Ask HN: Any movies that changed your life? • Hacker News Board

Gattaca (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177) left a lasting impression on me. It initially reads like dystopian scifi but at it's core it's really about persistence and overcoming obstacles.

Re: Ask HN: Any movies that changed your life?

#55

Post by postitit » Tue, Aug 11, 2015, 4:26 PM UTC

Ingmar Bergman's "Winter Light". When I was younger, Tim Burton's "Big Fish".

Re: Ask HN: Any movies that changed your life?

#56

Post by api » Tue, Aug 11, 2015, 4:29 PM UTC

TheCams wrote: post #38

api wrote: post #23

I have too many to list. Here are some of the highlights that come to mind. 2001: A Space Odyssey -- had a profound effect on me as a child. It both reinforced my interest in science and opened my mind to the sheer size and scale and mystery of the universe. The original Cosmos series did likewise, and I think it's far better than the remake with Tyson. Sagan just communicates the sense of awe and wonder a lot better…

I think you meant "Stand by me" instead of Lean on me :) Great movie btw, I have the same childhood nostalgia when I watch it.

Oh yeah. Corrected. (Edited original.)

Re: Ask HN: Any movies that changed your life?

#57

Post by tyrick » Tue, Aug 11, 2015, 4:32 PM UTC

Close Encounters of the Third Kind. (E.T. communication will be weird). The Man from Earth (What it might be like to live through several ancient ages). Citizen Kane (Simple things in life matter--Rosebud). The Fountain (What it might be like to live through several ages with unrequited love). FernGully (Don't mess with nature, or small humans will mess you up).

Re: Ask HN: Any movies that changed your life?

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Post by DrinkWater » Tue, Aug 11, 2015, 4:32 PM UTC

The Godfather: The importance of family values, politics and the thin line between power and downfall.

Re: Ask HN: Any movies that changed your life?

#59

Post by matthewn » Tue, Aug 11, 2015, 4:36 PM UTC

Synecdoche, New York made me think more about why we are here and how we should spend our time than anything else I've ever seen on a screen.

Re: Ask HN: Any movies that changed your life?

#60

Post by cryoshon » Tue, Aug 11, 2015, 4:42 PM UTC

A few:

Fight Club: I really didn't understand the concept of anomie before seeing this movie. Normlessness and lack of connection to society's way of things are fundamental issues which are largely ignored in common conversations or articles. This is the same movie that introduced me to post-modernism, nihilism, and existentialism.

Brazil: This film really taught me a lot about how to produce creativity as well as government. One of the main characters is an outlaw "combat" HVAC/plumber who has been forced out of his legitimacy by a sprawling Kafkaesque bureaucracy riddled with incompetence-- the absurdity of the character is illustrative of the bizarre extremes government policy can unintentionally create.

Waking Life: This film is a great representation of what it is like to be dreaming. The film is comprised of a series of barely-related conversations between different dream characters. Waking Life taught me not to be too analytical of art, and to restrain criticism of a new experience. Most importantly, Waking Life taught me that life is a trip, so you may as well choose to enjoy the ride.