# Your most inspiring movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2014, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328 "2014-04-04T10:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/1 "2014-04-04T10:37:55Z")
This might not be an original thread but a fresh thread is easier to read. 😃 My short list: The Right Stuff Rocky IV Chaplin Dead Poets Society Chariots of Fire The Agony and the Ecstasy My Fair Lady Man for all Seasons Cyrano De Bergerac The Fountainhead I wish they’s make a movie about: Henry Ford George Washington Harold Geneen Captain Gilbert Hoover Tameichi Hara Hiroo Onoda Tamerlane Belisarius The Graff Spee They blew it: Joseph Kennedy Jr. Howard Hughes (The Aviator) Abe Lincoln The Babe Genghis Khan Cobb ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/2 "2014-04-04T14:59:46Z")
Rocky IV? Not so much. Rocky I and II felt real, not Hollywood, and I found them inspiring; they weren’t just about boxing big, badass enemies, they were about Rocky struggling against his own insecurities and trying to find a balance between being a professional prizefighter and a devoted, considerate husband. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/3 "2014-04-04T15:26:34Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > This might not be an original thread but a fresh thread is easier to read. 😃 My short list: > > The Right Stuff > Rocky IV > Chaplin > Dead Poets Society > Chariots of Fire > The Agony and the Ecstasy > My Fair Lady > Man for all Seasons > Cyrano De Bergerac > The Fountainhead > > I wish they’s make a movie about: > > Henry Ford > George Washington > Harold Geneen > Captain Gilbert Hoover > Tameichi Hara > Hiroo Onoda > Tamerlane > Belisarius > The Graff Spee > > They blew it: > > Joseph Kennedy Jr. > Howard Hughes (The Aviator) > Abe Lincoln > The Babe > Genghis Khan > Cobb That certainly is a list. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/4 "2014-04-04T18:03:37Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Henry Ford Would the movie accurately depict him as a rabid antisemite who published The Protocols in the papers he owned? Would it show how much he despised unions? My List Mystery Men A bunch of second string superheroes find themselves called on to save the day. Lucas An ubernerd struggles with acceptance in high school. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/5 "2014-04-04T18:13:23Z")
too late to edit Re Cyrano I regard him as a coward and a fool. He’s very brave when it comes to swords and guns. But when it comes to the one thing that really matters- telling his feelings to the woman he loves- fear makes him hold back. He also assumes that she could never love him based solely on his own fears. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/6 "2014-04-04T18:17:24Z")
_A Man for All Seasons_ became considerably less inspiring to me when I found out that Thomas More sent plenty of people to the stake for seeing this God business differently than he did. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/7 "2014-04-04T20:30:33Z")
_Modern Times_, Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece. The definitive movie about poor people struggling to maintain their dignity against abusive government and industry. If it’s not inspiring, nothing is. Funny, too. If you haven’t watched it, you should. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Fuji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/8 "2014-04-04T21:41:12Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > I wish they’s make a movie about:
 > > Belisarius Just had to pop in here and second this nomination. Kinda like a Rocky IV moment for SPQR (or Rocky IX or Rocky XXIV or, never mind
) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/9 "2014-04-05T03:47:50Z")
Inherit the Wind To Kill a Mockingbird The Fountainhead Mr. Holland’s Opus The Corn Is Green Les MisĂ©rables Cyrano de Bergerac Dead Poets Society How Green Was My Valley A Beautiful Mind ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/10 "2014-04-05T04:53:42Z")
Rocky IV??? [head explodes] ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/11 "2014-04-05T04:55:30Z")
2001: A Space Odyssey. Day of the Jackal. Citizen Kane. Casablanca. Last of the Mohicans. Gettysburg. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > _A Man for All Seasons_ became considerably less inspiring to me when I found out that Thomas More sent plenty of people to the stake for seeing this God business differently than he did. A good movie
but strangely uninspiring. He could easily have saved himself all the trouble by kissing the King’s ass like everyone else has to do. God doesn’t demand martyrdom. And, yeah, what you said: More wasn’t much better than the King. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/12 "2014-04-05T05:13:19Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > too late to edit > > Re Cyrano > > I regard him as a coward and a fool. He’s very brave when it comes to swords and guns. But when it comes to the one thing that really matters- telling his feelings to the woman he loves- fear makes him hold back. He also assumes that she could never love him based solely on his own fears. I agree . . . but otherwise, the story would be very short and boring. Still, I consider him a flawed hero, rather than a coward. And anyone who goes through life with an obvious deformity would realistically assume that no beautiful woman would ever love him. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/13 "2014-04-05T08:11:41Z")
A Night at the Opera Patton Mr. Smith Goes to Washington To Kill a Mockingbird ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/14 "2014-04-05T15:16:35Z")
[Rudy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_(film)) [Braveheart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braveheart) [Atlas Shrugged](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged:_Part_I) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/15 "2014-04-05T15:24:38Z")
_The Karate Kid_ (1984) - everything about this movie is great. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Made_French_Toast_For_You)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/16 "2014-04-05T16:32:19Z")
**Fargo**. The goodness of Marge Gunderson, in the face of so much greed and cruelty, always makes me feel optimistic. You betcha. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/17 "2014-04-05T17:46:43Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > [Rudy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_(film)) I never understood what’s so inspiring about that movie- it’s ultimately the story of a loser, who through dogged pathetic-ness, gets thrown a bone in garbage time at the end of a blowout. He didn’t make the team, he didn’t actually work his way into playing or anything of the sort- they basically felt sorry for him like they do the special-needs kids who they let score touchdowns at the end of the game in some horrid blowout. Except that Rudy wasn’t a special needs person, which makes him all the more pathetic. I prefer movies where the protagonist actually accomplishes something through grit and persistence, not ones where the gritty and persistent guy fails miserably and just gets thrown a sympathy down. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/18 "2014-04-05T20:24:10Z")
I always liked [The Verdict](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084855/), in which a down-on-his-luck ambulance chaser pulls himself together and wins the impossible case. Also liked [The Best of Times](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090713/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), which is similar. I wish they’d make a movie about Lord Horatio Nelson, but his life was so over-the-top that I wonder if anyone would believe it. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/19 "2014-04-06T10:25:48Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I never understood what’s so inspiring about that movie (Rudy) “Notre Dame is for rich kids. Smart kids.” An old timer telling that to a college hopeful. What could be more brutal? ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328/20 "2014-04-06T10:28:22Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Would the movie accurately depict him as a rabid antisemite who published The Protocols in the papers he owned? Would it show how much he despised unions? His only failure was with his son. He disliked Jews remotely; borne of the usual media stereotype. In reality, he got along well with every Jew he knew. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-inspiring-movies/685328.md?page=2)