# Essential Movies You’ve Never Seen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559 "2003-04-28T00:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/1 "2003-04-28T00:34:30Z")
I’ve never seen any Star Wars movie. Not one. I’ve never seen The Godfather, either, or _The Princess Bride, 10 Things I Hate About You, Fatal Attraction, \* or_ Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas\*. I know there are a ton more. I’ve never seen a porn flick. I’ve never seen a James Bond film in its entirety. I am a cinematic virgin. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/2 "2003-04-28T00:39:25Z")
1. Taxi Driver You should definitely check out some of the James Bond movies. They are really fun. So is Princess Bride. ---
**Author:** ![jeanster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@jeanster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeanster)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/3 "2003-04-28T00:48:25Z")
Never saw **Top Gun** or **Taxi Driver**. I do recommend **The Princess Bride** to those who haven’t seen it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/4 "2003-04-28T00:59:10Z")
Never saw **Taxi Driver** , either. Or **The Matrix** , or **Pulp Fiction**. I tried to watch **Stagecoach** once, but got bored. Most western buffs tell me it isn’t as good as it’s cracked up to be. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/5 "2003-04-28T01:02:53Z")
I was a very sheltered child, so as a result I’ve missed a huge amount of pop culture cinema and television that all the rest of my generation grew up with. I’ve never seen: **ANY** horror movie - Jaws, the Exorcist, Blair Witch Project, any of the popular teen slasher movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer or Scream Dumb and Dumber Forrest Gump Jurassic Park or any of the sequels Titanic Braveheart Gone With the Wind The Terminator or the sequal etc. I’ve also never seen Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver, Top Gun, Fatal Attraction, the Godfather, or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Also, I have never watched Buffy, the X-Files, the Simpsons, or any other very successful sit-com like Seinfield, Friends, etc. I have, however, seen all the Star Wars movies and a few James Bond films. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/6 "2003-04-28T01:17:04Z")
Never seen **Taxi Driver** either, but it is on my Netflix queue. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/7 "2003-04-28T01:44:23Z")
Since when is “10 Things I Hate About You” an “essential movie”? I liked that flick better when it was called [The Taming of the Shrew](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/TheTamingoftheShrew-1020861/reviews.php). Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles are not Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Oh, and the original author had a better knack for dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/8 "2003-04-28T01:45:29Z")
I’ve never seen “Citizen Kane”. I’ve been wanting to–because I was going to visit Hearst Castle last Christmas break…but at Hearst Castle, they said Citizen Kane was not really an accurate portrayal of William Randolph Hearst. I did see “Citizen Kang” on the Simpsons, though. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/9 "2003-04-28T01:59:25Z")
Not _The Seven Samurai_ nor _Yojimbo_… yet ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/10 "2003-04-28T02:58:02Z")
I’ve never seen any of these movies (mostly from IMDB highest grossing list, but not every one from that list I haven’t seen): The Princess Bride Indecent Proposal Cape Fear (any) The Godfather, Pt ii, Pt iii… Tootsie Pulp Fiction My Big Fat Greek Wedding The Exorcist Dances With Wolves Flashdance Grease A Beautiful Mind Who Framed Roger Rabbit The Santa Clause Sister Act Erin Brockovich The Bodyguard Rocky, ii, iii, iv Chicken Run Phenomenon Scream, ii I feel so uncultured. ---
**Author:** ![Beefcliff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@Beefcliff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beefcliff)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/11 "2003-04-28T03:27:25Z")
You know, I think everyone has a bunch of these films that they’ve “never seen” and theirs nothing wrong with that. The problem is when you get some movie dork like me who’s seen all of them… ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/12 "2003-04-28T03:28:51Z")
What it is with _Taxi Driver_?!? I have to say I have seen virtually all the other movies mentioned so far, except that one too! I guess if you are a movie fan, if you have read a lot about it, it can get spoiled; in my case, the gruesome scenes were spoiled a long time ago. Still, I would like to see it someday. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/13 "2003-04-28T03:59:54Z")
Gone With the Wind The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/14 "2003-04-28T04:07:20Z")
I’ve never seen any significant silent films, only a few scenes from some Buster Keaton works. I’ve yet to see a complete Hollywood musical from start to finish, including **The Wizard of Oz**. So far I’ve missed all the Hope-Crosby **Road** films, _but I want to see them!_ I’ve not seen any French New Wave films. I made an attempt to endure **Alphaville** one night but yanked the tape when **The Best of NFL Bloopers** came on ESPN. I haven’t seen any Fassbinder movies. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/15 "2003-04-28T04:16:14Z")
The Matrix Citizen Kane Casablanca That’s all I can remember at the moment. And I don’t watch horror movies either. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/16 "2003-04-28T04:18:06Z")
There are a lot of movies before 1970 that I haven’t seen because I simply wasn’t alive to see them first hand (although I’ve seen a lot of them). A few I haven’t seen off the top of my head are: -In the Heat of the Night -Gone with the Wind (mostly because I don’t want to see it) Since 1970, there are a few I guess: -Erin Brockovich (saw first 20 mintues, had to leave) -Pearl Harbour (not sure if this can be classified as essential, I saw the first 30 minutes then my date and I decided to leave) There are other movies I haven’t seen, but I either wouldn’t classify them as essential or they have just been released this year. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/17 "2003-04-28T04:21:41Z")
Of the movies mentioned so far, I haven’t seen: Alphaville A Beautiful Mind The Bodyguard Cape Fear Dumb and Dumber Dances With Wolves Erin Brockovich The Exorcist Fatal Attraction Indecent Proposal My Big Fat Greek Wedding Phenomenon Rocky or any of the sequels The Santa Clause Sister Act 10 Things I Hate About You I can’t say I’d consider all of the above “essential” though. But to keep the ball rolling, I’ve never seen “ET” or any of the “Batman” movies either. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/18 "2003-04-28T04:22:14Z")
Never seen **Speed**. I read the Mad Magazine parody of it so I suppose I know what it was about. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/19 "2003-04-28T04:30:15Z")
I’ve never seen _Spinal Tap_, which seems to be one of those ‘essential movies’. I have seen multiple recommendations for _10 Things I Hate About You_. I know that it is based (loosely?) on my man Bill’s _Taming of the Shrew_, but is it an ‘adult’ movie? (You know what I mean!) I always thought it was a ‘teeny-bopper’ flick… ---
**Author:** ![Tertius01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tertius01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tertius01)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559/20 "2003-04-28T04:56:33Z")
From IMDB’s top 25 rated I haven’t seen: _Schindler’s List Citizen Kane Seven Samurai Dr. Strangelove One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Rear Window Amelie Psycho It’s a Wonderful Life_ The only one I really would like to see is _Seven Samurai_. Since when is _10 Things I Hate About You_ essential? I have a sister and roommate who both love it, so I’ve most of it about half a dozen times. No one is missing anything. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-movies-you-ve-never-seen/171559.md?page=2)