Thread: "Great" films I've never seen Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
In the spirit of the "Great books" thread, I invite you to tell everyone about the "great" films that you've never got round to watching. Then everyone else can mock you and tell you what you've missed.

To start with, I will admit I have never seen "Gone with the Wind". I'm a big movie buff - especially older movies. But for some reason I have never watched, nor wanted to watch, GwtW.

There! I've admitted it and I feel much better.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Meh. You'll live.
People tell me I have to turn in my film nerd card because I have never seen Dr. Strangelove. Or worse-- I keep starting to watch it, my mind wanders and I turn it off.

And. Um. I have never seen Avatar nor really want to. (ducks.)
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
And. Um. I have never seen Avatar nor really want to. (ducks.)
Man - you missed absolutely nothing! So over-rated.

Also - I have never watched a Harry Potter film all the way through. I think I've seen the start of the first couple a few times but always walked out of the room after 20 minutes and done something more constructive with my life, like watching paint dry.
 
Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
And. Um. I have never seen Avatar nor really want to. (ducks.)
I saw two minutes of it! Seriously. Where's my Medal of Honor?
 
Posted by Kittyville (# 16106) on :
 
Another vote for GwtW and Avatar. No interest in ever seeing either one.

Not sure if they qualify as great films, but I would add Atonement and The Black Swan. Lasted 20 minutes with the first one, and five with the second. I can normally sit through anything on a plane, but not those.
 
Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :
 
(Stands up)

Hi. I'm Adeodatus. And I've never seen It's a Wonderful Life. I'm sure it's a great film. I have friends who go all misty-eyed at its mere mention. But I've never seen it. In the past, I've never really gone out of my way to avoid it. But I've now reached a point in my life where I know that, with a bit of concentration and good luck, I may never actually see it. I'd call that an achievement.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
Most of the big-name famous classics that are not science fiction, fantasy, or animated.

Oh, I've seen some, don't get me wrong, and I want to see the various Kurosawa ones, and Cubby is trying to entice me to try more of the old classics, but my natural inclination when faced with, say, Gone With The Wind, or Maltese Falcon, or any of the romantic whatsits, is, well, eh.
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
I fell asleep trying to watch "Apocalypse Now" and "The Conversation." I've never seen "ET," and don't plan to change that.

I have seen "Avatar" -- three hours of my life I'll never get back, sadly. "It's a Wonderful Life" is horribly over-rated, and "Gone with the Wind" is interesting only from an historical perspective.
 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
... And. Um. I have never seen Avatar nor really want to. (ducks.)
No need to duck, Kelly - D. watched it when we were crossing the Pond a few years ago (he enjoyed it), and what I saw over his shoulder was enough to put me right off.

I've never seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Gandhi or any of the Hitchcock horror films like Psycho or The Birds.

I will confess to having seen Gone with the Wind, once. Once too many - that's four hours of my life I'm never going to get back ... [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Sorry for double-post - my apologies to Ruth for "borrowing" her phrase - I hadn't read the whole way down the page when I posted.

[Hot and Hormonal]
 
Posted by AngloCatholicGirl (# 16435) on :
 
I've never seen Titantic (and don't intend too either) and I've only ever managed the first 10 minutes of Lawrence of Arabia.

GwtW sucked up 4 hours of my life too - time NOT well spent in my opinion.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
In defense of GWTW, it's a lot more worthwhile ( at least visually) on a theater screen.

Ruth, The Conversation is another one of those that is supposed to be a litmus test for a cineaste, but I don't get it, either.

I think I have groused before about My Dinner With Andre. the SF Chronicle gave it the "little man jumping about in chair" rating, so I eagerly turned it on when I found it on IFC. Ten minutes of Andre Gregory talking about how fantastic and insightful he was while Wallace Shawn dribbled into his appetizer with moonstruck envy made me seek entertainment elsewhere. Reminded me of too many dates I went on in my youth.

[ 08. December 2014, 03:54: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by AngloCatholicGirl:
I've never seen Titantic (and don't intend too either) and I've only ever managed the first 10 minutes of Lawrence of Arabia.
Titanic is one I have deliberately missed.

I can't remember seeing Lawrence of Arabia, funnily enough. I wouldn't mind watching it, though. But not enough to actively seek it out.
 
Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :
 
I have seen GWTW. It was a waste of God knows how many minutes. I have never seen "Citizen Kane." I keep meaning to, but nothing I have ever read about it gives me much reason to believe it would be that interesting. May be it's the spoiler effect--I know what Rosebud is.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Kelly wrote:

quote:
People tell me I have to turn in my film nerd card because I have never seen Dr. Strangelove. Or worse-- I keep starting to watch it, my mind wanders and I turn it off.

I've seen it twice, and in my opinion it is probably Kubrick's weakest effort.

Kubrick was a pretty unsubtle director, visually speaking; he pretty much smashes his imagery right into your face(*). Which, I would argue, was one of his strenths, in an idiosyncratic, only-he-could-make-that-work sorta way.

But Terry Southern's hamfisted script just pushes Strangelove right over the edge into stark raving pathos. I mean, implying that the character is a Nazi by having him do reflex salutes? I think a junior-high kid coulda come up with that joke.

(*) I know the standard line on Kubrick was that his style was ice-cold, but think that his approach was was best summed up by the critic who wrote that he filmed his backgrounds in ice and his foregrounds in fire, or something to that effect.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
As to the topic of the thread, there is a lot I haven't seen, especially pre-1960s. For older films, I tend to search out the big, remebered classics(eg. Despite disliking period pieces, I did watch GWTW, just because, well, it's GWTW), and things that hold genre interest for me(eg. British-era Hitchcock), but not to pursue things too in-depth.

A few years ago I mentioned to a table of expats from various English-speaking countries that I had never seen any of the Back To The Future films. A few of them indicated, half-seriously, that they considered this to be a pretty severe deficiency in my cinematic education.

And I've never seen This Is Spinal Tap, despite having some pretty in-depth familiarity with some its "adjacent" cultural properties(eg. National Lampoon). I will say that that movie was probably the last time Rob Reiner was associated with anything remotely hip.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:

A few years ago I mentioned to a table of expats from various English-speaking countries that I had never seen any of the Back To The Future films. A few of them indicated, half-seriously, that they considered this to be a pretty severe deficiency in my cinematic education.
Only in terms of missing out on dumb jokes about flux capacitors.

I have never seen Say Anything. People tell me this is an indication that I have no soul.
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
I've never seen the second half of either Avatar or Easy Rider as I saw them on television and so could switch them off. They were pretentious but dull. I also went to sleep in Death in Venice and woke up just as it was finishing. I wish I'd never seen The Piano or Distant Voices, Still Lives. Both I found overblown nonsense but was stuck in the cinema with others and couldn't get away.
 
Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
Another one here who's never seen Gone With The Wind. I only saw Casablanca for the first time when I was in my mid-20s.

If there's anything I feel I've missed out on, it might well be Raging Bull.
 
Posted by Kittyville (# 16106) on :
 
I've never even heard of Say Anything . Not sure what that says about the state of [existence of] my soul.
 
Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :
 
I spent some time in my 20s catching up on all the teen romcoms I'd missed when they were out in the 80s. So I saw a lot of stuff that really didn't fare well by even my immature adult eyes. Say Anything was one of the better ones but its still targeted firmly at its demographic, so if you're older it may not work for you. Its central character is built around an idea - optimism as a deliberate choice - which will either work or grate. Also its very earnest.

[It's a Wonderful Life[/i]
 
Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :
 
Arghh. Crappy tablet...
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
Tow I've never seen and suspect I don't miss are Toy Story and Love Story.
 
Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I've never seen "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
Don't judge!

[Razz]

[Added a '.']

[ 08. December 2014, 11:50: Message edited by: jedijudy ]
 
Posted by Sherwood (# 15702) on :
 
I've tried to watch 2001 six times, and each time I've ended up falling asleep about ten minutes in. Waking up to a tripy psychedelic space baby is kinda confusing.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
Tow I've never seen and suspect I don't miss are Toy Story and Love Story.
/tangent

You could get a lot of fun from a composite of those two. [Eek!]

tangent/
 
Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Now, I actually like Toy Story - although the second one is better. This is just as well, because my daughter likes them, and when she likes a film she watches it over.and.over.again. Thank God she doesn't like Frozen.

I tried to watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon once, but after the first twenty minutes or so nothing exciting had happened and I gave up on it (it was obvious to anyone who has ever read an Agatha Christie who the "mysterious" ninja was).

I've never watched It's a Wonderful Life all the way through - it's like drowning in treacle.
 
Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
I tried to watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon once, but after the first twenty minutes or so nothing exciting had happened and I gave up on it (it was obvious to anyone who has ever read an Agatha Christie who the "mysterious" ninja was).
I've fallen asleep to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Plot a couple of times.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sipech:
[QB] Another one here who's never seen Gone With The Wind. I only saw Casablanca for the first time when I was in my mid-20s.
I was in my late 20s or early 30s when I finally saw Casablanca. I went through the whole "wow, so that's where that quote comes from" thing, which was interesting, and I guess I thought the plot was engraging enough. I haven't been in any hurry to give it a second screeing, though.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by jedijudy:
I've never seen "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
Don't judge!

[Razz]

[Added a '.']
I'm one of those pretentious types who accrues a "square hip" vibe for himself by telling people that, yes, I have seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but only alone, and on video.
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
Well, I have watched most of these. GwtW is far too long. Avatar I enjoyed - watching it in 3D did help - you get immersed in it. I enjoy SF too, so that probably helps.

Wonderful life - tick. Wouldn't bother again. I watch Hitchock when I spot them being on - Psycho, rear window and the Birds I have seen.

It is relatively recently that I have watched Star Wars, despite seeing most of the others out of order. And every Harry Potter. I think seeing them at the cinema means that you have had an evening out, and the kids enjoyed them, so even if the film is less than stellar, it has been a fun evening.

However, I have never seen any of the new batman films, not want to. Nor any of those Tarantino movies (although I have seen Inglourious Basterds).

I yawned my way through The Godfather, and couldn't be bothered with part 2.
 
Posted by Callan (# 525) on :
 
Years ago a friend's birthday presented us with a choice between Wings Of The Dove and Titanic. We decided that an hour and forty minutes followed by dinner was infinitely preferable to three hours and going hungry. I never did find out what happened to the ship. Parenthetically, dinner included a most surreal conversation where I explained, patiently I hope, that a film based on a novel by Henry James and featuring Helena Bonham Carter might not be exclusively aimed at a female demographic.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
I yawned my way through The Godfather, and couldn't be bothered with part 2.

I quite liked the original Godfather. But I part company with a lot of fans in thinking that Part II was kind of a mess.

First off, I find the back-and-forth between the early 1900s and the late 1950s kind of off-putting. It's a little awkward having two plotlines that aren't connected to one another.

Secondly, I didn't really buy the quasi-feminist prologue, which has his mother as this gun-toting matriarch back in Sicily, taking out the family's enemies. It seemed almost tacked on as a reply to people who complained about the absence of strong female characters in the first movie.

SPOILER

And don't get me started on the killing in the boat. That just did NOT bring any credibility to the table.
 
Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sherwood:
I've tried to watch 2001 six times, and each time I've ended up falling asleep about ten minutes in. Waking up to a tripy psychedelic space baby is kinda confusing.
It's no less confusing it you watch the whole thing.

Back to It's a Wonderful Life, now that I'm at a proper keyboard. I do like the movie but it does have it's problems. It's pretty dark before the end which is both a strength and a weakness. It's got a kind of creepy attitude toward women which seems more than just the period when it was made. My biggest gripe with it though is that its core message - that we all matter and would leave a big hole if we weren't here - is facile and a bit disingenuous. I mean George Bailey has prevented a poisoning and saved a life by the time he's barely out of short pants. By his early twenties he's saved half the town from a run on the bank and is responsible for an organisation that's providing homes for many of the working class who would otherwise be the working poor. Of course this guy's life matters!

Anyway. I can totally understand someone giving it a miss. But in the right mood I'll still enjoy it and shed a tear at the end.

There are lots of great movies I've never seen. I've never seen any of the Godfather films. I've never seen Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket. I've never seen Vertigo or Raging Bull. It's not that I think they'll be bad but there's just so much to see. And I do struggle to find the motivation to invest two hours or more in a story that's going to depress me so I watch fewer 'serious' movies than I once did.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
I've never seen Vertigo
I'm a huge Hitchcock fan, but that is one film of his that just does not stay with me. I've seen it twice, and still can't really recall any of the scenes besides the climax, and even that is sketchy.

I did see that on one of those "critics' favorites" film lists a couple of years back, Vertigo knocked Citizen Kane off the top perch. Some specualtion about this being related to their being more women voting, and Vertigo supposedly being a more female-friendly film.
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Any Bond films. I get bored and start scratching my knackers or putting the kettle on after about five minutes. I once complained that I couldn't understand the plot; all that seemed to be happening was getting off with girls and shooting people. Apparently that was the plot.

Pile of shite, the lot of them.
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Will people please cease mentioning Avatar on this thread?
Seriously, not because I think it is rubbish, but that it appears on no Great Cinema lists.

Apocolypse Now I've been in enough discussions, seen enough clips and parodies that I can speak as if I have, but I haven't.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
Originally posted by jedijudy:
I've never seen "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
Don't judge!

[Razz]

[Added a '.']
I'm one of those pretentious types who accrues a "square hip" vibe for himself by telling people that, yes, I have seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but only alone, and on video.
Same here.
It doesn't count.
 
Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Will people please cease mentioning Avatar on this thread?
Seriously, not because I think it is rubbish, but that it appears on no Great Cinema lists.
Ahem (though I agree it's not a "great" movie merely a popular one)

Browsing that list reminded me of Downfall. Tried to watch it twice. First time fell asleep shortly after that scene. Second time didn't make it that far.
 
Posted by Callan (# 525) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
Any Bond films. I get bored and start scratching my knackers or putting the kettle on after about five minutes. I once complained that I couldn't understand the plot; all that seemed to be happening was getting off with girls and shooting people. Apparently that was the plot.

Pile of shite, the lot of them.
How do you not understand the plot of a Bond Movie? Specifically, how does Karl 'brain the size of a planet' liberal backslider not understand the plot of a Bond movie? All we need now is Alan Cresswell to turn up and announce that he was totally flummoxed by 'The Goonies' or IngoB to tell us all that 'Beverley Hills Ninja' was totally lost on him and he only watched it for the hot chicks and my world will be in ruins! Ruins, I tell you!

Stalks off in high dudgeon to see if he can finally make sense of Flash Gordon
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Oh, that's cheating. "Flash" has made it onto many "worst film" lists.

Here, I will offer myself as sacrificial lamb-- I have never made it all the way through "Princess Bride." I think I had too many people quote it at me before I finally saw it.
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Never seen Star Wars . Missed it for some reason when it came out (and I was 10) and never got round to seeing it afterwards. I suppose I might watch it if it were on the telly and I had nothing else to do, but wouldn't go out of my way to do so. Never seen any of the others in the series either.
 
Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
Any Bond films. <snip> all that seemed to be happening was getting off with girls and shooting people. Apparently that was the plot.
I am very much on the same page as you there Karl, I have sat through Goldfinger, Live & Let Die and one of the Timothy Dalton ones (only because we both grew up in Belper) with teeth so gritted the council stockpiled them for winter. Everyone tells me how brilliant all the rest are but I just can't generate any enthusiasm for them.

I too have never seen Its a Wonderful Life. I grew up with the first name "Clarence" so I have been told the entire plot by just about anyone to whom I have ever been introduced. Fortunately my parents decided to give me a normal second name and there are no major films with a memorable "Bob" in them.
 
Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
I've never seen Vertigo
I'm a huge Hitchcock fan, but that is one film of his that just does not stay with me. I've seen it twice, and still can't really recall any of the scenes besides the climax, and even that is sketchy.

I did see that on one of those "critics' favorites" film lists a couple of years back, Vertigo knocked Citizen Kane off the top perch. Some specualtion about this being related to their being more women voting, and Vertigo supposedly being a more female-friendly film.
I've never seen Psycho, or any other Hitchcock film apart from The Birds; (despite the family legend that my grandfather, a taxi driver, had a bit part in a very early Hitchcock).

Neither the previously mentioned Citizen Kane, or The Third Man.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
"Titanic". And have no desire to, either.

Maybe we need a thread on films we wish we hadn't seen - I could put a few into that.
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by jedijudy:
I've never seen "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
Don't judge!

Hidden under the once daring transvestitism and sex is an affectionate parody of 1950's science fiction films. Watch it at home without the cult audience.


I've never seen Kill Bill or Love Story or most 80's teen romances. I've missed most Bergman films and a whole bunch of classic Italian films that "My Voyage to Italy" made me realize I should go back and see.

Very few Hong Kong Martial Arts films and only a dozen Bollywood extravaganzas. Only a couple of Truffaut films and a handful of John Ford westerns.
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
Never seen Star Wars . Missed it for some reason when it came out (and I was 10) and never got round to seeing it afterwards. I suppose I might watch it if it were on the telly and I had nothing else to do, but wouldn't go out of my way to do so. Never seen any of the others in the series either.
To watch Star Wars on the telly for your first viewing is to never have seen the movie. Part of that film's essence is the cinema experience.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
I'm one of those pretentious types who accrues a "square hip" vibe for himself by telling people that, yes, I have seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but only alone, and on video.
Same here.
It doesn't count.
I'll just say I not only have seen the film, also only on video, but also the original stage show at the Kings Road Theatre with Tim Curry and Richard O'Brien. Haven't wanted to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the cinema for some reason.

My uncle thought that 2001: a Space Odyssey was a suitable film to take me to when he was babysitting me for the weekend. I think I was 8 at the time. No, I didn't understand it. I do remember him telling me that Kubrick wanted people to watch the film, read the book and watch the film again to understand it. I did eventually - but it took a few years.

The first Star Wars I managed to see three times at the cinema as it came out with different friends - which was overkill .... rather put me off seeing the rest of the series.
 
Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
Never got to the end of 'Fanny and Alexander', despite studying Swedish. ZZZzzzzzz....
 
Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:
I have seen GWTW. It was a waste of God knows how many minutes. I have never seen "Citizen Kane." I keep meaning to, but nothing I have ever read about it gives me much reason to believe it would be that interesting. May be it's the spoiler effect--I know what Rosebud is.
I will second this. I have seen GWTW and cannot fathom what admirers see in it; and I have failed to make it through Citizen Kane, despite repeated attempts.
 
Posted by JoannaP (# 4493) on :
 
I make no claim to be a film nerd; Gone with the Wind is one of the few films mentioned in this thread that I have actually seen! But MrP is a member of the BFI and gaps in my education are being filled; this month we are intending to see It's a Wonderful Life and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, neither of which I have seen yet.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
OOh, I loved The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I envy your first encounter with it.

I agree that Fanny and Alexander was kind of a drag. The mother was such a stand in for an actress, for one thing. [Roll Eyes]

[ 08. December 2014, 23:22: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 
Posted by bib (# 13074) on :
 
I've never seen Casablanca, but I've heard so much about it that I probably don't need to see it. I also haven't bothered with the Lord of the Rings films as I disliked the books and so have given the films a miss. Same issues wth the Harry Potter series.
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by bib:
I've never seen Casablanca, but I've heard so much about it that I probably don't need to see it.
***Splutter***

Seriously - hearing about it and seeing it are totally different things. My all time favourite film.

I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you...
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:
I have seen GWTW. It was a waste of God knows how many minutes. I have never seen "Citizen Kane." I keep meaning to, but nothing I have ever read about it gives me much reason to believe it would be that interesting. May be it's the spoiler effect--I know what Rosebud is.
GWTW suffers from the "beloved novel mapped faithfully into film". It still has moments, but the rip your eyes out early Technicolor doesn't make up for the embarrassing racism.

Citizen Kane is spectacular for the way the story is told. As for Rosebud, the film doesn't till you what it really meant. The film was a fictionalized and cruel biography of Hearst, at that time one of the most powerful men in America. Rosebud was the pet name he gave to Marion Davies intimate parts. Using it in the film for something else was close to career suicide by he writer and director. But the film still has amazing shots in it that describe decades. For example the collapse of a marriage in 3 shots.
 
Posted by betjemaniac (# 17618) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by bib:
I've never seen Casablanca, but I've heard so much about it that I probably don't need to see it. I also haven't bothered with the Lord of the Rings films as I disliked the books and so have given the films a miss. Same issues wth the Harry Potter series.
Er, no, you really do need to see Casablanca, it is as good as it is supposed to be. Citizen Kane, on the other hand....

Like Oscar I'm shocked, shocked. But also maybe at heart I'm a sentimentalist...
 
Posted by Tea (# 16619) on :
 
I haven't seen any of the Star Wars films in their entirety with the exception of the first one to have been released.

I've seen bits and pieces of some of the others because my seven year old enjoys them.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Paul.:
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Will people please cease mentioning Avatar on this thread?
Seriously, not because I think it is rubbish, but that it appears on no Great Cinema lists.
Ahem (though I agree it's not a "great" movie merely a popular one)

Browsing that list reminded me of Downfall. Tried to watch it twice. First time fell asleep shortly after that scene. Second time didn't make it that far.
Someone should do a parody video. "Paul finds out that he fell asleep during Downfall again."
 
Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :
 
Another person who has never seen GWTW or Titanic. I've not seen much Kubrick either. No 2001, The Shining or A Clockwork Orange etc.

Tubbs

[ 09. December 2014, 10:48: Message edited by: Tubbs ]
 
Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :
 
Casablanca is the story of two noble, brave men who are both in love with the same wishy-washy woman who has no mind of her own.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
To branch off into a new category, Films We THOUGHT We'd Never See, I just stumbled upon the notorious mondo Faces Of Death on YouTube, and have gotten about halfway through.

Pretty much the laughable piece of pseudo-intellectualism that I had been led to expect, though the narrator's redemptive philosophizing is probably not as hokey as it could have been. It sounds like something written by a precocious high-school student.

Granted, when a narrator who is supposed to be a trained pathologist refers to "the country of Africa", you know you're not watching Ken Burns.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Not a great film (how would I know) but I've never managed to stay awake for the whole of Brigadoon - does that count.

Likewise, never managed a whole Star Wars film - any of them.

Casablanca does have some yawn moments but you really need to see it just for Dooley Wilson singing As time goes by.

The Hollywood version of War & Peace is a turkey I've managed to avoid but I've fond memories of the Russian version, directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, which used to be shown overnight in two 3 hour chunks (with breakfast afterwards) at the Screen on the Hill in Belsize Park in the 1970s.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Someone mentioned John Ford and westerns earlier. I have seen only two films by Ford, The Grapes Of Wrath and The Last Hurrah, neither of which are westerns.

And, prior to watching High Noon a few months back, I had never seen a proper western. By which I mean, I had seen Spaghetti Westerns, Sam Peckinpah westerns, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, and Unforgiven, but I don't think those really count as having seen a western.

And isn't High Noon itself considered somewhat "revisionist"? I guess, never having seen any other authentic westerns, I don't know what the criteria really is.
 
Posted by Byron (# 15532) on :
 
Another who's never seen Gone With The Wind through. There's a ton of silent greats I've yet to see, including Metropolis and Battleship Potemkin, let alone that behemoth Napoléon.

"Great" is way subjective in any case: Citizen Kane is a technical masterpiece, but I find the plot ("dime-store Freud," in Welles' own words) tedious. How it keeps getting voted "greatest film ever" is a mystery to me.

[ 09. December 2014, 17:08: Message edited by: Byron ]
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Twilight:
Casablanca is the story of two noble, brave men who are both in love with the same wishy-washy woman who has no mind of her own.
And one of the men is a rather dull, pompous prig. But the other is Bogie, so that more than makes up for it. And then there's Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre...

(BTW - I've just discovered that Claude Rains was born in LONDON. Damn! All this time, I actually thought he WAS French.)
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
Wow, am I the only one who liked Avatar? (The blue cat people one; I haven't seen the live-action version of the Avatar the Last Airbender animated series.)
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
Wow, am I the only one who liked Avatar? (The blue cat people one; I haven't seen the live-action version of the Avatar the Last Airbender animated series.)
No - I liked it too.
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
I enjoyed the technology. best use of 3D in a movie to date. Visually some parts were stunning. But the plot and the writing? Horrid. There is a story that Cameron began writing the script when he was ~ 15. Sure feels like it could be true.
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
Avatar has some stunning 3D but I agree that the story sucks. After a tribe is nearly wiped out, and their home nearly destroyed, the important thing on their minds is a proper funeral ceremony for the noble "white" friend.

Casablanca has wonderful moments. It's a bit clanging to hear Ingrid Bergman refer to Sam as "your boy" but racism has left a lot of films embarrassing.

The story is that the Bogart part was originally offered to Ronald Reagan. Everything's for the best in this best of all possible worlds.

People keep mentioning films I like which puts me in a fond mood. There are a whole bunch of pretentious films that were Oscar nominees, but even there, I can find a bunch I like.

I still haven't seen "Shoah", "The Sorrow and The Pity" or a whole bunch of other Holocaust Documentaries. It's just too painful.
 
Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
I thought Avatar was worthwhile but not outstanding. I think the trouble is whenever anything gets trumpeted as ‘best film of all time, evar’, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Inception had the same effect on me. It was a good film, but couldn’t live up to the hype of being the greatest film ever that it got when it was released.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
I've seen Shoa but only because a friend has it on DVD and we could stop and start. Not just for the sake of physical comfort but also to have a breather from so much harrowing testimony.

IMO the film should be shown in all secondary schools in the UK, no exceptions. Sure, break it into smaller segments, but it should be seen by every British child before the age of 16.
 
Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Some of us used to do exactly that before Michael Gove marginalised RE and cut our time.
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
I thought Avatar was worthwhile but not outstanding. I think the trouble is whenever anything gets trumpeted as ‘best film of all time, evar’, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Inception had the same effect on me. It was a good film, but couldn’t live up to the hype of being the greatest film ever that it got when it was released.
This is a good point. Factors exterior to the film itself can colour our experience.
Though, I saw Avatar early, before much hype. I thought the same of it as i do now from the moment the end titles began to roll.
 
Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Byron:
... that behemoth Napoléon.
Oh wow, I saw extracts years ago, and the glories of that film have stayed with me. One day I shall manage to obtain the whole thing [Smile] .

I am another who couldn't stomach Avatar, nor sit through Titanic, which was a complete yawnarama. Though I did like GWTW when I saw it.

Though not a great movie, my last nomination is on nearly every Christmas. Therefore, I confess that my name is Pine Marten and I have never seen The Great Escape.
 
Posted by Jemima the 9th (# 15106) on :
 
I've never seen Titanic, and I worked in a cinema when it came out. I consider that something of an achievement.

[A side note: people would always report the loos not working after Titanic - everyone would come out of the screen and go together, and the poor system couldn't fill up again fast enough....]
 
Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
You mean Albertus and I (with the partial exception of L'Organist) are the only people on this ship who have never seen Star Wars?
 
Posted by Starbug (# 15917) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:
You mean Albertus and I (with the partial exception of L'Organist) are the only people on this ship who have never seen Star Wars?
I watched it for the first time a few weeks ago.Brilliant.
 
Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :
 
I've never seen, Pretty Woman, even after about twenty people told me I would love it because it was a Cinderella story.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Correction-- it's a Cinder-fucking-Rella story.

You missed nothing.

(Actually I take it back-- Laura San Giacomo was the best thing about that flick.)

[ 11. December 2014, 00:38: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Pine Marten:
quote:
Originally posted by Byron:
... that behemoth Napoléon.
Oh wow, I saw extracts years ago, and the glories of that film have stayed with me. One day I shall manage to obtain the whole thing [Smile] .
I saw Napoleon at the 5,000 seat Wang center with a 60 piece Symphony Orchestra playing an score by Carmine Coppola and conducted by him. That was 30 years ago. It was worthwhile, but it would feel like a comedown to watch it on DVD.
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Pine Marten:
I confess that my name is Pine Marten and I have never seen The Great Escape.
How is that even possible?

Well -it's sure to be on this Christmas somewhere. Take the opportunity to sit down with a good drink and some nibbles and sit back and relax. Pure escapism!
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Pine Marten:
Therefore, I confess that my name is Pine Marten and I have never seen The Great Escape.
Everybody whistle the theme at him, right now.

[ 11. December 2014, 04:43: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 
Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
Wow, am I the only one who liked Avatar? (The blue cat people one; I haven't seen the live-action version of the Avatar the Last Airbender animated series.)
Don't bother with the live action Last Airbender, it's a pile of crap.

Tubbs
 
Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:
You mean Albertus and I (with the partial exception of L'Organist) are the only people on this ship who have never seen Star Wars?
[Disappointed]
Really?!

I'm shocked, just shocked, I tell you. [Paranoid]
 
Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
quote:
Originally posted by Pine Marten:
quote:
Originally posted by Byron:
... that behemoth Napoléon.
Oh wow, I saw extracts years ago, and the glories of that film have stayed with me. One day I shall manage to obtain the whole thing [Smile] .
I saw Napoleon at the 5,000 seat Wang center with a 60 piece Symphony Orchestra playing an score by Carmine Coppola and conducted by him. That was 30 years ago. It was worthwhile, but it would feel like a comedown to watch it on DVD.
How wonderful [Smile] ... [is there an 'envious' smilie?]

quote:
Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:
quote:
Originally posted by Pine Marten:
I confess that my name is Pine Marten and I have never seen The Great Escape.
How is that even possible?

Well -it's sure to be on this Christmas somewhere. Take the opportunity to sit down with a good drink and some nibbles and sit back and relax. Pure escapism!
Ah, now that sounds good!

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
quote:
Originally posted by Pine Marten:
Therefore, I confess that my name is Pine Marten and I have never seen The Great Escape.
Everybody whistle the theme at him, right now.
Ahem - everybody whistle at her, if you please! [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
I never got where this idea of The Great Escape being on at Christmas came from. Growing up, it was never on then. It was always one of the Indiana Jones movies when I was growing up. Recently, it's been Pirates of the Caribbean that has plagued the Christmas schedules. That, and the smirk-inducing-but-quickly-tiresome Shrek and its sequels.
 
Posted by Earwig (# 12057) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Tubbs:
Another person who has never seen GWTW or Titanic. I've not seen much Kubrick either. No 2001, The Shining or A Clockwork Orange etc.
2001 was flipping awful. Really, really dull. My beau and I watched it when we were courting, and I was too polite to tell him that my brain was dying.

A previous boyfriend took me to see the director's cut of Apocalypse Now at the cinema. Not a good date movie...
 
Posted by Coa Coa (# 15535) on :
 
I've never seen Apocalypse Now -won't- Deer Hunter won't watch it again, GWtW -zzzz- 2001 soporific! But I really liked Mona Lisa and a far better and classic (violent though) movie than Godfather/s is the Long Good Friday or The Usual Suspects.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Earwig wrote:

quote:
A previous boyfriend took me to see the director's cut of Apocalypse Now at the cinema. Not a good date movie...

Indeed. I like the film quite a bit, but even I'll admit that it's a sprawling, operatic mess. I can't see it as being much of a mood-setter on a date, especially the DC with all that long-winded philosophizing on the plantation about French Vs. American imperialism.

Full Metal Jacket, on the other hand, does have some interesting gender thematics and symbolism, which might provide a bit of conversational fodder for couples wanting something a bit weightier than the standard RomCom fare, and who can handle extreme racism and vulgarity.

[ 11. December 2014, 13:50: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by JoannaP (# 4493) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Twilight:
I've never seen, Pretty Woman, even after about twenty people told me I would love it because it was a Cinderella story.
Watching Pretty Woman with a small group of female friends, a couple of bottles of wine (or more) and a large bar of chocolate (or 2 or 3...) can be a real fun way to spend an evening. Especially if you have been out first and are not entirely sober to start with.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sipech:
I never got where this idea of The Great Escape being on at Christmas came from. Growing up, it was never on then. It was always one of the Indiana Jones movies when I was growing up. Recently, it's been Pirates of the Caribbean that has plagued the Christmas schedules. That, and the smirk-inducing-but-quickly-tiresome Shrek and its sequels.
It was the Sound of Music and the Wizard of Oz in my younger days. Every single sodding Christmas, and I hated both of them. Still do.
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sipech:
I never got where this idea of The Great Escape being on at Christmas came from. Growing up, it was never on then.
It came from the late 60's and through the 70's. For many years, it was regarded as the ideal blockbuster movie - a mixture of Hollywood stars and steadfast British acting talent; comedy, tragedy and heroism all coming together; and it was still acceptable to regard the Germans with a certain amount of contempt.

If you grew up in that period, it was pretty much a Christmas tradition that as soon as you got your Christmas Special edition of the Radio Times (other TV magazines are available), with its two whole weeks of TV programmes to drool over and highlight, one of the first things you did was find out when exactly the Great Escape was being shown. Most likely, it would be Boxing Day afternoon.

I think I am right in saying that The Beeb had the rights to this film and ITV (the only other option back then) generally avoided a direct confrontation and so would show something pretty harmless at that time. Pretty much the same way that, for a while, they made no pretence of trying to go head to head with the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special.
 
Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
Chicken Run is more fun though ...
 
Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Ariel:
quote:
It was the Sound of Music and the Wizard of Oz in my younger days. Every single sodding Christmas, and I hated both of them. Still do.
Same here. AND I had to feign enthusiasm the Christmas my parents-in-law got me the Wizard of Oz on video...

Chicken Run is more fun than The Great Escape, but it's funnier if you've seen The Great Escape (and various other WWII PoW films) first.

[ 11. December 2014, 20:18: Message edited by: Jane R ]
 
Posted by Callan (# 525) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Twilight:
I've never seen, Pretty Woman, even after about twenty people told me I would love it because it was a Cinderella story.
It's only my deep respect for the Hosts and Admins that prevented me from opening a sockpuppet account with the user name of "Pretty Woman" and announcing that I have never seen "Twilight".

Actually, I saw half of it with the Missus under the misapprehension that as part Vampire movie and part chick-flick it might work for both of us. We were both underwhelmed and gave it up as a bad job. Henceforth, it was derisively referred to as 'Twiglet'.

Years later I was driving home from an engagement in a nearby visit when the fog of all fogs descended upon me and I wound my way carefully through deserted country roads. On getting into town I saw hordes of young women with pale faces who clearly looked like they had been necking with Nosferatu. I expected Christoper Lee to loom out of the night at any second. Until I drove past the cinema and realised that it was the opening night of the last film of the Twiglet saga.

Yes, I should get out more. As Dean Winchester would say: Bite me!

[ 11. December 2014, 20:49: Message edited by: Callan ]
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Dean Winchester? [Confused] You don't mean Trevor Beeson, do you? [Confused]
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Callan:
quote:
Originally posted by Twilight:
I've never seen, Pretty Woman, even after about twenty people told me I would love it because it was a Cinderella story.
It's only my deep respect for the Hosts and Admins that prevented me from opening a sockpuppet account with the user name of "Pretty Woman" and announcing that I have never seen "Twilight".

Don't give us any ideas.
[Big Grin]
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Now, now, Albertus.

There again... [Eek!]
 
Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
The Sound of Music.

I've probably seen most of it, in fragments, but never actually properly. This is now such a thing between me, Mrs Snags and some friends that I actively resist all attempts to trick me into watching it.
 
Posted by doubtingthomas (# 14498) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Earwig:
2001 was flipping awful. Really, really dull. My beau and I watched it when we were courting, and I was too polite to tell him that my brain was dying.
Did you see it in he cinema though? It's a different film on the big screen. Slow, yes but the pictures....space..spaaace!!!! (and music - I could watch the "space ballet" scenes on a loop).

Anyone in Britain - it's just been re-released, so go see it the way it should be seen (anyone elsewhere, pray that a cinema near it will get it paws on a copy anyway!)

One great film I have not seen and do not intend to is Alien. This is not because I don't believe it's good - quite the contrary, I am worried it might be too good for my nerves to cope...

Casablanca on the other hand I avoided for ages because I'm not particularly into romance. The I gave it a go anyway, and found it was a superb thriller as well.
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by doubtingthomas:
Casablanca on the other hand I avoided for ages because I'm not particularly into romance. The I gave it a go anyway, and found it was a superb thriller as well.
Yes!!

Another convert. Of only getting people to become Christians was so easy.....
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
doubtiungthomas wrote:

quote:
One great film I have not seen and do not intend to is Alien. This is not because I don't believe it's good - quite the contrary, I am worried it might be too good for my nerves to cope...

I was in my 40s by the time I saw that, though I had previously seen at least one of the sequels.

None of the imagery really stayed in my head for any length of time, which I would say is the sign of a lousy horror film. Everyone has certain things that scare them, and certain things that don't, and the stuff in Alien just didn't do it for me.

I gather it's the guy giving birth to the Alien baby that's supposed to be the big nerve-jangler in that film? I guess I've never found blood-and-guts, by themselves, that frightening(no disrespect to those who do). Now, when I try to remember the "birth" scene, all I can visualize is the Mad Magazine parody with the Kermit-looking alien.

The aborted Ridleys from Alien Ressurrection, however, have stuck in my memory.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I found the end of 2001 satisfyingly trippy, but for me the mental disintegration of HAL was the absorbing part of the movie.
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
I like 2001. It gets shown from time to time at the Seattle Cinerama theater which has the huge screen to show the Cinemascope version. Most other versions have to squeeze the space station out of round to make the titles fit the format. [Ultra confused] I'd agree with the earlier poster that you should see the movie in a theater.

The characters are not sympathetic, except HAL. The beyond Jupiter trip sequence is too long. But it's a pure vision of the future done with tremendous pains for attention to detail. Alas, that future never came but like the flying car, there's a certain nostalgia.

I had an interesting experience with this film once. I was in an auditorium with a huge screen and we were testing a special extremely loud sound system for use with the movie. There came a point in the film where the conjunction of the planets is done to the music of Also Sprach Zarathustra. Except that things were cross wired to another source so what that was playing was Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. It fit so perfectly that I felt like I had been transported to an alternate world where that was the soundtrack.
 
Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Stetson:
quote:
I gather it's the guy giving birth to the Alien baby that's supposed to be the big nerve-jangler in that film? I guess I've never found blood-and-guts, by themselves, that frightening(no disrespect to those who do). Now, when I try to remember the "birth" scene, all I can visualize is the Mad Magazine parody with the Kermit-looking alien.
I've never seen 'Alien'. I was too young for it when it first came out, and since then I have seen the Spaceballs parody of that scene and would be completely unable to take it seriously.

Agree with you about blood-and-guts horror films. The scariest moments for me are when the hero knows there's something horrible about to jump out at him/her, but can't see it. There was a great moment in Night of the Demon when the hero was walking down a dimly lit corridor and hears something walking behind him... but when he turns around to look, there's nothing there. That was scary.

Then they ruined it all by having the demon turning up for the denoument, and it looked ridiculous. They should have stuck to M R James' original plot, where you never get to see the demon. Much more effective.
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
Although there've been some quite highly regarded television versions of M.R. James stories, I've never seen one that has quite got or done justice to the original story it is trying to represent.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
I've never been able to watch 2001 since I met the chap who did the special effects and held the spaceship...
 
Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Enoch:
quote:
Although there've been some quite highly regarded television versions of M.R. James stories, I've never seen one that has quite got or done justice to the original story it is trying to represent.
Yes. I think part of the problem is that Jamesian stories rely on a slow build-up of atmosphere - and the reader never being quite sure exactly what the avenging Thing looks like. Whereas TV adaptations seem to have a compulsion to show you the Thing in glorious technicolour detail.

I thought the "adaptation" of 'Oh Whistle' that was shown a few Christmases ago was effective up to a point, but it bore very little resemblance to the original story and would have been more accurately described as 'from an idea by M R James.' If they hadn't tried to make out it was M R James' story I would have thought it was quite good, but as it was I found the departures from the original plot irritating.
 
Posted by Dal Segno (# 14673) on :
 
I avoid almost anything with a 18 rating: I can't stand the gratuitous violence and it worries me that some people find it entertaining.

I've never seen The Piano or GtwW.

I've seen Avatar, which I thought OK, but I don't want to see Pocahnotas.

I've seen Death in Venice and dearly wish I hadn't - what a complete waste of space that movie is.

And I've not seen Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith after The Phantom Menace practically destroyed any kind feelings towards the Star Wars franchise.

[ 12. December 2014, 09:37: Message edited by: Dal Segno ]
 
Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:

None of the imagery really stayed in my head for any length of time, which I would say is the sign of a lousy horror film. Everyone has certain things that scare them, and certain things that don't, and the stuff in Alien just didn't do it for me.

I gather it's the guy giving birth to the Alien baby that's supposed to be the big nerve-jangler in that film? I guess I've never found blood-and-guts, by themselves, that frightening(no disrespect to those who do). Now, when I try to remember the "birth" scene, all I can visualize is the Mad Magazine parody with the Kermit-looking alien.

The aborted Ridleys from Alien Ressurrection, however, have stuck in my memory.
I've always thought of Alien as essentially a classic suspense-horror rather than blood and guts. It's the fact that everyone's creeping about, it's dark and messy, and nobody quite knows what might be lurking out there, and each time they think they've got it licked they find out the game has changed.

Generally you don't actually see that much (chest burster and a couple of other bits excepted). On the rare occasions when I re-watch it I'm struck more by how incredibly slow it is than anything else. Probably the fault of Aliens going down the action movie route and confusing my little brain.
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
Yes. I think part of the problem is that Jamesian stories rely on a slow build-up of atmosphere - and the reader never being quite sure exactly what the avenging Thing looks like. Whereas TV adaptations seem to have a compulsion to show you the Thing in glorious technicolour detail.

I thought the "adaptation" of 'Oh Whistle' that was shown a few Christmases ago was effective up to a point, but it bore very little resemblance to the original story and would have been more accurately described as 'from an idea by M R James.' If they hadn't tried to make out it was M R James' story I would have thought it was quite good, but as it was I found the departures from the original plot irritating.
My thoughts exactly. He does bleak, cold, flat, windswept East Anglia in winter - and in one case ditto Denmark - brilliantly in a few words. Your description of the television version of 'Oh Whistle' is bang on.
 
Posted by Lord Jestocost (# 12909) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Snags:
I've always thought of Alien as essentially a classic suspense-horror rather than blood and guts. It's the fact that everyone's creeping about, it's dark and messy, and nobody quite knows what might be lurking out there, and each time they think they've got it licked they find out the game has changed.
That's pretty much it. Most of the deaths happen off screen, or blink-and-you-miss-'em. The chest bursty scene had to stand out because it's the game changer for the crew: they thought they had the problem licked, and how wrong they were. Kane just choking on his food and dropping dead would not have had the same impact.

Another huge plus of the movie is that none of the cast were particularly big names or Hollywood photogenic; Sigourney Weaver was the only one under 30

Sorry, this is getting tangential, so in the spirit of the thread I'll cite Dr Zhivago. I've probably seen about half of it, but at different times and never in the right order.
 
Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :
 
I've never seen "Twilight."
 
Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Twilight:
I've never seen "Twilight."
But ... but ...

Actually, Twilight was one of my "there's two hours of my life I'm not getting back" movies. Dreadful piece of schlock, and what it did to vampire mythology would have real vampires turning in their ... no, hang on, that's not going to work, is it?
 
Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Dal Segno:
I've seen Death in Venice and dearly wish I hadn't - what a complete waste of space that movie is.
I loved it and have seen it several times.

Worth it for the music alone.
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:
quote:
Originally posted by Twilight:
I've never seen "Twilight."
But ... but ...

Actually, Twilight was one of my "there's two hours of my life I'm not getting back" movies. Dreadful piece of schlock, and what it did to vampire mythology would have real vampires turning in their ... no, hang on, that's not going to work, is it?
Twilight* doesn't belong on this list. It deserves so less than Avatar.
BTW, it is not vampire fiction. It is shlock teen romance with vampire and werewolves in it.


*The movie, not the SOF poster.
 
Posted by doubtingthomas (# 14498) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Snags:
I've always thought of Alien as essentially a classic suspense-horror rather than blood and guts. It's the fact that everyone's creeping about, it's dark and messy, and nobody quite knows what might be lurking out there, and each time they think they've got it licked they find out the game has changed.
That's what worries me about it. Splatter I can deal with....

quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I've never been able to watch 2001 since I met the chap who did the special effects and held the spaceship...
[Overused]

That would just make me appreciate it more.

[ 12. December 2014, 21:29: Message edited by: doubtingthomas ]
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I'm with you, man. Beyond cool. And then you could invite people over to see it, and say," I knew those hands when..."
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Cannot say I enjoyed South Pacific. Did not see it when it first came out. Met the actor who played Doctor Kildare when I was on props with Richard Chamberlain. Good singer. Rubbish film and worthless touring Broadway show....
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Indie film nerds all cite The Coen Brothers as the goto Great Indie Film generators. For the most part , I heartily agree. I am a huge, huge Coen Brothers fan.

But I'm afraid the fan club will take my card away. Because I have never been able to sit through Raising Arizona.

I'm sorry, Nic Cage just started making my teeth itch at some point.

[ 13. December 2014, 02:23: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Kelly wrote:

quote:
Indie film nerds all cite The Coen Brothers as the goto Great Indie Film generators. For the most part , I heartily agree. I am a huge, huge Coen Brothers fan.

But I'm afraid the fan club will take my card away. Because I have never been able to sit through Raising Arizona.

Actually, it's the Coen brothers themselves who make my teeth itch.

I find the supposed artiness in their films very forced. Totally paint-by-numbers. To me, their stuff always seems like it's being aimed straight at the guy who sits in the front row of the repertory theatre and laughs the loudest at the jokes, just to let everyone know that HE GETS IT.

That said, I did like Barton Fink when I saw it(never having knowingly seen another Coen film), until I read an extremely negative review by Stanley Kaufmann in The New Republic and had one of those "Yes, yes, he's right, how could I have been so blind?" moments. Since then, my viewing of any Coen film has been inoperably impacted by the sentiments I took away from reading that piece.

An odd thing, though, is that Pauline Kael regarded Stanley Kubrick pretty much the way Kaufmann regarded the Coens(ie. films intended to make middle-brow audiences think they're watching something high-brow), and I agree almost completely with her description of Kubrick's method and style. Yet her opinions never turned me against his films, most of which I quite like.

Stanley Strangelove(actually a review of Clockwork Orange)

[ 13. December 2014, 02:58: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I remember my date to Clockwork Orange World to see the film: she was a virginal co-ed who made no comments; we never had a second date. I enjoyed it and she did not. The oil pump failed on my Mustang 289 and I drove slowly back to university four miles; I got a new oil pump and we had taken the BART back to campus at UC Berkeley.
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Indie film nerds all cite The Coen Brothers as the goto Great Indie Film generators. For the most part , I heartily agree. I am a huge, huge Coen Brothers fan.

But I'm afraid the fan club will take my card away. Because I have never been able to sit through Raising Arizona.

I'm sorry, Nic Cage just started making my teeth itch at some point.
Nic Cage makes any sane person's teeth itch. Actually, he makes the palms of my hands itch, I want to smack him so much.

Of course, he stars in the new Left Behind film. TWO reasons to avoid seeing it. I hear it's unlikely to feature in the Oscar nominations.

With regards to the Coens, all I need say is "Fargo".
[Overused]
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Ok, this is a brand new Admin housekeeping problem, but the phrase "Great Films" tried to crawl off of the OP in protest of the mention of "Left Behind" on this thread.
 
Posted by storage jars (# 14021) on :
 
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned:

I have never seen Schindler's List

A well-made, well-acted worthy movie, but it just never grabbed me. I think because I knew it was a movie that could never cheer me up.

There's a few movies (The Piano; Dances with Wolves) that are probably classed as great that I have only seen once, and could never sit through again. If I hadn't bothered that first time...yeah, probably not at all since
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
storage jars wrote:

quote:
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned:

I have never seen Schindler's List

A well-made, well-acted worthy movie, but it just never grabbed me. I think because I knew it was a movie that could never cheer me up.

Actually, as holocaust movies go, it's probably one of the more upbeat ones, in that it emphasizes the survivors, rather than the dead, and includes a few of Spielberg's trademark "cutesy" touches, eg. a condemned Nazi straighening his hair on the gallows.

For that historical genre, however, I much prefer Polanski's The Pianist, mostly because it devles into some of the more ambigous aspects that are often left out of the conventional Hollywood narrative.

[ 14. December 2014, 16:10: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
For one thing, " The Pianist" gives due mention of the Warsaw Uprising. It bugs me that so many Holocaust films used to depict Polish Jews as people who quietly shuffled off to internment and patiently waited to be liberated. I didn't know about the Treblinka And Aushwitz uprisings until I was well into my twenties.

I never thought about it, but you are right-- Schindler's List is oddly life affirming for a gritty, realist Holocaust narrative.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
The other Holocaust movie that's fairly positive is Escape from Sobibor - again a true story. I originally watched with a child / grandchild of survivors. It also features Rutger Hauer.
 
Posted by Yangtze (# 4965) on :
 
<continuing tangent> Life is Beautiful is a wonderful film set in a concentration camp. Unlikely as it sounds it has humour. And the humour and the love triumph over the grimness without diluting the reality of it. Really beautifully done and very watchable.</continuing tangent>
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I heard that Life is Beautiful was phenomenal. And, um, I've never seen it.
 
Posted by Pancho (# 13533) on :
 
I have never seen On the Waterfront . It's not that I don't want to see it. I do. I really think I'm going to like it. It's just that I'm never ready for it. When it's on the t.v. I'm just not in the mood for it or I can't give it my full attention.

I have seen A Clockwork Orange and I feel no need to see it again.
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Pancho:
I have never seen On the Waterfront . It's not that I don't want to see it. I do. I really think I'm going to like it. It's just that I'm never ready for it. When it's on the t.v. I'm just not in the mood for it or I can't give it my full attention. ...
I shouldn't worry too much. It may have been the quality of the recording, but when I saw it many years ago, I couldn't follow the dialogue. I've never seen it since.

It probably needed subtitles.
 
Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
It probably needed subtitles.
Not if there were any professional translators in the house. This could easily have happened to me.
 
Posted by Yangtze (# 4965) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I heard that Life is Beautiful was phenomenal. And, um, I've never seen it.
Do - it's definitely worth it.
 
Posted by Robert Porter-Miller (# 1459) on :
 
I've never seen The Godfather I, II, or III, The Deerhunter, or Animal House (I'm sure that's a great movie)
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
I've never seen The Godfather I, II, or III, The Deerhunter, or Animal House (I'm sure that's a great movie)

Animal House(and some of the National Lampoon stories it was based on) was one of those things that I didn't fully appreciate until I actually went to university, and upon observing some of the social mores, thought to myself "Oh, so THAT'S what they were referencing."

Not that I was ever involved in a frat, but I did have the experience of being the outcast on the couch that no one wanted to talk to(as in the opening pledge), for example. And I don't think there are too many university graduates who wouldn't recognize Donald Sutherland's stoner English prof who'd rather be writing great novels and beds his students.
 
Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
Although it's on TV every Christmas here, I've never seen The Snowman.
 


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