The Movie(s) That Made You a Cinephile

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

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Ravi

Hmm...this is going to be difficult.  I became interested in cinema more because I started filming stuff with the video camera my dad bought when I was 8 rather than a particular film.  But here are some films that did do something for me:

Pather Panchali
Bicycle Thief
Derzu Uzala

I don't know if they made me a cinephile, but these are some films I saw early on that showed me how beautiful a film can be.

rustinglass

The Elephant Man
Pulp Fiction
Underground

I don't remember in what order i saw them but I remember it was one summer when I watched films all the time. These ones thaught me how beautiful, emotional and utterly cool film can be.
Today they are still among my favourites.
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Traffican

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cine

It's incredibly cliche to say this around here - but the films of PTA really transformed me into a cinephile. Because after that I got more and more into Altman, and then Scorsese, and then Italian neo-realism, and then surrealism, and then silent films, and the vicious cycle went on and on..
-Cinephile

Keener

Taxi Driver. Ever since my stepdad introduced me to this gem, film has been so different for me.
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cine

Taxi Driver was the first Scorsese film that just blew me away.. then I saw Mean Streets since it preceded TD anyway, and then the rest of Scorsese's films in order.. Scorsese or not - it still bugs me that "The Color of Money" seems to be perceived as the superior film over "The Hustler." I hope I'm not crazy but thats what it seems like. I also think it was an injustice for Newman to get the oscar for the Scorsese sequel too. Anyway, Scorsese just hit me at the infamous climactic shootout sequence.
Listen you fuckers... you screwheads...

jokerspath

I'd go w/ Reservoir Dogs.  I first saw it early in highschool and needed to know everything about it and how it was made and how anything like this is possible, which I think is what this thread is basically asking: 'what made you want to make movies.'

It was the first time I saw a movie that looked like something someone made, instead of this picture perfect machine that most popcorn cinema is.

I read and reread the script, memorizing nearly all of the dialogue and devoured anything I found about Tarantino.  It made me think (how naive I was) that making a film was possible, at least on a much more stripped down level than I was used to, though the quality could be just as good...

I'd seen Clerks that same year as well and it also gave me the impression that people (kids, students, amateurs) were creating something that was worth watching (which was an otherworldly idea in my youth).

And although its nearly ten years later (and I'm already intent on following that road) I was lucky enough to see a recent screening of Melvin Goes To Dinner and, afterwards, talk to and hear the writer/lead actor Michael Blieden speak about being a student and working out of school through different odd jobs and later writing, acting, or working with his play until someone chanced to see it and wanted to bring it to film.  

Although I've heard these types of stories a dozen times, this one connected in a different way, and might possibly have had the biggest influence.  

Good times...

aw
THIS IS NOT AN EXIT

EL__SCORCHO

Well, this is gonna be a long answer, so for those with no patience feel free to skip it. But I think it's a good question and deserves a real answer.

Deconstructing Harry changed my life.

I'd always watched movies but never gave much thought to the people behind the camera. When I got into college I hated it and decided to drop out for a semester so I had a lot of free times on my hands. I decided to spend all my time watching movies, and thats when I realized I had never seen a Woody Allen movie. I just knew him by reputation, the pervert who slept with his daughter. So I grabbed Deconstructing Harry off the shelf. I fucking loved the movie. It was the first time I completely identified with the lead character, the neurosis, the anger, I loved all his jokes.

I watched it 3 times back to back and on the third time as I watched the credits right before the picture started it read, "Written & Directed by Woody Allen". I remember so clearly hitting pause and staring at that for like 5 minutes in silence. Thats when I realized why they call his films "Woody Allen movies".

As a kid I'd always wanted to be a writer but never had much hope because I was intimidated of writing novels. But when I saw written by woody allen , it was like everything made sense. Written by Woody Allen, hmmmmmmm, thats it!!!! I can do this! Of course, I can write a movie (or so I thought).

Then I thought about "Directed by Woody Allen", and I began thinking, what exactly does a director do? I only knew the really famous ones, Speilberg, Hitchcock , Scorsese, Tarantino, Spike Lee, etc... . So I started doing some research and buying all of these books. Then I went back to college (studying business) and I hated it. I spent all my time studying up on directors and the history of film. It was such a wonderful time in my life because I was learning about and discovering all these classics. I'd watch 3 or 4 movies a day, discovering Fellini, Bergman, Goddard, etc... . I'll never forget the time I watched the sun come up as I finished watching "Double Indemnity", which became one of my favorite movies of all time.

my love of movies gave me something to pursue and for the first time in my life I knew what I wanted.I quit studying business and moved to the US to study film. I was always a lousy student, like C grades always. So I went to Boston and studied my ass off to transfer into NYU where I'm currently studying both Film and Writing (not only screenwriting, but plays and short stories). So here I am, studying what I love, making shorts, and enjoying every minute of it.

Had it not been for "Deconstructing Harry", I don't know where I'd be today.

children with angels

That was beautiful, man...!

As for me, I think I had cinephelia ingrained in me as I was growing up - got it all from my dad. Some of my first memories are watching Hitchcock movies with my dad. Hitchcock and Shakespeare adaptations.
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SoNowThen

Quote from: EL__SCORCHOWell, this is gonna be a long answer, so for those with no patience feel free to skip it. But I think it's a good question and deserves a real answer.

Deconstructing Harry changed my life.

I'd always watched movies but never gave much thought to the people behind the camera. When I got into college I hated it and decided to drop out for a semester so I had a lot of free times on my hands. I decided to spend all my time watching movies, and thats when I realized I had never seen a Woody Allen movie. I just knew him by reputation, the pervert who slept with his daughter. So I grabbed Deconstructing Harry off the shelf. I fucking loved the movie. It was the first time I completely identified with the lead character, the neurosis, the anger, I loved all his jokes.

I watched it 3 times back to back and on the third time as I watched the credits right before the picture started it read, "Written & Directed by Woody Allen". I remember so clearly hitting pause and staring at that for like 5 minutes in silence. Thats when I realized why they call his films "Woody Allen movies".

As a kid I'd always wanted to be a writer but never had much hope because I was intimidated of writing novels. But when I saw written by woody allen , it was like everything made sense. Written by Woody Allen, hmmmmmmm, thats it!!!! I can do this! Of course, I can write a movie (or so I thought).

Then I thought about "Directed by Woody Allen", and I began thinking, what exactly does a director do? I only knew the really famous ones, Speilberg, Hitchcock , Scorsese, Tarantino, Spike Lee, etc... . So I started doing some research and buying all of these books. Then I went back to college (studying business) and I hated it. I spent all my time studying up on directors and the history of film. It was such a wonderful time in my life because I was learning about and discovering all these classics. I'd watch 3 or 4 movies a day, discovering Fellini, Bergman, Goddard, etc... . I'll never forget the time I watched the sun come up as I finished watching "Double Indemnity", which became one of my favorite movies of all time.

my love of movies gave me something to pursue and for the first time in my life I knew what I wanted.I quit studying business and moved to the US to study film. I was always a lousy student, like C grades always. So I went to Boston and studied my ass off to transfer into NYU where I'm currently studying both Film and Writing (not only screenwriting, but plays and short stories). So here I am, studying what I love, making shorts, and enjoying every minute of it.

Had it not been for "Deconstructing Harry", I don't know where I'd be today.

That's fucking awesome!! Cheers.
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

modage

yeah, i am currently going through my "discovering the classics" period and loving every minute of it.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Lucinda Bryte

A Clockwork Orange.

My dad suggested I see a Kubrick film. I picked out that one. :)

meatwad


Gamblour.

Memento, saw it in the theater and knew I had just seen a cool fucking movie.
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Pas

Lucinda Bryte's coolness made me a cinephile