The Early Films That Shaped Me

Coming to America

I have no concrete memory of how this film came into my life, how I first ended up seeing it and what the circumstances were, but if there's one comedy film that stands out to me, it's this. Coming to America is hilarious! I do remember my older sister and I watching an edited version of it on VHS, which dubbed all the swearing with more 'appropriate' language. This just made the film more funny! Hearing people say 'damn you' when you can actually see their lips saying, 'fuck you', or 'sorry sucker' in place of, 'mother fucker' added unintended humour, on top of the intentional humour.

Eddie Murphy is my all time favourite comedic actor, with a natural talent for comedy. His delivery, timing and quick wit are steeped in an East Coast, inner-city, 20th Century African American experience, previously pioneered by Richard Pryor, who instilled the blueprint of transitioning from comedy stage, to silver screen.

There are far too many great lines to quote in a short review, but to this day barely a week will go by where Coming to America isn’t quoted by me, or close friends. A timeless classic.

The Goonies

"Good enough, for me it's good enooough, for you it's goood enough...", so goes the classic Cyndi Lauper track. I don't know many young 80's kids who didn't at some point see 'The Goonies'. A group of pre-adolescents find a map which claims to lead to treasure, which of course leads to dangers of PG kind along the way.

When older people say, 'they don't make em like that anymore', and you used to mockingly roll your eyes, this film is a gem that goes fully in sync with that sentiment. In a time of yearly CG animated movies, a film about real life kids, for kids seems outlandish today. Starring a young Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), Josh Brolin (No country for Old Men) and teen star Corey Feldman, this is a classic children’s adventure film for a time where children played outside, knocked on each other’s doors and got up to juvenile mischief, fitting for the era.

An American Tail

When you're a child, music has some of the greatest impact on your mood. This is why so many children's films include impromptu musical numbers that are in-sync with the narrative. This particular film had a massive impact on my childhood. It was about Fievel Mousekewitz, the young Jewish/Russian mouse whose loving family flee their homeland to find their fortunes in the promised land, that is of course America (where the streets in this case, are paved with cheese). It's one of Don Bluth's best children's cartoons, (along with The Land Before Time, which narrowly missed out on a place on this list). One of my fondest memories of the film, is of my older sister and I singing 'somewhere out there' to my newborn, baby brother whenever he would cry.

Boyz N the Hood

I don't know how many boys saw this film when they were 9...I did. The relationship between Tre Styles and his father Furious, by this age, mirrored my own with my father. Tre would stay with his dad, as would I on weekends with mine. The existence of father/son teaching, learning and paternal relationship was so similar it was uncanny. This is a film for young men to watch and learn from, regardless of background. It speaks to us even if we're not from a “ghetto”, crime ridden neighbourhood. It teaches us that there are paths in life that we can follow, or that we can lead. This is a lessen to be learnt and I whilst it's nowhere near as pivotal in matching my own dad's teachings, it exists in my mind as being an important part of my masculine education.

Oliver!

To this day, I don't think there are many musicals that can compete with Oliver! in terms of lyrical, musical and acting wonderment. What a film. Whether it's "I'll do anything", "Be back soon", "who will buy" or "pick a pocket", I cannot think of another musical that offers this many great songs within one film. Charles Dickens story also shines through, we get a feel for Victorian London being utterly impoverished for its lowest classes, the menace of Bill Sykes is evident as is the brutality of the work houses for the poor. Many of this film's songs were a soundtrack to my childhood, and its excellent writing led to a future of personal family jokes (shut up and drink your gin) still being relevant today. A timeless great.

Roots

One day when I was five, my mum was adamant on showing me this film, for many reasons, including the fact that she wanted me to know where my name came from. I was named after actor LeVardis Burton (known mostly as LeVar Burton). Roots was the film that inspired my mum to give me this name. We had it on VHS as a 6 part series, but in my mind and psyche it stands out as a singular cinematic moment. I vividly remember I didn't want to watch it. It looked “old”to my young eyes and I was worried it may be upsetting. My mum said it was upsetting, but loving suggested that I needed to watch it. So I did, and to this day Roots is arguably the singular most important piece of film I've experienced, helping form a young, male identity and also giving me an understanding of the importance of knowing aspects your history, beyond Eurocentric narratives, that life existed before slavery and the Caribbean and that there’s a cultural, spiritual and beautiful richness, to those of the African diaspora.

Superman: The Movie

One of the first books I ever read from cover to cover, was J.M Barrie's 'Peter Pan'. I wasn't too interested in the swashbuckling pirates or the Victorian London setting, I was interested in the fact that a little boy chose not to grow up and the fact that this little boy, like I was, could fly! So when I first saw Superman: The Movie aged 5 and witnessed a man fly...something monumental took place in my imagination. One of , if not the single greatest achievement of Superman is its score. The opening credits with John Williams astounding musical orchestral piece, still resonates with me today. It's amazing for so many reasons. And remains one of the best ever comic book film adaptations.

E.T

Are there are any chase scenes in cinema history that can rival the BMX scene towards the end of E.T? For me the answer to that question is a straight no! E.T was special. It's about friendship, family and difference. But when seeing it as a child, it's entirely about a cute alien, who is lost and wants to go home. Spielberg was and remains a genius, certainly in my top 5 favorite film directors, I think they'll be a number of his titles cropping up on my personal great films lists. You cannot love cinema and not appreciate the work of Spielberg. E.T is a masterpiece, Drew Barrymore has to be one of cinema history's cutest revelations and as for that bike chase, which deserves a second mention...I could watch it now and still feel like I did when I was 6 seeing it for the first time. Greatness.

Return of the Jedi

The first time I watched Return of the Jedi was based off of my dad's recommendation. He had borrowed the VHS off a law student friend of his and after borrowing it, I explicitly remember dad saying to me, watch this Levar, you'll like it. I had never seen Star Wars before or had any interest in it. I was 7 and watching Return of the Jedi came before both 'Star Wars' (A new hope) and The Empire Strikes Back. It blew me away! The closest I'd come to seeing anything like this was Labyrinth or The Last Starfighter, but this was different.

This film had a weight to it and a story that was already two films deep, with a plot and characters I had no clue about. I didn't know the relevance of Luke and Vader being father and son, I didn't know about the love triangle between Han, Leia and Luke, to me it was all just new. Jabba the Hut was no more threatening than a massive slug in my mind, Luke was a powerful ninja and Obi-Wan was a wise spirit. It's a very strange way to see these films. But because this was my first, it was the most impactful to me and for that reason probably remains my favourite of the entire saga. Luke would never be as powerful as he was in Jedi, because I'd be watching these films in reverse. Vader would be more of a sympathetic character than a menacing one and the Emperor would be the true villain. I may just allow my kids to watch these films in the same way, one day in a future far, far away...

Imitation of Life

I watched some hard hitting films when I was young! I think my parents, allowed me to watch films that may have been emotionally difficult for a child to grasp, but films that afforded me a strong racial and cultural awareness. I watched Imitation of Life when I was 6. I knew instantly that Sarah Jane was unhappy with being of black heritage as I had felt at times in my young development. It was frequently a marker to inform me I was not only different but less. This is why I'm grateful for 'Roots' and to this film, because they showed me that the idea of being less due to race, religion or any equivalent superficiality, is eternally backwards. Furthermore, they taught me from very early on, that the greatest achievement in life is not financial wealth or fame, but to be a genuinely good person, live well and to be truly loved. Imitation of Life, is an excellent film.

The Wizard of Oz

It's fair to say that without The Wizard of Oz, you probably wouldn't have The Lord of the Rings, so for that alone, this film deserves massive praise. The moment the film sifts from black & white to 'technicolor' is a vivid memory that was awe inspiring for a four year old. I wonder whether four year old's today can say that of the 3D they're overwhelmed with by the time of their twenty's...maybe so. What I do know is that this film stands the test of time. The wicked witch may not be as scary as she was then (I'd take one FAT super soaker to that evil b***h) but the humour is just as good if not better. Cowardly Lion, you are a legend sir!

Jurassic Park

Up until the age of 14, when football became less likely as a career, I wanted to be a palaeontologist. This desire for a career with fossils came way before Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking film. I used to collect a fortnightly Dinosaur magazine, appropriately titled, "Dinosaurs". With each new edition you received a fossil piece(s) which you had to assemble and then outer shell to complete and paint. The finished product was a 45 centimetre completed Tyrannosaurus Rex. I loved it, I loved reading the dinosaur facts and it was a great time in my childhood. Then Jurassic Park came out. Jurassic Park was the single most significant cinema-going experience of my childhood. I watched it 5 times, each time with someone paying for me, which aged 8-9 is quite an achievement. Dinosaurs were now on screen. The T-Rex I had spent months assembling was as majestic as I'd always imagined it to be. All of the names I'd be learning and spent so long trying to pronounce were now "real" in a time where nobody knew the trickery of CGI. More importantly the acting, the story and the science all seemed to add up. Jurassic Park holds up today in a time where CGI has reached new heights. It's a film that will forever underline a fantastic time in my childhood.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

As an 80's child who grew up watching some of the greatest action films from a decade of great action actors, this is still Schwarzenegger's best character portrayal. Some people argue that his outing as the T-800 was more impressive than this second outing as Cyberdyne model 101. For me, the latter film is all about the unique relationship between John Connor and his Terminator. Connor is a kid, like I was when I first watched this and he's a kid like you'd want to be! He lives in an arcade, never seems to go to school, because he's too busy riding his own motorbike and hacking bank machines to get his hands on 'easy money'. The relationship between John and The Terminator along with the threat posed by the sleek and deadly T-1000 makes this a timeless sci-fi, action film. James Cameron is one of those directors who knows how to make a film cool, make it a mix of geek and mainstream! The father of cinematic Geekdom.