What film means the most to you?

I get pissed off with the way John continually says “subjective” on just about anything we talk about. Sure, the whole thing is subjective, but we love lists, we all have our favourites, and that promotes discussion and that’s what the site is all about - not angry people who can’t type properly! (I don’t mean John!).

It’s this subjectivity on the top lists that we’ve seen recently on the Top Films of all time post and John and Doug talk about in the Audio Edition that is the most interesting thing, forget the movie title itself, it’s the personal story behind it.

Recently I had an idea about music, and I think I might try the same with cinema, I published the Soundtrack to My Life, a collection of songs that really mean something to me and the story behind them. I found it a brilliant thing to do and also discovered that it wasn’t really about the song, I mean Barry Manilow is in there!

So what has this to do with the movies? Well they’re just like the songs. When you’re listening to the Audio Edition this week John’s off on a little story about how he saw a movie, named his cat after a character, etc etc., and it got me thinking. Some of the top lists are not just about great movies, they are about the experience you had around them. The effect of Star Wars is surely heightened because you were at the right age, the time was right and everyone shared the experience. Think Star Wars and you don’t just think the movie, you think of being in the cinema with loads of your friends, trading the toys, talking about the movie, playing with light sabers…Okay…well I do!

When I actually listed my top list I decided to use the movies I’ve voted on IMDB with a 10 score. It missed loads that really mean a lot to me and I would have thought should be up there. The reviews of these movies exclude me, if I were to sit down and think what movies should be in my Top list, I’ll start thinking more of my life. Indiana Jones with my Dad, probably the last time I can remember being in the Cinema with him, we’ve just never been since, but it feels like a big Field of Dreams moment to me now.

So, on that. What movie (or movies) mean a lot to you personally, what movie carries a huge story for you and why? Can you even tell us what the story is? Are there movies that really did affect you, like Batman did for me (I raided a Bus Shelter with a claw hammer at 3am to get a poster!), or Always (see my soundtrack for details)…?

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Brian

Movies that have a special place in my childhood:Lion King(I saw it 3 times in the theater with my parents) and Indiana Jones(inspired me to be creative). These movies never get old no matter how many times i watch them.
Simone

Oh David, thanks for sharing that Star Wars experience. *winks*
Herby

“I see a lot of people say Star Wars is and say why. Well LotR was my Star Wars”

Actually, I have a LOTR story as well. But I’m talking the Bakshi Film.

Yes the film was a suck fest, but when I was in Film College, Ralph Bakshi was a guest speaker at my school. He showed “Wizards” after the lecture we were all given tickets to the premiere of LOTR at the Ziegfield. A huge thrill for me. Too Bad the film sucked, but he redeemed himself with “American Pop
http://ridgecrest.blogspot.com David

I was 16 in 1974. Two of my closest friends and I ditched out of school an hour early and headed downtown to see a movie. We didn’t have dates so choices were unlimited. OK, they were limited to the only two shows playing at the two theaters downtown. Since our girlfriends wouldn’t go see scary movies with us, we decided this would be a good time to go see that new horror movie that was showing. None of us had seen a preview for the movie and since it was opening night, we hadn’t talked to anyone who had seen it. So there we were, slumped down in our fourth row seats waiting for “Young Frankenstein” to scare the crap out us.

The three of us never laughed so hard in all our lives. I doubt I have since. The movie ended and we ran for the lobby, called our three friends who had elected not to ditch school to go to the movies with us. We stocked up on popcorn and soda and then back into the theater for the 7 PM show. After that show, we called my parents and asked them to call the other guys parents and tell them we would be home late. Then it was back inside for the 9PM show. The jokes were even funny the third time.

For over a year the six of us carried on conversations with each other in code that consisted of nothing but lines from that movie. Four of us lost our girlfriends that night. They dumped us after they found out what we had done, how much fun we had, and that through it all, not one of us thought to call them. It was worth it. I don’t miss the girl, and three of those guys are still my best friends.

Three years later another friend and I left Cheyenne for a day trip to the Cooper Theater in Denver. Our goal, to see this new movie - Star Wars. The movie had opened up a week earlier and we knew nothing about it except that the picture in paper was really cool looking. We told our parents that the movie should end about 3PM, we were going to hit a game store and then maybe dinner and would be home around 7PM.

When we got to the theater the line stretched around the theater. By the time we got into the theater the only available seats were aisle seats in the second row. The Cooper theater had a large curved screen and from the second row you had to turn your head side to side to see the whole thing.

The special effects that they used to tell that simplistic story were the closest thing to magic we had ever seen. The movie ended, the credits ended, and the ushers came by shooing us out of the theater and we were still sitting there staring silently at curtain that had covered the screen. We walked out of the theater, not saying a word to each other. No planning no coordination, we just walked right around the building and got back in line to see it again. Four Times! The only reason we went home after the fourth show was because they closed the theater. We got home about 6 hours late. The next three weekends in a row we went back to Denver to see Star Wars. Each time with a different carload of friends.

Now decades later Star Wars is still my all time favorite movie, based solely on my memories of how much better it looked than any other movie I had ever seen up to that time. Young Frankenstein isn’t, it’s a funny movie, and I enjoy it. But it has never been as magical as it was that night, laughing hysterically with my best friends.

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