News > 24 Great Films You Can't Watch Again

Written by John Lichman

The Onion A.V. Club braintrust brings us a list of films that make a second viewing near-impossible. Bringing in the low-end at #25 is Gary Oldman's writer-director debut, Nil-by-Mouth.

But #1?

C'mon, what other film do you know of that is so incredibly rough that even the first time watching it is like having your eyelids peeled back and Beethoven being blasted in your ears?

Oh yeah, Reqiuem for a Dream:

Darren Aronofsky's brutal adaptation of Hubert Selby's novel depicts the horrors of substance abuse in many forms—heroin, pot, caffeine, prescription pills, hope—with such visceral, breathtaking force that shell-shocked audiences were forced to think long and hard about pouring that first cup of coffee the next day. The result is one of the only genuinely effective, non-hysterical anti-drug movies ever made. Dream flirts extensively with delirious camp during its fever dream of a climax, but retains a pummeling power thanks to Aronofsky's unblinking willingness to trawl deep into the bowels of hell alongside his heartbreakingly fragile characters.

 As for the rest of the list:

2. Dancer In The Dark (2000)

3. The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928)

4. The Seventh Continent (1989)

5. Winter Light (1962)

6. Bad Lieutenant (1992)

7. Straw Dogs (1971)

8. Audition (1999)

9. Sick: The Life And Death Of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (1997)

10. Come And See (1985)

11. In A Year Of 13 Moons (1978)

12. Safe (1995)

13. Irreversible (2002)

14. Boys Don't Cry (1999)

15. Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)

16. When The Wind Blows (1986)

17. Leaving Las Vegas (1996)

 18. Jonestown: The Life And Death Of Peoples Temple (2006) 

19. S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (2003)

20. The Last House On The Left (1972)

21. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

22. United 93 (2006)

23. Lilya 4-Ever (2002)

24. Nil By Mouth (1997)