Recently,
I was tagged in a Facebook post to rattle off 12 films that have stayed with
me. The instructions were A.) Not too think about it too hard and B.) To
only use one film per director. Obviously, the point of this blog entry
goes against Rule A., but, I just thought this was too cool of a thing to pass
up (plus, my buddy Richard Diaz gave me the idea of breaking each film down and
why they're so important to me). On with the list, shall we?
1.) Dawn of the Dead – the fact that
I wrote one of my college papers on why I love this film so much speaks
volumes. To me, it goes together with me the way oxygen does…it’s just a
simple part of me. From the first time I saw this film, as a wide-eyed
5yr old who dug the sounds and images of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, to the
time I rediscovered it as an 11yr old and falling head over heels for it, to
ultimately meeting many of the film’s creators and visiting many of its filming
locations.
There’s a sense of comfort and familiarity that goes along with this film; it’s
unmistakable soundtrack like a sweet lullaby or calming force. In short,
Dawn never gets old for me!
2.) Rocky IV – this was the first film I ever saw in a theater and, even though I
was only 3yrs old, I still have very vivid memories of seeing it. Both of
my parents telling me that it was like watching a really big TV and that I had
to be quiet (a rule that I’ve never forgotten nor broken) as they piled their
coats up on a seat so that I could see. I sat there in pure amazement,
ignoring my parents as they offered me popcorn, candy, or a drink. The
only time I broke my fixed attention was…when I fell asleep. BUT, I do
clearly recall the scene of Apollo visiting Rocky at his home with his
intentions to fight Drago.
Perhaps one of the first albums I ever owned was the soundtrack to Rocky IV
(I’ve since gotten it on CD and vinyl now too); each song inspiring me to climb
mountains and beat up Russians. It’s safe to say that, yes; this is
another one that never gets old for me.
3.) Indiana Jones And The Temple of
Doom – while I can’t say for sure whether I saw this or Raiders of the Lost Ark
first, this one has always held a special place in my heart. Sure, a lot
of people would choose Raiders over Temple of Doom, but not me. Maybe I
saw a little of myself in Short Round, as I day-dreamed about going on
adventures with one of my first childhood heroes, Indiana Jones. Maybe
it’s the borderline horror movie elements that creep their way throughout the
story and set pieces; admit it, the Temple of Doom itself, with its towering
Khali statue is incredible! Speaking of which, who doesn’t love a lei
made from human skulls and a grass skirt made from severed human arms??
Plus, John Williams’ score is fantastic in this; sure Raiders has some incredible
themes on its own, but Temple of Doom has its titular piece that places during
the human sacrifice sequence….if I had a band, that music would totally be our
intro theme!
As if further proof was needed of
just how deeply ingrained Temple of Doom is in my psyche, as a kid, every time
I’d see a rope or wire bridge, I’d INSTANTLY want to run/play on it because of
the movie. Hell, to this day, I can’t not see a suspension foot-bridge
and not want to cut it in the middle and drop twenty or thirty advancing bad guys
on either side of me into the waters below!
4.) Rocky – why yes, I am including
two Rocky movies…different directors. Next to Indiana Jones, Rocky was an
early childhood hero to me (thanks mostly to Rocky IV). As a kid, I
remember seeing all the Rocky movies at various points, often getting them
confused with one another – no thanks to the previous endings being repeated at
the start of each sequel. However, I didn’t really fall in love with the
original film until high school. I saw and still see a lot of myself in
the Rocky character. I’ve always felt like an underdog – especially in
elementary school and, to some extent, in high school where I was considered
popular and pretty much everyone liked me. “His whole life was a million
to one shot” . . . my million to one shot was going to college and becoming the
first person in my family to do so an earn a degree. Much like Rocko
training for the big fight with Apollo, I busted my ass during my final
semesters at Rutgers University (another instance where the Rocky IV soundtrack
came in handy…listening to it as I studied for my absolute final exam literally
before I walked over to take it!).
In life, I’d also consider myself
an underdog; sort of marching to the beat of my own drum and never really finding
myself fitting in with the so-called status quo (whenever I tried to do so, it
came off disingenuously).
5.) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master – some of you may say “the sequels sucked! Freddy
became a wise-cracker instead of a skin-carver!” While this may be true
to a fault, the first Nightmare film I ever saw was either Nightmare 3 or
Nightmare 4. In fact, this was the one that I remember seeing TV spots
for around its release. Regardless, it’s always been the one I’ve felt
closest to. The kids in it are all great and, to me, are realistically
fleshed-out instead of the cardboard stereotypes you’d see in other horror
franchises of the time. Actually, they’re all kids I either wanted to be
or at least hang out with! Lisa Wilcox’s transformation from shy Alice to
ass-kicking Dream Master is a great, believable arc. Danny Hassel’s Dan
reminds me of the jocks I was friends with in high school. Andras Jones,
as Rick, is the kinda dude I’d hang out with and/or secretly want to be.
To this day, I’m not afraid to admit that I still have a crush of Brooke Theiss
as Debbie. Haha.
As for
Freddy….well, this is MY Freddy. As a kid, watching the entire series on
VHS, I always felt that the first two films (especially the original) had
Freddy “all wrong”. From the sleeves with no stripes and hobo look
(and voice) in Nightmare 1 to the general all-around evil nature in Nightmare
2, it all felt like the filmmakers were still trying to perfect the
character.
Plus…that
soundtrack! At the time, The Fat Boys and “Are You Ready For Freddy” was
my jam. There’s not a time that goes by where I don’t play Dramarama’s
“Anything, Anything (I’ll Give You)” and not want to work out or kick some ass
at something!
6.) Back To The Future – growing up in the 80s and
early 90s and being your average American boy, it’s safe to say that Marty
McFly was a dude you were required to look up to and emulate! In my eyes,
anyone with a skateboard or riding a skateboard was Marty McFly. Even
though I have very fond memories of seeing Part II and Part III in the theater,
it’s the first film that solidified my love for the series. Marty was
just so cool in pretty much every situation and always outsmarting Biff!
Maybe I saw some of that in myself, since I was never a big, muscular brute and
I always thought I could charm or talk my way out of potentially bad
situations. Plus, what kid at that time didn’t think the DeLorean was the
raddest car of all time or who didn’t want to rock out on a guitar like
that? Why yes…I did play air guitar on a broom to “Johnny B. Goode” many,
many times.
7.) Aliens – I can still vaguely recall the first time
I saw Aliens on TV, through the lenses of a pair of 3D glasses. I kept switching from one eye to the other,
making the picture either totally blue or completely red. The thinking of a 5yr old, right? Of course, another early memory revolving
around Aliens was, or course, the accompanying arcade game released in 1990 . .
. loads of fun that one! Anyway, as a
film, Aliens is exactly like a rollercoaster thrill-ride! It was never “scary” to me, but always a fun
ride with memorable characters – who didn’t want to be Hicks or even
Drake? In the early 90s, instead of just
playing “guns” or “war” with my buddies, we’d play Aliens or Predator
(especially when we get toy mini-guns!).
I was so obsessed with Aliens that I remember one night during a
snowstorm, which was almost guaranteeing no school the next day, I took an old
pair of greyish pants and colored black camouflage all over them to resemble
the Marines’ gear! True story.
Around 1992 when Alien3 came out, I managed to tape
Aliens off of Request Pay-Per-View, which was for some reason airing it as a
free movie. Of course, I missed the very
beginning and so the tape that I always watched -- until I bought the first DVD
boxset in 1999 or 2000 – always started with the Marines rushing formation for
inspection as they prepared to board the Dropship. Also, don’t even get me started on the toys
from Kenner….had them all…well, most of them.
Some of the mutant, hybrid Aliens were a bit too goofy-looking for my
taste as the line started to die out. In
fact, when I first heard there was going to be a toy line from Kenner, I daydreamed
of what the figures would look like – almost exact recreations of the movie,
though the finally released line (based in part on an unproduced cartoon
series) still fit the bill for me.
Today, it’s one of those movies that I can quote
verbatim and, in any given situation, I tend to throw out a line or two . . . I
still say “I’m on it” just like Hudson after Hicks gives him orders later in
the film!
8.) Michael Jackson’s Thriller - “But this isn’t a film…” you say? Bullshit.
Of course it is. The reason for
its inclusion on my list is pretty simple:
it was my exact introduction to all things Horror and monsters. Being born in 1982, Michael Jackson was part
of my being and the Thriller album as a whole was a huge part of that. I can still vividly recall watching the
Thriller music video in pre-school in 1985/1986 and being terrified of the
were-cat monster (which I always thought was a werewolf anyway) and not really
scared by the “monsters” in the second half of the short film . . . of course,
then I saw Dawn of the Dead and my entire notion of zombies (and, most importantly,
what they are and what they can do) made Thriller absolutely terrifying to me!
Let’s not forget that ending either . . .still
creeps me out!! Hell, even though I’m
almost 34yrs old, just the intro of the song itself still kinda creeps me
out. Those memories and emotions I felt
while watching Michael Jackson’s Thriller way back when I was knee-high to a
duck have stayed with me for evigt! And so, it’s because of Michael Jackson’s
Thriller that I can trace the roots of my Horror fandom back to today.
9.) The Crow – the first time I read about this film
was in an issue of Comics magazine and, while I’m not 100% certain, I’m pretty
sure it was before Brandon Lee’s tragic death.
At this point, I had seen Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rapid Fire and so
I knew Brandon was “Bruce Lee’s son” and that he was an all-around badass just
like his father before him. My interest
was definitely there from a photo in the mag of Lee, in character with the
make-up and trench coat. This would be a
cool movie. And then he died and an
entirely different vibe swept over the film and its release.
I was obsessed with The Crow . . . even though I
absolutely hated the way people would point out to me that I was. To this day, I kinda still loathe the word “obsessed”
mainly for this very reason. Ultimately,
what attracted me to The Crow so much was that it was a story about love
(which, given that I was 11/12yrs old when it was released and I was starting
to have “those feelings”, I was looking for love) and revenge (hey, there’s
still a part of me that would love nothing more than to turn the tables on
those who tormented and wronged me).
This is a film that came along in an awkward period of my life…if I ever
had a Goth or emo phase, this was it….grew my hair out (mostly because I wanted
to be Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction and/or because Metallica had long hair),
wore a lot of black (mostly because of Metallica though) and started to immerse
myself in music and movies and was basically finding my own identity. Ultimately, I never owned a black trench
coat, wore white pancake makeup, dyed my hair jet black, painted my nails
black, or wore eye makeup…so yeah. Of
course, I was The Crow for Halloween that year, but that was about it.
The film itself was awesome . . . it was one of the
first movies that I rented and double-taped (as it wasn’t yet available to own
yet) and got smacked in the face with macrovision copy-protection! So, even though the tape copied, the picture
constantly went from very bright to very dark throughout the entire running
time!! But, at least I had the movie!!
Speaking of music, this is one of the last great
soundtracks that I can listen to front to back with no complaints. Every track is great and, more importantly,
is actually in the damn movie! Nope,
none of this “music from and inspired by” bullshit here!
Over the years, my “obsession” with The Crow seemed
to have waned a bit as there was a time where I literally didn’t watch the film
or listen to the soundtrack for, at least, 10 years. It’s one of those films (and soundtracks)
that I can revisit and fondly recall those earlier emotions as well as continue
to enjoy the story.
10.) Pulp Fiction – another film that I can quote
endlessly (and still throughout lines from in almost everyday conversation)
with an outstanding soundtrack from start to finish, this is one for the ages
as far as I’m concerned. Actually, the
first time I heard of the movie was by seeing the theatrical trailer at the
start of The Crow VHS that I had copied!
At first, when I saw Bruce Willis, I thought it was going to be a Die
Hard sequel and that Travolta was the villain . . . imagine that scenario for a
moment, will you?! Anyway, that trailer
kinda blew me away and I knew right there that I needed to see this film. Ultimately, I missed it in the theater, but I
do remember staring fondly at its theatrical poster in the light box at the
movie theater that I’d eventually work at 4 years later!
As a matter of fact, I had the soundtrack for Pulp
Fiction almost 21 years ago to this day!
Yup…bought the soundtrack before I ever saw the movie and I can remember
wondering aloud how some of the dialogue bits fit into the film – did Samuel L.
Jackson play a preacher man (or at least pose as one) who got shot up?!?! It’s safe to say that I wore that CD out because
I actually did and took it back to The Wall music store, under their “Lifetime Music
Guarantee” and got a fresh disc. Side
note: how many of us just switched out
cassette or CD cases with these famous blue stickers when something happened to
the music? Haha.
My local video store was awesome; they had a killer
Horror section and I never got carded for the stuff I’d rent – whether it was I
Spit On Your Grave or, in this case, Pulp Fiction. I actually reserved the very first rental of
the VHS at my store and I remember being excited as hell when the day finally
arrived that I could go pick it up! As
soon as the end of the day bell rang at school that day, I walked my narrow
butt the mile or so down the road to the video store – straight from
school. I even remember waving to my
teacher as he drove by while I was walking along the shoulder of the road! My life changed that afternoon when I brought
the movie home . . . in fact, one of my buddies was over and watched it with
me. I think both of us heard many words
and phrases that neither had heard before (which we soon added to our
vocabulary of course!) and, if I’m not mistaken, he got in trouble with his
parents for watching the movie at my house!
Good times!
11.) The Adventures of Milo & Otis – I’m pretty sure
I didn’t see this in the theater, but it was one of the first movies that my
mom rented for me on Request Pay-Per-View (along with Elvira: Mistress of the
Dark). To this day, it cracks me when
people view my Film Aficionado collection listing and this is at the top since
it’s alphabetical!
Before I was all about blood, guts, zombies, and
heavy metal thunder, I was a cat person (and still am, though I don’t have any
pets any longer). This movie and its
story of a curious cat and a pug-nosed pup has always spoken volumes to me
about the true meaning and values of friendship. No matter whom you are or what your
differences may be – even if you’re a cat and he or she is a dog – it doesn’t
mean that you can’t be the best of friends!
Everything is just too cute about this film; from the adventure that
Milo & Otis go on and all of the other characters they meet along the way, to
the late Dudley Moore’s excellent narration.
One day, I’d love to see the original Japanese version of this film,
though I’m sure it doesn’t have that great theme song!
12.) Night Patrol – to some, this is a film that is
bottom of the barrel, lowest of the low-brow comedy at its worst. To me, it’s one film that I will NEVER forget
seeing for the first time in my life! It
was a New Year’s Eve party at my cousin’s house – 2002 into 2003 – and one of
his friends had brought it over for a screening. I was literally in pain from laughing so hard
at those guys laughing at the movie!!
Everything about it friggin’ KILLS me!
The diner scene is worth the price alone, but just do yourself a favor
and check it out . . . especially if you’re into or get the comedic styling of
The Unknown Comic!
