FILMS THAT MADE ME

Chuck Palahniuk said that "Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known." Well, though that holds true for me too, I do think almost more than real people, he fictional ones have influenced me more. I’m going to make a Bollywood film list later, but true inspiration came mostly from Hollywood films (I know- way to be westernized). The films that have made me the person I am today, for better or for worse, are (in chronological order):

•     Titanic- Instant gratification, life-long love affair. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Jack Dawson was my first love and will always be so. Avatar may be graphically cooler and have made a hell lot of money, but Titanic is the greater film.

•     Harry Potter- I will post a huge tribute on these films when the last one *sniff* comes out, but it is Harry Potter alone that changed my entire film-watching perspective. It was the very first film I saw independent of my father’s preferences. And it was after my obsession with them reduced, only a bit, when I started watching as many films that I could. Also everytime a new Harry Potter film comes out, it’s like my entire world comes to a standstill. If Jack Dawson was my first love, Harry Potter will probably be my last.

•     Pretty Woman- The best Romcom in the history of time. I cannot exactly tell how it changed my life, but I know for a fact that it did. It just did.

•     Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl- The film that made me the Johnny Depp fanatic I am today. Need I say more?

•     Ocean’s Eleven- It was a revelation of Matilda-like proportions when the crooks were the good guys…and that too George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon good.

•     Moulin Rouge- For a long time I was struggling to understand what type of person I am. I saw this film, and instantly knew that I was a Romantic. I owe this film a lot…makes me feel like I belong somewhere.

•     Fight Club- I went through this paranoid period in my life where I was scared of everything and hated being that way. Then one night I randomly started watching a film that was coming in some channel- changed me forever. Fight Club is the shit! Made me want a disorder and a split personality more than ever.

•     Edward Scissorhands- Made Tim Burton one of my favourite directors, along with making me a diehard fan of Winona Ryder. Also, changed my outlook on Romantics and true love.

•     Mean Girls- I honestly think I became smarter after watching this bitching-fest. Popularity, plasticity ands mean girls- genius. Also, this is the reason why I want a gay best friend so bad.

•     Dead Poets Society- I’ve always had a secret fantasy of knowing what a boys boarding school would be like. Add that to poetry and uber-talented Robin Williams and you get one of the sweetest and most touching high school films ever.

•     Kill Bill Volume One- The very first film of the master filmmaker Quentin Tarantino I saw. And almost needless to say, I was mindblasted!

•     Lemony Snickets- Dark comedies sort of became an obsession after this.

•     Lord of the Rings- Epic films are incredible. This trilogy gives so many messages, of togetherness, chivalry, love, the victory of the underdog and of course, good versus evil. Add to that the enchanting Middle World and legendary battles…spectacular!

•     Across the Universe- Got me into Beatlemania and the sixties, and everything they stood for.

•     Ironman- I have always loved superheroes but Robert Downey Jr. as possibly the most egotistical and brilliant superhero ever just sort of changed my life. I worship this film. Action movie dream.

•     Before Sunset- A romantic film, but in fact not about romance. I love films which start and finish in a specific amount of time. Also Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke are plain remarkable in this film.

•     The Boat That Rocked- Tom Sturridge. Also an infinitely funny and musical film…really got me into 60s music.

•     Marie Antoinette- The beauty in this film made me a fan of Kirsten Dunst, Sofia Coppola, tainted cameras, French people and creamy sweet dishes.

•     A Clockwork Orange- Proved to me that I do indeed love anti-heroes more than any other types of characters. Alex Delarge FTW. Also, made me fall in love with Stanley Kubrick.

•     Silence of the Lambs- Okay call me a creep but I really wanted Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling to get together. Just the chemistry…one of the best thrillers and horror movies ever.

•     The Purple Rose of Cairo- I’m not sure, but I think this was the film that finally made the choice for me to do something with films in my life. What a beautiful story. My favourite Woody Allen film ever.

•     The Shawshank Redemption- Happy Endings are the way. One of the smartest films I have ever seen. It’s so brilliant that many classics just fade and die in comparison.

•     Taxi Driver- Oh woe to Oscars for giving Departed an award and not this film. Robert De Niro is a dream in this film. Totally do not get why he is considered a villain. Marvelous film.

•     The Dreamers- Beautiful film. Very different and difficult to accept at times but every movie-lover’s fantasy. Michael Pitt, Eva Green and Louis Garrel are just the dreamers that I can almost identify myself with. Cinephiles Unite!

•     Bande- a- Part- My favourite in my French films phase. God bless Jean Luc Godard! So random and awesome. Also the dance sequence that inspired the Pulp Fiction Mia-Vincent dance…oh the inspiration for Tarantino is obviously a superb film indeed.

•     Inception- Christopher Nolan has made a masterpiece that should be studied. It is so exceptional that filmmakers are going to try and make a similar film for many many years and just fail miserably. Tough luck but it can’t be helped. Dreams, ideas, everything won’t be the same again.

I must say that these films are not my favourite films. That is too big a list…but all of these films are there.