Movies, to me, aren’t just a tool for entertainment. Movies are what I have lived and breathed for most of my life. They are a passion. An obsession. Throughout my existence, I have watched hundreds, if not thousands of them. To be honest, I gave up counting a long time ago.
I have ravenously devoured every cinematic genre. I have watched movies from numerous countries across the globe. Now, I have seen so many, I struggle to find new ones. Unfortunately, I have already viewed most of the best.
How then, do we pick our favourites when there are so many masterpieces? Film adoration is subjective, of course. Yet for most, if asked what their top ten movies are, one or two might pop out, but the rest are much too difficult to decide.
Thankfully, this isn’t a list of my Top 5 Movies. No, this is a list of the Top 5 Movies That Changed My Life the most.
Like with a recent blog I wrote named, Top 5 Books That Changed My Life, these aren’t necessarily my favourite movies – although, I do love every one of them.
Instead, these are five movies which have impacted my life in various ways.
1) Goodfellas
Now, forgive me for what I just said about this not being a list of my favourite movies. I lied. Purposely, I have thrown one or two into the mix.
Goodfellas is not only the movie that changed my life the most, but it is also my favourite movie of all time.
It follows him from childhood, starting to do odd jobs for the mafia, into a fully-fledged gangster, whose criminal career spirals out of control when he begins to use and sell drugs.
Directed by the esteemed virtuoso, Martin Scorsese, and featuring an ensemble cast – there isn’t much that could have gone wrong.
It is a thrill ride throughout. Pure entertainment. In my opinion, it is faultless, and Martin Scorsese’s greatest triumph.
Each scene is meticulously crafted. From an infamous tracking shot through a restaurant, to the improvised table scene with Joe Pesci, to the violent murder of Billy Batts – there are countless memorable moments scattered throughout.
The music perfectly entwines with every shot. You will have its tracks stuck in your head for days. Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, and Eric Clapton are just a few of the big artists to provide its score.
The acting is sublime. Joe Pesci won an academy award for his portrayal of psychopathic gangster, Tommy DeVito. Ray Liotta portrays the main character Henry Hill, and it is quite easily his best acting role. Robert De Niro is also on form as Irish associate, Jimmy Conway. And Lorraine Bracco brought an Oscar-nominated performance as Henry’s wife, Karen Hill.
This movie changed my life because it is the only movie I can easily assert as being my favourite. I have watched it dozens of times, and each time I rewatch it, it never fails to entertain. It will never bore me. I will watch it forever. It will be a part of my life until the day I die.
2) I Saw the Devil
A more obscure movie now comes in the form of I Saw the Devil. A South-Korean action-thriller directed by Park Hoon-jung, released in 2010.
Lee Byung-hun plays a NIS agent. A psychopathic serial killer viciously murders his wife. Choi Min-sik is the Korean acting legend who portrays the loathsome murderer. Lee Byung-hun’s character embarks on a violent mission of revenge.
Many people will have witnessed Choi Min-sik in a more widely acclaimed action-thriller named, Oldboy. Whilst I also love Oldboy, the first Korean film I watched was I Saw the Devil.
The movie is overtly violent. In a society often desensitised to violence, this is a movie so brutal, it will leave many viewers squeamish. To me though, it is exactly what I want.
Not to deem myself a lover of violence, but I do enjoy a good violent film. I harbour a slight obsession for crime, murder, and other dark aspects of the world. This movie satisfies those obsessions and then some.
But this isn’t just a violent movie, it is genuinely great. The acting is brilliant. What transpires will transfix you. And you will hope the serial killer gets his comeuppance in the end.
This movie changed my life because it introduced me to South-Korean cinema. Since I watched it, I have devoured countless more of their movies, and in my opinion, they are the best foreign-language movies in the world.
They offer some of the best stories in recent cinema. Their thrillers are second to none. I Saw the Devil was my favourite Korean movie for many years. Then, a little movie named, Parasite, was released, and it achieved global notoriety.
I was a huge fan of Korean cinema before Parasite garnered it the worldwide praise it so desperately deserved. Now, many others have indulged in its glory, and finally, the world has taken notice of the Koreans.
Even though Parasite eclipsed it, I Saw the Devil is still one of my favourite movies. I cannot thank it enough for introducing me to a whole new culture of cinema.
For anybody who hasn’t watched a Korean movie, please, try one, and you won’t be disappointed.
3) The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger. The Joker. If I used just those four words to describe how this movie changed my life, mostly everybody reading would understand.
The Dark Knight is the second instalment in a Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan. Whilst the other two entries in the trilogy are also fantastic, they don’t come close to reaching The Dark Knight.
It is the pinnacle of superhero movies. Mostly because of Heath Ledger. His rendition of the Joker will go down in history as one of the most daring, yet phenomenal acting performances ever filmed.
He encapsulates the role so sublimely that you struggle to recognise the man beneath the makeup. He was a method actor who sadly died of an accidental overdose six months before the movie was released.
Some people believe it was this role that played a part towards his death. The insanity he embodied never quite left him. He immersed himself in the Joker’s madness, locked himself in a hotel room for months, practiced his laugh, and kept a diary written from the viewpoint of the character.
Despite these rumours, his dedication to the role resulted in the finest acting performance I have ever seen. Because of Ledger (and the movie as a whole), the superhero genre was finally taken seriously, and not just as a stimulus for nerds.
The battle between Christian Bale’s, Batman, and Heath Ledger’s, Joker, is exhilarating throughout the movie’s two-and-a-half-hour run time.
It changed my life because of Heath Ledger. It proved to me just how reality-escaping movies can be. If an actor can so effortlessly shed their own skin and become somebody entirely different, then we are truly existing in a time of wonder.
4) The Lion King/Tarzan
The media we consume as children shapes us into the adults we are today. If, from a young age, we are shown horror movies or play violent videogames, we become desensitised to that violence and gore.
This isn’t to say every child exposed to such content will become a psychopathic murderer, but they are more prone to relish that blood and guts rather than fear it.
So then, it is often the choice for most parents to avert their children from this controversy and let them watch Disney movies instead.
Ah, Disney movies. Beacons of hope for many children. Fun, musical-styled numbers, with colourful characters and uplifting stories. Every child has watched at least one. Nevertheless, of late, Disney movies have failed to reach the heights of their entries from when I was a kid.
Between 1989 and 1999, Disney underwent its renaissance era. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Mulan were all noteworthy entries during those ten years.
But in my opinion, it was The Lion King and Tarzan which were the best movies of that renaissance. They were so excellent; I cannot pick between either.
The Lion King, released first in 1994 (the same year I was born), tells the story of a lion cub named, Simba. He is the son of the King and Queen of a pride who rule over the African Pride Lands. Mufasa is his father’s name. Scar is Mufasa’s jealous younger brother. Potentially, he is the greatest villain Disney ever wrote.
Not to spoil the movie for anybody who hasn’t seen it, but one scene in particular ruined my childhood, and it still hurts whenever I witness it today.
Tarzan came five years later in 1999. The film is about a human boy, Tarzan. A band of African gorillas raise him after a leopard named, Sabor, murders his parents. As an adult, he encounters researchers in the jungle, and struggles between his life as a gorilla, or becoming what he really is – a human.
To me, it has the greatest Disney soundtrack ever created. Possibly the greatest movie soundtrack of all time. Phil Collins provided all the songs for the movie, and they are so catchy, with every repeat viewing, you will sing along to them as though you are performing at Wembley.
Both these movies changed my life because they enabled a lifelong passion for the medium. In my opinion, they are the greatest children’s movies ever made.
The Lion King is the superior of the two in overall quality, but Tarzan is most easy to rewatch because of its soundtrack.
They will have you shedding genuine tears even as an adult. They will raise your spirits, shatter them into pieces, then raise them again. For anybody who says Disney movies are just lighthearted fun, watch either of these movies and that notion will be destroyed.
I am not ashamed to say I often rewatch both. They provide nostalgia of better times, when I was a child and had no worries or responsibility. When life was easier, and everything was magical.
To be taken back to childhood is a beautiful thing. And not many movies are able to do that.
5) Gone Girl
Finally, we have Gone Girl. Another possibility for one of my favourite movies of all time. Years after watching it in the cinema, I loved it so much, I went and read the book.
Gone Girl, released in 2014 – two years after the publication of the novel – is about a man, Nick Dunne. One day, his wife, Amy, mysteriously disappears on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary.
From the offset, Nick is the prime suspect in her disappearance. What ensues though, is a tale filled with twists and turns that – if you enter the movie without any preconceptions – will have you gasping and lingering on the edge of your seat.
David Fincher directs the film, and shows us why he is an expert in the genre of psychological thrillers. Ben Affleck plays Nick, in one of his best roles as the sleazebag husband. Rosamund Pike portrays Amy. For her masterful performance she received various acting nominations.
This movie changed my life because when I saw it in the cinema, aside from the short synopsis I just offered, I had no idea what lied ahead. Each twist riveted me. No other movie I have seen in the cinema before or since has kept me in a constant state of awe.
To understand what I mean, you will just have to witness it yourself. Please, don’t read anything more about it. This isn’t a movie you want to spoil. You want to enter its narrative naively.
Unfortunately, the impact it had upon that first viewing isn’t something I can ever achieve again. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth rewatching. I have in fact seen it around ten times. And despite knowing what lurks around the corner, I still adore it; it still manages to impress.
2 responses to “Top 5 Movies That Changed My Life”
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This is a great list of movies; Gone Girl is one of my favourites as well, that’s David Fincher at his best with the psychological twists and turns.