Classic Movies I’ve Never Seen and Will Not See (2 Viewers)

[MartinP.]

To each his own.

Surprised you haven't seen that.
Paramount, 1946. Olivia DeHavilland Best Actress. Good film!

 

[Worth]

...The two that I haven't seen, Au Hasard Balthazar and Sátántangó, represent the one film subject I can't watch - films that are said to contain animal cruelty, harm or jeopardy.

I also hate watching (real) animal cruelty, but while Balthazar is in part about animal cruelty, I don't believe any animals were mistreated in the making of the film.

 

[fdabbott]

I am ornery I guess, because I get turned off by films that seem to get world wide acclaim sometimes. As for “The Godfather”, — I hate movies about criminals and gangsters. Also as far as “Apocalypse Now” is concerned, having lived through the Vietnam era, I have no interest in anything to do with it.

This does not mean I will not see either in the future, but with so much media I find wonderful, I hate to waste my time on something I won’t probably enjoy.

 

[fdabbott]

I agree with you 100%. I hate message films that are trying to force some other person's ideas on me or films that glory wrong ideas. Also I hate 95% of horror films. Most are blood & guts for no reason, it's like watching news channels that go out of their way to sensationalize criminal acts.

 

[bmasters9]

Don't forget that what one person regards as a classic,others may think of it as a dud.

OT-- not just with films, but with television (meaning, for instance, that while I think The Streets of San Francisco is a bonafide classic [and worth the money on DVD], a good many others might think it not that good [and they would be certainly welcome to that opinion]).

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I'm feeling sorry for a lot of people.

I feel less pity and more confusion. Seems like a lot of people wear their refusal to view classics as some perverse badge of honor.

Why would I be proud that I'd not seen classics? When someone points out a classic I've never seen, I'm embarrassed!

 

[jcroy]

Terrific! But you make it sound like it's a virtue. To me it just sounds like you might be limiting your film experience. But if you don't care, why should we?

Everyone has their own virtues, whether masquerading a vice or a prejudice.

For example, one of my "virtues" is that I am extremely anti dvd-mod (or bluray-mod).

 

[JohnRice]

I feel less pity and more confusion. Seems like a lot of people wear their refusal to view classics as some perverse badge of honor.

Why would I be proud that I'd not seen classics? When someone points out a classic I've never seen, I'm embarrassed!

My confusion and pity is more about close mindedness. I've never seen so many statements starting with "I hate..." Again, I feel sorry for a lot of people.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Surprised you haven't seen that.
Paramount, 1946. Olivia DeHavilland Best Actress. Good film!

Are you kidding me as Olivia is my second favorite actress of all-time after Ms. Stanwyck? By the way, it's been many years since I last watched that film as it needs to be released on DVD in Region A/1.

 

[jcroy]

I feel less pity and more confusion. Seems like a lot of people wear their refusal to view classics as some perverse badge of honor.

(More generally).

This happens in many niches, completely unrelated to movies.

I've been in social circles, where refusal to do something and/or bragging about total ignorance about something, is considered a badge of honor.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Is it me or is this thread getting kind of preachy?

 

[jcroy]

Not really. Mostly lots of subjective ranting.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Not really. Mostly lots of subjective ranting.

I don't mind subjective ranting, but I'm uncomfortable with people judging other posters in this thread which is what I'm taking with certain posts.

 

[jcroy]

My confusion and pity is more about close mindedness

Whether movies or other niches, in practice I've found that I can't change other people's minds about much of anything.

 

[dpippel]

I don't mind subjective ranting, but I'm uncomfortable with people judging other posters in this thread which is what I'm taking with certain posts.

Well, on a forum dedicated to film, TV, and film and TV buffs, a thread like this one is poking the hornet's nest a little. I'd even say that may have been the whole point of posting it in the first place.

 

[jcroy]

I agree with you 100%. I hate message films that are trying to force some other person's ideas on me or films that glory wrong ideas.

I have a somewhat different perspective. (Without getting heavily into politics/religion).

I regularly read/watch stuff I absolutely disagree with or don't believe in. My primary interest is in figuring out why somebody has a particular viewpoint which drastically differs from my own.

 

[JohnRice]

Well, on a forum dedicated to film, TV, and film and TV buffs, a thread like this one is poking the hornet's nest a little. I'd even say that may have been the whole point of posting it in the first place.

It's definitely a provocative topic. Odds are pretty good someone is eventually going to take something badly. In any case, I've expressed my impressions more than I need to already.

 

[roxy1927]

I don't remember any actual animal cruelty in Balthazar either but I thought I might have forgotten.
Rules of the Game is quite a different story but the hunt is the centerpiece of the film. Some of it is hard to watch.

 

[jcroy]

I was just thinking about how much worse it would be if you spoke another language and tried to watch a classic American film subtitled. Imagine trying to watch/read Network, or god forbid His Girl Friday

(On a tangent).

This is how I feel whenever I watch tv with my relatives at their homes. They primarily watch tv/movies in german and hebrew. I don't understand either, and they don't speak english fluently.

(Very difficult to communicate when I only know how to speak english, and my relatives speak primarily in german or hebrew and don't speak english regularly).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Here’s the thing for me. We only have a finite amount of time on this earth and there will never be enough time to watch everything. Sometimes I find it necessary to make what seem like arbitrary decisions just so I wind up watching something, instead of falling into decision paralysis.

There are genres I don’t care for and never did, and periodically I’ll check in on them to see if my feelings have changed. But the older I get, the less time I have, and the less motivated I feel to give something I’ve always disliked a fourth or fifth or sixth chance...and it doesn’t seem as worth it to me to do that now as it once did. Am I missing out on some gems that might prove to be the exception to the rule? Absolutely. Am I willing to accept that? Yes.

As little as three years ago, I had time to watch 2-3 movies a day nearly every day of the week. Now, it’s closer to one or two a week. Taking a chance on something was easier to do when at worst, it was only one of a dozen or so things I’d see in a week. Now, if I watch something that I don’t enjoy at all, that’s killed the entirety of my free time for that day and possibly the week. Watching something I like, even for the tenth time, helps me relax and recharge at the end of the day. Watching something I end up hating leaves me feeling not relaxed and as if I didn’t have any time off. The risk/reward ratio isn’t in my favor currently.

I’m sure the pendulum will swing again one day. But after several years where I prioritized selections that could expand my horizons, I’m ok with having a period where I prioritize things that will bring me joy.