Should I see this?

i'd wait until you've seen at least most of the films. he shows lots of clips, some from the end of films. He also discusses the plot and endings of some of the films. It would definitely spoil several films. I had seen all but a few of the movies, and i while the film is very good, i wish i had waited until i had seen them all, as there were a couple that i'm pretty sure have been spoiled for me now.

I have seen about half of the films that are discussed. I agree that some endings are spoilt, but I'm not sure if it will bias your interpretation of a film one way or another. Zizek picks scenes from movies and gives some background information about the story to put it into context. The meaning of a film as a whole is not really discussed, it's more the meaning of a specific scene from a film that is analysed.

For example: Zizek explores a number of scenes from around 4 David Lynch films, but what he says about these films will probably only help you when you see them for the first time. He explains how 'reality' and 'fantasy' are entangled in Lynch's films. If you don't know this, a Lynch film can be quite confusing on a first viewing. He's really doing you a favour here, instead of spoiling it.

I was greatly amused by Zizek. Some of his lines are hilarious, like his (quite accurate) interpretation of flowers as genitals that are trying to attract insects to screw them (paraphrased), and that children should be kept away from flowers. :D

I saw it more as an introduction to the darker side of 70 years of cinema. I agree that you'll enjoy this more if you're familiar with the films, but he manages to gets his points across even if you're unfamiliar with the specific scene or film.

As much of a film theory that this documentary is, this documentary is more of a psychoanalysis of films than anything else. I'm taking a very basic intro to psychology class where we've dabbled on Freud and Jung (and I've gone as far as reading a little bit about Lacan on my own), and I definitely see more of Zizek utilizing their theories than diving into film theory.

I suggest getting into the most very basic introductions to Freud and Lacan as possible. Wikipedia would be a marvelous place to start since that site just simplifies (and in many ways, purely introduces) Freud's theories. The next step would be to go to the bookstore and find a few more introduction books that can help you understand psychoanalysis. The point isn't killing yourself with the subject of psychology; the point is to prepare you for Zizek's commentary, because man.. he is hard to keep up with. You don't have to be a student of psychoanalysis to understand what he commentates, but it helps to know where he derived his ideas and where he goes with them.

It is a fascinating piece of work that Zizek put together, something out of the ordinary. You really grow an appreciation for the art of films and novels (because some films are based from novels, such as Fight Club).

I've only watched half of this, but for anyone who doesn't want spoilers, I suggest you avoid it until you've seen:

- Dead of Night
- The Great Dictator
- Psycho
- The Red Shoes
- Solaris
- Vertigo

It also spoils key scenes in Alien, the Conversation, Duck Soup, the Exorcist and Persona but iirc it doesn't reveal their endings. (unlike Vertigo, where you're given practically the entire plot from start to finish) It also has the most potent scenes from some Lynch films, but as H3lix says, one may want to see these anyway as it could assist your first viewings.