As it is Fathers Day today I thought I would do a fitting blog
post to my dad (don’t worry, this isn’t all he’s getting for Fathers Day, later
on I will be going round my parents house to eat their food too).
My dad has given me a lot over the years; endless support
both emotional and financial, words of wisdom, a love of dogs, he helped me buy my first car, he is always there
when I need him. And he has introduced
me to a lot of amazing films. This blog
being what it is, I thought I would focus on the film aspect.
Firstly, I feel I should say that while my dad does love
films, he is fairly quiet about it, unlike me.
So while some of these explanations may not seem much to you, they mean
an awful lot to me.
Here are the top five (ish) films that my dad introduced
me to;
- Die Hard 4 and parts of 3 (and consequently Die Hard 1, 2 and 3)
I had only seen parts of Die Hard 3 when Die Hard 4 came
out at the cinema, which I believe we saw for my dad’s birthday. I knew my dad loved Die Hard but he didn’t watch
it often until Sky TV came into our lives and Die Hard was on regularly. However, he was quite secretive about it,
watching it after my mum had gone to bed and when I was a teenager and hiding
in my room. So Die Hard 4 was my first
introduction and it was love at first sight.
He then shared the wonders of Die Hard and Die Hard 2 with me and we now
share the DVD collection.
2. Always
Now, Always isn’t one of my favourite films but it is one
of my dads. However, what watching this
film when I was younger did give me was an appreciation of Richard
Dreyfuss. Imagine my delight when I
first discovered my favourite film, Stand By Me, and that Richard Dreyfuss was
in that!
3. Star Trek: Nemesis
Yes, my dad’s a bit of a Trekkie and therefore so am
I. I wasn’t brought up on Star Wars,
this was never shown in our family home.
No, I was brought up on Star Trek.
The Next Generation is where my heart lies and Nemesis is the main film
that sticks with me.
We went to see it at the cinema and my mum found it very
funny that sat behind us were three grown men all in tears over Data’s demise –
never mind that we were all wiping the tears away.
4. Executive Decision
One night when the family were sat in front of the
television, Executive Decision came on and my dad wanted to watch it. Neither me or my mum were interested and
we started off by taking the mickey – my poor dad. My mum soon got bored and went to bed but by
that point I was hooked. Harrison Ford
fighting with commandoes on a plane that's being taken over by terrorists? Go on then!
5. The 6th Day
Similarly, I walked into the lounge one evening to find
my dad watching The 6th Day. ‘What’s
this?’ I asked. ‘Some Arnie film,’ my dad replied. Well, that was enough for me. I sat down and watched the whole thing with
him. This film is now one of my guilty
pleasures and has pride of place in my DVD collection.
6. Air Force One
Yup, my dad likes planes.
And action. And possibly Harrison
Ford...
What did I love about this film? The genius of Gary Oldman, a true character
actor. My dad already had this film in
his collection and I actually can’t remember how I came to watch it. I just know that now it’s in my
collection. In fact, I think I may have
nicked it off him...I wonder if he’s noticed...
7, 8 and 9. Batman/Batman Returns, The Terminator/Terminator 2 and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
These are the three biggies. These are the three films that truly resonate
in my memory from my childhood. Sunday
films for watching over Sunday lunch. I
never stopped watching them and I still love them with the same passion that I
did back then. Not only that, but each
of these films have given me so much.
My parents shielded me well from The Terminator. Until we went to Florida when I was about
nine years old, to Universal Studios and my dad wanted to go on the Terminator
ride. My mum wasn’t sure at first, I
seem to remember, but eventually gave in.
Again, I was immediately hooked and begged my parents to let me watch
the films when we got home. My first
introduction to Arnie and the classic that is The Terminator (and Terminator
2).
I saw Batman at a very early age too. By Batman, I mean Tim Burton’s classic Batman
with Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton and Batman Returns. I don’t remember much about my first
viewings, just that I enjoyed it. My mum
would fast forward through the beginning when Jack Nicholson’s face get melted
and it wasn’t until my teens that I watched the full film. It also wasn’t until my teens that I truly
appreciated Batman and the magic happened.
I vividly remember watching these films in my room, as the bats flee
from the huge Christmas tree I was overcome with a new sensation. One that I can’t really describe but it is
now my marker for a good film. It was a
buzz that started inside my stomach, a warmth, an excitement, a burst of
inspiration. It marked the beginning of
my passion for fantasy/science fiction/geek and, as such, Tim Burton can now do
no wrong in my eyes. And I have my dad’s
(and mum’s) love of these amazing films to thank for that.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was very similar in that I
never knew it started with hands being cut off until I was a teenager. I don’t know why this film sits so heavily
with me. Maybe it was the family in-joke
of saying ‘Robin of Loxley’ with such a broad American accent (bless Kevin
Costner), maybe it was the one liners or the Medieval action or the brilliance
of Alan Rickman. Who can say...
My dad’s taste in films has had a profound effect on my
own taste, whether he meant that to happen or not. I would also like to point out that watching
such violent and potentially scary films at a young age did me no harm – I don’t
remember actually understanding them fully at that age.
So I would like to thank my wonderful dad, for being the
best dad ever and giving me one of the most important things in my life – my love
of explosions, cops with bare feet, caped crusaders, robots, men with bows and
arrows and Arnie films.
All together now!
There was a rich man from Nottingham, who tried to cross
the river. What a dope, he tripped on a
rope, now look at him shiver!
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