The most famous film you've never seen

[diggedy derek]

I think the dodginess was more likely about Lawrence himself. Amazing film, in any case.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I recently did one of those "how many of these 50 iconic films have you seen" online quizzes and got 49. The only one I hadn't was Lawrence of Arabia. I should get round to that. From memory it used to be on every other weekend, but hasn't been for a while - nothing dodgy emerged about Peter O'Toole or David Lean did it?

[G-Man]

I take you at your word, sir. The fascinating part, to me, is the 'There's this movie that's been a massive cultural touchstone for the past 40+ years. Should I take two hours and check it out? No, I'd still rather not.'

But I know the cultural touchstones already. I think I could successfully impersonate somebody who has seen the first and possibly second movie. But time is too short to watch movies I actually want to see...

[Amor de Cosmos]

All the Star Wars films are fucking rubbish without childhood buy in. though Empire Strikes Back just about works as a proper film, Badger Man's influence being most diluted.

The first one (or two) were big among us boomers. They were Flash Gordon updates/parody which took us back to Saturday mornings at the local Rialto (or whatever.)

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Peter Cushing is in it as well.

[Lang Spoon]

Shit. I take it all back. Has Ralph Richardson got a walk-on part as well?

Nah man, this is no O Lucky Man! I'd pay to see a Lindsay Anderson space opera but.

[Lang Spoon]

Alec Guinness, it pains me to say (I love Kind Hearts and Coronets), was a massively horrible Tory Cunt.

[treibeis]

It's got Alec Guinness in it.

Shit. I take it all back. Has Ralph Richardson got a walk-on part as well?

[Lang Spoon]

Fight Club is the 10th highest rated movie on IMDB? Holy fuck, even more than Seth fuckin McFarlane and South Park and fuckin 4chan, that explains this modern amoral both sides suck nihilist lobster boy blasted hellscape.

[Lang Spoon]

All the Star Wars films are fucking rubbish without childhood buy in. though Empire Strikes Back just about works as a proper film, Badger Man's influence being most diluted.

[Nocturnal Submission]

And the climactic scene was inspired by 633 Squadron.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

I'm with G-Man. I, as a middle-aged man, watch a film - a cultural touchstone - about light sabres and spaceships? Or I don't watch it because there are better things to do?

It's got Alec Guinness in it.

[ursus arctos]

SB, it was quite a touchstone for students (male and female) at a certain Ivy League university (and per ms ursus a certain elite West Coast public university) during that period.

[tee rex]

"And it's stupid Star Wars, stupid Star Wars for me
By far the most famous film
That I have never seen ..."

(except I have seen it, but earworms are stronger than truth)

[San Bernardhinault]

Was it really a cultural touchstone to anyone who wasn't an 7 year old boy at some point between 1977 and 1983?

[treibeis]

I take you at your word, sir. The fascinating part, to me, is the 'There's this movie that's been a massive cultural touchstone for the past 40+ years. Should I take two hours and check it out? No, I'd still rather not.'

I'm with G-Man. I, as a middle-aged man, watch a film - a cultural touchstone - about light sabres and spaceships? Or I don't watch it because there are better things to do?

[WOM]

I take you at your word, sir. The fascinating part, to me, is the 'There's this movie that's been a massive cultural touchstone for the past 40+ years. Should I take two hours and check it out? No, I'd still rather not.'

[G-Man]

And the curiosity to know 'what the hell this Star Wars thing is all about' isn't enough to override the sci-fi skepticism? Fascinating.

Well, I'm not going to ascertain either what the hell this Ed Sheeran popularity is all about just because he has so many devotees. All I know of his music, which genre-wise might even fall with in the field of my interest, leaves me indifferent. I think to get a fair picture of what people like about Star Wars. I have no problem accepting that people have very good reasons to love Star Wars. But I'm indifferent to it. Like a non-ideological vegetarian is indifferent to a juicy fillet steak. I'm not sure it's quite as fascinating as you imagine.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I love The Silence of the Lambs. Gorgeous soundtrack.

[WOM]

The Intouchables is a wonderful French film recently remade for the U.S. as The Upside, with Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart.

[Amor de Cosmos]

I'm not exactly sure what constitutes a famous film, but based on IMDB's top 50 of their "250 Top Rated Movies of all time" I haven't seen: Fight Club (10), Star Wars IV (22), The Silence of the Lambs (23), Life is Beautiful (25), Spirited Away (26), Interstellar (31), The Intouchables (39), Spider Man: The Spider-Verse (42), The Prestige (49).

[Simon G]

I have no interest in any of the Marvel films, and LOTR just screams out boring to me. The only superhero films I give any time to are the Batman ones - and I'm not even sure why I do.

[San Bernardhinault]

I've kind-of-by-accident seen about 4 Marvel movies, which are basically all pretty interchangeable and which I was alternately irritated or bored by. I've not managed to watch a whole Harry Potter, Pirate of the Caribbean or LOTR/Hobbit film, and only managed the first of the Star Wars reboots. I look at that top-50 list and have seen maybe 10 or 12 of them in total - I'm pretty sure that either blockbusters these days are rubbish or I'm a grumpy old man whose had all the joy scraped out of his soul.

[Janik]

Of the recent (i.e. since the Millennium) superhero films I've seen a couple of the Batman ones and the first X-Men. But those were very underwhelming, and since then I've had no interest at all in the genre. Marvel can take a running jump for all I care. This means I've not seen many of the ones from that wikipedia top grossing list. In fact, of that top 50 I've seen 15, which are mostly either Star Wars or Lord of the Rings/Hobbit films.

[WOM]

I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in science fiction. I can imagine no scenario where I would be so bereft of choices that I'd watch it in absence of anything else, and I'd not choose to pit it on. That's no judgment on any fan; the series must have merit, and it is so much part of pop culture that I get most references and can answer TV quiz questions on it. But it's just not my thing.

And the curiosity to know 'what the hell this Star Wars thing is all about' isn't enough to override the sci-fi skepticism? Fascinating.