Films That Have Defined Me

Films are a special thing. They get emotions out of you, can inspire you to do something and even create the person you are today.

Everyone has their favourite films and seeing them at a particular time in your life can give you some of the best memories possible. Some of them could be from your childhood, when you were at your lowest point and got a much needed pick-me-up, when you are watching it with someone special or at a packed cinema where you can feel the energy of love and investment from everyone else around you.

For me, I have plenty of strong memories of certain films that have made me the person I am today. Some are my first ever film that I remember seeing, my first cinema experience, the best cinema viewing experience I have ever had and many childhood favourites that I can't remember how many times I re-watched. Some have even influenced me from having certain interests or hobbies later in life that I still do now as part of my daily activities.

I have chosen a total of 14 films that I feel have defined me so far, and they are all of course very special me. There are some in here that I could see in many other peoples list. However, there are clearly some that are very personal to me that I would be surprised to hear in a lot of other peoples list.

Well, let's start at the beginning of my life, and the first film I can remember watching.

DUMBO - I still have vivid memories of watching this at the house of one of my child minders. I think I was about 3 years old at the time. I feel that including your first film in this type of list is essential, as your mind gets introduced to a totally new medium of story-telling and one that you can experience without the help of an adult. With books, you are not an age when you can read yet. Whereas films have that visual story-telling that everyone can enjoy, and I'm glad it was this 1940's Disney animated classic that introduced me to films.

STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE - April 1st 1995, my 6th birthday. My parents got me the video for Star Wars, a film that I have never heard before. They said it would be something I would enjoy, and boy did I. This is probably my most watched film of all-time and I bet 95% of those views were between the ages of 6 and 12. Star Wars is probably the most popular movie franchise of all-time, and this moment in my life is where it all started. I collected so many toys, collectibles and many other novelty items. Many of which I still have boxed up somewhere. I will never forget those multiple viewings at home when I copied the many action set-pieces from the film with my toys as I was watching the film.
This is probably a similar scenario that many other people have experienced themselves.

TOY STORY - I remember this day well. It was my 7th birthday and my Mum, along with my sister took me to my first cinema experience. The queue was going round the block, and we managed to get in. I remember being excited, gripped and blown away of seeing a film about toys that came to life. After seeing it, I immediately had so many ideas in my head I could do with my current crop of toys and believing them to be alive.
I can see this being in many other peoples lists. Especially ones from my generation that were brought up by this beloved franchise.

JURASSIC PARK - Christmas Day 1996, and my love for dinosaurs started here. This might be a generation thing, but Dinosaurs were a big thing during my and many others kids' childhood. This film is clearly the definitive Dinosaur film and I have seen it almost as many times as Star Wars.
I also remember on my family holiday at California in 2000 when we went on the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios. This was definitely the ride I wanted to go on the most. I still remember that moment to this day. The wonder of seeing the world of Jurassic Park in front of my eyes, and being completely terrified in the scary finale. I'm pretty sure I still have some Jurassic Park collectibles boxed up somewhere. It's still an absolute classic that I think will never get dated.

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD - The first of my films that I will be surprised to see other peoples lists. I'm not sure how, but I managed to cross paths with this 1938 classic during my childhood. I think most likely, my parents introduced me to it. Plus, I know my grandma was a big Errol Flynn fan.
Like my previous two films, I watched this a ridiculous amount of times. I remember loving the action set-pieces, particularly when Robin's men jump the King's guard and the brilliantly choreographed sword battle between Robin and Sir Guy. It also became highly quotable any time I went on walks during my holidays with my parents and pretending to be in those scenes.

THE MIGHTY DUCKS - Another personal choice, and it is the film that got me into watching North American sports, sports films and pretty much began my love sport in general.
The fun, excitement and intensity throughout just had me wanting to try the sport of Ice Hockey. Sadly, we didn't have any ice rinks near me. So the next best option was Field Hockey and I had an enjoyable junior career from that.
The two sequels also have a special place in my heart. But this was the one that started it all.

RETURN TO OZ - A film that expanded my imagination and my first feeling of being part of a film cult following. I think it was my last child-minder that introduced me to this. I had seen the original plenty of times and loved it, and I don't know why, I seemed to completely embrace this, despite the tone being totally different.
Over time, I found so much information about the universal negative reaction to it, and how there is a growing amount of love for this from people who were also brought up with it. It did help that it was shown at least once a year on TV here in the UK.
But now, I try and recommend it at any chance I've got. I also try to mention the amount of fan-made documentaries there have been. The most notable being 'The Joy That Got Away'. There is also another one coming out soon, and I can't wait to see what this one has got to offer.

TITANIC - While I have this film in my top 100, it is more about me living through the build-up and reaction of this massive blockbuster that has got this film in my list.
I remember seeing all the marketing around this film on various forms of media, the programmes being dedicated to it and the records this film was breaking. This was my first experience of a blockbuster, and at the time it became the biggest grossing film of all-time. It was not until then when I knew how popular a film could be, and what it takes to become a blockbuster.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING - This is still the best cinematic experience I have ever had. I remember it very clearly. I knew nothing of this film and my parents took me to see it, because they think I would enjoy this. We went to see this at a cinema in one of our neighbouring cities as our local was being demolished with a new one being constructed at the time. The screening we were in was packed and so we had to find some seats towards the front, and so we had to look up for the film.
The almost 3 hour running time completely flew by and I had been transported to a whole new world and learnt the meaning of an epic film. I had never been any more gripped and in awe of what I saw. What was even better, was that I had no idea that there were two more films in store. So by the end of this one I was saying "Oh! Why did they stop it there?!  Don't we find out if Frodo and Sam ever get there?" I was pleased to hear my parents say that there were two more.
I saw The Two Towers and Return To The King at our now current cinema, and it capped off what I feel to be the perfect trilogy.

KILL BILL VOL. 1 - We now move to my sixth-form years, where I took my first steps into more mature films, and a what film to do that. The brutality of the opening scene just settled me in for such a memorable ride.

Not only did it made me realise that there are films for adults out there. But it also introduced me to director Quentin Tarantino, who I am a big fan of now. This film remains to be my favourite of his works.

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA - Quite the captivating experience that I was not expecting. I remember wanting to see this film for some time as the trailers had me intrigued. When I finally bought it on DVD, I thought it was quite delightful. Then suddenly, one particular scene had me gasping so loudly, that it effected me in such an emotional way and it stayed with me for quite some time.
There are  not many films that I always cry to. But this is one that gets me going in the biggest way. This is such a beautiful film.

SPIRITED AWAY - We are just heading into University, and this film opened the door to another different world within film-making for me, the world of anime.
I was curious to see this film when I saw it listed on the TV schedule and noticed it had received an extremely high rating. So I checked it out and was very impressed by its imagination, wonderful story and captivating visuals.
That film basically introduced me to Studio Ghibli, which is basically Japan's Disney in terms of heritage within Japanese culture. Since then, I have seen all of their previous feature films and is one of my most important discoveries when exploring new film genres.

HUGO - I am well into my University years now, and whilst on my Christmas break during my second year, this film interested me, despite the trailers not really explaining what type of story we were getting.
I was totally not prepared for what I saw. Whilst showing a wonderful family drama, it also made me understand the foundations of cinema. After that, I educated myself into the history of films and the pioneers of film-making.

CLOUD ATLAS - My most recent entry, and we have come to February 2013. The trailer showed so much, and yet explained very little. But what I saw at the cinema had me not realising until long after leaving my screening is that I feel I have seen one of the best films of all-time.
This film really opened my eyes into new ways of exploring certain themes and ways of telling a story. The Wachowski's did such a fantastic job with this, and I believe this will get the credit it deserves later in life.