The "Why"

I am on a journey.

I am on a journey to see every movie that is considered to be a "classic." The term classic has different meanings for different people, but I think that will make this a lot more interesting.

Why am I doing this?

I am married to a movie buff. I would even venture to say he is a film geek. My husband Bill hosts a weekly genre cinema podcast called "Outside the Cinema" (www.outsidethecinema.com - sorry, couldn't resist) in which he and his co-host Chris (also host of the "Are You Serious?" podcast at www.areyouseriouspodcast.com) sit down in our house every week and talk about movies. The show has been running for about a year and a half now, and two things have happened.

1. We have become friends with people around the world who are so startlingly intelligent and well-spoken in many ways, but mainly in the world of film knowledge. People with other podcasts, general listeners and others have become "friends" through this show. The one thing we all have in common is a love for film.

2. Though I love movies, I realized that I have seen practically nothing. I'm not exaggerating. I mean, I've seen a lot of movies. But most of the films I've seen have been more current box-office offerings. I love independent film and I like a lot of different genres, but have not really seen the movies that one would consider to be "essential." There are a few that I've seen, but really it's insane how many I have not.

So, in an effort to better myself, I am on a quest to see every movie that is considered to be a "classic" in any sense of the term. Casblanca, Gone With the Wind, etc, are at the top. But if it's something you consider to be essential for any reason - even if it's not an old film - I want to watch it.

This is day 1 and I have 126 movies on the list. My Netflix account is going to get some exercise - this is going to take years. But I'm looking forward to the ride.