Good article. Regarding your general point, I do think some films are appreciated better later in life. I remember watching Vertigo when I was sixteen, and whilst I appreciated Hitchcock's cinematic verve, I didn't really click with it the way I did with his other films. However, repeat viewings as an adult have caused a dramatic reassessment, and it has climbed to the number two position in my favourite Hitchcock films list, threatening North by Northwest at the top spot.

A similar thing happened with the films of Ingmar Bergman. Again, as a teenager I appreciated his cinematic artistry, but his films left me cold. Now I love the likes of The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and so on.

It's a Wonderful Life is considered one of the great "family films" but I actually told my children (who are getting an immersive cinematic education, believe me) that they need to watch that film when they are grown-up to properly appreciate it's emotional nuances.

Regarding 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner, they are the two greatest science fiction films ever made. They are also my two favourite science fiction films, and I love them both.

However, there should be a law against watching them on television. Or at least, a law against discovering them for the first time in that format. 2001 in particular needs to be projected, ideally in 70mm, on a screen the size of the Sahara desert. On television, 2001 is too long, especially at the start and at the end. At the cinema, it is not one second too long.

An amusing aside, regarding my children: They both begged to watch my DVD of 2001 whilst growing up, but I told them their first time should definitely be in a cinema, and to wait for a re-release. True love waits, and all that. Anyway, because 2001 re-releases crop up on a regular basis, they both got to see it at the cinema (at separate re-releases), and they both were completely blown away (and were glad they waited to lose their 2001 virginity this way). Both are now (correctly) obsessed with Stanley Kubrick. My work here is done... ;)

Here's a piece I wrote on Blade Runner a while back which might interest you.

Thanks again for the article. :)