View Full Version : Most powerful movie you have ever seen..
What is the most powerful movie you have ever seen.. of any kind..documentary, drama, fiction of any kind..or even comedy..
A film that truly affected you in a very important way........one that may have changed how you think, or changed you...
for me..a French Documentary of the what happened in the concentration camps in Europe during WWII..
Nuit et brouillard (1955)
Night and Fog.....
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048434/
Tanooki
12-03-2007, 06:32 PM
"shawshank redemption" - made me extra vigilant about avoiding prison time. i think i chose the wrong career path for this though. (i'm an accountant)
Jin Kazama
12-03-2007, 06:47 PM
Requiem For A Dream.
I've never touched Heroin, and after that movie, I never will.
Frank Castle
12-03-2007, 08:11 PM
Star Wars: A New Hope
One of the very first movies I ever saw. This movie showed a kid that lived in the middle of nowhere go out and become the biggest hero in the galaxy. The story, effects, music, and every other aspect of the movie just captured my complete and undivided attention.
This movie and the rest of the saga emphasized that staying true to yourself, working for the greater good, and not giving into hatred is always for the best. You may not be the most important person in the world, but that doesn't mean you can't do extraordinary things that are of great importance.
GregX
12-03-2007, 09:03 PM
"Night and Fog" scarred me. That was very powerful. But, if we're not talking documentaries.
"The Godfather". I will never apologize for this opinion, but it may be the single greatest movie ever made. Definitely the best movie to come out of the 70s, arguably the greatest decade in the history of the film medium. It was just so operatic, so powerful, and yet... so human. I can relate to Michael Corleone in ways I probably should not describe. Just, beautiful. Breathtaking.
mr.happy
12-03-2007, 09:09 PM
Love Actually.
This is the first and only movie to ever make me physically sick. And that's coming from someone who didn't even blink during the 2 girls 1 cup video that's doing the rounds.
(disclaimer: I actually don't even know what that last bit means)
:p
Punisher
12-04-2007, 06:52 AM
The original Dawn of the Dead. The world has been taken over by zombies, four survivors hole themselves in a mall surronded by the undead, but when it's all said and done, it was othr humans that screwed them over.
Either that or Scarface.
cathedral
12-05-2007, 04:12 AM
THX 1138
makes me ask what it is to be human.
Baltofan
12-05-2007, 04:53 AM
Baraka
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103767/
Brandon Pierce
12-05-2007, 01:45 PM
Bridge to Terabithia (Disney version).
Spaceballs is a close second. :p
Baraka
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103767/
I had never heard of this film. Thank You Baltofan for listing the IMBD link. This is one that I think that I will watch. If anyone wants to list more than one powerful film, of course that is ok.
..I must add two more.
..The first was the first movie that ever made me cry, Romeo and Juliet.--Zefferilli..
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063518/
l969...and the second, was the first movie that made me cry out of joy and happiness-- a feeling I had never before experienced...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/ It's a Wonderful Life.....l946..Capra..
purplehairedwonder
12-05-2007, 10:24 PM
I'd say Schindler's List. The film that shows what true bravery is in our world and that there really are people in the world willing to do good. Really really beautiful.
Different movies make me react different ways but just as equal in a powerful persuasion.
Eternal Sunshine and The Science Of Sleep - love the concepts and the progression of the storytelling and the style of directing. Only movies with oddball concepts that have made me feel, hate, and love the characters. Easily classics in mine and any book period.
Fly Away Home - first movie to make me incredibly sad. Saw it when I was young and the first segment really stuck on me.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie - First movie to consistantly make me laugh all of the way through, and for weeks afterward with quotes and events that took place. First movie I bought the soundtrack to also.
Saw Series - Can't talk about one without mentioning all of the others. First series of movies that I fell in love with about every aspect, and the first movie series that I went out of my way to find all of the best editions of.
HG Revolution
12-06-2007, 03:41 PM
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie - First movie to consistantly make me laugh all of the way through, and for weeks afterward with quotes and events that took place. First movie I bought the soundtrack to also.
Saw Series - Can't talk about one without mentioning all of the others. First series of movies that I fell in love with about every aspect, and the first movie series that I went out of my way to find all of the best editions of.
Hmm, you haven't been to many movies, have you? I can think of many films funnier than Aqua Teen and better than Saw.
Personally, Spirited Away left an enormous impact on me. Got me interested in anime and Japanese culture. Waking Life was a true inspiration for me; got me thinking a lot about art and existence. The Matrix was my first R-rated movie, and opened me up to how downright stupid censorship and the MPAA can be. An Inconvenient Truth didn't change my thoughts on the subject matter, but it did show me how powerful socially film can be.
Ragebot
12-06-2007, 05:40 PM
A couple of moments that come to mind:
" [...] Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. [...]"
And:
"Forget it Jake. It's Chinatown."
Brownie points to whoever can name this one:
"I have no questions. I have...no questions."
Hanshotfirst113
12-06-2007, 10:18 PM
"I have no questions. I have...no questions."
OK, I looked online and stil can't find it. And it's starting to tick me off. I give up; what is it?
g_UnIt_GaNsTa
12-07-2007, 12:35 AM
terrence malick's the thin red line is easily the most powerful anything i have ever read/watched/whatever.
Ragebot
12-07-2007, 11:08 AM
OK, I looked online and stil can't find it. And it's starting to tick me off. I give up; what is it?
The Movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120255/) that I keep mentioning on this forum. :)
Hanshotfirst113
12-07-2007, 01:09 PM
The Movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120255/) that I keep mentioning on this forum. :)
AHA! I have, in fact heard of that film. Haven't see it yet though. Plan to. Hear it's excellent.
terrence malick's the thin red line is easily the most powerful anything i have ever read/watched/whatever.
Every man fights his own war.
ewomack
12-07-2007, 01:17 PM
"Downfall" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363163/) is up there, along with Bergman's "The Silence." (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057611/)
XOMiss_Samantha
12-07-2007, 01:30 PM
I'd say Schindler's List. The film that shows what true bravery is in our world and that there really are people in the world willing to do good. Really really beautiful.
I completely agree. Schindler's List was one of those movies that really opened my eyes to allot of things (especially since I saw it at a young age).
The Pianist was very powerful as well.
Forest Gump <3
Frozen
12-09-2007, 05:51 PM
Downfall made me burst into tears at the end of the film.
GregX
12-09-2007, 05:55 PM
Downfall made me burst into tears at the end of the film.
Are we talking about the German movie about Hitler's last days in his bunker, as told from the point of view of his secretary?
Hanshotfirst113
12-09-2007, 07:38 PM
Are we talking about the German movie about Hitler's last days in his bunker, as told from the point of view of his secretary?
Der Untergang? I'd imagine so.
Hmm, you haven't been to many movies, have you? I can think of many films funnier than Aqua Teen and better than Saw.
Personally, Spirited Away left an enormous impact on me. Got me interested in anime and Japanese culture. Waking Life was a true inspiration for me; got me thinking a lot about art and existence. The Matrix was my first R-rated movie, and opened me up to how downright stupid censorship and the MPAA can be. An Inconvenient Truth didn't change my thoughts on the subject matter, but it did show me how powerful socially film can be.
I've seen large amounts of movies; that's not the point. What is the point is that these were the movies to really show me what the cinema was all about. Sure, I've seen Pan's Labyrinith, and I thought that was a solid movie. I was around to go to the opening of Toy Story when it hit theaters. I watched The Matrix and loved it for a while. A Scanner Darkly held my interest for a few months.
But these, these were the movies that stuck with me. Never in the first five minutes of any movie have I been more captivated to stick around then with any of the movies I've mentioned. I should have mentioned Beijing Bicycle, but I can go months at a time just forgetting about that movie, and just one day 'bam' there I go again with those thoughts about the movie.
Some of the movies mentioned on here are great movies, but most of them are boring. I hate Star Wars, I think The Lord of The Rings (both movies and books) are wastes of time, The Matrix started to become sort of a casualty in my mind, and most horror movies baffle me with how plain awful they are (all of the classic series like 'Freddy' and 'Jason' are terrible, the only reason I own Jason X is to break it out and laugh at it with friends every so often). My Little Eye, Shawshank Redemption, of Mice and Men, all great movies in my eyes. But they aren't ones that are constantly in the back of my mind.
I can tell you one thing, though, and that's that it's hard for me to get into most movies. Even with Independent films, I just feel so self-aware that I'm watching a movie, that the experience of viewing them seems almost boring. Even Waking Life, something I convinced myself was a good movie, seemed so intent on proving that it was deeper then any experience out there that right when the main character was watching his own movie in a breaking-the-fourth-wall moment during one of the last scenes (he was agreeing with his own movie, nodding and enjoying it, almost mocking the audience), I turned it off. It was just so up it's own insides and so intent on proving what it wanted to that it forgot what being a movie was actually about: being entertaining to others, not to itself.
Saw and Aqua Teen, sure, they're not the best movies ever, but they're the ones that are inside of my mind, holding the cards to a few plays in my ideas. I could say Jason X is there too, helping me carve jokes at a moment's notice, but I didn't. This was a thread for the most powerful movies in one's own opinion, so now I hope that you understand my reasoning behind it.
Lutochris
12-10-2007, 11:43 AM
No love for Lynch? Eraserhead, anyone? I saw that when I was about 8, and it gave me more nightmares than anything I can think of.
Oh yeah also The Wizard (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098663/).
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098663/)
Kevin
12-10-2007, 01:21 PM
One of the most powerful movies I've ever seen was Grave of the Fireflies. From the moment I watched it, I was instantly pulled in. When I finished watching it, I couldn't stop crying. It's extremely rare that a movie comes along that is so emotional, so moving, that it makes me cry. But Grave of the Fireflies did just that.
Frozen
12-10-2007, 08:23 PM
Are we talking about the German movie about Hitler's last days in his bunker, as told from the point of view of his secretary?
That's the one. It was the death of Goebbels's kids that really cut me up. :(
GregX
12-10-2007, 09:55 PM
That's the one. It was the death of Goebbels's kids that really cut me up. :(
Yeah, that was insane. I did cheer when Hitler killed himself though.
Jade_GL
12-10-2007, 10:18 PM
Life is Beautiful
Sure, most people seem to remember Roberto Benini's crazy Oscar acceptance speech the most, but this movie was absolutely stunning. It was funny, whimsical, and then it becomes a real tear-jerker.
I think the thing that stayed with me the most was the idea of a parent and what they will do to protect their child. Instead of letting the reality of war hurt his son, he tries to turn it into a game where the winner gets a tank at the end. Of course, the idea is preposterous really, but it works. At the end the boy reunites with his mother, his father having been executed before the rescue.
I cried like a baby after that movie.
Punisher
12-10-2007, 10:33 PM
Although the movie as a whole wouldn't be up there on my "most powerful movies ever" list, I feel this one particularly scene (http://youtube.com/watch?v=sojbsiWpS9s)from George Romero's Day of the Dead is perfect. It's haunting, there's nothing else you can say about it. They're looking for somebody, anybody, who's alive, and they're desperate enough to venture into the city to search, only to find ruins and decay. The money flying across the sidewalk, the sheer noise of the zombie's moans, combined with the awesome music combine to make this single scene one of the most powerful I've ever seen. You really see the complete devastation of the cities and the bleak desolation of the survivors.
Classic Speedy
12-10-2007, 10:37 PM
American History X had a lot of images and dialog I won't soon forget.
In terms of animation, I'd also throw Heavy Traffic into the mix.
As far as animation is concerned, I must say, that The Iron Giant, is the most powerful film.
Lutochris
12-11-2007, 01:46 PM
If we're including animation, I should say that Episode 12 of Neon Genesis Evangelion is the 2nd greatest motion picture of all time.
Ragebot
12-11-2007, 02:01 PM
If we're including animation, I should say that Episode 12 of Neon Genesis Evangelion is the 2nd greatest motion picture of all time.
"Don't Make Others Suffer For Your Personal Hatred"? Really? It's a very good episode, but I could think of more than ten others from the series that are better.
Frozen
12-11-2007, 05:21 PM
As far as animation is concerned, I must say, that The Iron Giant, is the most powerful film.
Seconded. The Iron Giants death brought tears to my eyes. Not something I can say for any animation I've seen since Watership Down.
Azrael24
12-11-2007, 08:57 PM
Beauty and the Beast
Lion King
Lord of the Rings: FotR
Matrix
The Godfather
cant really decide which one's the most powerful, they all had great impacts
Hanshotfirst113
12-11-2007, 08:58 PM
Expected Schindler's List to come up. Have no argument, that's for sure.
Although the movie as a whole wouldn't be up there on my "most powerful movies ever" list, I feel this one particularly scene (http://youtube.com/watch?v=sojbsiWpS9s)from George Romero's Day of the Dead is perfect. It's haunting, there's nothing else you can say about it. They're looking for somebody, anybody, who's alive, and they're desperate enough to venture into the city to search, only to find ruins and decay. The money flying across the sidewalk, the sheer noise of the zombie's moans, combined with the awesome music combine to make this single scene one of the most powerful I've ever seen. You really see the complete devastation of the cities and the bleak desolation of the survivors.
I believe that 28 Days Later...appropriated said sequence. I love the nihilism of Day, even moreso than the rest of the trilogy.
Hanshotfirst113
12-12-2007, 08:13 PM
Beauty and the Beast
Lion King
Lord of the Rings: FotR
Matrix
The Godfather
cant really decide which one's the most powerful, they all had great impacts
Disney's Beauty and the Beast or the Jean Cocteau film?
WolfieKiwi
12-12-2007, 09:09 PM
Several come to mind.
Crash (This reminds me I still need to see Babel)
Shaw Shank Redemption
Pulp Fiction
Forrest Gump
Se7en
A Bronx Tale
American Beauty
Robin2099
12-12-2007, 09:18 PM
I'm surprised no one said Rocky yet. Everytime I watch Rocky it immediately makes me feel like I can do anything I put my mind to. I would also have to say Rocky Balboa as well since it does a good job of showing how life can sometimes rip your heart out, and how hard it can be to keep going on after that happens. It also has a really inspiring quote when he's talking to his son and his son says he doesn't want him to fight because he doesn't want to get embarrassed. And here it is:
You ain't gonna believe this, but you used to fit right here.
[taps on the inside of his hand]
I'd hold you up to say to your mother, "this kid's gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid's gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew." And you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you, every day was like a privilige. Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain't gonna have a life. Don't forget to visit your mother.
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