Sling Blade
Forrest Gump
Life is Beautiful
Man in the Moon
Better Off Dead
Schindler’s List. What a graphic portrayal of man’s inhumanity to man, and one man who said No and did something about it. It’s not a movie you pop in on a rainy Saturday because you’re bored, but you need to gear yourself up emotionally to watch it. And you must watch it, at least once a year, to remind yourself in the midst of hell one person can make a difference.
Similarly, although it’s not fiction, the CBS documentary of Sept 11, hosted by Robert de Niro.
The Star Trek movies, because I’ve been a fan ever since they started airing TOS in syndication.
Gone With the Wind, because I must have read that book a hundred times before I hit high school.
I’ll have to think about the fifth one.
I don’t quite have the energy to explain right now what I loved and what moved by about the following movies, but here are the first 5 that come to mind:
- Underground (Yugoslavia, Emir Kusurica)
- City of God (Brazil)
- Lost in Translation (I’m sick of defending this movie to people who found it mind-numbingly boring. I don’t understand what can be construed as boring about it.)
- Blue/White/Red (Poland-France, Krzysztof Kieslowski) I can’t pick one, so I threw in the trilogy
- Shawshank Redemption - Sort of the odd movie out, I’ve only seen it once, but I remember tearing up during the movie, so it makes the cut.
pulykamell, you’ve now become the only other person I know who’s ever mentioned the unforgettable Underground here. An absolutely amazing film–my vote for the best of the 90s–and an equally terrific soundtrack (one that I find myself playing constantly).
Off the top of my head:
Schindler’s List
Legends of the Fall
Dances With Wolves
What Dreams May Come
Born Free
Saving Private Ryan–gave me a newfound appreciation for the horror that men like my father went through in WWII, a war that had been, for me, sanitized to near-bloodlessness by 50s movies and various TV shows. Also, the question at the end “Have I been a good man?” was enough to make me bawl like a baby.
Star Trek II–The death of Spock at the end was both shocking and moving to me, particularly with Kirk’s reaction of pure devastation. I felt very cheated when they brought Spock back for STIII.
Forrest Gump–I found most of the movie amusing, but two scenes moved me. The first was when Lt Dan made his peace with God, and the second was near the end, when Forrest asks Jenny if little Forrest is smart or like him.
Lord of the Rings—I had been waiting for this movie for so long…and when it came, it was perfect and didn’t let me down one bit. I felt like a kid again.
Big Fish—I first watched this movie not that long after my own dad died.
Hmmmm…
The Pianist
Life Is Beautiful
Hotel Rwanda
damn, they’re all depressing …
The God’s Must Be Crazy … saw it at a young age and I think it profoundly influenced my politics … I’m serious.
one more, one more …
pickAxe … it’s a doculmentary about the Cascadia Free State; gives me a rush of adrenaline every time, makes me want to run away to the forrest…
I spent several months in 1996 volunteering on the Croatian/Bosnian border, so that movie has some extra poignancy for me. The soundtrack does kick ass. I’ve seen the Goran Bregovic and Boban Markovic orchestra perform several times when I lived in Budapest. They were both awesome live. Have you seen Kusturica’s other movies? Black Cat, White Cat was great, and also has a kick-ass soundtrack to boot. Also, if you like the Underground soundtrack, check out Goran Bregovic’s work with the Polish singer, Kayah, entitled Kayah & Bregovic. It’s not Serbian wedding band music, but a more eclectic mix of pop & Slavic/Balkan/Gypsy folk.
And if I can have more than five:
City of Angels
A League of Their Own
Unforgiven
When a Man Loves a Woman
It’s A Wonderful Life
(Starts with the Saints hearing & responding to prayers,
shows the significance of one simple life, ends VERY much like
the Book of Job- most people don’t realize that the restoration of
Job’s fortune came when the community came to his aid-
and if I just spoiled IAWL for anyone, you just don’t watch movies
much- do ya?)
Forrest Gump (a simple man anointed with the Spirit- that whole
feather thing was so John 3:8; also Lt. Dan’s baptism & “walking
with Jesus”)
Enchanted April (Miranda Richardson moving from Law to Grace)
The Passion of the Christ (especially the Mother Mary scenes)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
After all her suffering, she is loved & laughing in the Light
I’m a sucker for movies about Grace.
Also, The Remains of the Day - made me resolve never to not tell a woman if I loved her. I’ve made a fool out of myself plenty of times since, but I never wonder what might have been anymore.
Thanks, Sol. I needed to be reminded of that.
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Field of Dreams: My father passed when I was 7 (under unfortunate circumstances), I am a ballplayer, and the ending just always hits me really hard (but more in a subconscious way, not like, “Oh wow, that’s like me and my Dad would have done” – it’s a more subtle feeling, yet still very moving).
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Titanic: Even though I thought the movie overall is just very good and very technically sound, the ending just blows me away. And when the lights came up I just knew I wanted to spend my life having a hand in movies that can touch moviegoers in a profound way. (Which doesn’t exactly explain why I’m working on a script about two roommates trying to maim each other, but BFD.)
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The Game: A very metaphysical movie from my viewpoint (I believe intentionally so, but that aspect seems to “whoosh” most viewers). Sorta reinforced the theologic and cosmic beliefs I had been studying at the time.
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Dead Man Walking: Does a great job of portraying the power of forgiveness/redemption. Sean Penn was robbed of the Oscar. Robbed I tell you!!!
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The Matrix: Yeah, I’m one of those Matrix geeks. At least I don’t quote the movie or shit like that.
Hon mention:
What Dreams May Come (Another metaphysical message I bought)
City of Angels (ditto)
Saving Private Ryan (made me appreciate the courage demanded of those who fought. Wow.)
I’ve seen several of Kusterica’s other films–not only BCWC but also the wonderous Time of the Gypsies and the very funny When Father Was Away on Business. Check them out if you haven’t yet.
Thanks also for the music rec–I’ll hunt down that CD. My wife and I have been planning an Eastern Europe trip (Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, etc.), and the possibility of seeing Bregovic live makes my mind reel. Is he still performing there? ( :leaves to do some googling: )
Oh, I should mention that Kusterica’s quite a good actor, too. Did you see The Widow of St. Pierre or The Good Thief?
As far as I know, they all should still be performing. Emir Kusturica also has his own band called “No Smoking,” which swings by Budapest every so often. Boban Markovic seems to play in Budapest once every couple of months. Goran Bregovic is a little tougher to catch (I saw him at the big island festival in 2003) but he’ll be in town next month on September 7.
Rivers and Tides (Andy Goldsworthy - because that’s me)
The Big Blue
Empire of the Sun
Legends of the Fall
What Dreams May Come
Thunder Heart
Lord of the Rings - to see my childhood fantacies on screen
- Apocalypse Now – My love affair with 70’s movies began here.
- Willy Wonka – The original, because the fantastical and magical wins me over consistently.
- Frances and Night Mother – Since I suffer from a lot of the same things, I relate.
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Phantasm – The best, and first, of my all-time favorite horror movies.
And too many dramas to name… Extremities, Bad Lands, Hotel Rwanda, Dog Day Afternoon, Kramer Vs. Kramer, The Rose, A Clockwork Orange, Clean and Sober, Pretty Baby, Silkwood, Amadeus, American History X, The Shining, Night of the Hunter, Lord of the Flies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Coming Home, Lenny, Breathless, Body Heat, Freeway, Spoorloos, Happiness, etc., etc. ad infinitum. Told ya there was a recurrent theme.
Honorable mentions:
- The Exorcist – Self explanatory. ::: shudder :::
- Grease – My all-consuming passion for years. Don’t laugh!
- Garden State – Zach Braff, eccentric characters and a wonderful story. Yum.
- 7 Days in September – Introduction 101 into the political, documentary realm.
- Being There, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Rapture – Some of my takes on religion.
- Sixteen Candles – My teenage years. Argh!!
And I swear that I like some films from now (The Usual Suspects, Memento, Mulan, Fargo, Shawshank, Mystic River, Almost Famous, 21 Grams, Magnolia, Being John Malkovich and several others already mentioned), but my heart belongs to the gritty era before 1980 and sometimes they just don’t have long-term memory recognition.
[Thanks to the IMDb Top 250 list for the help.]
Oooh, oooh! Plus some excellent comedies… The Graduate, MP’s Holy Grail, Annie Hall (even though I can’t stand Woody), It Happened One Night and A Fish Called Wanda.
I’m sure there’s more too. ::: grinning :::
Whew. Guess I had a lot of opinions on this after all. 
What usually gets me more than anything else is a specific line that encapsulates a theme or character trait that moves me as a whole.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou:
The whole story element of Zissou never having connected with another person is perfectly captured when he is describing his boat and as the camera passes the submarine with the name Jaquline crossed out on it (I may have the name wrong) Ned asks “What happened to Jaquline?” and Steve simply replies “It turns out she didn’t really love me.”
Return of the King:
When Sam and Frodo are sitting on the side of Mt. Doom as it erupts around them Frodo captures the relationship between the two characters as it had been featured throughout all three movies with the line “I’m glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things.”
The Lion in Winter:
The scene where Henry disowns all three of his sons after they betray him. As he stumbles down the corridor cursing God, and more specifically the line, "My boys are gone. I’ve lost my boys. Oh, Jesus, all my boys… "
Lawrence of Arabia:
The second to last scene when General Allenby, Mr. Dryden, and Prince Feisal are meeting and Lawrence is informed of his promotion to Colonel. His disconnected delivery of thanks is a complete portrayal of his feeling of failure despite all that he accomplished.
Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V:
No matter how many times I hear it, his delivery of the St. Crispen’s Day speech never ceases to bring a tear to my eye.
And the Band Played On
Moved me enough to join a volunteer group supporting AIDS sufferers.
Europa, Europa
Made me treasure my relationship with my wonderful sister.
Schindler’s List
Inpsired me to visit the gravesite in Jerusalem where the final scenes took place.
My Life
Helped me to have better relations with my father.
Dead Poets Society
Around that time, two high school friends of mine commited suicide for similar reasons as the character in the movie.
I’ve seen this thread here for a while and sort of avoided it because the movies that move me are generally my favorite movie. I’ve had long enough to think about it, time to post, I guess.
Fargo - *There’s more to life than a little money, ya know. Don’tcha know that? And here ya are. And it’s a beautiful day. Well. I just don’t understand it. * Combine this with the ending with Marge and her husband laying in bed and wanting to hear about whether his artwork made a stamp or not. I was on the verge of tears. It made me think.
Millions - This has, far and away, been my favorite movie released in Canada this year (I believe it’s old news in GB). I almost start to cry just thiinking about the ending. Although situations aren’t quite the same (my mother is alive and well ), I’ve wished for a while that something similar would happen to me that happened to Damian.
Amadeus - It rekindled my love of classical music. Watched it again today and spend $30 at iTunes.
Sense and Sensibility - Although I’m the opposite sex as Elinor Dashwood, I think of myself as very similar to her personality wise. I understand her character much better than most others in fiction of any kind and therefore when emotional events happen to her, I feel them much more intensely than I normally would.
Dead Poets Society - I’ve always wanted to have the courage to do what Todd did.