What are the movies affected you most as a child?

[annajasmine]

Well I have three movies Star Wars, Grease, and Water Ship Down. Star Wars and Grease because Star Wars had things I never seen before, grease of course the music and they were such great movies. The Water Ship Down is not like the new cartoons. As a child 4 years of age I thought this was horrible movie. I was made to watch this by my dad it gave me nightmares for years. I have not watched the movie since but I wonder If it was as violent as I remembered. Anyways I just wonder what are the movies affected you most as a child?

[Ayana]

 Believe it or not, the movie Pollyanna. It provoked a lot of jealousy and more than a little wonder at someone who could have such a positive outlook on life. I hated her and wished that I could emulate her all at the same time.

Ayana   

[Wing Walker]

Hi, Annajasmine,

Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, these movies have stayed with me to today.

Wing Walker

[MeganRose]

Watership Down for me as well.

I remember seeing it when I was about 5 or 6. I cried so much. So much death, disease, violence - it gave me nightmares for years as well. I actually bought it a few years ago, and I still havent been able to bring myself to watch it :/.

Why my mother made me watch it I have no freaking idea - she must have known what it would do to me.

Megan

[Keira]

Depends what you mean by kid, I was born in 1967.

I never saw anything but disney movies in the cinema until the late 70's, early 80's when
I started going by myself to the dollar weekend double feature matinee just for children
A roomfull of 500 children without their parents seeing second run movies with
often bad prints, those where the day!!

Of those disney movies, some in first run, others in revivals, I think I was most impressed by Pinocchio,
god that movie was frightening!! And Fantasia (also frightening and fascinating).
I loved the love bug movies also. For some reason, the jungle book also frightened me! Man,
disney makes some terror movies (Bambi is on the list to when you're young).

The 70's may be fantastic for art fare cinema, but it was crap, for G rated movies.
(Oh the many times I saw cannonball run which thankfully was pared once with Empire Strikes back).
I saw way too many of those crummy disaster movies!!

But, strangely enough, we got Sergio Leone's dollar trilogy, man that was good
compared to the rest. Logan's run and star wars did regular runs there too.

When I think of it, most of those movies where boy oriented and quite low brow.
A french comedy team (Les Charlot) had a whole serie of insanely stupid movies,
which I see now and can't believe I actually liked some of them!!! Same with Louis
de Funes's movies; although "Rabbi Jacob" still has its moments.

The fillm that had real impact was on TV.

On TV, I saw sound of music the first time around 1975 on TV on our black and white 20 inch TV

Just imagine that, a panoramic technicolor movie in pan in scan and black and white,
the purists would be horrified for sure!!!

I so wanted to be Liesl and found Rolf such a smuck for being a traitor!!!
I in particular loved the 16 going on seventeen. Yeah, I could see myself looking
forward for that future... But it was not to be... Or so I thought...

I couldn't identify with the boys at all. I think that's the first time
where I really took notice of gender.

[funnygrl]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind-

Animal House-

Star Wars-

[Ayana]

Thanks Ayana for reminding me of Pollyanna.  No I've never seen the movie or read the book.
Nowadays "pollyanna-ish" is regarded as pejorative.  It wasn't supposed to be.

Anytime Renate, I'm glad that I can be of service. I think that it is admirable of you to persue an upbeat view on life. The world needs a few pollyanna types to acheive balance again after me 

Ayana   

[tekla]

I like Pollyanna also.  I was so in love with Haley Mills as a kid.  And oddly enough the house "Aunt Polly's Home" is about four blocks away from my other apartment in Santa Rosa, I walk past it all the time.

[Ayana]

 That is really cool Tekla. Is it the house that is in the movie?  Because that house is what sparked my interest in architecture.

[tekla]

Oh yeah, its that house that was used for the external shots.  Several places on that street have been used over the years in movies.  Its kept up very well and you almost expect Hayley Mills to come running out and say "I believe I can do it".  I do think though that the 1920 version with Mary Pickford is cuter by far however.  But it was the book that I read several times that really influenced me, I didn't see the movie till highschool and the Pickford version not untill a few years ago.

I think I was more inspired by the plays and concerts and recitals that my mom took me to.  More than some of the movies I can remember the old downtown cinimascope screens and doing the trip to see something big.   But I remember seeing 2001 when it came out (8th grade) and I remember seeing a movie called 55 Days in Pepking that was awesome, at least to me, and that cinimascope presentation was impressive.

But the only movies I think that affected me as a kid was Lawerence of Arabia.  I made my mom take me back and see it again, and then I saw it a third time when it played the regular screen in my home town.  And I remember seeing A Hard Day's Night when it opened, with all the screaming girls - it was wild, kinda hooked me on rock and roll.

PG&BtK though is a classic.  Its one of the few Westerns that gets the West right on a fundamental level while the story of Pat and Billy, of the best friends doomed to shoot it out to the death, that's almost Classical Greek Drama stuff there.  And the soundtrack is really good too.

[annajasmine]

Hi, Annajasmine,

Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, these movies have stayed with me to today.

Wing Walker

I really liked Mary Poppins. The Disney stuff just slipped my mind. Never seen a non cut to pieces version of the Sound of Music the one I seen jump around a lot. The Fox and the Hound my cousin(a lot older cousin 20 years older) took me to this movie she couldn't get me to stop crying.

Watership Down for me as well.

I remember seeing it when I was about 5 or 6. I cried so much. So much death, disease, violence - it gave me nightmares for years as well. I actually bought it a few years ago, and I still havent been able to bring myself to watch it :/.

Why my mother made me watch it I have no freaking idea - she must have known what it would do to me.

Megan

Well there is noway I'm going to watch that movie I thought about it. After seeing clip of it on youtube I could not finish the video clip. It brings up too many old emotion about the movie and my dad.



Anna

[NicholeW.]

In the Company of Wolves. Not as a child though. Maybe Swiss Family Robinson by Disney.

[VeryGnawty]

Neverending Story, Enemy Mine, or any other movie directed by Wolfgang Peterson (including the more recent version of Troy)

His characters always have a curiosity and thirst for adventure that I really like.  When I was a kid, I thought Atreyu (from Neverending Story) was the coolest hero ever.

I have The Neverending Story on DVD.  I've only seen it a million kabillion times.  And every time I see it the scene in the swamp is so sad 

[tinkerbell]

As a child?  The Wizard Of Oz, and no I am not that ancient by the way  .  I just found the movie to be magical.  I always wanted to be Dorothy...

tink

[tekla]

I always thought the flying monkeys were much more me than Dorothy was.

[lady amarant]

I was much more influenced by movies I saw as a teen than as a child.

If I had to choose a couple though, I'd also have to go with Watership Down (SUCH a good movie) and the animated Transformers film. (The first time I ever saw characters die in an animated anything - that made a huge impact)

As for teen and young adult, I'd have to go with American Beauty and Fight Club. In many ways those two movies redefined my life's philosophy.

[Audrey]

Did you know a munchkin hangs himself in the Wizzard of OZ  its right on the horizon in the forest right at the end of the scene where the witch throws the fireball when theyre at the old house.  As they tra la la on their way.

Audrey

[lady amarant]

Did you know a munchkin hangs himself in the Wizzard of OZ  its right on the horizon in the forest right at the end of the scene where the witch throws the fireball when theyre at the old house.  As they tra la la on their way.

Audrey

I'll have to watch it again, but that is ... wow.

Now that would be an interesting topic for discussion: Subliminal and oblique messages/references in family and children's films... Might even be thesis worthy if there are any film-studies types out there!

[tekla]

That I did not know, if its true - however all the reports were that that set was about the most decadent place short of hell, or Babylon up to that point.  See:  Under the Rainbow, for the full story.

[Elwood]

Come on, guys.

Ghostbusters!



Hmm... I keep forgetting there is a variety of ages here. My mom was in high school when this movie came out.