Film Series- Stand by Me

     The first time that I watched this film I was at summer camp. I can remember being really excited about watching it because I knew that it was rated R. It had an immediate affect on me as i'm sure it has had on may others. It is very much the epitome of what a timeless film should be in my opinion. I think that it is a story that any person can relate to. Growing up some of my fondest memories are going on little adventures with my friends. There was actually one time that we went looking for a witches house deep in the woods. We did find the house eventually but it turned out that it had been abandoned for quite a long time.
      I decided to watch Stand by Me recently and it brought me right back to my childhood. It evoked those fond feelings and memories of growing up and trying to figure out who you are or what you want to be when you grow up. It is such an innocent and crucial time that goes by so quickly. I often wish that I could turn back the clock sometimes just so I could be that carefree girl again. The one who wanted to go on every adventure and complete any obstacle that came my way. Now it seems that responsibility and maturity stands in my way. But one of the messages that has stuck with me from the film is that if I don't go for "it" then i'm pretty much an asshole.

Film Series- Hitchcock

      The first Alfred Hitchcock film I ever saw was The Birds. I can remember walking into the living room and staring at the television as I watched a swarm of birds attacking school children, I must have been around eight years old. I was so terrified I had to remove myself from the situation. It wasn't until many years later that I saw the film Rebecca and I fell deeply in love with the master of suspense. I started to look for more of his films and began my own collection. It really amazed me that a person can make a film with a certain formula but also have each film be unique in its own way.
     I think that most of the great filmmakers cite Hitchcock as a hero or inspiration. He has certainly become one of my all time favorite directors. With each scene in his films he draws me in slowly until I feel like i'm going to break with the tension and suspense. I don't really now what else to say about the man that hasn't already been said so I will leave you with some of my favorite quotes of his.



"Give them pleasure - the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare."


"I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach."

"I have a perfect cure for a sore throat: cut it."

"Luck is everything... My good luck in life was to be a really frightened person. I'm fortunate to be a coward, to have a low threshold of fear, because a hero couldn't make a good suspense film."

Film Series- White Christmas

       The music, dancing, scenery, the overall feeling of this film holds so many memories for me. It has been a family tradition for my family to watch this film whenever Christmas season starts. The love for this film all started with my grandmother. She absolutely adored the film and music. When my mother was younger she and her two sisters sang the song "Sister's, Sister's" at a talent show that my grandmother  had entered them in. At Christmas two years ago they recreated the moment in our family living room for the whole family to see, it was just a lovely and joyful moment.
     Like I said before it has become a tradition to watch the film whenever the Christmas season begins. I can remember the first time I saw it. We were at my grandparents house and we all gathering in front of the television with drinks and snacks and watched it together. I fell in love with the film at that moment. I think that because my grandmother is no longer with me it holds an even stronger feeling. Like I said with The Sound of Music I feel her presence in every scene of the film. I have real comfort in the fact that when I put a film on that she loved I sense the spirit and love that she had for it. It makes it feel like she still lives on in them.