Movies scenes that effected your life

It even Affects your spelling.

Hayley Mills falling from the tree in "Pollyanna".

Nicolas Cage yelling, "Come over here and get in this bed!" in Moonstruck.

Once a man says that sentence, I'm putty.

I always think about the whole "wolf without a foot" conversation too.

Why R2? And R1 you are right- it affected. Always get them confused my fault.

Not really affected my life but the closest thing that comes to mind is the Wizard of Oz - the last scene in Dorothy ' s dream where the lion, tin man and scarecrow say good-bye and following on the Wizard's instruction - she clicks her ruby shoes 3 times and says: "There's no place like home, There's no place like home, There's no place like home" and wakes up to see everyone in her life in a completely different way. Powerful. Transformational.

The barbed wire war death scene in Legends of the Fall.

Scenes that initiated my life, put it into motion or facilitated it?

"Deer" is both the singular and plural in all cases.

When I was a kid, we raised a newborn fawn my dad had found hiding in the tall grass in one of our farm fields. Dad brought her home for us to see. We kids begged dad to let us keep her and he reluctantly conceded. We fed her milk with a baby bottle. Having read the book by Felix Salten, but not seeing the movie, I decided she should be called Bambi.

We loved that deer. We raced with her (she always won) and fed her rose petals. She loved to eat the ground feed we fed the cows in the barn in their stanchions and would forward kick them in the snout if they tried to butt her out of the way. She would follow us out down our long driveway to the school bus when we boarded it.

When she disappeared for two weeks we thought she was gone forever but one night she showed up back at the barn, bleating to see us again. Deer seem like silent creatures but they do vocalize with a sound we called a "beep." She wore a red ribbon some neighbor had tied around her neck, I guess to protect her from hunters. She stayed with us almost to maturity and then dad gave her to a guy who had the proper permits and maintained a herd of deer on his property. We were later told she gave birth to a set of twin fawns.

That's sweet, r8. Very charming. Thank you for sharing that gentle story.

It's a cliche but Jaws really did change the way I thought about the water. Even when swimming in lakes, I can still get that old "did something just swim under me, OMFG!!!" feeling. Many times I want to swim in the ocean but I just can't. Forty years later and I"m still scared! On top of it, when I was in university, a fortune teller told me to be careful around water "because there is a strong indication of death in that area". WTF??

Why did this take so long...?

MARY!!

In Scarface when the guy is hacked up with a chainsaw while tied up in the shower. To this day, I will not use one.

But how do you cut down pesky trees, R12??

You hire a lumberjack, and then swipe his flannel shirt that he leaves on your bedroom floor [R13] ;)

When I saw the movie Pulp Fiction I was very moved by Samuel L. Jackson's "moment of clarity" speech. A short time later, I had my own "moment of clarity" and quit drinking cold turkey. I was a helpless alcoholic. I have been dry for twenty years now.

I sometimes wonder if the movie planted the seed of the idea in my head that a thing like a "moment of clarity" was possible. For me, it was the moment I realized that I was entirely to blame for my bad decisions, and that it was entirely up to me to do something about it.

The last scene in Paths of Glory. Soldiers reduced to tears as a german young woman sings a lullabye in german just goohle it

Several scenes in The Notebook, I cried for weeks after seeing it. I still break down and bawl if I think about it.

A concept I find myself revisiting somewhat regularly, expertly realized with imagery: Indiana Jones flick, I think the one with Sean Connery as his dad. The part just before or after he comes upon the Knight of the Templar guarding Christ's chalice. Indy is attempting to make his way through the caves and comes to a death drop. He reads a map or 'glyph (sorry can't recall) that shows a being floating above/across the death-drop. Indy surmises how this might be possible, scoops up some gravel and throws it 'into' the abyss, but it actually skitters across a camouflaged bridge painted to replicate the surface of the cliff wall on the opposite side. The gravel disappears immediately, so it looks like a death drop again. The bridge is on a level much lower than the cliff's edge, so when he extends his toe to feel for it, there's nothing there. It's quite literally a leap of faith. It looks and feels to him for that instant that he's plunging to his death, until, of course, he quickly lands on the narrow bridge. The way the camera swings around to reveal him in profile walking along the still-dangerously narrow bridge is beyond satisfying. Sometimes part of me feels like I might actually die a little if I make some significant decision about my future, or even a significant person in my life, and I remember this scene and remind myself that even though I can't see a way "across", and though any testing of the waters or gathering of evidence only reinforces a sense of eminent danger, knowing in my heart that remaining in place or going back is not a viable option, that leap of faith must be taken. And I will actually survive.

Images are so much less time-consuming to absorb than trying the articulate them! Love movies!!

Sophie's Choice. The scene where she is forced to choose which of her two children is to be gassed to death, heartbreaking.

After I saw "Schindler's List", I sat there asking myself why the FUCK I was wasting my life at a dead-end job I hated, living in a rathole apartment I hated, spending free time with relatives I hated, when there was so much dire stuff going on in the world. Why was I wasting my short and uncertain life? Why wasn't I making some kind of difference, or trying to?

I won't say that the movie was solely responsible for changing my life, but it was part of the process of changing my life. I went into a helping profession and made a lot of other changes, all for the better.

r18, you described the scene well, but you need to pull back and provide context if you expect anyone to follow your gripe, argument, lament, life-changing experience, or whatever it was.

For R8 and R10:

When I was a kid, we raised a newborn shark my dad had found hiding in the seaweed on one of our coral reefs. Dad brought her home for us to see. We kids begged dad to let us keep her and he reluctantly conceded. We fed her sardines with a fork. Having read the book by Peter Benchley, but not seeing the movie, I decided she should be called Jaws.

We loved that shark. We raced with her (she always won) and fed her plankton flakes. She loved to eat the various fish heads we fed the cats in the barn in their stanchions and would fin-slap them in the snout if they tried to butt her out of the way. She would jump out of the ocean and follow us out down our long driveway to the school bus when we boarded it, then jump back into the water after having waved us a fond farewell with a pectoral fin.

When she disappeared for two weeks we thought she was gone forever but one night she showed up back at the dock, bleating to see us again. Sharks seem like silent creatures but they do vocalize with a sound we called a "beep." She wore a red ribbon some neighbor had tied around her neck, I guess to protect her from shark hunters. She stayed with us almost to maturity and then dad gave her to a guy who had the proper permits and maintained a school of sharks in a really, really huge fish tank on his property. We were later told she gave birth to a set of twin sharkettes.

Many fabulous now cliché scenes beloved by old movie queens became iconic because they hit home.

But you are, Blanche, you are in that chair.

Sums up a lot, doesn't it? Especially when you think about it again, at the end of the movie, which is very moving.

What a dump!

I am big! It's the pictures that got small.

etc

When I was a boy in the late 60's early 70's, Some Like it Hot fascinated me and in retrospect I can say it was explaining a lot of things to me, about life and about art and artifice. It has a lot of qualities being slapstick but also very chic and witty sometimes. Of course the last scene was speaking to me before I even knew what it was saying.

I was in my mid 20s before I figured out how to stay in and create satisfying relationships and I'd say Some Like It Hot gives some advice and examples of the different M.O.s

I was 6 when the Gnome Mobile was in theaters. That movie made me fall in love with nature and the outdoors.

I was sitting in the theater watching Titanic and the drawing scene with Jack and Rose. I literally felt a click in my brain and an overwhelming feeling of what I was missing in my life and what I wanted became laser clear: love. I made some changes in my life for the better brcause of that moment in the movie.

Performance (1970) with Mick Jagger and James Fox. Unfortunately......my life got derailed for the rest of the 70s.

Complete cliché but the shower scene in Psycho. There's no fucking way I use a shower with an opaque shower curtain without being sure absolutely no one can get behind it.

The final scene in Midnight Cowboy, a film ultimately about friendship and how we sometimes find it in the most unlikely people, but they turn out to be the ones who come through for us in the end.

R8, Thank you for your story. I was enthralled.

R8, what a sweet story. I adore sharks...you're lucky to have had that experience.

I know that I'll probably get hit with a "MARY!" with this one, but I was a 13-year old, poor, gay boy who had always loved clothes. I saw "The Great Gatsby" (Redford/Farrow) and there is a scene in the movie when Gatsby shows Daisy his bedroom and his clothes that he has" a man from London send over every season". He stats pulling shirt after shirt off the closet shelves, gorgeous colors and fabrics, throwing them in the air. Daisy starts to cry saying that she's never seen such beautiful shirts. I said to myself that I would one day have beautiful clothes like Jay Gatsby -- and now I do, with a large walk-in closet! MARY in 1, 2, 3...

I LOLd R22

I am about to earn a rightful Mary too, but the scene in Lolita (the 1997 one with Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, & Dominique Swain) where Humbert has asked preggo Lolita to leave with him and she's refused, so he is leaving alone and looks at her one last time from his car, remembering her as the younger nymphet really gets to me. I think it speaks to my despair over lost youth, as well as unrequited love/love lost, which is all I've ever experienced. The music was so heart rending, and really made the scene. It was "What about me" by Ennio Morricone.

My father tried to learn how to use a computer, without much luck. I was over there one day and I showed him a documentary I had found on-line in Europe about his small town. It was in his native language and about the resistance to the war. There were people in the film that my father knew. I recognized the one man, as I had met him on a visit to the "old country." The man had been a cihildhood friend of Dad's and he told the film crew about an incident that involved my Dad and my uncle. Initially, I didn't know that, as the man talking just told a story about how he and his friend (Dad) had been blamed for something. Dad had never discussed the war, but this film made him open up. Alll these details came out about how my relatives refused to help the Germans, and as they were Finnish, they were expected to do so. I was glad that he finally talked about it, as he didn't live much longer.

Old Teller? Really?

Yeah, Old Teller, the moving story of an inspiring and kind old bank teller who has to be shot because he gets rabies.

Divine.

On a trampoline.

With a machine gun.

Affected, not effected.

That's a great story, R34.

J'adore R22!

R38, thanks for 3rd correction.

The final scene of Brokeback Mountain.

I was on the fence for a good deal of the movie, feeling slightly bored at points and intrigued at others.

The final scene, however, devastated me. I had a palpable sense of abysmal regret, loss, and solitude. I walked out of the theater, climbed into my car, and cried.

This post is so illiterate, it's unreadable.

r34, that's an amazing story.

[quote]The scene where she is forced to choose which of her two children is to be gassed to death, heartbreaking.

I hope she picked the ugly one.

Scenes from Deer Hunter are up there for me but the most poignant, haunting film of all time for me is, I think it's called Hang The Red Lanterns. A Chinese masterpiece with subtitles. It shines a light on female competition at the advantage of the man playing the women..

The gorgeous opera singer scene is worth it alone. Such control in the voice and the actress portraying the character, her glam abode is well worth it. But the point of the film exposes how women will fight to the death to achieve control. I see it happening today. So sad. It's a biological mechanism for survival that needs to die in modern workplaces..yet is going on all over the world.

Showcasing women's inhumanity to other women. Haunting and timeless.

May I add Jaws? Unless that water is clear, I'm always gonna worry

Seeing this thread come up again made me think of Eds in her kitchen, checking out the fly.

I know this will sound ridiculous, but for me it was the scene in The Bride of Frankenstein where the villagers torture the Monster and then hang him on a gibbet, looking like a variation of Christ on the cross. That scene moved me as a child, and I think it caused me to be sensitive to the plight of those who suffer.

The nude wrestling scene in Borat scarred me for life.

When Christopher Reeve finds the penny in his shoe in "Somewhere In Time".

Correction, finds the penny in his suit pocket.

Bette Davis in "Now, Voyager" when she's comforting the little girl with emotional problems who is crying uncontrollably. The little girl says to her "Why are you being nice to me?" And Bette replies, "Because someone was nice to me once." I think about that scene everytime I do something nice for someone else.

R 16 YES. I have been obsessed with that scene for years

R 34: Thank you for the touching story of your Dad. It reminded me of how hard it was to get my Dad to open up and how glad I was when I did.

The old Point Break...I wanted to have that much fun. It changed my life for about a year.

Re: R16 and R54. Spielberg has said that soon after he heard Kubrick died, he watched 'Paths of Glory' with friends in tribute. All were in tears at the song. Fitting that it was sung by Kubrick's wife, Christiane.

R46, I agree with you - that film really moved me, too. I must correct you gently, however, and note that the film is called "Raise the Red Lantern." Gong Li is wonderful in it. I bawled at that scene in "Lolita," R33. My tears dried up some when Humbert went off to kill Quilty, but they soon returned.

Affect, OP, affect.

I'd say the bowling scene in Three Colours: Red. The whole trilogy was visually stunning, but the bowling scene sticks in my mind.

For me the shirt scene in Brokeback Mountain. When Ennis /Ledger returns to Jack/Jake's childhood home . Goes up to Jacks barren room and discovers the hidden shirts from all those years ago.The shirts two in one hanging together. Symbols of a secret and lost love.It is a wordless scene but Ledger's magnificent performance renders words unnecessary. Because there are no words possible. Ennis embraces all that remains of his ruined love in his regret,devastation,grief,loss,yearning for what can never be restored to him. It gutted me. I literally could not get out of the chair. My partner put his arms around me as we walked to the car. That night and every night after that I made sure he knew how much I loved him. He died in my arms four years after Brokeback Mountain. Every year on the anniversary of his death I rewatch that film. And yes I have two of our shirts hanging on my door with his ashes in the pocket. So I guess you could say Brokeback Mountain effected my life.

At 16 years old, watching the lifestyle display of Richard Gere in American Gigolo turned a light on in my head. All the way down to the gravity boots and the by color organized closet.

Lol @ R22 and Old Teller responses.

In the movie Parting Glances is a club scene before shirtless Richard calls Nick. I knew I wanted to be part of that hedonistic world, which later I did. There's also the initial scene where Robert comes home and starts playing with Michael and they end up in the shower. It made me want that.

The scene where the boy shoots Old Yeller Skin Troll chokes me up too, OP.

That's the cuntiest bit of cunting this cunt's read on DL in ages, R22..lerved it. But I loved R8 's story too. I will attest to the fact that deer love rose petals. And trumpet vine. And hibiscus. Their nocturnal browsing in my rose bushes would wake me up all the time- they snort loudly, and the bucks banged their antlers against the wall outside my bedroom. I'd just grab the can of Lemon Pledge I kept by the nightstand and give Bambi & Co. a blast of the stuff out the window. Most animals (cats, especially) detest lemon..it kept the fuckers away all night. Tales From the County :)

Sorry, where were we? You're not so Mary, R51. That scene was very well done, and Reeve finessed it beautifully.

And am I alone in my hatred for 'Sophie's Choice'? Overdone, manipulative prison camp porn. Kline's character was so loathsome that it ruined everything he was in for years for me. He reminded me of poor Dorothy Stratten's greasy, psychopath husband. I forgave him after 'In and Out'-the 'man up tapes' scene was a laff riot.

So, yeah..it was the scene where Bambi's mom, dazed by Lemon Pledge fumes., is pursued by Old Teller's Jaws into Tommy Kirk's dressing room-and she dies. And I began my career of passing out flowers at SFO.

Another Brokeback Mountain fan. So many scenes. I loved that Ennis' wife never betrayed him even though she witnessed the passion that he felt for Jack.

Saw the movie, JT, in school. About a very poor city kid who finds a cat and tries to find it food.

[quote]Movies scenes that effected your life

Oh, [italic]dear[/italic]...

The water pump scene and Helen's breakthrough in THE MIRACLE WORKER. I saw the movie when I was all of 5 or 6 years old. It imparted the message of hope, despairing hope, perhaps, but hope, nevertheless. It made an indelible impression on me (just thinking about it as I write this reduces me to tears) which I have managed to carry with me through the darkest, most frustrating times of my life (and there have been puh-lenty) and given me the resilience to "keep on keeping on."

The first few minutes of Point Blank. The cross cutting between the wife doing her makeup and Lee Marvin walking loudly in an (airport?) hallway to get back to her is almost disorienting since we see him barge into the home and shoot the bed right after. I just didn't ever think an action film could be that involving. Usually, they're just loud explosions.

The scene in the Exorcist where Regan reaches out her hand and we see the statue of Pazzuzu in the bedroom. That's one of the most creepy and disturbing scenes in the movie and I don't know why. Same with the scene in the beginning where the two dogs are fighting in the dessert as Father Merrin stands there.

The twist in Femme Fatale. For some reason, it inspires me because it's a giant "Fuck you" to film noir genre conventions.

R22 you are very mean. Now give us one about a tiger or python. You can just cut and paste.

The movie "Cheaper By The Dozen" with Clifton Webb is almost non-stop comedy. So the scene at the end where his family takes his phone call while he's on a business trip packs an unexpected punch for me.

As noted, Oh, dear.

But for the record no movie scene effected my life. My parents fucking effected my life.

And good English is not an affectation.

The one film that was truly life-changing for me was Babette’s Feast. I suddenly understood the concept of “the perfect moment” and that if the proper elements are brought together, Life can be warm, beautiful, and safe, if only for a short time.

Forrest Gump. 2 1/2 hours of my life that I will never get back.

Bambi's mum being shot. I became a vegetarian and animal rights activist at age 6.

Illy Elliott’s father going back to work despite the strike - when he cries to his other son that he has to do it to support them. Made me appreciate my father - not the most aware or accepting but he worked hard and sacrificed his life to support us.

^Billy Elliott

I've heard that Disney made a public apology, said he didnt see his animation as specifically designed for a children's market that parents trusted. Apparently Bambi's mother being killed traumatized the kiddies. I could understand not thinking Fantasia was for kids but Bambi? Different world back then I guess.

The scene where the dwarfs believe Snow White is dead and they mourn over her corpse. Dopey's scrawny body is in silhouette quivering in sobs. When I first saw this I was an adult and could not stop crying.

Nothing I've seen in a film has ever effected my life but I did feel a twee sorry for poor Glennie all dressed up in that gold frock ready to accept her overdue Oscar that wasn't to be.