It’s no secret that I watch a lot of movies, but the truth of the matter is that I tend to have heavy movie watching days and days where I watch nothing.  This is where Tips to Surviving the Double Feature comes in.  Now this theory may be extended to accommodate the days where a triple or quadruple feature tactics have been employed.  So take a look:

Take Pee Breaks Between Films.  I guess this one goes without saying.  Especially if the films involved exceed two hours.  I find, that even though you may be used to watching a film at a time, it always helps to relieve one’s self so that you don’t end up needing to go in the middle of the next film.  Also, an extension of this tip is to, stretch after each film; it wakes you up and makes you ready for more.  It also helps to make sure that these breaks aren’t too long.  Like going to the gym, if you spend too long away you find yourself less interested to return immediately (no matter how enticing the upcoming films are) and therefore you lose time.

More Movies Means Less Monotony. People tend to like to have a constant with all the films they watch when having a marathon, however I find it more interesting if it’s just a myriad of different films.  You never seem to become bored of seeing the same thing over and over again throughout the day.  Now the theme based marathon may be okay for say a double feature, but when you’ve hit movie number four for the day – which I’ve found isn’t that hard to do – you’re going to start getting tired of seeing the same gumshoe tactics being employed by the protagonist.

Start Early.  I think this one goes without saying.  If you plan on getting through four or five films you need to get an early start.  Don’t let yourself believe that it has to be after 12 to watch a movie; if you’re up early then get going and scratch films off that ‘to watch’ list that you’ve made.

Keep Hydrated. I’m sure this is just a general rule of life, but if you’re planning on spending more than five hours (or whatever extended period of time) in a seat zapping radiation – or whatever you want to call it – into your head then you’re going to need some liquids.  This rule also continues into the idea of having snacks.  You’re going to want to keep your blood sugar levels high enough that you’ll be able to stay awake throughout the runtime of the films.

Watch The Long Movie(s) First. This may seem trivial to some, but I find getting the longer movie out the way first helps a lot.  After that it becomes all downhill from there.  Every movie following your first will get incrementally shorter and therefore make you feel like you’re accomplishing more with every round of end credits that rolls on the screen.

Try To Avoid Subtitles. This may seem petty, but I find that reading during movies drains you even more than usual.  So when you’re planning to watch a series of films all at once reading subtitles kind of makes it feel like it’s even more work than it really is.

Let The Credits Roll. Too many people like to get up and go as soon as the credits begin to roll, but I find this period of time a great time just before the break aforementioned to collect your thoughts about the film that’s just ended and have a short discussion with whoever is with you on this cinematic journey.

Never Press Pause. This is part time management and also part just trying not to encourage unscheduled breaks.  Whenever you press pause (especially for reasons to do with the difficulty of the film) you’ll find it tougher to return to the film quickly.  If you have to leave the movie – for whatever reason – I suggest you just do it and do it quickly and return and have your friend(s) bring you up to speed on what you missed.

Bring Someone Along.  I’m sure this isn’t hard to get; if you’re planning on trudging through some films it is better with company.  If you find a movie particularly horrible you’ll have friends to help you mock it so that you’ll be able to finish it easier than if you were alone, and if the movie is over the top amazing you’ll have someone to talk to about it through the credits/breaks.  Also this makes it easy for snack making breaks so that you can each take turns with each break.

That’s all I can think of now so go and enjoy some great movie marathons.