Fight Club, Donnie Darko and... Terminator 2.

:D

Yeah that's sort of lame, cause you, me and Mary Jane might state having had our ways of seeing life changed by those supposedly "deep" and "intelligent" movies (the first two obviously). I don't care if they're overrated or anything, they did what they did.
And T2... Well that's a bit off.

Some movies that I think that changed the way I see life are American Beauty, The Green Mile, and Grave of the Fireflies. All really great movies and I would recommend anyone who hasn't seen those movies to check them out if you can.

Breakfast CLub, changed the way I treated people

KRULL, changed my favorite movie from Last Star Fighter to Krull.. I did not see them order as Krull was out first.

Lost in translation Changed the way I look at Japan.

I wonder why this thread hasn't been curbstomped yet by the "dude - SO overrated" "only idiots think that this film is any good" brigade... o_Ô

Maybe too easy prey...

Because the majority of things listed are so blatantly laughable, there just isn't any point to it. Besides which, no one here is really saying they're brilliant cinema or even good movies. Just that they had a personal impact on them. If people were coming through, talking about how the Matrix completely revolutionized film, or that the Butterfly Effect was a deep commentary on social issues... yeah, I'm sure you'd have people crawling down your throat. But feel free to be inspired by whatever drivel you like. Depressing as it is as a commentary on how much you people think, it's hardly flame worthy.

FIGHT CLUB CHANGED MY LIFE like seriously dude I never saw that plot twist coming.

It's hard to say if any movies actually altered my thinking...sometimes one will stick in my head for a little while but usually I'll forget about it and go back to how I used to think. I don't know any off the top of my head that actually permanently affected the way I act.

Except for Napoleon Dynamite. Seriously, don't ever sell breast enhancement door-to-door, Rex will bust you up.

I just wanna throw it out there, The Lion King.

It had a certain impact on me when i was a kid, I didn't care about the leaping antelopes and the crawling ants, but now i know they are a part of the great circle of life

The most important movie that really changed my life was prolly The Punisher.

These two quotes by far-

Candelaria: "Vaya con Dios, Castle. Go with God."
Frank Castle: "God's going to sit this one out."

And

Frank Castle: "It's been five months since my family was killed. I don't see ONE man in jail."
Police Chief Morris: "Obviously you're upset..."
Frank Castle: "Upset? Is that the word? I used to get upset. When I got a flat tire, when a plane was delayed. I used to get *upset* when the Yankees won the series. So if that's what upset means, what am I feeling now? If you know the word, tell me because I don't."

You're... kidding, right?

^ LMFAO.

Erm... seeing Shine for the first time was really meaningful for me. Seeing David Helfgott rise, fall and then rise again was really a good story. It taught me a bit about redemption and about struggling through the difficult times, never really giving up on the dream.

I wouldn't necessarily say that it changed my life, but it really impacted my life in a positive way and was inspiring.

What makes you think I'm kidding? the concept of the movie? or the lack of sentimental value the movie is portrayed in?

How I interpreted the quotes was...

Quote one the fact that most people take little effort to do things and rely on God to bail them out or GIVE THEM THA POWA to do things. It showed that you need to take initiative to get things done for yourself.

Quote two by showing that you might think that you have it hard, there is always someone else that has it worse and you shouldn't take what you have for granted.

Sure many quotes from movies could be interpreted all different ways but this is one the that "changed the way i see life".

And you needed a movie in which Frank Castle goes rogue to avenge his dead family to teach you this?

Though I see your point about it not having to be a remotely decent movie to have an effect. I concede that. But seriously, mate. The Punisher?

Sure maybe I didn't need a movie in which Frank Castle goes rogue to avenge his dead family to teach me this, but it did and that is why I posted it.

Yeah, no I get that. But I mean...

This...

http://www.tomsgames.com/us/fringedrinking/punisher.jpg

...is your philosophical inspiration. That doesn't bother you at all?

If you can say a movie has changed how you see life, you obviously haven't lived at all in the first place and have no right to say that a movie has changed anything.

The more i read this, the less it makes sense to me

For those more dense - "Cinema never saved anyone's life, it is not a medicine that will save anyone's life. It is only an aspirin." - Luc Besson

Whereas Robert Johnstone says something to the effect of "film being a parable for our existance, creating an oppertunity for us to examine our world and try new ways of being a part that world."

In short, Inspiration can create more chance than you seem to think.

You're such a pessimist sometimes.

For some people who don't use their heads much, I guess some films WOULD open their eyes. =/

Anyways, I saw Requiem when I graduated high school. It wasn't FRIGHTENING, but you know for some people, that's the road they've chosen for themselves. It didn't encourage me to do drugs at all, but it didn't really deter me either. Moderation. =D

Contact, I guess, really touched me. Lame. Carl Sagan in female form, right. But I don't care what you people who think you're too cool to have a philosophical shift from a movie think. I love Jodie Foster. I love the idea presented. It didn't enlighten me, it didn't "wake me up," but I loved how it was done. It gave me a sense of awe and wonder about the universe which I don't come up against very often in daily life. I appreciate being brought to a point of said awe and wonder in a film. I loved the passion in the protagonist, I loved the play on faith and science, and I loved the undertones.

Another one would have to be... and I am sure I'll get ripped on for this... would have to be 2001: Space Odyssey. By the time you wake up from the boring and bleak movie, you realize what was trying to be established. I find it extremely beautiful and very well executed as a film (not to say it is without flaws). Much like Contact, it brings a lot of ideas together, and executes the display of these ideas in a way I enjoyed.

Before those of you with a whole slew of films under your belt come along and piss on Kubrick and Sagan, I just want to say that I am not a film connoisseur. I love film, and I find it a great medium for a person like me to enjoy. (I am a very visual person)

Preemptively, I understand that some people feel that film is for the person without an imagination or without a mind of their own to put together ideas. I want to make it clear that movies for me are an entertainment form.

That quote's not saying anything different than your first post. It's not that I didn't understand what you're trying to say - just questioning its validity.

It seems reasonable that any information can change one's outlook on life, be it a movie/book/experience/whatever. Not that they all contribute to the same degree, but surely they all do to some extent..wouldn't you say?

Oh blah blah blah. Question my validity all you want - but questioning a director/screenwriter on it is paramount to you being stupid. "I disagree with what you just said despite the fact that your opinion is in complete agreement with someone who's made many blockbuster films and is a respected person in the field of cinema! What do either of you people know?!"

The director who goes out to change the world is going to end up disappointed in his career. I can count the number of people on one hand who have changed the world through cinema and it takes two hands to count the films made. What does that mean? That the overwhelming majority of films made are not as good or intelligent or mind-blowing or (stupid slang term for "amazing" here). This is very easy to defend - since very few movies affect large populations of people on a permanent basis. Star Wars would be one. Can we name many other movies that have the longevity or popularity as that? Hell no.

Yeah, I know I derive all my philosophical truth from the guy who made the Fifth Element.

I agree with you on this, LeHah, I don't think Film can change the world, it can just influence people to consider things in a different manner, no different than a book. It won't save someone's life, but it can impact it in a positive or negative fashion.

But to say that Luc Besson is the final word on cinema theory because he made some cash with his films? Come on. That's lazy logic and you know it.

Like I'm going to start waving around Georges Bataille everytime some jackass on the internet thinks he knows something? God knows if I did that, I'd've rubbed my dick off years ago from all the constant jacking off.

While I don't think Besson is the greatest director ever... or living... (or even just plain French...), the point is that Besson is an acredited director whos worked in the field for years. His statement is testament toward what I said before. God knows Anthony Hopkins would agree with me, but I'm not going to go through all those IMDB updates saying how much he hates his career.

You don't have to get all worked up..I'm only questioning, and didn't say you were all out wrong or anything. Perhaps if you elaborate more (which you just did), I might see more clearly where you're coming from.

It's a philosophical issue. I'm not pretending to know even a smidgin of what he knows about film-making, film theory, anything like that. Besides, it's never stupid to question anything. Take things at face value on authority if you wanna, but I'd say that's a bad idea, yeah? Especially when it comes to philosophical issues which can be debated endlessly.

Point 1: Maybe so, but i still think "intelligent" people are just as equally capable of being affected by a film (a non-shit film, perhaps?). Why would anyone watch a movie if it didn't affect them in some way?

Point 2: Agreed. Movies affect individuals in totally different ways, so significant collective trends don't really come up.

No one in this thread is remotely acredited to make a philosophical debate, least of all you.