Which movies that are considered "classics" just didn't do it for you?

Gone With The Wind. I saw it for the first time all the way through about ten years ago. I told my sister I had just finished it and she said, “grandma thought that movie was the dumbest thing she had ever seen.”

I also don’t love The Sound Of Music, I get bored, but I like some of the songs, and you probably remember I went to the Von Trapp lodge in VT and met some Von Trapps and loved hearing the real stories about leaving Austria.

All musicals except West Side Story. And now I wouldn’t like it either.
Casablanca. Man, talk about boring! Loved the music but they overdid it. And everything is foggy.

2001: A Space Odyssey just seems like a series of beeps to me, one or two memorable lines aside. I regard most blockbusters as overrated. The first two Star Wars movies were watchable, but every one after the first half of Return of the Jedi was an abortion – and the first two are, well, overrated. Some of these things are just good on a screen; the dazzle factor of ID4 in 1996 concealed the lack of a story.

Concur with @JLeslie about The Sound of Music. Pretentious, absurd, and the music is bad. Not sure I disagree with @Aster either. These movies are largely more famous for a few well-delivered lines (“This is a start of a beautiful friendship”) or scenes that are mostly just tropes these days.

I will say, I liked The Seventh Seal. The story is still engaging, the humor is good, the themes are haunting, and the imagery and at least one performance (Death’s) is iconic. It defined the gold standard for the personification of Death for film. Yet somehow, every movie that borrows from it seems bad. Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey?

I’ll go with horror classics, The Exorcist. I think the problem is that movie is way too old for me to have been able to appreciate it fully. Or so I thought…as far as horror goes, I’ve always watched it, and I’ve always watched all kinds, from black and white stuff to modern horror. I’ve always liked the older stuff even if it isn’t from my time. So, what can I say?

I recognize that The Exorcist is a good movie. It is well done and everything. But personally to me, it was just a big yawn fest. Perhaps I was expecting TOO MUCH since I was told it was all classicy. (back then I was in my 70’s horror phase as well, which is some of the goriest and most outrageous horror you’ll see to this day) Plus they took out a bunch of scenes, which I’ve seen later, on YT. So I pick that. It didn’t do it for me at all. Although it has to be said, horror about demonic possessions and the like are in my least favorite. :/ It seems very hard for me to take it seriously, I much prefer psychotic murderers, zombies and other monsters.

Still though, it does warrant another viewing; I was 14 when I saw that, it was a long time ago, it deserves another chance.

Oh but Tubular Bells is awesome.

Titanic is at the top of my list.

@Symbeline Same. I feel like its “scariness” is overstated, but that could be because we didn’t see it in a theatre when it first came out. “The Omen” was far superior, though.
Honestly, most movies in the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s are really dated (barring a few exceptions of course).

@Michael_Huntington Yeah, I said I didn’t like movies about demonic possession much, but I LOVE The Omen. (all the sequels blow testicles though) The Amityville series is great too.

And yeah, I heard that when The Exorcist played in theaters, people passed out, ran out and other stuff. Incidentally, when The Passion of Christ played in theaters, much of the same happened. And that’s another movie I personally think is the boringest thing ever. Which PROVES that I’m not in it just for the gore. The Passion is the goriest thing ever…in fact, that’s pretty much all it seems to be. Incredibly boring.

Mine would be a very long list, but if i’m going to judge this on films I should love, then it has to be the Godfather trilogy, it’s just not happening man.

It’s a Wonderful Life. The accidental-never-ever-should-have-been-considered-a-classic-film-that-society-assumes-is-a-classic-because-television-networks-overplay-the-shit-out-of-it-in-December film.

And Solaris. All three of them for ruining an outstanding novel. As Stanislaw Lem said, ”...to my best knowledge, the book was not dedicated to erotic problems of people in outer space… As Solaris’ author I shall allow myself to repeat that I only wanted to create a vision of a human encounter with something that certainly exists, in a mighty manner perhaps, but cannot be reduced to human concepts, ideas or images. This is why the book was entitled ‘Solaris’ and not ‘Love in Outer Space’.”

Easily my top two.

A Street Car Named Desire. I watched it years ago. Found it so boring, that I only made it half way through. Annie Hall, and Rebel Without a Cause where two others that I found boring. Anything with James Dean was usually a snorer.

Mary Poppins was horrible, so bad it made your teeth rot.

I agree with Sound of Music. Ugh.

Titanic isn’t a classic, otherwise I’d add that too.

A Clockwork Orange. Disturbing and overrated all at once.

@bolwerk I wouldn’t call it absurd. The Von Trapps really did wind up in America because they sang. Maria was his second wife and the family had invitations to many countries to sing. The Nazis were really pressuring the family and they simply did not agree with the Nazis. He, the father, had been given an Italian passport, which had been bad in one way, he was losing his job and the government was having him train who would take over his position, so he needed to cross over into Italy all the time. I think the borders had moved around maybe, that part is fuzzy in my memory. After a family vote they all decided they would leave Austria, because the Nazis were not going to let up on them. One day they took a day trip to Italy, no problem because the father had a passport, no luggage, nothing but the clothes on their backs, and never returned to Austria leaving everything behind. They sang in various European countries to make a living, eventually making it to America where they most wanted to be. They continued to sing in America.

@Pandora “Streetcar” is one of the most fabulous movies I’ve ever seen! LOL

There’s a saying that you shouldn’t raise your kids the same way you were, because those children will be growing up in a different time. This can be applied to movies and books.

For example: A lot of movies are considered classic because they brought something new to the table (first interracial kiss, camera angle style, plot style etc.), so of course someone watching this classic movie won’t be surprised because they’ve already seen 100 movies with styles taken from that classic.

Citizen Kane and The Pianist come to mind.

@ucme . . . You surprise me with that choice.

I love The Pianist, that movie rocks.

Oh, and if we’re going the horror route, Army of Darkness was a total piece of shit. Evil Dead II is a masterpiece tainted by that after birth of a sequel.

I love all three. :D But it has to be said, without Campbell, not sure that movie would have stuck out so much.

The same thing can be said about Bubba Hotep.

@Blondesjon Yeah, I should love those films, but I just can’t get a handle on the first one & that renders the sequels kinda pointless for me.
As you know, I love similar stuff, Goodfellas, Casino, Things to do in Denver…, it’s a funny thing, but it is what it is.

If we’re talking rubbish horror movies, Nightmare on Elm Street is so bad it almost hurts.
Best horror film ever, only one winner…Halloween.

not sure if these are “classics” or not, but…..

“Fargo”
“Brazil” (cult classic)
“Casablanca” was hmm okay, but nothing exciting to me.
“The Exorcist” actually made me laugh

@ucme . . . Carpenter is indeed the shit but, as fucking outstanding as Halloween is, I think his remake of The Thing is his best work.

Agree with @JLeslie. GWTW never did it for me—and to this day I haven’t seen “The Sound of Music.” I once loved “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Citizen Kane but saw them so many times I got burned out on both. Three classics that never fail to move me, however—for different reasons—are the original “The Thing (from Another Planet),”“The Red Shoes” and especially ‘The Best Years of Our Lives.”

Halloween rules.

When I opened this question I had a great answer. Now I can only agree with @JLeslie, in that I’ve only seen portions of “Gone With the Wind” and I was not compelled by them in the least.

@bolwerk I’d sooner try to chew rock candy than sit through “A Sound of Music”. I probably haven’t seen 10 minutes of the movie that was a nightmare.

Reading through the thread, I have to agree with @Cruiser, and (“Yawn”, Scuse ME!) “Titanic”.

And although the original “Dick Van Dyke” show was my epitome of comic TV, that man made THE MOST ANNOYING movies. Ever!”

The Big Sleep. Haha! A classic Philip Marlowe movie? What a joke!

Humphrey Borgart as Phillip Marlowe is even much, much cheesier than Dick Powel’s Philip Marlowe, although Dick is often criticized as being too cheesy.

@Cruiser I disagree with you. I think the original Titanic is great!

I liked Titanic. The original one is awesome too, but they’re such different movies…

I thought Hook sucked. I didn’t see it until I was older ,I really think a lot of my peers have a nostalgia thing with that movie, I mean it’s got a 31 on RT but I always catch flak for not liking it.

I’ve tried to watch A Space Odyssey so many times, I mean I’m a huge sci fi nerd and I love space, perfect movie. I can’t, for the life of me, make it more than 45 minutes into that movie before my mood just goes to “fuck this I’m bored, new movie”

@El_Cadejo – I understand that, as a huge fan of the movie. If you didn’t fall in love with the Lost Boys when you were seven, you missed out. You can’t watch that movie as a seven year old does when you’re an adult. Does that make sense?

But, @El_Cadejo. That ends up being part of the beauty of A Space Odyssey. The slow escalation of the movie.

@Seek Totally, I know there are a few of movies that I LOVE that are actually quite shitty and would probably hate if I saw for the first time today.

@ibstubro I can appreciated a slow building but…fuck…. I will have to try to watch it again sometime now that I’m a bit older I may be able to deal with it. It’s funny like I know the whole story to the movie and like the storyline, I love the soundtrack, just couldn’t watch it lol.

Citizen Kane. Boring boring boring.

Yeah, I know its considered a classic at the top of movie nerds greatest films of all time, but….

And i know Welles is considered some film genius wunderkind and all, and its loosely based upon Hearst and his empire, bla bla bla…but so what?

Just too tedious for words. I guess I fail to identify adequately with the rapacious class of empire building Richie Riches. Big whoop…

Blade Runner. Fuck that movie, it bored me to tears.

like tears in rain?

Noooooooooo @tedibear Not Clockwork Orange! That was such a great movie my droogie! ‘Course, I was stoned the first time I saw it so that may have colored my perception.

Ya, I agree with @JLeslie Sound of Music and GWTW were not that exciting.

Star Wars NOPE, I did not say that!

yes I did

@Blondesjon His remake of The Thing is a fine, fine horror flick, but I laugh through it more than most comedies, some properly hilarious stuff in there.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YDDzjijc6jY

@rojo I found the original 3 incredibly boring. Something about old technology puts me to sleep lol.

@Blackberry I think that is the thing in many cases.

At the time they came out I thoroughly enjoyed them but thought the plot line was simplistic and in many cases the acting was only borderline acceptable; it was the special effects that made the movies and as time marches on and we are jaded by all the newer, more realistic effects, the plot just doesn’t have enough umph to hold it into the “Classic” category.

Gone With The Wind, Dirty Dancing and Grease.

Gone with the Wind’s no good? Never saw it, but I loved the book. (actually currently reading the unofficial sequel called ’‘Scarlet’’.)