What movie have you ever seen as a child that left a huge impression on you and why?

For me it was Bambi and Psycho.
Bambi made me realize parents die.
Psycho made me realize there are crazy people in the world, so not everyone could be trusted even if they look mild.

I saw The Shining when I was 12, and it scared the shit out of me. The impression that it left was that the devil could take over my finger and that I should be careful in hotel bathrooms, because there might be a naked zombie lady in the tub.

@WillWorkForChocolate LOL, it reminded me about Rosemary’s baby. For a while I thought only white children were prefered by the devil to be possessed so I had nothing to fear on that front.

Mondo Cane when I was about 12. Freaked me out totally!

My Mom took us to see “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” in San Francisco, and a theater that had one of those huge, curved screens (Cinerama).
This wasn’t watching a big television. This was completely captivating! The movie wrapped around you, the huge sound, the audience laughing (which helps you laugh as well).
It was the magic of film.
Another early experience was going with my sisters to see “A Hard Days Night”, starring the Beatles. It was early in Beatlemania, and any time either of the Fab Four appeared on screen, every girl in the audience screamed. I couldn’t hear anything said on screen. I was 8 years old, and it was amazing!

@janbb I never heard of that one. What was it about?

@Pandora It was a documentary about “freaks” and disturbing things all over the world. Probably tame by today’s standards but awful, awful. Don’t know why I went because I was as squeamish then as I am now.

“The Red Balloon.” It was the first movie I ever saw. My Mom made a special trip somewhere to take us to see it. I don’t really remember the movie any more.

The next movie I saw was “Mary Poppins.” Somehow it didn’t seem like movies were really for kids in those days. Either that, or my parents didn’t have money to take us to see the movies.

I think, at some level, the movies taught me that magic can happen.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane when I was about 10.
The God Father when I was about 13.

@wundayatta and @filmfann Yes, movies experiences can have a huge effect on children. I remember seeing the Slipper and the Rose on a large screen in Radio City Music hall, and it also came with watching the Rocketts perform and the band up front. It made you feel like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory when he won the golden ticket.

@Dutchess_III I will have to say that would be a pretty unsettling movie to watch at 10

Oh, it was. The parakeet thing just flipped me out.
The God Father….the horses head in the bed, and where they had sex against the door. I was 13 so….it made me feel weird.

One of the movies that made one of the biggest impressions since Blade Runner or Taxi Driver was Star Wars. Seeing that opening scent in Dolby Surround sound on a huge 80mm screen there was nothing like it I have ever scene anywhere, it even impressed me more than 2001 A Space Odyssey.

@Dutchess_III : My family went to see _Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte” when I was 10. Another Bette Davis FreakFest. I’m still freaked out.

Definitely Star Wars. I was obsessed, I practically begged Santa for the Complete Trilogy on VHS for Christmas during the big re-release of the original films. I think it had a pretty profound effect on my taste for films and television, too.

Watership Down, which taught me a lot about oppression, fascism and that bunnies rock.

Man of La Mancha inspired me to believe in my goals and to pursue them with intense determination,

The Lion King left me feeling quite a bit more aware of who I trust in life. It taught me that not everyone who’s close to you have the best of intentions, even if they seem friendly towards you.

@MilkyWay It should have taught you- Always trust the fat lion; never trust the skinny lion. :P

LoL! :P

Well, really, lions are hardcore predators. If a lion is scrawny like Scar, there’s something fishy going on…

Good point… I’ll keep that in mind for the future.

Also, if you come across a skinny lion, chances are that he’s too weak to chase you, so you can feel safe making fun of him before you run.

Edit: I’m seriously laughing now. As I was typing my above comment, the song “Circle of Life” came on the show my kids are watching. How freaking weird is that?

Star Wars IV : A New Hope

I saw it in the Summer of 1977 when it was first released. I was five years old and saw it with my older cousins from a bridge that overlooked a drive-in theater. We could barely hear the sound, but the visuals blew me away!

Born Free. I cried and cried! My sister, who took me to the cinema, refused to take me again.

She relented and took me to see ET years later… I cried. She gave up on me.

I achieved my first erection whilst watching Raquel Welch sizzle in “that costume” in One Million Years BC.

OMG guys…Rick was flipping through channels and….there was Whatever Happened to Baby Jane!!!! I haven’t seen in in 20 years. But….didn’t get to watch it.

I probably wasn’t too young the first time I saw it, but Contact made a big impression on me. I pictured myself in Ellie Arroway’s shoes and liked what I saw. It’s hard to say how much it actually influenced me – my dad into astronomy and has always been very enthusiastic about sharing that interest with us kids – but it certainly had an impact. I read the book when I was 16 and liked it even more.

@Bellatrix LOL, I think if she didn’t want you to cry, she would’ve choose wisely.

Yeah, but she was only 12 herself so I guess I can forgive her @Pandora. I was five and apparently I was wailing pretty loudly! Poor lion!

Old yeller….WAHHHHHH!!!!!

@Bellatrix and @Dutchess_III If you want to see something that will make you cry in a good way than watch this 5 minute clip of two people who know what its like to embrace the human spirit.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

It was my first encounter with aliens in film (besides Mork and Mindy or Marvin the Martian). I became very interested in astronomy after watching this film.

^^ An amazing movie.

I love the scene toward the end when the big ship lands and they try to communicate with it using light and sound. That tune they create is stuck in my head forever.

@cprevite I think that’s my favorite scene too. =)