Filmmaking / Directing : What Movies Changed Your Life? by Karen "Kay" Ross

Two films in the 1960s, Lawrence of Arabia, for its widely acknowldeged brilliance in every area and the ill-fated Cleopatra. I saw them several times as my parents were trying to train my visual memory and discovered that if I saw a film a few times, I could write down the dialogue. Added to that keeping a scrapbook of the stills (there were plenty from Cleopatra as production lasted forever!), collecting the musical scores etc. So My Fair Lady, The Longest Day, El Cid, Mutiny on the Bounty, Mary Poppins,The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, If... and The Charge of the Light Brigade followed. As an adolescent I was fascinated by Cleopatra as it was larger than life, despite its obvious shortcomings. At the time I loved epics as, when they worked they used the wide screen to wonderful effect and also musicals, both genres were popular in the 1960s. Appreciation of foreign language films followed.I became a film critic, lecturer on certain genres & also a royal commentator & do talks on the way royals are depicted on screen.

I see you also like epics. Gladiator was truly brilliant, especially the first half hour in Germania which i think is the best in any epic anywhere. Lord of the Rings was amazing and the battles were much influenced by El Cid.

A lot of important movies in my life but “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” was the one that definitely make me think that I wanted to be a Filmmaker

Dark Crystal, The Muppet Movie and Requiem for a Dream. When I was a kid, the first two movies were so memorable that they planted the seeds in me to become a filmmaker. Requiem for a Dream, because of the performances and that it is character driven.

Star Wars. That's when I knew I wanted to be in the film industry.

Wasn’t a movie but more of a film shoot on location. Spike Lee filmed parts of Jungle Fever in my neighborhood. I got the chance to talk to Ernest Dickerson, the DP. Seeing Spike & Crew inspired me to pursue filmmaking as an occupation.

Enter The Dragon (sorry all, but yeah), Ran (Kurosawa), Bladerunner, Ghost In The Shell (1995)

Bad Day at Black Rock inspired me to learn the art/craft of filmmaking The use of color, setting, character interaction, scene blocking on & on really stood out in my mind about the power of storytelling when it comes to sensitive issues. And there have been many others since then.

On a personal level Wuthering Heights, all versions but the earliest with Lawrence Olivier inspired me the most. I was born in a snow storm near original location and have picked it as the hill I want to die on. (Most film schools utter this phrase “pick hill you want to die on”. Ha ha cowards! Many other films have inspired me in many different ways but one of them “Deliverance” has a personal interaction. Set in deep rural Georgia Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds battle against evil hillbillies along a stretch of river and end up in canoe. Director John Boorman explained some of his camera moves in key scenes and the reasons behind why these particular shots excelled above all other options on shoot.

There are a lot of great movies with strong messages. To answer your question, I list four of my favorites, from where I learned something valuable: The Champ ( 1979 ), A Bronx Tale ( 1993 ), On Golden Pond ( 1981 ) and Gran Torino ( 2008 ). Of course, I can list a ton of good movies, but these four are some of the best.

So many. Here are a few Tamed Heart, Bond Franchise, Bio Pics, Tyler Perry Franchise, The God Father Franchise, Baila Conmigo (Dance with me), Mission Impossible, The Way We Were, Desparado, Malcolm X, Deja Vu, Ocean 11 & 12, The Pelicon Brief, Swordfish, The Rich Man's Wife, The Perfect Stranger, Die Hard, Deep Cover, etc. etc.

St. Elmo's fire, The breakfast club, The exorcist, Raiders of the lost ark, Poltergeist to name a few...

Y'all don't even know how much you warm my heart with your responses! LOVE! Feel free to respond to each other's responses as well! I'm willing to bet you'll meet a new friend over such topics ;-)

Will respond in more depth shortly, but until then - many inspiring films and happy memories to you all!

There are so many impactful movies I've seen, but the ones at the top are the 1996 Rasputin:Dark Servant of Destiny starring Alan Rickman and the 2019 Red Sea Diving Resort starring Chris Evans with a fantastic cast for both. I seem to really enjoy films that are based from actual historic event I suppose.

Probably Fight Club. That was a line of demarcation for me.

Spirit of the Beehive moved my soul. Chinatown convinced me to start writing screenplays. Andrei Rublev - where to begin...

There have been so many wonderful stories with valuable messages. Some reinforce tenets I already hold, others that inspire me to view situations through other perspectives. But as for making a change, it was Blood Diamond.

Get Shorty - my All-Time Favorite Movie. Made me realize I had to be a filmmaker! Of course the classic - the GREATEST Movie Ever Made - The Godfather. It's such a perfect film. And, the fact that I was mentored by the two-time Oscar-Winning producer of The Godfather, well that speaks volumes. It's a Wonderful Life is in my top three. And, Creature From the Black Lagoon was a childhood favorite - so much so that I made a feature-length documentary with Oscar-Winner Benicio Del Toro, narrated by 3-time Emmy-Winner Keith David about the character, the movie and its sequels ... not to mention the fans. ;)

Jaws... I was afraid to swim in swimming pools until I was 20 ;)

I hear ya! I still won't swim in the ocean, Michael E Droberg! I figure I'm trespassing and they have every right to attack me - LOL!

life changing? I recall Hitch telling us 'it's only a movie'.