With all the excitement surrounding the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back — a true masterpiece by any definition of the word — it got me thinking about the iconic films of my childhood that left such a permanent impression that I can still vividly recall the experience of seeing them for very first time in a theatre. Not the look of the multiplex or the color of the seats, but how these movies made me feel. How they transported me into their world to the point that when the lights came up it felt like an unwelcome alarm clock on a school day.
I’m probably forgetting some but between my twelfth and sixteenth birthdays these were the epic cinematic moments of my life: Superman: The Movie, Star Wars, Empire, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Each not only blew my young mind with their simple but effective stories, unforgettable scores, and beloved (and hated) characters, but to this day each holds up marvelously. This can’t be said for every film that came out during this time of my life, so you have to credit the films and filmmakers. They just are that good. Each transcends the blockbuster spectacle and deserves a place among the greatest films ever made.
And the moments! That’s what really keeps each of these triumphs forever in our hearts. Superman saving Lois Lane that first time still gives me chills; the opening of Star Wars with the music and ships overhead; Indy escaping that first tomb; James Bond skiing off a cliff; Kirk dropping Khan’s shields and Spock dying; Vader emerging victorious at the end of Empire. Good grief, processing that ate up the rest of the summer.
None of this is a revelation, obviously. Not only would few people argue with my list, most would come up with a similar one. And that’s my point. Thirty-years on people still talk about these same films, many of whom weren’t even old enough to have seen them during their first theatrical release.
Listen, I’m 44 years old and as susceptible to nostalgia as anyone. Thankfully, this touch of self-awareness makes it impossible for me to brazenly declare “they don’t make ’em like that anymore.” So help an increasingly old man out. Give me your list of films made since 1995 that have earned a place among those on my list — films that fifteen years from now grown adults will be looking back on with the same awe and clarity of memory surrounding the experience of it all.
Or am I right that the arrival of the Ewoks in Jedi marked a dark turning point from which we’ve never fully recovered?
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