We have a friend who is just cool. I mentioned that he was nearly at Steve McQueen level of Coolness, but not quite.
He, who is 36, had never heard of Steve McQueen. He had never seen The Great Escape !
So, his birthday is coming up in a few months, and that is what he is getting.
So he can study coolness and revel in one of the most awesome cool movies ever.
A friend of mine had never seen The Sting. We had a festival of “twist-ending” films just so he could see it.
Pepper Mill hadn’t seen Spartacus until I showed it to her.
I just got Citizen Kane from Netflixs. I plan to watch it with my dad sometime next week. It’ll be the first time either of us have seen it.
Couple of months ago, we did the same thing with Casablanca.
Apparently, I’m the only one in the whole world, or so others would have me believe, who has not seen Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, or Reservoir Dogs. People often express utter amazement when I tell them this.
+1 (except for Jurassic Park which I didn’t like)
My <mumble> year old husbnd has never seen Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. He was in college when it came out. He’s a fan of Tom Stoppard. Why he’s not seen it is a mystery.
I’m always surprised at how many friends (including my best friend) who are Southerners haven’t seen GONE WITH THE WIND. It’s on the “all Americans should watch this” list for its historical significance and the number of allusions to it in pop-culture (“fiddle de dee” “think about that tomorrow” “frankly my dear” etc.), but for a Southerner it’d be like growing up in an Italian or Sicilian family from NYC and not having seen THE GODFATHER (which if you grew up a Chinese Jew in Fargo you still should see) in that whether the family is remotely like yours it still affects people’s perceptions of your homeplace.
I’m irked by the number of people who tell me they loved THE BIRDCAGE (especially those who seem to think it’s like saying “I like gay people”) but haven’t watched LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (the infinitely better original).
I’m surprised at Anglophile friends who’ve never watched THE LION IN WINTER. I’m frustrated with a co-worker who loved Showtimes THE TUDORS and HBO’s ROME but hasn’t and won’t watch THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII/ELIZABETH R or I CLAUDIUS (“that’s too long and too… historical”).
Many friends (gay and straight) are surprised I’ve never watched WIZARD OF OZ all the way through (I’ve tried- just… can’t… do… it).
I was thoroughly shocked to discover that one of my friends had never seen the original Ghostbusters, my hubbie has never seen the original Highlander, but he was shocked to discover I had never seen The Exorcist (which has since been remedied).
A few years ago, a conversation with a friend of my mother’s (who was her in mid 60s) revealed she had never heard of Paul Newman and was not familiar with any of his movies. For all she knew, he was just an entrepreneur who happened to put his face on salad dressing, lemonade, spaghetti sauce, and other products. (No, she’s not Amish. She’s just not that interested in movies.)
My brother and I had to tell my Mom who Neil Diamond was. That seemed rather backward to me.
I was surprised to find out that BoBettie’s never seen The Big Lebowski. It’s one of those “you find it funny or you find it mystifying and pointless” movies, but I’m pretty sure she’d get it.
I haven’t seen any of them either.
My partner at work has never seen Casablanca, Some Like It Hot or the Hustler. His answer to my question as to why is “I’ve never been interested in black and white movies.”
And the Godfather…no one can believe I haven’t seen it. Actually, I tried to watch it once. I watched for what seemed like an eternity (probably only a half hour or so), and since pretty much nothing of even passing interest happened in that amount of time I gave up. What the heck am I missing about this movie? Does it suddenly become interesting at some point?)
I work with a girl who has never seen Star Wars (she’s about 27), which I always found difficult to believe.
I have a thirtyish coworker with two kids who, although adopted from Korea, has been raised in the US since infancy. Yet she has never seen “Sound of Music”, and only saw “Wizard of Oz” two months ago at our insistance.
I’ve never seen the Sound of Music, and I’ve never sat through the Wizard of Oz. Lack interest in the former, and I just don’t like the latter. Okay, that’s not right. I hate TWoO.
My grandma didn’t see The Wizard of Oz until she was 74. Granted, she was raised Amish and then for her adult life she was too busy doing Mennonite stuff to care but…I guess the whole “look, it’s in color!” thing passes you by when you don’t have electricity.
It was on one holiday when she was over, and she sat watching it in wonderment like a little girl. It was pretty cute 
I’m always kind of amazed when I run into people from NE Ohio who haven’t seen A Christmas Story. Especially since it’s on for 24 hours straight on Christmas Eve now - you’d think EVERYONE would have seen it.
My husband and another friend (in early 30s) have never seen any of The Wizard of Oz either. I just find that strange seeing as it’s on TV so often around the Christmas period you’d think they would at least have caught a glimpse at some stage over the course of their life.
Enjoy Citizen Kane Miller. It is a brilliant film even though it’s become a cliché to say that.
Actually, I’m in this category myself. I somehow missed seeing It’s a Wonderful Life my entire life until a few years ago. I don’t remember it being on TV at all when I was a kid, but everybody else seems to have seen it there.One time I requested it from a film archive (this was in pre-VHS days), and the guy refused to loan it to me – said it was too much of a cliche.
I didn’t see Casablanca until I was in college. Again, I just don’t recall it ever being on TV.
I just recently found out that a friend of mine hasn’t seen A Fish Called Wanda. Now, I’m not going to claim it’s any kind of required viewing, but I just don’t know anyone in their late 30’s who hasn’t seen it.