What is the most essential Film you have yet to see?

[Nuclearplanet]

I've always wondered if that would ever go away, the feeling of not watching a very famous film yet. I've only seen around 1700 films and I don't feel like I've seen anything REALLY important yet? For example, I have yet to see:

- On The Waterfront
- The African Queen
- The Maltese Falcon
- The Bicycle Thief
- 8 1/2
- The Bridge On The River Kwai
- Ben Hur
- The Deer Hunter

I haven't seen much as the classics yet ;) , Just wondering for those with much Higher amount of checks still have yet to get around seeing an "Essential" film.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

Heimat and Histoire(s) du Cinema, maybe? I think I'm pretty well covered on the top tier staples to be honest.

[Limedebois]

Bob le flambeur, Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie and... The Avengers

[themagician]

There's a lot, but I don't know what's the most essential... Intolerance? Birth of a Nation? Those are two of the bigger ones I haven't seen yet.

[allisoncm]

-The Avengers
-Tom Jones
-Scenes from a Marriage
-last two Harry Potters

[Knaldskalle]

There's a lot, but I don't know what's the most essential... Intolerance? Birth of a Nation? Those are two of the bigger ones I haven't seen yet.

Intolerance is really good, but Birth of a Nation... I hate that movie.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

I wasn't considering films released this year, but I guess The Avengers and The Hunger Games are big enough that they should count. So add those to my list.

[allisoncm]

When I added The Avengers to my list, it was tongue-in-cheek. But it's already on a bunch of lists and I haven't seen it, so...

[Rich]

AVENGERS RULES! Ok, maybe not but it was pretty good. Much better than any Potter.

Mine would be Intouchables...

[VincentPrice]

Probably Intolerance followed by a lot of foreign stuff I'm just too lazy to get around to watching.

[St. Gloede]

I'd say the biggest I have not seen are Dekalog, Heimat and Mary Poppins.

According to ICM, these are the 25 biggest I haven't seen:

Spoiler: click to toggle

Dekalog
1989— a.k.a. "The Ten Commandments", in 9 top lists

Mary Poppins
1964, in 9 top lists

The Ten Commandments
1956, in 9 top lists

The Avengers
2012, in 8 top lists

Ba wang bie ji
1993— a.k.a. Farewell My Concubine, in 8 top lists

Sense and Sensibility
1995, in 8 top lists

La belle noiseuse
1991, in 7 top lists

Four Weddings and a Funeral
1994, in 7 top lists

Hoop Dreams
1994, in 7 top lists

Howards End
1992, in 7 top lists

La meglio gioventù
2003— a.k.a. The Best of Youth, in 7 top lists

Okuribito
2008— a.k.a. Departures, in 7 top lists

Reds
1981, in 7 top lists

Show Boat
1936, in 7 top lists

Xi meng ren sheng
1993— a.k.a. In the Hands of a Puppet Master, in 7 top lists

An Affair to Remember
1957, in 6 top lists

Babettes gæstebud
1987— a.k.a. Babette's Feast, in 6 top lists

Le ballon rouge
1956, in 6 top lists

Bei qing cheng shi
1989— a.k.a. A City of Sadness, in 6 top lists

David Holzman's Diary
1967, in 6 top lists

Gu ling jie shao nian sha ren shi jian
1991— a.k.a. A Brighter Summer Day, in 6 top lists

Heimat - Eine deutsche Chronik
1984— a.k.a. "Heimat", in 6 top lists

Hong gao liang
1987— a.k.a. Red Sorghum, in 6 top lists

Lan feng zheng
1993— a.k.a. The Blue Kite, in 6 top lists

On the Town
1949, in 6 top lists

[mjf314]

I'd say the biggest I have not seen are Dekalog, Heimat and Mary Poppins.

According to ICM, these are the 25 biggest I haven't seen:

Spoiler: click to toggle

Dekalog
1989— a.k.a. "The Ten Commandments", in 9 top lists

Mary Poppins
1964, in 9 top lists

The Ten Commandments
1956, in 9 top lists

The Avengers
2012, in 8 top lists

Ba wang bie ji
1993— a.k.a. Farewell My Concubine, in 8 top lists

Sense and Sensibility
1995, in 8 top lists

La belle noiseuse
1991, in 7 top lists

Four Weddings and a Funeral
1994, in 7 top lists

Hoop Dreams
1994, in 7 top lists

Howards End
1992, in 7 top lists

La meglio gioventù
2003— a.k.a. The Best of Youth, in 7 top lists

Okuribito
2008— a.k.a. Departures, in 7 top lists

Reds
1981, in 7 top lists

Show Boat
1936, in 7 top lists

Xi meng ren sheng
1993— a.k.a. In the Hands of a Puppet Master, in 7 top lists

An Affair to Remember
1957, in 6 top lists

Babettes gæstebud
1987— a.k.a. Babette's Feast, in 6 top lists

Le ballon rouge
1956, in 6 top lists

Bei qing cheng shi
1989— a.k.a. A City of Sadness, in 6 top lists

David Holzman's Diary
1967, in 6 top lists

Gu ling jie shao nian sha ren shi jian
1991— a.k.a. A Brighter Summer Day, in 6 top lists

Heimat - Eine deutsche Chronik
1984— a.k.a. "Heimat", in 6 top lists

Hong gao liang
1987— a.k.a. Red Sorghum, in 6 top lists

Lan feng zheng
1993— a.k.a. The Blue Kite, in 6 top lists

On the Town
1949, in 6 top lists

You should watch A City of Sadness and A Brighter Summer Day. Those are the top 2 Chinese films according to Golden Horse.

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

There's a lot, but I don't know what's the most essential... Intolerance? Birth of a Nation? Those are two of the bigger ones I haven't seen yet.

Intolerance is really good, but Birth of a Nation... I hate that movie.

Really? What's not to like?

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

First ones that spring to my mind are The Sorrow and the Pity and La Notte.

[Litso]

Psycho.

[mightysparks]

I've always wondered if that would ever go away, the feeling of not watching a very famous film yet.

I wonder that sometimes as well

If I go by my unchecked on most lists, as well as that feeling 'why haven't I watched this yet?':

• Yi yi
• El espíritu de la colmena
• If....
• Apur Sansar & Aparajito
• La double vie de Véronique
• La maman et la putain
• Ultimo tango a Parigi
• Les vampires

There are many more, but just looking at the first few pages of unchecked on most lists, those are the names I always get frustrated seeing there. But I kind of consider anything I haven't seen 'essential', so it's hard to judge

[3eyes]

There are at least two categories

1) Films that are considered essential by everybody else but which I can't bear the thought of watching. There are a number of these to which I gradually overcame my resistance, watched them, and was glad I did.
Some I am currently dragging my feet over but feel I might be getting on towards ready to watch are:

City of God
Come and see
Days of heaven
Bonnie and Clyde
The Hustler
Festen
Make way for tomorrow
I am a fugitive from a chain gang
The shop on Main Street
The music room
Little Vera

2) Ones I want to see but can't find. Now that I've joined KG I have found most of them, it's just a matter of getting around to watching them. I just caught up with West Side Story after 2 years of frustration - I rented it (streaming) from Amazon.

3) Ones I aim to see but keep putting off.

[Nuclearplanet]

There are at least two categories

1) Films that are considered essential by everybody else but which I can't bear the thought of watching.

City of God
Come and see
Days of heaven
Bonnie and Clyde
The Hustler
Festen
Make way for tomorrow
I am a fugitive from a chain gang
The shop on Main Street
The music room
Little Vera

I'd say give them ago, you never know, they might be actually good with all their hype.

e.g I put off watching American Beauty for around two years because I thought it was a huge over rated rip-off of Lolita (1962), but when I finally got to watch it, it was nothing in what I expected. It was a huge surprise - The Hype was right. I guess I'd finish off Bonnie and Clyde, It's much better then the marketing lets you to believe.

[Nuclearplanet]

I wasn't considering films released this year, but I guess The Avengers and The Hunger Games are big enough that they should count. So add those to my list.

I guess in a few decades time, something like The Hunger games would be just as big as something like Space Jam. I Mean SOMETHING BIG you haven't watched, the sort of films that are on almost every list and is always talked about

[Cippenham]

Mine are probably:

Angel Heart
The Act of Seeing with one's own eyes
Le bonheur
Braindead
The Cheat 1915
My Lady Margarine
Fast cheap & Out of Control
Drugstore Cowboy
Tokyo Twilight
Hannibal
Peter Pan 1953

[Bobby Peru]

I still haven't seen Gone with the Wind. I've got it on DVD too, it's just so long! Maybe in the next few days....

[rohit]

'Ivan Groznyy', 'Freaks' and 'Il Conformista', going by the most lists and most essential.

[clemmetarey]

Mine is propably Titanic I have it on my computer though, I am just waiting the end of my exams to watch it.

[Kowry]

Quite a lot of famous epics that I haven't gotten around to seeing because of the the length. Haven't seen any of Griffith's films (not even the short ones) and then there are

Gone with the Wind
Ben-Hur
The Best Years of Our Lives
Spartacus
Das Boot
Magnolia
There Will be Blood
Solaris
Dances with Wolves
The Sound of Music
etc.

[Cippenham]

Gone with the Wind has a lot of history apart from anything else, and was strongly influenced I thought by the work of D W Griffith. It has many of the same elements of The Birth of a Nation including scrolled wording, adaptation from a popular novel, the idea of Northern aggressors and focus on two families, and the theme of “lost cause” for the South. The treatment of slaves was the same as in Griffith’s because they were seen as kind and devoted to their masters, yet they acted like idiots or fools.

I think it is worth seeing on a big screen if you can.

[Kowry]

I think it is worth seeing on a big screen if you can.

Would be neat, but I don't think I'll have that opportunity anytime soon, so I'll probably just watch it on my computer.

[Nuclearplanet]

I still haven't seen Gone with the Wind. I've got it on DVD too, it's just so long! Maybe in the next few days....

Gone with the Wind is one of the easiest Four Hour Epic I've ever scene, watch it.

[JCS]

Really want to see Intouchables but no UK release...

[Dimitris Psachos Springer]

The Crowd, I guess (?) I haven't seen plenty from the canon or in reverse, I have left out plenty of them, hehe.

[brokenface]

Some I am currently dragging my feet over but feel I might be getting on towards ready to watch are:

Little Vera

Never even heard of that..

--

For me the big 10 are:

Napoleon - want to see it on big screen if I ever get a chance

The Sound of Music - just never felt the urge. Feel like I've seen it already, via clips/parodies/whatever.

The Human Condition trilogy - seemingly never been released on DVD in UK. Guess I'll have to download/import.

The Green Mile - just bought a copy for £1, so will finally watch this soon. Read the book years ago.

Patton - looks dull, but maybe it isn't?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - been meaning to get round to this forever.

Ballad of a Soldier - see Virginia Woolf

Dracula - I know! Just a weird blind spot.

The Mother & the Whore - downloaded it once, but was awful quality. Why is there no DVD of this anywhere?!

Raise the Red Lantern - again no DVD, have to find it online.

[Nuclearplanet]

The Sound of Music - just never felt the urge. Feel like I've seen it already, via clips/parodies/whatever.

I Felt the excite same way when i watched the 1931 Frankenstein. There felt nothing new after seeing it parodied in Cartoons condensed into a 10 Minute Episode. Yet, I Somehow still love it

[wuzzawuzz]

When I go through my list of unchecked films in the most lists, the following stick out as ones I've known about and been meaning to watch for a while...

Dekalog (seen the first 3)
Alphaville
Dead Man
The original Godzilla
Out Of Africa
Sense And Sensibility
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Night And The City
Straw Dogs

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

Some I am currently dragging my feet over but feel I might be getting on towards ready to watch are:

Little Vera

Never even heard of that..

--

For me the big 10 are:

Napoleon - want to see it on big screen if I ever get a chance

The Sound of Music - just never felt the urge. Feel like I've seen it already, via clips/parodies/whatever.

The Human Condition trilogy - seemingly never been released on DVD in UK. Guess I'll have to download/import.

The Green Mile - just bought a copy for £1, so will finally watch this soon. Read the book years ago.

Patton - looks dull, but maybe it isn't?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - been meaning to get round to this forever.

Ballad of a Soldier - see Virginia Woolf

Dracula - I know! Just a weird blind spot.

The Mother & the Whore - downloaded it once, but was awful quality. Why is there no DVD of this anywhere?!

Raise the Red Lantern - again no DVD, have to find it online.

Little Vera -- this film was extremely important as a historical milestone in Soviet/Russian film. It portrays a dysfunctional family in a very harsh light, and as such it seemed to be reflecting a dysfunctional society in a very harsh light. It was only possible during the era of glasnost.

Having said all of that, I remember not caring for it very much, and I suspect its main value today is historical.


By the way, The Mother and the Whore would also be on my list. Netflix doesn't carry it.

[Forrester]

For me, it's Once Upon a Time in America. It's been on my watchlist for a looong time, but I never watched it because of the run time.

Other essential films that I have yet to see (from the IMDb Top 250):
Roman Holiday
Le Notti di Cabiria
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Manchurian Candidate
Seppuku
Per Qualche dollaro in più
Life of Brian
Magnolia

Films that I have yet to see which are on official top lists:
Andrey Rublev
Les Enfants du paradis
Il gattopardo
Intolerance
Birth of a Nation
Mulholland Dr.
Paris, Texas

[3eyes]

I'm surprised at how many films on other folks' lists I HAVE seen.

Brokenface, Patton put me to sleep, but that's prolly just me.
Criterion isn't available in the UK? Ningen no joken is now on Criterion.

does anyone else have trouble posting on this thing? It allows me to write about one letter a minute. Just this site.

[Knaldskalle]

For me the big 10 are:

Napoleon - want to see it on big screen if I ever get a chance

Totally worth it, but you may have to wait a while before you get the chance. And you may have to travel quite a bit, but it's worth it.

FWIW, I did a quick google search just to see if a screening might be in the works somewhere and discovered that a German version has just been put out on DVD. Unfortunately it's the 1981 Coppola version, which has some issues - wrong frame speed, not as complete as the 2000 Brownlow version and the triptych ending is presented in a severely letterboxed version (fitting all three screen images onto one 4:3 screen). But at least it seems to be a "real" release and not some bootleg.

[Knaldskalle]

I'm surprised at how many films on other folks' lists I HAVE seen.

Brokenface, Patton put me to sleep, but that's prolly just me.
Criterion isn't available in the UK? Ningen no joken is now on Criterion.

does anyone else have trouble posting on this thing? It allows me to write about one letter a minute. Just this site.

Criterion Collection is North America only. The world of DVD's has been artificially divided into "regions" (by the studios, of course, to maximize profits and control) so that you need special DVD players to play DVD's that aren't from your home region. In the US/Canada we're Region 1, in Europe they're Region 2.

Fortunately they have Masters of Cinema in Europe, which is basically doing the same as Criterion Collection in North America, but their selection of titles is a little different.

[brokenface]

I can play Criterion DVD, they just tend to be prohibitively expensive for me. e.g. Human Condition is $60 + there's risk of being hit with import taxes.

[Laydback]

L'Atalante
Pather Panchali
Los Olvidados

[3eyes]

Criterion Collection is North America only. The world of DVD's has been artificially divided into "regions" (by the studios, of course, to maximize profits and control) so that you need special DVD players to play DVD's that aren't from your home region. In the US/Canada we're Region 1, in Europe they're Region 2.

Fortunately they have Masters of Cinema in Europe, which is basically doing the same as Criterion Collection in North America, but their selection of titles is a little different.

thanks, Knaldskalle. I guess I was thrown off by so many Criterion films being Janus, which i thought was european.