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Shame, shame, shame?
A few years back on Facebook, I outed myself for a movie faux pas – I had never seen “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” It’s one of those films that is quoted and referenced in all manner of ways, assuming much of the time that it’s been universally viewed. And it turns out there are a great many of these films and just as many people out there who have never seen them – in the dark about their plots, not in on the joke and never intending to be. My post became a completely unofficial survey, with several titles popping up again and again. Have you seen them? What’s your guilty little movie secret?
“Star Wars” – George Lucas’ space saga has many chapters, and very opinionated fans. There are those who have seen the first three films from 1977-1983 (episodes 4, 5 and 6), but not the prequel trilogy from 1999-2005 (episodes 1, 2 and 3). Or those who have seen 1-6 (all by Lucas), but not the subsequent trilogy (episodes 7, 8 and 9) done after he sold the franchise.
“Gone With the Wind” – The Civil War raged, Scarlet O’Hara pouted and Rhett Butler didn’t give a damn. So, too, did several people in my survey, who admitted that an almost four-hour running time was no enticement to view this 1939 classic.
Scene from “The Goonies” (Warner Bros. Entertainment photo)
“The Goonies” – This mid-’80s adventure starring Sean Astin as a little kid who chases the legend of One-Eyed Willie was pure gold to me, but not to many of my younger friends, who admit to not having made time to “Never Say Die!”
“The Godfather” – Marlon Brando and Al Pacino shepherd the Corleone family through good times and bad, but you have to see it to know what offer the Don makes that can’t be refused or what it means when someone “sleeps with the fishes.”
“The Wizard of Oz” – “Follow the yellow brick road” to a place that’s “not in Kansas anymore.” Many of my respondents admitted that even if they hadn’t seen the film start to finish, they feel like they’ve seen it as ubiquitously as the film is referenced.
“A Christmas Story” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” – Two holiday masterpieces that run so much during the season that it’s hard to believe ANYONE could have escaped viewing, but nonetheless both ranked highly on the secretly-never-seen list.
“Pulp Fiction” – Quentin Tarantino turned the movie-making industry on its head with this super-cool and eminently quotable flick that weaves together the stories of criminals and criminal adjacents.
“The Sound of Music” – Julie Andrews plays Maria, governess to seven children, who sparks a love of music and joy that lead to a family band. Today’s teeny-boppers may be surprised to find that one of this musical’s numbers is the source of Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” riff.
© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.
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