Movies I should have seen sooner...

[rtaylor61]

I'm not much on going to the theater to see a movie. The last movie I saw at a theater was "Open Range" in 2003. I've not been a "movie goer" since my high shool days. Tickets are too expensive and refreshments are worse! So I get my movies from the library (yeah, I don't even rent them!). But there are a few movies I wish I had watched a bit sooner.

The Godfather
The Godfather Part II

What movies did you miss out on?

Randy

[R-James]

Recently, Cloverfield. I had been wanting to see that for a long time and I had so much work on I never got a chance to get to the cinema and see it.

If I was older than I am, I would have loved to see something like the exorcist 1st time round, to experience that film as the rest of the world were seeing it for the first time and when the effects used were still current. I think that would have made it 10 times more frightening.

[urr-lord]

one movie that should be watched on the big screen--13th Warrior.the opening of the movie showing a viking longship during a storm,then the camera pulls back showing just how tiny the ship is.memorable.just does not have the same impact on a tv screen.

[Bluestaco]

The Matrix.
In grad school, my students were writing really compelling essays about it, but I hadn't seen it and didn't get it.

[Walravine]

But there are a few movies I wish I had watched a bit sooner.

The Godfather
The Godfather Part II

Awesome films. Here's a suggestion for everyone who is into The Godfather: A bunch of us got together and spent an entire Saturday watching all three films. After the first and second one we made a big Italian dinner and then after dessert watched the third film. Now, this may sound excessive--and I suppose it is--but by watching the films back to back you discover that Coppola used many of the same extras in all three, and can see how the principals aged. Consecutive viewing also makes for better continuity and a clearer story. Plus, you'll be so hungry for Italian food that your dinner will be one of the most memorable you've ever made. All in all, it's a lot of fun. Don't forget the wine and a good seat cushion.

Re movies that I wished I had watched earlier: I purposely avoided watching Citizen Kane and Gone With The Wind until I could see them in a theater, which was when I was in grad school. I guess I didn't want to watch them all chopped up by TV commercials. GWTW especially deserves big screen treatment.

[gunner6477]

The last movie I saw at a theater was "Open Range" in 2003.


This is one of my favorite movies...good thing you saw it in the theatre or the effect of the scenery would have been lost.:001_smile

[BMWRider]

All of the Kurosawa films, every one of them seems like a lost jewel when I discover it. I have the same soft spot for Billy Wilder and Hitchcock. When I first saw Ran in the theater I was amazed at the composition of his film.

BTW, if you really want the theater experience invest in a projector, there are good ones to be had in the sub $5000 bracket. It is the smartest money I have ever spent.

[El Yanqui]

I think "Saving Private Ryan" should best be seen on the big screen. The first 20 minutes were quite literally gut wrenching. The closest I would ever want to come to experiencing that kind of hell on earth.

[RexHavoc]

All of the Kurosawa films, every one of them seems like a lost jewel when I discover it. I have the same soft spot for Billy Wilder and Hitchcock. When I first saw Ran in the theater I was amazed at the composition of his film..

I have to agree with you, even his 1990 film "Dreams" ( which admittedly was a little preachy and self-indulgent) was better than 98% of what Hollywood puts out.

[ouch]

The Godfather


What's it about?
-Mrs. Ouch

[slcsteve]

"Johnny Got His Gun"

I saw the movie in the early 70's, shortly after it's release and recently reread the book. The film and in particular the book is emotionally draining and not for all tastes but is well worth the experience - the film, not the experience of the protagonist.

[BMWRider]

I have to agree with you, even his 1990 film "Dreams" ( which admittedly was a little preachy and self-indulgent) was better than 98% of what Hollywood puts out.

Agreed on all counts. Preachy AK is better than most, when he was in his groove there was no one better and he had few equals.

[BMWRider]

"Johnny Got His Gun"

I saw the movie in the early 70's, shortly after it's release and recently reread the book. The film and in particular the book is emotionally draining and not for all tastes but is well worth the experience - the film, not the experience of the protagonist.

I think films like Johnny and Schindler's List are amazing, and are movies I will only watch once in my lifetime. I do not need the emotional pounding more often than that.

[slcsteve]

I think films like Johnny and Schindler's List are amazing, and are movies I will only watch once in my lifetime. I do not need the emotional pounding more often than that.

Born on the 4th of July was a film that I wouldn't see when it was released in 1989 even though, at the time I had been retired for over 20 years. I finally went to see it several years later and the impact that it had on me simply can't be put in any words. One time was enough for me - it ain't entertainment my friend.

[Depilator]

Some films I watch for the sheer pleasure of the pagentry and epic scale along with a great story. An old Kirk Douglas,Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh work, "The Vikings" , is simply a two hours plus of total escape.

[Walravine]

When I first saw Ran in the theater I was amazed at the composition of his film.

You're so right. A friend took me to see Ran in a theater and it was just an incredible film. You always take a chance on subtitles and I think given Ran's length, watching it on television would have killed it for me.

Back in the 80's there was a theater in Portland that put on an annual James Bond festival. Two films a night for a week and then onto the next two. There's something so much fun and nostalgic about watching old Bond films in a theater. It's sadly quite uncommon to find Dr. No or Goldfinger playing in a theater these days.

[analog_kid]

All of the Kurosawa films, every one of them seems like a lost jewel when I discover it. I have the same soft spot for Billy Wilder and Hitchcock. When I first saw Ran in the theater I was amazed at the composition of his film.

BTW, if you really want the theater experience invest in a projector, there are good ones to be had in the sub $5000 bracket. It is the smartest money I have ever spent.


A big +1 on Kurosawa. I just happen to be skipping through the channels several years ago and Seven Samurai had just started on IFC. Thinking it would be some sloppy "kung-fu" movie, I watched for a few minutes just for a laugh. I watched the whole thing and then went to Best Buy and bought it on DVD. It turned me on to the the whole world of asian cinema, which has a lot of excellent movies.

I usually miss out on all the good "underground-ish" movies the first time around. The last one the pops into mind is Oldboy. If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend it enough. I won't spoil anything, but it has the most bizarre and unpredictable plot twist I have ever seen in a movie.

The last movie I was in the theater is Casino Royale, only because I've seen every Bond movie on it's release day since Licence To Kill. Apart from that custom of mine, I don't go to movie theaters, because they don't build the seats to be comfortable for anyone taller than about 5'10". :001_rolle

[the beav]

The BBC's 1996 version of Pride and Prejudice is outstanding. It follows the book much more closely and due to its six hour length has time to develop the characters much more fully. As it was written, Pride and Prejudice is actually a romantic comedy; this will not be apparent in the more recent American version but will be obvious in the BBC version.

[jcape]

I think "Saving Private Ryan" should best be seen on the big screen. The first 20 minutes were quite literally gut wrenching. The closest I would ever want to come to experiencing that kind of hell on earth.

"Blackhawk Down" is another movie like that. I saw it in the theater when it came out, and it's like 2 hours of the first 20 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan"

[micah1_8]

I'm a big proponent of the "wait a few years" school of thinking when it comes to many mainstream movies. Typically, I find that modern movies don't live up to anywhere near the hype they recieve, and as I don't usually have the same taste in films as my circle of contemporaries, I don't rely too heavily on word of mouth. What I will do though, is wait a few years until all the hype has died down about the movie and no-one is talking about it anymore. I find that more often than not, these movies strike me as more solid narratives that way. Something about letting the film age seems to make it better, if that makes any sense whatsoever. Most recently I watched The Italian Job the new one--- and I've got to say I enjoyed it quite a bit--- on watching it though, I realized that had I seen it when it was new, I would have dismissed it as a mediocre film. Another one was Ultraviolet. I think I would have been dissapointed in that movie when it was new, but when I watched it recently, I found it to be a solid couple of hours of entertainment. Sideways was one of those movies too. Go figure.

[Holton181]

The Resident Evil Series, which I didn't give enough credit. Silent Hill. I wish I saw that in the movies. Underworld. Again, I thought it to be a fluff movie. Aeon Flux, another interesting movie I slept on. Gone Baby Gone. Oh, and all the Jason Bourne movies. Matt Damon is a cool action star.

[murchmb]

"Blackhawk Down" is another movie like that. I saw it in the theater when it came out, and it's like 2 hours of the first 20 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan"

Mike Durant, the captured Black Hawk pilot portrayed in the movie, lives a couple of miles away from me (super nice guy, BTW.) He wrote a book, In the Company of Heroes (http://www.amazon.com/Company-Heroes-Michael-Durant/dp/0399150609/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208186676&sr=8-3) that is a must read for any that found Black Hawk Down fascinating. I have yet to read The Night Stalkers (http://www.amazon.com/Night-Stalkers-Michael-J-Durant/dp/B000RW9DK4/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208186676&sr=8-1), but it looks to be a good read as well.

As for my movies, +1 on The Godfather series and a vote for Once Upon a Time in America.

[-bp-]

I think most Ridley Scott films are made to be seen on a large screen. Even his first film, The Duellists, includes some breathtaking photography. And there's no doubt that films like Blade Runner, Legend, Thelma and Louise and Black Hawk Down were made specifically for the large screen. As were Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven.

[Nancy Boy]

My Father's Glory. What a wonderful film.

[SmoovD]

I have had a copy of Sansho the Bailiff for almost a year- just watched it last week. Argh...great flick- not a bad shot in the film. Would rank it right up there with Days of Heaven for sheer beauty of composition!

[Rolo]

My Father's Glory. What a wonderful film.

Yes it was. My Mother's Catle in the same series was also good, though not as much.

[BMWRider]

I have had a copy of Sansho the Bailiff for almost a year- just watched it last week. Argh...great flick- not a bad shot in the film. Would rank it right up there with Days of Heaven for sheer beauty of composition!

Oh my gosh, it is a wonderful movie. The Criterion version is sitting on my incoming pile.

[Doc4]

What's it about?
-Mrs. Ouch

"Is that a movie?"
--the soon-to-be Mrs. Doc4.











Oh, you should see Billy Liar. And I have a soft spot for Sleuth, which is just Larry Olivier and Mike Caine riffing on each other.

[Anomaly]

Being people tend to act really stupid when in large crowds, and I don't react very well to people being stupid, I try to avoid places where large groups gather, such as the theater. I've probably seen 5 movies at the theater my entire life.



The Matrix.
In grad school, my students were writing really compelling essays about it, but I hadn't seen it and didn't get it.

By far, my hands down favorite movie. I don't follow movies much since most of them are mindless garbage, so I didn't know a whole lot about this film. I was over at a friend's house when a friend of his brought over the movie (worked at Blockbuster) and popped it in. I was in shock by the time it was over. It was like the soundtrack to my perspectives on reality/existence. I was obsessed with that movie for quite some time, leading me to discover that not only was there the obvious symbolism, but the amount of details and things going in the background was mind boggling. It's one of those rare movies where you can discover something new every time you watch it. Other movies I wouldn't have minded watching in the theater...

Fight Club
The Butterfly Effect
Talk Radio
Waking Life
K-PAX
American History X
Ararat (that it didn't exactly show in too many places)
Donnie Darko
Stargate (hate the TV series)
Big Trouble in Little China

[Mottern Man]

The Dave and Hal epic.

When I was a kid I could not sit through it, I did not watch it in full until I was about 22.

[Mottern Man]

What's it about?
-Mrs. Ouch

I still remember this one. :lol:

[tim8557]

Amadeus on a Giant Screen with a Powerful Sound System.

[Doc4]

Amadeus on a Giant Screen with a Powerful Sound System.

I remember the Oscars that year. A different film (Killing Fields??) won for 'best original score', and the composer, in his acceptance speech, basically said "I'd like to thank Mozart for not having written any original music this year" or something like that. :lol: