Brianna and her boyfriend, David, came for dinner Sunday and conversation turned, as it often does, to movies — what we’ve seen, what we can’t wait to see, movies we’ve loved, movies we were scared by. Because David is a relative newcomer to the family, our movie mania probably made it seem like we all do nothing but watch movies. We do other things … occasionally … but movies are a large part of who we are.
Since that dinner conversation, I’ve been thinking about how movies really are a big part of my life, have often helped form the person I am.
In that vein, I’ve come up with a list of movies that have had great impact on my life … so far:
12 Pivotal Films
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella
(1965) – Not a theatrical release but a made-for-television production that aired each Thanksgiving for many years so, to me, it signalled the beginning of the holiday season. It’s the first show I remember being my escape from the turmoil we called family, especially as it reached fever pitch during the holidays. It also may be responsible for my obsession with chairs; I’ve collected lots and lots of chairs in my house in search of THE one to go with the lyrics “in my own little corner in my own little chair …”.
The Birds
(1963) – Scared the hell out of me as a child and set the bar for my lifelong taste in scary movies: lots of suspense with minimal gore.
Doctor Zhivago
(1965) — Omar Shariff … need I say more? Except that this one set the bar for my taste in romance films: heartbreak, heartbreak and more heartbreak.
A Star is Born
(1976) — The first movie I wanted to see again and again and again. It also was the first movie to which I bought the soundtrack … and was deeply disappointed upon learning that movie soundtracks didn’t include the dialogue. I loved (loved!) the songs, but had hoped to relive the film again and again as if listening to a radio production.
The Elephant Man
(1980) — I saw this film as part of a psychology class field trip. The teacher, Mr. Marr, was the man I admired most in the whole entire world at that point. After the movie, Mr. Marr cried in front of the class as he lamented the horrors endured by John Merrick, most of which were inflicted by society. Mr. Marr’s tears were my first lesson in what true empathy looks like.
Christianne F. [Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo] (1981) — It was my turn to pick the movie for girls’ night out and I picked a gloomy foreign flick about a teen drug addict living in Berlin. My first subtitled movie … and the last time I got to pick the movie for girls’ night out. I still enjoy offbeat foreign films.
The Big Chill
(1983) – I was recently married and scared and disillusioned about being a grown up. This film made it clear that everyone is scared and disillusioned about being a grown up … and that it all works out okay if you’ve got the right soundtrack.
Terms of Endearment
(1983) – Shirley MacLaine begging for pain meds for Debra Winger … Debra Winger saying goodbye to her sons … . Oh. My. Gosh! Motherhood at its most heart wrenching.
The English Patient
(1996) – Affected me much like Doctor Zhivago, only this time I was an adult — and still a fan of heartbreak, heartbreak, and more heartbreak. Plus, Ralph Fiennes … need I say more?
Boys Don’t Cry
(1999) – This absolutely broke my heart, so much so that I was impelled to make my girls watch it. They really probably weren’t old enough for its graphic violence and theme but I wanted them to see what sheer hate can do in hopes of warning them against ever associating with anyone carrying — and acting upon — such hate.
Amelie
(2001) — Brought the realization that foreign films aren’t just gloom and doom but can be light and lovely. Also, the first subtitled film I made the girls watch … and they adored it (which redeemed me a bit for the forced viewing of “Boys Don’t Cry”).
Moulin Rouge
(2001) – The only movie that, as an adult, I watched again and again … in a row … in one weekend. Four times in one weekend, to be exact. I thought I was a much more seasoned film-goer than that. But with heartbreak, heartbreak, and more heartbreak plus song and dance, how could I possibly resist?
Today’s question:
What are some of your pivotal films?
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The Passion of Christ–Mel Gibson’s masterpiece. The Princess Bride. Green Card (I saw this just as I acquired a British son-in-law with a green card!) Chocolat, The Old Gringo, anything set in Mexico or South America.
Because TV is such a wasteland, it thrills me when I’m channel surfing and I come across a movie that creates that instant POW! in my brain that makes me throw down the remote and settle back with a huge grin on my face. Even if I haven’t seen it before I can recongize the characteristics that tell me I’m in for a good one.
I saw just such a movie last night on TV, “Carrington”, about the British artist Dora Carrington and her unconventional relationship with men, including the love of her life, a gay writer named Lynton.
Because I’m a writer and spend little time in front of the TV (and our town theater was demolished and is just being rebuilt after several years of delay,) my viewing time is precious. I love to be surprised and my world enlarged.
I have two categories of movies–those I see with my husband and those he won’t agree to, so I go alone. I tend to love these the best–foreign subtitles, witty romps (Remember Shirley Valentine?–saw it alone the first time, dragged five friends along the next two viewings.) Mama Mia–alone. La Vie en Rue–alone. These films float on my heart. I think part of the reason is because I ventured out alone for the sake of passion.
http://www.readanneschroeder.com
An Affair to Remember (I can watch it over and over); Life is Beautiful (heart wrenching); Casablanca (play it again, Sam); Gandhi; Amadeus; Fried Green Tomatoes; To Kill a Mockingbird . . . Gosh, there are so many that have touched me and maybe even changed me throughout the years. Thanks for the memories!
I too enjoyed Life is Beautiful and it did tear my heart out.
I think you would also enjoy Jakob the Liar. It takes place in the Ghetto in Poland in 1944. Robin Williams plays a Jewish shopkeeper who is purported to have a secret radio. He uses this as an opportunity to spread hope throughout the ghetto by continuing to tell favorable tales of information he is supposedly getting from his ficticious radio. It is a wonderful movie.
I didn’t see Amadeus till it came out on DVD and it has a great documentary on the making of the movie.
A couple I haven’t seen mentioned yet…
heart-warming and inspirational – Field of Dreams and Rudy
comedy – Airplane!
also love this old flick: ‘Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe’ which includes many hilarious scenes, also many tragic ones within historical fiction of the south
I’d forgotten Harold and Maude until someone mentioned it. What a grand idea the whole thing was.
But, the movie that is my best, favorite, life changing film is “What Dreams May Come.” The visual beauty was expanisve beyond normal imagination. Having been plagued with depression since childhood, the movie convinced me that suicide was not a viable solution.
An Education. Just came out on video. Don’t miss it!!!
I saw it in the theatre as a part of my “Oscar movie marathon” and though that it was amazing and the end was not expected. I almost stood up to cheer.
Steel Magnolias is an excellent example of how important it is for women to women friends in their lives.
A League Of Their Own: same idea. I just love Tom Hank’s character!
Young Frankenstein for a laugh!
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas for a good laugh!
I love Steel Magnolia’s. I’ve watched it so many times, my DH can quote from it.
Another great movie for women is “Beaches”.
I also loved Terms of Endearment and Steel Magnolias- Fried Green Tomatoes too. I just now realized they’re all about strong Southern Women- Intersting. Probably my favorite movie though is Defending Your Life, with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep. There are parts that are laugh out loud funny and others that really make you think. That’s the best kind of movie.
Many of the movies listed here I consider my favorites as well, but I’d have to say one of the pivotal ones for me was “Song of Bernadette”. What made it pivotal was that my boyfriend was watching it with me and my parents. During the scene when she is saying goodbye to the boy she loves, I found myself crying. I glanced at my mother then my father and saw they were crying, too. I thought my boyfriend would think we were all nuts. So I snuck a peek at him and saw that he was crying too! That’s when I realized I loved him. We’ve been married now for over 40 years.
”Hondo” with John Wayne was another movie I loved – in fact, nearly all of his movies were pivotal to me. My mother used to take me to see them when I was very small. Once on vacation in Austin, TX when I was 5 years old, a Parade of Stars came to the Alamo when we were there. We happened to be on the aisle where the stars walked by and John Wayne was one of them. Keenan Wynn came past and stopped to talk to me (I was dressed in a leather outfit with boots and braids down to my waist). I ignored him then told him that John Wayne was my husband. He asked if I’d like to meet him and took me up on stage. John Wayne picked me up and held me, turned and let my Dad take a picture and gave me a great memory.
There are also some movies that were pivotal for me that I remember and would love to see again, but whose names I can’t recall. One was a made-for-TV movie on one of those wonderful shows like GE Playhouse (or whatever it was). This one was an adaptation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead and followed the travels of a man who had died into the afterlife. That movie sparked my interest in mythology. Another was “The Vikings”, especially the part where the old woman kept chanting, “Odin, Odin” and begging him to turn the tide.
Many I loved were on the old Loretta Young Theater – also on TV. I especially remember one in which she played a Japanese woman. In one part, a psychologist (amateur, I think) asked her and others to describe a forest. Her description was of one that was light and airy with gentle shadows. (He interpreted that as the way she looked at life.) He also asked who was with her and what she would do if a bear came near. She answered that the children she took care of were with her (which he interpreted as the most important people in her life) and said that she would hide and watch the bear go past (which he said was the way she would handle crises in her life). That scene has often come to mind and somehow seems to help me navigate through my life.
Other movies were pivotal to me in that they changed the way I looked at and felt about the world around me. Some of these were: “The Graduate”, “Fatal Beauty” with Whoopi Goldberg, Disney’s “Dumbo” and “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “2001, a Space Odyssey”, “Hook”, and way too many movies made about World War II.
2001, A Space Odyssey…gosh, yes. Technology gone bad, the possibility of what (or who) else may be “out there”, and Strauss. To an 8th grader…wow!
Jaws…Yikes!
Young Frankenstein.
Star Wars.
The Quiet Man with John Wayne and Maureen OHara. And most any other movie pairing Wayne and OHara.
Patton…That man (at least as played by George C Scott) apparently had a wheelbarrow to carry his balls around in.
Star Trek II; The Wrath of Kahn. Ricardo Montalban was HOT!
Sixth Sense….Creep-o-rama!
I can’t believe no one has mentioned “The Lake House!” Any one who has ever loved and lost that loved one can’t watch The Lake House without wanting for time travel!
And I guess I’m just a wuss for love stories but how bout “Chances Are” and “The Notebook” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife” ????
I can’t help that I’m a chick flick kinda gal!
I was thinking about The Lake House the other day and trying to describe it to my husband. Can you tweak my memory and tell me more about it? Who played in it and the plot line, etc. ?? Have not ever seen it on Cable.
the lake house starred sandra bullock & john cusack. i don’t remember all of it, but it was kinda a difference in time thing. they left messages for each other in the mailbox at the lakehouse, which sandra bought & (i think) cusack built and had lived in. i’m not 100% sure of the ending, but they “might” meet, in the end. hope that helps.
They did end up meeting in the end, after however, she had witnessed him being killed in an accident so she went back to change that part of time and yes, they did end of being together.
I did see The Time Traveler’s Wife…that really was a great movie..and The Notebook…I’m gonna check out The Lake House..it was on my “to watch list”
Let’s see – Gone with the Wind, Dr. Zhivago, The Maltese Falcon (I have a copy made from the original mold used in the movie), An Affair to Remember, Casablanca, Pay it Forward, The Passion of the Christ, Marnie, The Birds, You’ve Got Mail. This last December, in one week, I watched Gone with the Wind, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Dr. Zhivago and An Affair to Remember on Cable. YAHOO!! Good week.
Wow! Such wonderful movies from everyone! I’m so glad that others have the same love for films as I do. Great to read the comments!
I saw the movie Sayanora (probably not spelling it correctly) with Marlon Brando. It was on TV and I think I was about 14. I fell in love!! Oh my goodness, no matter what Marlon looked like when he got older, to me he was always the way I saw him when I was 14.
I absoultely love Wuthering Heights. The older version with Lawrece Olivier.I have watched it over and over again. Also A River Runs Through It .
I loved this movie, too… also Red Buttons and the two women in the movie were excellent!
I was highly influenced by 1,000 clowns starring Jason Robards and Le Roi de Coeur (The King of Hearts) with Alan Bates. Both had great social messages.
Mine are :
1. Gone With the Wind – made me want to live in the south.
2. Fried Green Tomatoes — made me want to live in the south.
3. Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte – made me afraid to live in the south.
4. Deliverance – made me afraid to BE in the south.
5. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? – made me afraid of old people from the south.
6. Psycho–made me afraid to shower in Motels.
7. Dead Ringer–made me love Bette Davis AND Karl Malden.
8. Where the Boys Are– made me afraid of Spring Break vacations.
9. Marty — made me feel Ernest Borgnine was cute, sweet, and attractive and made me realize there IS “someone for everyone.”
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind – made me afraid of a UFO Abduction.
11. Oklahoma – made me afraid to flirt.
12. That Thing You Do – made me see all the talent Tom Hanks really has.
Oh, by the way, I now live in Atlanta, GA.
Your comments about the movies are so funny! I like your sense of humor!!
I will preface my selections by saying that these are just a few of the movies that have had an impact on my life. Like you and your family, I love movies, old and new. However, for the sake of time and space I will only offer the following:
Elmer Gantry: I was just a child when I saw this movie and it really stuck with me. The heartlessness, deceit and manipulative ways of Burt Lancaster’s character seemed to strike a chord with me. Of course, seeing it again as an adult I came away with a real appreciation for Lancaster’s acting ability. But the subject matter was still very disconcerting.
Manchurian Candidate: I love politics and this was such a great picture for its time; all about the evils of brainwashing and conspiracy theories. It made a real statement about the mass hysteria going on in this country during the House of Un-American Activities hearings when McCarthyism ruled the day. Those were dark days in our country’s history; full of witch hunts and fanaticism. A lot of innocent people were persecuted and many promising careers destroyed. It made me extremely aware of how important it is to be vigilant against extremism in all its forms.
Steel Magnolias: This was such a poignant film about the wonderful friendships women have to offer one another. I laughed and cried and came away with a very warm feeling inside. Life can deal us some very hard blows at times, but having good, loving friends to talk with and share with makes it worth living.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: This was a film quite ahead of its time. Made back in the mid-Sixties, it dealt with the subject of interracial relationships. What a cast it had. Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and of course, Sidney Poitier. He was so marvelous in this movie; young, handsome and so dignified. There is a speech in the movie that Spencer Tracy gives right at the end and it is terribly moving; I always cry. This was the last movie Tracy made before he died and he died just weeks after it was completed. If you watch Katharine Hepburn when he is speaking, you can see that the tears are real and heartfelt. Everyone knew that he was very ill during the making of the movie so this last scene was extremely emotional for all the actors, especially Katharine.
Out of Africa: This is one of my all time favorite films. I loved Meryl Streep’s character. I think the movie meant even more because it was based on the writings of Isak Dinesen, a pseudonym used by the Danish author Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke. The book recounts her seventeen years of living in Kenya, which was at that time British East Africa. The sweeping beauty of that country was nothing short of intoxicating. In many ways I identified with this woman. She could ride and shoot as well as any man and she basically ran her own show. I guess I identified with her independence and in the face of such narrow conventions in colonial times she never lost her sense of self; her individuality. I also loved the relationship between her and Dennis. It is a film I never tire of watching. The musical score is haunting and fits the scenery and mood of the picture so well. I bought Karen Blixen’s book and her writing is lyrical; it takes you back to another era one where great value was placed on the art of conversation and storytelling. She was an amazing woman.
I think “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” was a film whose time had arrived. If it hadn’t cast those three people, especially with Tracy’s grave illness, it would never have had the impact it had on society. It would have been seen as cheap and trivial and it would have ben tremendously slurred by the public. Interracial marriages broke the highest taboos of the times, and extremely difficult subject to address by the media because of the explosiveness of the topic. (Can you imagine what we see on TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance being shown at that time period? What we accept readily in this day and age as beautiful and artistic would probably not have been allowed to be aired during the sixties).
It paved the way for interracial marriages and to be accepted at least on the big (and small) screen, which in turn began paving the way for society to accept it in reality.
The film was considered groundbreaking for its positive portrayal of the controversial subject of interracial marriage, which historically had been illegal in most of the US, and was still illegal in seventeen southern American states up until June of the year the film was released. That same year the Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage. I do agree that the casting was pivotal to the success of the picture. Tracy and Hepburn were two iconic actors beloved by the public and Sidney Poitier was the quintessential choice as the elegant and dignified Dr. John Prentice.
West Side Story, To Sir with Love, Dr.Zhivago (read the book later, very hard to read), The Way We Were, Billy Jack, (had to buy the video, sure looks bad now) , Ghost (have that one too) , the Green Mile (sobbed for 1/2 of that one) , An Officer and a gentleman, Brigadoon (saw it again a few months ago), finally watched all of the Birds a few years ago( could only watch a bit when I was a teenager and had to keep changing the channel), never could watch Carrie or the Exorcist. Brokeback Mountain – one of the most tragic and sad movies, Sleepers (came out of the theater going Wow!, so sad. I’m sure I’ll think of lots more as soon as I finish. thanks for the walk down memory lane everybody
There are so many great films and some have been mentioned on this blog. My favorite all-time movie is Casablanca. My second favorite is Like Water for Chocolate. Third is Betty Davis’ Dark Victory.
If you enjoy romance, drama, great writing and acting, you must see these three films.
Also, I think separating films according to genre would make it less cumbersome. I would love to do favorite musicals, favorite science fiction, best comedies, best film noir, etc.
Great discussion everyone.
I loved “An Unmarried Woman” with Jill Clayberg. I credit watching that movie with surviving a divorce!
Two movies in the 60′s stand out for me:
In the 80′s these 4 lesser known films stand out in my memory:
Three movies in the 90′s stand out for me:
(1990) – Joe vs the Volcanoe (little known but very engaging “gownup” faiytale with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan)
(1991) - The Fisher King – my most memorable Robin Williams movie
(1998) - What Dreams May Come - my second most memorable Robin Williams movie
Ooops I forgot one more…
(1981) On Golden Pond
“As Good as it Gets”,” It Complicated”,”Bucket List”,”Bridges of Madison county”,”Fried Green Tomatoes”,”The Note Book”, Father of The Bride 1 and 2″,”Grumpy Old Men 1 and 2″
did I say Dr. Zhivago…all time favorite…and the list goes on and on….”Steel Magnolias”
I completely forgot about ”As Food as It Gets.” Also ”Something’s Gotta Give” really sticks in my mind .
Totally embarrassed about the Typo – Should be “As GOOD as It Gets”
I’m glad someone finally mentioned Bucket List, it was such a great movie. I have seen it several times and never grow tired of watching it. I have always loved Morgan Freeman’s work and this pairing with Jack Nicholson was brilliant. Another movie that really strikes a chord with me is Life as a House, with Kevin Cline and Kristin Scott Thomas. This is about a man suddenly faced with the end of his life and his desire to set things right with his teenaged son and his ex-wife. The metaphor for it all is the tearing down of an old dilapidated house that he hates and building a new house, one of his design and with all the elements he has wanted in a house of his very own. He views himself and his life as a house. Some may think it a little cheesy and formulaic, but I just found it touching.
Yes, the Bucket List was a good movie…a sleeper cause it did not get good reviews. But it was only that good because of the two great actors Freeman and Nicholson.
I also loved As Good as it Gets and Bucket List, but my all time favorite of that list is The Note Book. I also like Father of The Bride 1&2.
“A Very Long Engagement” for the power of enduring love over circumstance. “Brokeback Mountain,” which was about any relationship, not just that of two cowboys. “Up in the Air” for its very real and scary commentary on where professional life (in a lot of fields) is headed.
Fiddler on the Roof when i was 14. i was so affected by the sense of tradition and how times do change…. it’s like my secure world was challenged. it was frightening and thrilling. Another film was The Way We Were. i was so touched by the ability for a deep, passionate love, that just could NOT be. tragic.
I too love Fiddler on the Roof. Another don’t miss film is an Austrailian one, “Soft Fruit” which came out in 1999. It’s about 3 sisters and their excon brother who reunite to help out with their mom who has cancer. The old and new family dynamics really hit home as I have several siblings. You laugh, cry, and totally empathize with this human experience.
Don’t go to movies that often anymore. But I do have some favorites.
“West Side Story” my all time favorite. Love muscials.
anything that has to do with the supernatural, “The Others”, “The Sixth Sense” Also Hitchcocks old fime.
I love movies with strong female roles, reclaiming their lives after what they thought was love turned sour.
1 – She-Devil with Rosemanne, Meryl Streep and Ed Bagley, Jr.
2 – Mulan – an animation with a very powerful message about a female warrior and heroine
3 – Funny Lady – our funny girl grows up and triumphs over a bad-boy partner
4 – Pacific Heights – Michael Keaton is the tenant from hell and plays the role so well. Melanie Griffith.
5 – True Grit – love John Wayne
6 – Dirty Dancing – Patrick Swayze with cool car, and great dancers
7 – Grumpy Old Men – older actors and actresses are fantastic and we need more movies and shows like Golden Girls
8 – Carrie – spooky and first inkling of telekensis abilities
9 – Blue Hawaii – Elvis and the islands, think about it
West Side Story – Genius music by Leonard Bernstein and Romeo-Juliet love story.
An Officer and a Gentleman
Dr. Zhivago
The Way We Were
And Many Many more. How would we learn to know our emotions and the depth of our feeling without some of these stories? Sadly more comedies don’t make it to the top of our lists.
This is a very interesting thought. Movies have shaped my life many times. My first favorite (I think) was St. Elsewhere. After that, I wanted a group of friends just like that. Books have done it too, but not quite like the romantic chick flicks of my childhood. I hate to admit that “Doctor, you’ve got to be kidding” was a strong shaper in my teenage years. And I ended up doing that. But not with a wealthy doctor. Interesting and thought provoking.
I just saw Mao’s Last Dancer and thought it to be one of the better movies that I have seen in a very long time.