I confess…
February 28th, 2008 at 05:27pm Will Pfeifer
“He’s never seen this movie or “Dr. Zhivago”? What’s his problem?
In this piece that ran last Sunday, San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick LaSalle confessed that he’d never seen some films generally considered classics, then watched them and wrote up some short reviews. (For the record, he was unimpressed by TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, generally amused by YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, impressed and entertained by AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER, impressed but not entertained by BLADE RUNNER, and bored by 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.)
There’s been some debate among movie bloggers whether admitting these gaps in his film watching was brave or having such gaps was lazy. (Actually, I think not seeing 2001 in a city where it gets shown on a big screen every year is pretty lazy, but that’s not why I’m bringing up LaSalle’s confession.) Instead, I want to make a confession of my own and own up to some of the classics I’ve never seen. If you have seen them, convince me to watch them (or argue why I shouldn’t). And, if you want, confess to some of the classic movies you’ve never seen, either.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA: I know, I know, it’s a great epic. It won the Best Picture Oscar. It features some of the most breathtaking cinematography ever captured on film. But the odds of seeing it on an actual movie screen are pretty slim these days, and I want it to have the full impact on my virgin eyeballs. Plus, I have to admit … it looks a little dull. I’d be happy to hear arguments to the contrary.
DR. ZHIVAGO: I know, another epic, this time with lots of snow instead of sand. But this sounds even more dull than LAWRENCE, and besides — reputation aside, is it really any good? Or is it just a big-budget soap opera? Because that’s what it looks like.
THE AFRICAN QUEEN: I love Humphrey Bogart. I like director John Huston. I can tolerate Katherine Hepburn. But I’ve never seen this movie. I guess I’m waiting for the DVD. (Though the movie ranked #17 on AFI original list of the 100 greatest American films, it still isn’t available on DVD.)
HIGH NOON: I have no good reason for not seeing this one. I even own a DVD of it. Sue me, I’m lazy.
WEST SIDE STORY: Not a big fan of musicals. Sorry.
The films of Charlie Chaplin: He’s one of the screen’s most celebrated comedians/directors, but aside from a few shorts and THE GREAT DICTATOR, I’ve seen very few of his movies. THE GOLD RUSH? No. CITY LIGHT? Nope. MODERN TIMES? Uh uh. I guess what I have seen just didn’t connect with me. Maybe it’s because I find Chaplin too maudlin and desperate for audience empathy. The movie comedians I like — Buster Keaton, the Marxes, W.C. Fields — are a lot less sentimental. Sorry, Charlie.
So that’s my list of movie confessions. Be sure to share your own in the comments section so I’m not the only one feeling guilty. And speaking of confessions — and the title of this post — I’ve seen plenty of Hitchcock, but I’ve never seen his 1953 movie, I CONFESS either.
Entry Filed under: Classic movies, Moviegoing
9 Comments Add your own
1. Johnny Bacardi | February 28th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Of course, I’m not a “real” critic, I just pretend to be one on the internet…but…
Not seeing Lawrence has become a preoccupation with me; it took me many years before I got around to screening it, and I still have yet to finish it- but it’s not that I don’t like it, on the contrary, it was excellent- but I just can’t seem to keep from getting interrupted! I wrote a blog post about it some time ago.
I was bored by West Side Story and 2001, which I’ve actually watched three times. I’ve never seen Zhivago, and have no interest in it. Never liked Chaplin, nor do I care all that much about Keaton for that matter. I liked High Noon, LOVED African Queen- watch it once in a blue moon on TCM.
Someday, SOMEDAY I will watch Lawrence from beginning to end, and boy will we all have a fine time!
2. Johnny Bacardi | February 28th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I just checked, and Lawrence is airing this Sunday at noon on TCM. I have a rendezvous with destiny.
Oh, and I don’t think it’s necessarily lazy for a critic to admit he hasn’t seen many of those films, but I think it does make his opinion a *little* bit suspect. It’s hard to avoid some of them!
3. odessa steps magazine | February 29th, 2008 at 10:03 am
I proudly admit to have never seen ET.
4. hokumboy | February 29th, 2008 at 11:21 am
No Chaplin ?
No African Queen?
No Lawrence?
My estimations of you as a serious critic have fallen immensely. Seriously.
Shame on you.
But, I’ll give you half a point for admitting it.
Now, finish shovelling your walk, go to the nearest rental barn, and get these films.
5. John N | February 29th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Actually, Will, I’m glad you’re holding out on LAWRENCE until you see it in a theater. That film’s impact will suffer greatly on a TV screen. As for ZHIVAGO, you’re right, it’s a long soap opera. I like the other movies you’ve mentioned, but love Chaplin. Sure, Keaton’s movies were better, but CITY LIGHTS and MODERN TIMES are far more than desperate attempts at audience empathy. There’s brilliance in them too. Still, silent movies are also best seen on a big screen instead of a TV screen.
6. Jay Geldhof | March 2nd, 2008 at 12:56 am
Dude, LAWRENCE is in my top 5 of all time. I DID see it first on the big screen with Craig Russell (How were you NOT there?) when it was restored. Hmmmm, I just got home from a rare night out, so I’m in no shape to go into specifics, but take my word for it, you’ll love it. I also dig WEST SIDE STORY, AND kinda hate musicals. I’m fond of Shakespeare, though. Gotta pass out now…
7. Will Pfeifer | March 3rd, 2008 at 11:49 am
Sad, I know. Don’t know how I missed seeing LAWRENCE with you and Craig (unless I’d already left Kent for Illinois), but I’m hoping to catch it on the big screen one of these days.
8. mtrowbridge | March 7th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Wow, Will! That’s a pretty stunning list of misses. You might not miss West Side Story too much — I loved it when I saw it twice as a kid, only semi-liked it when I saw it again a couple of years ago; too many boring songs. But Lawrence of Arabia is great, Dr. Zhivago quite good — almost as good as the book — African Queen is second only to Treasure of the Sierra Madre among Bogart films and High Noon is one of the five best Westerns ever. It’s worth watching High Noon just to listen to the haunting title song, which pretty much tells the story of the entire movie.
9. mtrowbridge | March 7th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Gold Rush, City Lights and Modern Times are decent Chaplin films, but Buster Keaton is better.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed