Films which you've never seen and really ought to have by now

[confettiinmyhair]

Citizen Kane
Rashomon
Manhattan

[ThickAndCreamy]

Saving Private Ryan

Can't be bothered, plus I'm worried it'll upset me

I didn't find it too upsetting, but I rarely find war movies engaging on an emotional level as they seem cold. I'd rather see a war movie with a single murder and the story being based around the consequences psychologically for the murderer. If I see swarms of men being killed in war, it's rare to make it feel engaging. A single murder is a tragedy, a million is a statistic and all that. Still, I would say try and watch it, it's a good film, but I've certainly seen much better war films.

I should probably see more Hitchcock films really. I've only ever seen Rear Window, which I thoroughly enjoyed and everything else I haven't bothered with yet. I've always had a (probably wrongly held) belief that Psycho is a long, dull drawn out affair which is only famous for that one shower scene. I should just watch it really, along with North by Northwest and the others.

I also haven't seen Gone With The Wind, Singing In The Rain and the majority of musical classics because I can't imagine I'll enjoy them very much.

[Dark Sky]

I didn't find it too upsetting, but I rarely find war movies engaging on an emotional level as they seem cold.

I love horror movies because they're fantastical, whereas war films tend to be more grounded in reality and so it kinda upsets me.  I really should watch Saving Private Ryan though.  My sister got it me on DVD about five years ago.  Maybe this Christmas...



I've seen a fair few of the films mentioned in this thread, and...you know what...  You're not really missing anything.  I wouldn't bother.

[HappyTree]

Apart from Dr. Strangelove. Anyone who hasn't seen that is seriously missing out.

[Dark Sky]

Nah

My experience of watching Dr Strangelove was ruined by waiting for the famous cream pie scene to happen.

[HappyTree]

Is that on the DVD extras? I remember seeing it sometime on one of my later viewings. My experience of watching it for the first time was greatly enhanced by a) not knowing anything about it at all and b) being slightly stoned and c) being the only native English speaker in the room to whom all the nuances were immediately apparent and could explain it afterwards to the assembled company as an impromptu review

I will also shortly have the pleasure of showing the film to my friend who has never seen it and knows nothing of Peter Sellers. I think showing a great film for the first time to someone is better than seeing it for the first time yourself. I must remember to refrain from being the annoying "Ok, this bit is classic!!!" guy.

[Dark Sky]

I didn't know much about it, to be honest...  Certainly didn't know that Sellars played several roles in it, which was a lovely surprise!  Though famously incomplete as he's not in the story with the bombers, which renders the entire film imperfect.  FACT.

I should watch it again, out of all the Kubricks I've seen (I haven't seen anything earlier than Paths of Glory), it's the only one I didn't really enjoy. 

Should give it another chance, really.  Like all this stuff I didn't like but which are supposed to be brilliant...  But then can I really be bothered to waste my time on stuff I didn't like just because I feel I should like it?!  That kind of attitude just reminds me of being a student again!  Nowadays if I don't like something, even if it's regarded as being brilliant, I'm much more likely to be honest, rather than ride the crest of being smug about having seen it/read it, and pretending that it's brilliant because it's known to be brilliant. 

[HappyTree]

Well if it didn't grab you it didn't grab you. The "ought to have" in the thread title is slightly ironic since the reason why I have never seen the "classics" I mentioned is that I have no great desire to. The Godfather sounds like a complete borefest and is hampered by being the absolute favourite film of a friend of my brother's who is a bit of a dick, really. So by association the film is bound to be rubbish.

I should see Gone With The Wind I suppose, if only for cultural reasons. It could surprise me. I doubt it but I've been wrong before.[nb]17th November, 1982[/nb]

[Dark Sky]

I watched it one Christmas when it was on in the background and I played with toys.  There's a hilarious bit where a young girl dies whilst horseriding.  Hilarious!

Otherwise, though, I wouldn't bother.  So what if you haven't seen it.  What would happen if you did see it?  You could go around saying, "hey, I've seen Gone With The Wind!", and anyone who hadn't seen it would say, "oh, right, okay", and anyone who had would say, "yes yes hasn't everyone?".  Pointless.

[HappyTree]

Well the only benefit I suppose would be knowing what people are talking about when they say they've seen it, or when I read that it has the longest film run in cinemas of all time. Though now that I'm Googling this I'm getting lots of different answers, none of which are GWTW so yes I suppose I have no reason to see it at all.

Bit of a relief, really!

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Well the only benefit I suppose would be knowing what people are talking about when they say they've seen it

Another benefit might be that you actually enjoy watching it.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I should probably see more Hitchcock films really. I've only ever seen Rear Window, which I thoroughly enjoyed and everything else I haven't bothered with yet. I've always had a (probably wrongly held) belief that Psycho is a long, dull drawn out affair which is only famous for that one shower scene. I should just watch it really, along with North by Northwest and the others.

I also haven't seen Gone With The Wind, Singing In The Rain and the majority of musical classics because I can't imagine I'll enjoy them very much.

You're right about being wrong about Psycho: it's far from a dull, long, drawn out affair. On the contrary, there is nary a moment wasted in it. Also, North By Northwest is one of the most purely enjoyable films I've ever seen, as for that matter is Singing in the Rain. These are films that I simply can't imagine anyone not enjoying. Unless you're a twat who can't tolerate "old" films (not you specifically ThickAndCreamy).

Anyway, if you fancy investigating more Hitchcock, then Psycho and North By Northwest are definitely the way to go first. I'd also strongly recommend Strangers on a Train, The Lady Vanishes and The Birds.

[HappyTree]

Another benefit might be that you actually enjoy watching it.

Does it have any space aliens or wizards in it?

[SavageHedgehog]

No, but there's this really shocking moment at the end where one of the characters curses!

Spoilers, sorry.

[Ignatius_S]

You're right about being wrong about Psycho: it's far from a dull, long, drawn out affair. On the contrary, there is nary a moment wasted in it. Also, North By Northwest is one of the most purely enjoyable films I've ever seen, as for that matter is Singing in the Rain. These are films that I simply can't imagine anyone not enjoying. Unless you're a twat who can't tolerate "old" films (not you specifically ThickAndCreamy).

Anyway, if you fancy investigating more Hitchcock, then Psycho and North By Northwest are definitely the way to go first. I'd also strongly recommend Strangers on a Train, The Lady Vanishes and The Birds.

I would agree with you absolutely about Psycho – but it's one of those films that I really wished I didn't to the ending of before I saw it!

Also agree with the Hitchcock ones you recommended – I would also throw in Shadow of a Doubt, the director's personal favourite, plus Joseph Cotten and Theresa Wright being simply stunning.

Also, the first version of The Man Who Knew Too Much is better than the remake and worth it alone for Peter Lorre and, in fact, his early British films are worth watching.

I'm in broad agreement with you about Singing in the Rain, even though I can't stand Gene Kelly. I am, however, a fan of Stanley Donen...

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Does it have any space aliens or wizards in it?

I'm afraid not. There aren't even any Ku Klux Klan wizards in it, which is odd given the period in which its set.

I have to say I'm baffled by the conversation you and Dark Sky were having earlier: you shouldn't feel that you have to watch a film like GWTW out of obligation. Why not watch it to see if you actually enjoy it on its own merits? It's a good film, not just some dusty historical artifact.

[HappyTree]

Oh I agree, that is the ideal. But there is enough scope in my mind to encompass several different feelings towards something at the same time, and I acknowledge that feeling I should watch certain films due to their cultural significance is one of those feelings. It's not a major compulsion, if I really felt I had to then I'd have watched it by now. But still it lingers at the back of my mind as a gap in my experience that maybe it would be good to plug some day, if only to see why so many other people have said it is good.

And, as you say, I may even enjoy it, the lack of wizards and aliens notwithstanding.

[vrailaine]

Watching the first five minutes of Seven Samurai took me back about five years to when I bought about twelve Kurosawa films and hammered them. All of them are incredible. The Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, Ikiru, Kagemusha, Throne of Blood...God. The atmosphere and pacing is so wonderful. Even the super long ones fly by, the worlds he constructs are so wonderful.

I once dumped a girl for saying Ran was shit. How could I possibly betray myself by spending life with a creature like that?

I'm more of a clout sell-out these days but I was absolutely right to bin the fucking dunce.

Man,  I f*cking love Ikiru, the only other one I've seen is Dreams and I actuallly thought it was great too.
...but I can't do 3.5 hours unless I'm drugged or hungover.

I thought Citizen Kane was wonderful and lived up to most the hype, same goes for M, both of which I had classified in the "praised for being really revolutionary at the time but probably shite now" list of things, so I guess a lot of the hype was diminshed for me.

[SavageHedgehog]

Yeah, I ind Citizen Kane really enjoyable too. Not the most entertaining movie I've ever seen maybe, probably not even quite as entertaining as Touch of Evil, but I did genuinely enjoy it a lot more than some "significant" films that are more popular like The Godfather or even The Shawshank Redemption. I think it's a shame it has a kind of "green beans" reputation these days

[Dark Sky]

I have to say I'm baffled by the conversation you and Dark Sky were having earlier: you shouldn't feel that you have to watch a film like GWTW out of obligation. Why not watch it to see if you actually enjoy it on its own merits? It's a good film, not just some dusty historical artifact.

Well it's the whole point of the thread, isn't it?  Films which you feel you should watch, rather than because you have an interest in watching them.   It's the obligation as a lack of incentive, rather than, say, time or money or energy which would be a lesser barrier to seeing a film you think you might actually enjoy.

I was a rather late adopter to cinema, and went a bit mental over it during my original four university years, where I just felt compelled and addicted to watching any film which might remotely be "worthy" or which I felt I "should" watch to be a "proper" film fan.  And it was an insane four years...I went from not being able to recognise Tom Cruise to willingly watching as many obscure Bergman films as I could find.  I saw a whole load of the films mentioned in this thread out of a sense of duty.

But that's all it was, really.  Duty.  I'm not sure I enjoyed a lot of them.  In fact a lot of them bored me a lot.  I couldn't tell you a thing about, say, The Godfather Part 2, despite the fact that I have it "ticked off the list".  Which is pointless.  I can't remember it, I didn't get anything out of it...  I might as well have not bothered!  And yet, at least I didn't have the "embarrassment" of having not seen it. 

Of course the upshot of it all is that despite sitting bored through a load of stuff just to get a "tick", I did see many, many films which surprised me, moved me, thrilled me.  Everything by Hitchcock made me shudder with glee (in fact, Psycho was the film which sparked my sudden, intense passion for cinema), as well as Kubrick and Bergman and Gilliam and Lynch and Tati and Tarkovsky and all the many other directors and individual films I still adore yet might never have had any reason to see if I hadn't had this burning, uncontrollable desire to become "a film buff".

Nowadays I'm much more relaxed and don't really care.  There's still loads of films I always meant to see and was annoyed and cross at myself for having not seen, and I still haven't seen them and don't worry about it so much anymore.  I watch the odd film now and again, and occasionally ride the knowledge coattails of my previous passion to get me through certain conversations or quizzes or what have you.

But the main thing now is that I'm no longer embarrassed to say something like, "I was bored during the Godfather, Part Two", or, "I never saw a film by Kurosawa which I liked".  Five years ago I would never admit such heinous crimes.

[vrailaine]

Well it's the whole point of the thread, isn't it?  Films which you feel you should watch, rather than because you have an interest in watching them.   It's the obligation as a lack of incentive, rather than, say, time or money or energy which would be a lesser barrier to seeing a film you think you might actually enjoy.

Was it?
I was listing ones which I think I'd enjoy or are enjoyed by enough people to imply that I may enjoy it, I wouldn't be able to watch something if I didn't want to. Ikiru is one of my favourite films ever, for example, that should leave me with a certain obligation to watch Seven Samurai at some point, but its not gonna happen.

Godfather Part 2 didn't grab me at all on my first viewing though, and it was a sense of obligation when I was 13 that made me rewatch it though. Far better film than the first one, I think.

Anyways, I've managed to download three corrupt versions of Rashomon in the last hour, so I've gotta assume that it's just not meant to be.

[Dark Sky]

Was it?
I was listing ones which I think I'd enjoy or are enjoyed by enough people to imply that I may enjoy it, I wouldn't be able to watch something if I didn't want to.

Then ur doin it rong!

Nah of course anyone could interpret the thread in any way they wanted. 

Anyways, I've managed to download three corrupt versions of Rashomon in the last hour, so I've gotta assume that it's just not meant to be.

Do you think each download tells the same tale but in different ways?

[Tiny Poster]

Yeah, I ind Citizen Kane really enjoyable too. Not the most entertaining movie I've ever seen maybe, probably not even quite as entertaining as Touch of Evil, but I did genuinely enjoy it a lot more than some "significant" films that are more popular like The Godfather or even The Shawshank Redemption. I think it's a shame it has a kind of "green beans" reputation these days

The Shawshank Redemption isn't 'significant', it's just a very populist film which isn't too egregious.

[Dark Sky]

It gets regularly voted "best film" in various polls, though, surely that makes it "significant" if only for that?

[Tiny Poster]

Like how My Heart Will Go On is a 'significant' song?

[Famous Mortimer]

Like how My Heart Will Go On is a 'significant' song?

No, not at all.

[Dead kate moss]

Slightly off-topic but with nothing else on last night I watched The Bodyguard (Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner). I wasn't expecting it to be good, but Jesus Christ...

[vrailaine]

Then ur doin it rong!

Hmm, maybe so.

Why am I download Au Hasard Balthazer right now though? Diary of a Country Priest was incredibly good but it completely killed my mood for days, why am I subjecting myself to this miserable git again?

[Tiny Poster]

No, not at all.

One of the most popular songs ever, many people's favourite, biggest selling single of 1998, heard at every karaoke night... OK, it's not as big as Cher's Believe, but still pretty 'significant'.

[Famous Mortimer]

One of the most popular songs ever, many people's favourite, biggest selling single of 1998, heard at every karaoke night... OK, it's not as big as Cher's Believe, but still pretty 'significant'.

Different sort of significant, I meant.