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The thing is, when a filmmaker releases a film, he wants it to look a certain way, and he wants everyone to see it the same way. This is why you should properly calibrate your television/display and then leave it that way.
(Actually, that's not entirely true - you should re-calibrate it every time you sit down to watch something, just in case, but who the hell wants to do that? I say every few months.)
If you calibrate your display to 601 SMPTE bars, then it will accurately replicate what the director, cinematographer, and colorist intended when they color timed the film, as their displays are calibrated to 601 SMPTE bars as well.
For example, say you pop in Saving Private Ryan, and you think it looks almost black and white. So you boost the saturation on your TV, and it looks better, like it's in real color, right?
Wrong. Saving Private Ryan was color timed to be very desaturated intentionally. That's the way Steven Spielberg meant for you to watch it, so that's how you should watch it, not with the color boosted. That changes the aesthetic feel of the film, which goes against the filmmakers' intent.
So, the idea is for the color to look consistently good (and the same) on all displays, provided they are calibrated properly.
Unfortunately, the 2004 Star Wars DVDs did not do this, and they still look like utter balls even if your display is properly calibrated.