Saturday, August 20, 2011

august MOVIE MEME, day 20: a movie I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen

Hooray!  More shame-based blogging!  This time around, though, it's not about shame-based movie-loving or hating.  It's about shame-based lack of movie-watching.  What are those big movies that are essentials that you've managed to miss for your life thus far?  My confessions include never having seen The Matrix or The Blair Witch Project, but the biggest by far is...

Lawrence of Arabia (1962, dir. David Lean) - Often considered one of the greatest films of all time, it's the highest ranking AFI list occupant that I haven't seen, and it's the tour de force that defines Peter O'Toole's career.  Not to mention it had great Oscar success, and its score lives on as one of the all-time greats.  Yet, I haven't seen it.  Though my brother insists upon it year after year, I've just never had the insistent inclination to watch it.  Could it be the nearly four-hour running time?  Or even the barren landscape with nary a female character in sight?  I attribute it to just pure dumb luck that I haven't seen the classic 1962 flick.  What movie have you accidentally avoided for the longest time?  Or is everyone more film literate than I am?

1 comment:

TomS said...

Luke, I wish you could experience "Lawrence" for the first time on a big screen. We saw a revival of a new print at our Music Box theater in Chicago several years ago..and it made a lot of difference. It is a challenging film, a beautiful film, a stunning production. And it is a great way to understand how we began our current troubles in the Middle East!

As for me... I still have not seen last year's Oscar nominated "True Grit" or "Winters Bone". Even more shocking..I heve never seen any of the Harry Potter series..not one. Maybe, Luke, you can convince me to give them a chance.