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The classic film I've never seen

Beau Vine

By Beau Vine
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Pokoloco

Pokoloco 1281

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, Helobious said:

Never seen The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Resevoir Dogs, or Citizen Kane. No desire to see any of those. I already get the gist of them all since they’re talked about so much.

Is it because these insist upon themselves?

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31471

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1 hour ago, Gene Parmesan said:

No, it's just a matter of priorities.  I don't have the desire to consume the history of cinema.  I'm sure I'd enjoy most of them, but if I was going to immerse myself in a project I would probably pick something more worthwhile.

Fair take, Except the last phrase, if you are referring to older films.  If you are saying you'd prefer to spend time some other way, that's fine.

I'm biased, though, because I think most of recent film is garbage.

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Gene Parmesan

Gene Parmesan 4007

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2 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Fair take, Except the last phrase, if you are referring to older films.  If you are saying you'd prefer to spend time some other way, that's fine.

I'm biased, though, because I think most of recent film is garbage.

I didn't mean it to sound hauty.  Just at this point if I were to start watching every must watch movie it would be a giant undertaking because you have multiple generations of great movies.  I've seen pretty much the majority, if not all,  "classics" from my lifetime mainly because they were way more easily accessible either in theatres/renting/or replays on cable.  Outside of the streaming era we had one channel that played old classics (TCM) vs dozens that would replay current era movies.  

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Go Pokes

Go Pokes 979

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Just to be completely honest, I like a lot of classic movies, and relatively speaking the Graduate kinda sucks.

I think the best path into "classic", and especially foreign films is simply to start with someone like Kubrick. 


Um, no. The Graduate does not suck relative to anything ever put on film. You either need to watch it again and pay attention this time or learn the phrase “As great as it is, I didn’t enjoy The Graduate.”

Kubrick seems like a terrible pathway to classic films. He’s as likely to send some newbie running back to Adam Sandler movies as he is to inspire them to explore other classic films. He seems more grad student level than introduction to film level. Of course, as great as he is, I don’t enjoy most Kubrick films. I’m sure that’s a me problem, but I just don’t like his movies except for Strangelove and Clockwork. And those seem like terrible starter movies.
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Gourmand

Gourmand 7774

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3 hours ago, tantric superman said:

So is now a good time to debate Saving Private Ryan vs. Thin Red Line?  Again?

giphy.gif

 

Yeah, those two are forever linked to me in the same way that There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men are linked a decade later.

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tantric superman

tantric superman 4667

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1 hour ago, Go Pokes said:

’m sure that’s a me problem, but I just don’t like his movies except for Strangelove and Clockwork. And those seem like terrible starter movies.

The astrisked flicks below are the only one's that require a warning to the viewer that they are in for a possibly difficult viewing situation.

Spartacus, Lolita, Killer's Kiss, the Killing, Full Metal Jacket, the Shining, Paths of Glory - this is pretty accessible stuff.  Deeper and richer than most, but certainly no difficulty for the viewer.

You honestly don't like Spartacus, the Killing or Paths of Glory?   Possibly, respectively, the best costume drama, crime procedural and war drama ever made.

 

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Eskimohorn

Eskimohorn 5635

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Interesting series by theGuardian.com: https://www.theguardian.com/film/series/the-classic-film-ive-never-seen

I actually completely agreed with the There Will Be Blood review.
 

There Will Be Blood was a fascinating movie and I will judge people for not following it. Her review was embarrassing. Every scene was relevant. Perhaps Fast and Furious is more her speed. It’s got explosions and helicopter stunts.

I’ve never seen Moonlight, Reds, Chariots of Fire, Ben Hur, or Hud.
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tantric superman

tantric superman 4667

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1 hour ago, Go Pokes said:

Um, no. The Graduate does not suck relative to anything ever put on film. You either need to watch it again and pay attention this time or learn the phrase “As great as it is, I didn’t enjoy The Graduate.”

Top 500 film, sure.  But if I'm going to watch another Mike Nichols picture again, it's going to be "Day of the Dolphin". 

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Go Pokes

Go Pokes 979

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The astrisked flicks below are the only one's that require a warning to the viewer that they are in for a possibly difficult viewing situation.

Spartacus, Lolita, Killer's Kiss, the Killing, Full Metal Jacket, the Shining, Paths of Glory - this is pretty accessible stuff.  Deeper and richer than most, but certainly no difficulty for the viewer.

You honestly don't like Spartacus, the Killing or Paths of Glory?   Possibly, respectively, the best costume drama, crime procedural and war drama ever made.

 

I’ve only seen Spartacus and it was pretty good. Haven’t seen the other two. It’s a “me” problem with Kubrick. To borrow a popular Surly phrase, I feel like he insists upon himself. I didn’t really enjoy all the films at the bottom except Strangelove and Clockwork. Yes, including The Shining, FMJ, and especially 2001. Kubrick is the biggest hole in my film buff resume. Chaplin and anything remotely similar from that era is another one. I’m just not a fan.

 

Thin Red Line just made me think of another resume hole. Fucking Terrance Mallick. Talk about insisting on oneself. I feel like anyone who says they love his shit is trying to look smarter than everyone else. And it works because I just assume I’m too dumb to get him.

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SimonBolivar

SimonBolivar 10958

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5 hours ago, Go Pokes said:

 

I’ve only seen Spartacus and it was pretty good. Haven’t seen the other two. It’s a “me” problem with Kubrick. To borrow a popular Surly phrase, I feel like he insists upon himself. I didn’t really enjoy all the films at the bottom except Strangelove and Clockwork. Yes, including The Shining, FMJ, and especially 2001. Kubrick is the biggest hole in my film buff resume. Chaplin and anything remotely similar from that era is another one. I’m just not a fan.

 

Thin Red Line just made me think of another resume hole. Fucking Terrance Mallick. Talk about insisting on oneself. I feel like anyone who says they love his shit is trying to look smarter than everyone else. And it works because I just assume I’m too dumb to get him.

Paths of Glory is a top 5 movie for me. You should give it a shot. 

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TxTower

TxTower 652

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Haha the Chinatown review on the same site is more on point, imo.
As for There Will Be Blood, it's one of those movies that one watches with rapt attentiveness even if one ultimately dislikes it because Day-Lewis' performance is so mesmerizing. (On that note, he's the only reason Gangs of New York is tolerable.)
Anyway, put me firmly on #teamtherewillbeblood. The more I watch it, the more I like it.

Gangs of New York. Will watch it anytime it’s on. The actual history represented here (example - the US Navy actually fired on NYC to quell the riot) and in my mind DDL’s best performance as William Cutting make this a must see.

“As for you Mister Tammany fucking Hall, you come down to the Points again and you’ll be dispatched by my own hand!”
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Liquor and Poker

Liquor and Poker 3659

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5 hours ago, Eskimohorn said:


There Will Be Blood was a fascinating movie and I will judge people for not following it. Her review was embarrassing. Every scene was relevant. Perhaps Fast and Furious is more her speed. It’s got explosions and helicopter stunts.

I’ve never seen Moonlight, Reds, Chariots of Fire, Ben Hur, or Hud.

I'll give you Moonlight, and Reds is kind of a tough watch.  But the other three, how?  Ben Hur was on every Easter growing up.  Hud seems like it's on every time Cool Hand Luke isn't.  Chariots of Fire was literally on when I read this.

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Nivek

Nivek 16930

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A major problem for the youngsters is that the vast majority of the classic old films are in black and white.  My kids are 25 and 28 years old and they've always had a hard time with black and white films.  They have some kind of prejudice that prevents them from staying interested long enough to appreciate the filmmaking. They pretty much admit it.  Growing up,  we had a black and white TV until I was maybe 9 or 10 years old and I suspect we were typical of most families.  Black and white is not an immediate turn off for old people like it seems to be for the kids.

It is the slow pace of the film and vs the rapid fire changing of scenes that is common in modern films/shows that also hurts.

My kid wanted to watch power rangers. I said ok at first and then I noticed I couldn’t count 2 seconds before some camera angle/scene change. I stopped that pile of shit.
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mulletpelini

mulletpelini 5211

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19 hours ago, HouTex said:

A major problem for the youngsters is that the vast majority of the classic old films are in black and white.  My kids are 25 and 28 years old and they've always had a hard time with black and white films.  They have some kind of prejudice that prevents them from staying interested long enough to appreciate the filmmaking. They pretty much admit it.  Growing up,  we had a black and white TV until I was maybe 9 or 10 years old and I suspect we were typical of most families.  Black and white is not an immediate turn off for old people like it seems to be for the kids.

This is legit, I'm a color snob.  Outside of King Kong and Godzilla, I won't watch B&W

12 hours ago, PRONG HORN said:

 

Is that Matthew Broderick in a wig?

 

Close, it's actually the little kid from Jurassic Park

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tantric superman

tantric superman 4667

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The black and white thing is a big block. 

I don't know.  Start them with Young Frankenstein?  Maybe go with film noir or old westerns depending on their tastes.

Seems to me that once you get two or three under your belt you either don't care about it anymore or you actually start appreciating you nice black and white can look.

ThickRipeAntipodesgreenparakeet-size_res

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Mdhorn

Mdhorn 5949

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13 hours ago, Nivek said:


It is the slow pace of the film and vs the rapid fire changing of scenes that is common in modern films/shows that also hurts.

My kid wanted to watch power rangers. I said ok at first and then I noticed I couldn’t count 2 seconds before some camera angle/scene change. I stopped that pile of shit.

also, a lot of movies today have songs every two minutes.  It's like they produced a movie around a soundtrack.  

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Continental Op

Continental Op 3934

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23 hours ago, tantric superman said:

Its weird.  Whereas some of the 70s movies seem timeless, there are a few flicks form the late 60s that seek really locked in to their time and I'm not sure I enjoyed the vibe. 

This is kind of where I fall.  The late 50s and the 60s are a cinematic no mans land for me for some reason.  I think I hate the fact that a huge amount of the movies have completely oversaturated colors and a shitty Henry Mancini score that doesn't fit the movie at all. 

 

 

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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13 minutes ago, Continental Op said:

This is kind of where I fall.  The late 50s and the 60s are a cinematic no mans land for me for some reason.  I think I hate the fact that a huge amount of the movies have completely oversaturated colors and a shitty Henry Mancini score that doesn't fit the movie at all. 

 

 

Many of the best movies ever made are right out of those eras.  It was a golden era, along with a lot of crap.

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SimonBolivar

SimonBolivar 10958

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Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, mulletpelini said:

This is legit, I'm a color snob.  Outside of King Kong and Godzilla, I won't watch B&W

Why? I didn't even know this was a thing. I have a hard time with most silent movies, but I never had much of an issue with B&W. Does that mean you won't watch things like The Twilight Zone or the good Andy Griffith episodes (fucking Howard)?

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bullzak

bullzak 422

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People brought up on the stroke inducing way they cut all video now will pass out before they get to the end of the brilliant opening scene of Touch of Evil. 

When you get into it film noir is awesome. 

And Godfather is the pinnacle of American film. This is known. 

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Eskimohorn

Eskimohorn 5635

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People brought up on the stroke inducing way they cut all video now will pass out before they get to the end of the brilliant opening scene of Touch of Evil. 

When you get into it film noir is awesome. 

And Godfather is the pinnacle of American film. This is known. 

 

Long continuous scenes are trendy these days. 1917. Birdman.

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dogbreath

dogbreath 434

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Simple process in watching an old or foreign movie, if you like it, then follow the director, star or something inspiring from the film.  Watching Blazing Saddles gets you Treasure of the Sierra Madre or gets you Blue Collar.  And from there you check out other John Huston, Bogart or Walter Huston movies or you get Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and the great Yaphet Kotto in a Paul Schrader film.  Blazing Saddles also takes you in a straight line to Brooks and Wilder films. 

 

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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29191

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3 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

Casablanca is probably the biggest classic that I haven't watched.  I've scene bits and pieces and know enough to answer questions on Jeopardy about the movie, just never sat down and watched beginning to end.

i have a theory about casablanca, and it's not just because it matches my own story of why it probably took longer for me to watch it than it should've.

growing up (in the 80's) a lot of the "old" movies (1930's-1950's) got grouped together in my head.  especially, for some reason, casablanca and gone with the wind.  and at some point, when i was 14 or 15, someone tried to get me to watch gone with the wind, because i always loved movies.  i hated it and it was 9 hours long.  for that reason alone, i didn't watch casablanca until college (even though i loved butch cassidy, the graduate, chinatown, the sting, cool hand luke, the godfather movies, etc in high school). 

once i watched it, i couldn't get enough.  it's 100 minutes long and flies by.  not to mention it has likable characters and about 50 famous quotes.

to me, it's also about the setting.  i've dragged my wife to see so many old movies when they show them at theaters out here, and she loves almost every one.  but getting her to watch at home isn't the same.  she gets distracted, tunes out, or if the lights are off, she falls asleep (which for her age, is not ok).  i'm sure a lot of people here in their 20's/30's are the same way.  shit, i've gone and seen recent classics like the princess bride and rain man in theaters and got a completely new experience out of it.  do it.

i have a buddy who works in film development but i make fun of him because he isn't the student of film that someone in his position really should be.  i dragged him kicking and screaming to go see lawrence of arabia at the arclight.  it was so long it had a fucking intermission.  he was genuinely thankful, and now is obsessed with that movie.  zero chance that type of thing happens at home.

 

tl;dr:

1. watch casablanca if you haven't seen it.  your wife/girlfriend will love it too

2. find out what theaters in your city play old movies, and make an effort (after covid) to get to the theater.  

3. get over the black and white thing.  after 10 minutes you won't even notice.  jesus christ.

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Jerry Callo

Jerry Callo 8703

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19 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

2. find out what theaters in your city play old movies, and make an effort (after covid) to get to the theater.  

Agreed.  Paramount in Austin, when there isn't a pandemic going on, is a great place to see the old classics in the summer.  My wife and I saw Gone With The Wind and To Kill A Mockingbird there several years back.  I could probably watch To Kill A Mockingbird once a week.  

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tantric superman

tantric superman 4667

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That's funny about being distracted at home, but not at the theater.

All through high school and college, I never got distracted at theaters.  But I often made intentional decisions to try to go when I knew the crowd was small.

For the past 10 years, can't go to theaters.  Too many distractions. 

Big screen, and decent sound system at home, plus wife who won't watch most of the movies I watch, leaves me in a big empty room with no distractions. 

I think the biggest thing going for watching old movies now is that thanks to remastered and restored prints, they all look good.  I watched lots of old movies in the late 80s and 90s on absolutely shit VHS (???)  and they were truly terrible.

 

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tantric superman

tantric superman 4667

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37 minutes ago, dogbreath said:

Simple process in watching an old or foreign movie, if you like it, then follow the director, star or something inspiring from the film.

Yep.  That's what I was trying to say before I got distracted by the mention of the Day of the Dolphin's director.

Powell and Pressburger (the Archers) was the favorite rabbit hole I ever crawled into. Jean Renoir not far behind.

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