What's the first movie you remember seeing?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I was something like 3 or 4, I think.

It was certainly not a movie I was allowed to see. My parents were watching it in the night, and I was supposed to be in bed.

I krept downstrairs and hid behind a sofa and watched it, I did not understand it, but there are 3 scenes that stayed with me.

3 men are on a boat, one of them is fishing. As something underneeth tugs on the line tension suddenly begins to build, untill everything goes beserk and the unseen creature underwater swims away with the line.

A boat is sinking, one man climbs into the little house in the middle of a boat (a cabin) and suddenly a great big monsterfish swims trough the window and tries to eat the man.

The same man is on top of the mast of the sinking boat. The big monsterfish lunches at him from the water, the man has a spear and tries to fend the big fish of by sticking him in the face.

It was not untill years later, when I was 11 that I found out what that film was.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

ESB. I was about four, and my dad managed to get a pirate copy. I just remember the snowspeeders, and the space slug. It was incredible, even on grainy VHS. That's probably why I don't have much of an issue with the non-anamorphic OT releases.

JAWS came soon after.

[Morlock 11]

I think I remember seeing Pete's Dragon as a 4-5 year old, but I may just be imagining that based on the picutre we have from the day. I do recall watching the animated Superman show on my fifth birthday.

[John Crichton 4]

And here I was thinking Steef was setting up a porn film.

I honestly don't remember, I'm sure it was either a Star Wars or Star Trek though.

In a related topic, there are a lot of movies from my childhood that I'm sure I watched so young that I don't even remember the first time I saw them: the first 3 Star Treks, the Star Wars OT, Raiders, Back to the Future, and others. It's like they've always been there.

[Melange 446]

Movies on TV were probably the first ones watched, so in the 70s and 80s they would have been whatever popular kind of movie was around.

It was probably a Western or something. But on the big screen,I seem to remember The Black Hole being an early watch.

[A24 4,333]

I was about 4 years old.

Night, exterior: Four men are sitting around a table playing cards and drinking wine. The house is located on a hill and it's completely ruined. All that remains is the skeleton of the house. There's no roof. Suddenly one of the four men is looking at the moon. Then he looks at his cards again. A bit later he turns his eyes back at the moon and as he observes the moon more closely, a shockful expression appears on the man's face. Then we see the moon and it's much bigger than a few minutes ago. There's no question about it, the moon is on a collision course with Earth ...

I still don't know what movie I saw.

Alex

[Quintus 5,399]

3 men are on a boat, one of them is fishing. As something underneeth tugs on the line tension suddenly begins to build, untill everything goes beserk and the unseen creature underwater swims away with the line.

A boat is sinking, one man climbs into the little house in the middle of a boat (a cabin) and suddenly a great big monsterfish swims trough the window and tries to eat the man.

The same man is on top of the mast of the sinking boat. The big monsterfish lunches at him from the water, the man has a spear and tries to fend the big fish of by sticking him in the face.

It was not untill years later, when I was 11 that I found out what that film was.

Ah Orca. Classic movie.

Mine was either Jaws or E.T. I remember I had to keep my feet up on the sofa during Jaws, because I thought they'd be bitten off if I dangled them over the edge. I remember collecting ET stickers from Weetabix boxes, after watching the movie. Around that time I also remember seeing Hayley Mills in Whistle Down the Wind and being profoundly affected by it, just as much as I was by those other movies.

My mother was great for sitting me and my little bro down to watch noteworthy movies, when they aired on tv. I remember her suggesting I stay up late to watch a thriller about a man who is chased across America by this big monstrous truck, pointing out to me that is was made by the same man who directed Jaws. Sold!

[Henry B 50]

Aladdin, I think.

[Andy 4,127]

I think I remember seeing Pete's Dragon as a 4-5 year old

Wow! Same here! Although, I believe before that, I remember seeing The Shaggy D.A.. I would've been about 4 years old.

[Hlao-roo 389]

It was not untill years later, when I was 11 that I found out what that film was.

Yet another non-horror film scored by John Williams?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

The Witches, then Hook, Beauty and the Beast and Batman Returns.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Three years old. Jurassic Park, in theaters. I only remember the attack on the Jeeps scene. I probably watched a bunch of Disney films before though.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The first movie I saw in cinemas was The Last Crusade.

I can't remember what specific movie would have been my first altogether, but the ones that I do remember seeing on TV and VHS quite a lot when I was about 2 or 3 were Poltergeist, Gremlins, Supergirl, and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Other early films I saw which I still have on VHS... The Lion King, The Sword And The Stone, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and a couple others I don't remember. I definitely know JP was my first live-action film, and I believe my first film in theaters. The Rock came shortly after.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

I remember going to see in theater the aristocats. (the re-release)

I remember the film more or less (i have only seen it once) but i dont have memories of the theater experience. I must have been 3 years or less...

I think before that i had went to see bambi and dumbo, but i just know i saw the film, no other memories.

[gkgyver 1,645]

First one in theatre was Lion King, second GoldenEye.

[Melange 446]

Three years old. Jurassic Park, in theaters.

How did a three year old get past the door? (hidden under a Burkha?)

[Charlie Brigden 7]

My first film in theaters was RETURN OF THE JEDI.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Three years old. Jurassic Park, in theaters.

How did a three year old get past the door? (hidden under a Burkha?)

He has a rich daddy!

[Kendal_Ozzel 36]

Hard to say, because there's some things I know I saw theatrically, but I may just be making up the memory of seeing them. Beauty and the Beast, for one.

But I know I saw Aladdin in theaters, and I was 6 years old. Saw it four times, actually. It was my favorite film for years, and remains one of them now, though I have a much different appreciation for it.

I also remember seeing a theatrical rerelease of Pinocchio that same year. If I had only known then what a rare treat a classic rerelease was!

[King Mark 3,631]

In theater, something like The Love Bug or Escape to Witch Mountain

[Ollie 1,059]

Bambi.

That was the first film I saw in a theatre, it was right before The Towering Inferno was released because I remember the posters encased in the "coming soon" wall.

[Quintus 5,399]

So this has turned into a "in theaters" answer. In that case, Bambi.

[John Crichton 4]

Yeah, I don't think this was Steef's original intention, but I do know the first movie I remember seeing in a theater: Star Trek IV. I remember being really creeped out by the opening scenes with the probe.

[Ollie 1,059]

The very first movie I saw was the original The Lost World.

[King Mark 3,631]

The earliest "blockbuster" type film I saw in theater is King Kong 1976

[Quintus 5,399]

The very first movie I saw was the original The Lost World.

On its day of release, no?

[sulky 6]

Hmmm. First animated film that I saw in the cinemas was either Care Bears I or 2 that my Pops took me and my bro to see - I remember him having his Ray Ban aviators on apparently asleep throughout the duration.

First live action film in the cinemas was Back to the Future that my aunts took me to - I was still 3 or had just turned 4 not sure but recall it was very much an overwhelming experience esp. the end clock tower scene.

By this time though was already familiar with Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back as someone in my fam had recorder the former in its first CTV airing with a dub of a rental VHS of Empire right after on the same tape back to back. Best VHS tape ever!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I was thinking specifically of movies I saw in the theater. I saw plenty, but I remember few from the earlier years. The ones that stood out:

The Witches - Horrifying for a 3 year-old. My first memory of seeing a movie due to the sheer terror of the experience. A severed figure, a little girl trapped in a painting, a witch with scary eyes attempting to lure a little boy out of a treehouse with a snake and another memorable scene where Anjelica Huston removes her skin to reveal a hunchbacked creature that is still quite creepy.

Hook - I loved it. I have vivid memories of the sword fights and the giant crocodile collapsing onto Hook. This and The Empire Strikes Back were the most common Saturday night movies when we would stay over my Grandparents' house.

Batman Returns - We saw this at the drive-in and I absolutely loved it. I still remember hearing the music from the end credits as we drove home (we didn't live far away).

Jurassic Park - Remember everything. I remember it sounded like crap, apparently because it was DTS and the theaters likely didn't support it? We had trouble hearing the dialogue.

Star Trek: Generations - This was huge, seeing TNG crew in a movie. We got a free poster on opening night. I remember the scene where the Enterprise crashes quite vividly. I was on the edge of my seat. Many young kinds had brought the Playmates toys like the phaser, tricorder, communicator, etc. It was the height of Star Trek's popularity.

[Datameister 2,042]

The Lion King, I think.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Three years old. Jurassic Park, in theaters.

How did a three year old get past the door? (hidden under a Burkha?)

He has a rich daddy!

Far from it. Either way, age doesn't matter with the MPAA as long as a parent is present. This guy took his two, easily under 10, daughters to see the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street. He even asked if he could step out for a smoke before the movie started.

[crocodile 8,012]

I remember watching some Star Trek movie. I think it might have been The Wrath of Khan or maybe TMP. I can't be sure. But Spock was in it.

Karol

[Datameister 2,042]

My goodness, I was either even more sheltered than I thought, or y'all can't remember as far back as I can!

Yup, probably the former.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

Mary Poppins was probably the first movie I saw, on VHS and taped directly from a Channel 7 broadcast some time around 1989. It has remained one of my all-time favourite movies. I probably watched it at least once or twice a week for a good part of my childhood.

The first movie I saw in a cinema would have to be A Muppet Christmas Carol. Brilliant movie, though all I remember from the experience was being terrified by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

[Kendal_Ozzel 36]

Thing is, I can pinpoint when I saw a movie theatrically down to a matter of weeks. With video, unless there's some other specific memory attached to it, I can only make a wild guess.

[Diego 21]

I was about 3, maybe less, and they took to me watch Return of the Jedi in the theater, here in Mexico they don't care if you're too young to be in a theater. I only remember stuff from Jabba's Palace, and more specifically when they take the droids to "torture" chamber, and R2 is whistling in a sort of scared way while he rolls there. Not only is it the first movie I remember seeing, it's actually one of my earliest memories, if not the earliest. So one of the first things I remember from my life is R2 rolling around in Jabba's Palace, go figure. No wonder I'm a nerd.

[A24 4,333]

Three years old. Jurassic Park, in theaters.

How did a three year old get past the door? (hidden under a Burkha?)

Why would they not allow kids to a kids movie? Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs is probably more frightening to young children than the majesty and grandeur of the dinosaurs. A dinosaur is not an evil character. It's nature. We don't blame a vulcano for erupting either. The only thing that truly scared my kid (when he was young) was the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard Of Oz.

Alex

[davros72 1]

Star Wars. I would've been 4.

And it must've been the second time we saw it, since I remember we got into the theater as 3PO was being lowered into the oil bath at the Lars homestead, and I remember thinking that we missed a lot of the beginning. But I can't clearly find a solid memory that I can definitively say was from my very first time seeing it.

Odd that I can remember remembering something then that I don't remember now. Oh, well.

[Ollie 1,059]

Three years old. Jurassic Park, in theaters.

How did a three year old get past the door? (hidden under a Burkha?)

He has a rich daddy!

Far from it. Either way, age doesn't matter with the MPAA as long as a parent is present. This guy took his two, easily under 10, daughters to see the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street. He even asked if he could step out for a smoke before the movie started.

Here in the US idiots bring babies and kids under 5 to movies they have no business bringing them to all the time.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I remember a couple of noisy toddlers when I saw Jurassic Park. Their mother had to drag them out during the movie and they never returned.

[Trent B 337]

I think the very first movie in theater I remember seeing when I was a wee lad was The Land Before Time.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Three years old. Jurassic Park, in theaters.

How did a three year old get past the door? (hidden under a Burkha?)

He has a rich daddy!

Far from it. Either way, age doesn't matter with the MPAA as long as a parent is present. This guy took his two, easily under 10, daughters to see the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street. He even asked if he could step out for a smoke before the movie started.

Here in the US idiots bring babies and kids under 5 to movies they have no business bringing them to all the time.

Unfortunately, yes.

[Datameister 2,042]

This thread is evidence of that!

[A24 4,333]

This thread is evidence of that!

I'd say, this thread is evidence that people tend to stick with the movies they saw when they were 3 years old.

Meister full of Data has become a Disney fanatic

Quint still worships the water Jaws has swam in.

King Mark always will be a Star Wars nerd.

And so on ...

[Melange 446]

I'd say, this thread is evidence that people tend to stick with the movies they saw when they were 3 years old.

Meister full of Data has become a Disney fanatic

Quint still worships the water Jaws has swam in.

King Mark always will be a Star Wars nerd.

And so on ...

Lucky me that the first film I saw wasn't 'The Exorcist' then

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

Hmm, by that logic, the first move that ever made an impact on me was a whimsical musical with many flamboyant characters with the lead role being played by a famous, glamorous feminine and gay icon.

Definitely didn't do anything to me...

[A24 4,333]

Maybe it's time for you to come out of the closet, magical me.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

Haha, I actually did, years ago. But that's probably not common knowledge so my "revelation" was probably lost on most of the JWFan community...

[Datameister 2,042]

I'd say, this thread is evidence that people tend to stick with the movies they saw when they were 3 years old.

Meister full of Data has become a Disney fanatic

Actually, I'm no more a fanatic about Disney movies than the next guy. It's Disney theme parks I'm utterly obsessed with and fascinated by.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

101 Dalmatians, theatrically; I must have been 4 or so. Might have seen Dumbo on TV before that. Pete's Dragon was an early one, but not as early as these.