The Movie(s) That Made You a Cinephile

Started by phil marlowe, February 20, 2003, 01:14:04 PM

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matt35mm

I think it may have been Scream 2, but not because it was good.  It's just that it was the first R-rated movie I snuck into and I just got a little addicted to sneaking into R-rated movies (because I was 11).  So I ended up going to the theater more often and watching more movies, which started my love for movies but I wasn't watching anything that necessarily made me a cinephile.  But at this point I was beginning to seriously look at films, and cinema just clicked for me.  It just fit.

A lot of people don't trust critics, but the first thing I figured was that they must know what they're talking about (when you take in a majority opinion, like through Rotten Tomatoes), so I watched the best reviewed movies.  I just hunted down the best and watched those.  Because of this, I was watching great movies and my love for movies just grew from there.  I quickly knew that I wanted to make movies.  And so here we are.

grand theft sparrow

Time Bandits.  I was 3.  No joke.

It's hard to nail down anything after that.  Growing up, I had always been drawn to films that weren't necessarily appropriate for or even interesting to my age group.  I invited my friends to come over and watch 2001 when I was 6.  I saw Escape From New York, Apocalypse Now, Amadeus and The Shining all by the time I was 8.  I tried watching Swimming to Cambodia when I was 12 until my mom made me turn it off.  I sat through 8 1/2 when I was 13 or so (I didn't get it at the time).  I went to see Grand Canyon at my local library when I was 14.  I was into the blockbusters of the 80s and 90s on top of all this but... seriously, how many kids do you know that actually know who the hell Spalding Gray was?

kassius

"The Shawshank Redemption" ---- I agree.

BUT the first time I watched "Punch Drunk Love", I realized that a movie could be a work of art.

pete

pulp fiction.  that was the first time I realized what a director does.
then Jackie Chan's "my stunts", in which he taught the basics of fighting for camera as well as stunts and tricks for camera.  I then went out and shot .
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

Two Lane Blacktop

Probably Blue Velvet.  I was in college when it came out, but up to that point I still thought of films in terms of their stars, not their directors.  BV was the first film I remember seeing where I was aware that this was all the "vision" of one person, and the actors were just there to help him put that vision on the screen.  Also, it was probably the most "cult" film I'd seen up to that point, and I was completely taken with the idea that a film could be unrealistic, but yet not of a "fantastic" genre I'd seen before, such as sci-fi or a Disney film.  And of course, the look of the film fascinated me, with the way it used the cliches of beauty to show extreme ugliness.  

It's still a big favorite, too  

2LB
Body by Guinness

Alethia

now that i am ACTUALLY in the thread:

i don't know what movie turned me into a cinephile, but i remember watching a documentary about the making of close encounters when i was very young and getting totally fucking excited seeing all of the cameras and watching them shoot, etc.

Ultrahip

watching those little elvis mitchel/pta interview excerpts on ptanderson.com, listening to the boogie nights commentary, and smoking lots of weed

socketlevel

Quote from: Ultrahipwatching those little elvis mitchel/pta interview excerpts on ptanderson.com, listening to the boogie nights commentary, and smoking lots of weed

i hear ya on the commentary, that was the first one i ever heard.

-sl-
the one last hit that spent you...

tpfkabi

Quote from: ewardnow that i am ACTUALLY in the thread:

i don't know what movie turned me into a cinephile, but i remember watching a documentary about the making of close encounters when i was very young and getting totally fucking excited seeing all of the cameras and watching them shoot, etc.

what do you mean by "actually?"
i just read through this whole thread and i remember you mentioning Vertigo as your favorite film because it is mine as well.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.

ono

Quote from: bigideaswhat do you mean by "actually?"
http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?p=170779#170779

It's like, circular, OMG.

Alethia

Quote from: bigideas
Quote from: ewardnow that i am ACTUALLY in the thread:

i don't know what movie turned me into a cinephile, but i remember watching a documentary about the making of close encounters when i was very young and getting totally fucking excited seeing all of the cameras and watching them shoot, etc.

what do you mean by "actually?"
i just read through this whole thread and i remember you mentioning Vertigo as your favorite film because it is mine as well.

I forgot about that old post, it was from almost a year and a half ago.  and ono pointed out what "actually" meant, silly mistake on my part.  but yea, vertigo was and probably still is and probably will remain my favorite film, the most influential to me.  i mentioned that documentary i saw though, because that was probably the first time i realized that what was going on behind camera was just as cool as what was going on in the movie itself.  i was very young.  and i said the "i don't know what movie turned me into a cinephile" thing, i guess, to instantly show that my post was just slightly off-point.  again, i had forgotten about my previous post here.

GoneSavage

One night my friend and I rented Clerks and A Clockwork Orange.  This showed me cinema as punk rock and cinema as exacting detailed art.  I got a good lesson in the spectrum of filmmaking.  Clerks had more of an impact cause it showed me that any motherfucker could make a movie and in this case a good movie.  I had previously not been exposed to that ideal.  That was a good night.

JG

this answer may be kinda answered in this thread, but not necesarily directly.  

when did you first get into foreign movies?  

how old were you and how/why?

i know some of you incorporated this into your answer already, but for those that didnt.

Gamblour.

I feel like I've answered this before, but maybe not. I remember being about 17 and hearing about guys like Kurosawa and Fellini and Bergman and the big films that go with them (so I heard): Seven Samurai, 8 1/2, and The Seventh Seal. I rented all three, and it was just an introduction at the time. The Seventh Seal is still one of my favorites.
WWPTAD?

JG

And how old are you now?  Do you feel you understoof them first time around?  For me, I didn't really get Fellini first time out (15) but appreciated it cause i knew i was suppose to, and loved the visuals.