15 Most Rewatchable Movies Of All Time

There are all kinds of reasons we sit down to watch movies. Often we're looking for something fresh and exciting we haven't seen before; sometimes we revisit that which we've seen previously in the hopes of some new insight.

However, there are also times when all we want is to kick back with something we've seen time and again, yet never grow tired of.

This, surely, is the key reason the video/DVD/Blu-ray market exists: the joys of repeat viewing, watching movies over and over until, by accident or design, most of the dialogue and action is committed to memory. Yet even then, further viewings often bring to light little details you didn't quite pick up on before, which only enhance your enjoyment that bit further.

Obviously, opinions are going to vary on the subject, and most of us (this writer included) will have certain favourite movies that mean a great deal to them personally, even if they're not so widely adored.

However, it's fair to assume that most if not all of the following 15 films will be on the shelf of any real movie lover; and that the films in question will have been played, and replayed, and replayed a great many times over the years, with a great many more viewings sure to come in the future.

Martin Scorcese has given us more than his fair share of bona fide classics - Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Casino - but when it comes to sheer rewatchability, surely Goodfellas has to come out on top.

The 1990 film is an adaptation of Nicholas Peliggi's book Wiseguy, a non-fiction account of how real life New York gangster Henry Hill went from criminal to informant. Though it's 145 minutes long and tells a story over the course of a few decades, the film's sense of momentum never once lags, thanks to the energy of the camerawork and editing, the use of music, and of course the blistering performances from Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Paul Sorvino, and Ray Liotta as Hill.

Before 1990, the yardstick by which all gangster films were measured was The Godfather; but since then, arguably, it's been Goodfellas. Yes, it really is that big a deal.

Endlessly repeatable quote: "Whaddya mean, I'm funny?"