saw / watched a movie

None that I can think of.

Nothing.

After watching a movie at a cinema, I came out of the cinema and talked about the movie to my brother on the phone. Should I say "I have seen an interesting movie XYZ" or should I say "I watched an interesting movie XYZ"?

Thanks.

I would say "I saw an interesting movie. . . ." or "I watched an interesting movie. . . "

I agree roger, but I was thinking of something after my first post.

Re the words "saw" and "watched"

Might be subtle and essentially unnecessary in regards to movies, but, it's there.

If I say I saw something, it's more in an "I observed that happening" I might not have been engaged in it, just passively saw it.

If I watched something, I was actively viewing it, watching it change. It seems to me it's what you do over a longer period, and that you found it interesting.

It also seems it has a different time passing, or passed meaning.

If someone asked me about a movie from a long time ago, I might say "saw"

As in "I saw Jaws when it first came out in the 1970's, it was great."

Or, if asked about a movie not well liked, I'd probably saw "Yes, I saw it"

If it's about a movie you enjoyed and/or paid attention to, and it was recent, I'd probably instinctually say I watched it.

So if I was talking to my sister later that day or with a week to a month, I might say "I just watched (name of movie). It was really good.

Bottom line though, either saw or watched could be used, and it would be correct.

When it comes to TV I have a feeling of a difference or is just me.
"Did you see the opera last night on TV?"
"Yes, but I did not watch it"
Meening either I saw it was coming, but did not bother to see it or the TV was running and I did not watch.

Yes. I thought about TV too saab.

I agree with you.

Thanks, saab.

Did you see the opera last night on TV?

Would it be wrong if I replaced ''see" with "watched" in the above sentence?

"Watched" would be wrong, "watch" would be right.

tang, as we have all agreed, saw and watch are interchangeable

Thanks to all of you.

I would agree with Chai2. For many purposes 'see' and 'watch' can by used interchangeably, but there are situations where they are used differently, when a distinction is desired - seeing can be momentary, passive, accidental or non-intentional, whereas watching has duration, is active and deliberate. I was watching a documentary about big cats and saw a pretty leopard cub. Compare 'hear' and 'listen'.

Just what I was thinking about the same.
I wonder before TV did we not see a film? With TV we stared to say watch TV. The screen smaller we had to concentrate more.
We hear the music in the background , but listen to a program on the radio.

In the early days of radio ("wireless") in Britain (around 1920 to 1940 maybe) what the audience did was called "listening in", which is a phrase meaning listening to a discussion or conversation without taking part (with permission - not to be confused with eavesdropping), and when TV started in 1936 people "looked in".

Interesting with words.
I did not realize you "looked in" TV already around 1936.
I think we did not really started to have and watch TV´s until 1954/56 in Scandinavia.

The BBC started the world's first public high-definition (by 1930s standards) TV service in London (only) on October 1st 1936. The first major outside broadcast was the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in May 1937. The service was reaching an estimated 25,000–40,000 homes before the outbreak of World War II. It was shutdown for the duration of the war. It was nationwide by about 1952. The system was 405 lines, black and white. From 1964 - 1969 we introduced the standard European 625 line system alongside the old system. The 405 line system was shut down in january 1985.