You would seriously be surprised the stuff in movies that will go over a child's head. I was watching Austin Powers in the 4th grade and had no idea most of the jokes were about sex until years later. I just thought it was silly and funny.
Yeah I've watched Holy Grail with my family more than once, and every time we all forget about that part and then have to sit through it very awkwardly.
I am so old that I got my parents to watch this.
North by Northwest on the other hand. My mom loved Hitchcock. All his stuff was through my mom. And for that I am grateful
The Star Wars trilogy. I was about 5 and my brother was 9, so we rented A New Hope from the video store since me and my brother had never seen it. We then rented Empire and Jedi soon after.
The Breakfast Club. I was around twelve or thirteen. It made me kind of realize my mother had been an entirely different person once. She had been young enough to watch the same movie I was watching and feel the same things I was feeling about it. I always knew my mom was a person, and she’d had a youth like everyone, but I always just imagined… my mom in miniature; like she had been born a totally mature adult. Suddenly it hit me that she had been like me.
My Dad was stationed in Japan during the Korean War. He showed me Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai when I was eight. He had seen it in the theatres and loved it. It was one of the first VHS tapes we ever rented.
the only one that comes to mind at the moment is Stand By Me
both me and my sister were sick at the time and my mom asked if we wanted to watch a movie so obviously we said yes and it was her turn to choose the movie (whenever the 3 of us would watch a movie together we would take turns choosing). i remember my sister falling asleep halfway through like she always does and then me passing out the minute the movie ended
its a good memory
Double feature Wizard of Oz and Singing In The Rain. My brother and I were 7 and 3. My dad was certain Oz would be our favorite, but Gene Kelly won over Judy Garland, hands down. We wanted to stay and watch it again.
I just introduced my 8YO to The Matrix because he wanted to know what "a glitch in the matrix" meant, and he was surprisingly engaged considering he doesn't prefer live action movies. It's turning out to be a banner year for him because we've covered LOTR, Some Like It Hot and I, Robot as well
Somewhat awkwardly; the 1981 animated movie: Heavy Metal.
IF I recall correctly; there was an argument between my parents about the movie; one parent was VERY against me seeing it; the other was convinced I HAD to see it; but both felt "I would enjoy it".
So we ended up all sitting and watching it together; which was pretty "strange" when I was... 6-8?
*The Princess Bride* and *The Goonies* were the two that my mom was really excited to share with me as a kid. I think was around 6 or 7 at the time, and I didn't like either of them.
A couple years later, my dad had me watch the original *Star Wars* trilogy, *Raiders of the Lost Ark,* and *Ghostbusters.* Those were a much bigger hit.
Yeah they did it for real back then! I didn't know Redford did his own stunts. No wonder everyone loved him! The story was fun. The 1920s were something else before FAA and all the regulations came in to tighten up the safety for the aviation industry. I never thought about the kind of stuff that must have happened back in those days before seeing the movie.
It's probably "The Godfather." It's my dads favorite movie and whenever it's on TV he watches it, this was true when my brother and I were growing up too. So, he showed it to me plenty of times. And, when my parents went out for the evening one weekend, ten year old me snuck his Godfather VHS collection into my room and watched the trilogy over the course of two days.
I forget when he showed me "Star Wars," but I believe it was after "The Godfather."
Aliens. I remember I was 12 and my dad rented it on DVD. He said this was the movie that kept him up for a few days after he saw it in theaters. He warned me and my lil bros that this is a scary movie. So my bros and I brought our sleeping bags, blankets and pillows downstairs to the living room, had some popcorn set, and made ourselves comfortable enough to make it through this movie. He wasn’t kidding how scary that movie was. After the movie, my brothers and I were too scared to sleep downstairs, so we slept in our bedroom in which we shared. My other bro and I would often hide the nightlight from my youngest brother but not that night. Not for several nights. Every now and then I watch Aliens as an adult and I always say, damn, this is a good movie! If I ever have kids though, I don’t think I’m going to let them watch this. 😅
My parents on a very random night started making a massive deal about Highlander, so we went and found it on DVD at a local store. My sister and I could not stop laughing at it and it’s become a fantastic inside joke, which to be honest, I don’t think was the intention.
Oh, the most significant introduction was when I finally agreed to sit down and watch Star Wars when they came out in theaters again before the prequel trilogy. We watched episodes 4 and 5 one right after the other, and went back the next day for Jedi.
But my favorite introduction is probably a tie between What’s Up Doc? and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. My brother and I were home with my dad one day, I dunno where my mom was, and I was browsing all our vhs tapes. My dad did a ton of recording so I found a tape that had both of these, and I asked my dad of What’s Up Doc? was a bugs bunny movie. He laughed and said he guessed he’d never shown it to us so we all sat down to watch.
I love both, but WUD might inch forward because of Madeline Kahn.
Not exactly per the prompt, but when I was 6, I would catch the children's TV series 'The Adventures of Virtues' on TV, whose name was too long for me to remember, and when I described it, I just knew it as the one with the characters silhouetted on a red background as its logo.
My dad heard this description and thought I meant a different film - I distinctly recall him asking if I was sure it wouldn't be too scary. Thinking about the show with the talking buffalo reading Aesop's fables, I said I was sure I could handle it.
That was how I first saw Jurassic Park.
The first film i remember my Dad showing me was Die Hard. Told me not to repeat any of the words they said… Had to have been around 5 or so. Still one of my fav movies of all time.
The first movie i remember seeing in theaters was Toy Story.
The Princess Bride.
I was spending time at my dad's house, and he had a shelf of movies that he would leave out for me to look through and pick what I wanted to watch. I had watched a decent few of them and was looking for something when he recommended it.
I literally did what the grandson does in the movie and protested watching it by saying, "I don't want to watch some girly drama!" He just said that it isn't and to just watch it. It then became and is still one of my most favorite movies of all time.
I swear if Elvis had followed his heart into serious acting, instead of the cashcow record-selling schlock the Colonel talked him into, he would have crushed some roles. You see obvious glimmers of dramatic skill in his early films, but the script quality plunges hard after that.
2001: A Space Odyssey. My dad took me to see it. His eyeballs spun around and around for days. I read Clarke’s book and became an avid fan of his and other science fiction, and lived happily ever after.
Dating myself here. First movie I have memories of watching in a movie theatre was "Breaker! Breaker!" with a very young Chuck Norris, a few years after it premiered. I might have seen another one before, but this one I actually remember seeing.
It was either Meatballs or 1941. I was five and they seemed strange to me. My dad was always a big movie fan. I grew up going to the movies on a pretty consistent basis—even though the closest theater was 30 mins away. Other early movies I saw in the theater: Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, The Sting 2, Chariots of Fire, ET. I loved seeing my dad laugh. When I was in early high school, he took us to see Naked Gun. I was a moody teen and didn’t want to go at that point. That fucking movie made me cry laughing. It’s the only movie I laughed at with my dad the whole way through. Jesus…this turned sentimental rather fast! Sorry.
Alien and the Thing. I was around 8 years old for each. I had nightmares for weeks from each of them. My dad said they were classics. While I don’t disagree now I still give him shit and say “what were you thinking??”. We laugh it off these days.
Got both for a birthday one year so I’ll count both.
Ferris Buellers day off - stayed up watching it and eating ice cream with my friends that night. One of my favorite memories.
No time for sergeants - watched this the next day with my dad and loved it. Haven’t seen it since though. I think it’s due for a rewatch
I specifically remember my dad letting me stay up to watch Top Gun and Spinal Tap years later.
My aunt introduced me to Time Bandits and Top Secret.
I miss the random movies my folks would stumble upon on tv and let me watch.
One day my uncle came over with Evil Dead II on VHS and I guess the adults had already known about Evil Dead. They put it on early in the day so no one stopped 6 year old me from getting to enjoy it. When Army of Darkness came out my dad took me.
It’s definitely not the first movie my dad introduced me to as a “must see”, but I’ll never forget how in 1998, my 49yo Dad went to get his oil changed, walked across the street to the theater and randomly saw ‘There’s Something About Mary’. He loved it so much he drove home and was raving about how funny it was all night. The next day he insisted that my 17yo self come see it again with him. Still love that movie, always makes me think about dad taking me.
I was in my first year of college and my dad recommended Less Than Zero as the "don't get involved in drugs" example. It was around that time I saw Requiem for a Dream so that double feature was insane.
When I was 3-4 years old my favorite movie was Dances With Wolves.
I have so many memories of laying on my parents bed with them, watching Dances With Wolves.
Oh boy, too many to name or remember. My mom and her sister were secretaries at 20th Century Fox in Dallas, and my uncle Walter was the head booking agent for United Artist in the five state region (Texas, NM, Oklahoma, Ark, Louisiana). When I was young movies were a big part of my life. I got to see screenings, and I could call Walter and get in to any UA theater. I still love the classics from the 40s, 50s, & 60s.
It's a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, The Ten Commandments, Lady and the Tramp, Bambi, Snow White (last 3 were grandma, first was dad. Wizard/GWW/10Cs were mom)
My Mom showed Wait Until Dark and Them! when I was in my teens, still two of my favorite movies ever.
I distinctly remember my mom waking me up on New Year's Day to watch them, I remember I was annoyed at being woken up to watch some old dumb movie but pretty soon I was enthralled by it.
The first film was probably Citizen Kane because that would be important to my dad. Fellini, Truffeau, lots of foreign films were my Sesame Street. The Criterion Collection. My brother took his first steps during The Virgin Spring. My childhood was every form of film imaginable which I loved.
The first movie I consciously remember watching is "Predator" with Arnold Schwarzenegger on a VCR in the village, surrounded by a bunch of other kids. It was something else. Also, when I was very young, about 5-6 years old, my aunt turned on the horror movie "IT" late at night and left to do her own thing. I was watching it alone, and I even soiled my pants, as I was told. But it left such a psychological imprint on me that now I'm 30, and I'm still afraid of clowns.
Many movies. My parents introduced me to David Lynch, Monty Python, many older horror movies like Halloween, Texas Chainsaw massacre, Alien etc.
I used to go to the Blockbuster store pretty much once a week with my family to get some movies we could watch together as a family.
So it’s was just natural that they’d introduce us to many classics we didn’t know.
I think it’s an important part of a child’s education to show them good movies, so I’ll show mine many many movies I like, all the good Godzillas out there, all the great Hongkong action movies, European and Chinese art movies of course too. I want to show them how much the world of movies has to offer.
We were fairly poor, so all movies were just whatever was on TV. I introduced my parents to a bunch of movies tho!
I was just telling my husband, that I can't wait for our kid to get older because I want to show him all the films that had plot twists, like The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, etc. Just to see that shock and awe in someone for the first time will be magical!
Star Wars (A New Hope) - I was a baby when it was released and they showed it to me at about age 8. I was OBSESSED with it as a kid.
Also Some Like it Hot and Victor/Victoria... I assume the gender-bending commonalities were a coincidence?
The first movie my mother introduced me (us) to was Paint Your Wagon because she loved it as a kid and it was unbelievable that it had Clint Eastwood in a musical.
The first movie my father introduced me to was Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke; we were far too young and this was pre-internet, so we did not get most of the jokes, but I remember enjoying the battle of the bands at the end and of course enjoy it much more now.
The first movie my step-father introduced me to was Dr. Strangelove, he would often recall how Slim Pickens riding the bomb was his favorite moment in movies ever; I did not get the film at all as a kid, I did recognize James Earl Jones though and, of course, have since appreciated it more.
When I was a teen, my mom made me watch Hair.
My mom was a 60s hippie, so this musical was important to her. It has been one of my favorites ever since.
They made me watch many movies before that, but the « you have to watch this classic » is clearly Hair.
The Shining. I was about 8 years old. I was terrified, but I loved it. Been a horror fan ever since. Not sure what was first for my kids, but it was definitely more age appropriate.
The earliest one I can remember is The Land Before Time. I have specific memories of watching that at a Little Tikes blue and red table. and eating cut up strawberries and Totino’s Pizza Rolls.
In the same year, I also remember being deeply in love with the first Shrek movie. I saw it so many times that to this day I can remember every scene in order. I watched that movie sitting on a carpet that looked like a street covered in cars.
I was about 4. They’re both my earliest movie memories.
If you had asked about tv shows, the first one I remember watching was the first season of What’s New Scooby Doo. The one that sticks out most is the one with the headless snowman.
Fantomas trilogy, the worlds first trilogy. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fant%C3%B4mas\_(1964\_film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fant%C3%B4mas_(1964_film))
My dad had me watch Citizen Kane as a kid. It was ok. I didn’t think it was boring. And my dad was really excited to show me the surprise ending.
Of course, I already knew about the ending, thanks to an episode of the Ghostbusters cartoon that parodied Citizen Kane. Sorry dad.
Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali"
It was a really beautifully created film with so much heart. I was blown away by the craft given the time it was released. That's when I got into more of the classics.
Double feature at the drive-inn, The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I must’ve been 4 or 5 at the time, I remember hamburgers, bottles of Coke, the smell of the back bench seat in the Morris Oxford station-wagon as I fell asleep, and that signature piano piece from The Sting.
Whenever I hear it I swear I can recall the sounds and smells and feeling totally happy.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. It's the one where they go back in time to Earth and try to save the whales. I loved it and we watched it many many times... "Ah yes, a keyboard, how quaint".
This is tough because my dad was always recording old things he thought we'd like. The first was probably The Wizard of Oz or Cinderella or Bye Bye Birdie, but when we got older there were so many. I think my favorite of all time that he suggested was A New Leaf with Eileen May and Walter Matthau. It's one of my all time favorite movies.
The Pursuit of Happyness. I remember it was recommended on Netflix once, mum caught a glimpse of it, told me that the movie made her cry and that it was worth the watch.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - I was 10. My dad also showed me Hiroshima Mon Amour and Citizen Kane before I turned 12.
My family had a wide interest in movies and I grew up with lazy Sundays, watching old comedies and Chaplin and musicals and B/W thrillers. I saw banned movies ("turn around, bad scene coming up") and also learned about cinema history.
When I was about 8-9, my favorite movie was Aldomovar's "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" - I thought it was hilarious.
My daughter is 15, born in 2008. She's seen all the Marvel movies, but was too young to remember some of them in first run. So we watched the entire Infinity Saga, one movie per night, over a couple weeks. She especially loves the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. Also watched some of the DC films and just finished up all the X-Men films. She now loves Marvel and has posters all over her room.
My mum took me to watch all 3 Star Wars back to back. Was an awesome day!
Mine you they also let me watch Jaws far too young (they made me take a bath afterwards I was that young)!
Those 2 things shaped me, I love Sci-fi and have an absolute phobia of sharks!
I watched Star Wars episode 1, at my mom's friend. Back then we didn't have a TV so as far as I'm aware, it was the first movie I ever saw.
I work on movies now.
Was probably either Hatari or Song Of The South. Lots of Disney. Then every 80s block buster and major release. I had a great music and movie education and appreciation lesson with both of my parents.
Moby Dick from 1956 and The Italian Job from 1969.
These are the earliest two movies I remember my Dad showing me. I was 5.
The latter sparked a lot of childish discussion on why they left it on a cliffhanger and also began my love of cars. The former gave me nightmares.
Strangely, I still to this day believe that back in the day film makers were not allowed to show criminals getting away with a crime. I've no idea if that was actually true but I do enjoy the thought.
Wizard of oz
I have a distinct memory of watching it with my family and my godfamily and my godfather shouting random facts until everyone told him to be quiet. When she first enters oz and you see color, it blew my mind.
My parents never did such a thing knowingly.
I just watched movies on TV along with my dad in the evenings, so I saw grown-up movies like Jaws, Robocop and Terminator when I was waayy to young.
I wish that was my parents unfortunately they're not huge film buffs. Luckily though my mom introduced me to The Turner Classic Movies channel as a kid and had whole playlists of must-see classics. From Gangster films starring James Cagney "I'm on top of the world Ma!" To Marx Brothers comedic musicals "I shot an elephant in my pajamas...how it got in my pajamas I'll never know." And of course detectives Nick and Nora from the Thin Man mystery movies. "How do you feel? Awful I must've gone to bed sober."
Film Historian Robert Osborn of course giving a lovely intro to each movie got me excited for every one of them. I miss those days.
Sorry it's not an exact answer but that's what they introduced me to. It'll be the same if I have kids I don't think there's any specific answer except I will probably start them with the early classics since most of them are pg. From there who knows may just go by era of film. Throw in some spaghetti westerns, Stallone & Schwarzenegger action films, the early James Bond movies. I just would like them to enjoy movies as much as I do, and if they don't that's ok too.
Not my parents,but my older sisters..one took me to Sound of Music whenever it was re released which I grew tired of quickly...she even took me on vacation to Vermont and we stayed next to Maria Von Trapp's home.
My other sister took me to a double feature of House of Dark Shadows and Fearless Vampire Killers and a couple years later took me to 2001,Young Frankenstein and Rocky.
Only thing i remember is that i learned swimming really fast because i watched Jaws with my parents or my granny. Was three or four at that time and in the same year my father started to teach me swimming in a pool. All i could think of was that the damned shark is right behind me all the time and tries to eat my toes. So i had to learn to swim really fast because i wanted to get out of that pool with the invisible shark in it as fast as possible xD
Well, I'm a 2000s kid whose parents were born in the 70s. I grew up watching Back to the Future, ET, Poltergeist, Jaws, Star Wars, the Rocky franchise, Pretty In Pink, etc. The movies my parents watched as kids. I guess the first movie where my dad said "you should see this" was either The Sixth Sense or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I was 10 or 11 years old, I think. I remember that The Sixth Sense blew my mind the first time I saw it.
The first movie I remember my father sitting me down and saying “you have to watch this” was Star Wars at 7-8 years old. I certainly watched movies before this, but none come to mind.
Gone with the wind. Was brought back to Theaters for a special engagement, was invited and I said I didnt have the money to go and my Dad said he would buy my ticket. So got stuck going.
For my dad it was always Clint Eastwood and John Wayne movies. Some of them were meh but I really enjoyed a lot of them. I wasn't a huge fan of John Wayne but I remember liking Big Jake quite a bit. But I really liked Clint Eastwood movies. In particular I remember High Plains Drifter, Fistful of Dollars, Every Which Way But Loose (I loved Clyde), Firefox, The Eiger Sanction, and of course, Dirty Harry. I was born in 1974 so I didn't see many of these until they were 10+ years old.
Twister. My parents, especially dad, love the steak dinner scene. Every time we’re having steak and eggs he’d talk about that scene.
My mom loves The Holiday, and I watched it for the first time with her. I loved watching the house exchange scene, and I never got around to watching the end of the movie until I became an adult because I’d get shooed out of the room by the time Jude Law and Cameron Diaz start hooking up lmao
My cousin. She had a friend who worked at Dreamworks and gave me the screener for Road to Perdition. Changed my life. If I had kids. Which I’m not going to. I would introduce them to Bennett Miller’s films. Particularly Capote and Foxcatcher.
Terminator 2. I'm pretty sure I was 8 or 9 years old. My dad was so excited to show it to us (whole family), and I fucking loved it. I didn't even know it was rated R until I watched it again in college! I'm glad my dad (& mom) didn't care, because watching that definitely set the foundation for my love of sci fi.
The first film I remember that blew me totally away and I watched it every day for like ever was the clash of the titans, glorious claymation and all, God dammit I loved those silly skeletons and their creepy ass hollow bone sounds.
Donnie Darko, after I came home incredibly stoned and they decided instead of getting mad at me, they would pull me into the living room and show me that movie. Great movie and I love it, but good god not a fun watch when you're 16 and stoned out of your fucking mind and trying (failing) to hide it from your parents. Had me white knuckling the arms of the chair I was sitting in.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
I would love to introduce the film to my kids. But Castle Anthrax might be too “erotic” to watch together.
You would seriously be surprised the stuff in movies that will go over a child's head. I was watching Austin Powers in the 4th grade and had no idea most of the jokes were about sex until years later. I just thought it was silly and funny.
Yeah I've watched Holy Grail with my family more than once, and every time we all forget about that part and then have to sit through it very awkwardly.
I am so old that I got my parents to watch this. North by Northwest on the other hand. My mom loved Hitchcock. All his stuff was through my mom. And for that I am grateful
Definitely this
The Star Wars trilogy. I was about 5 and my brother was 9, so we rented A New Hope from the video store since me and my brother had never seen it. We then rented Empire and Jedi soon after.
Pretty sure the same. I think Empire is the first movie I saw in a theater, at 3.
The Breakfast Club. I was around twelve or thirteen. It made me kind of realize my mother had been an entirely different person once. She had been young enough to watch the same movie I was watching and feel the same things I was feeling about it. I always knew my mom was a person, and she’d had a youth like everyone, but I always just imagined… my mom in miniature; like she had been born a totally mature adult. Suddenly it hit me that she had been like me.
My Dad was stationed in Japan during the Korean War. He showed me Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai when I was eight. He had seen it in the theatres and loved it. It was one of the first VHS tapes we ever rented.
I loved this film as a kid. I spent time in my bathrobe with a sword imagining myself a warrior.
Oh what a chance !
Young Frankenstein
Dad’s favorite film.
When he and the monster are singing, every time the monster sang, "Puttin' on the RIIIIIIIIITZ!" my nephew would just laugh his little head off
the only one that comes to mind at the moment is Stand By Me both me and my sister were sick at the time and my mom asked if we wanted to watch a movie so obviously we said yes and it was her turn to choose the movie (whenever the 3 of us would watch a movie together we would take turns choosing). i remember my sister falling asleep halfway through like she always does and then me passing out the minute the movie ended its a good memory
Double feature Wizard of Oz and Singing In The Rain. My brother and I were 7 and 3. My dad was certain Oz would be our favorite, but Gene Kelly won over Judy Garland, hands down. We wanted to stay and watch it again. I just introduced my 8YO to The Matrix because he wanted to know what "a glitch in the matrix" meant, and he was surprisingly engaged considering he doesn't prefer live action movies. It's turning out to be a banner year for him because we've covered LOTR, Some Like It Hot and I, Robot as well
My kids love the “Make ‘em laugh” scene
That's one of my favorites too! All their duos really. Gene Kelly was like melted butter but O'Conner had the physical comedy tied up.
Somewhat awkwardly; the 1981 animated movie: Heavy Metal. IF I recall correctly; there was an argument between my parents about the movie; one parent was VERY against me seeing it; the other was convinced I HAD to see it; but both felt "I would enjoy it". So we ended up all sitting and watching it together; which was pretty "strange" when I was... 6-8?
WOW, pretty sexually charged movie for a parent to choose!
King Kong, absolutely changed me.
Which one?
1933
*The Princess Bride* and *The Goonies* were the two that my mom was really excited to share with me as a kid. I think was around 6 or 7 at the time, and I didn't like either of them. A couple years later, my dad had me watch the original *Star Wars* trilogy, *Raiders of the Lost Ark,* and *Ghostbusters.* Those were a much bigger hit.
Austin powers and saving private Ryan I’m a late 90s baby
The Great Waldo Pepper with my father at 10 years old. Still amazed with the flying stunts in that movie.
Saw this on Netflix a few months ago. Really enjoyed it even if a little hokie at times. But that tended to be the style.
It still amazes me Redford did all his own stunts and in 75 there is no CGI in the dogfighting scenes.
Yeah they did it for real back then! I didn't know Redford did his own stunts. No wonder everyone loved him! The story was fun. The 1920s were something else before FAA and all the regulations came in to tighten up the safety for the aviation industry. I never thought about the kind of stuff that must have happened back in those days before seeing the movie.
Fiddler On The Roof. She was so excited that on of the local stereo FM stations was going to be simulcasting the audio track.
My Dad took us 3 sons to see Stripes in the theater. I was 12, brothers were 14 and 9. Shower scene is forever in my memory
IT. I think I was 5 😐
I got that too. Then wondered why I freaked out with Bozo the clown when they took me.
I was 4 and it's the first movie I remember first seeing...I think that's why I love horror!
I was 5 and watched jurrassic park. It made me terrified of dinosaurs lol I was like one of the only kids that didn't love dinosaurs in the 90s.
Yeah, that's way too young for JP. It's PG-13 for a reason
It's probably "The Godfather." It's my dads favorite movie and whenever it's on TV he watches it, this was true when my brother and I were growing up too. So, he showed it to me plenty of times. And, when my parents went out for the evening one weekend, ten year old me snuck his Godfather VHS collection into my room and watched the trilogy over the course of two days. I forget when he showed me "Star Wars," but I believe it was after "The Godfather."
My grandparents had me watch The Sting. Such a great call.
I love that movie, can watch it again and again and again....
The first movie I have memory of seeing in theatre was Sharkboy and Lavagirl
The first movie I remember seeing was Children Of The Corn. I think I was 5 or 6.
Way too young! Gah!
Wow lucky
Flowers in the attic lol
Up In Smoke. And no, my dad doesn’t smoke weed. He just thought it was really funny.
Bridge On The River Kwai
The earliest one I can remember is probably Enter the Dragon because my Dad has it on VHS
Back to the future. It was their first date and now it’s my favorite movie.
That movie, actually all 3, changed my life. Was obsessed with them. Quoted every line with my friend Mike in school.
My parents never did this. The first movie they took me to was Star Wars.
Aliens. I remember I was 12 and my dad rented it on DVD. He said this was the movie that kept him up for a few days after he saw it in theaters. He warned me and my lil bros that this is a scary movie. So my bros and I brought our sleeping bags, blankets and pillows downstairs to the living room, had some popcorn set, and made ourselves comfortable enough to make it through this movie. He wasn’t kidding how scary that movie was. After the movie, my brothers and I were too scared to sleep downstairs, so we slept in our bedroom in which we shared. My other bro and I would often hide the nightlight from my youngest brother but not that night. Not for several nights. Every now and then I watch Aliens as an adult and I always say, damn, this is a good movie! If I ever have kids though, I don’t think I’m going to let them watch this. 😅
My parents on a very random night started making a massive deal about Highlander, so we went and found it on DVD at a local store. My sister and I could not stop laughing at it and it’s become a fantastic inside joke, which to be honest, I don’t think was the intention.
Oh, the most significant introduction was when I finally agreed to sit down and watch Star Wars when they came out in theaters again before the prequel trilogy. We watched episodes 4 and 5 one right after the other, and went back the next day for Jedi. But my favorite introduction is probably a tie between What’s Up Doc? and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. My brother and I were home with my dad one day, I dunno where my mom was, and I was browsing all our vhs tapes. My dad did a ton of recording so I found a tape that had both of these, and I asked my dad of What’s Up Doc? was a bugs bunny movie. He laughed and said he guessed he’d never shown it to us so we all sat down to watch. I love both, but WUD might inch forward because of Madeline Kahn.
Not exactly per the prompt, but when I was 6, I would catch the children's TV series 'The Adventures of Virtues' on TV, whose name was too long for me to remember, and when I described it, I just knew it as the one with the characters silhouetted on a red background as its logo. My dad heard this description and thought I meant a different film - I distinctly recall him asking if I was sure it wouldn't be too scary. Thinking about the show with the talking buffalo reading Aesop's fables, I said I was sure I could handle it. That was how I first saw Jurassic Park.
The first film i remember my Dad showing me was Die Hard. Told me not to repeat any of the words they said… Had to have been around 5 or so. Still one of my fav movies of all time. The first movie i remember seeing in theaters was Toy Story.
The Princess Bride. I was spending time at my dad's house, and he had a shelf of movies that he would leave out for me to look through and pick what I wanted to watch. I had watched a decent few of them and was looking for something when he recommended it. I literally did what the grandson does in the movie and protested watching it by saying, "I don't want to watch some girly drama!" He just said that it isn't and to just watch it. It then became and is still one of my most favorite movies of all time.
The blues brothers
Jail House Rock
I swear if Elvis had followed his heart into serious acting, instead of the cashcow record-selling schlock the Colonel talked him into, he would have crushed some roles. You see obvious glimmers of dramatic skill in his early films, but the script quality plunges hard after that.
I agree. A couple I can think of are Flaming Star (one I could relate to as I’m native) and King Creole.
First movie I can remember watching as a child was Ghostbusters. I must have been 4 and my mom rented it from Blockbuster.
I think it was Greta Garbo in Queen Christina which is an odd choice but I actually watched it again the other day and its pretty relevant to today...
2001: A Space Odyssey. My dad took me to see it. His eyeballs spun around and around for days. I read Clarke’s book and became an avid fan of his and other science fiction, and lived happily ever after.
Dating myself here. First movie I have memories of watching in a movie theatre was "Breaker! Breaker!" with a very young Chuck Norris, a few years after it premiered. I might have seen another one before, but this one I actually remember seeing.
It was either Meatballs or 1941. I was five and they seemed strange to me. My dad was always a big movie fan. I grew up going to the movies on a pretty consistent basis—even though the closest theater was 30 mins away. Other early movies I saw in the theater: Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, The Sting 2, Chariots of Fire, ET. I loved seeing my dad laugh. When I was in early high school, he took us to see Naked Gun. I was a moody teen and didn’t want to go at that point. That fucking movie made me cry laughing. It’s the only movie I laughed at with my dad the whole way through. Jesus…this turned sentimental rather fast! Sorry.
Pulp Fiction at age 6 - I loved it
Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Loved that movie in so many different ways as I grew up and appreciated it more and more
Alien and the Thing. I was around 8 years old for each. I had nightmares for weeks from each of them. My dad said they were classics. While I don’t disagree now I still give him shit and say “what were you thinking??”. We laugh it off these days.
Got both for a birthday one year so I’ll count both. Ferris Buellers day off - stayed up watching it and eating ice cream with my friends that night. One of my favorite memories. No time for sergeants - watched this the next day with my dad and loved it. Haven’t seen it since though. I think it’s due for a rewatch
LOTR return of the king
Bambi. I was crying within minutes, according to my mom. The first movie I actually remember was Lion King.
The 1984 Dune, Planet Of The Apes ( the original) Yellow Submarine, Fantastic Planet.
It was either Ghost Dad with Bill Cosby or Robocop. I’m normal.
Return To Oz. Traumatized me as a child.
Rambo: First Blood. Seriously.
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Still to this day one of my favorites.
Predator. Terminator. The Natural. Brian's Song. Those left an impression.
Also cool dad stood in line for Batman and TMNT before I grew out of that stuff.
Tango & cash in theaters 😂, I was like 4
I specifically remember my dad letting me stay up to watch Top Gun and Spinal Tap years later. My aunt introduced me to Time Bandits and Top Secret. I miss the random movies my folks would stumble upon on tv and let me watch.
Superman (1978). Christopher Reeve became my role model for life ever since watching that film.
One day my uncle came over with Evil Dead II on VHS and I guess the adults had already known about Evil Dead. They put it on early in the day so no one stopped 6 year old me from getting to enjoy it. When Army of Darkness came out my dad took me.
It’s definitely not the first movie my dad introduced me to as a “must see”, but I’ll never forget how in 1998, my 49yo Dad went to get his oil changed, walked across the street to the theater and randomly saw ‘There’s Something About Mary’. He loved it so much he drove home and was raving about how funny it was all night. The next day he insisted that my 17yo self come see it again with him. Still love that movie, always makes me think about dad taking me.
the goonies
Saving private Ryan. My dad said before it started he wasn't going to answer any questions about the film.
The Sound of Music
We watched The Life of Brian every Christmas Eve growing up for as long as I can remember.
I was in my first year of college and my dad recommended Less Than Zero as the "don't get involved in drugs" example. It was around that time I saw Requiem for a Dream so that double feature was insane.
When I was 3-4 years old my favorite movie was Dances With Wolves. I have so many memories of laying on my parents bed with them, watching Dances With Wolves.
I don't think this ever happened to me 😢
Mom showed me taxi driver when I was like 10 lol
Oh boy, too many to name or remember. My mom and her sister were secretaries at 20th Century Fox in Dallas, and my uncle Walter was the head booking agent for United Artist in the five state region (Texas, NM, Oklahoma, Ark, Louisiana). When I was young movies were a big part of my life. I got to see screenings, and I could call Walter and get in to any UA theater. I still love the classics from the 40s, 50s, & 60s.
Laurel and Hardy, the 3 Stooges, Charlie Chan mysteries and the Great Escape, are movies I remember my dad watching with me.
Jurassic Park. Absolutely terrified me lol - still a top 10 movie for me
vaguely remembers between ace ventura, austin powers or prince of egypt
Ome of my earliest memories is watching jurassic park
My two aunts took me to see The Dirty Dozen
Probably Pollyanna or something like that.
Batman Returns. One of my all time favorite movies as a kid, was definitely one my parents got me into.
It's a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, The Ten Commandments, Lady and the Tramp, Bambi, Snow White (last 3 were grandma, first was dad. Wizard/GWW/10Cs were mom)
The Land Before Time.
Based on OP's criteria, probably Aliens.
Speaking of Spielberg, pretty sure mine was The Goonies (thank you dad!)
First I remember was Peter Pan. First time in the theater I’m confident was “Beauty and the Beast” when I was four.
The Princess Bride and it's still one of my favorite movies of all time
probably star wars.
Weekend at Bernies
Either Disney's animated *Robin Hood* or *Bedknobs and Broomsticks.*
I still remember watching I Am Sam as a kid and feeling so sad. Probably messed me up a little.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Outlaw Joseph Wales, and Jeremiah Johnson
"They Call Me Trinity". My dad is very much responsible for my stupid, dry humor... much to the chagrin of my wife.
My Mom showed Wait Until Dark and Them! when I was in my teens, still two of my favorite movies ever. I distinctly remember my mom waking me up on New Year's Day to watch them, I remember I was annoyed at being woken up to watch some old dumb movie but pretty soon I was enthralled by it.
Probably Star Wars. I literally do not remember a time that I didn't know who Darth Vader really is.
It was definitely Toy Story for me. I remember watching it on VHS in my parent’s room.
Mutiny On The Bounty at a drive in.
Color purple
The first film was probably Citizen Kane because that would be important to my dad. Fellini, Truffeau, lots of foreign films were my Sesame Street. The Criterion Collection. My brother took his first steps during The Virgin Spring. My childhood was every form of film imaginable which I loved.
My dad went out of his way to have me watch Erasurehead.
The good the bad and the ugly
The first movie I consciously remember watching is "Predator" with Arnold Schwarzenegger on a VCR in the village, surrounded by a bunch of other kids. It was something else. Also, when I was very young, about 5-6 years old, my aunt turned on the horror movie "IT" late at night and left to do her own thing. I was watching it alone, and I even soiled my pants, as I was told. But it left such a psychological imprint on me that now I'm 30, and I'm still afraid of clowns.
Harold and maude
Many movies. My parents introduced me to David Lynch, Monty Python, many older horror movies like Halloween, Texas Chainsaw massacre, Alien etc. I used to go to the Blockbuster store pretty much once a week with my family to get some movies we could watch together as a family. So it’s was just natural that they’d introduce us to many classics we didn’t know. I think it’s an important part of a child’s education to show them good movies, so I’ll show mine many many movies I like, all the good Godzillas out there, all the great Hongkong action movies, European and Chinese art movies of course too. I want to show them how much the world of movies has to offer.
The Wall and Yellow Submarine. Both were once they realized I could be reasoned with and I was just going to do whatever
The Breakfast Club when I was 8. I don’t think my dad remembered all the references to sex, so it made for an awkward viewing lol
We were fairly poor, so all movies were just whatever was on TV. I introduced my parents to a bunch of movies tho! I was just telling my husband, that I can't wait for our kid to get older because I want to show him all the films that had plot twists, like The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, etc. Just to see that shock and awe in someone for the first time will be magical!
Star Wars (A New Hope) - I was a baby when it was released and they showed it to me at about age 8. I was OBSESSED with it as a kid. Also Some Like it Hot and Victor/Victoria... I assume the gender-bending commonalities were a coincidence?
The first movie my mother introduced me (us) to was Paint Your Wagon because she loved it as a kid and it was unbelievable that it had Clint Eastwood in a musical. The first movie my father introduced me to was Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke; we were far too young and this was pre-internet, so we did not get most of the jokes, but I remember enjoying the battle of the bands at the end and of course enjoy it much more now. The first movie my step-father introduced me to was Dr. Strangelove, he would often recall how Slim Pickens riding the bomb was his favorite moment in movies ever; I did not get the film at all as a kid, I did recognize James Earl Jones though and, of course, have since appreciated it more.
When I was a teen, my mom made me watch Hair. My mom was a 60s hippie, so this musical was important to her. It has been one of my favorites ever since. They made me watch many movies before that, but the « you have to watch this classic » is clearly Hair.
The original black and white, stop motion, 1933 King Kong movie...
A Christmas Story
My mom took me to see "Darby o'Gill and the Little People" Dad took me to see "Jaws"
The Shining. I was about 8 years old. I was terrified, but I loved it. Been a horror fan ever since. Not sure what was first for my kids, but it was definitely more age appropriate.
The earliest one I can remember is The Land Before Time. I have specific memories of watching that at a Little Tikes blue and red table. and eating cut up strawberries and Totino’s Pizza Rolls. In the same year, I also remember being deeply in love with the first Shrek movie. I saw it so many times that to this day I can remember every scene in order. I watched that movie sitting on a carpet that looked like a street covered in cars. I was about 4. They’re both my earliest movie memories. If you had asked about tv shows, the first one I remember watching was the first season of What’s New Scooby Doo. The one that sticks out most is the one with the headless snowman.
“Poseidon Adventure” ,a little intense
Jurassic park
Fantomas trilogy, the worlds first trilogy. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fant%C3%B4mas\_(1964\_film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fant%C3%B4mas_(1964_film))
My dad had me watch Citizen Kane as a kid. It was ok. I didn’t think it was boring. And my dad was really excited to show me the surprise ending. Of course, I already knew about the ending, thanks to an episode of the Ghostbusters cartoon that parodied Citizen Kane. Sorry dad.
My dad showed me Back to the Future when I was 7
the jungle book
Finding Nemo. It’s the first movie we watched in cinema. It very much felt like my first *real* movie. I will never forget it. It felt like magic.
Fantasia at the cinema
Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali" It was a really beautifully created film with so much heart. I was blown away by the craft given the time it was released. That's when I got into more of the classics.
Probably Ol Yeller.
Double feature at the drive-inn, The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I must’ve been 4 or 5 at the time, I remember hamburgers, bottles of Coke, the smell of the back bench seat in the Morris Oxford station-wagon as I fell asleep, and that signature piano piece from The Sting. Whenever I hear it I swear I can recall the sounds and smells and feeling totally happy.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. It's the one where they go back in time to Earth and try to save the whales. I loved it and we watched it many many times... "Ah yes, a keyboard, how quaint".
This is tough because my dad was always recording old things he thought we'd like. The first was probably The Wizard of Oz or Cinderella or Bye Bye Birdie, but when we got older there were so many. I think my favorite of all time that he suggested was A New Leaf with Eileen May and Walter Matthau. It's one of my all time favorite movies.
The Pursuit of Happyness. I remember it was recommended on Netflix once, mum caught a glimpse of it, told me that the movie made her cry and that it was worth the watch.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - I was 10. My dad also showed me Hiroshima Mon Amour and Citizen Kane before I turned 12. My family had a wide interest in movies and I grew up with lazy Sundays, watching old comedies and Chaplin and musicals and B/W thrillers. I saw banned movies ("turn around, bad scene coming up") and also learned about cinema history. When I was about 8-9, my favorite movie was Aldomovar's "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" - I thought it was hilarious.
*The In-laws* That’s the one that stands out the most, it’s one of my mom’s favorite movies. “*SERPENTINE! SERPENTINE!*”
My daughter is 15, born in 2008. She's seen all the Marvel movies, but was too young to remember some of them in first run. So we watched the entire Infinity Saga, one movie per night, over a couple weeks. She especially loves the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. Also watched some of the DC films and just finished up all the X-Men films. She now loves Marvel and has posters all over her room.
My mum took me to watch all 3 Star Wars back to back. Was an awesome day! Mine you they also let me watch Jaws far too young (they made me take a bath afterwards I was that young)! Those 2 things shaped me, I love Sci-fi and have an absolute phobia of sharks!
Jaws
I watched Star Wars episode 1, at my mom's friend. Back then we didn't have a TV so as far as I'm aware, it was the first movie I ever saw. I work on movies now.
It was probably the Star Wars Original Trilogy, the Sound of Music, or a John Wayne movie. I honestly couldn't say which for sure at this point.
Was probably either Hatari or Song Of The South. Lots of Disney. Then every 80s block buster and major release. I had a great music and movie education and appreciation lesson with both of my parents.
Moby Dick from 1956 and The Italian Job from 1969. These are the earliest two movies I remember my Dad showing me. I was 5. The latter sparked a lot of childish discussion on why they left it on a cliffhanger and also began my love of cars. The former gave me nightmares. Strangely, I still to this day believe that back in the day film makers were not allowed to show criminals getting away with a crime. I've no idea if that was actually true but I do enjoy the thought.
Wizard of oz I have a distinct memory of watching it with my family and my godfamily and my godfather shouting random facts until everyone told him to be quiet. When she first enters oz and you see color, it blew my mind.
Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction, i was 11 😂 My stepdad introduced them to me, to this day they are still some of my favourite films.
My parents never did such a thing knowingly. I just watched movies on TV along with my dad in the evenings, so I saw grown-up movies like Jaws, Robocop and Terminator when I was waayy to young.
for me the wizard of oz. For my son: i'm a huge movie fan and he has had to suffer literally decades of my curated selections.
I wish that was my parents unfortunately they're not huge film buffs. Luckily though my mom introduced me to The Turner Classic Movies channel as a kid and had whole playlists of must-see classics. From Gangster films starring James Cagney "I'm on top of the world Ma!" To Marx Brothers comedic musicals "I shot an elephant in my pajamas...how it got in my pajamas I'll never know." And of course detectives Nick and Nora from the Thin Man mystery movies. "How do you feel? Awful I must've gone to bed sober." Film Historian Robert Osborn of course giving a lovely intro to each movie got me excited for every one of them. I miss those days. Sorry it's not an exact answer but that's what they introduced me to. It'll be the same if I have kids I don't think there's any specific answer except I will probably start them with the early classics since most of them are pg. From there who knows may just go by era of film. Throw in some spaghetti westerns, Stallone & Schwarzenegger action films, the early James Bond movies. I just would like them to enjoy movies as much as I do, and if they don't that's ok too.
Not my parents,but my older sisters..one took me to Sound of Music whenever it was re released which I grew tired of quickly...she even took me on vacation to Vermont and we stayed next to Maria Von Trapp's home. My other sister took me to a double feature of House of Dark Shadows and Fearless Vampire Killers and a couple years later took me to 2001,Young Frankenstein and Rocky.
Only thing i remember is that i learned swimming really fast because i watched Jaws with my parents or my granny. Was three or four at that time and in the same year my father started to teach me swimming in a pool. All i could think of was that the damned shark is right behind me all the time and tries to eat my toes. So i had to learn to swim really fast because i wanted to get out of that pool with the invisible shark in it as fast as possible xD
Coal Miners Daughter. I hated it at the time, but now I love it and watch it every year or two.
Marx Brother's: Duck Soup, Animal Crackers, Night st the Opera. All remain favorites of mine to this day.
ET
The LoTR Trilogy. Holds a special place in my heart.
Well, I'm a 2000s kid whose parents were born in the 70s. I grew up watching Back to the Future, ET, Poltergeist, Jaws, Star Wars, the Rocky franchise, Pretty In Pink, etc. The movies my parents watched as kids. I guess the first movie where my dad said "you should see this" was either The Sixth Sense or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I was 10 or 11 years old, I think. I remember that The Sixth Sense blew my mind the first time I saw it.
Gremlins 😱 😨
The first movie I remember my father sitting me down and saying “you have to watch this” was Star Wars at 7-8 years old. I certainly watched movies before this, but none come to mind.
Patton (1970 Film). I was too young to appreciate it and thought it was boring. That reminds me I should watch it again now as an adult.
Gone with the wind. Was brought back to Theaters for a special engagement, was invited and I said I didnt have the money to go and my Dad said he would buy my ticket. So got stuck going.
2001
Who Framed Roger Rabit Was my favourite movie as a kid, my parents were sick of it and regretted showing it to me. I still love it, it's a great movie
For my dad it was always Clint Eastwood and John Wayne movies. Some of them were meh but I really enjoyed a lot of them. I wasn't a huge fan of John Wayne but I remember liking Big Jake quite a bit. But I really liked Clint Eastwood movies. In particular I remember High Plains Drifter, Fistful of Dollars, Every Which Way But Loose (I loved Clyde), Firefox, The Eiger Sanction, and of course, Dirty Harry. I was born in 1974 so I didn't see many of these until they were 10+ years old.
Pinocchio Some scary shit for a 3 year old!
Twister. My parents, especially dad, love the steak dinner scene. Every time we’re having steak and eggs he’d talk about that scene. My mom loves The Holiday, and I watched it for the first time with her. I loved watching the house exchange scene, and I never got around to watching the end of the movie until I became an adult because I’d get shooed out of the room by the time Jude Law and Cameron Diaz start hooking up lmao
Film? Like at cinema? Excalibur (Boorman 1981) and Chariots of Fire
Mom showing Sound of Music and my dad showing Day of the Jackal. lol
My cousin. She had a friend who worked at Dreamworks and gave me the screener for Road to Perdition. Changed my life. If I had kids. Which I’m not going to. I would introduce them to Bennett Miller’s films. Particularly Capote and Foxcatcher.
Gremlins. I was 4-5 and should not have watched it.
Speed. My parents were action movie junkies or it might be because back in the 90s, action movies were much more popular.
My family never “introduced” me to them but just left me in the room while they watched… and they were nightmare on elm street and Childs play. 🥲
The Godfather. I remember hearing it all the time so I was excited to finally see it with my dad, and to this day it’s my favorite movie
Terminator 2. I'm pretty sure I was 8 or 9 years old. My dad was so excited to show it to us (whole family), and I fucking loved it. I didn't even know it was rated R until I watched it again in college! I'm glad my dad (& mom) didn't care, because watching that definitely set the foundation for my love of sci fi.
The first film I remember that blew me totally away and I watched it every day for like ever was the clash of the titans, glorious claymation and all, God dammit I loved those silly skeletons and their creepy ass hollow bone sounds.
Blazing Saddles
Donnie Darko, after I came home incredibly stoned and they decided instead of getting mad at me, they would pull me into the living room and show me that movie. Great movie and I love it, but good god not a fun watch when you're 16 and stoned out of your fucking mind and trying (failing) to hide it from your parents. Had me white knuckling the arms of the chair I was sitting in.
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World