Movie you most associate yourself with

[bean6344]

I've has a bit of back and forth on Facebook with some old buddies and it made me question, what is the movie that you most associate yourself with?  It may not be your favorite movie or even the best movie, but it is the one that. sums you up.

My top 3 favorite movies are Citizen Kane, Jaws and Diner.


Diner is the movie that really sums me up more than the other two.  god, I love that movie.


Bean

[Sampsa_G]

Sadly it's Clerks, but I want to get rid of that...

[the other mike]

ferris bueller's day off

i was absent a LOT during high school. (and mostly "just because i felt like it"). i was friendly with all the cliques, though only a few "real" buddies.

stand by me

people say i used to look like will wheaton's character. i liked the movie because it reminds me of my childhood and by buddies growing up. our group also had the same dynamic (the comedian, the tough guy, the quite one...etc.)


-mike

[DGoodhart]

This a terrific topic...

For me, it comes down to more than one film, but all of these have had some sort of huge influence on me:

Vertigo- Hitchcock's movie is literally my number-one-with-a-bullet all time favorite film.  There's an elegance and grace to this that I just admire heavily and it's something that I'd just like to be able to incorporate into my own work as well.  Plus, Jimmy Stewart's performance is just staggering...

Alien- I saw it three times in theatres when it first opened and when it hit cable for the first time, I didn't miss a single viewing when it was on Showtime.  At the time that I saw it, it was the most intense theatrical experience I'd ever been through...

Superman The Movie- For me, it's sorta what I wish I could live up to, both personally and also with my comic work...

Robocop- Again, another intense experience the first time I saw it, and it has influenced me on quite a bit of levels.

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover- literally, the art-house film that peeled my eyes, and showed me not just what film was capable of, but art in general...

I guess how I associate these with myself is how they influenced me and changed (or supported) my outlook on a lot of different things, it may not be the right answer that bean was looking for, but these were the first things that came to mind...

[Tim H]

Star Wars - my introduction into sci-fi and geek culture and my favorite movies for a long time.  I was hooked on the movies, figures, and books and snatched up anything SW related that I could.

Stand By Me - The group dynamic, the sense of adventure as a child, older brothers and cousins who genuinely scared us.  Out of my core group of 3 or 4 friends we are all scattered across the world from Thailand, to Seattle, to North Carolina.

[NeverWanderer (Joey Cruz)]

I'm gonna take the non-literal approach and say Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon.

It's a youthful tale of good vs. evil about a social outcast getting noticed by the prettiest girl, fighting the local bullies, getting kung-fu superpowers and saving the day to propulsive, thematic pop music.

This flick basically taught me what to value in life.

[Jeppe]

Hmm, interesting topic  

Donnie Darko was a big one for me, as it was for a lot of people in my generation who saw it in ther mid-teens.

Wonder Boys came out just around the same time, and was even more of a personal revelation, I think.

The Ninth Gate really struck a chord with the bibliophile collector in me, even if the movie has since then proven not to hold up too well.

Stray Dog also really hit me. I love Kurosawa unconditionally, but this one made me connect with the protagonist in a very personal way.

[RickV]

Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door - This movie incorporates all of my interests into a single film. It is probably also why I enjoy the show so much everything about it clicks perfectly.

[Inazuma Tiger]

Stray Dog also really hit me. I love Kurosawa unconditionally, but this one made me connect with the protagonist in a very personal way.

A man after my own heart. I love Kurosawa as well.
And Mifune and Shimura always made a dynamic duo in all those films.

[Andrew Tom]

I'll go with the Shawshank Redemption and Escape from Alcatraz.  I wouldn't be here with you fine gentlemen without those wonderful films.

 

[S. Earl]

I'll go with Stand By Me as well. Watched it all the time with my little brother, and I think the importance on friendship that I base my life around was inspired by that movie. Friendship and loyalty are the most important qualities in life.

On a similar note, The Royal Tennenbaums as well. The power of family, even after tons of shit goes down, they grow and become better people by the end despite their conflicted interests. Kind of sums up where I was at with my own Dad years ago.

[Sean M.]

I could never do just one but the following are the ones that have changed me the most;

The Third Man- It's my dad's favourite movie and he finally persuaded me to watch it with him when I was in my late teens. Not only is it one of the best films of all time but it made me realise my dad had good movie taste.

Fight Club- Firstly, 'You are not your job' and the idea that the things you buy do not define you. Secondly, the Dust Brothers made me realise that electronic music didn't mean the 80s radio crap I knew. Thirdly, the Pixies. I also went on to read every Palahniuk novel. Survivor is great but then it's diminishing returns.

Wonder Boys- (Jeppe, you're right) I watched this in a double bill with Rushmore in my flat in Kyiv, Ukraine. It reminds me of a time when I could afford to try as many new films as possible. This resonated particularly as I continue to fail to produce the Great British novel (sadly, I may be too late). That and the amazing soundtrack.

The Matrix- Made me realise that smashing genres together to see what happens produces something fantastic. This is what I try to do in my own writing.

Aliens- I saw this when I was 1 at my Gran's house (she had a VCR and we didn't and seemingly had no concept of film certification). It not only blew my mind as to what sci-fi action could do but also made me suspicious of film classification ever since.

Batman(1989)- This was the film that made me a movie lover. Before this, I'd been vaguely interested but because I wanted Batman movie news, I started reading film magazines (such as 'Empire', which I read religiously from #2 and 'Neon', which was better as it focussed on cool, cult films- it lasted about two years) and watching the mighty Barry Norman Film show (kind of a one man Siskel and Ebert but with more sarcasm).

[lugaru]

Nice to see Wonder Boys listed... I love that film. If somebody wanted to get to know me I would suggest the following:

Luna Papa: reminds me of going to crazy film festivals and seing movies that never get any distribution.

Jacobs Ladder: Pretty much the best horror movie ever based on my tastes, since it weaves in drama and comedy and some deep ideas.

Barton Fink: ran into this movie when I was too young to appreciate it and it blew my mind.

Citizen Kane: Old movies are amazing, not homework.

[bean6344]

I love that this thread is taking off.   So many good movies.   What good taste this community has.
Keep 'em coming.
Bean

[Kamakazi010654]

Okay I see two different categories here:

A. Movies that have some special significance because their story matches that of my own
B. Movies that have affected me the most as a person

I'm going to focus on B here, because I have to get back to work soon and I could write half a novel about A. which I probably will do later.

But for B. the run away, not a chance in hell of ever being caught is...


Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring: I watched this on the Saturday Night at it debuted on Starz when I was 12, had never really heard of it just thought it sounded interesting and I can honestly say it changed the course of my life. It is the point where my life curved from being a sports fan/country guy (like "lets go hunt deer and drive around in big trucks" sort) to being the nerdy person I am today. To the point that this movie came out I hadn't read a book in about 4 years voluntarily (Too cool for that shit man!), hadn't really cared that much for sci-fi/fantasy, and didn't really play video games/read comics/do things that were considered "uncool" (yes, I was that kind of person). It sort of unlocked the person that became me today. I picked up the books the next day, and the Extended Edition of the movie, on my way to owning about 95% of the printed words of Tolkien.

I can still remember the amazement I felt when the Nazgul attacked on Weathertop, when the Fellowship theme really hits on their way out of Rivendell during that shot when they all walk past the camera, and most of all when the Balrog goes all "check out my flame" on the Bridge of Khazad-Dum. I was crushed when Gandalf died and Boromir got all shot up, tearing up both times.

I know it is cliche to say a movie/book/album truly changed your life, but I 100% know that I would be a wildly different person today if I hadn't sat down on that Saturday night with my Diet Mountain Dew and Wavy Lays Potato Chips and watched The Fellowship of the Ring.

[valance_the_hunter]

I would have to say The Breakfast Club.  

What a terrible concept "Saturday school" was...just terrible.  I remember sitting there wondering why it wasn't as romantic as the movie.  The dregs of society they portray in the movie were leaps and bounds better than the dregs of society in my school, some of the people I had to be with were downright terrifying, gang members, cannibals, pyromaniacs…I was just a pot head who read comics.  It was like Mos Eisley up in there.

God I hated it, but found myself stuck there quite a bit during my junior year of high school.  

Did teach me some valuable life lessons, however.  Don't fuck with dudes who are not wearing shirts at eight in the morning.  
Don't date chicks who tell you that you remind them of their ex (who is in prison, but is getting out soon).

[NeverWanderer (Joey Cruz)]

The Ninth Gate really struck a chord with the bibliophile collector in me, even if the movie has since then proven not to hold up too well.

Quick aside -- a novel that similarly strikes that bibliophile chord that you might enjoy: The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

[Steve Raker]

The Blues Brothers......I'm on a mission from God.

[StringerTattoos]

Goodfellas  -1990
 I was a little... umm, mischievous when I was younger. 

Henry Hill: For us to live any other way was nuts. Uh, to us, those goody-good people who worked shitty jobs for bum paychecks and took the subway to work every day, and worried about their bills, were dead. I mean they were suckers. They had no balls. If we wanted something we just took it. If anyone complained twice they got hit so bad, believe me, they never complained again
.

Jimmy Conway: I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.
.

Karen: After awhile, it got to be all normal. None of it seemed like crime. It was more like Henry was enterprising, and that he and the guys were making a few bucks hustling, while all the other guys were sitting on their asses, waiting for handouts. Our husbands weren't brain surgeons, they were blue-collar guys. The only way they could make extra money, real extra money, was to go out and cut a few corners.
.

Tommy DeVito: Sure, mom, I settle down with a nice girl every night, then I'm free the next morning. 
.

Pete the Killer: [points] By the way, I took care of that thing for ya.
.

Henry Hill: And that's the hardest part. Today everything is different; there's no action... have to wait around like everyone else. Can't even get decent food - right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I'm an average nobody... get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.

[Felt Martin]

The Ninth Gate really struck a chord with the bibliophile collector in me, even if the movie has since then proven not to hold up too well.

Please read the book, The Dumas Club.
Much, much better than the film!