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Childhood movie milestones (1 Viewer)

Estevan Lapena

Stunt Coordinator
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Jun 21, 2003
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Dick Tracy

Superman

Batman

The Great Mouse detective

Predator*

Terminator 1 & 2*

Die Hard*

Aliens*

Silence of The Lambs*

Robocop*

Total Recall*
-----------------------------
*All movies I remember seeing at a very young age and then being scarred for life. :D
 

TommyT

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May 19, 2003
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I also remember The Wrath of Khan having a profound effect on me. I still love Montalban's performance!
 

ZackR

Supporting Actor
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Jan 27, 2003
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Believe it or not, the first movie I recall seeing in the theater was Song of the South. I was in kindergarten and it was re-released briefly and my class took a field trip to see it!! I was totally engrossed in that magical world. This also explains why I just want to kill the politically-correct thought police who don't want this movie released. Seriously though, that movie just sucked me in.

I also remember Jurassic Park on opening day. That was an incredible day!

Pinocchio was another movie I loved as a child. And don't even get me started on The Goonies... That movie WAS my childhood fantasy on film!

I still watch my Song of the South LD every now and then.

PS - Note to Michael Eisner: RELEASE SONG OF THE SOUTH NOW!!!
 

Brent Bridgeman

Second Unit
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Jaws - I was 8 when this came out and went to see it with my best friend and his parents. It scared the poop out of us, so of course, we loved it! Spending a lot of time boating in the summers back then really made it scary, especially floating in the middle of the Mississippi, waiting for the boat to pull me up on skis. It was easy to imagine many large predators lurking just below me.

Smokey and the Bandit - What young boy at this time didn't love this movie and pretend that his bike was a black Trans Am? Also brought "Sum Bitch" into my vocabulary at 10 years of age.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - After seeing this with my best friend, I can remember many summer nights, laying out in yard, watching the stars and wondering about life out there. Every moving light in the sky was a potential UFO, of course.

Amazing how many of the movies mentioned were either produced or directed by Mr. Spielberg. I still believe he doesn't get the respect he deserves.
 

Richard_D_Ramirez

Second Unit
Joined
May 21, 2001
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439
We didn't see too many theatrically released films when I was a kid, because it was too expensive for our family of five to go watch films consistently. Most of my younger film watching experiences were at the drive-in or on video (ahhhh, days of Betamax and $100 video rental deposits...).

Bambi: This is the first film I remember watching in a theater. I was about 5 or 6 at the time (it was around 1974 and Bambi was in a theatrical re-release), and I always wondered whatever possessed my school to take our class on this field trip, since the film scared the crap out of us. Can you imagine the teacher having to explain what happened to Bambi's mother to us?

Star Wars: At the age of 8, I did NOT want to see this movie, because when I was watching the neighboring screens at the drive-in, I saw Chewie and thought he was a werewolf, and concluded Star Wars must've been a horror movie! My parents had to convice me, "Star Wars is just like Star Trek on TV!", before I agreed to go watch it.

Dressed to Kill and Logan's Run: It was the same year (I was 11) when we went to the drive-in to see Dressed to Kill (there must've been no babysitter that day!), and Logan's Run on Beta. All I can say is, "Thank you, Ms. Dickenson!" (or "Thank you, Ms. Dickenson's double!") and "Thank you, Ms. Agutter", for showing me the difference betweeen men and women! :D

Conan the Barbarian, Dragonslayer, Krull, The Sword and the Sorcerer, and all the other fantasy flicks from the '80s: In 1981, I was first introduced to D&D and role-playing games. At the same time, the "fantasy film glut of the '80s" hit the market. Talk about fuel for the imagination! I was in heaven! The only bummer was that the fantasy film I most wanted to see would take 18 years to come to fruition!

Alien: This was NOT a sci-fi flick! After that dinner scene, I spent rest of movie huddled into a ball in my seat, covering my eyes and ears.

Quest for Fire: What is more embarrassing than being a teen and sitting next to your parents at the theater watching this movie?

The Deer Hunter: Watching this film was the first time I discovered that there were more to movies than just "kid flicks". It was also the first (and last?) time I experienced an intermission at the movie theater.
 

Eman_Ramos

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Jan 24, 2002
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152
I'm 25.

The first movie I recall seeing was Empire Strikes Back. I don't remember much from that experience, except maybe Yoda.

Return of the Jedi, however, I remember vividly. It was all about the Ewoks (hey, I was 6...)

Funny, but all my childhood movies come from either Video or cable. My family didn't go to the theatres much (they still don't. They're all rental.) I feel kinda cheated. :frowning:
 

Dan Shogren

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Mar 16, 2003
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185
STAR WARS all of the OT including episode one. Episode one was the first movie i ever got excited about and went to on opening night.

Im pretty sure the first R rated flick i saw was FRIDAY THE 13th on late night TNT at my grandparents house. I remember also seeing THERES SOMETHING ABOUT MARY at my friends house and him not being able to figure out what was going on in the "Hair jel" scene. :b

THE LAST ACTION HERO was my favorite movie for a long time. The first movie i saw more than once in theatres.
 

Michael Warner

Supporting Actor
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Sep 24, 1999
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Mike
In no particular order:

Alien -- First R-rated film I ever saw and I must have spent most of it cowering under my chair. It scared me witless. What I wouldn't give to still be able to have such a strong reaction to movie.

Battlestar Galactica -- Saw the theatrical cut and was blown away by the Sensurround bass effect that shook my chair like nobody's business.

Eaten Alive -- This was the second film at the drive-in doubled up with, can you believe it, Snow White. As my parents laid rubber trying to get the family cruiser out of there after the first movie, my young eyes were treated to some seriously whacked-out stuff. I realized that there was more to the wide world of cinema than just Walt Disney.

Around the World in 80 Days -- Saw this at the local revival theater with all the bells and whistles when I was a kid and realized that I had missed out on Hollywood's Golden Age. I spent most of the next few summers watching classic movies at this wonderful theater.
 

Ben LG

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Jun 30, 2003
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Indiiiiiiiiiiie! :D Already mentioned - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. My all time favorite, alot of fond memories for me during that time

Willy Wonka and the Choclate Factory - The teachers in my afterschool program used to play it countless times in the auditorium for the kids if it was raining outside and we couldnt go out to play. Pretty close to a theater experience, Ive seen it so many times I used to fall asleep during it and dream about it!

The Exorcist - I didnt sleep well for weeks after watching it :frowning: :)
 

Daniel I

Stunt Coordinator
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Jan 6, 2002
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60
The first movie I have ever scene in a theater also happens to be my favourite movie of all time (I am 27)

And the winner is Empire Strikes Back.

The sad part is I am still waiting to watch it at home :[
or am I? Muhahahahaha

Anyway, I found the following movies had an effect on me as a child:

Raiders of the lost Ark

E.T.

The Never Ending Story

Return of the Jedi

The Goonies

Conan the Barbarian! I prolly shouldn't have watched this until I was older. Crom!

Friday the 13th!
Nightmare on Elm Street!
 

Chad A Wright

Supporting Actor
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Jul 22, 2002
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740
Born in 1980. I missed all three of the Star Wars films in the theater, but caught them when I was about 6 on VHS and loved them. I have my cousin Shawn to thank for my interest in both Star Wars and Spaceballs.

Jaws was another that I absolutely loved. To this day it is my favorite movie ever. I never truly experienced it though, until DVD came along. Before that, it was just crappy TV or VHS transfers.

The James Bond movies are ones that I used to love when TBS would have a Bond marathon. To this day I remember watching all those. The first one I saw in an actual theater though was Goldeneye. The others I'd never seen in widescreen until DVD.

Batman and Ghostbusters 2 are the two films I first remember actually looking forward to and seeing in the theater. I bought the novelization for both and I remember on opening day, I was still trying to finish the book as we arrived at the theater. After Ghostbusters 2, I remember going home and riding my bike down the rode. Then for some reason it clouded over and I was convinced Vigo was coming down the road after me so I rode home as fast as I could.
 

JohnE

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 1, 2001
Messages
585
The Towering Inferno
Jaws
Star Wars
Grease
Alien
The Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
The Shining



I tried to keep it to the movies from the 70's which were for the most part my childhood years.
 

Brian W.

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Jul 29, 1999
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Had to revive this thread because the new thread about "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" jogged my memory. "Chitty" is the first film I recall seeing in a theater, not "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" as I'd posted earlier here. I saw "Chitty" at a drive-in as well. I remember the evil guy with the long nose scared the hell out of me.

It was released in December of '68 (a full year before "Charlie Brown"), but I'm guessing I didn't see it until well into 1969, maybe even the summer of '69, so I would have been three, possibly four years old.
 

Edwin-S

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BAMBI- As far as I'm concerned Disney's best animated film. I remember the storm scene where the rain starts off light and then gets heavier and heavier. The animation of water running and dripping off the foliage still impresses me and the music backstopping that scene is amazingly timed. It is also a Disney film that wasn't a Fairy tale and there was no stereotypical villain other than the presence of man in the forest. The movie ran the gamut in visual technique from the realistic to the almost abstract. Just a beautiful film.....period. Still my all time favorite animated film.

LADY and THE TRAMP - The back alley dinner scene is still memorable and it's romantic as hell when he gives her that meatball and they share that last noodle. It is one of the great romance scenes, IMO.

PINOCCHIO - The Monstro scenes, where he is after Gepetto and P. The look of the whale is some beautiful work and the animation work done on the seawater was fantastic to watch. The Carnival scene and the scene where they all start turning into asses is good too.

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN - The first movie where I remember seeing blood when someone got the shit shot out of them. Good flying sequences too. It was nice to see a movie that used real BF-109s and Spitfires.

10 - One of the first, if not the first, R-rated flicks I ever saw. What is memorable about this movie is how disappointed I was in it. I went to see it because everyone was raving about how funny it was. It was one of the most unfunny movies I ever had the misfortune to see. The movie sucked; however, it did have one redeeming feature: Bo Derek's boobs.

THE STUNT MAN- I remember this movie for how whacked out and bizarre it was. There was a camp scene in it that was shot in such a way that I actually thought an on set accident had happened and they just decided to use the footage anyway. In hindsight, it was pretty stupid to think that, but if you have seen the movie you probably will know what I'm talking about.

APOCALYPSE NOW- The utter weirdness and the opening scene backstopped by the DOORS song THE END. One line that still sticks is when Willard is going up the river and he states..."Charging someone with murder in this place is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indianapolis 500." The napalm attack on the tree line just so Kilgore's men can surf. Too many other scenes to mention.

STAR WARS - Just for the fact that it was a sci-fi movie where the effects weren't completely cheesy. Han Solo and his Millenium Falcon. And the scene where he really does shoot first.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION - The car chase scene. Another scene that stuck for some reason was the subway scene where a subway rider gets gunned down.

DIRTY HARRY - No explanation needed.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY - It was the music and the cinematography, as well as the story. It was a Western that broke with the traditional duster. Wish they would release a properly restored, anamorphic version of this movie on DVD.

CARRY ON UP THE KHYBER - Went to this one with my dad. I thought it was hilarious but now...who knows. He really liked British comedy. He was a big Monty Python fan. I thought they sucked.

Patton
 

Peka J

Agent
Joined
May 9, 2002
Messages
34
This is a really fun thread.

I was 17 in 1989 when I started college, so I remember lots of late 1970's and 1980's movies having big effects on me.

ROCKY - This is the first film I remember seeing in the theater, although I doubt it was. I saw it at a theater a block from my house that was closed down within a couple years. I always associate the movie and that theater. I was absolutely floored and inspired by it. I remember coming out of there feeling like I was on cloud nine.

STAR WARS - like many others here, I was instantly hooked on this movie. It came out when I was 6 so I don't remember the huge hype and lines - just seeing and loving the movie. It's amazing how many people had a great cinema experience at this show. I love SW still, but I can't say it is the best film ever - it intrigues me that it had such a profound impact on almost everyone around my age (plus many others).

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK AND ROTJ - Saw Empire at a theater in upstate New York while my family was visiting my grandparents. I was so keyed up, I insisted we all go to the movies to see it. Loved it. ROTJ - I was 11 or 12 by then and what I remember most was the hype. My dad was going to take me to see it, and I remember the theater kept selling out (in those days you couldn't preorder by movie phone, etc.) We went back to the theater three times to try to get in. Wound up seeing it at the midnight showing. I was both tired and disappointed at the show, but I always knew that my dad loved me to put up with the trouble to see that movie on the day it came out.

ET and Poltergeist - I always associate these movies together because they were in the theater the same summer (5th grade) and my friends and I had figured out how to sneak into the theater or pay for one movie and sneak around afterward to see other movies on the same ticket. Must have seen them both about 15 times. The clown in Poltergeist scared the devil out of me - hate clowns even now because of it.

THE SHINING - my sister took me to see this when I was a kid. Probably the most scared I have ever been at a theater. I loved the parts I saw between my fingers as I covered my eyes. I've always had a great affection for the movie becuase I was so scared by it.

JAWS - also very scary as a kid. It was all about the eye-popping scene under the boat.
 

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