View Full Version : Let's talk about Movies which Inspire You
Tog Tan
06-12-2009, 02:19 PM
Heyyy... site kinda slow on posts, so let's have a wreckable thread...k...
I like movies which have the Never Give Up Hope thingy. This really inspired me especially when I went through the dark days of my financial tsunami.
My all time fav is a very well made Thai Movie called Bang Rachan which is a real historical situation that happened long, long ago. The story is about how a small village that got into the way of a massive Burmese invasion of Thailand. With their little resources they held up the invasion for months until the Burms were so fed up, they sent a huge force of 200,000 soldiers to crush the couple hundred of villagers. In their final defense, all the warriors died, men, women and the elderly folks. It was a very touching story which shows that with grit and determination, common folks can go the max. I think in English, it is called the Village Warriors. To this day, the huge bronze monument of the warriors still stand in that village. Of course I do like the film The 300 Spartans and the remake, 300. Love the motto, Never Say Die!
So what's yours? Pray tell.....:ha:
stumpy4700
06-12-2009, 02:30 PM
Not in any order;
Top Gun
Red Dawn
Blackhawk Down
Rudy
Full Metal Jacket ( The first half when they are in basic training )
:lurk::lurk:
Ummm I'll think of more in a few hours.
Tog Tan
06-12-2009, 02:41 PM
Hey Jeff, Red Dawn.... I like the concept of the invasion. I wonder how many people remember this movie with the blokes there like Charlie Sheen still a kid.
CValentine
06-12-2009, 03:03 PM
Braveheart
Rocky I, III
The Killing Fields
Castaway
City of Angels
Say Anything
The Breakfast Club
My Left Foot
Wall-E
Pay it Forward
Schindler's List
Quite a few more... :) ~Cheryl
stumpy4700
06-12-2009, 04:36 PM
Hey Jeff, Red Dawn.... I like the concept of the invasion. I wonder how many people remember this movie with the blokes there like Charlie Sheen still a kid.
Not many,
Charlie Sheen,Patrick Swayze,Jennifer Gray,Emilyo Estevez and a couple others that made it after that movie
lorax
06-12-2009, 05:28 PM
That inspired me (in no particular order)...
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Barefoot in the Park
Equilibrium
Dark City
Dogma
Wag the Dog
Platoon
Apocalypse Now
War INC
K-Pax
Pulp Fiction
Kundun
The Guru (with Jimi Mistry and Heather Graham, not that horrible Mike Meyers thing)
That are my favourites (ie I could watch them again and again and again)...
Grosse Point Blank
The Dark Knight
Cold Dog Soup
Born in East LA
The Usual Suspects
Kill Bill
The lists are by no means complete; I watch LOTS of movies because I can't stand commercial breaks, and most of what's on TV is really insipid.
harveyc
06-12-2009, 06:52 PM
The Song of Bernadette (I loaned this DVD to a friend of mine once and he watched it over 100 times before I got it back and then I bought him his own DVD as a birthday present).
Therese - The Story of Saint Therese of Lisieux
The Chronices of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as well as Prince Caspian
Beverley Hills Chihuahua (a little bit, anyways)
Simply Bananas
06-12-2009, 07:25 PM
Soul Plane
Lagniappe
06-12-2009, 08:02 PM
"Battlefield Earth"
"Patch Adams"
Darn near every war picture.
"Gran Torino"
WV Girl
06-12-2009, 11:14 PM
Red Dawn....WOW! I loved that movie back in the day! The ones I could watch over and over again (and have), are The Hunt for Red October (One Ping Only Please), Sommersby, and First Knight. Yes, I confess I love me some Sean Connery.:ha:
Chironex
06-13-2009, 01:13 AM
Grumpy Old Men, Grumpier Old Men
I Like the never give up hope themed movies myself so Raiders of the lost Ark is probably tops. Favorite futility of war movie hands down...Full Metal Jacket...and back to the never give up theme...that classic 1970's hit.....D.D.D.
harveyc
06-18-2009, 12:16 AM
Stefanie, I bought Bang Rajan a few days ago and will be watching it real soon after it arrives. I've got some private messages from your dad about the movie and am sure I will be thinking about all of our great discussions when I watch the movie. I miss him a lot!
Harvey
Lilith
06-20-2009, 08:11 PM
Two Words:
TAXI DRIVER
mskitty38583
06-20-2009, 09:05 PM
mine would have to be:
breakfast club
pretty in pink
red dawn( i watch it ever time it comes on fx)
labrinth ( david bowie is hot!)
under seige 1 &2
marked for death
demolition man
too wong fou thanks for everything julie newmar
1600 pennsylvania ave
and there are so many more
saltydad
06-20-2009, 11:07 PM
I can tell you which movies get me all choked up with positive emotion:
Casablanca- the Marseilles scene always get me.
Gettysburg- the defense of Little Round Top by the 20th Maine under Col. Joshua Chamberlain on 7/2/1863. When they charge downhill into the face of the advancing Confederates, I feel like standing up and shouting.
Air Force One- "Get off of my plane." Need I say more? One of the great movie lines of all time.
Band of Brothers- the entire series.
Saving Private Ryan-I still get choked up when the old Ryan kneels down at the grave of Capt. Miller (Hanks).
Space Cowboys- the entire movie. A treat for an old geezer like me.
CookieCows
06-21-2009, 12:33 AM
Red Dawn
Amerika -- A mini series that only aired once and I've read that it's banned in the U.S. now.
Matchstick Men
Thornbirds -- another TV mini series I can watch over and over
Diary Of A Mad Black Woman
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Peggy Sue Got Married
Rainman
When A Man Loves A Woman
French Kiss
Mask
Miss Congeniality
The Devil Wears Prada
All John Travolta movies
.... and so many more!
mskitty38583
06-21-2009, 06:37 AM
oh and :
the hand that rocks the cradle
Two Words:
TAXI DRIVER
"You talkin to me?"
Lilith
06-21-2009, 04:39 PM
There's nobody else here
There's nobody else here
You must be talkin to me...............lmao
harveyc
06-21-2009, 04:46 PM
I don't count?
I started to watch Bang Rajan this morning before Mass just to get an idea if it's suitable to watch with an 11 year old. No language or nudity problems but a whole lot of violence in the first 8 minutes. Still too early to tell if I'll let Michael watch it. Tog wrote me some about his martial arts background but I don't remember the details and no longer have that PM.
Lilith
06-21-2009, 07:06 PM
Bob, my husband and I were just watching Taxi Driver and commenting on the fact that if Martin Scorsese had just made a single movie, and it had been Taxi Driver and then he kicked off, it would have been like the best movie ever.
I know he did a lot of other stuff, Godfather series etc, but the combo of him with Di Niro, Jodie Foster and Harvey Keitel in Taxi Driver was so good it was almost scary. Then that creepy lowdown jazz score behind everything....goosebumps, LOL
Absolutely G.A. it's tough for me to find a lot of flicks believable but that had a long lasting impression.
bigdog
06-22-2009, 11:02 AM
Movies that I have to watch whenever they come on TV:
Saturday Night Fever (I know...waiting for the comments...)
Cool Hand Luke
The Breakfast Club
Other favorites:
Dead Poet's Society
St. Elmo's Fire
Unforgiven
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Wars II: The Empire Strikes Back
Superman II
Rambo: First Blood
Predator
Terminator
There's a bunch more, but that's a good start, LOL.
Frank
lorax
06-22-2009, 11:11 AM
Don't feel bad, I'm a compulsive SNF watcher myself. It drives my friends bonkers, because I'm normally a rudie and they just don't get it.
[QUOTE=bigdog;81299]Movies that I have to watch whenever they come on TV:
:discocrazed::djnana2:
Saturday Night Fever (I know...waiting for the comments...)
:2182:
Frank. You in the white polyester leisure suit?:2757::moonwalknaner:
Don't feel bad, I'm a compulsive SNF watcher myself. It drives my friends bonkers, because I'm normally a rudie and they just don't get it.
Neither do I.:ha::ha::ha:
browndrake
06-22-2009, 11:44 AM
I'm new but will just jump in anyhow..lol
There are many movies that I love. I am a big John Wayne fan. I would add many of his movies to the inspirational category. Here are a few more:
The Ultimate Gift
Field of Dreams
Mr. Holland’s Opus
The Sound of Music
Follow Me Boys
Follow Me Boys has to be one of the best. It may be because it is just good, or be because of how it reminds me of a great uncle, who was just as dedicated the the boys....and was a similar scoutmaster.
aaron
Lilith
06-22-2009, 02:46 PM
I tend to go more for horror and sci fi. Not exactly I guess what most would term "inspirational" but I don;t really watch movies to be inspired, just to be entertained.
My 14 year old and I were watching "Mimic 3" on Sci Fi last night and it was such a load of dog poo...whereas, the original 'Mimic' was actually a pretty good creepo film. It has these bugs....oh well you just have to see it LOL
We were discussing the fact at lunch today that 'back in the day' when mom was younger than her, maybe 10-11, all the movies with bugs and dinosaurs and stuff were mainly black and white films where they had taken actual creatures (like real ants or spiders of maybe an iguana for a dino film) and filmed it up real close, then put all the people in front of it all blown up huge so that they looked like little inch tall folks.
She finds it difficult to believe that they didn't have Industrial Light and Magic to build realistic monsters in the 1960's and early 70's like the shark in Jaws or the alien in Alien, and when I explained to her that we actually did not have computers capable of viewing, much less generating, graphics and stuff like we have now until well into the 90's she was stunned.
AH, youth....
Lilith we continue to share the same good taste in film. Boy did I love the cheesy black and whites.
CValentine
06-22-2009, 04:09 PM
I LOVE Braveheart...
"Ego nunquam pronunciari mendacium! Sed ego sum homo indomitus."
And Saturday Night Fever...
'... the only way you're gonna survive is to do what you think is right, not what they keep trying to jam you into. You let 'em do that and you're gonna end up in nothing but misery! "
The Breakfast Club...
"I never did it either. I'm not a nymphomaniac. I'm a compulsive liar. "
Clint Eastwood movie fan too...
"Well, if there's gonna be any shooting, I gotta get my rest."
"You know you're a nag? A very pretty one, but a nag."
"You think nuns don't laugh?...I don't know, I never spent the night with one before."
I could go on... :D
Hope it's a great Monday y'all! :) ~Cheryl
damaclese
06-22-2009, 04:11 PM
most of the moves I'm really in to would probably not be ever ones cup of tea but i like moves that have well developed and interesting characters which leaves out 98% of all Hollywood moves
favorite moves going backward
Blue Citrus hart 2007
Shelter 2006
Lonely harts club 2001?
Crouching Tiger hidden Dragon 2000
What's Eating Gilbert Grape ?
dispirit lives (not that schlock seres)1999
Dead Poet society ? i cant remember I'm old you know!
Grand canyon 1993 ?
Eagles 1982
Omega Man 1974 ?
the Boys in the Band 1969/
Sunday bloody Sunday 1968?
Fahrenheit 1967
All About Eve 1967?
The guns over Navarron ? dont think i spelled that right but i was under 6 when it came out
thats just a drop in the bucket i didn't want to boar you but i think from the titles iv selected you can get a pretty good idea of my taste
Now if you want to open this up to favorite Books we could really get a good thread going
Pauly I remember being scared out of my wits seeing the zombies with white eyes in the omega man... Now a days kids would just laugh. :ha:
damaclese
06-22-2009, 04:33 PM
Pauly I remember being scared out of my wits seeing the zombies with white eyes in the omega man... Now a days kids would just laugh. :ha:
yes i just recently rewached it and i was thinking that the affects were hokey
but the character is still in my mind one that exemplifies a man that refuses to give up even in the face of futility and a bleak future a tuely selfless man wiling to give his life in the service of the week and helpless a true hero
damaclese
06-22-2009, 04:48 PM
i left out one
QB7 not because it was such a good move but because it was the first move to bring out publicly what the Nazis doctors did to the people that were interred in the concentration camps i think it was 1965 or 1967ish black and white it left an indelible lesson in my mind i did not see the move until 1976 my parents felt it was to intense for me to watch at any younger an age this was were i developed my intense dislike of war and the cruelties of man ageist his fellow man sorry if thats preachy
Many of the moves i have listed are there because of the lessons i learned from them i have been impacted by every one of them in some way
revensen
06-25-2009, 02:45 PM
I have to break up the movies in categories:
Inspirational
Forest Gump
Field of Dreams
Dead Poets Society
Apollo 13
Comedy
Black Sheep
Tommy Boy
50 First Dates
SciFI
Fire in the Sky
Signs
lorax
06-25-2009, 05:29 PM
I realize, having reviewed my collection, that I've left some out.
Boondock Saints
Brazil
Waterworld (shut up, shut up!)
The Cotton Club
All of the Die Hards, but especially the first one
Space Cowboys.
saltydad
06-25-2009, 05:41 PM
And I would definitely add Apollo 13, Mr. Holland's Opus, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, Black Hawk Down, Flags of Our Fathers, Exodus, and We Were Soldiers.
Lagniappe
06-25-2009, 08:53 PM
"Defiance"
CookieCows
06-25-2009, 09:37 PM
The Legend of Billy Jack
One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Jeremiah Johnson
CValentine
06-25-2009, 10:57 PM
Forgot to add: Fireproof
:) ~Cheryl
jmoore
06-26-2009, 08:14 AM
Gotta be
Bill and Ted's excellent adventure and bogus journey,
Wayne's world
breakfast club,
stand by me,
flatliners
nil by mouth,
leon
saving private ryan
Alvarasstuff
06-26-2009, 09:53 AM
Classics lol
Dumb and Dumber
BloodSport
Blacksheep
Apocalypto
Remember the Titans
island cassie
06-26-2009, 01:24 PM
Inspirational:
To kill a mockingbird
Stand by me
Favourites:
Phantom of the opera
Apocalypse now
Good morning Vietnam
Pulp fiction
Strictly ballroom
Muriel's wedding
American beauty
Das boot
The rocky horror picture show
The producers (the original with Mel Brooks)
Lord of the rings
probably other too, but can't think of them
damaclese
06-26-2009, 03:03 PM
Cassie i have to agree on Muriel's wedding
vary interesting move about how people sell them selves short and the devastating consciouses to others
saltydad
06-26-2009, 05:02 PM
Cassie, thanks...don't know how I omitted To Kill A Mockingbird.
momoese
06-26-2009, 07:57 PM
I could make a neverending list but this one film sticks in my mind as something I think everyone should see.
A Japanese film called Tampopo
Tampopo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampopo)
I think this person sums it up.
I just keep watching this movie over and over again. Why? It's hard to say exactly. Sure, the acting is great and the story is terrific, but what makes "Tampopo" so special is harder to define. I like to think of it as optimism; the belief that people in this world still do nice things for other people. Or maybe that romance can strike when you least expect it. Sure, this is a movie about food, you've heard all about that, but more importantly it's a movie about people. People working together, eating together, striving together, and accomplishing together.
The script is flawless. Every scene blends into the next, and takes you someplace new. The narrative sidetracks away from the main story from time to time, leading to the most conceptual and entertining scenes. Tampopo is an adventure on a very small and personal scale. It's a charming movie, unlike any other I've seen, well worth a look.
island cassie
06-26-2009, 09:10 PM
Hey Mitchell - Tampopo sounds really interesting - I will try to order it locally.
Howard - I was beginning to think that I was the only person who remembered "To kill a mockingbird" - haven't seen it for years but will never forget it - will try to order that locally too!
Paulo - glad you liked "Murial's wedding" too - I'm a big fan of Baz Luhrmann and "Strictly Ballroom" was surreal! In 1979 after getting out of Iran during the revolution, we spent 6 months touring around Australia and the Australia we saw then was just like "Murial" and "Strictly" - Jim was offered a job there in Brisbane and I had to say - "on your own!". So many murders and thefts - shops wouldn't serve the surfers and we had to buy milk and bread for them. Not at all what the propaganda says about the country.
Iran was lovely and I would go back there in a heartbeat - kind and decent people.
lorax
06-26-2009, 10:00 PM
Oh yeah! Tampopo is a fantastic movie. All those noodles!
momoese
06-26-2009, 10:14 PM
Oh yeah! Tampopo is a fantastic movie. All those noodles!
Makes me hungry and happy every time!
momoese
06-26-2009, 10:22 PM
Oh, one more must see Insprational film, and probably my all time favorate movie.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The original one. :)
Lagniappe
06-27-2009, 12:31 AM
Oh, one more must see Insprational film, and probably my all time favorate movie.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The original one. :)
Gene Wilder has been in several potentially inspirational films.
Remember "Frisco Kid" or "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" ?
momoese
06-27-2009, 09:15 AM
Gene Wilder has been in several potentially inspirational films.
Remember "Frisco Kid" or "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" ?
See No evil Hear no Evil was very funny! Never saw Frisco Kid.
lorax
06-27-2009, 09:43 AM
Frisco Kid was fantastic, but Stir Crazy was better.
Jack Daw
06-27-2009, 11:45 AM
TV Shows:
Babylon 5 (THE best Sci-fi show ever)
Star Trek
Stargate... you get the point (scifi theme mainly)
Family Guy (it's so stupid, that it's hilarious, really, there are only very little shows that are stupider... I watch series like this to keep up with English slang, "social dilemas" and "fun")
...
Movies:
Impostor
Equillibrium
The time machine (top 10)
maybe also something with Brucie boy, like for example The 5th element
Matrix was fine (1st movie)
...
Most of the movies I like are, well, distinctive, mostly unknown.
Like
Spartacus
lorax
06-27-2009, 11:57 AM
Matrix was fine, by Equilibrium! That's the better film by far.
Jack Daw
06-27-2009, 12:34 PM
Matrix was fine, by Equilibrium! That's the better film by far.
I usually need to feel a really strong idea behind the movie. All of these were such films.
Btw, did you know, that the art of avoiding bullets and positioning yourself in such a way, that the enemy can't hit you/doesn't want to shoot from that angle was developed and trained as shooting and fighting practice of Russian martial art called The System (Система)? The only force in the world, that truly masteres this fighting style is Russian elite force Spetznas (спецназ - Войска специального назначения), also called the army of special assignments in translation.
If you have an option, try to get somewhere your hands on The time machine, sort of philospohical and also adventurous movie. A guy builds a time machine to save his beloved girl, whom he wants to marry, from death, that he witnessed in a park. But each time he goes to the past...
And there was one sentence in the movie, that explained it all. Actually, that explains a lot, when you watch the behaviour of many people. And he had to travel so long and so far, just to hear it (I wouldn't have thought that the point of the film would be so deeply phylosophical).
PM me, when you've seen the movie, we can discuss.
OK, I said too much. :D Watch the movie, you will be gald that you did. I promise. ;) Beth you seem a lot more philosophical than I anticipated. Also, you seem to like dreaming. Nice. That's one of the basic Slavic traits (and thus mine too). :D Really.
Oh, one more must see Insprational film, and probably my all time favorate movie.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The original one. :)
What color were the "oompa loompa's"?
lorax
06-27-2009, 02:04 PM
Oh gawd, bright industrial-carpet orange. With green hair.
And I completely forgot, but nothing rivals the original BBC1 production of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for sheer wierdness and excellence.
Oh gawd, bright industrial-carpet orange. With green hair.
And I completely forgot, but nothing rivals the original BBC1 production of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for sheer wierdness and excellence.
Emphatic WRONG!!!!!.........my normally unstumpabble pal from the warmer regions.........try again...........this should be a clue.:ha:
lorax
06-27-2009, 02:18 PM
WTF?!? They were totally orange with green hair. And horrible chocolatey suits.
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/050714/95759__genewilder_l.jpg
WTF?!? They were totally orange with green hair. And horrible chocolatey suits.
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/050714/95759__genewilder_l.jpg
Nope. this is the first time I get to tell you you're wrong...... I'm not gloating.....much.:ha::ha:
Jack Daw
06-27-2009, 02:54 PM
What about Impostor Beth? Have you seen that movie?
momoese
06-27-2009, 04:02 PM
What are you two going on about? The color of the Oompa Loompas or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which btw was most excellent.
lorax
06-27-2009, 05:25 PM
Mitchel, we're on about the colour of the Oompa-loompas in the original 1971 film with Gene Wilder. I've since reviewed my copy and we're both right. There are scenes where the Oompa-loompas are industrial-carpet orange with green hair, and others where their skin and hair colour changes. It depends on what's happening.
Jack - You're talking about the one with Gary Sinise, yes? The one based on the Philip K Dick short story? It's fantastic and I wish that the film reviewers would stop giving it such a bad rap. It's a very thinking-intensive story, and IMHO, one of only two good PK Dick adaptations for screen (the other being A Scanner Darkly.)
Jack Daw
06-27-2009, 05:51 PM
Jack - You're talking about the one with Gary Sinise, yes? The one based on the Philip K Dick short story? It's fantastic and I wish that the film reviewers would stop giving it such a bad rap. It's a very thinking-intensive story, and IMHO, one of only two good PK Dick adaptations for screen (the other being A Scanner Darkly.)
Yep, the best and only. :D
Such a deep idea. Yet maybe soon more and more real. Perfect movie, perfect story, but I read the story after I'd seen the movie.
lorax
06-27-2009, 06:32 PM
And I approached it in the other direction - I'd read the story years before the movie came out, then went to the movie to see if somebody had finally gotten it right. For the same reason, I was horribly disappointed by Blade Runner.
Caloosamusa
06-27-2009, 06:43 PM
Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep was a good book. That is the basis for Blade Runner. I liked Blade Runner more than the Book. In the book the Replicants seemed to be fixated on cruelty, in the movie they used whatever means neccessary to survive and attempt to increase longivity. :2239:
lorax
06-27-2009, 06:49 PM
Well, you do have to have a particularly dystopian mindset going into Dick novels, or they just don't work properly....
Caloosamusa
06-27-2009, 07:12 PM
My Father was the Literature Ph. D. Not me. So what is dystopian? :2239:
lorax
06-27-2009, 07:53 PM
Dystopia - n - an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives. The term itself was coined by Utopian philosopher JS Mill in 1868, and became popular in the 1950s, with Philip K Dick being a prime example of Dystopian literature. Other authors who wrote novels about Dystopian futures include George Orwell (1984), Harlan Ellison (A Boy and his Dog), Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) and to a lesser extent even the sci-fi greats like Asimov and Heinlein, although Heinlein was quite a bit more idealistic and held up the dystopia as a warning rather than revelling in it the way Dick or Ellison did. Dystopias tend to be the purvey of Sci-Fi and Speculative Fiction authors, although it's no stretch of the imagination to see Dystopia in daily life, especially in the United States and Britain with the restrictive or surveillance societies that have become the norm.
It's the polar opposite of Utopian (idealized) worldviews. You have to be either in that mood already, or have your head set for it.
I'm actually a big fan of Dystopian-type films and books - as you might be able to see from some of my film choices. I am particularly inspired by films where the main character struggles in that type of world, without losing hope, only to either be crushed or triumph in the final act. Dark City is that way, as are Equilibrium and Apocalypse Now - three very different films, but rotating on the central question of "What constitutes humanity?"
Caloosamusa
06-27-2009, 08:10 PM
The filmmakers often try to bring out aspects of reality, which in the case of Blade Runner, is a mixture of the two, utopia and dystopia in a future setting of what could be. That is science fiction.
Blade Runner also brings out the human condition of what are we here for? We all ask the question, in this film the point is driven home that there is no utopia, there is no dystopia, and we must strive to "burn brightly" even though it is "half as long" in a world that is as dystopic as it is utopic!
That is why the film inspires me!! :2239:
harveyc
06-27-2009, 08:20 PM
Tog surely would not be one to complain, but it seems much of this discussion is way off topic! ;)
Maybe I'll get around to watching Bang Rajan tonight or tomorrow. Been hiking for 5 days (just 28 miles but plenty of stops for letting my son play on the beach, build castles out of rocks, check out dead crabs and jellyfish, etc.) and maybe it would be good to kick back and watch a movie since my lovely wife has been kind enough to keep everything watered! :)
chong
06-28-2009, 03:20 AM
Inspirational -
"Becket" (1964) and "A Man For All Seasons" (1966)
I see the personalities of the main characters (both Thomas') in these movies in my own father, who taught me that integrity is paramount to one's vocation. Probably impossible for most politicians to accept, much less practice.
harveyc
06-28-2009, 03:52 AM
Will have to check those out, Chong.
Our family just got around to watching Padre Pio "Miracle Man" put out by Ignatius Press tonight. We should have looked and seen that it was 214 minutes before we started it but couldn't stop once we started. It was very inspirational as Padre Pio was very devoted to Christ and His church despite being persecuted by Satan, some church authorities, and personal pains. He was very loving and forgiving to all.
One line I would like to remember is something he told his confessor (which I assume is probably historically accurate): "What? You think sin is a transgression of the law? Sin is an absence of love!" I believe there are words in this that call us all to do more for others and for God.
Caloosamusa
06-28-2009, 08:23 AM
Chong,
Your father and you are absolutely right!! Integrity is paramount, whosoever causes their brother to stumble has sinned (paraphrased). What Harvey said, "Sin is the absence of love", is mostly correct.
Thank you both for reinforcing that there is still light left in the world! :2239:
lorax
06-28-2009, 10:34 AM
The filmmakers often try to bring out aspects of reality, which in the case of Blade Runner, is a mixture of the two, utopia and dystopia in a future setting of what could be. That is science fiction.
Blade Runner also brings out the human condition of what are we here for? We all ask the question, in this film the point is driven home that there is no utopia, there is no dystopia, and we must strive to "burn brightly" even though it is "half as long" in a world that is as dystopic as it is utopic!
Of course, without the two (Utopia as thesis, Dystopia as antithesis, and daily life as synthesis) there's no tension in the stories, and without that why bother reading? My main beef with Blade Runner is that it lost the cynicism and tone of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - it removed the programmed motivation of the cyborgs and simplified the plot. It's still a good movie, and inspirational for it, but only if you take it completely separately from the book, because in the end it's a different story that's being told.
harveyc
06-29-2009, 08:33 PM
I just finished watching Tog's favorite, Bang Rajan from a DVD I bought on eBay.
I'll admit that there was way more blood in it that I care to watch. It was an unrated movie so I didn't know what to expect. There was also a love-making scene which I skipped through partly because my son was watching with me (no nudity) and an attempted rape scene. We don't watch violent movies like this with the Narnia movies probably being the most violent we've watched for quite some time.
Another negative is that one young lady villager who wanted to be able to fight as a soldier took a sword and whacked up many banana "trees" to show her fighting skills! :ha:
The movie is from 1765 where the Siamese villagers of Bang Rajan hold off the Burmese soldiers for five months, repelling them eight times. The courage of the villagers fighting to the end is definitely inspirational. Some of the details of the story are classified as legend, but that doesn't take away from the story.
Thanks for the recommendation, Tog! :lurk:
harveyc
09-16-2010, 05:49 PM
Heyyy... site kinda slow on posts, so let's have a wreckable thread...k...
I like movies which have the Never Give Up Hope thingy. This really inspired me especially when I went through the dark days of my financial tsunami.
My all time fav is a very well made Thai Movie called Bang Rachan which is a real historical situation that happened long, long ago. The story is about how a small village that got into the way of a massive Burmese invasion of Thailand. With their little resources they held up the invasion for months until the Burms were so fed up, they sent a huge force of 200,000 soldiers to crush the couple hundred of villagers. In their final defense, all the warriors died, men, women and the elderly folks. It was a very touching story which shows that with grit and determination, common folks can go the max. I think in English, it is called the Village Warriors. To this day, the huge bronze monument of the warriors still stand in that village. Of course I do like the film The 300 Spartans and the remake, 300. Love the motto, Never Say Die!
So what's yours? Pray tell.....:ha:
FYI - Last year I had bought Ban Rachan movie recommended by Tog here. I passed it on to Howard who then sent it on to Bob. I think it may have then gone on to Andrew. Anyway, I was thinking about this movie of perseverance and wondered if any others had seen it yet. I'd enjoy it if the movie could keep getting forwarded on to others who are interested in watching it.
saltydad
09-16-2010, 06:54 PM
I actually found it a really good view. The violence was expected based on the topic and Harvey's comments, and the sex didn't bother me (;-) ). I can definitely see why Tog thought it was so inspirational; I felt it too. Maybe other viewers can chime in?
To add another film to the list, Inglorious Basterds was great. I highly recommend it.
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