The 5 Films that Have Had the Greatest Influence on Me

NERD NOSTALGIA: The Five Films That Have Had The Greatest Influence on Me

By: Brian Cotnoir

   Once again, I have decided to do something special.  I have literally sat through hundreds (if not over a thousand films) many great, and others not so great.  Reflecting back at some of my own work, I decided to compile a list of the Top Five films that have had the most profound impact on me as not only a film critic, but a writer as well.  For those of you who do not know.  I have written five screenplays (one awful, one God-awful, and one so god awful it’s kind of funny, one adapted from a novel, and one good).  This article is a tribute to those who have inspired me and to those who have influenced my own writing styles.

#5- “Ed Wood”

This is probably one of Tim Burton’s best films, but strangely enough it’s also one of his least well-known films.  This film is a bio-pic and it tells the story of notorious Hollywood director, Edward D. Wood, Jr.  Wood is a man, who many consider to be the Worst Film Director of all-time.  I will be honest, the first time I saw this film I didn’t know who Ed Wood was.  I assumed Ed Wood was just a made up character, because you have to admit that the idea of a film about the worst director in the history of film, sounds like a novelty idea that Hollywood writers would make up and have made into a film.  Shortly after seeing the film, I learned that Ed Wood was a real person and that he really did work closely with the great Bela Lugosi and the two of them stared in/made some of the worst films ever made.                                                    

     The reason why I found this film so influential is because it introduced me to Edward D. Wood, Jr. & Bela Lugosi.  I’ve watched all of Ed Wood’s films and most of Bela Lugosi’s early films, and I really enjoy them.  Ed Wood wasn’t called the Worst Director of All-Time for nothing.  His films are huge piles of crap (check out some of my past blogs that I’ve written on his films), but at the same time his films give me hope.  As an aspiring writer I look at Ed Wood’s work and I feel inspired.  My work may not win awards or be considered “good”, but if my works could spark a cult-following because of how bad it is and at the same time bring people joy, then I will view my work as being successful.

#4- “City of Lost Children”

I rented “City of Lost Children” because when I looked at the cover, I thought it was going to be a creepy horror movie, but much too my surprise and pleasure, what I got was a French Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure.  I was blown away by all the wonderful images, settings, and creative characters that I saw in this film, and to this day I still believe it is one of the best foreign films ever made.            

 The reason why this film is so influential to me is because it introduced me to the writer/director Jean-Pierre Jenuet.  After watching “City of Lost Children” I set out to find more of Jenuet’s films, and I’ve watched them all and I have to say he is my hands down favorite director of all-time.  Jenuet works with pretty much the same group of actors and crew in almost every film he’s directed.  The only film he directed in which he did not write (or co-write) was “Alien Resurrection”—That was written by Joss Whedon.  All of Jenuet’s films have unique characters and each of the characters has unique and interesting background story and by the grace of God all of those small little stories that seem insignificant at first end up having a huge effect and relevance to the plot. As much as I praise Mr. Jenuet for his work, my first reaction after watching all of his films was too just give up ever trying to write or create my own film because it will never be as good as his.  When a film’s director can motivate you to give up because you think his work is that amazing and you will never come anywhere close to that, then you know you are dealing with a truly astounding individual.

#3- “The Nightmare Before Christmas”

Is there anyone in the world who does not like this film?  I’ve loved this film since the first time I saw it which was a very long time ago—-It was at my local movie theatre when the film was first released in 1993; I WAS 4-YEARS-OLD!  My older sister and I begged and annoyed the crap out of our mother until she took as to the theatre to see it. Almost twenty years later (God, that statement just made me feel really old) it’s still one of only two movie from my childhoods that have followed me into adulthood and it is still a film I thoroughly enjoy watching and isn’t it obvious why?  With its stunning stop-motion visuals, likable and memorable characters, and stellar soundtrack composed by Danny Elfman, who in their right mind would say this film is anything but fantastic!    

    But why is it influential to me?  For one reason it was the first film to show me the idea of telling a story using songs.  Seriously, you could remove all the dialogue from the show just show people a film with the songs and the plot would still hold up and you would know exactly what was going on.  The film has since gained a cult following and is loved by everyone who watches it and will only continue to grow and be loved for generations.

#2- “Repo: The Genetic Opera”

I first heard about this film through my friend The Corseted Critic.  She actually brought me and a few other friends to a midnight screening of this film, when it was first released.  At this screening was actor Terrance Zdunich (aka “Graverobber”/The person who wrote the screenplay) and the film’s director Darren Lynn Bousman.  These two stayed after the films showing and did a Q & A with the audience and they regaled us with stories of the films origins and all the work they put into making the film.  This was the first time I ever watched a film and said to myself “I can totally do this.  I really want to do this now.”  Years later, I still haven’t made a single film, but this film still serves as my initial inspiration to want to start writing and creating my own film.

#1- A Clockwork Orange

    Everyone who knows me personally knows that I have a slight obsession with this film.  I don’t know most people would say that about me, I only own a copy of the DVD, the soundtrack, the book, prints all three theatrical movie posters, and a manuscript to the Musical Production of the story...yeah I am obsessed with “A Clockwork Orange”.  I read the book a few years back, and was very confused at first, but once I got past the difficult language barriers I found Anthony Burgess’s tale about a 15-year-old sociopath Alex the Large/DeLarge and his crimes in his virtually lawless future to be most enjoyable.

There were two things that helped seal this as one of my favorite films the first time I saw it one was the soundtrack:  When I first heard the Moog Synthesizer rendition of the “Precession March from the Funeral of Queen Mary” performed by Wendy Carlos, I became very excited to see the film, and then that first close up shot of actor Malcolm McDowell sealed the deal that I was going to enjoy this film.  Like I said, I read the book first, and I was reading it I had this picture of what I thought Alex might look like in my mind, and when I saw him I squealed with Joy and proclaimed, “Holy Crap it really is Alex”.  Malcolm McDowell looked just as I imagined Alex DeLarge; except I pictured Alex and his droogs to wear more military style clothes rather than white suits, but other than that it was just how I pictured them in my mind.                                    

    What really makes this film so influential to me is this was the first film I saw that made me think of film on many different depth levels.  Everything from the lighting, to the camera angles, to the music, to the dialogue seemed to have a significant meaning and I studied and researched many of Director Stanley Kubrick’s methods and directions that he used for “A Clockwork Orange”.  It was at that exact moment that I began to look at films in a different way.  I wasn’t just the acting or the story I was paying attention to; it was the lighting, the cinematography, the dialogue, the pacing, the music.  In a way “A Clockwork Orange” is what made me “the Film Junkie”.