Films that stunned you

[Icy Gull]

and left you either mega depressed or elated as you left the cinema or with other really strong emotions.

I reckon the Deer Hunter has to be up there as one of the most brilliant and depressing films. Probably the 1st war film I'd seen that didn't have a predictable ending.

One flew over the cuckoos nests left me feeling really angry.

 

[Woodchip]

2girls1cup left me feeling violated. Does that count?

 

[Nibble]

One flew over cuckoos nest was great

Fight Club was stunning first time I saw it

 

[Easy 10]

My eyes were out on stalks when I first saw Jurassic Park. That was the biggest leap forward in special effects since Star Wars, I reckons.

 

[Lokki 7]

I had the misfortune of watching Oceans 13 last week. I was left stunned that anyone thought that it could be considered entertainment for a human being. It sums up just about everything that is shit in Hollywood. It is a flashy, soulless money making vehicle and nothing else. Spawn of the devil.

 

[fatfingers]

Man bites dog, stunned me at the rape and subsequent cutting out of the baby of a pregnant woman.
Never thought you would see something like that on film

 

[Stinkers Bridge]

Everytime I watch The Little Mermaid I am stunned by Princess Ariel's beauty.

"Up where they walk, up where they run
Up where they stay all day in the sun
Wanderin' free - wish I could be
Part of that world"

Brilliant.

 

[Trufflehound]

Requiem for a Dream

 

[Deano's Right Foot]

Good call on Star Wars Easy. I went to see that film at the Odeon Leicester Square when it first came out and it was an amazing experience (having seen most films at the Crawley flea-pit before helped probably!) The huge spaceship coming over the top of you and going on for ever in the first minutes set the tone - the seminal special effects and a good "fairy tale" plot made it a classic.

I am also drawn to films that portray madness / mental problems and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and The Fisher King were both stunning (the latter DESPITE having Robin Wiliams in), but my most stunning film experience was probably The Piano - a very powerful film with some incredible performances - it was hard to talk after coming out of the film.

 

[Trufflehound]

Oh, and Der Untergang...

 

[sonicyouth]

Everytime I watch The Little Mermaid I am stunned by Princess Ariel's beauty.

"Up where they walk, up where they run
Up where they stay all day in the sun
Wanderin' free - wish I could be
Part of that world"

Brilliant.

i never saw the little mermaid from start to finish. it terrified me as a child so my mum never let me watch it again... i think it was the talking lobster that did it.

good call on der untergang - it's incredibly powerful in the manner in which you feel a strange sense of sympathy for hitler. quite remarkable.

i don't think there's anything as powerfully disturbing and shocking as irreversible though

 

[NMH]

Ratatouille - found myself practically cheering for the rat. I despise rats. Disney are brilliant.

OFOTCN - Nurse Ratchet probably runs a charity shop now. What a hateful cow, never hated a woman so much in my life.

Outlaw Josey Wales - Clint Eastwood aroused the full spectrum of emotions, the ultimate tough western hero.

Lady and The Tramp - Disney again, and man's best friend this time.

Elephant Man - not an animal, human and raw. RIP John Merrick

Aliens - the 1st one. Edge of seat all the way.

LOTR - each part too long to encapsulate any one emotion at the ends, but as a whole giant oeuvre - Jackson cracked it. That's fulfilling in itself, because there was a book that was OF the readers imagination. For him to even come close was incredible. My neighbour worked on it, so I got several 'bits' that only insiders managed to get, normally. Immense production that could have failed in less capable hands. All I want of The Hobbitt, is consistency of quality, and nothing flashy or overdone - as it won't work with the completed sequels that are Lord Of The Rings.

 

[rool]

I remember watching 'It's a wonderful life' on my own at home at a particularly desperate time for me. It's not something I would have given time for before and my kids won't even consider watching it but it had a huge effect on me at that time.

 

[Pevenseagull]

For the second time this week (after great openings) I going with Blade Runner

saw it at the cinema when 13 yrs old and was indeed totally stunned

 

[NMH]

I had the misfortune of watching Oceans 13 last week. I was left stunned that anyone thought that it could be considered entertainment for a human being. It sums up just about everything that is shit in Hollywood. It is a flashy, soulless money making vehicle and nothing else. Spawn of the devil.

Too often, that's the Hollywood result. I only ever required my money back on one film, that I can think of - and that was 'Armegeddon'. I'm selective about what I pay to see, and a girlfriend insisted on seeing it so I relented. Once she realized my objection had been well founded, it became "well we've paid now, so we have to see it through I suppose". I was more than happy to show her that you can request and require full money back, if you hate a film, as long as you don't just sit through all, or most of it. It's like going to a night-club that's crap, people often waste more of their lifetime by staying in a shit one, just because it cost them to get in.

 

[Nibble]

I remember seeing Temple of Doom and Return of the Jedi at the Cinema for the first time and being a young lad I was blown away by them. Used to pretend to be Indiana Jones for ages!

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Big Budget

Zulu
Schindlers List
Star Wars
Jaws
Blues Brothers
Aliens
The Thing (John Carpenter)

Low Budget.

Trainspotting
28 Days Later
Control
American History X
Quadrophenia

 

[Publius Ovidius]

First time I saw Tora Tora Tora at the Cinema by the Steine, Gloucester (?) anyoldhow it had that surround sound/shaking effects in the cinema and when the nasty nips dropped the first bomb, the whole cinema shook and I thought the place would fall down.

 

[Nibble]

Oh, more recently I was queing up to see Charlies Angels with a girlfriend and before we got to the ticket desk I said I just can't watch it. we got tickets to a much better film and both absaloutely loved it. Thought it was one of the best bits of film making and acting for a long time. That film was Chopper.

 

[NMH]

Additions;

Somewhere in Time - Chris Reeves (rip), and an excellent film

Out Of Africa - Great cinema.

Papillon - Two great actors, great story. great.

Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid - ditto, lots of machismo and bravado.