I recently read a post by Thirsty Daddy where he had written the soundtrack to his life, choosing songs that meant something to him at the time.
I gave this some thought and it would have been really easy to do the same, but then I thought about the films I’d watched at certain times of my life and decided to give the idea a bit of a twist.
The Films of my Life.
The Younger Years
Going way back to when I was little I loved musicals and films with lots of dancing. I guess it was my Mum and Dad’s influence but I loved the likes of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly and Deanna Durbin. However, to define a moment in time it would have to be Saturday afternoons at a friend’s house watching Elvis Presley films. We’d watch with her brother and sisters, and her Dad who was a big fan. Then her Mum would come back from shopping with sweet treats for us all. I haven’t watched any of these films for years now, maybe it’s time for a catch up.
Pre-teens
When we were fairly young, but old enough to go out alone, me and my cousins would go to the cinema on a Saturday afternoon. We would often watch animations like Peter Pan, but I remember going to see a brand new film, Pete’s Dragon which was a mix of animation and live action. I loved it and it was my favourite film for a long time. Sadly I’ve yet to watch the re-make.
Teenage Years
I remember when Star Wars first came out and there was no-one who wanted to go with me to the cinema to see it. I just knew I would love the film but I had to wait quite a while before I got to watch it. I’ve watched all the films now and my eldest son is a big fan. He’s read loads of the books too, and I may have read a couple myself.
A year after Star Wars came Grease but this time I had someone willing to go with me to see it. I loved Grease, I even had John Travolta’s poster on my wall and I would sing along to the album every day. I think I probably still know all the words to ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You.’
Young Adult
Now this was the time I watched lots of films. We would visit the video rental store regularly and hire a film for the night. Sometimes, if the film was popular you had to reserve it, then hope that the person borrowing it would bring it back on time. Our video store would give us a quick call as soon as it was brought back.
Conan the Barbarian was a big favourite, along with Mad Max. I must have watched all the films several times and often sought out badly made rip-off type films. It seems like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mel Gibson have been around forever, much like John Travolta and Tom Cruise.
As for the cinema, there are two films that stick out for me. Ghostbusters and Gremlins. I actually went into town one evening with the hope of watching Ghostbusters but the queue to get in the cinema was humongous. My boyfriend said there was another cinema just down the road so we could try there. When we go there, however, it was just the same.
We were about to give up and go back another night when I noticed they were showing Gremlins. We had not heard of the film and had no idea what it was about but decided to watch it anyway. I thought it such a weird film but I did fall in love with Gizmo. As the years have past, and I’ve watched both Ghostbusters and Gremlins many times, I have to say that Gremlins is my favourite of the two.
Then I grew Up
With quite a few adult years under my belt it’s obvious that there are lots of films that I’ve loved. Some I’ve watched over and over and never tire of them, like Back to the Future. A few years ago I went to The Gadget Show Live and managed to get up close to Jason Bradbury’s Back to the Future Delorean
More grown films I love are Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction, yet the first time I watched them I wasn’t that keen at all. I’m not keen on violence, or drug taking but I do like films with a different approach, something that makes them stand out from other films. And both of these certainly do that. I’ve still not seen the new Trainspotting film though.
Full Circle
As a child I loved musicals and I still do. When I was at school, admitting that you liked Abba was a bit of a faux paux, a social blunder. So, of course I wasn’t a fan. Years later Bjorn Again played at the university where I worked and I loved every minute. So I was utterly thrilled when Mamma Mia came out. I’ve watched it tons of times but now I’m waiting for the chance to watch Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again.
It took me a long time to watch The Greatest Showman, but again, it’s one of my favourites that I could watch over and over. The story line is not that brilliant but I love the music and Hugh Jackman of course.
I guess that brings me up to date. Although, I feel like I’ve missed so much out, there are always so many memories attached to films. And of course, there are so many favourites too.
What are your favourite films?
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