I'm not quite sure why it popped into my head, but I was recently reflecting on the question of whether or not there was a single point in my life from which my love for film originated -- a particular movie or even a particular scene before which I was a fairly mild film viewer and after which I was a full-blown cinematic fanatic. Was there a watershed moment for me? And if so, what was it?
Quickly, I realized that the answer was obvious. It was this:
I still vividly remember being unable to sleep the night after I watched Jurassic Park for the first time, not so much because it was an intense viewing experience for my teenaged self -- it was -- but because I was reeling from the sheer power of its images, and the astonishing imagination behind them. I still get goosebumps as I remember that moment. (Heck, I get goosebumps watching it RIGHT NOW.)
The moment I realized that studying the craft and the inner workings and the men behind the curtains made me love movies even more, not less? That's just as easy. It was the hospital scene in Unbreakable, as the doctor explains to a stunned David Dunn that he's one of only a pair of -- oh, wait a second -- explains that David's the only survivor of a terrible train wreck, precipitating the rest of the film.
I'm pretty sure both of these moments say something about me as a viewer/cinematic consumer. And probably as a human, as well. But there's plenty of time for me to over-analyze that in the coming days. What I really want to know is:
What are your moments?