Forcing yourself to watch a classic movie

I am quite a big fan of old movies and not just the classics that everyone has seen, but some more obscure ones, however there are some movies that i have to force myself to watch because they are just so unappealing but are referenced too much to overlook. 
 
I read some movie blogs and used to listen to a movie podcast. There was one movie that came up time and time again; "I spit on you grave". I have seen the trailers and it does not look like something that is enjoyable to watch. To me it looks like some sensationlist movie that is more of a chore than an enjoyable experience. However, i rented the movie recently in a effort to force myself to watch it so that i can fully understand when it is referenced in the future. I will watched it today.
 
 What movies have you had to force yourself to watch because other people talk about them or reference them a lot? On a side note, my friend had never seen the godfather but after being told by countless people that it was a classic he rented it. He found it boring and turned it off after 30 minutes. I killed him.

i wouldn't say i've "forced" myself to watch the invisible man. it's the original starring claude rains. it came out in 1933. it's one of my all-time favorite movies.

I've never forced myself to watch any movie, I enjoy it so why would I force it?

@RubberBabyBuggyBumpers: And that has what to do with OP?

The fact is that you can't really expect to stay on top of every single reference. Time is too precious to allow others to dictate what you spend it on.

I finally sat down and watched Patton recently. it wasn't forced necessarily but it was more of a "well i don't know what else to watch thing" and i enjoyed it more then most movies i'v seen in the past 2 or 3 years.

If it seems interesting, i watch it, no need to force.

I bought Raiders of the Lost Ark because i'd never seen an Indy movie besides a few bits of Crystal Skull. I had to force myself to finish watching it because it was so terribly boring, and it didn't pay off, I found it to be a terrible, terrible film. 
 
Other than that I don't think I've ever forced myself to watch anything.  

@Black_Rose: Did you at least appreciate the bit where he shot the sword-wielding arab?

That's really the only scene that matters in that movie.

I didn't force myself, but a bunch of people (including Screened at the time, I miss the movie club thing they had going) were talking about Sanjuro and Yojimbo. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

I force myself to watch classic porn.

I saw the original Solaris film last night and damn what a fine film.

@BR4DL3I9H: Can I have your friend's body? Seeing as he's dead he probably doesn't need it and I need a couple pieces for my Frankenstein monster.

Once Upon a Time in America.  It was meh.  I've decided to force myself to watch every episode of MST3k, seriously, which is about a man being forced to watch bad films.  I like that.

I normally only really watch movies that i am in the mood to watch. There are some movies that i will eventually get around to watching though. I have yet to see any of the Twilight movies, but i honeslty could not care less about those movies, however i have also not seen past the 2nd Harry Potter movie, but i will get to those some day.
 
@WickedFather: I kind of agree with you about Once upon a time in America. I thought was pretty good, but it was way too long. 

@MordeaniisChaos: I totally would except i re-purposed his body last halloween. Best porch scarecrow ever!

I Spit On Your Grave is hated by nearly everyone. Why would you try and watch it rather than watching a good old film?

I do like a good old film but then i also like to go out of my comfort zone and watch movies that i generally wouldn't watch to see what else is out there. I have seen a few movies that i thought would be awful on face value but the turned out to be surprisingly good. My expectations for "I spit on your grave" are incredibly low.

I can't say that I ever forced myself to watch any film.

If you have to force yourself to watch a film then the film ovoiusly is not worth it.

I forced myself through all of There Will Be Blood. I think maybe it was because I was flu-stricken but I couldn't stand it.

I really enjoy old movies, but one movie I kinda had to force myself to watch was Casablanca because it's such a classic but wasn't anything I though looked very interesting. And it wasn't, but I'm glad I've seen it because it's a movie you have to have seen. It's well made film and all but I really didn't buy the romance.

Casablanca and Citizen Kane, I just cant get myself to watch them. I probably should watch them, the last time I forced myself to watch a movie  it turned out to be one of my all time favourites, 12 Angry Men.

As long as I have someone to watch it with I usually get through it. If I watch a movie alone I give up sometimes because it's just a too bad movie but if someone's there with me it's fine.

I find so much madness in the films that some people choose to hate. There Will be Blood, Raiders, the Godfather, and so on are movies that I love and impossible not to respect the craftmenship in their making.

I don't really force myself to watch movies because of societal pressure, but I have a sickening interest in keeping up with the cultural zeitgeist, making me watch such classics as the Twilight-series and the Hannah Montana-movie. Sometimes this leads to good things, such as with that new GI Joe-film that was just retard-awesome, not to mention the modern Finnish teen dramas that revolve around teens drinking and partying and in the end being saved BY GOD.

I've never really felt forced to watch anything. I watched Glengarry Glenross just to get why everyone was quoting it. I didn't really understand the genius of it until watching it a couple of times

Sure, I have seen King Kong (1933), Seven Samurai, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Rear Window, Citizen Kane or Casablanca solely because of their "classic" status, and that sometimes meant some effort to actually start or to keep watching. Most of the time that pays off, sometimes it doesn't. 
 
There is no shame in this, they were made for an audience that was much easier - or, rather, differently - captivated. Especially the first act has been remodeled throughout the decades to make the entry into a story easier and more exciting.

I bought Raiders of the Lost Ark because i'd never seen an Indy movie besides a few bits of Crystal Skull. I had to force myself to finish watching it because it was so terribly boring, and it didn't pay off, I found it to be a terrible, terrible film.  Other than that I don't think I've ever forced myself to watch anything.  

I force myself to watch classic porn.

I would actually say that I've forced myself to watch Bladerunner. 
 
I actually believe there is a problem in the fact, that the only version it really is possible to watch of most classics, is some way too long extended Director's Cut version. 
 
I have a similar problem with Apocalypse Now. I can kind of sense the appeal of the movie - The available version is just too damn long.

I generally have to force myself to watch movies, good or bad. This is generally because my friends are dolts when rewatching movies; my brother's probably the only person I legitimately always enjoy watching a movie with, but we also rarely watch "greatest movies ever" like Blade Runner or The Godfather. Also, he has a pretty severe distaste for the pacing of older films, so generally I have to watch those solo.

I had never seen Scarface. The 1932 film, not the mediocre Al Pacino one. It was on TCM the other day, so I recorded it. It's a damn fine movie, and makes me wish the Hays Code wasn't enforced a couple years later. 
 
But I never force myself to watch a movie. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Either I want to watch it, or I don't.

@Black_Rose said:

I bought Raiders of the Lost Ark because i'd never seen an Indy movie besides a few bits of Crystal Skull. I had to force myself to finish watching it because it was so terribly boring, and it didn't pay off, I found it to be a terrible, terrible film. Other than that I don't think I've ever forced myself to watch anything.

As all unbelievers you will be judged upon the final day!

I went to see It Came From Outer Space (1953) in 3D (with old school red and blue glasses) at a local movie theater yesterday.

I wasn't exactly "forcing" myself to see it, but it was actually pretty enjoyable. It's also not exactly a "classic movie". But it was interesting. 3D technology has come a long way.

Metropolis...it's interesting what they already did back then, but man...it's hard to watch it from beginning to end.
 
@WickedFather said:

Once Upon a Time in America.  It was meh.  I've decided to force myself to watch every episode of MST3k, seriously, which is about a man being forced to watch bad films.  I like that.

I generally don't force myself to watch something I'm not interested in.
 
I've tried to make it through Shawshank Redemption a few times, but it just puts me to sleep.

the cabinet of dr. calagri the 1920 version

This entire forum got me so confused after the "Lost Raiders is a bad movie" comment that my world just spiraled and stopped making sense.

As I type this I am forcing myself to watch The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet Nest.  I'd rather watch a quick look... 

I just got netflix so I've been thinking about doing this, I did just watch blade runner though and I liked it a lot.  I love Harrison Ford. 
 
Anyways, about 2 months ago I forced myself to sit through the godfather finally and I thought it was alright but it's not anywhere on my favorite movies list.  

I saw the Cohen brothers version of True Grit earlier year. When it came up in conversation at dinner it inevitably led to my parents lending me a copy of the original John Wayne version. I'm not at all a fan of John Wayne so after about 3 months now I still can't bring myself to put it on.

@Black_Rose: Well, since you're being snide about it: you're fucking wrong. Raiders is one of the best summer blockbusters ever. You don't have to like it, but It's complete madness that you are flat-out saying it is terrible. But you know what, don't even bother replying to this. Because you'll probably just start that stupid pissed off internet nerd shit. In fact, if you do reply, you'll just say I'm a stupid pissed off internet nerd that's starting some shit...  Raiders isn't terrible.