make up for what I missed that echoed on even after I fetched up.
- the_af 4y ago
  The difference between university lectures and movies is, of course, that one is not normally trying to derive a lesson from a movie; there's nothing to "optimize". Every part of the movie is necessary unlike a lesson.
jvm___ 4y ago
So you use the Wadsworth constant on movies? "The Wadsworth Constant is the idea (and 2011 meme) that one can safely skip past the first 30 percent of any YouTube video without missing any important content." I don't quite think the UI_at_80x24 constant has the same ring to it.
bena 4y ago
I really don’t see how that changes Memento. Part of the tension is knowing Leonard is going to kill Teddy, we just don’t know why.
- the_af 4y ago
  I think it does change Memento... for the worse. The beginning is a powerful, integral part of the movie. Skipping the first 10 minutes is like skipping the last 10, "I just know where this is going anyway". Nope. So much can happen in 10 minutes! Plus, you know, they filmed that part for a reason. It's also like skipping the first chapter of a book: sure, some books would be improved by trimming their clumsy beginnings, but good books aren't.
  - mbrochh 4y ago
    Yea, it's just an incredibly silly "general rule of thumb".
the_af 4y ago
I think skipping the beginning of Memento is a mistake. It's a powerful beginning that sets up expectations (the movie is "pre ordained", but we just don't understand why) but at the same time it explains nothing. In general, I disagree with your rule of thumb. My favorite movies have cool beginnings, and it'd be a shame to miss them.
BLKNSLVR 4y ago
Just don't do it with The Lobster. The first scene really drew me in to wondering WTF is this movie going to be about?! The first scene created the mystery. One of my favourite movie openings.

usrusr 4y ago

I observed a similar effect with University lectures: being there from the start I often lost myself in some embarrassing state of deep distraction, but when I missed the beginning I went into attentive panic to make up for what I missed that echoed on even after I fetched up.

the_af 4y ago
The difference between university lectures and movies is, of course, that one is not normally trying to derive a lesson from a movie; there's nothing to "optimize". Every part of the movie is necessary unlike a lesson.

jvm___ 4y ago

So you use the Wadsworth constant on movies? "The Wadsworth Constant is the idea (and 2011 meme) that one can safely skip past the first 30 percent of any YouTube video without missing any important content." I don't quite think the UI_at_80x24 constant has the same ring to it.

bena 4y ago

I really don’t see how that changes Memento. Part of the tension is knowing Leonard is going to kill Teddy, we just don’t know why.

the_af 4y ago
I think it does change Memento... for the worse. The beginning is a powerful, integral part of the movie. Skipping the first 10 minutes is like skipping the last 10, "I just know where this is going anyway". Nope. So much can happen in 10 minutes! Plus, you know, they filmed that part for a reason. It's also like skipping the first chapter of a book: sure, some books would be improved by trimming their clumsy beginnings, but good books aren't.
- mbrochh 4y ago
  Yea, it's just an incredibly silly "general rule of thumb".

the_af 4y ago

I think skipping the beginning of Memento is a mistake. It's a powerful beginning that sets up expectations (the movie is "pre ordained", but we just don't understand why) but at the same time it explains nothing. In general, I disagree with your rule of thumb. My favorite movies have cool beginnings, and it'd be a shame to miss them.

BLKNSLVR 4y ago

Just don't do it with The Lobster. The first scene really drew me in to wondering WTF is this movie going to be about?! The first scene created the mystery. One of my favourite movie openings.