12 Awesome Movies You Can Only Watch Once

We all love great movies that, no matter how many times we watch them, we just can't get enough of: classic movies we absolutely have to watch anytime we see them on TV, like The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Dark Knight, E.T., Indiana Jones and so on and so forth. But what about those brilliant movies which, for a multitude of reasons, we just can't bring ourselves to ever watch again? Maybe they're just too messed up, maybe they're too freaking long, maybe they're too emotionally draining, or perhaps they're a brutal combination of all three, but these movies all have one thing in common: every time we think about watching them again, we manage to talk ourselves out of it. In spite of this, each of these films is brilliant in its own way, a technical marvel, a darkly provocative statement about humanity, a grim account of a real-life tragedy, a wonderfully surreal tableau: these movies each challenged our traditional conception of cinema, even if taking that challenge once is plenty for most of us. The memory of seeing it just once lives on much stronger than for some films we've seen dozens of times, and that is a testament to the true power of cinema. Which movies will you never watch again? Do you disagree with any of our assessments? Let us know in the comments!

12. Happiness

Why It's Awesome: Todd Solondz's undisputed 1998 masterpiece is a dark plunge into the seedier corners of society, as a number of downtrodden individuals desperately try to find a little happiness in their lives. Stand-out characters include the ever unlucky in love Joy (Jane Adams), perverted mouth-breather Allen (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and child molester Bill (Dylan Baker), with Solondz lending them each some of the most dementedly funny dialogue you'll ever hear in any movie. You'll laugh, but you'll feel guilty about it afterwards. Why You Can Only Watch It Once: For anyone unfamiliar with Solondz's blend of shocking gallows humour, Happiness is bound to be traumatic, and even if you're aware of the director's work, it's still a pretty tough watch. With stories that revolve around rejection, suicide, rape, pedophilia, and a scene in which a dog laps up a young boy's seminal deposit, there's plenty to leave audiences wide-eyed and on the verge of losing their lunch. Plus, the fact that the most likeable character is a child molester probably makes it too tough for many to ever want to consider watching again.