Regularly topping, or at least being there or thereabouts in audience polls for the public's favourite film of all time is
Francis Ford Coppola's seminal 1974 classic
The Godfather - but how many of us have actually seen the movie? How many of us simply claim to our friends, families, work colleagues and strangers in the pub that we have seen it but actually haven't, knowing full well it's a classic and that we should have? Would we really rather lie about our cinematic viewing past than feel inferior, or even to impress someone about how 'cultured' we are? According to
a new study at Love Film, 80% of 1500 Brits surveyed admitted that at some point in their lives they had lied to people about having seen movies they actually hadn't, with The Godfather (30%) topping the list of films most fibbed about. This suggests that almost 1 in 3 people who tell you they have seen
Marlon Brando's legendary performance as Don Corleone, the horses head in the bed, the restaurant scene, etc, etc, are just faking their recognition. Here's the full top ten list of movies most people lie about having seen but haven't, and although I'm trying desperately not to be sexist, it would seem to suggest that it's men and their ego's who are driven to tell porkies; 1. The Godfather (30 per cent) 2. Casablanca (13 per cent) 3. Taxi Driver (11 per cent) 4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (9 per cent) 5. Reservoir Dogs (8 per cent) 6. This Is Spinal Tap (7 per cent) 7. Apocalypse Now (6 per cent) 8. Goodfellas (5 per cent) =8. Blade Runner (5 per cent) 10. The Great Escape (4 per cent) Does this kind of thing really happen outside of university film degree's where students are perhaps driven to pretend having seen movies they have actually been too busy living the student life to watch (which if you couldn't tell is my own personal history of lying about movies I have seen)? Seems so. So time to fess up... how many of those top ten films above have you actually never seen but told someone at some point in your life you had? Is lying about movies (and books you've read, t.v. programs you've watched, etc) an inevitable part of being human? Personally speaking, I'm surprised by the movies above. All of them are bonified classics, arguably some of the greatest films ever made and those who lie about having seen any of them but haven't (except This Is Spinal Tap, which bores me) - you are clearly doing yourself a disservice.
Discuss: Have you ever lied about having seen a movie you hadn't?