Is there a particular film that got you into movies?

splashthecash

I've been thinking that there was probably a moment years ago when I was watching a film that made me want to watch more and more films...something about it just got me going, started a desire to experience all the feelings you get when you watch movies whether it may be at home, at the cinema or wherever....the point is that you watch them and take something from them. Whether the something is a feeling of "I want those 2 hours back" or "I wish I hadn't seen that film so I could watch it again to have that first time experience all over again" it doesn't matter...what matters is that you come away with something.

My film would be Goodfellas. I just adore this film, everything about it...the usuals aspects such as character, story, music but also how it makes me feel everytime I watch it. It just makes me want to go to the cinema, get a big tub of popcorn and a drink and watch something. For that 2 hours or whatever, I'm somewhere else. It does help that it has fantastic actors and a gem of a director that led me in all kinds of directions.

Does anyone else have a particular film that started this lust for film-watching??

ricero

probably pulp fiction for me it was different, cool, edgy and some brilliant performances and in particular one shocking scene that stood out for me. the music and dialogue were very cool aswell

Otis Driftwood

Ghostbusters in the cinema is the one that did it for me.It scared the living hell outta me as a 5/6 year old and I believe its the reason for my fascination and love of horror cinema today.Id say Star Wars was another one that I watched over and over again,its such a huge part of my childhood and at least 3 times a year I sit down and watch the original trilogy back to back.

johnny_ultimate

At an early age, I'd probably consider Toy Story to be a very important influence. At 8 or 9, it was the first time I was just sucked into the world it created, and I still get a sense of that feeling watching it back today. I probably wasn't quite old enough to understand why I liked it so much then, but the imagination Pixar displayed with their first film really captured mine too.

When I was around 14/15 seeing Donnie Darko on DVD was significant too. That was kind of the point when I realised there was more to cinema than whatever my local multiplex was playing, and probably around the time I started dragging objecting friends to see Eternal Sunshine instead of Starsky & Hutch (they were quite angry). Again, a film I watched again and again trying to decipher it.

A couple of other films have had significant impacts on my overall taste (Spirited Away, Persona and the aforementioned ES spring to mind) but those two were probably the most radical and important IMO! They were likely the two earliest examples of feeling 'wow, I love film', which is a feeling that is definitely hard to beat!

ultain

I'd say.. Star wars, Indiana Jones, the great escape to name a few...which kick started the creative juices...playing in the fields and forest's of my childhood.

Giselle

Jurassic Park.

I was about seven when I saw it in the cinema, and I was obsessed with dinosaurs. When I saw them brought to life on the screen, I was completely transported to that imaginary theme park.

Even when I just looked at the pictures in my books afterwards, I could picture them moving and living like they did in the movie. I watched it again and again when it came out on video, and I still love that movie.

It was my first taste of being totally taken away from myself into another world of imagination.

ultain

Giselle wrote: »

Jurassic Park.

I was about seven when I saw it in the cinema, and I was obsessed with dinosaurs. When I saw them brought to life on the screen, I was completely transported to that imaginary theme park.

Even when I just looked at the pictures in my books afterwards, I could picture them moving and living like they did in the movie. I watched it again and again when it came out on video, and I still love that movie.

It was my first taste of being totally taken away from myself into another world of imagination.

very well put:)

mike65

I never really thought about it, I can't say there was a eureka moment. I've been watching them since "whenever" and liked films and filmaking ever since. Though I'm nothing like the PITA buff I was 20-25 years ago (that said I've forgotton nothing I absorbed in that mad period of reading and watching!) so I haven't a clue about much these days. I still think the "Movie Brats" are cool!

Giselle

mike65 wrote: »

Though I'm nothing like the PITA buff I was 20-25 years ago

I had to google PITA.

Bog

Giselle wrote: »

Jurassic Park.

I was about seven when I saw it in the cinema, and I was obsessed with dinosaurs. When I saw them brought to life on the screen, I was completely transported to that imaginary theme park.

Even when I just looked at the pictures in my books afterwards, I could picture them moving and living like they did in the movie. I watched it again and again when it came out on video, and I still love that movie.

It was my first taste of being totally taken away from myself into another world of imagination.

QFT

Was going to nominate JP too but Giselle put it more succinctly then I ever could.

ronnie3585

Either Die Hard or Vanishing Point (1971 version) was quite young when I saw them but they left a lasting impression.

niallon

Talking specifically about what "got me into" movies I have to say Halloween.

Jaws, Die Hard, Jurassic Park, Goodfellas, Fight Club, The Dollars Trilogy. All of these are films that I've watched endlessly and fed my desire to explore the world of film more and more but the film that piqued my interest in the actual craft of filmmaking was this low budget slasher.

Halloween, when watched correctly on Halloween night with the lights off at the wee hours, will scare the living crap out of you and stir emotions that make you wonder, "Now how the hell did they do that?"

I don't think it's unique to horror and I think it's interesting that many posts so far mention being sucked into a film's universe. That really is a measure of a great film, one that can welcome you into the world they create and stay with you after the viewing experience has finished.

bnt

I think the one that put me "over the top" was Heat (1995). It's a great cops-and-robbers story, but it's so much more than that too. It was the first time I thought "there's more to movies than I thought", and I was seeing parallels with my own life at the time. No, I wasn't a cop (or a robber), but I had a job which was very stressful, with long hours, and I didn't have much of a life. A bit like Al Pacino's cop in some ways. The soundtrack is excellent, and Michael Mann's direction made Los Angeles look like it was on a different planet.

AARRRRGH

Debbie Does Dallas.
I never realized on screen action could look so real.
There seemed to be genuine passion and lust, the likes of which id never seen before. It was almost like the cast werent actually acting, just doing what comes natural.
And the way that they saved the team just at the end....
Pure Feel Good cinema at its best.

theprodigals0n

I'd seen plenty of movies before this, but the one that really got me to broaden my horizon with movies and begin to take more of an interest in them was Rebecca. It was the first black and white movie that I watched at an adult(ish) age and it blew me away, causing me to really get into Hitchcock too.

jaykhunter

I wouldn't consider myself a film buff, as I only see films I'm interested in, but the first movie I truly loved was Terminator 2. It was all kinds of badass.

bonerm

Actually had to think about this one for a bit.

Like most people my age I'd grown up on stuff like Star Wars and Indiana Jones but none of them had ever given me any real interest in cinema in general. Up to around 1992 all I'd ever have seen was the usual blockbusters and mid-term break fare. Then Silence of the Lambs came out. Don't know why but after it won all those Oscars I went along to see it and it opened my eyes to the movies.

After that I started reading reference books and magazines and tried to get my hands on anything I considered might be a worthwhile movie to watch (both old and new). Anyway 18 years and around 3000 films later and I'd reckon I've seen nearly every movie of any historical importance to Western audiences.

jaykhunter

bonerm wrote: »

Anyway 18 years and around 3000 films later and I'd reckon I've seen nearly every movie of any historical importance to Western audiences.

Even BioDome?

Duggy747

jaykhunter wrote: »

Even BioDome?

The masterpiece that is BioDome!!

My brother got Robocop 2 when it came out on rental, that was the movie that got me to undersand there was a different world of films out there!

I used to pretend I could pull a gun outta my leg like Robocop! :pac:

It was great having an older brother, got to watch movies like Terminator 2 & Aliens at an age I really shouldn't have!

MickShamrock

Probably Pulp Fiction.

bonerm

jaykhunter wrote: »

Even BioDome?

Not yet. I'm planning to keep that one til the day I die so that I can go out on a high.

Optimalprimerib

I would have to say north by northwest. We watched it in school and had to disect all of the plot points and themes in the film. It opened my eyes at what the director was trying to convey rather than just following the story.

Tbh it was painful to watch but that evening i went home and watched jaws for the first time with my new found insight and it improved my experience so much jaws still holds the mantle as my favorite movie of all time.

mike65

North by Northwest was painful?

I've been thinking about this subject a bit and if I was going to blame one film it would probably be Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I'd seen Star Wars two weeks previously and had been somewhat non-plussed by it. Sure it looked spectacular but I never liked the old Flash Gordon or Western type serials and SW simply seemed like a flashy amalgam of the two. CE3K on the other hand was set on an every planet Earth in which a mystery intruded. The "light" sequences such as the young boys home being "attacked" and filled with electricity, Roy Nearys truck suddenly blasted from above and the sight of spacships disturbing the clouds illuminating them from within really struck me both as a wonder of cinema but also from a technical point of view, after that I got reading.

nacho libre

Platoon.

Optimalprimerib

mike65 wrote: »

North by Northwest was painful?

I've been thinking about this subject a bit and if I was going to blame one film it would probably be Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I'd seen Star Wars two weeks previously and had been somewhat non-plussed by it. Sure it looked spectacular but I never liked the old Flash Gordon or Western type serials and SW simply seemed like a flashy amalgam of the two. CE3K on the other hand was set on an every planet Earth in which a mystery intruded. The "light" sequences such as the young boys home being "attacked" and filled with electricity, Roy Nearys truck suddenly blasted from above and the sight of spacships disturbing the clouds illuminating them from within really struck me both as a wonder of cinema but also from a technical point of view, after that I got reading.

No, the movie was fine, but desecting it into themes and moods reminded me too much of English class and bored the living snot out of me. I was 16 at the time and I did not appreciate watching ten minutes, pausing, discussing what happened, the camera angles used, the reasons behind the clothes they wore, the plots, subplots etc., I just wanted to watch the damn movie.

When all was said or done, though, it opened my eyes, even if a classic was sacrificed to do so.

Renn

It's tough to pin it down to one particular movie but the film that stands out for me is Mulholland Drive. Up until that point, most of what I watched was the usual standard affair. But Lynch brought something to the screen that was totally unlike anything I had previously watched. No film since has ever made me feel the way I did whilst watching that. Probably the perfect movie for me.

Sanjuro

ultain wrote: »

I'd say.. Star wars, Indiana Jones, the great escape to name a few...which kick started the creative juices...playing in the fields and forest's of my childhood.

Yeah, it was these two series that started my love affair with film. After watching The Empire Strikes Back for the 143rd time, I thought to myself, 'I wonder what other films are out there...' The rest, as they say, is history.

Skerries

I think the first film that got me thinking outside of the usual blockbuster mindset had to be Naked Lunch
I went to see this in the cinema and even though it was utterly bonkers it got me thinking that there is another level to film making

AllGunsBlazing

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Saw it in my early teens and it made a pretty big impact on me. Don't think I've hated a fictional character as much as I hated Nurse Ratched. Certainly the first film that I considered more than just entertainment and I remember feeling emotionally drained after seeing it.

Powerful stuff.

mike65

I was oddly uplifted by Cuckoos nest as 17 year old. I guess Chief gave me hope!