In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept of Blindspot, it’s where you pick 12 films you’ve never seen but feel you should have and resolve to watch one per month over the course of the year. Some people review them every month too, but I’m far too disorganised in my posting schedule for such things (I still have pieces on four of my 2016 picks in draft stage).
It’s also what I used to call “What Do You Mean You Haven’t Seen…?” (aka WDYMYHS), but in a foolhardy move to mark my 10th blogiversary (did I mention that yet?) I’ve decided to make these two goals. I mean, when you’re already trying to watch 100+ films in a year, why not specify what almost a quarter of them will be? Okay, I don’t have a 100% track record with even trying to watch 12 a year, but I have hit 91.7%, so…
In the past I’ve developed a complicated system using multiple “greatest films” lists to dictate what my picks should be, but I’ve used a variation on that for WDYMYHS this year, so instead I’ve just chosen these 12 myself. The criteria? I went through every unwatched DVD and Blu-ray I own and tried to pluck out films that it shocked me I haven’t seen — and I am me, so I dread to think what you all think (probably “why does he think we care about what films he has or hasn’t seen?”) I’ve tried to keep some variety in era, genre, country, etc, though there’s a slight bent towards sci-fi because, as an avowed SF fan, those gaps glowered at me the most.
Anyway, that’s enough ado. Here are the 12, in alphabetical order:
The 39 Steps

The Cabinet
of Dr. Caligari

The Conversation

Dances with Wolves

District 9

The Exorcist

Forbidden Planet

Jackie Brown

A Matter of
Life and Death

Nashville

Planet of the Apes

Yojimbo

Now, on to my WDYMYHS picks…
I’ve only seen two on this list – Dances with Wolves (which is great) and Jackie Brown (you’ll need to make your own decision on that one…I won’t say anything). Happy watching.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jackie Brown is the only Tarantino I’ve not seen, so that’ll be an interesting one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome list! I loved Dances With Wolves back in the day and have always wanted a rewatch. And The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is just plain amazing! Hope you enjoy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! Dances with Wolves seems to be quite a divisive film nowadays so I look forward to finding out for myself.
LikeLike
Some really, really good ones to look forward to. Yojimbo and Dances with Wolves are definite favorites of mine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to hear 🙂 I’m having to hold myself back a little — I kind of want to dive into them all now, rather than space them throughout the year.
LikeLike
Christ on a bike, its like you’ve never lived, I cannot believe you haven’t seen some of the films on that list. Isn’t it funny what slips you by (writing as someone who hadn’t seen Casablanca until last year). You’re in for a good 2017 inspite of whatever crap Hollywood kicks out this year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, these are definitely some of my more shameful misses. It’s a pretty inexplicable thing how that happens. I mean, I feel like it happens to me a lot because I have a terrible habit of buying stuff and then being ‘satisfied’ that it’s on the to-watch pile, but almost everyone seems to have something big they haven’t seen.
LikeLike
Love the list! Want to know what I’ve seen from this list? Of course you do! I’ve seen: The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (so good!), The Conversation, Dances With Wolves, District 9, The Exorcist & Planet Of The Apes (sorry – on these last two I HAVE to say “How have you never seen these?!” Lol). ; ) Loving that there’s an Akira Kurosawa on here. I badly want to see that one since I’ve now seen the “remake” A Fistful Of Dollars. I never put Kurosawa or Studio Ghibli on my Blind Spot list since I’m kind of doing those as separate personal goals of mine but they’re a main priority. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on all these! And our joint Jackie Brown. : )
LikeLiked by 1 person
I own so many Kurosawa films (I got a couple of box sets a few years ago) but they’re never pressing like new films feel, so I figure lists like this are a good way to push my hand. Hence why I’m also putting on all these classics I haven’t quite got round to!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah… I have several Kurosawa DVDs knocking about. But then stuff has to be watched on Netflix & Amazon Prime before they disappear! Ugh. So annoying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely — I spend way more time watching stuff on streaming than I do watching my DVDs & Blu-rays, which is just daft really.
LikeLike