Thursday Thirteen - 1 - Thirteen Films People are Shocked to Find I Haven't Seen Yet

I've enjoyed reading many Thursday Thirteens this year, and now give one and all A Piece of My Mind:

The shock value criteria for this list:
First - that half of the films on this Thursday Thirteen are in my 'longing-to-see' category.
Second - as a graduate of Ryerson's film program in Toronto (12 years ago) most people assume I've seen all the great films.
Third - my husband works at Blockbuster, takes home 10 free rentals a week, and has seen almost every film ever made.

1 - "Casablanca" (1942) by Michael Curtiz

with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman

I'm holding onto this one to savour someday.

2 - "Taxi Driver" (1976) by Martin Scorsese

with Robert De Niro and Jodi Foster

A classic. Cutting edge, character-driven, Scorsese in top form, a hotbed of cultural references - everything I could want. Why do I deprive myself?

3 - "Cinema Paradiso" (1990) by Giuseppe Tornotore

with Philippe Noiret and Salvatore Cascio

"Every Filmmaker's Favorite Film" says caspian1978 on IMDB. "The ending answers all of your questions and completes the missing pieces to all movies. If the musical score doesn't put you in tears, the amazing visuals will push you over the edge." This one really is a puzzle.

4 - "A Christmas Carol" (1951) by Brian Desmond Hurst

with Alastair Sim and Mervyn Johns

The 'definitive' film version of one of my favorite all-time stories. My big problem is that I love the 1984 version with George C. Scott so much. I also love the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart. I like thinking there's a Christmas delight still waiting for me.

5 - "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) by Kelly Donen and Stanley Donen

with Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

This one was doubly hard to miss, as it was screened at film school. I was working a matinee that day at a performing arts theatre, which was a total drag because I'd been looking forward to it.

6 - "The Red Shoes" (1948) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

with Anton Walbrook and Moira Shearer

Torn between the love of dance and her passion for her lover - is that not the perfect film for a ballet freak like me? "Personal relationships are fragile; a dancer's active career can be short. If you have a gift, service to it must come first. Domesticity can wait," writes Silverwhistle from Glasgow on the IMDB. After watching the documentary on the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo last year, I must watch "The Red Shoes" as all the stars of that company dance in the film. In their prime!

7 - "Cold Mountain" (2003) by Anthony Minghella

with Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger

My critique partner's favorite film. The late 1800's, battle footage, a tragic love story - why am I doing this to myself?

8 - "The Seven Samurai" (1954) by Akira Kurosawa

with Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune

My husband is a huge fan of samurai films and Japanese manga (graphic novels) like the Lone Wolf and Cub series. My hero George Lucas named this film as an influence to my beloved "Star Wars" films. And still I've never seen more than clips of this masterpiece.

9 - "Breathless" (1960) by Jean-Luc Godard

with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg

A landmark film that ushered in the French New Wave. "With fast editing and unresolved camera movements, Godard disseminated the very essence of his hero's lifestyle," says Spiros Gangas of the Edinburgh University Film Society. About time I saw it, then.

10 - "An Inconvenient Truth" (2006) by Davis Guggenheim

with Al Gore

Preaching to the converted, but I know I'd love it.

11 - "School of Rock" (2003) by Richard Linklater

with Jack Black and Joan Cusack

There's no good reason why I haven't seen this yet.

12 - "The Notebook" (2004) by Nick Cassavetes

with Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams

This is my cousin's favorite film. So I want to watch it with her. So far, 3 years have gone by of trying to do just that.

13 - "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) by Nora Ephron

with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan

Actually, I'm not that much of a contemporary romantic comedy fan. I like them quirkier than this. Like "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!".

I can vouch for the shock value of this list. If you could have seen the look on my mom's face when I mentioned I hadn't seen "Casablanca". Or on my sister's face when I told her I was putting "Taxi Driver" on my first Thursday Thirteen.

Are there similar films waiting impatiently for you to watch them?