The movie(s) that left strong lasting impacts on you

[ChatNoir]

"The movie(s) that made you cry" thread was fun to read through. So I thought of asking which movies left strong lasting impacts on you, and WHY.

Recently, I realized a lot of good movies–even very good ones–are also very forgettable, and have been wondering what makes a movie memorable.

[riott007]

The Color Purple
There was a couple of scenes in that movie that were just heartbreaking.
I thought Whoopi Goldberg & Oprah did a great job...Their best roles to date.

[sgporsche48]

I know it may sound kind of cheesy, but United 93 had a big impact on me. I hadn't really cared about the events of 9/11 until I saw that movie and I finally had a real perspective of what it was like. I know it may not be a really accurate portrayal of what happened on that flight, but for someone who did not really care what happened it brought the whole event into a new light.
It's become one that I get heavy chested every time I watch it.

[Norrie]

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. And here's why.

It was the first "grown up" film I ever saw. My Dad (a HUGE cowboy fan) took me to see it on a Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately, it was a double feature with "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", so I wasn't allowed in, too young. My old man convinced the cinema guy to let us in after Prime time was over (ha ha), so I was taken for a haircut, an ice cream, then back in time for the start.

I felt like such a grown up :)

I remember the whole day vividly.

(I'm tearing up now :001_rolleyes: )

[Jase180]

I hope this doesnt seen cliche, but..

To Kill A Mockingbird. That film was great for many reasons, but the thing that has had an impact on my life is the character Atticus Finch. I know it sounds silly, but I can think of a better example of who and what a man should be than that.

Forget the film for a second and think of the lessons taught. The hard choices are never easy, sometimes you lose the good fight, but do it with dignity and grace, and never succumb to the popular idea of right..etc.

Everytime i watch that film, which is often, I am always left with a feeling to be a better person..

[timothy_richmond_3]

The movie that left a strong lasting impact? Hmmm... I'll probably go with the animated movie The Brave Little Toaster. It's an old movie from the 1980's, and from what I read some big folks from Pixar worked on it. I think why it was so memorable because of how it made me feel so many emotions.

No doubt it was a very twisted movie, at times frightening (that clown... ugh), at times heartwarming, at times bizarre, but it always had a very strong undercurrent of sadness, and these feelings would stay in me long after I finished watching it.

Even ten, eleven years later after watching it, (and I'm fifteen) I would still remember the chills I would get when watching this movie. It had a huge lasting impact on my imagination. (The only thing I didn't like about it, I think, is the songs, which distractingly change the tone of the film... well, I liked the first. :))

So, if you never watched The Brave Little Toaster before, I suggest you plop down with your kids and watch it. A great, cute little animated flick with some great themes.


Oh, and another movie that's very, very memorable is the Green Mile.

[Elbow]

Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock's

[Hotwax]

[QUOTE=timothy_richmond_3;4411]The movie that left a strong lasting impact? Hmmm... I'll probably go with the animated movie The Brave Little Toaster. It's an old movie from the 1980's, and from what I read some big folks from Pixar worked on it. I think why it was so memorable because of how it made me feel so many emotions.

No doubt it was a very twisted movie, at times frightening (that clown... ugh), at times heartwarming, at times bizarre, but it always had a very strong undercurrent of sadness, and these feelings would stay in me long after I finished watching it.

Even ten, eleven years later after watching it, (and I'm fifteen) I would still remember the chills I would get when watching this movie. It had a huge lasting impact on my imagination. (The only thing I didn't like about it, I think, is the songs, which distractingly change the tone of the film... well, I liked the first. :))
QUOTE]

Oh golly, I remember that film. I saw it when I was 3 or 4 and I've been deathly frightened of clowns ever since! And more specifically clowns in firemen costumes...If I see one I'm coming at them with a :tank:

[EthanRunt]

Scum, that greenhouse scene, the violence was fine, nothing bad in comparison, but that scene, eugh, no need.

[thebiz]

After watching Monster (with Christina Ricci) I decided that I would not subject myself to a movie I know will end up leaving me depressed me when I leave the theater (or watch on TV). Its pretty much a golden rule for me now.

[ChatNoir]

After watching Monster (with Christina Ricci) I decided that I would not subject myself to a movie I know will end up leaving me depressed me when I leave the theater (or watch on TV). Its pretty much a golden rule for me now.

I know. Sometimes we have a Netflix DVD sit on a shelf for weeks and weeks, not able to gather enough courage to watch it.

But then again, wouldn’t you rather watch something that stay with you, even though it depresses you, than watching something that is completely forgettable?

[thebiz]

I know. Sometimes we have a Netflix DVD sit on a shelf for weeks and weeks, not able to gather enough courage to watch it.

But then again, wouldn’t you rather watch something that stay with you, even though it depresses you, than watching something that is completely forgettable?

I can only reiterate my original post. It aint for everyone but its for me. There are movies out there that are neither forgettable nor depressing. And no I havent quit beating my wife..heehee.

[tsunamidog]

The Exorcist-first R rated movie i ever saw...I was little. Still going to my catholic skool. (those who know me know that IS a long time back!) Like 3rd grade i think. Watched it and scared the shit out of me for years. Had nightmares and was generally scared of everything for awhile.
I've never seen it since...im sure if i saw it now I'd think it was lame or something, but i just never got around to it.

Irreversible-Oh god....watching an innocent dude get his face beat in with a fire extinguisher for 10mins really makes ya feel bad.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-This is the sole movie/event in my life that made me want to do drugs. No joke.

[docontheweb]

American Ninja 5

Oh my God, I didn't know movies could be so horrible until I saw that. I think a piece of me died inside after watching it. Now, I feel a bit more empty each time I sit in front of a movie screen.

[Fospherous]

I know what you mean Doc, there are movies that destroy the very meaning of the word movie because there that bad.... Oh No, now you've made me think of a movie that nearly destroyed me......

Shark Attack 3

With that famous line.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1XOfHax6Q8


And I don't know about you?... But if you just watched that and you said that to a women.....You would get a black eye..

John Barrowman must have 'IT'

[hippieking]

Stephen King's IT

[Daninsky]

I have to think a little more about that, but there's the one movie that traumatized whole generations of children:

Bambi, really, somehow I didn't expect that death could be a topic in a Disney movie and eventhough I had seen both Watership Down and The Plague Dogs before that it took me by surprise.


Stalingrad by Joseph Vilsmeier.
I had just left the Army when that movie ran and it was incredibly strange to sit there and watch a war movie in which the actors spoke in accents I knew partly from my own region and partly from my comrades. Made it feel just that bit too real for my taste.

[FallenThomas]

28 Days Later created a huge sense of atmosphere and reality in the film that put me in the main character's shoes and made me think about all the wrong choices I would have made in those situations that would've taken my life or the lives of those who were with me.

[shidden]

50/50 (2011) with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

This movie had such a deep impact on me... 'coz this whole cancer thing? I witnessed it. My mom died on cancer... and I was by/on her side till the last breath. If I would get a dollar for every teardrop that came outta my eyes... I would be a billionaire right now. But nevertheless... this movie got me by the balls when I saw it.

Link to IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1306980/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeh5YXotTTM

[Bezzer]

Scum - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNTeYJE5Q0k
(sound out of sync slightly)

A movie about the British Borstal system during the late 1970s and a great example of how much things have changed here since then...and of how much certain things haven't.
I grew up in the 80s in a tough town and a lot of what happened in Scum was happening in real life back then.

I watched this movie again just the other day and it still has as much of an impact on me now as it did the first time I watched it in the early 80s.

[BenTuttle90]

Charlie Chaplin's The Kid

Wonderful film with so many emotions thrown at you, without any voices, you could easily get pulled in and it's a film that'll stick with me for a while.

[Harb40]

There are several films that have left a lasting impact on me.

As a teenager (under 16) I was big into war flicks. My dad rarely ever talked about his time in the Army during WW2 but I saw certain looks on his face while we were watching some movies. The looks were that of distant memories and pride. The 2 that impacted me the most though were 'To Hell and Back' with Audie Murphy and 'Sand of Iwo Jima' with John Wayne. Those 2 films are what helped me to choose to join the military.

Although not a movie per se, the final episode of M*A*S*H was also a strong influence on me. How a person deals with unexpected events that happen to them and how people deal with friendships have helped me over the years deal with some of my inner demons. I think I watch that episode at least once every 2 years.

[Wailwulf]

There numerous films that have made lasting impressions on me, but the two that stick out is Vanishing Point (1971) and Romero's Night of the Living Dead.

Vanishing Point for a "car chase" film has a very quiet way of telling it's story, with the character Kowalski (Barry Newman) wandering around junked automobiles at the beginning of the film (which happens just a short while before his death) to a wonderful, long distant shot where Kowalski's Dodge Charger is just a dot on the road and crosses the screen in the Nevada landscape. But as i have grown and watched as the years have gone by, the story for me has become a mythic telling, like a an ancient Greek or Arthurian legend. Kowalski meets and over comes many challenges, including a couple of harpies and meets a wise sage in the wastelands. For me it has a very poetic feel that has never left me.

Night of the Living Dead has always scared me since I saw the advertisements on Creature Features as a child. Creature features was one of those late night horror shows that would show movies late into the night. I watched every single one I could, except when they were showing Night of the Living Dead. Just watching the advertisements for the movie scared me (I watched Creature Features from third grade until I moved during 6th grade). I didn't see NotLD until I was 21, on a small (8") B&W TV in a brightly lit kitchen, and I had trouble sleeping that night and had nightmares for the next few days. I always feel nervous after watching the movie, even now, even after seeing it at a theater with my mom when I was in mt late thirties (She loves NotLD but hates or doesn't care for any other zombie films). I am an avid Walking Dead (TV) fan, but NotLD gets me creeped out in the first 30 seconds and keeps me creeped out for a long while after it is over.

[ArtificialArtist]

To Catch a Thief - I think one of the most memorable Alfred Hitchcock movies for me. I love the witty, intelligent interactions between the characters and especially the set-design. The green hue lights on the rooftops (Matrix anyone?) and the ease of pace make it enjoyable to watch, even today it beats the crap out of most modern movies, with style :)


Another great movie i find memorable is a more recent one, Moon. It`s very slow-paced, but thats exactly what i find so special with this movie.
I am a 2001: A Space Odyssey fan and this is the first movie for a long time having a similar feel to the pacing. The story was also well laid out in my opinion.