Full Disclosure: Nicolas Winding Refn Reveals 12 Unseen Classics

Ryland Aldrich, Editor, Festivals; Los Angeles, California (@RylandAldrich)

July 16 2013, 1:00 PM

Everyone has those classic films they are ashamed to admit they've never watched. No matter how big of a movie buff you are, there have to be at least a few "must-sees" that have slipped through the cracks. Here at ScreenAnarchy we've been celebrating those films in our year-long series Full Disclosure (See our latest entry here). As part of our 5 Days of Refn series, we asked Nicolas Winding Refn to name twelve classics he is sorry to say he has yet to see. A self-described cineaste, Refn had few exclusions that only God would forgive -- but even he had a handful of gigglers. Click below to see Nicolas Winding Refn's List of Shame.

Persona
The Swedes and Danes have had a long history of shared traditions in Art but Refn was quick to admit there were plenty of films by Ingmar Bergman he has never seen, including his 1966 identity proto-horror classic.

Harakiri
No one can see every classic samurai film out there and Kobayahi's Edo Period-er which won a Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1963 is one that has slipped past Mr. Refn.

Un Chien Andalou
Though it was mentioned in Patrick's great piece from yesterday (Destroyed Faces In The Cinema Of Nicolas Winding Refn), it turns out that Refn has never seen Luis Bunuel's short surreal masterpiece.

L'Avventura
Another Cannes Jury Prize winner that has gone unseen by Refn is Antonioni's 1960 tale of love on the Italian coast that made Monica Vitti a star.

Tokyo Story
With a startling admission that he has never seen any film by Ozu, we chose the Japanese master's familial classic after covering it in April's edition of Full Disclosure.

M
Fritz Lang's Petter Lorre-starring thriller is a true gem, crying out to be seen by Nicolas Winding Refn. Someone send this man the DVD!

Rome Open City
Roberto Rosellini's 1946 Palme d'Or winning film is certainly a must-see, yet made it on to a few Twitch writers' never-been-seen lists. Nothing to be ashamed of, Nic.

Wings of Desire
It's been all black-and-white films so far and even though Wim Wenders' 1987 romantic fantasy has moments of color, even it is mostly b&w and sepia-toned.

Slacker
Richard Linklater's indie opus is the lone American title on Refn's list. We're not sure if that means he's seen all the American classics or if it's a reflection on the standing of American films as must-sees in his eyes...

Man with a Movie Camera
Dziga Vertov's 1929 silent art-doc is well worth seeking out. For added fun, try watching it with the 2003 soundtrack provided by electro-jazz band The Cinematic Orchestra (probably available on YouTube FYI).

Bicycle Thieves
If you want to talk about classic cinema, it is pretty hard not to mention Vittorio De Sica's 1948 masterpiece. It might just be time to sit your butt down and correct this oversight, sir.

The Seventh Seal
We started the list with Bergman and here we end with what is most likely Bergman's most commonly seen work. Is this perhaps the most shocking title on the list? What do you think? Which film are you most surprised that one of today's most exciting directors has yet to see?