My List of Shame

Every movie lover has famous, beloved movies they haven't seen, for one reason or another.  Length, availability, topic, etc. keep one from seeing movies deemed wonderful, or at least that garner a spot on "Top" lists.  Since every now and then it's good to show off your shame in an effort to correct it, I am willing to show you my top movies I'm ashamed to not have seen.
  1. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (No. 5 on IMDB 250 list, not on AFI top 100 list)
  2. Seven Samurai (No. 17 IMDB)
  3. Sunset Blvd (No. 33 IMDB, No. 16 AFI)
  4. Apocalypse Now (No. 36 IMDB, No. 30 on AFI 100)
  5. Lawrence of Arabia (No. 65 IMDB, No. 7AFI)
  6. Singin' in the Rain (No. 85, No. 5)
  7. Metropolis (No. 89 IMDB)
  8. Rashomon (No. 90 IMDB)
  9. Raging Bull (No. 97 IMDB, No. 4 AFI)
  10. The Maltese Falcon (No. 117 IMDB, No. 31AFI)
  11. Scarface (No. 130 IMDB)
  12. The Deer Hunter (No. 132 IMDB, No. 53 AFI)
  13. Dial M for Murder (No. 166, IMDB)
  14. The Wild Bunch (No. 198 IMDB, No. 79 AFI)
  15. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (No. 213 IMDB)
  16. A Fistful of Dollars (No. 218 IMDB)
  17. All Quiet on the Western Front (No. 227 IMDB)
  18. King Kong (No. 250 IMDB, No. 41 AFI)
  19. The Grapes of Wrath (No. 23 AFI)
  20. Easy Rider (No. 84 AFI)
  21. Bringing Up Baby  (No. 88 AFI)
  22. The Last Picture Show (No. 95 AFI)
  23. Do The Right Thing (No. 96 AFI)
I know it's not a round number, but those are them.
There are few dozen others I haven't seen, but I'm not ashamed, and don't plan to make an effort to see them.  Either because I've seen small parts and really didn't want to finish (A Clockwork Orange) or I know they'll scare me (Psycho, Pan's Labyrinth, The Exorcist) or likely upset me due to violence (Full Metal Jacket, Rosemary's Baby).  There are also many that I don't know enough about them to be ashamed (Das Boot, Bicycle Thieves, Downfall, Stalag 17, Sleuth, Barry Lyndon, The Best Years of Our Lives, Sullivan's Travels, Nashville, Intolerance).  These last, I do feel like I should make an effort to at least learn something about them before I decide not to see them.  Otherwise, I've seen about 300 of the 350 movies on those two lists.  Hopefully I'll knock a few of these off the list in the next year.  I'm sure there are also some iconic movies that weren't on either list that I also haven't seen, but I had to stop somewhere.  You can basically assume I've seen very, very few horror movies, many of which are incredibly iconic, but will screw with my ability to sleep for way too long to be worth it.  What are the movies you're actually a little ashamed to admit you haven't seen?
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11 comments:

  1. David BishopNovember 20, 2012 at 10:33 AM

    Add Bicycle Thieves to your list to see. I really love it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shane SlaterNovember 20, 2012 at 11:28 AM

    I've knocked off a few these this year with my own List of Shame (http://filmactually.blogspot.com/p/list-of-shame.html). Those are some great films in your list.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ryan McNeilNovember 20, 2012 at 11:34 AM

    STALAG 17 was actually a big discovery for me this year and sent me spinning on my Billy Wilder kick. Do give it a look, and then immediately give CHICKEN RUN a re-watch.

    With the rest of your list, these would be my nominations to move up the queue...

    BRINGING UP BABY - A wonderful example of classic romantic comedy.

    SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - Which might be the greatest musical ever, and is worth watching for Donald O'Connor alone.

    RAGING BULL - It's arguably Scrosese's masterpiece and so *gloriously* photographed and edited.

    THE GRAPES OF WRATH - For the way it encapsulates such a tough time in American history.

    KING KONG - Because it's so much fun. See what Cooper was able to do with animatronics and trick photography

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JessNovember 20, 2012 at 4:27 PM

      Those first 3 are probably the most likely to make it off my list this year (if only because they keep showing up on Netflix streaming!)

      Delete
  4. KanoNovember 20, 2012 at 12:24 PM

    Don't feel ashamed. I have only seen 3 of those. I do plan on watching a few of them, though, at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  5. NickNovember 20, 2012 at 4:03 PM

    I've seen half this list (mostly thanks to the 50/50 and 60/60 Lists). On your expanded thoughts... I think you'd really like Pan's Labyrinth. I don't think it'd scare you (it's a fantasy/drama, not a horror film). There might be one scene, maybe, with the Ogre... but that's about it. Otherwise it's no worse than a war film.

    There are only about 13 films in the IMDB Top 100 that I haven't seen, and most of those were above the 50 mark. There's definitely still a number of movies that should be on a shame list, but I'm happy with how my projects over the last 2 years have rectified a LOT of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David BishopNovember 20, 2012 at 5:06 PM

      Yea, Pan's Labyrinth isn't really a horror film, but it's still got some extremely jarring violent scenes in it.

      Delete
    2. NickNovember 20, 2012 at 5:29 PM

      It does, but that's why I said war film.

      Delete
    3. David BishopNovember 20, 2012 at 10:33 PM

      I remember the violence was a bit more intimate. It's like every scene was the one in Saving Private Ryan with the slow stab.

      Delete

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