Your most inspiring movie

[G4scott]

Finally... My 500th post... WOOHOO!!!

Anyways, to get this thread on topic, what is the most inspirational movie you've seen. What movie has had the greatest impact on your life?

It's hard to say for me... I need to think about it some more. There are a few movies that have really moved me, but I can't say for sure... The one that comes to mind first is 2010 (the sequel to 2001, a space odyssey. I can't really remember 2001 that much). It was very touching, when HAL, the innocent, child like computer, realizes that he must give his own existence to save the lives of the crew... It just leaves me in awe, how a computer with a mind of its own can understand that it must make the greatest sacrifice... That's just one of my things... The movie A.I. also had the same effect on me... When have computers to think for themselves, what will their reaction be to extraordinary circumstances? Can a computer, a non-living machine ever express emotions of fear, love, or hate? I am just very curious as to the answers to these questions, and it was movies like 2010 (once again, I don't remember much of 2001) and A.I. that spur this curiosity in me...

Now, your turn ;)

edit- I changed the title to "inspiring" movie... It sounds better, and is probably the correct way to say it :)

[ponyboy]

Shawshank Redemption

[MacMaster]

October Sky

PS: Congrats on your 500th! Great 'tar!

[D0ct0rteeth]

Congrats on 500

"Dead Poets Society". I've also been known to give copies of "The Razors Edge" as gifts.

I dont know if I would call it inspirational.. but, "Joe vs The Volcano" has its moments as well.

Different times of my life I needed different movies.

[G4scott]

I heard from a friend that the movie "Signs" was a really touching movie that made you cry for humanity, or something like that... I just have to find time to go see it...

[arn]

I can't say I have any one movie that actually changed my life...

but I really thought Joe Vs. the Volcano was very inspiring...

I think a big message is taking chances...

arn

[Rower_CPU]

Hmmm, there are so many...
•Rudy
•Life is Beautiful
•City of Angels
•What Dreams May Come

…and so many more…:)

[eyelikeart]

I've got a few...

Swingers...
Matrix...
Great Expectations...

I love watching Swingers before I go out on the town...

Matrix is good to get me in the mood to workout or do something active...

Great Expectations...I know it's a bit cheesy...but it's a good story...inspiring to me as an artist and romantic...

[dynamicd]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Braveheart!! Also, The Hurricane was equally inspiring.

[ryme4reson]

Scarface.

[job]

Rudy

Hoosiers

Saving Private Ryan

[Beej]

Every movie with sarah Michelle Gellar in it... I get very inspired every time I see her ;)

Also:
K-Pax
What Dreams May Come
Probably a lot more that I can't think of right now.

[AmbitiousLemon]

Originally posted by ponyboy
Shawshank Redemption

Originally posted by arn
I can't say I have any one movie that actually changed my life...

but I really thought Joe Vs. the Volcano was very inspiring...

I think a big message is taking chances...

arn

and Rocky.

But Joe is my favorite. Even got the poster framed.

[iGav]

Originally posted by G4scott
Finally... My 500th post... WOOHOO!!!

Anyways, to get this thread on topic, what is the most inspirational movie you've seen. What movie has had the greatest impact on your life?

It's hard to say for me... I need to think about it some more. There are a few movies that have really moved me, but I can't say for sure... The one that comes to mind first is 2010 (the sequel to 2001, a space odyssey. I can't really remember 2001 that much). It was very touching, when HAL, the innocent, child like computer, realizes that he must give his own existence to save the lives of the crew... It just leaves me in awe, how a computer with a mind of its own can understand that it must make the greatest sacrifice... That's just one of my things... The movie A.I. also had the same effect on me... When have computers to think for themselves, what will their reaction be to extraordinary circumstances? Can a computer, a non-living machine ever express emotions of fear, love, or hate? I am just very curious as to the answers to these questions, and it was movies like 2010 (once again, I don't remember much of 2001) and A.I. that spur this curiosity in me...


First off..... well done on reaching the big 500...... ;) :)

2010.... a classic film... even though it's muchly forgotten by critics...... and lives in the shadow of it's big brother......

As for inspiring films....... well...... I'll go for
2010 as well....
Dirty Harry
Unforgiven
Man On The Moon

There's quite a few others... but I'd be here for a while naming them all....... :)

[ShaolinMiddleFinger]

American Beauty was great.... Happiness is key....

Shawshank Redemption was great, too....

Ferris Bueller's Day Off when I feel like skipping work, too....:p :D :)

[King Cobra]

What an original avatar! :rolleyes: :p

I'm not too sure about these movies, but they hit me emotionally:

Cast Away
Armageddon
Volcano
Lean On Me

[bousozoku]

One on One
Rudy was a close second.

[Kethoticus]

Dead Poet's Society. This movie showed the necessity of pursuing your dream, making your time on this earth thoroughly worth it. I was a waiter at the time, and it just tore at my desire to do something so much more meaningful with my life.

[Macette]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Hmmm, there are so many...
•City of Angels


I hope you're joking... that film with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan? Yech. (although it did 'inspire' me to avoid Nic Cage films in the future).

I liked Tank Girl. That inspired me when I was sixteen.

Lord of the Rings had good inspiring music.

Ferris Bueller and The Breakfast Club inspired me to be baaad when I was at skool.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Macette
I hope you're joking... that film with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan? Yech. (although it did 'inspire' me to avoid Nic Cage films in the future).

To each their own, but I liked the message: sacrifice everything for love.

Regardless of how you feel about the actors, the movie was powerful.

[job]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU


To each their own, but I liked the message: sacrifice everything for love.

Regardless of how you feel about the actors, the movie was powerful.

I never saw it; was it any good?

[Macette]

Originally posted by hitman


I never saw it; was it any good?


Oooooh no, it was NOT. (But to each his own; I agree with that much :) )

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Macette
Oooooh no, it was NOT. (But to each his own; I agree with that much :) )

People's tastes in movies are so varied that it's tough to take just one person's opinion. I actually like the soundtrack more than the actual movie, but the two come together as a package deal, so...:)

[zarathustra]

10. AI -Artificial Intelligence
9. Mothman Profecies
8. Donnie Darko
7. My Sweet Little Village (Czechoslovakia)
6. What Dreams May Come
5. Closely Watched Trains (Milos Forman dir.)
4. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
3. As Good As It Gets
2. Fight Club
1. ?????? It depends what mood I am in.

[Rower_CPU]

Just thought of another couple:

Pay It Forward - a tear-jerker
A River Runs Through It - makes me want to go fishing

[Dignan]

Why hasnt anyone mentioned "Awakenings" yet?

[jefhatfield]

forrest gump
when harry met sally
rudy
english patient
henry and june
men's club
my left foot
map of the human heart
godfather
revenge of the nerds
red, white, and blue
secrets and lies
crying game
night on earth
before sunrise

many others

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Dignan
Why hasnt anyone mentioned "Awakenings" yet?

Ah, yes...classic.

A young Williams and DeNiro in his prime, wonderful movie.

[jefhatfield]

great movie

i also liked de niro in the mission

[jelloshotsrule]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Pay It Forward - a tear-jerker
A River Runs Through It - makes me want to go fishing

wow, wouldn't have taken you for the girl movie type....

i'll agree with some of the others... what dreams may come, fight club...

and add in the name of the father.

and bottle rocket!

[AmbitiousLemon]

Originally posted by jelloshotsrule

i'll agree with some of the others... what dreams may come, fight club...

and add in the name of the father.

and bottle rocket!

ah fight club. damn fine movie. not sure if i would call it inspiring though.

[jelloshotsrule]

well in my case... i'm also thinking of what would inspire me to make movies or stories or whatever... not just what inspires me to live a better life, etc etc...

so that's probably where bottle rocket and fight club go.... though. you're not your khakis, etc are good thoughts.

[AmbitiousLemon]

well if that is where you get inspiration for writing then id have to say few places would be better. thoroughly enjoyable writing in that.

ever see wonderboys? (yes i know no one saw it) good flick. caught an advanced screening though so i think they made some changes to the final, but it the version i saw was good.

and you got to love starship troopers (though i think the satire went over most people's heads)

[jelloshotsrule]

i saw wonder boys. i liked it too..

did it bomb or something?

the few people i've known that have seen it liked it a good deal...

but then tobey had to go and make spiderman. ha

[GreenLyons]

Apocalypse Now..
Brazil..
This way wicked soemthing comes...
Last of the Mohicains..
Excaliber.,
Sorry If I blew any/All of the spelling. After all Im an artist.

[sparkleytone]

i'm sorry but ANYONE who saw A.I. and didn't think it complete and utter crap deserves to die an excrutiating death. A.I. was simply the worst movie in a decade and its amazing to me that it could come from the same director as Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List.

A.I. was so bad i spent the credits laughing my ass off at how much it sucked.

[sturm375]

In no particular order:

Rocky
Saving Private Ryan
Braveheart
Rob Roy
Star Wars (the first one, not episode 1)
Farris Beuler(sp)
The Natural
Driven
Armageddon
Deep Impact
Air Force One

And probably more, I just can't remember now.

[clubmedia]

without a doubt SLINGBLADE is the best!!!

[Ifeelbloated]

My all time favorite movies are:
The Right Stuff- This film is a masterpiece and there is one moment in the film that truly inspires my soul. No, not the famous scene where they're all in their spacesuits walking down the corridor. It's where it transitions from Gordo Cooper talking about the best pilot he's ever seen then it cuts to Yeager about to push the envelope again in the NF-104. Got a stick of Beeman's?

Ran-Akira Kurosawa, 'nuff said.

Amadeus-Yeah, it's got guys in fops and all that but I think there isn't a better film that depicts corrosive envy. Even if the storyline is contrived.

Apocalypse Now- War is insane, huh? The horror, the horror of using a PC.

Last of the Mohicans-Highly stylized Michael Mann flick. But it's cool. Ow! My scalp!

Gladiator- What can I say? Hail Jupiter! Hail Ridley Scott! Tigers and Chariots! Oh my!

Oh, and two mini-series. Yeah, yeah, but these are good.
Piece of Cake-About a RAF squandron during WWII. Bloody good film ol' boy.

Lonesome Dove-Man, Woodrow could keep a promise couldn't he? You ride with outlaws you die with outlaws, Jake. You also use a PC so you really gotta hang.

[blogo]

It's either Mars Attacks or A.I.

[Gelfin]

Originally posted by sparkleytone
i'm sorry but ANYONE who saw A.I. and didn't think it complete and utter crap deserves to die an excrutiating death. A.I. was simply the worst movie in a decade and its amazing to me that it could come from the same director as Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List.

A.I. was so bad i spent the credits laughing my ass off at how much it sucked.

I loved the movie right up until the last 30 minutes. That's when Spielberg turned the dial to full power sucking and absolutely ruined what came before. I can't imagine what he could have been thinking. If you've seen the movie of course you know exactly what I mean. He could have ended the movie RIGHT THERE and it would have bordered on brilliant. But he had some special effects budget left over or something and commenced wanking. I must say, though, that the role of "boy robot with no real conception of what it means to be human" is possibly the only role that Haley Joel Osment can pull off convincingly.

As far as recent movies, I highly recommend Minority Report. Not what I'd call brilliant cinema, but it's notable for how well it comes together and flows. It was one of those action movies where you just keep waiting for it to screw up and go sour, and it never does. The writing was good. The pacing was great. I could quibble about how they've innovated glass sheets as a data storage medium but somehow forgotten all about network technology, but things like that are very minor.

[ShaolinMiddleFinger]

I totally forgot about Trainspotting. Pre-Star Wars Ewan McGregor getting out of the druggie world.

[awrc]

Films that have inspired me and changed my outlook on life? Hmm. Tricky.

You Only Live Twice. Which taught me never to trust the guy with the white cat, always to check around the edge of my secret volcano base for ninjas, and that if you take Sean Connery and give him "plastic surgery" to make him look Japanese, the end result is a Vulcan without the ears.

Big Trouble In Little China. Never fails to cheer me up. Also taught me to be wary of eight foot tall Chinese sorcerors with light coming out of their mouths, which is always a handy survival trait.

Colossus: The Forbin Project. Why I never have my Mac and my PC powered up at the same time.

Oh, and finally, not a movie but a TV series, which finally made it onto DVD in the US...

Gerry Anderson's UFO. I think this show single-handedly explains why I've spent the past twenty two years feeling vaguely disappointed. In 1980 we were supposed to have fancy cars like Ed Straker's, a Moonbase, and standard uniform for women on said moonbase was a silver miniskirt ensemble and a metallic purple wig. Reality has proved so dull in comparison. Oh, and then there was the "we're being invaded by aliens who want to steal our bodily organs for transplants" aspect, which goes a long way to explaining why most of the characters in the show spend every available moment trying to give themselves lung cancer or dissolve their livers.

[Gelfin]

Originally posted by awrc
Colossus: The Forbin Project. Why I never have my Mac and my PC powered up at the same time.

Hahaha! I've been wondering what my Powerbook meant by "THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM..."

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by Ifeelbloated
My all time favorite movies are:


Gladiator- What can I say? Hail Jupiter! Hail Ridley Scott! Tigers and Chariots! Oh my!



ridley scott...the worst director of all time and the reason i prefer foreign films...he is the burger king of film makers

russell crowe was great in a beautiful mind but gladiator, while entertaining, was not a good piece of storytelling

if you like russel crowe, also see mystery, alaska...in my opinion, another movie worthy of an oscar

when i see a ridley scott film, i feel so embarassed...i don't know why but it's just so overstated...sometimes i feel that way with oliver stone, but i liked the doors movie with val kilmer...very chic

[djwoolf]

What Dreams May come...
Hey their concept of heaven just inspired me to do good
Saving Private Ryan....
Come on what self-respecting man didnt shed a tear when the guy was dying and asking for his mother. I was balling then. I guess ill go now.

[jefhatfield]

saving private ryan had its good parts...the landing scene would have been more suited if it fit the rest of the story line which was finding private ryan...it was like two movies...but two good movies

i liked a thin red line...a real emotional downer, and not triumphant...depicted war in a way where everybody ends up losing in the end...very depressing...but a great cast with amazing performances...nick nolte, sean penn, john travolta, and woody harrelson...in my opionion, a better movie than private ryan

but then again, no one wins and the movie is kind of a dark story

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
saving private ryan had its good parts...the landing scene would have been more suited if it fit the rest of the story line which was finding private ryan...it was like two movies...but two good movies

i liked a thin red line...a real emotional downer, and not triumphant...depicted war in a way where everybody ends up losing in the end...very depressing...but a great cast with amazing performances...nick nolte, sean penn, john travolta, and woody harrelson...in my opionion, a better movie than private ryan

but then again, no one wins and the movie is kind of a dark story

I wholeheartedly agree, The Thin Red Line is a much better movie.

I think most people didn't like it because it's so long, but a great philosophical movie for sure.

[topicolo]

I can't believe you guys missed Rambone! :D

Just kidding

My favs are

Braveheart
The Matrix
Gladiator
Full Metal Jacket
Forrest Gump
Memento
American Psycho
Saving Private Ryan
Band of Brothers (not a movie, but the miniseries really kicks ass.)


from my childhood:
The Transformers Movie
The Land Before Time

[sparkleytone]

Originally posted by Gelfin


I loved the movie right up until the last 30 minutes. That's when Spielberg turned the dial to full power sucking and absolutely ruined what came before. I can't imagine what he could have been thinking. If you've seen the movie of course you know exactly what I mean. He could have ended the movie RIGHT THERE and it would have bordered on brilliant.

I'd say you still gave it too much leeway. The movie was extraordinary until she left the boy in the forest. Then you can tell that Spielberg got his grubby hands on it. It was going in an absolutely genius direction and he completely lost it. THEN, if he would have ended the movie in the ocean with the boy staring at the blue fairy, I would have grudgingly forgiven him, but nooooo...

and omfg that Dr. Know was complete ************.