Personal Influential Films: The Impact and Why?

Think of the films that have had the biggest impact on you. What made them so influential on you? What part, reason, or idea from those films have made you grow as a person?

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But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet, Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. W.B. Yeats

I'm sure for some their favorite films say little about them, but that's not true in my case. My two favorite films, 12 Angry Men and Dial M for Murder, are both puzzle-like, and appeal greatly to me for that reason. 12 Angry Men, in particular, satisfies my desire to try to think logically and critically and to confront people who refuse to do so, and it's a great illustration of both how diverse America is (or was, even then), and how our prejudices can manifest themselves. These are all things I feel strongly about, so it's no surprise that I enjoy the film so much.

Dial M for Murder appeals to me because its intricate and kind of conceptual. Its as if murder itself has been turned into a game, or a battle of wits. I also tend to enjoy particularly smooth-flowing dialogue, which Dial M has in spades, owing no doubt to is stage pedigree.

Also, Grace Kelly is pretty.

I explained why Unbreakable influenced me in August of last year in a similar thread.

Better stop now or this post'll get really long.

The Red Shoes confirmed my love for art- film and theatre.

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You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never. (The Red Shoes, 1948)

Movies are just movies to me--Hollywood has never influenced how I live my life. But there is one film that did connect with an event in my life, when my first wife and I broke up, and she took our daughter and flew back to the states from Germany. I don't remember driving them to the airport or seeing them off although I must have (I do remember how my daughter looked and how much she had grown when they arrived). Didn't go out and drink or get laid that night--instead, I went to the movie on the Mannheim Army base that was playing Love With the Proper Stranger, with Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood. The sentimental film didn't "break my heart" or make me tear up--I just thought, "How appropriate!" having realized I was married to a complete stranger who I didn't even like, much less love. I still like that movie. I think it was the best either McQueen or Wood ever made. Everytime I watch it, I think, "It could be worse--I could still be married to that dingaling!" She was one of those people who make you think as time goes by, "If I had killed her instead of marrying her that day, I'd be out of prison by now!"

I think I've mentioned this before somewhere, but my mum always cried watching sad films, and when we were kids we used to think it was funny, but then when I was still a youngster the impact of the power of films to move emotionally hit me while watching Wuthering Heights (Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier) . Before that, yeah I loved films but I didn't realise how lost you could get in those worlds, and how people up there on screen could reflect what you feel too.

Many years later, late one night I was watching Philadelphia on tv with my eldest son, he must've been about 12 or 13, when I glanced over at him tears were running down his cheeks ...jeez I am filling up thinking about that now, so I guess he had that moment of discovery too

♥

When Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind came out, I was going through a pretty rough break-up, so it goes without saying that it inevitably had a pretty profound impact on me. It let me go through all those emotions along with Joel, and taught me a lot about what's true of lovers and how they grow apart.

Even despite the relationship stuff, though, Eternal Sunshine still would have hit me in the f---ing head. Joel's timidity, his self-awareness, and especially his childhood experiences (getting bathed in the sink, being forced to maim the dead bird with a hammer) are all very, VERY close to my own. Watching the film is largely like watching my own life. I can't really describe what that's like.

So yeah, I very much doubt that another film will ever come along and topple this one, at least to me. It's perfect.

The most personal film and the one I connect to/with the most. Guarenteed to turn me into a blubbering wreck.


Saw this when I was 8 and it was the film that made me fall in love with film.


Not strictly a film, but seeing this is what made me interested in what goes on behind the scenes. It's what made me look at film as more than just entertainment.

Taxi Driver really hitted me by the second time I watched it. The way that Travis tries to fit in, in so many different ways (and failing in all of them), made me think how sad those lonely people are. Being myself a extremely shy person, I could relate to the film and see how fortunate I was to have so many friends, despite the fact my personality is very close to Travis'.


Of course, and American Beauty made my passion for movies rise up

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"All these moments will be lost in time. Like tears... in rain."

I saw Wayne's World when I was pretty young and I always wanted to be like Wayne & Garth and I guess, while I didn't set out to be a carbon copy of them, when I grew up and started listening to different types of music and as free and open minded as I am, I always think back those days riding around on my bike in circles screaming 'Party On!'

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"Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously."

King of the Hill

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"A candy colored clown!"
Member since Fall 2002
Top 100 Films, clicky below

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Honestly, the first time I watched American Beauty I wasn't a huge fan, but I really think that I might come to like the movie if I watched it again. I think its hidden message could be really good but I just didn't appreciate it the first go around

5 Influencial films for me (in no particular order and not necessarily the most influencial, just things I've thought about):

The Lucky Ones- I can sometimes relate to the main characters about how some people around me just don't plain appreciate some things

The Shawshank Redemption

Man on Fire

Seven Pounds

Crash

DRIVING MISS DAISY. This film captivates me. The combination of brilliant acting, great filmmaking, and a very touching story draws me close to this film. Nobody could EVER replace Morgan Freeman in this. A true acting genius!! The story of how we discover that people are people inside, very much the same, no matter what facade we have in front of us. When the smoke settles, we find we are all brothers and sisters.