Major films you've never seen.

Ming

Ming

Well-known member
I was just reading in another thread where someone hadn't seen (Leon) The Professional and it struck me as an interesting topic.

So what are the major hard hitters you've never seen and why not? They don't necessarily need to be Oscar winners, could even be cult classics, but must be iconic in some way .

You know.. like when someone says they haven't seen Star Wars and there's much gasping and wild gesturing. It's contextual based on a person's age of course. Like nowadays when a 16 year old says they haven't seen Star Wars it's no big deal whatsoever. I'll go first, and yes this is embarrassing but could be a fun topic as well as turning on younger people to some great movies to Netflix.

Some examples I'm talking about:

Citizen Kane, Scarface, One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest, Any of a franchise, (ie Batman, Star Wars, Nightmare on E.S., Halloween, Rocky,etc) The Shining, 2001, (hell, any Kubrick flicks) Apocalypse Now, Breakfast Club, ... anyway there's a list of thousands of iconic movies that would fit.




I'm turning 40 in about a week and I still haven't seen:

ANY of the Godfather movies.

I have no idea why not because I love mob movies..Sopranos, etc. I guess I've kinda always worried that I'd be let down, that it would steal the magic from the genre. When you see 100 "improved upon" successors (read as: things that have borrowed or stolen from the original) and then see where it all started it can have a ripple effect on one's perception.
 
Ming said:
ANY of the Godfather movies.

I have no idea why not because I love mob movies..Sopranos, etc. I guess I've kinda always worried that I'd be let down, that it would steal the magic from the genre. When you see 100 "improved upon" successors (read as: things that have borrowed or stolen from the original) and then see where it all started it can have a ripple effect on one's perception.
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I assure you, you will not be let down. Nobody has improved upon The Godfather, because it's perfect. Goodfellas is a different kind of mob story. Same with Sopranos. They don't degrade each other because they focus on different aspects of the genre.
 
It's a great idea to see the critically acclaimed films in the genres you are either interested in writing scripts or making films.
My genre is comedy so I have been trying to be a student of Director Billy Wilder, director of "Some Like it Hot" AFI #14

In the AFI top 10 I haven't seen The Graduate and I haven't seen all of Singing in the Rain.
 
Honestly, do yourself a favor and treat yourself - buy the entire GF box set. I've seen it on sale for pretty cheap.

Parts 1 and 2 (2's my favorite!) are among the best of the best. Really, really great story telling set against a very compelling backdrop.

If you're a fan of the genre you must see these!!

Oh, and happy birthday next week.



dmc
 
I have never seen more than three minutes of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, even though I do very much like Jimmy Stewart.
 
dmc said:
Parts 1 and 2 (2's my favorite!) are among the best of the best.
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I'm in the minority and feel Part 1 is better than 2. It's just tighter and more focused. For some reason my attention tends to wander about mid-way through Part 2 every time I see it. Don't know why...but it's still pretty great.
 
Batutta said:
I'm in the minority and feel Part 1 is better than 2. It's just tighter and more focused. For some reason my attention tends to wander about mid-way through Part 2 every time I see it. Don't know why...but it's still pretty great.
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I like Part 1 better, too...but not by much. Part 3, on the other hand, I could have done without.
 
Blaine said:
I like Part 1 better, too...but not by much. Part 3, on the other hand, I could have done without.
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It's a tough call for me too. I really like them both ALMOST equally.

I think that there's something about the parallel nature of the story (the telling of the father and son stories at the same point in their lives) that has a real resonance for me.

I guess I enjoy Part 2 in the same way I enjoy Once Upon a Time in America. Something about both of those films really strikes a chord with me.


That said, I absolutely love Part 1 too! Agreed on Part 3.



dmc
 
dmc said:
guess I enjoy Part 2 in the same way I enjoy Once Upon a Time in America. Something about both of those films really strikes a chord with me.
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Once Upon a Time in America is another fine movie...:thumbup::thumbup:
 
I don't watch movies, I make movies, I don't read books, I write books, I don't tell jokes I am a joke,

I actually have the largest dvd collection I know this side of blockbuster.

Watch Mr. Smith goes to Washington, watch it watch it. He is Amazing in it.

People thought Hanks was great in castaway because he was alone for so long just acting with himself, but he had a huge Island to work with, watch spirit of st louis. Stewart was in this small plain by himself for about an hour, this was back when a feature film was at least 3 hours and movie tickes were like 25 cents, now we are lucky to get a full 90 minutes for 10 bucks.
 
On the dvd commentary (Richard Schickel) of "Once Upon a Time... ", says that the initial theatrical release of was recut to be told in chronological order in addition to a massive content/running time cut.

It's almost impossible to believe that anyone would think that that would make it a better film.


dmc
 
Blaine said:
But it doesn't feel long the way The Deerhunter felt LOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG...:grin::grin:
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Both movies feel long to me, especially the final director's cut of Once Upon a Time. It's easily one of the ten most beautifully shot films of all time, though.
 
"Once Upon a Time... " is one of my favourite mobster flicks (and one of the best and most beautifull made films evar)...
maybe Millers Crossing is the other one.

I havent seen the last 2 Star Wars (after I saw the first new one)

I left the theater after 30 minutes of "Gozilla" and "The Day After Tomorrow"
and and I should have left the theater in "King Kong" but rather stayed cause
I could not belive it is getting any worse (it got worse).

I missed "The Orphanage" and have to wait till September when it is relased as DVD.

Frank
 
I've still never sat through all of Gone With The Wind, and I haven't seen any of Casablanca, or Laurence of Arabia (I know, GASP) I've just never gotten around to seeing them, I guess.
 
Billy Pilgrim said:
I've still never sat through all of Gone With The Wind, and I haven't seen any of Casablanca, or Laurence of Arabia (I know, GASP) I've just never gotten around to seeing them, I guess.
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But you some how found time to see Slaughterhouse Five (NTTAWWT)? :cheesy: Casablanca and Laurence of Arabia are two must sees. :thumbsup:
 
funny, first thing that came to mind for me was also "The Godfather". i did START watching it once but got bored fast... i'm sure i didnt give it enough of a chance.
 
Blaine said:
But you some how found time to see Slaughterhouse Five (NTTAWWT)? :cheesy: Casablanca and Laurence of Arabia are two must sees. :thumbsup:
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But Slaughterhouse-Five is my favorite book, so naturally, I had to see the film. It's a really good film. I don't know, I guess I just got too caught up in Cassavetes and French New Wave films. I've wanted to see them for a long time, I've just never gotten to them. Maybe it's the Moby Dick/War and Peace effect. They're both regarded as two of the greatest novels ever written, yet most people have never read them. And you know they probably really are amazing, and if you just sat down and read them, you'd see for yourself, but you just never get around to reading them. As soon as I activate my netflix account, I assure you Casablanca and Laurence will be the first two in my queue. Pinky swear.
 
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Billy Pilgrim said:
But Slaughterhouse-Five is my favorite book, so naturally, I had to see the film. It's a really good film. I don't know, I guess I just got too caught up in Cassavetes and French New Wave films. I've wanted to see them for a long time, I've just never gotten to them. Maybe it's the Moby Dick/War and Peace effect. They're both regarded as two of the greatest novels ever written, yet most people have never read them. And you know they probably really are amazing, and if you just sat down and read them, you'd see for yourself, but you just never get around to reading them. As soon as I activate my netflix account, I assure you Casablanca and Laurence will be the first two in my queue. Pinky swear.
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The sad thing is a small screen does not do Lawrence justice. Maybe a blu-ray on a 70" screen would give you some idea of how awesome it is. Me, I first saw Lawrence in 70mm at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood in all its widescreen glory. Truly one of the greatest filmgoing experiences of my life.
 
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