# Popular/acclaimed movies you've never seen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983 "2010-08-21T17:44:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/1 "2010-08-21T17:44:16Z")
What’s the most popular or acclaimed movie(s) you’ve never seen and/or probably never will? For me the most recent would have to be **Avatar**. Wasn’t interested before or during its theatrical run, have no interest in seeing it on video. Also never seen **the Godfather** in its entirety. Or **Gone With the Wind**. Or **Casablanca**. Or **Citizen Kane**. Never seen **Taxi Driver** all the way through. Yours? ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/2 "2010-08-21T17:50:51Z")
Sounds like you are in for some good watching when you get around to it. I would like to see two German classics - “The Blue Angel” and “M.” I found “M” on Netflix but it was in German and I lost patience. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/3 "2010-08-21T17:51:30Z")
Any of the _Twilight_ movies. I think I’m too old… ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/4 "2010-08-21T17:52:54Z")
All of them! May as well beat the crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/5 "2010-08-21T17:52:55Z")
I’ve never seen _Titanic_. And I never will. One too many people told me “you _ **have to** _ see this movie”. No I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/6 "2010-08-21T18:04:40Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I’ve never seen _Titanic_. And I never will. One too many people told me “you _ **have to** _ see this movie”. > > No I don’t. The boat sinks at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/7 "2010-08-21T18:28:48Z")
I too have never seen _Citizen Kane_. It may well be better than anything before or since, but it’s not very often I’m in the mood for a black-and-white movie where an old geezer waxes nostalgically about his childhood toy. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/8 "2010-08-21T18:34:26Z")
Ditto on all mentioned so far. I also feel like I must have committed a crime against my demographic by neglecting to see _The Dark Knight_. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/9 "2010-08-21T19:05:17Z")
I looked at a list of the highest-grossing movies of all time, and I’ve missed _Avatar_, _Pirates of the Caribbean_, _Alice in Wonderland_, _Twilight_, _Transformers_, and all but one of the _Harry Potter_ movies. Oh, and the last three _Star Wars_ movies. I’ve seen most of the classics, which will happen if you get old and watch enough TV. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/10 "2010-08-21T19:07:00Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > I too have never seen _Citizen Kane_. It may well be better than anything before or since, but it’s not very often I’m in the mood for a black-and-white movie where an old geezer waxes nostalgically about his childhood toy. That’s not what happens (but you probably knew that). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/11 "2010-08-21T19:19:13Z")
Although I generally love Tim Burton movies, I have never seen _Edward Scissorhands_. I was nineteen when it came out, and all the teen girls fawning over Johnny Depp put me off. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/12 "2010-08-21T19:35:35Z")
Way too many for me to name. Most of the big ones from the 70s, including Jaws, The Godfather, Close Encounters - ah heck, I wouldn’t be able to list them all even if I tried. It wasn’t until the last few years that I started going out to movies regularly. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/13 "2010-08-22T02:04:44Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > The boat sinks at the end. Dude, put a spoiler tag on that next time. For me, I have never seen Titanic or ET. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/14 "2010-08-22T03:08:31Z")
Never seen any of the _Twilight_ movies. Didn’t see _The Godfather_ in its entirety until last year (and liked but didn’t love it). Still haven’t seen _The Godfather Part II_ or _III_ in their entirety. Have never seen _Schindler’s List_, or _The Shawshank Redemption_, although I keep telling myself I really should. I’ve seen most of the others mentioned so far (and was not as blown away by _Citizen Kane_ as everyone told me I would be; my expectations were probably much too high). ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/15 "2010-08-22T07:00:10Z")
[imdb top 250.](http://www.imdb.com/chart/top) I haven’t seen: Inception city of God It’s a Wonderful Life Sunset Boulevard The Professional Taxi Driver Lawrence of Arabia Paths of Glory The Pianist To Kill a Mockingbird Spirited Away …and more The only one I want to see off the list above is Taxi Driver, only because I want to see all of Deniro’s movies before he sold out. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/16 "2010-08-22T07:01:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’ve seen most of the others mentioned so far (and was not as blown away by _Citizen Kane_ as everyone told me I would be; my expectations were probably much too high). You need to read one of the many books dedicated to it (or the chapter in film studies books dedicated to it.) The story stinks but the techniques are incredible even by today’s standards. For example, in the scene where he’s at the head of the table looking at everybody, every single face is in focus even though they aren’t in the same plane. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/17 "2010-08-22T07:09:47Z")
There are a lot of movies I just haven’t gotten to yet - I had lots of free time before the days of DVDs and VCRs. I just saw Jules and Jim a few months ago. But movies I don’t intend to ever see are: It’s a Wonderful Life (I know the plot, and it sounds mawkish) A Christmas Story (saw bits when my kids were watching - mid-west Christmas nostalgia doesn’t do it for this New York Jewish kid Titanic: just because, and even though we own the VHS version. I don’t have enough years left to sit through that thing. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/18 "2010-08-22T07:48:00Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > [imdb top 250.](http://www.imdb.com/chart/top) I’ve seen 203 of the 250. I haven’t seen: Schindler’s List \* M \* The Third Man Das Boot \* City Lights Modern Times Downfall Cinema Paradiso \* Braveheart \* Rashômon The Great Dictator Rebecca The Great Escape Unforgiven Oldboy Touch of Evil Princess Mononoke Strangers On A Train Donnie Darko Notorious The General Platoon The Lion King The Big Sleep (I’ll be seeing this in a couple of weeks at a Noir retrospective) Witness for the Prosecution Wild Strawberries Scarface The Thing Amores Perros \* Grave of the Fireflies Diabolique (I’ll be seeing it in a couple of weeks at a Henri-Georges Clouzot retrospective) Nights of Cabiria Ed Wood Shadow of a Doubt (I’ll be seeing this in a couple of weeks at the Noir retrospective) Rope Brief Encounter The Battle of Algiers The 400 Blows Duck Soup Ikiru \* All Quiet on the Western Front La Strada My Neighbor Totoro The Adventures of Robin Hood Changeling Infernal Affairs (\* these are movies that I own on DVD but have never watched) Some I saw so many decades ago that I might as well not have seen them at all, like Ben Hur or Harvey, though I counted them anyway. My list would be a lot longer if I’d done it a few months ago. Some movies I’ve only seen for the first time recently thanks to a new membership at the Gene Siskel Film Center, such as Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, The Wild Bunch, Metropolis, Bicycle Thieves, and 8 1/2. The membership, which means I can see all movies there for $5, is something I should have done many many many years ago. If I had, that list would be a whole lot shorter. I hope to knock down that list over the next year. It’d be great if the Siskel were to have a Hitchcock retrospective, a silent film festival and a Fellini retrospective. There’s not one movie on that list that I _don’t_ want to see, although the silent films, the Miyazaki films and the Marx Brothers are lowest priority. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/19 "2010-08-22T08:21:02Z")
**Equipoise** : Why do you own movies you never watched? Just curious, not trying to snark or anything. Imho, you should watch Rashomon and Ikiru with a discussion group. It’s difficult to see the nuances without other people’s input. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983/20 "2010-08-22T08:33:48Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Imho, you should watch Rashomon and Ikiru with a discussion group. It’s difficult to see the nuances without other people’s input. Yeah, everyone remembers Rashomon differently. I actually haven’t seen Rashomon myself [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-acclaimed-movies-youve-never-seen/550983.md?page=2)