Movies that helped mold me
These movies had an enormous influence on me during my formative years, from the time I began watching movies in the 1970s until I turned eighteen in 1988.
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.This has been my favorite movie since I first saw it in 1987.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.I am old enough and fortunate enough to have seen this in a drive-in theater when it first came out.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsDonald SutherlandBrooke AdamsJeff GoldblumWhen strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.The idea behind this genuinely creeps under my skin and the execution is flawless.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsPaul ReubensElizabeth DailyMark HoltonWhen eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.Goofy and loveable...
- DirectorJames SignorelliStarsCassandra PetersonPhil RubensteinLarry Flash Jenkins"Elvira: Mistress of the Dark" is a 1988 comedy, horror movie - upon arriving in a small town where Elvira has inherited a rundown mansion, the famous horror host must battle an evil uncle, and townspeople who want her burned at the stake.Still love Cassandra Peterson as I type this in 2022. Her new memoir I highly recommend!
- DirectorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsRobert HaysJulie HagertyLeslie NielsenAfter the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.Fact: The funniest movie ever made.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsAnton GlanzeliusTomas von BrömssenAnki LidénIn the late '50s, young Ingemar learns a lot about life and himself when he is sent away from his sick mother to live with his aunt and uncle in a town full of eccentrics.Heartwrenching. Worth revisiting multiple times.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.Speaks to the lonely man in all of us, god or no.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.The coolest in 1980... still the coolest
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.Not nearly as great as IV or V, but Leia worked her magic on my 12-year old self.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.Saw it on TV in the 70s and it scared me silly. Granted, I was about six years old. Still great, though.
- DirectorCarl ReinerStarsSteve MartinBernadette PetersCatlin AdamsA simpleminded, sheltered country boy suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivete is both his best friend and his worst enemy.Not really a jerk - more like a buffoon. Would not work with a talent lesser than Steve Martin's. Hysterically funny.
- DirectorTerry GilliamTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseEric IdleKing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.I feel sorry for the people who have never seen this. Oft-quoted for a reason.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsPeter SellersHerbert LomBurt KwoukTo prove that he still is strong and powerful, Philippe Douvier decides to kill Clouseau. Once news of his "death" has been announced, Clouseau tries to take advantage of it and goes undercover with Cato to find out who tried to kill him.I'm not certain which of the Pink Panther movies is my favorite, probably because they can be seen as one large, work. There was only one Peter Sellers...
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsAnthony Michael HallIlan Mitchell-SmithKelly LeBrockTwo high-school nerds use a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, who promptly turns their lives upside-down.Really spoke to me when I was fourteen. Immature, sophomoric and very funny.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.Warped my fragile little mind when I was fourteen. Tobe Hooper spent more than a year in post-production and it shows; the score and sound effects are outstanding and the cinemaphotography transcends the budget and genre.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.I don't recall when I first saw this, though I was most certainly too young. I've enjoyed repeated viewings for more than forty years.
- DirectorMichael HerzLloyd KaufmanStarsAndree MarandaMitch CohenJennifer BabtistTromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.Another juvenile lark. The type of movie that I would not enjoy as much if I had first seen it as an adult. Still one of Troma's more tolerable offerings.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinVirginia CherrillFlorence LeeWith the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.Gave me a real appreciation for silent films and especially Charlie Chaplin. This one especially is filled with pathos and is more satisfying than his one reelers, though The Gold Rush and Modern Times are also films I have enjoyed several times.
- DirectorJames W. HorneStarsStan LaurelOliver HardySharon LynnStanley and Ollie are enlisted to deliver the deed to a goldmine in a small village, only for it to be stolen.Laurel and Hardy make me laugh harder than any other comic artists. I like most of their work, especially their shorts, but chose this as being emblematic of the duo.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenJanet MargolinMarcel HillaireThe life and times of Virgil Starkwell, inept bank robber.Woody Allen still cranks out films as I write this in 2022, though to me his early work was his best work. This one was very funny, though probably not as good as "Annie Hall" or "Sleeper."
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsJeffrey CombsBruce AbbottBarbara CramptonAfter an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.I first saw this when I was fifteen or sixteen, long before I read any Lovecraft stories. Still fun!
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?Cary Grant was always the coolest. What guy didn't want to be him, especially when he starred opposite Ingrid Bergman?! Directed by Hitchcock, who also directed "To Catch a Thief," in which Grant's co-star was the impossibly beautiful Grace Kelly.
- DirectorVictor HeermanStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxMayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding.The Marx Brothers were broad enough and their humor juvenile enough to appeal to teenage boys. I still enjoy their movies as a chronological adult.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.VHS tapes* from video stores+ were the way we thirteen-year-olds got our R-rated horror fixes, and this was a prime example.
* VHS was a home video format before DVD, which was a precursor to Blu-Ray, whch was the way we old-timers viewed movies on-demand prior to streaming.
+ Video stores were actual brick-and-mortar edifices wherein one could rent a home video for viewing at home. These were rendered obsolete by the advent of streaming services. - DirectorAlbert MagnoliStarsPrinceApollonia KoteroMorris DayA young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.Prince was the biggest star when I was in junior high and this soundtrack was the reason.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsMarilyn MonroeTom EwellEvelyn KeyesWhen his family goes away for the summer, a hitherto faithful husband with an overactive imagination is tempted by a beautiful neighbor.Made me a huge Marilyn fan when I was a teen. I read biographies of her and cried at how tragic her story was. This film is genuinely funny, though, and holds up well today.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael BiehnA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.The first R-rated movie I saw in the theater. Worth taking the risk at thirteen.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.I used to stay up late on Friday nights to watch the Shroud host classic horror films on WFFT from Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I am forever grateful to the Shroud for introducing me to all the great Universal horrors, such as this one.
- DirectorTod BrowningKarl FreundStarsBela LugosiHelen ChandlerDavid MannersTransylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.Another Shroud offering
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsClaude RainsWarren WilliamLon Chaney Jr.Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman. One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where they meet a mysterious gypsy fortune teller.Lon Chaney, Jr. really sold this one.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsClaude RainsGloria StuartWilliam HarriganA scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.Another Universal classic that fueled my youthful imagination.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsRichard CarlsonJulie AdamsRichard DenningA strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.I am still amazed this was filmed on the backlots of Universal studios.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.My best friend, Geoff, saw this before I did and helpfully re-enacted some of the highlights for me, thereby increasing my desire to go see it. A magnificent adventure!
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.To my undiscerning thirteen-year-old mind, this was as good as the first one. It really isn't, but it still occupies a place of fondness for me. Besides... monkey brains! A guy has his heart ripped out and IT'S STILL BEATING! 'Nuff said.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsChristopher ReeveMargot KidderGene HackmanAn alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.Saw this in theaters when I was seven and I really did believe a man could fly. The effects don't hold up (like, at all) today, but Christopher Reeve will always be the one, true Superman to me.
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsJohn TravoltaOlivia Newton-JohnStockard ChanningGood girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?Saw this in a theater when I was seven. My parents bought the soundtrack on vinyl and I sang and danced to "Greased Lightnin'" in the living room until I collapsed.