New Weekly Column: Film Ignorance

Everyone outside of Roger Ebert has some famous or important films that they haven't gotten around to. Believe it or not, literally dozens of Americans are walking around, going about their everyday life, without having ever seen Gone With the Wind, On the Waterfront, Rebel Without a Cause, Vertigo, M, MASH, King Kong, Nosferatu, Amadeus, Deliverance, All About Eve, et al.

Furthermore, I didn't choose those films randomly. I haven't seen a single one of them.

So I'm starting a new weekly column: Film Ignorance. It has two goals. First, to celebrate film ignorance. Everyone has tons of films they haven't seen; many more people don't even care. And this leads to awkward conversations, such as when one of my professors expressed disbelief that anyone could reach college without having seen All About Eve. And I just had to keep my mouth shut. So, in honor of that, I'm putting my film ignorance on display for all to see. Film ignorance, as far as I'm concerned, should be shared, not hidden.

The second goal is to alleviate my own ignorance. I compiled 8 Lists: The original AFI Top 100 Films, the new Top 100 Films, The BFI Top 100 Films, the Oscar Best Picture Winners, three Top 100 lists from Filmsite.org, and finally Movieline Magazine's Top 100 Foreign films for some international flavor. I removed all overlap and the films I had already seen, and the result is 320 films I should have seen but haven't.

Each week, I'll try to watch one of these films and then tell you what I thought of them, whether they deserve to be classics, and if I've got any excuse at all for not having seen them. I'm including the whole list now for your perusal, with one caveat: I'm not watching #297 . I intend to die without having seen it. So my goal is to reduce these 320 films down to 1, or at least, 1 + whichever of these movies aren't available on DVD.

Finally, I intend to rate each film with one of five phrases.

• Best. Film. Ever.
• Yep, It's a Classic.
• A Good Movie.
• Meh.
• But...This Movie Sucks!

At one film a week, this should take me about 6 years. If I can cut a year off that, I'll have eliminated my ignorance by the time I'm 30. Wish me luck!

1. 12 Angry Men (1957)
2. 1900 (1976),
3. 42nd Street (1933)
4. A Nous la Liberte (1931),
5. A Place in the Sun (1951)
6. A Room with a View (1986)
7. A Star Is Born (1954)
8. A Taste of Honey (1961),
9. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972),
10. All About Eve
11. All the King's Men
12. Amadeus 1984
13. Andrei Rublev (1969
14. Around the World in 80 Days
15. Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
16. Atlantic City (1981)
17. Baby Doll (1956)
18. Badlands (1973)
19. Battleship Potemkin (1925
20. Being There (1979)
21. Belle de Jour (1967),
22. Ben-Hur (1959)
23. Billy Liar (1963
24. Blue Velvet (1986)
25. Boudu Saved From Drowning (1932),
26. Brassed Off (1996
27. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
28. Brief Encounter (1946)
29. Brighton Rock (1947
30. Broken Blossoms (1919)
31. Bull Durham (1988)
32. Bus Stop (1956)
33. Cabaret (1972)
34. Cabin in the Sky (1943)
35. Camille (1936)
36. Caravaggio (1986
37. Carry On Up The Khyber (1968)
38. Cat People (1942)
39. Cavalcade
40. Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974),
41. Cimarron
42. Cinema Paradiso (1988).
43. City Lights (1931)
44. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
45. Crash
46. Cria! (1975
47. Dark Victory (1939)
48. Darling (1965
49. Days of Heaven (1978)
50. Deliverance (1972)
51. Diary of a Country Priest (1950), a
52. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988),
53. Dodsworth (1936)
54. Don't Look Now (1973)
55. Dr. Mabuse, Parts 1 and 2 (1922),
56. Dracula (1931)
57. E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
58. Earth (1930), aka Soil or Zemlya
59. East of Eden (1955)
60. Easy Rider (1969)
61. Educating Rita (1983
62. Elizabeth (1998)
63. Enter the Dragon (1973)
64. Europa '51 (1952),
65. Fanny and Alexander (1982
66. Far From the Madding Crowd (1967)
67. Fires Were Started (1943
68. Five Easy Pieces (1970)
69. Floating Weeds (1959),
70. Footlight Parade (1933)
71. Forbidden Games (1951),
72. Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994
73. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
74. Gandhi (1982)
75. Genevieve (1953)
76. Gentleman's Agreement
77. Gertrud (1965),
78. Get Carter (1971
79. Giant 1956
80. Gigi
81. Going My Way
82. Gone with the Wind
83. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939),
84. Grand Hotel
85. Great Expectations (1946
86. Greed (1924)
87. Gregory's Girl (1980
88. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1967
89. Gun Crazy (1950)
90. Halloween (1978)
91. Henry V (1944
92. Hope and Glory (1987),
93. How Green Was My Valley
94. If... (1968
95. Ikiru (1952),
96. I'm All Right Jack (1959
97. In a Lonely Place (1950)
98. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
99. In Which We Serve (1942)
100. Intolerance (1916)
101. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
102. It's a Gift (1934)
103. Ivan the Terrible (1944, 1946)
104. Jailhouse Rock (1957)
105. Jezebel (1938)
106. JFK (1991)
107. Kes (1969)
108. Key Largo (1948)
109. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949.
110. King Kong 1933
111. Kings Row (1942)
112. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
113. Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
114. Kramer vs. Kramer
115. La Belle et la Bete (1946),
116. La Chienne (1931),
117. La Notte (1961),
118. La Roue (1923),
119. La Terra Trema (1948
120. L'Age d'Or/Un Chien Andalou (1930)
121. Lamerica (1994),
122. Landscape in the Mist (1988)
123. Last Tango in Paris (1972)
124. Last Year at Marienbad (1961),
125. L'Atalante (1934),
126. Laura (1944)
127. L'Avventura (1960),
128. Le Boucher (1969),
129. Le Jour Se Leve (1939),
130. Le Million (1931),.
131. L'Eclisse (1962),
132. Les Diabolique (1954),
133. Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)
134. Life is Sweet (1990.
135. Little Caesar (1930)
136. Local Hero (1983
137. Lola (1961),
138. Lola Montes (1955),
139. M (1931),
140. M*A*S*H (1970)
141. Marty
142. Masculin Feminin (1966)
143. Metropolis (1927)
144. Midnight Cowboy
145. Mildred Pierce (1945)
146. Million Dollar Baby
147. Mona Lisa (1986
148. Monty Python's Life of Brian
149. Mrs. Miniver
150. Murder, My Sweet (1944)
151. Murmur of the Heart (1971),
152. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
153. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985
154. My Left Foot (1989
155. My Man Godfrey (1936)
156. My Name is Joe (1998
157. Napoleon (1927),
158. Nashville (1975)
159. Nil By Mouth (1997.
160. Ninotchka (1939)
161. Nosferatu (1922),
162. Oliver Twist (1948
163. On the Waterfront
164. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
165. Ordinary People
166. Pather Panchali (1955
167. Passport to Pimlico (1949),
168. Paths of Glory (1957)
169. Patton
170. Performance (1970
171. Persona (1966),
172. Playtime (1967),
173. Poltergeist (1982)
174. Queen Christina (1933)
175. Raise the Red Lantern (1991
176. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
177. Repulsion (1965)
178. Rocco and His Brothers (1960),
179. Roman Holiday (1953)
180. Room at the Top (1958
181. Sansho Dayu (1954),
182. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960
183. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
184. Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)
185. Secrets & Lies (1995
186. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
187. Senso (1954),
188. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
189. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964),
190. Shame (1968),
191. She Done Him Wrong (1933)
192. Shoah (1985),
193. Small Faces (1995)
194. Smiles of a Summer Night (1955
195. Solaris (1972),
196. Sons of the Desert (1933)
197. Sophie's Choice (1982)
198. Spirit of the Beehive (1973),
199. Splendor in the Grass (1961)
200. Stairway to Heaven (1946) (aka A Matter of Life and Death (1946))
201. Strangers on a Train (1951)
202. Strike (1924),.
203. Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971),
204. Sunrise (1927)
205. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
206. Swept Away...(1975)
207. Swing Time (1936)
208. Terms of Endearment
209. The 39 Steps (1935
210. The Apartment
211. The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
212. The Battle of Algiers (1965),
213. The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)
214. The Best Years of Our Lives
215. The Birds (1963)
216. The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
217. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972),
218. The Blue Angel (1930),
219. The Broadway Melody
220. The Burmese Harp (1956),
221. The Children of Paradise (1945),
222. The Commitments (1991
223. The Conformist (1970),
224. The Conversation (1974)
225. The Crowd (1928)
226. The Cruel Sea (1952)
227. The Crying Game (1992
228. The Dam Busters (1955)
229. The Day of the Jackal (1973)
230. The Decalogue (1988),
231. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
232. The Draughtsman's Contract (1982),.
233. The Earrings of Madame de. . . (1953)
234. The English Patient (1996),
235. The Eyes Without a Face (1960),
236. The Four Hundred (400) Blows (1959
237. The Freshman (1925)
238. The Full Monty (1997.
239. The Go-Between (1970),
240. The Golden Coach (1952),
241. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
242. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964),
243. The Great Dictator (1940)
244. The Great Ziegfeld
245. The Greatest Show on Earth
246. The Heiress (1949)
247. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
248. The Ipcress File (1965)
249. The Italian Job (1969
250. The Jazz Singer (1927)
251. The Kid (1921)
252. The Killers (1946)
253. The Killing (1956)
254. The Killing Fields (1984)
255. The King of Comedy (1983)
256. The Kingdom (1994),
257. The Lady Vanishes (1938
258. The Ladykillers (1955)
259. The Last Emperor (1987)
260. The Last Picture Show (1971)
261. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951
262. The Letter (1940)
263. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943
264. The Life of Emile Zola
265. The Lion in Winter (1968)
266. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
267. The Long Good Friday (1980
268. The Lost Weekend)
269. The Madness of King George (1994
270. The Man in the White Suit (1951
271. The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
272. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
273. The Night of the Shooting Stars (1982),
274. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
275. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928),
276. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
277. The Railway Children (1970)
278. The Red and the White (1967),
279. The Red Desert (1964),
280. The Red Shoes (1948)
281. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
282. The Rules of the Game
283. The Scarlet Empress (1934)
284. The Servant (1963
285. The Shining (1980)
286. The Spider's Stratagem (Strategy) (1970),
287. The Terminator (1984)
288. The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
289. The Thing (From Another World) (1951)
290. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964),
291. The Wicker Man (1973
292. The Wind (1928)
293. The World of Apu (1959
294. Thelma & Louise (1991)
295. Throne of Blood (1957),
296. Through a Glass Darkly (1961),
297. Titanic (1997)
298. To Be or Not to Be (1942)
299. To Have and Have Not (1944)
300. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
301. Tom Jones (1963)
302. Top Hat (1935)
303. Tristana (1970),
304. Trouble in Paradise (1932)
305. Two English Girls (1971),
306. Vampyr (1931),
307. Vertigo 1958
308. Viridiana (1961),
309. Way Out West (1937)
310. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
311. Whisky Galore! (1949
312. White Heat (1949)
313. Wings
314. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
315. Women in Love (1969
316. Written on the Wind (1956)
317. Wuthering Heights 1939
318. Yankee Doodle Dandy
319. Zero de Conduit (1933),
320. Zulu (1964