Film Experience Blog: Have you ever fallen asleep at the movies?

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Have you ever fallen asleep at the movies?

I don't mean just watching cable but in some bigger way? If so, spill.
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75 comments:

Yaseen Ali said...: It's an inevitability for me during film festivals. I think Zhang Ke Jia's Dong was a casualty during TIFF '06. I lasted ten minutes and woke up during the end credits. :S

More recently, Benjamin Button, but only for seconds at a time. I had had a long day, so I don't (wholly) blame the film.; 12:58 AM
ZiZo said...: I did about 3 times in the last 3-4 years. This year happened twice. Once with "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with the 3D glasses on...

Also fell asleep a little bit with Australia, I was very tired, and I was so tired that I slept with the stampede scene!

And then with Pirates of the Carribean 3, like, half of the movie.; 1:00 AM
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Glenn Dunks said...: Mostly just very brief no longer than one minute naps during The Ring Two and In the Bedroom. I think I dozed off during 881 earlier this year at a festival, but I had just been at work for 9hrs and hadn't had much sleep. I was only there because I had time to kill before My Winnipeg, which I was wide awake for the entire time. Hmmm.; 1:03 AM
Anonymous said...: I never used to, but in the last 2 years or so I've done it numerous times--off the top of my head I fell asleep in Get Smart, Wanted, and Kung Fu Panda just last year. I'm sure there were more. It has nothing to do with whether I like the movie or not (I quite enjoyed all three movies mentioned); I think it's just being somewhere warm, dark and comfortable. I clearly need to start trying to sleep better in my actual bed!; 1:13 AM
Kevin T. Rodriguez said...: I've never fallen asleep at the movies...except for one film: "U-571." That movie was so boring, so dull, that I just fell asleep. This is a movie that I normally would never have remembered, but now it has my respect, being the one and only.; 1:34 AM
Anonymous said...: Yep! The Matrix and The Mummy.

Weird, eh?; 1:47 AM
E Dot said...: Yes. Lady in the Water and X-Files.; 1:59 AM
Anonymous said...: i slept like for 5 minutes during The Departed... and The Lives of Others; 2:35 AM
Anonymous said...: Not that I can remember actually. Not since I was a wee-one atleast.

Though. even worse, I recently as last year I fell asleep during a play. It had been a sleepless night previous due to Uni assignments, and then this play (The Vertical Hour in case you ever need to avoid it) came and wasnt just terrible, but painfully dull. I actually woke with a load grunt near the end. I hope the actors didnt hear me. *gulp*; 2:36 AM
Sally Belle said...: Seriously...Octopussy...the worst James Bond ever.; 2:39 AM
Marissa Skudlarek said...: A couple of months ago I went to see Arnaud Desplechin's early film "My Sex Life" at a local art house. At first I really enjoyed it, but after about 90 minutes (it's a 3-hour movie), I was so bored with the hero and his love life and the overly philosophical dialogue that I began to drift in and out of sleep. So now, even though "A Christmas Tale" has been getting such great reviews, I'm having a hard time convincing myself to go see it!; 2:40 AM
Dominique said...: I tend to fall asleep a lot during films if the day has been long (or if I get too comfortable in my chair...).

Most recently, I dozed off during "The Wrestler". I don't remember the film very clearly, but I assumed I liked it since every time I see the trailer now, I tear up.; 2:43 AM
Runs Like A Gay said...: I used to pass the pub a really good pub whenever I went to the cinema. Sometimes a pint before you go in can be really refreshing.

Went I went to see Neil Jordan's the Good Thief I think I had more than one pint. I nodded off after about half an hour and the friends I was with kept having to nudge me to stop me snoring.

I've seen the film on DVD since and it's really good so I can't think why I slept.; 2:44 AM
Michael Parsons said...: Sadly it was in 'The Lives of Others', but that was solely due to being exhausted going in.

Other than that I cannot sleep sitting up, even on planes.; 2:51 AM
Anonymous said...: Paranoid Park.; 3:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Apollo 13
The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Man who Cried
The Black Dahlia (for this one I admit I was exhausted, and I sorta regretted it after reading your appreciation of Fiona Shaw, but Hilary Swank made me wanna shoot myself so I thought I was better off sleeping)

Oh and Letters from Iwo Jima of course.
I remember being half-asleep, thinking:
"how the hell are you able to sleep with such noise, it's so loud, this film is going to win the best sound oscar..."
And it did, actually...; 3:26 AM
Rob said...: It took a third viewing (in theaters) before I could get through "Letters From Iwo Jima" awake.; 3:41 AM
Carl Joseph Papa said...: the new world. it took me two tickets and 3 dvd rentals before i could get through it; 4:14 AM
Catherine said...: Nope, but there was an elderly gentleman snoring quite loudly down the row from me throughout The Reader. I first became aware of a low grunting noise during one of the sex scenes, naturally thought the worst and tried to turn my head discreetly to glance at the perpetrator and was relieved to see this guy having a little snooze.; 4:33 AM
gabrieloak said...: I feel asleep during March of the Penguins. And when I woke up the penguins were still marching in the same place they were when I fell asleep. Or at least it seemed so. I was never so bored in my life.; 4:44 AM
Invisible bastard said...: I did it once...
During "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" (1992) of John Carpenter with Chevy Chase and Dayl Hannah; 5:16 AM
crossoverman said...: Once, during Barbarella at the end of a 24-hour science fiction marathon, except it's so loud in places I kept waking up, then falling asleep, hitting my head against the back of the seat EVERY TIME!; 6:18 AM
Anonymous said...: Ummmm embarrassingly I fell asleep in the theater at some point during Elizabeth II and woke up to see the Spanish Armada sequence. I was very confused what was happening, admittedly I was kind of stoned...; 6:27 AM
Unknown said...: I fell asleep during the middle of Satantango. I blame it on a combination of my inability to continue watching the cat torture sequence and MoMA's (where it was being screened) stupid plan to screen a 7 hour movie starting at 2 PM and providing only 15 minute intermissions during which there was no food allowed in the theaters, I was I hadn't eaten lunch and was famished and because there was a massive snowstorm outside I ended up huddling outside the MoMA door shoving a hot dog into my mouth, looking almost as pathetic as the characters in Satantango itself.; 6:31 AM
alex said...: Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. I had just returned from a two-week trip to France the night before, and I was super exhausted.

It's become a disease now, though. I can't watch any of the Star Wars movies at home on DVD without nodding off almost immediately now. Not too great a loss, but still an odd little pop culture problem.; 6:35 AM
Anonymous said...: i fell asleep during the firm with tom cruise and only woke up during holly hunters's scenes v strange!!!; 6:39 AM
Anonymous said...: i always want to go to bed when brazil is on tv i hate that film.; 6:40 AM
Anonymous said...: Transformers and Mission Impossible 3 among others. Too much movement makes me dizzy.; 6:40 AM
Billy Held An Oscar said...: Three times.

1) The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring
2) The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers
3) The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz; 7:18 AM
Anonymous said...: I fell asleep during March of the Penguins.

It just felt like the same thing, over and over and over and over...; 7:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Rain Man! i was really, really tired. and it was really, really boring (not to mention annoying).; 7:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Rollerball. The film's terribleness left me with two options: leave or go unconscious. My friend who accompanied me to the movie was engrossed, so I chose the second option.; 7:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Atonement. I had stayed up the night before writing a paper. I still have no idea what happens in the middle of the film. I fell asleep when that little girl got Keira's boyfriend arrested, woke up and the little girl had turned into a nurse, and woke up again to find Vanessa Redgrave on 400 t.v. screens. It was all very confusing.; 7:41 AM
Uncle Gustav said...: Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1980. I woke up at around 1am, the theater was dark and empty, the doors were locked. They didn't bother checking the auditorium before closing up. I ended up kicking open the fire escape door in the back of the building. Lucklily, there were no alarms.; 7:54 AM
NATHANIEL R said...: flickhead -- people have made movies about less ;)

these answers are so funny.

I haven't except at festivals (movies I can't recall) at which point I would just leave the movie and go back to hotel for needed sleep. so i didn't have an exciting answer but so many of you do!

dvds on the other hand: i'm often a goner if it's late at night (yet another reason I like going to the movies better); 8:03 AM
Garen said...: Star Wars Episode 2: I went with unpleasant people, and I hated it.

Sweeney Todd: It was really long and I went too late at night. I would be interested in seeing it again without the 10 minute blackouts. I definitely enjoyed the parts that I was awake for.; 8:35 AM
Katey said...: My only rule is I can't fall asleep in movies I'm reviewing. But otherwise, 1-2 minutes of closed eyes can make a world of difference in how much I can focus. Sorry, Waltz with Bashir-- I just didn't have it in me to stay awake through all those interviews.; 8:41 AM
Pfangirl said...: Nat, like you I'm far more likely to doze off while watching DVDs on the couch so I prefer heading out to the cinema where I tend to feel alert and awake.

This said, I have dozed off once at the movies - it was during a late night screening of Pirates of the Caribbean 2, during the concluding sea monster fight. I've never been a Pirates fan, but it did annoy me that I started micro-sleeping.

In terms of encounters with other dozing cinema goers, about a month back a woman was happily snoring away next to me during Quantum of Solace. I mean, who falls asleep during a non-Moore Bond film?; 8:59 AM
CNO said...: thrre times.

one in Mulholland Falls. even I dont know why go to see that film.

second time was in a paraguaian movie called Hamaca Paraguaya.

and the last time was We Dont live here anymore. the worst of that was i slept in the last 15 minutes and woke up just when the credits role begins. Still didnt know how ended that film....; 9:34 AM
I'm Not Her said...: I know I will get moans and groans here, but although I am a Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Sidney Pollack fan, I fell asleep during OUT OF AFRICA.; 9:40 AM
Keelay! said...: I remember falling asleep during Jurassic Park as a kid, in the middle of a dinosaur attack. I must have been drugged.

When The Ring Two came out, my friends and I went to the midnight show (we were that excited). All I remember is my friend leaning over and asking "Are you asleep?", and my reply (a little too loudly) was "Well, it's boring!" I was PASSED out.; 9:42 AM
Anonymous said...: All right, I'm bracing myself for the backlash, but yes I did fall asleep once. It was a matinee showing of Lost in Translation. Suffice it to say that I have no idea what happens in the last part of the movie and frankly, I don't care. Sorry, I love movies and I know it's one I SHOULD have liked, but I just didn't. Plus, did I mention it was a matinee and it was cool in the theatre and....zzzzzzzzzz.; 9:48 AM
Rodney said...: It's happened once or twice, but the most memorable one and the one I decided to stay asleep was for Russian Ark. The film was interesting, but the rather monotone Russian narrator put me right to sleep. I wasn't the only one. A friend of mine that went with me had the same experience. I had cool dreams of traveling through St. Petersburg though. To this day I don't remember what was the movie and what was my dream.; 9:52 AM
Anonymous said...: i also feel asleep during the readers 10 different endings and even then it was still on.; 10:03 AM
Roberta Lipp said...: I fell asleep during A Time to Kill. Slept through the trial.

It wasn't the movie's fault; I'd been up all night the night before, breaking up with someone, and I was a wreck. My best friend decided we should see a movie to help me out.

Slept right through it. The trial in a trial movie.

It's okay though, I eventually saw Anatomy of a Murder, which is pretty much the same trial only better.; 10:18 AM
Will O'Neill said...: 10 simple words:
The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring; 10:47 AM
Anonymous said...: So I'm a sophomore in high school. It's December. I get to school early, check the cast list for our spring show and find out I get the lead, find out literally minutes later that the day is canceled because of snow. This is literally a perfect day for 15-year-old me. Naturally, I decide to celebrate by going to the movies!

Thirty minutes into Pride and Prejudice, I am OUT. I wake up during the final scene, revolted by its cheesiness. I only just "rewatched" it this fall to discover that I actually really like the film!; 10:49 AM
Kim said...: I fell asleep during Daredevil in the theatres. It's pretty sad when a supposed "action" movie puts you to sleep :); 10:55 AM
Anonymous said...: I fell asleep at the very end of "No Country for Old Men" because I saw a midnight show the evening before Thanksgiving. People would bitch about the ending and then look at me, like, "Well, what do YOU think?" Oops.; 10:58 AM
NATHANIEL R said...: kim --didn't Daredevil put everyone to sleep?

or rather... shouldn't it have?; 11:11 AM
NATHANIEL R said...: kim --didn't Daredevil put everyone to sleep?

or rather... shouldn't it have?; 11:11 AM
Calum Reed said...: I got drunk and then fell asleep at the cinema during The Darjeeling Limited. It wasn't the most engaging of films so I'd like to think it wasn't just the drink. Beer does make me sleepy, though.; 11:20 AM
Anonymous said...: In college I had to stay up late to finish a major paper I procrastinated on. I figured I was fine since the only thing I had the next day was my film course, and we weren't doing any discussion that day, only watching.

So, on maybe two hours sleep, I was sat in my hard plastic chair, in the dark. Unfortunately for me the film was Tarkovsky's Solaris. If you haven't seen it makes Soderbergh's Solaris look like Jurassic Park. Five minuntes into that nearly three hour movie I knew I was fighting a losing battle.

The problem was my professor had arranged his chair directly in front of mine. So as I nodded off every three minutes I would come dangerously close to resting my head on his shoulder. This torture went on for the duration of the film, with my head coming within a hair's breadth of intimate contact dozens of times before snapping back. A few times I nearly toppled from my chair altogether.

I should mention this is not a judgement on Tarkovsky and everyone should find themselves a copy of Andrei Rublev to watch.; 11:44 AM
Unknown said...: Pirates of the Caribbean 3... zzzzzzzzz; 12:31 PM
Dave said...: I don't remember ever falling asleep in a cinema... my sister apparently did when we saw Toy Story, but she was four years old.

I often fall asleep during course screenings, though. I spent most of Jezebel today with my eyes closed. (I'd already seen it so it wasn't a big deal.) I only fell asleep fully for about two minutes, apparently. (I snore, and so I was informed of this fact.); 12:44 PM
J.D. said...: Never AT, to the best of my knowledge. I've fallen asleep a few times while watching movies, but never in a theatre. Though, one time we were at a drive-in and I fell asleep in the backseat during Shrek 2, LOL. That was like my 4th time seeing it, so.; 1:13 PM
Anonymous said...: I slept during Spiderman (the first movie). It was a Friday and I was really tired from work. I was with some friends, but none of them (thankfully) woke me up. To this day I haven't seen the entire movie (although I have seen II and III in their entirety).

Pedro; 1:13 PM
Kurtis O said...: My best movie-theater-snoozing memory didn't involve me sleeping but someone else. During a screening of "Penelope" last year, a very large man in the front row was konked out and snoring -- snorting like a pig. In any other movie, I would've been irritated but, here, it was perfect. Every nasal-y inhale drew huge laughs from the crowd (more than the film itself). It was the highlight of the experience, and it ended up in my review.; 1:26 PM
Billy McLellan said...: i fell asleep in 'hoodlum' (1997) when i went to see it with my mother. i was 12 years old, that was the first time i had fallen asleep in a movie that i can remember.
my mom is possibly more movie obsessed than i am, and to teach me a lesson, she walked out of the theater when the movie ended.; 1:55 PM
Brendon said...: Yeah, a few times. But in every case, I have seen the film again - even if I wasn't enjoying it the first time around. On the odd occasion, I've even enjoyed the film the second time, when I've been alert.

As for the other kind of going asleep to a movie, I do it every night by popping in a disc when we go to bed.; 2:40 PM
Anonymous said...: Curiously, when I am at festivals and watch five or more movies in the theater each day -- I don't get as tired as I ordinarily would. Probably because of the obscene amount of caffeine and sugar I ingest at those events...

I remember passing out about 20 minutes into Gosford Park, though, I have to admit...; 3:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Yep, during the last third or so of "Interiors." Like so many on this thread, I was over-tired when watching. Still, I should have known better. I may be one of the few cinema afficionados on the planet who just does not get Woody Allen, especially when he waxes dramatic. I still think "Annie Hall" should have placed fifth behind "Star Wars", "Julia", "The Turning Point", and "The Goodbye Girl" (yes, in that order).

You may now commence with the spitballs.; 4:34 PM
Brian24 said...: I fell into a deep sleep during The Crow. I woke up at the end of the movie stretched out horizontally over the armrests of several theater seats. I was completely elevated over the seat cushions and used my and my friends' winter coats as a pillow.; 4:55 PM
Anonymous said...: The Illusionist. It didn't matter anyways, since at the end they had that could-you-run-that-by-me-again montage just showed me everything i had missed while being asleep.; 4:57 PM
Dr. S said...: I found it difficult to stay awake at a couple of points during Decasia, even though I thought that the concept kicked a lot of ass.; 5:27 PM
NATHANIEL R said...: carl --consider pitballs thrown. Annie Hall the worst of the nominees? CRAZY TALK!

but that said i admire your guts to share.; 5:37 PM
Prill said...: I fell asleep during the bombing scene when i went to go see Pearl Harbor. I kid you not, I was already tired that day, and the film was just awful.; 7:06 PM
Keelay! said...: I'm going to defend Carl on this one...I think Annie Hall is overrated.; 7:23 PM
Brian Owens said...: At the remake of PLANET OF THE APES.

I hadn't slept well the night before and went out for beers before the movie.

Not a good combo when the movie is also not so good (I'm being kind).

In addition, they played that Britney Spears Pepsi commercial right before, and I shouted, "Booooooooo. Whore."

That was the best part of the movie.; 7:39 PM
Anonymous said...: I saw the Russian version of "War and Peace", starting at 8PM and ending at 4AM. I kept falling asleep, waking up to see the Russian army coming over the hill (again). I really wanted to see some of the "peace" scenes, but all I saw was the "war" half. I guess the noise jolted me awake.; 9:12 PM
Bernardo said...: I slept a bit during the very boring Transformers...

At Film Camp we had a screening of Manhunter with the Lead Actor invited and it was sooo bad that I collapsed.

I slept a tiny bit fduring The Wackness even though I really liked it. I was extremely tred...; 10:22 PM
Walter L. Hollmann said...: nightwatch. dull. went home, watched Crash win the Oscar. not a good evening.; 12:21 AM
vic said...: fell asleep in:
-twilight
-the party
-material girls (well i walked out after watching the first painful 20min)
-national treasure 2
-transformers; 4:19 AM
Night Owl said...: Matrix Revolutions was the only movie I've ever fallen asleep during, oddly enough.

I even tried watching it a second time, but for some reason I've never watched the whole film in one sitting.

Then again, it probably makes sense, given how I was exhausted (yes, exhausted...) from watching Matrix and Matrix Reloaded just before.

(Either that or that was the night I had turkey in my soup... Turkey makes you sleepy in case you didn't know...)

And my sister fell asleep during Shaun of the Dead.; 2:43 PM