I’m not a movie buff. I’m 48 and I haven’t seen The Maltese Falcon. Of the top ten listed, I’ve seen #3, 6 and 10. I haven’t been avoiding them; the circumstances to watch any of them have just never come up. I grew up far, far from a theater, and never got into the habit of going.
You need to see A Place In The Sun just to understand that Shelley Winters was once hot*. It is a tough concept and worth discovering. 
Big Bonus is the 19 year Liz Taylor looking stunning in the lead.
Jim * Note: Not that she was anywhere near as good looking as Liz, but if you were only use to the Shelley Winters of Poseidon Adventure, countless TV appearances in the 60s through the 80s, than it is quite a shock.
Old movies are for old people. Bring on the next Police Academy sequel, that’s what I say.
I saw Maltese Falcon a couple of months ago (I’m 38 or 39, something like that). Wasn’t impressed, and I was really into the genre at the time. Big Sleep and Casablanca were better.
- CITIZEN KANE - Not interested, never seen it
- CASABLANCA - Saw it, love it
- THE GODFATHER - Saw it, wasn’t impressed
- GONE WITH THE WIND - Couldn’t finish it
- LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - TFC! Own it
- THE WIZARD OF OZ - Saw it, hate it
- THE GRADUATE - No thanks, not interested
- ON THE WATERFRONT - What’s this?
- SCHINDLER’S LIST - Saw it once, good but not something I want to watch again
- SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN - I think I’ve seen parts of this.
I’m probably not a movie buff.
I’m a big movie buff (and I love The Maltese Falcon) but I’ve never seen On The Waterfront (in its entierty) or Schindler’s List. I have seen 88 of the AFI 100 (most of the ones I missed were silent films and westerns).
I never thought twice about The Maltese Falcon until I was in my 30’s and saw a double-feature of The Maltese Falcon and Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and was knocked out by both, especially Treasure. I didn’t appreciate Citizen Kane either until I saw a 50th Anniversary screening in a theater, and then I finally understood why people often call it the best movie ever made. Some films just have to be seen in a theater. Television does bad things to classic films.
But, um, this thread isn’t for movie buffs, sorry.
I’m 26, and saw The Maltese Falcon when I was either a freshman or sophomore in high school. I was electrified, and thought it was one of the best movies I’d ever seen – it probably still is. I read the book shortly thereafter and was similarly thrilled. Yes, I consider myself a film buff.
I’m not too worried if some people haven’t seen it; you can’t expect everyone to have seen every classic movie. I’d be more worried if people hadn’t heard of it, or had no general idea of what it’s about or a sense of its most famous characters or scenes. Like, for example, I’m not worried if I meet someone who’s never read Macbeth, but I’d expect most people to have heard of the play, and to understand references like “Out, damned spot!” or “Lay on, Macduff!” It just falls into that whole cultural literacy thing.
I’ve seen 9 of the top 10 on the AFI list (missing Lawrence of Arabia – hope to get a chance to see it on the big screen), but I don’t put much stock in a list that would rank The Graduate that high. (Which might mark me a film snob as well as a film buff…! :eek: )
Nope, mid-40’s, and I read the book. As a rule I don’t like movies much. I only see as many as I do now to kill time while I’m exercising.
That’s an incredibly sad statement. You don’t know what you’re missing. Many old movies rank among the best of each modern year’s offerings. Some are even – dare I say it? – better than “Police Academy”.
But not in that movie! Her character was supposed to be the antithesis of hot: plain, dowdy, and whiny, all in contrast to Elizabeth Taylor’s character, an impossibly beautiful object of desire.
When director George Stevens first saw Winters in character, he didn’t recognize her.
Not a movie buff, 32, saw the Maltese Falcon a couple of years ago after starting a thread requesting people to recomment some Noir to me. Have seen 6 of the 10 movies on the larger list–and don’t have much interest in seeing the ones I’ve missed. I do go through spells where I see more old movies than new ones. (Of course, given how few new movies I see, that doesn’t take much.)
Either you got whooshed or I’m gonna have to leave the Dope. I’m hoping it’s the former.
And BlueKangaroo – you’re right, I don’t want to know which ones you’ve never even heard of. And let me just say – I totally share that darn cat’s opinion of your movie savvy. 
On Friday evening, I came across a university student who had never heard of Jerry Lewis.
I am less of a buff than I used to be although I do enjoy old movies (I don’t think I watched a movie in a theatre all last year and I have seen nothing that was nominated for any Oscar this year).
I have not seen Lawrence of Arabia, The Graduate, On the Waterfront or Schindler’s List. I have seen The Maltese Falcon several times. I want to see LoA but can’t make myself commit the day and a half required to sit through it. The Graduate I have no interest in, Schindler’s List I have no interest in even though it’s one of those movies everyone is “supposed” to see and all. On the Waterfront I tried to watch several months back when TCM ran a Kazan block but I found it very dull so switched it off about 20 minutes in.
Oh, and Singin’ in the Rain is perhaps the single most over-rated film and definitely the single most over-rated musical ever made. It just is not that good and I don’t understand the devotion that so many people have to it.
Uh-oh, I’m 36 and haven’t seen it either.
I’ve seen four of the top ten listed, although I’ve fallen asleep trying to watch at least five of the others, does that count?
I’m 36 and I haven’t seen it. I’ve read the book, though, and am really looking forward to seeing the movie. (It amazes me that they made other versions of it; when I was reading the book, I kept hearing Peter Lorre’s voice for Joel Cairo and to a lesser extent Humphrey Bogart for Sam Spade.)
If it matters, I’m definitely not a movie buff. I’ve seen 8 of the top ten movies, but only 34 of the top 100. I’ve heard of most of thm, though.
Bah. I never tried to claim movie savvy. Just that he’s wrong about me actively disliking movies. At least moi believes me. She’s the one who’s going to pass me a free trial thing from netflix.
Heck, the Kangaroo_in_Black and I are going to a movie tonight! Don’t ask me which one, though, because I have no idea. Neither does he. We’re going to go to a particular theater, and catch the first show that’s playing when we get there. After we’ll go to dinner and discuss it.
BTW, I’d heard of all but one. I’ll admit, however, that I have no idea what more than one of them are about.
The one I’m most upset at missing is GwtW. I was working in a theater when they sent it out to be shown on the big screen again, and I was planning to catch it on an off day. Then it got scratched up, and, well, we projectionists were in the doghouse. Please note, however, I had nothing to do with the damage, as it happened on a different shift.
:: points at user name ::
I’ve never seen the Godfather. I made it through four years of film school without seeing it. It’s almost a point of pride.
I’ve seen clips, I’ve studied the cinematography, I’ve just never seen the whole film.
See all on the list except Lawrence of Arabia and Schindler’s List.
Of course I’ve seen The Maltese Falcon many times. If you want to find a hook for younger viewers, have them see if they can pick out the many references to the fact that Guttmann, Elmer, and Cairo are all gay.
I’ve never seen “The Maltese Falcon”. (I just recently turned 26.) I did however just add it to my Netflix queue as a result of this thread.
Of the following:
- CITIZEN KANE (1941)
- CASABLANCA (1942)
- THE GODFATHER (1972)
- GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
- LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
- THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
- THE GRADUATE (1967)
- ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
- SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993)
- SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952)
I tried watching 1 and 3, but got distracted each time. Eventually I will take another shot at watching them. I’ve seen 2 and thought very highly of it. 6 is a terrible movie that should not be inflicted upon anyone. It’s painful. 9 is a great movie, but possibly not so great it should be in the top ten. I’ve heard of the rest, although I have no idea what “On the Waterfront” is about.
I do not consider myself to be a movie buff, but I do tend to pay much more attention to movies than my friends.
Two reasons to see The Maltese Falcon[ol]
[li]Peter[/li][li]Lorre[/li][/ol]