• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Most influential movie

ruach1

Muse
ruach1
Joined
Oct 8, 2005
Messages
561
What is the most influential movie ever made?

Socially?
Politically?
Personally?
To the industry?

Wide open here...
 
"Gone With The Wind" gave generations of Southerners delusions about their heritage, which at best led to Confederate flag bumper stickers, and at worst helped fuel racism.

And the original "Dracula" movie, being a low-key rape fantasy, probably influenced a lot of sexual attitudes at the time.
 
But Nosferatu is so much better. It also had a huge influence in cinema and modern vampire myths (or concepts, I should say) as well (including, apparently, the notion that vampires are destroyed by sunlight).
 
ruach1 said:
What is the most influential movie ever made?

Socially?
Politically?
Personally?
To the industry?

Wide open here...
Click to expand...

Personally? I'm not sure what that means.

Have to think about Socially and Politically, but To The Industry? Here's a few:

Jaws
Halloween
Hoop Dreams
 
EVER made is a big category.

What about the first movie to have sound? Pretty huge.

Some of the tech that was developed for Star Wars changed the way people made movies.

I'm not sure a movie has changed things socially or politically in a signifigant way.
 
There a book called Blockbuster by Tom Shone (I think) arguing against the frequently made case that Lucas and Speilberg killed cinema with JawsstarwasET (ending the meanstreetsgodfather period) etc. He says that quite the contrary, that period was marked by excellent filmmaking and was probably the golden age of cinema viewing, a period when the general population had never been so excited by cinema. He says the real killer of quality populist cinema was Batman in 1989. He says that the was a massive and previously unseen shift towards pre-selling a film that totally removed the need to actually bother with making films that people enjoy and love. We as film viewers, in his opinion, are now trapped in an repeating dynamic of being surrounded by the buzz of a film release only to be bitterly disappointed by the terrible film only to be surrounded by the buzz surrounding the next film etc. And this is why films have been so bad for a good few years.

So in terms of popular film culture he'd vote for Batman, or at least the way it was sold to the world.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
Personally? I'm not sure what that means.

Have to think about Socially and Politically, but To The Industry? Here's a few:

Jaws
Halloween
Hoop Dreams
Click to expand...
Personally:

Well personally speaking, the most influential movie in my life is a toss up between three:

1) Star Wars When I entered the theatre as a ten-year-old, I was one person. When I left I was someone else. No movie has ever moved me to such excitement, imagination, and, dare I say, the inclination to be a member of the good side of "the Force" and a fighter of the bad side of "the Force" (whatever that is...)

2) Brazil Same thing here: went in one way, came out another. But in this case, the nihilism vs. the heroism as played out in the Sam Lowry character really threw my heroic understanding of the world for a loop.

3) Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (and ended for that matter) There is a character in this film named Chun played by Joel Gray. He is an old Korean Taoist assassin who has to train Remo for the aforementioned adventures. When I saw this character, I was amazed. At the time, I did not know human beings could have or even be portrayed to have such a peaceful, calm, and settled demeanor. I had never seen a human like this; it really, really changed my outlook on humanity. Now I am, of course, disregarding the "super powers" he possessed in the movie like I disregarded them back in '85.' It was his character and demeanor--I just never before saw a human being like this in my life--in person or on film. I didn't know someone like this was possible.

Ten years later, I realized the makers of the film (maybe) knew what they were doing. Chapter 55 of the Tao Te Ching displays a person who is so in touch with the Tao that animals do not attack him/her because the peaceful demeanor gained through harmony with the Tao creates a state of being which somehow negates or minimizes the fear and anxiety of those people and things that sense such a peaceful state of being. This was portrayed perfectly in a scene where Remo has to go in and kill a famous assassin--Chun. He barges through the door, sees Chun, and runs right by him--never assuming the peaceful old man could be that famous assassin.
 
Last edited:
Remo!

When that little fella walked on water (well, ran) I cried. I had found my very own personal Jesus.

Agreed. Nothing is the same after Remo.
 
shells-on-my-eyelids said:
And this is why films have been so bad for a good few years.
Click to expand...
Except that films haven't been so bad for a good few years. There are great films released every year. There are terrible films released every year. Just because a film is preceeded by a lot of "buzz", doesn't automatically mean the audience will be let down. That is ridiculous.
 
Oh yes, Star Wars has been a huge influence on geeks. And non-geeks. How many people still think any asteroid belt like the one between Mars and Jupiter is so dense with asteroids it's dangerous to fly some spaceship through it...
 
Jorghnassen said:
Oh yes, Star Wars has been a huge influence on geeks. And non-geeks. How many people still think any asteroid belt like the one between Mars and Jupiter is so dense with asteroids it's dangerous to fly some spaceship through it...
Click to expand...

Or that travelling at the speed of light will get you to the nearest star pretty quickly.
 
shells-on-my-eyelids said:
There a book called Blockbuster by Tom Shone (I think) arguing against the frequently made case that Lucas and Speilberg killed cinema with JawsstarwasET (ending the meanstreetsgodfather period) etc. He says that quite the contrary, that period was marked by excellent filmmaking and was probably the golden age of cinema viewing, a period when the general population had never been so excited by cinema. He says the real killer of quality populist cinema was Batman in 1989. He says that the was a massive and previously unseen shift towards pre-selling a film that totally removed the need to actually bother with making films that people enjoy and love. We as film viewers, in his opinion, are now trapped in an repeating dynamic of being surrounded by the buzz of a film release only to be bitterly disappointed by the terrible film only to be surrounded by the buzz surrounding the next film etc. And this is why films have been so bad for a good few years.

So in terms of popular film culture he'd vote for Batman, or at least the way it was sold to the world.
Click to expand...
I agree that Batman changed how films were marketed, but it is plain wrong to think that films have been bad "so bad for a good few years" because of Batman-like hype in the industry. I also agree with the "golden age of cinema viewing" comment. America in the seventies gets panned for being such a down time: 'Nam, inflation, disco, etc. But movies were never more effective or revolutionary in any other decade IMHO. SW, Jaws, Network, Apocalypse Now, Godfather(s), Close Encounters, Exorcist, Rocky(s) all captured the collective imagination like nothing before or since.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Oh, and "Shaft". There was a really good documentary about it on AMC a couple of weeks ago.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I saw that too. It was real good. I didn't know it was such a big deal to so many people. Too bad the follow ups didn't match it.
 
Children of a Lesser God (1986 with Marlee Matlin and William Hurt)

To be honest I don't really remember my personal opinion of the movie. I recall liking it, but not really being bowled over it. What I do remember about the movie is how other people responded to it.

I'm very hard of hearing and this movie is about a deaf woman. Regardless, I recall a lot of acquaintances changing their attitude towards me for the better after the movie came out.

It’s a little scary how many people need to have beliefs, ideas, etc. endorsed by Hollywood before they accept them for themselves.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Or that travelling at the speed of light will get you to the nearest star pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

ohhh, it will get you there pretty quickly. It's just that when you come back you won't recognize anyone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom