Favorite movie that made you think

[txteach]

My favorite movie that made me think and was not just mindless entertainment is "Jacob's Ladder". The movie is fantastic and made me think about mortality, life, consciousness, perceptions of what is real and what is in the mind. A fantastic movie to be sure.

[Cmonster]

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" made me think about traveling the world, learning how to use a bullwhip and having adventures.

SC

[torgospizza]

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" probably. Maybe "Cool Hand Luke." Both are pretty much about maintaining one's individuality in a world that often coerces us to compromise. Which is what I think zombie movies are really about, by the way.

[johnmiic]

When Luke loses his hand at the end of the Empire Strikes Back I thought the film was ruined. I didn't like Luke now because he wasn't perfect anymore. I thought he was finished as a character. Star Wars was not so innocent after that happened. In reality tho I had a friend who was in a wheelchair, who had MD and I saw all the things he could do. He never hid at home or shyed away from getting in trouble. He always wanted to be active and go out so after a while it sort'a sunk in it didn't really matter and they would get past it because my friend has lost so much more and he lived his life.

[The Bat]

Blade Runner! It's about life and death. If you really think about it...who's really the Hero and who's the Villain? Rick Deckard is on a mission to kill the Replicants...and Roy Batty is on a mission to preserve life.

I love Roy Batty's and Deckard's final quotes at the end of the Movie:

Roy Batty~"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those ... moments will be lost in time, like tears...in rain. Time to die."

Rick Deckard~"I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life... anybody's life... my life. All he'd wanted was the same answers the rest of us want. Where do I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do is sit there and watch him die."

[megowgsh]

My favorite movie that made me think and was not just mindless entertainment is "Jacob's Ladder". The movie is fantastic and made me think about mortality, life, consciousness, perceptions of what is real and what is in the mind. A fantastic movie to be sure.

I couldn't agree with you more. One of my all-time faves. Scared the ****** out of me, too.

Also, on my list, would be The Ususal Suspects and the recent Adjustment Bureau.

[MIB41]

I loved the Fisher King. What a great think-piece about the perceptions and shared alienation of those at different tiers in society. You can be destitute or famous and share the same discontent, detachment, and misery in life. A film I recommend to anyone.

[Mikey]

The Final Countdown

It does make one think if you were thrust back in time to a war with a modern aircraft carrier, would you help fight ? ........... and if you decided yes, would you be afraid of the world that might await for you in the future ?

[Brazoo]

There's some great movies that have been listed, some of the ones already said are amongst my favorites.

Ugh - this is a tough question - to pick one film...

Well, for pure genre movies I might say "High Noon". A mind blowing movie about courage, heroism, individualism, the dangers of 'group-think'. I can't think of another genre movie where the hero is both irresistibly drawn to their sense of duty, and yet totally questioning themselves the way Will Kane does. That mix of bravery and vulnerability seems so honest, and surprising - it's really emotionally effective for me.

I loved it and saw it a bunch of times in my teens, before I knew (or understood) anything about the backstory of blacklisted screenwriter Carl Forman and HUAC - which adds a whole new dimension to the film.

John Wayne called the film "the most un-American thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life" and that just adds another layer of complexity. If by "un-American" Wayne meant communist then I don't see that at all. Forman was not even a communist when he wrote this movie, he renounced communism years before.

To me, the underlying message of the film always seemed to be anti-communist. It idealizes individualism and striving for personal morals against all odds. It may be a metaphor for Forman's decision to stand his ground against the HUAC committee and not name names, but it also seems to parallel some of America's most celebrated heroes - including ones played by Wayne.

It's chalk full of other issue too. Issues about youth with Lloyd Bridges character - issues about feminism and religious morals...

Just an incredible film.

[ddgaff1132]

The Name of the Rose. with Sean Connery and Christian Slater. Beyond the title gimmick. The idea that a wealth of information (Secular and non-) could be in the hands of Roman Catholic church. I seen the movie broadcast on HBO later than its theatrical run. At near this time, I had heard/learned of the super secret Papal Library. A boom of conspiracy theory's arose. Over the years. Religious leaders have banned, condemned and destroyed literary works. Was this done to remove certain knowledge from the hands of the common man and secure the power of knowledge to religious organization.
At first though, I wondered what ancient texts would be in a library that pre-dated Alexander the Great and had be accumulated from all around the world.
On another note. The movie "Signs" ammused me in reguards to a conversation I had with a friend. I mentioned that the title was inferring to Gibson's charactors loss of faith and the multiple "clues" given him to combat the upcoming alien invasion.

[jimsmegos]

Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" - I knew very little about Wood pre this film but simply had to learn more about the real guy after the fact. While his story is somewhat sad/ pathetic/ tragic it is still somewhat optimistic. For me the character of Ed Wood is a great example that nothing is impossible however the end result may still not be what you were expecting. And even then don't give give up.

[Type3Toys]

Circle Of Iron. Had alot of the Zen ideas in it and it really made me think. One of my favorite line is..."every moment that passes changes you. So if you never trully posses yourself, how can you hope to posses another?"

[MEGO_SUPERMAN]

Well there are a few for me.....

Jerry McGuire - It is a story about failure, redemption, love, finding out about yourself and what you want in life. Also learned about how to write a Memo...I mean Mission Statement. "It ain't Show Friends, Its Show Business!"

Planet of the Apes (Original) - To me this film stands up as one of the best Sci-Fi films of all time. But beneath that is great social commentary on mankind and man's inhumanity to man. Taught by apes.

2001: A Space Odyssey - A great Sci-Fi film about man, past present and maybe future. A mind bender.

INCEPTION - I put this down because every time I have watched it....maybe 5 times now in parts etc.....it makes me think...to the point it almost makes me blow a head gasket....the levels, the depth of the mind. But the underlying story (Nolan's specialty) is about man and the depths we will go to inside ourselves, denial, redemption and so on. A real mind trip!

[kingdom warrior]

Blade Runner! It's about life and death. If you really think about it...who's really the Hero and who's the Villain? Rick Deckard is on a mission to kill the Replicants...and Roy Batty is on a mission to preserve life.

I love Roy Batty's and Deckard's final quotes at the end of the Movie:

Roy Batty~"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those ... moments will be lost in time, like tears...in rain. Time to die."

Rick Deckard~"I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life... anybody's life... my life. All he'd wanted was the same answers the rest of us want. Where do I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do is sit there and watch him die."

Yup, that movie really affected me when I saw it and Deckards words stayed with me for years......

[Hector]

I'd say Superman...an all powerful being who could easily take over Earth and rule without opposition...but decides instead...to basically serve mankind...that's as heroic as you can get...that's why I love Supes.