2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
I'm pretty sure it was not the first time I saw it, but this film was part of a life's experience that forever changed me and continues to stand as a defining moment in my life. There's a LOT of depth here I won't go into, but here are the high spots. The term "change" in the present tense of the thread title perfectly describes 2001's impact on me.
I was 18 years old and in the hospital with some unknown condition that was trying its best to kill me and wreck my life in the process. I felt isolated, very alone, and not just a little bit scared.
While laying in the hospital bed...at night and unable to sleep...two things happened that made their respective impressions: 2001 came on and I watched it in its entirety, and one of the night-shift nurses sensed my loneliness so she came to sit with me. We didn't talk much, but she did her end-of-shift paperwork in my room and was "just there." It was an incredible, and simple, act of kindness that I have never forgotten.
As for the film, its existentialism was perfect for my mood at the time and I think the film allowed me to see my own life reflected in its themes. The evolution of man depicted meshed with my sense of death - physical jeopardy of my 'condition' on the one hand, but also the metaphorical "death" of my childhood on the other (assuming I survived). In addition, the new dawn of man scene felt like my rebirth into a new life possibly permanently disabled or with complete healing. I was not to know that night which was my fate: to die soon, to live with BIG limits on my existence or to fully recover. 2001 showed me they are all parts of the same larger fate.
I rank this film among my all-time favorites even though I rarely watch it. It continues to have a profound emotional impact on me since I cannot even talk of it without seeing that 18 year old young man, scared and lonely, lying on a hospital bed. I will soon introduce 2001 to my children, and that will usher in a new wave of existential emotions.
This film deeply affected me too at a certain point in time.
Soylent Green comes to mind as well. Both films made me stop and think and appreciate the world a little more, both made me think a little outside the box. I have to also add
The Thing From Another World,
The Day the Earth Stood Still, even
It Came From Outer Space as films that seemed to speak to me. Agree with
The Wizard of Oz taking you back to childhood - it has that affect on me as well. Actually I also feel that way about
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as well. Another film that made me rethink the world so to speak was
On the Waterfront. As a little kid, Bruce Lee was an hero so his films (particularly
Enter the Dragon) stand out for a lot of the philosophy he brought with him.
