We’ve already discussed all those bad movies you you love, and all those beloved classics that actually left you cold. Today we ask: What are the shameful gaps in your “filmography”? What are you embarrassed to admit you’ve never watched? Citizen Kane and Gone with the Wind? The Godfather? Any of the Hitchcocks? Clint Eastwood’s Spaghetti Westerns? Alien? Reservoir Dogs? Toy Story? Inception? Let us know.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Critical Hit as an organisation.
Last Updated: March 28, 2012
Tracy Benson
March 28, 2012 at 10:31
I have a list of movies like that, I call it the “Oh my gosh I can’t believe you’ve never watched that” list, because that’s pretty much the reaction I get when someone finds out how patchy my filmography is.
Off the top of my head: Interview with a Vampire, Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction get the strongest *gasp!* from people. Of everything Noelle listed up there, I’ve only seen Toy Story and Inception
Gavin Mannion
March 28, 2012 at 11:22
… words fail me.. how could you not have seen Interview with a Vampire and Pulp Fiction
Tracy Benson
March 28, 2012 at 11:52
See! That’s the reaction I get all the time!
To be fair, I tried to watch Interview with a Vampire 3 times, got half way through each time. The first time I failed, our VCR broke and chewed the tape. The second time there was a power failure in the middle of the movie. Then, I tried to rent it and the DVD was scratched. I’ve read the book at least
Gavin Mannion
March 28, 2012 at 11:23
I haven’t seen Gone with the Wind and have absolutely no desire to see it either.
My only movie that I can think of that I really want to watch and haven’t is John Carter.. soon though
Justin Hess
March 28, 2012 at 11:44
How can you not have watched Shawshank? Though it might be a guy thing.
Me and mate showed it to his girlfriend one time. At the end she remarked (reluctantly) that it “was good but very sentimental.” This while I’m on opposite end of the couch close to wiping tears from my eyes.
I think Shawshank is one of those quintessentially Dude movies.
As for my list, Michael Mann’s Thief, Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch and (with shame) Scorcese’s Mean Streets are all on my “How the Fuck Could You Not Have Seen That” list
Tracy Benson
March 28, 2012 at 12:06
No trust me, I feel really guilty about my “I can’t believe you haven’t seen that” list. Now that I know Shawshank is a “dude movie” (which I would never have expected), I feel slightly less guilty
Justin Hess
March 28, 2012 at 15:21
It’s a Dude movie for when dude’s are feeling sensitive and with feelings and shit. In that, it joins Good Will Hunting and Jerry Maguire. Dude Movies with feelings.
Not like The Godfather or Heat or The Big Lebowski. Those are Dude Movie at their Dude-est.
Justin Hess
March 28, 2012 at 11:50
It’s also recently come to my attention that there are entirely too many people on this planet who have still not seen (or heard of, for that matter) John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China
Noelle Adams
March 28, 2012 at 12:10
It took me something like 4 tries to finally get through The Hunt For Red October, and I only watched oy Story for the first time last year.
I try to fill gaps whenever possible but some really shameful omissions include Reservoir Dogs, Gone with the Wind and all Hitchcock (apart from The Birds and Psycho). I’m looking at borrowing my parents’ copy of The Right Stuff soon as well.
Justin Hess
March 28, 2012 at 12:31
Oh, erm Das Boot. Not for lack of trying. But by Vishnu it’s a long a film
Kervyn Cloete
March 28, 2012 at 12:51
There are a couple like Casablanca and North by Northwest, that I regret not having seen yet. But there are 3 that I get outright angry at myself for not having seen (at least in their entirety) it’s Omega Man, Soylent Green and The Forbidden Planet.
Why the anger? Well I bought all 3 blu rays together more than a year ago, and they’ve been sitting on my shelf, staring me in the face since then. Every single time I have attempted to watch either of them, I’ve been interrupted by some or other stupid thing.
Justin Hess
March 28, 2012 at 15:21
Add to my list, Scorcese’s Bringing Out The Dead. And Extreme Prejudice
Kervyn Cloete
March 28, 2012 at 23:49
Damn. I guess that’s two more to add to my list then.
Justin Hess
March 29, 2012 at 09:31
Any film that featured Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside and Clancy Brown and is directed by Walter Hill needs to be seen.
And I only watched Schwarzenegger’s Red Heat the other night. Great film. Again, directed by Walter Hill. Of late, I’m really turning into a Walter Hill fan-boy
Lourens Corleone
March 28, 2012 at 18:16
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest… :/
Justin Hess
March 29, 2012 at 09:31
Brilliant film dude. It’s not as taxing to watch as you might imagine. It’s Nicholson at his finest
Pravesh Valab
March 29, 2012 at 10:12
Casablanca. Well I tried to watch it a few time but I always fall asleep
Kervyn Cloete
March 29, 2012 at 10:15
I just realized that there’s another entry on this list that has brought me endless shame whenever I mention it: The Princess Bride.
Yes, yes, I know. It’s only the greatest fantasy comedy ever bla bla bla bla, I was 6 when it was released so it completely passed me by as a kid. I honestly had never heard of it until yeeears later, and then whenever I tried to watch it something kept getting in the way. And then somehow, I just forgot about it. It completely dropped off my radar for movies to watch until recently.
Noelle Adams
March 29, 2012 at 10:22
I’ve only seen Princess Bride once as a kid. I wasn’t overwhelmed at the time. Ladyhawke left more of an impression. So I really do need to watch the former again with adult eyes.
Justin Hess
March 29, 2012 at 10:26
You’ll learn one very important thing from the Princess Bride which is that one should never get
involved in a land war in Asia
Justin Hess
March 29, 2012 at 10:27
Being six is no excuse. I wasn’t even born when Alien came out
Kervyn Cloete
March 29, 2012 at 11:14
Yes but Alien has firmly entrenched itself in the social zeitgeist, whereas The Princess Bride is just a film that a lot of people tend to like.