How I Fell in Love With the Movies
In my introduction to this blog "About This Site", I mention that I have been a fan of movies since 1984. That is officially when I credit the beginning of my love of film, and I will get to that in a little bit. But first, I want to talk about my earliest movie memories that date back to before then.
I have a few memories of my mom taking my two older brothers and I to the movies in my very early childhood. My earliest is set in an unknown time period, but it is when we went to see a re-release of Disney's animated Robin Hood film. This must have been sometime in the early 80s. I don't remember much about the experience, except that we watched it in a beautiful theater, and that we were sitting in an ornate balcony. This was the oldest theater we had in the city I grew up in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of memories of this particular theater, as it burned down at some point in the early 80s. Over the years while I was growing up, two other theaters took the place where it once stood - One opening in 1984, and the other sometime in 1991. Unfortunately, neither of them were quite as grand as the palace-like theater that serves as my earliest memory of going to the movies.
My second early movie-going memory is the strongest for me. It was the summer of 1982, and at the age of five, I was taken to see E.T. This was a source of much childhood trauma for me, as I remember being intensely frightened of the alien creature. I distinctly remember it was the scene where he pops out of the cornfield and screams at the camera that caused me such terror. I just did not like the blobby little guy, and found many of the sounds he made more eerie than endearing. I have vague memories of my mom trying to get me to calm down and to be quiet, but I just did not see the appeal of the thing. Still, I did sit through the rest of the movie, and while I didn't hate the film as a whole, I just remember being very traumatized, and to it even leading to some nightmares for me in my early youth.
I must not have gone to any movies for a while after that, as my other earliest movie memories stem from a year later in 1983. I remember my family taking me to see Return of the Jedi that summer, which I did not understand much, as I had not seen the previous Star Wars movies. Still, my brothers were huge fans, and clued me in the best that they could after the movie was over. I just remember being obsessed with Ewoks for a little while, as to my six-year-old brain, they were the best thing about the movie. I also vaguely remember us going to see A Christmas Story later that year, and liking that one a lot better. Of course, I was obsessed with the holidays as a kid, so any movie about Christmas immediately had my attention..
This brings us to the summer of 1984, and the year that I officially fell in love with movies, and going to them in general. I pinpoint the exact time of my love beginning when my older brothers and I went to see Gremlins together. For some reason, this movie cast a spell on me. Maybe it was because I was a tiny bit older, but these monsters did not instill fear in me as E.T. did just two years earlier. I was fascinated by the story, the special effects, and just everything to do with what I was seeing up on the screen. My brothers must have been worried that it might be too much for me, as one kept on whispering to me if I wanted to leave the theater early, in case it was getting too intense for me. But, I wanted to stay. Something about this movie fixated me. I remember my mom scolding my brothers afterward for taking me to see a monster movie, as she was worried it was going to be E.T. all over again. And yet, I was hooked. After seeing that movie, I wanted to know everything about it, and how it was made.
Not long after, I was taken to see Ghostbusters that same summer, and my love for movies deepened even more. This became my obsession for a while. Naturally, I had to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween that year, and again, I just found myself transfixed by the special effects, the comedic performances of the lead actors, and again the story. Just like before, I needed to know everything about how it was made. I remember my parents got me some "Making of..." books for both Gremlins and Ghostbusters, and I read them over and over until both were complete worn, and the pages were falling out. I memorized as many facts as I could, and back in the day, could probably tell you anything about them. I'm sure I drove those around me crazy on more than one occasion, but I was just that hooked.
Naturally, when I started First Grade in the Fall of that year, I had to display my newfound love to the school. I entered the school year with my Gremlins lunch box, Ghostbusters folder, as well as a T-shirt proudly displaying Gizmo the Mogwai.
More than being obsessed with those two movies in particular, I became obsessed with film itself. Every time I had a chance to go to the movies, I immediately grabbed it. I almost didn't care what it was, I just loved going to the theater, and was usually always fascinated by what I saw up on the screen. As the years passed, I learned more, started looking into older films and began dreaming of building my adult life around them in some way.
Honestly, doing a blog was not part of that dream back in the day, but I am so glad that I have been able to share my thoughts on film with those of you who have been reading all this time. I am truly grateful for the opportunity, and whenever the theaters are open again, you can bet that I will be there, ready to share my thoughts with all of you.
I don't know if this story will be of interest of anyone, but it is something I have wanted to share for quite some time now. I will begin posting soon my articles on the memories of seeing Summer and Holiday Films of the 1990s, as I talked about in my post "An Announcement", so I hope you will all join me then.
Until then, I hope all of you are staying safe, and I will see you all soon!
The earliest movie I remember seeing...
I have a few memories of my mom taking my two older brothers and I to the movies in my very early childhood. My earliest is set in an unknown time period, but it is when we went to see a re-release of Disney's animated Robin Hood film. This must have been sometime in the early 80s. I don't remember much about the experience, except that we watched it in a beautiful theater, and that we were sitting in an ornate balcony. This was the oldest theater we had in the city I grew up in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of memories of this particular theater, as it burned down at some point in the early 80s. Over the years while I was growing up, two other theaters took the place where it once stood - One opening in 1984, and the other sometime in 1991. Unfortunately, neither of them were quite as grand as the palace-like theater that serves as my earliest memory of going to the movies.
My second early movie-going memory is the strongest for me. It was the summer of 1982, and at the age of five, I was taken to see E.T. This was a source of much childhood trauma for me, as I remember being intensely frightened of the alien creature. I distinctly remember it was the scene where he pops out of the cornfield and screams at the camera that caused me such terror. I just did not like the blobby little guy, and found many of the sounds he made more eerie than endearing. I have vague memories of my mom trying to get me to calm down and to be quiet, but I just did not see the appeal of the thing. Still, I did sit through the rest of the movie, and while I didn't hate the film as a whole, I just remember being very traumatized, and to it even leading to some nightmares for me in my early youth.
I must not have gone to any movies for a while after that, as my other earliest movie memories stem from a year later in 1983. I remember my family taking me to see Return of the Jedi that summer, which I did not understand much, as I had not seen the previous Star Wars movies. Still, my brothers were huge fans, and clued me in the best that they could after the movie was over. I just remember being obsessed with Ewoks for a little while, as to my six-year-old brain, they were the best thing about the movie. I also vaguely remember us going to see A Christmas Story later that year, and liking that one a lot better. Of course, I was obsessed with the holidays as a kid, so any movie about Christmas immediately had my attention..
This brings us to the summer of 1984, and the year that I officially fell in love with movies, and going to them in general. I pinpoint the exact time of my love beginning when my older brothers and I went to see Gremlins together. For some reason, this movie cast a spell on me. Maybe it was because I was a tiny bit older, but these monsters did not instill fear in me as E.T. did just two years earlier. I was fascinated by the story, the special effects, and just everything to do with what I was seeing up on the screen. My brothers must have been worried that it might be too much for me, as one kept on whispering to me if I wanted to leave the theater early, in case it was getting too intense for me. But, I wanted to stay. Something about this movie fixated me. I remember my mom scolding my brothers afterward for taking me to see a monster movie, as she was worried it was going to be E.T. all over again. And yet, I was hooked. After seeing that movie, I wanted to know everything about it, and how it was made.
Not long after, I was taken to see Ghostbusters that same summer, and my love for movies deepened even more. This became my obsession for a while. Naturally, I had to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween that year, and again, I just found myself transfixed by the special effects, the comedic performances of the lead actors, and again the story. Just like before, I needed to know everything about how it was made. I remember my parents got me some "Making of..." books for both Gremlins and Ghostbusters, and I read them over and over until both were complete worn, and the pages were falling out. I memorized as many facts as I could, and back in the day, could probably tell you anything about them. I'm sure I drove those around me crazy on more than one occasion, but I was just that hooked.
Naturally, when I started First Grade in the Fall of that year, I had to display my newfound love to the school. I entered the school year with my Gremlins lunch box, Ghostbusters folder, as well as a T-shirt proudly displaying Gizmo the Mogwai.
More than being obsessed with those two movies in particular, I became obsessed with film itself. Every time I had a chance to go to the movies, I immediately grabbed it. I almost didn't care what it was, I just loved going to the theater, and was usually always fascinated by what I saw up on the screen. As the years passed, I learned more, started looking into older films and began dreaming of building my adult life around them in some way.
Honestly, doing a blog was not part of that dream back in the day, but I am so glad that I have been able to share my thoughts on film with those of you who have been reading all this time. I am truly grateful for the opportunity, and whenever the theaters are open again, you can bet that I will be there, ready to share my thoughts with all of you.
I don't know if this story will be of interest of anyone, but it is something I have wanted to share for quite some time now. I will begin posting soon my articles on the memories of seeing Summer and Holiday Films of the 1990s, as I talked about in my post "An Announcement", so I hope you will all join me then.
Until then, I hope all of you are staying safe, and I will see you all soon!
3 Comments:
So did you give E T another try after all those years?
By
Patrick Shields, at 5:04 PM
Obviously, yes. I did try it again when it came out on video, and enjoyed it much more then. Still find the guy more creepy than cute, though.
By
Ryan, at 5:32 PM
It actually kind of reminds me with my experiences with Star Wars, except I wasn't frightened by the film. I remember sort of liking it as a kid. But the films grew on me as I got older since I was learning about film criticism by watching review shows online.
By
Patrick Shields, at 5:35 PM
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