If you are visiting my blog regularly I’m almost sure you love movies as much (or even more) as I do. Of course the love for movies is something you weren’t born with, it must have grown and have started somewhere. So this week the Monday Question is: What was the first movie you saw in the cinema and what impression did it leave on you?
The first movie I can remember seeing was De Boezemvriend starring André van Duin, who was one of the most popular comedians at the time. It was 1982 and I was 7 years old and I went to see it together with my parents. The cinema I went to no longer exists (it now is a small casino), but I vividly remember the entrance which had lots of lights and on the sides all the posters. I don’t remember too much of the movie itself, but it was my first experience seeing a movie on such a big screen. Through the years I started watching more of them and ever since I started blogging I watch more movies than I ever did.
What was your first moviegoing experience?
Oh jeez, this is a tough one. I have a vague recollection of seeing TOY STORY when I was eight, I think. And I certainly can’t remember anything earlier than that.
It’s difficult to remember isn’t it! Toy Story is a good one to have begun with 🙂
HAHAH Mine was Junglebook, I was about 5 I think, I cried the whole way through and had to be exited from the theatre
So your first experience wasn’t a really pleasant one. Luckily you stuck with it 😉
I think my first movie memory was Babes in Toyland. After I saw the movie my parents got me the soundtrack, a record in those days. I would play it over and over and over and over…
Never heard of that movie before. Just checked on IMDB and it’s something which was never popular over here. I can imagine listening to something a lot, everyone had their music/shows they couldn’t get enough of.
I’d like to be able to say The Empire Strikes Back, but I have a feeling that it was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; and I seem to remember hiding behind the cinema seat when the Wicked Queen appeared!
I assume it was a rerelease of that movie? Or are you actually the oldest Myfilmviews fan? 😉
How old were you at the time?
Ha, no not that old! It would have been very early 80s, I would probably have been 5 or 6 I guess. I did a quick IMDB search before I posted my comment, and really had no idea which release it would have been.
I wouldn’t have minded at all 😉 It’s cool though that you remember it, The Wicked Queen did leave a lasting impression back then. Used to watch a lot of cartoons back then and always loved the shops where they showed shorts. My parents would just leave me there while they went shopping. Couldn’t imagine doing something like this now…
I just remember it was a Dustin Hoffman/Robert de Niro film about a conspiracy or something like that! It was a family gathering and I loved it- more so the experience than the movie!
That doesn’t ring a bell, but sounds like a movie not for kids!
A fantastic question. There are a few that I remember from childhood but not one that I can safely say was the first. I think the first film that I can remember seeing at the cinema was the truly magical An American Tail – I’ve decided it must be this as, out of those that I remember, it has the earliest release date (Summer 1987 in the UK). I would have just turned four-years old. I remember being mesmerised by its sense of adventure as well as its mouse-eye view on the world. Of course, being four, I was looking at the world in much the same way as the main character – who is a mouse. Although I didn’t know it then, I loved how film could relate to your own experiences, expanding and educating at the same time. It also showed me how immersive film could be – that I could get lost in these wonderful worlds.
I think it would be a good idea to return to An American Tail – a film I haven’t seen in twenty years – to see just what affect it has had on my viewing habits as I have got older.
I remember when that came out, but never saw it. You definitely should do a rewatch and write up your feelings about it. Would lvoe to read it!
I’m not 100% sure. There are two options that I saw with my parents at the drive-in, but I was pretty young so I’m not definite. The possibilities are The Empire Strikes Back or E.T. I was six years old when ET came out, but only four when Empire came out. I’m guessing that if we saw Empire (which I clearly remember seeing), it was in a re-release in 81 or 82. Either way, these are my clearest early memories of seeing movies. I probably saw something else at the same time, but those movies have disappeared in my memory. Great question! I’m interested to read the other comments.
Wow, some great movies to start you movie watching life! I do remember watching E.T. for the first time as well (probably on TV). It was the first movie I remember crying about.
I honestly can’t remember. I’m sure it was some Hindi movie and since I grew up in the 80s which also happens to be one of the worst decades for Indian films, it must have been something ridiculous.
Memory is a vague thing, so no problem not remembering! Haven’t seen many Indian movies myself (probably less than 10)
You need to get that number up my friend 😉
They are usually such long movies and I’m not a big fan of the musical numbers most of them have.
My first movie in theater was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990. Yea I don’t remember all that much except that my little sister fell asleep in the middle of it ahah.
Hahaha, there have been a couple of movies in the cinema I fell asleep as well. So were you really into the Turtles? I used to watch the cartoons a lot!
Yea nothing as cool as the turtles as a kid 🙂
I’m really not sure… you’d have to ask my mum! It would probably be something along the lines of Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast 😀
What’s her email address? 😉 Both of those are very good movies. I remember being drunk for the first time and watching Aladdin, it was even funnier (it was also the only time I was that drunk and after that I never drank again ;))
Haha, cheeky! 😛
When I was at university we went through a stage of watching Disney films when we’d come back after a night out. It always ended up being quite emotional!
Funny how these little movie rituals come into existence. When I was a teenager one of my friends always would be alone during the summer, so he’d always make the same food and we watched movie all through the night….good old days 😉
Boy, I can’t exactly remember which movie I saw for the first time, it might’ve been Superman: The Movie. Can’t remember the details I must’ve loved it so much as I kept going back to see it, I was only 5 or 6 years old I believe. There was even a picture of me wearing a Superman suit, ahah. So that was the beginning of my love for superhero movies 😀
Would love to see that picture of you with that Superman costume! 🙂 Thanks for your story, brings a smile to my face…
I wish I could find it, it’s probably in one of our family photo albums back in Indonesia. To this day I always have a soft spot for the Man of Steel 🙂
Well, hope you will manage to find it in the future 🙂
Hi, Nostra and company:
First film to make an impression?: ‘The Thing From Another World’. The perfect 1950s ‘Red Scare Sci-Fi’ B-Movie.
Parts of that film still make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Love its sense of claustrophobia, Theramin soundtrack, overlapping dialogue and lighting. Especially when the Thing lit set ablaze with kerosene and a flare pistol. Providing the scene’s only lighting and a stunt that wouldn’t even be attempted today.
I’m still planning to watch the older science fiction movies, really like their feel. I will note this one down as it sounds amazing.
My first experience watching in the cinema was watching ‘Dante’s Peak’, which have multiple disasters. But it didn’t stop me to go watching in the cinema 🙂
How old were you when you watched that?
I think it was my first year on junior high school. so 12-13 years old 🙂
I can’t remember my first cinema visit – maybe The Jungle Book, maybe one of the Herbie films. But the first VHS we owned was The Wizard of Oz and I just fell in love with films when I saw the transformation from black and white Kansas to colourful Oz.
That reminds me that it’s about time to watch Wizard of Oz with the kids, they never saw that!
I remember watching Jungle Book at school, the songs in that are so much fun!
Haha, good question. I’m not sure what my first theater experience was, but it could very well have been Jingle All the Way. I didn’t go to the movies much as a kid, but I do remember seeing that. I even remember liking it then, too. 🙂
Well, I think kids will enjoy almost any movie, I almost never hear them complain about something being bad. Does that say more of them or should we be less critical? 😉
I can’t remember my first, but one of my earliest memorable movie experiences was ‘Jurassic Park’. It was thrilling, scary, and awesome all at the same time. That was classic.
That really is a nice movie to see at the cinema, no surprise that it scared you. Would love to see it on the big screen again.
I think mine was Aladdin when I was 6 or so. I already had my own ideas about what the film was going to look like, so I remember being vaguely disappointed because it was different. Still loved it, though!
It’s funny how you can sometimes already form a whole idea of what a movie is like, only to be disappointed by your own expectations. It’s the reason I try to go in knowing as little as possible.
haha. Okay, I’ll tell you my first film in theaters was Jurassic Park III. (i know, I know) but, while the movie itself wasn’t much to me, the trailer sequence was and spawned my love for movie trailers. The first trailer I saw at this movie was the ORIGINAL trailer for the first Spiderman movie. You know, the one with the two towers?! I was such in awe and amazement as it came as a shocking surprise! BEST experience ever!
I remember renting Jurassic Park III and the DVD I had was scratched a bit (which I didn’t know), so towards the end it was almost impossible to watch it. Don’t think I finished it.
Yeah, the first trailer was very interesting. Nice to hear that it sparked your love for trailers!