# The First Film You Remember Seeing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2008, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653 "2008-04-02T08:24:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![InappropriateHumor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eb8c5e/32.png) [@InappropriateHumor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InappropriateHumor)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/41 "2008-04-02T14:43:36Z")
[QUOTE=Uglystick] At 6 years old, I was taken to see **Willow**. The first movie I can remember watching at home was **Flight of the Navigator**. Ah, the classics. [/QUOTE] I was going to say I loved **Flight of the Navigator** when I was a kid, but that’s just not possible if it was released in 1986 and I was born in 1966. Damn. I guess I’ll have to fess up to liking it (and **Willow** , FTR) when I was 20ish. Anyhoo, I bought **Flight of the Navigator** on DVD a few months ago, and either it or I haven’t aged well. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/42 "2008-04-02T14:46:30Z")
It was probably not the first, but The Thing (1951) scared the hell out of me as a lad. ---
**Author:** ![Tabula\_Rasa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@Tabula\_Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabula_Rasa)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/43 "2008-04-02T14:46:50Z")
Disney’s _That Darn Cat_. I may have been taken to the cinema before that - and I almost certainly slept through some drive-in movies before then, but \*That Darn Cat \*was the first movie I really watched. I loved it, and my very indulgent (of some things) mother took me back to see every matinee before it left town at the end of the week. I think I was four. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/44 "2008-04-02T14:46:57Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] The first Star Wars films ran for quite a long time, and after the initial run were still playing in indy theaters. All three ran for over a year after they first opened _in the same theaters_, then ran on other screens after that. I recall seeing a double bill of \*\* The Last Starfighter\*\* and **The Return of the Jedi** , for instance, sometime between 1984 (the end of the first, long intitial theatrical run) and its re-release to major theaters in 1987. So you could have seen The Empire Strikes Back in the theater at several points after its 1980 initial release. [/QUOTE] Ah, that must have been it. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/45 "2008-04-02T14:58:04Z")
I think I saw The Abyss at a drive in, but I barely remember it because it was late and I fell asleep. The Lion King was the first movie I saw without my parents. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/46 "2008-04-02T15:00:49Z")
Maybe _The Little Mermaid_. I was 7 when it came out, so if that’s not the right answer, it’s probably close. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/47 "2008-04-02T15:03:53Z")
Well, er, my step-brother took me to see _Billy Jack_ when I was six. I’m pretty sure that I would’ve seen _The Wizard of Oz_ during its usual Easter showings on CBS prior to that, but _Billy Jack_ is the first movie I remember seeing. At the drive-in, nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/48 "2008-04-02T15:04:31Z")
My mom tells me that the first movie I saw in a theaterwas **Lady and the Tramp** , but I don’t remember it. I remember seeing ads for **Star Wars** on TV, and _wanting_ to see it, and knowing we were _going_ to see it, and I remember _having seen_ it and playing with my Star Wars toys, but I don’t remember actually sitting in the theater watching it, even though I’m pretty sure I saw it at least twice in its first theatrical run. I do remember seeing **Jaws** , though. So maybe that was earlier - they were both around the same time. ETA: having read other posts, I think it might have been **Escape to Witch Mountain**. I remember seeing that one (the little purse the girl had that opened up). Since that predated Star Wars by a couple of years, that would probably be my first memory of seeing a film in a theater. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/49 "2008-04-02T15:07:12Z")
[QUOTE=DellieM] My Mum took me to see King Kong (with Faye Dunaway). It was awesome. Mum cried and then I was crying because she was crying. One of my favourite memories of my Mum - I was 7. [/QUOTE] Nitpick: Jessica Lange. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/50 "2008-04-02T15:07:33Z")
[QUOTE=Mosier] The Lion King was the first movie I saw without my parents. [/QUOTE] The first one I saw without some sort of parental figure (parent, grandparent, etc.) was [**Johnny Be Good**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095409/) when I was 13. By gum, was that a \*terrible \*movie! Also the first time I saw bare breasts on screen, and I felt horribly, terribly naughty. I remember slinking into the house hoping it didn’t show on my face like I had just lost my virginity or something. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/51 "2008-04-02T15:08:22Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] I remember _other_ kids getting to see Boggy Creek in the theaters, and scaring the crap out of the rest of us, just reciting the story! Isn’t it about some sort of Bigfoot? That’s what I remember. [/QUOTE] Yep, and it did scare the crap out of me too. According to IMDB, I was two when it was released…surely Mom wouldn’t have taken me and I wouldn’t remember it back then. Re-release, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/52 "2008-04-02T15:10:50Z")
Wow, that’s tough… let’s see… one of the following, probably, but I don’t recall what order I would’ve seen them in, I understood little of what I was watching at the time & fell asleep during some of them: a) Mary Poppins b) Those Magnificent Men & Their Flying Machines (?) c) It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad Mad World ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/53 "2008-04-02T15:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=JohnT] Nitpick: Jessica Lange. [/QUOTE] I assumed she meant Faye Wray, who was in the first one. (1933) ---
**Author:** ![Aithele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Aithele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aithele)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/54 "2008-04-02T17:38:53Z")
The first movie I remember seeing was [**Mighty Joe Young**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041650/) when I was about 4. It came on the late show. I couldn’t sleep and wandered into the living room. It had just started and my parents let me stay up to watch it with them. I absolutely loved the movie. Not long after that I saw **King Kong** but it didn’t have as big of an impression on me. Being that young, I confused the two movies. So every time we went near downtown Houston I started looking for King Kong climbing the skyscrapers. Of course, my father egged it on by suddenly exclaiming “Look! There’s King Kong!” I would swivel around and be desperately looking. I wanted to save Kong from all of the bad people. The first movie I remember seeing at a theater was **Jaws** when I was around 6. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I was so engrossed in it. It’s still one of my favorite movies. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/55 "2008-04-02T17:43:03Z")
I was torn between _The Land Before Time_, _Bambi_ and _Cinderella_. After some IMDB work I saw that while the first two were in '88, the _Cinderella_ re-release was in late '87. I only remember the mice singing on the big screen from _Cinderella_ though. Those songs were always so damn addictive. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/56 "2008-04-02T17:54:11Z")
The earliest movie I remember was “The Birdman of Alcatraz”, watched on late-night TV when I was up later than usual because I was sick. It made an impact. My parents used to load us kids up in the station wagon and go to the drive-in. I remember seeing “Yours, Mine and Ours”. StG ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/57 "2008-04-02T17:58:54Z")
**Empire Strikes Back** , I was 4 and I remember pissing in my pants because I had to go but didn’t want to miss the fight scene at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/58 "2008-04-02T18:03:59Z")
Mine was _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_, which I completely loved and which began my lifelong interest in smart sarcastic guys. 🙂 To this day I still have a crush on Gene Wilder’s Wonka. I didn’t get to see the last few minutes, though, because they kid with us was having some kind of tantrum and my mom made us leave (he was about 4–I was about 6). It was several years before I finally got to see the end, and my 6-year-old self never really forgave little Ryan for not holding his outburst for about 10 more minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/59 "2008-04-02T18:05:12Z")
The first movie I’m sure was some Disney flick - “Show White” or “Alice In Wonderland” or “Fantasia” - all of which I saw in theaters as a little kid, but I don’t remember in which one I saw first. The first adult film I saw was [Death on the Nile](http://imdb.com/title/tt0077413/), which coincidentally I just rented. It was nowhere near as good as I remembered it. Funny thing though, it was the first time I’d seen most of those actors - Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow, David Niven - and even in such a weak film they all left impressions on me. For years afterward, every time I saw them I would think of them as being from that film, as if that was their biggest role ever. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653/60 "2008-04-02T18:07:45Z")
_Star Wars_ for me as well. I think it was in 1983 (born in 1980) prior to the release of ROTJ. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-film-you-remember-seeing/443653.md?page=4)