What are some movies that influenced you?

EvolvingMind

EvolvingMind

I'm curious to hear what movies you guys have found really influential to you. Y'know how sometimes you watch a movie that just rocks your understanding of what a film can be and what a film can do? Or just changed the way you look at movies? What are some films that have done that for you guys?

I've got a couple that really stuck with me. Not just as good movies, but as movies that changed my thinking.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been one of my favorites for a long time. I'm just amazed at how well all the elements of film come together in it. The acting is fantastic, the screenwriting brilliant, the sound design and music completely perfect, the cinematography breathtaking, and the visual effects amazing. And they all work perfectly in sync.

Dog Day Afternoon made me understand what good pacing and tension in film could be like... and that great storytelling didn't rely on showy camera movements/angles or sweeping scores, but on subtle and intricate details.

I also watched The Forbidden Room recently, which was a fantastic experience. Totally different from anything I've ever seen. The way the unrelated narratives just become embedded in each other... such an interesting experiment while still being extremely entertaining. Run Lola Run another example of something that took narrative in a different direction and was still totally engaging to watch.

I could go on... but I'll save 'em for later. What about you guys?
 
I was influenced by the doors.

If you can try to stab your boyfriend with a knife, and he can lock you in a closet and set it on fire.. and they both still love each other then surely i could overcome my girlfriend almost killing us both. I don't take my life that seriously anyway.
 
Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Sucker Punch

A Clockwork Orange

The Green Mile

IT, this one mainly because it gave me the fear of clowns...
 
La Haine
Idi I Smotri
The Master
A Clockwork Orange
Taxi Driver
The Deer Hunter
Throne of Blood
Stalker
The Great Silence
The Lives of Others
Funny Games
Eraserhead
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Network
Night of the Living Dead
Delicatessen
City of God
Psycho
The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes
Metropolis
Robocop
Alien
Bladerunner
Down by Law
The Thing
Synecdoche New York
Naked
Et cetera.
 
Fight Club
Empire Strikes Back
The Godfather Part 2
A New Hope
The Godfather
Raiders of the lost ark
Silence of the lambs
Goodfellas
2001: A Space Odyssey
Pulp Fiction
Dr. Strangelove
Raging Bull
Taxi Driver
Rashomon
Badlands
Apocalypse Now
The Big Lewbowski
American Beauty
Eternal sunshine of a spotless mind
Lost in translation
 
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That is a hard question.
There are many great movies, but these 3 come to mind as influential for me:

Koyaanisqatsi (showing me how visual poetry can tell a story)
Once upon a time in the west
12 Monkeys (the first time I saw it: the ending really hit me hard. The grey zone between reality and fantasy, where both characters and viewers are not sure anymore what is real and who is crazy intrigues me ever since. And the eye for details in this movie is insane.)
 
I think it's a good idea started by the OP, not just to list films but to detail why. I'll add that in my list I've not necessarily listed films I particularly liked but films which influenced me/my work. My list should be much longer but time prohibits. In no particular order:

Jaws - For demonstrating that music/sound can create and play a character more effectively/powerfully than visuals. For demonstrating that great pic editors think holistically and not just about the picture. For demonstrating that objectivity separates the great directors from the lesser directors.

A New Hope - Obviously there's the invention of CGI but also for defining the modern "organic" approach to sound effects design and demonstrating the creative possibilities of early surround sound.

Apocalypse Now - For turning the traditional filmmaking process upside-down and defining the modern art of sound design.

Koyaanisqatsi - For demonstrating that an impressive but ultimately boring sequence of visual images can be made watchable to a far wider audience by the right choice of composer/music.
Powaqqatsi - For demonstrating the element of luck in flimmaking. That great images and a world class composer might create very watchable cinematic art or, might not.

Paranormal Activity - For demonstrating that marketing and the resultant audience expectation can have a profound influence on the perception of film pacing and production values.

Silence of the Lambs - For demonstrating that even for the climax of a film, sound can be a more effective and powerful filmmaking tool than visuals.

Primer - For demonstrating what is possible by essentially a lone film maker and, what is not.

Saving Private Ryan - For epitomising all the tricks of the trade with modern 5.1 filmmaking/sound design.

Master & Commander - For epitomising what is possible with 5.1 recording and for detailing that reality and the perception of reality can be two completely different things.

Gravity - For demonstrating the storytelling possibilities of Dolby Atmos.

12 Angry Men - For demonstrating that forethought of the use of sound/atmosphere's can significantly heighten tension/drama.

There are many more but I've run out of time.

G
 
The Guardian, Streetfighter, American Ninja, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (Goldsmith's Production), The Reeds etc..., all of which are so incredibly bad I know I can do better.

El Mariachi is an inspiration because it means I think I can do this filming stuff.

And my favourite movie of all time which is 'Any Given Sunday' because I recognise every character in it instantly. Hell, I was one of those rugby players in a super-macho environment and the playing scenes are absolutely perfect, just something that stopped me in my tracks because it was the perfect representation of what happens on the pitch. I loved it and it also shaped a lot of my thoughts around film marketing / positioning / pricing.
 
I would have to choose...

The Castle of Cagliostro: for it's beautiful music and atmosphere, it's endearing characters, and it's seemingly effortless charm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJudurbkv1E

Slayers Return: for showing me that an animated comedy can be lit and composed like a live-action film, with more natural de-saturated colors, sun-bleached yellows and whites, rich darks, and believable shadows from trees and branches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK5kKYCo9yM

Star Trek (2009) and Guardians of the Galaxy: for both proving that a film can completely engage and enthrall an audience, despite a weak story, so long as the characters are well written, the visuals are stylistically unique, and there is an emphasis on "fun."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHv2_lwo0Zk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d96cjJhvlMA

Excalibur: for reminding me how effective a fantasy and period-piece film can be with almost no visual effects what-so-ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSfh0pIAG38
 
As a filmmaker, "EL MARIACHI" is an absolutely AMAZING success story. Robert Rodriguez shot the
film for $7000 on FILM. He wrote, produced, directed, shot, and edited the entire film HIMSELF. Read about it.
It is quite a success story...
 
Python's Life of Brian and Holy Grail have had an extreme influence on my feature-length film ideas lately
 
Anything by Nicholas Winding Refn, I really enjoy and take a lot from. Also loved Place Beyond the Pines. Beautiful pacing all throughout that one.
 
Essay alert!

As a kid, I mainly wanted to do epic-scoping space operas. I'd write a script, and then hit a wall once I realised I had no way of making them a reality.

In my mid teens, I started to get into monster movies like Godzilla and Gamera which felt /more/ achievable, but there was no way I was constructing miniature cities and giant monster suits.

At around 16 or 17, having watched and enjoyed Mallrats and Dogma, I decided to watch Clerks. That, along with my already huge affection for Tarantino, made me realise "hey, if my dialogue's on point- who cares if everything else is cheap?"

I did a few comedy films (both shorts and features) just shot on my camcorder, with VERY limited releases. As in, so limited, I am completely unable to track them down.

While dialogue based comedies were certainly easy- they didn't satiate my need for something more fun. I was really getting into Troma movies at around that time, but they had always fallen into "unachievable." Then I watched Farts of Darkness (the making of Toxic Avenger IV), and it suddenly felt a lot more grounded in something I could do.

Between that and IndyMogul's amazing show, Backyard FX, I decided to go big and gory aaaand I've basically stayed on that path until now.

TL-DR- Clerks, Troma, Farts of Darkness.
 
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