Classics

[Dana Jean]

12 Classic Movies You Say You'll Watch (But Never Do)

I have seen all but 3.

I have not seen:

African Queen
Ben Hur
The Seventh Seal

What about you guys?

 

[80sFan]

I've seen all except "the African Queen".

 

[blunthead]

12 Classic Movies You Say You'll Watch (But Never Do)

I have seen all but 3.

I have not seen:

African Queen
Ben Hur
The Seventh Seal

What about you guys?

I've seen all but two, The Grapes of Wrath and The Seventh Seal.

 

[FlakeNoir]

Only seen 4 or 5 of these. (one I can't remember if I have... or had just meant to and didn't)

 

[jacobtlong]

I've seen all but five: Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, The Grapes of Wrath, Sunset Blvd, and The Seventh Seal.

I'm surprised Lawrence of Arabia wasn't on this list. That's on my list of "classic" movies to watch. Along with The Third Man, High Noon, and Stagecoach.

 

[Pucker]

This is odd:

I've seen every one of those movies in bits and pieces, but Casablanca is the only one I've actually sat through end-to-end (several times).

 

[Sigmund]

Cool thread.

Haven't seen The Grapes of Wrath, Citizen Kane, The Seventh Seal or Sunset Boulevard -I started Sunset but didn't finish it.

 

[Dana Jean]

Cool thread.

Haven't seen The Grapes of Wrath, Citizen Kane, The Seventh Seal or Sunset Boulevard -I started Sunset but didn't finish it.

Sunset is one of my favorites.

 

[PatInTheHat]

Seen every one of 'em, more than once even, especially Bogey, I be big on Bogart.
I ain't for positive mind ya, buy I don't think there's many 'classics' I haven't seen, especially black & whites from the thirties and forties...hey where was The Thin Man, My Man Godfrey, I mean no William Powell, not to mention Cary Grant, Bette Davis......

 

[Dana Jean]

Seen every one of 'em, more than once even, especially Bogey, I be big on Bogart.
I ain't for positive mind ya, buy I don't think there's many 'classics' I haven't seen, especially black & whites from the thirties and forties...hey where was The Thin Man, My Man Godfrey, I mean no William Powell, not to mention Cary Grant, Bette Davis......

There were many left off that list.

 

[PatInTheHat]

There were many left off that list.

Oh boatloads...Harvey and Topper should always be on a short list of classics, and..
Gee whiz I'd be here all night, and it would certainly cease to be a short list

 

[Dana Jean]

Oh boatloads...Harvey and Topper should always be on a short list of classics, and..
Gee whiz I'd be here all night, and it would certainly cease to be a short list

 

[skimom2]

I haven't seen The Seventh Seal or Sunset Boulevard. I don't know whether to count 2001 or Godfather: both of them have put me to sleep multiple times. I've sat through them, but not sure I remember everything in them. LORD, I despised them both!

 

[Pucker]

I don't know whether to count 2001 or Godfather: both of them have put me to sleep multiple times.

This is what I was studiously trying not to say in my post.

; )

 

[Dana Jean]

I haven't seen The Seventh Seal or Sunset Boulevard. I don't know whether to count 2001 or Godfather: both of them have put me to sleep multiple times. I've sat through them, but not sure I remember everything in them. LORD, I despised them both!

Felt that way about 2001, but love The Godfather.

 

[blunthead]

I've seen all but five: Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, The Grapes of Wrath, Sunset Blvd, and The Seventh Seal.

I'm surprised Lawrence of Arabia wasn't on this list. That's on my list of "classic" movies to watch. Along with The Third Man, High Noon, and Stagecoach.

Seen every one of 'em, more than once even, especially Bogey, I be big on Bogart.
I ain't for positive mind ya, buy I don't think there's many 'classics' I haven't seen, especially black & whites from the thirties and forties...hey where was The Thin Man, My Man Godfrey, I mean no William Powell, not to mention Cary Grant, Bette Davis......

Keep in mind that the choices for this list are reserved for classics which people mean to see but for some reason continue to avoid. I'm not certain what factors a given movie must have for the people compiling the list to include it. What do these 12 movies have in common which might cause a movie fan or a fan of the players in these movies to avoid them? I presume that the movies were not picked out of the air. Maybe such factors as length, subject matter, hearsay. I can speak only to the ones I've seen, but a bunch of them are lengthy, a few depressing, the critics panned a couple, and maybe they're all a little strange.

These factors might not be in place for most Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Gary Cooper, and David Lean movies. Here are some ideas I have on the matter...

1. Gone With the Wind (historical dramas don't interest everyone especially when they're four hours long)
2. The Grapes of Wrath (the subject matter's too depressing)
3. Citizen Kane (nobody knew what to make of it, and who the hell is Orson Welles?)
4. Casablanca (the critics and the players themselves didn't take the movie seriously, so hearsay might've been a factor)
5. Sunset Blvd. (maybe a romance between a crazy old has-been and a selfish young jerk doesn't appeal to everyone)
6. The African Queen (Bogie totally against type in a very unlikely romance with an old Hepburn, on a filthy river on a continent nobody knew anything about)
7. The Ten Commandments (too lengthy religious story)
8. The Seventh Seal (too foreign, too surreal, makes you think too much)
9. Ben-Hur (another too lengthy religious story)
10. To Kill a Mockingbird (too depressing)
11. 2001: A Space Odyssey (too lengthy, too surreal, makes you think too much)
12. The Godfather (scary subject matter, too violent, too realistic)

 

[Pucker]

Blunt makes a good point.

I'll use Citizen Kane as an example.

Sure, it's a classic, but unless you're deep into the intricacy (or the history) of cinematography, why on earth would you watch that snoozefest?

 

[blunthead]

Blunt makes a good point.

I'll use Citizen Kane as an example.

Sure, it's a classic, but unless you're deep into the intricacy (or the history) of cinematography, why on earth would you watch that snoozefest?

Because you finally break down and have to find out wtf. And then you're relieved, and maybe even blessed by a work of art.

 

[Pucker]

Because you finally break down and have to find out wtf. And then you're relieved, and maybe even blessed by a work of art.

I like the use of the word "maybe" in this post.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...I have only seen three, and no-I will not hang my head in shame....some of those I haven't watched are for the mere fact they don't pique any interest, and the others I could give a rat's ass about.....