Fun Friday–My Life in Films
Friday, September 23, 2011
I found this meme online. Would love to see your answers—either in the comments or a link to your blog!
Films That Remind Me of Childhood
- The classic animated Disney movies of the 1930s through 1970s, with favorites being Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, and Robin Hood. The ones I still can’t watch to this day without bawling like a. . . well, child . . . are Bambi, Dumbo (during “Baby, Mine”), and The Fox and the Hound.
Star Wars. It came out the month of my sixth birthday (happy birthday to me!) and it’s the first movie I vividly remember seeing in the theater. And I saw it many, many times in the theater. By the time we finally owned it on video in the early 1980s, I’d lost count of the number of times I’d seen it. We also had an 8-track tape of the film—much of the dialogue, music, and sound effects, which is why I can still quote the original (and best, IMO) version of the first movie.- Raiders of the Lost Ark. Came out when I was ten. I remember holding my popcorn box up in front of my face during the “Snakes . . . why did it have to be snakes?” scene.
- Grease. Came out when I was seven. Believe it or not, my aunt took my sister and me to see this movie that summer. After that, the only times I ever saw it was edited for broadcast TV. I didn’t know until I was in my early twenties and bought the soundtrack CD just how raunchy the lyrics to some of those songs are!
- The Sound of Music. One of my favorite movies from childhood. I was in my teens before I ever saw the full, uncut (again, for TV) version of it. We had an LP of the movie soundtrack, so I’ve had all the songs memorized since I can remember.
Films that Defined My Teens
Nate & Hayes. A little-known film starring (very young-looking) Tommy Lee Jones and Michael O’Keefe. It was a movie about pirates. And it was set in the Caribbean. And it had absolutely no effect whatsoever on what I would do later in life.- The Pirate Movie. While I’m in the genre . . . loved this farcical spin on The Pirates of Penzance starring two of the stars of early ’80s TV and B-movies, Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins. Favorite scene—the sword fight in the library which pays homage to Star Wars.
- Platoon. Not because I enjoyed it or because I had a crush on pre-insane Charlie Sheen. I was fifteen when this movie about the Vietnam War came out, and we went to see it as a family. I sat beside my father, a Vietnam Veteran, and at one point suggested to him he might need to get up and go outside before he had a heart attack because he was so affected by the film.
- Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. I’d never heard of Pee-Wee Herman before this movie came out and a bunch of kids from the private school my sister and I attended went to see it. So, since I didn’t know any of his schtick, at fourteen years old, I found it absolutely hysterical.
- Pretty in Pink/Sixteen Candles. While I didn’t see The Breakfast Club until I was in my twenties, I did come of age in the 1980s, so I think seeing at least these two Molly Ringwald movies was a requirement.
- The Princess Bride. “Hello. My name Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” One of the most quotable movies EVER!
Films that Defined My College Years
- Steel Magnolias. THE most quotable movie ever. Though we didn’t see this movie together, for years afterward, my college–best friend and I could always find a quote from this movie appropriate for any situation we found ourselves in. “Looks like two pigs fighting under a blanket!”
- Glory. Came out the year I started college. Was one of the first videos and soundtracks (on cassette) I ever bought. Between this movie and the Ken Burns The Civil War documentary, I aced my senior Civil War course at LSU without having to study much at all. Of course, I paid close attention in class and read all of the assigned books . . . because it’s a subject I was very interested in.
- Father of the Bride and My Girl. These both came out in 1991, which happened to be the year I met my college–best friend and we went to see these together. So these movies always remind me of the good times we spent together.
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I’d never liked the original series or the OS cast. I was a HUGE Next Generation (TNG) fan, though; so when I learned that Michael Dorn, the actor who portrayed my favorite characters (Worf) would be in the last original-series movie, I had to go see it. A couple of times. First time I ever went to the movies by myself.
- Silence of the Lambs. My college–best friend, her sister, and I rented this movie and watched it at my apartment. We managed to make it all the way through without stopping it. But we did all three of us end up on the same cushion on the sofa by the end clinging on to each other’s hands for support. Now I laugh every time I see a bit of it flipping through the channels on TV.
Highlander. I was introduced to this at a party—either the college group from church or the group from the Baptist Student Union. It was mostly guys at the party (oh, those were the days!) and one of them had brought this movie with him. They were shocked that I, alone out of all the females there, didn’t leave or go into another room but stayed and watched the whole movie. And I’m so glad I did, because if I hadn’t fallen in love with the original Highlander movie, I never would have watched the TV series. And if I’d never watched the TV series, I never would have fallen in love with Peter Wingfield. And if I’d never fallen in love with Peter Wingfield, I never would have come up with a character named GEORGE LAURENCE.
Films When I Need a Good Cry
Bambi, Dumbo, Little Women (when Beth dies), The Green Mile, and Steel Magnolias.
Nightmares from Films
I learned young that scary movies and I don’t mix . . . from being subjected to seeing The Pit and the Pendulum in class when I was in sixth grade. I had nightmares for months afterward. Since then, I stay away!
Films that are Guilty Pleasures
Doom, A Hazard of Hearts, A Christmas Story, Dead Again, Serenity, Timeline, and Something to Talk About
Last Film I Saw at the Theatre
Cowboys & Aliens (opening night, July 29). Excellent film. Rent it when it comes out on DVD!!!
A Favorite Film Few Others Seem to Know About
Secondhand Lions starring a teenaged Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine, and Robert Duvall, with cameo roles by Nicky Katt, Josh Lucas, Eric Balfour, Kyra Sedgwick, and Adrian Pasdar.
KayeDacus.com 
Ooohhh – this is fun!
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Good Morning! This is going to be fun! I have to say this is the first time I’ve seen the word “meme”. Does that make me uncool? lol My friend introduced me to mesh wreaths (which I have never heard of, but apparently are THE trend) as a craft project this week and now “meme”, I feel like I’ve been under a rock! LOL!
Childhood:
Anything with Haley Mills, “Pollyanna”, “The Parent Trap”,
“The Moon-spinners”, “Summer Magic”, “That Darn Cat”, “The Trouble with Angels”…..all of which were made before I was born, but would air as the Disney Sunday night movie and we would record them on VHS tapes while we were at church. Haha!
“Mary Poppins”, I saw this on Broadway last year and it was great, but it wasn’t Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. 🙂
“Song of the South” was the first movie I saw in a theater, for whatever reason they rereleased this movie in the early 80’s (maybe for the 35th anniversary in 1981) and my mom took us to see it.
“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” with Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt was the # 1 slumber party movie for me and my friends! From the time we were 12 all the way to 17! We loved that movie! “The Karate Kid” was the other slumber party movie (we all had such a crush on Ralph Macchio. We had no idea he was closer to our parent’s age than our own! lol)
Teen years:
“The Cutting Edge”, my sister and I could quote this movie (“Toe Pick!”, I know, impressive. lol) “The Princess Bride”, (we could quote this one too),
“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (no, I’m not embarassed to have it on my list, haha),
“My Girl”, first movie I saw on a date. “Anne of Green Gables”, I love the books and thought the casting for this movie was right on, still a favorite. “What about Bob?”, 1991 with Bill Murray (this is still my favorite comedy, “baby steps to the elevator….baby steps on the bus…” “I’m sailing!”, oh gosh it makes me chuckle thinking about it!)
College years:
“Pride and Prejudice” (1995) I remember a friend inviting me over to watch this, she was so excited, couldn’t wait for me to watch it with her, she put it in and I fell right to sleep. lol. But this was during college and any time I was in a somewhat comfortable chair (or my car) I fell asleep. I was seriously sleep deprived during those years. lol. I have since watch that version of P&P many times and love it, but my first experience wasn’t so good.
” My Best Friend’s Wedding”, my friend and I saw this at the $1 theater and we laughed so hard we were literally picking ourselves up off the floor thankfully we were the only two in the audience that day. haha!
” TITANIC”! Oh, I just remembered, I saw this in the theater and cried like I would never get over it. lol.
Good cry: “The Notebook”, “Anne of Green Gables”
Guilty pleasures: “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (makes me laugh out loud), “Dirty Dancing”
Last movie I saw in a theatre: “Seven Days in Utopia” (very good)
Film few have heard of:
“Greenfingers” (2000), a British film with Clive Owen and Helen Mirren about a group of prisoners who fall in love with gardening. It’s a hoot and makes me cry as well, but is rated R (for language I think).
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. BTW, “Secondhand Lions” is a fave, a good tear jerker and “Serenity” is great, Nathan Fillion.
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I love Hayley Mills movies too. the ones I have seen are Pollyanna, The Parent Trap (1and 2) Summer Magic, and In Search of the Castaways.
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I love the Princess Bride! One of my favorite movies ever!
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I love the Princess Bride too.
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They do such graceful acting on The Princess Bride!
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I love old Movies, some of the new ones are good too.
Anyone ever heard of Connor Undercover Its very interesting.
Crying: Shenandoah with James Stewart, The Man inside (one of the episodes of Little House on the Prairie) Carousel with Gordan Macrae and Shirley Jones, and a lot of others.
I also love Doris Day movies, and Shirley Temple movies.
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Great list, Kaye, although there are a few I haven’t seen. I’ll have to check them out. Movies that I remember as kid were E.T. Loved it! Annie (the original) saw it at the dollar theater with my friend and she got up and danced up and down the aisles during all the musical numbers. I was mortified but loved the movie. 🙂 Space Camp made me want to be an astronaut for at least one summer. Loved Mary Poppins too, but the books were better. Way too many to mention over the years, but when I need a good cry it’s A Walk to Remember with Shane West *sigh* and Mandy Moore. Guilty pleasure movie has to be Encino Man with Brendan Fraser. First thing I saw him in and fell in love, I think I’ve watched all but 2 of his movies ever made. My sister and I can quote almost the entire movie and we do so often. “Ow, my pancreas!” The Mummy Movies and Princess Bride would be highly quoted too.
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I own Secondhand Lions. Love it. But you didn’t mention the reason I own it, Christian Kane.
The first two Star Wars movies and The Jungle Book remind me most of my childhood. I had a huge thing for both of those stories. Huge.
Teenage years… all that 1980s Molly Ringwald stuff I guess. Oddly enough, during high school I wasn’t that big into movies. Too busy with my art projects I guess.
College years: It was at Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on a date with my future hubby that he told me his name was really Ferris. He goes by Brian. Smart man. Also recall Dances With Wolves from that time, huge, huge impact on me. And of course The Princess Bride. I think Last of the Mohicans came along about then too.
Nightmares? I don’t do horror films either, but my one and only sleep walking episode had to do with dreaming I was trapped on an alien spaceship and trying to escape. I woke up crouched at my closed bedroom door, with my fingers slid under it, trying to pry it open that way. On the other side of the door was my husband, brushing his teeth and looking at my fingers and thinking, “Is this some sort of joke?” I blame Farscape for that one.
Last film I saw in theater: the last Harry Potter.
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April mentioned E.T. Yes, that one stands out too from childhood… or teen years. No idea now when it came out. Ah, it’s all a blur again… a blur!
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