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I am an Indian Chartered Accountant living in United Arab Emirates. I did NOT watch many movies till 2010. In the beginning of 2011, I decided to compensate this by watching some great movies.
I did extensive research on the internet. My aim was to search for, find, and watch: Movies of Class & Movies with lessons to learn from. Though these were primary criteria, since I watched these movies spread throughout the year 2011 & till date, I had some valuable diverse additions to the list as well depending on certain periodic influences. This list is arrived at after watching around four times the total number of carefully chosen movies. I believe rejections improved the quality of this list.
The movies in this list are real class apart. You would enjoy watching them greatly if you share my taste, learning objective & level of intellect.
Each movie is a warehouse of inspirational ideas, stories, dialogues and examples. For the first few movies, I have wrote down below, a few key lessons which I learned from them. Kindly let me know your of your opinions or feedback by replying to this post. Thank you & Best Wishes- Prince Pratap
I did extensive research on the internet. My aim was to search for, find, and watch: Movies of Class & Movies with lessons to learn from. Though these were primary criteria, since I watched these movies spread throughout the year 2011 & till date, I had some valuable diverse additions to the list as well depending on certain periodic influences. This list is arrived at after watching around four times the total number of carefully chosen movies. I believe rejections improved the quality of this list.
The movies in this list are real class apart. You would enjoy watching them greatly if you share my taste, learning objective & level of intellect.
Each movie is a warehouse of inspirational ideas, stories, dialogues and examples. For the first few movies, I have wrote down below, a few key lessons which I learned from them. Kindly let me know your of your opinions or feedback by replying to this post. Thank you & Best Wishes- Prince Pratap
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- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.A true timeless classic. Perfection of a movie. I watched this movie more than 50 times so far, and still counting :). The movie is so deep. It teaches the philosophy of life in simple language. You will find yourself in this movie.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksRobin WrightGary SiniseThe history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.Lessons Learned from the Movie:
You don't have to be smart to become a super achiever. Single minded focus on one thing at a time can create miracles. The hero was kind of stupid (as the stupid does); still he become number one in many fields. Not all at once, but at different points of time. How? He single mindedly focused on that one thing. Without doubting or questioning, he obeyed what his trusted friends asked him to do. E.g. " Run Forrest Run". And, Secret of Ping Pong success: "Never take eye off the ball"......
You have to do the best with what God gave you.
I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time.
A Promise is a Promise. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot PageA thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient... highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it's almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed - fully understood - that sticks; right in there in brain.
I bought the airline. It seemed neater.
Downwards is the only way forwards.
No. No, no. I was disappointed... that you tried (to be me instead of being you) - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleMichael CaineKen WatanabeAfter witnessing his parents' death, Bruce learns the art of fighting to confront injustice. When he returns to Gotham as Batman, he must stop a secret society that intends to destroy the city.So many lessons, To name a few:
1. And why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up again.
2. To manipulate the fears of others, you must first learn to master your own.
3. It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you. - DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Empire overpowers the Rebel Alliance, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda. At the same time, Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett pursue his friends across the galaxy.Luke: I don't think so. I'm looking for a great warrior.
Yoda: Ohhh. Great warrior. [laughs and shakes his head] Wars not make one great.
Yoda: Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things.
Yoda: You must unlearn what you have learned.
Yoda: Yes, run! Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.
Luke: Vader... Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.
Luke: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?
Yoda: You will know... when you are calm, at peace, passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, NEVER for attack.
Luke: But tell my why I can't...
Yoda: No, no! There is no "why".
Luke: All right, I'll give it a try.
Yoda: No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.
Luke: I don't, I don't believe it.
Yoda: That is why you fail. - DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonA banker convicted of uxoricide forms a friendship over a quarter century with a hardened convict, while maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful through simple compassion.Key Lessons / Interesting Ideas from the movie - Prince Pratap:
Your positive attitude, consistent action can get you what you want irrespective of the adversest circumstances.
Your tool is not as important as your will power
That's all it takes really, pressure, and time.
I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. - DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.Key Lessons / Interesting Ideas from the movie - Prince Pratap:
Tyler Durden: You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your *beep* khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.
Narrator: On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
Tyler Durden: First you have to give up, first you have to *know*... not fear... *know*... that someday you're gonna die.
Tyler Durden: The things you own end up owning you.
Tyler Durden: Reject the basic assumptions of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions.
Tyler Durden: Self improvement is masturbation. Now self destruction...
Tyler Durden: We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.
Tyler Durden: It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything. - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.Be fearless and take action. You have all the resources they need. Then why you are afraid to act. - The scene from the movie on this was really touching: Cpl. Timothy P. Upham (Character) carrying all the ammunition his colleagues (out of ammunition while fighting the enemy) need still, unable to move forward due to fear.
Captain Miller: Earn this.
Private Ryan: You can tell my mother that when you found me, I was with the only brothers I had left. And that there was no way I was deserting them. I think she'd understand that. - DirectorGabriele MuccinoStarsWill SmithThandiwe NewtonJaden SmithA struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
- DirectorJames McTeigueStarsHugo WeavingNatalie PortmanRupert GravesIn a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.Lessons:
1. That small portion within your mind that is truly yourself is cannot be conquered by an outsider. Through pain sometimes we find our values. And find integrity.
2. Give hope to people , inspire them, moivate them for action.
3. An idea cannot be killed - DirectorJames CameronStarsSam WorthingtonZoe SaldanaSigourney WeaverA paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.Lessons Learned from the Movie:
1. The universe is alive, so interconnected. If you are in alignment with the nature and do what is right, the universe/nature itself will come to your aid, even changing its normal set of rules.
2. Care, nurture and preserve mother Earth, instead of giving in to greed.
3. Fear nothing - DirectorNeil BurgerStarsBradley CooperAnna FrielAbbie CornishA mysterious pill that enables the user to access 100% of his brain's abilities transforms a struggling writer into a financial wizard, but it also puts him in a new world with many dangers.Imagine the greatness you can attain through using your mind & brain 100%
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsEwan McGregorAlbert FinneyBilly CrudupA frustrated son tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father's life.
- DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsJames McAvoyMichael FassbenderJennifer LawrenceIn the 1960s, superpowered humans Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr work together to find others like them, but Erik's vengeful pursuit of an ambitious mutant who ruined his life causes a schism to divide them.Impossible is Nothing
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.This thriller teeters on the edge between psychological study and all-out horror, and benefits greatly from stellar performances by Anthony Hopkins (a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath) and Jodie Foster (a to be enrolled lady FBI agent who is a mission to identify & capture a psychotic serial killer at large).
This was a tough choice to be included in my list. I was wondering what is inspirational about this movie. Then i could find the following:
1. Lady FBI Agents fearlessness, her winning trust/compassion of a prisoner who could help the investigation (Hannibal Lecter), her intelligence, perseverance, compassion towards to be victims of a psychotic serial killer
2. Hannibal Lecter's intelligence, psychological skills, shrewdness - DirectorYimou ZhangStarsJet LiTony Leung Chiu-waiMaggie CheungA defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.Lessons:
1. "I have just come to a realization! This scroll by Broken Sword contains no secrets of his swordsmanship. What this reveals is his highest ideal. In the first state, man and sword become one and each other. Here, even a blade of grass can be used as a lethal weapon. In the next stage, the sword resides not in the hand but in the heart. Even without a weapon, the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred paces. But the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether. The warrior embraces all around him. The desire to kill no longer exists. Only peace remains."
2. Choose & use weapon after assessing the enemy. "Sky" don't even remove his sword/sphere from the leather cover when a bunch of kings men came to fight him. And then he defeated all of them single-handed. But when Jet Li come rushing towards him, he ("Sky") understands this fighter is different. and to survive he have to use his weapon to the fullest. We all can sense each other's capability quick. Its in our blood. Trust your intuition & subconscious.
3. A large part of all the fights happen in the mind. For e.g. the fight between "Sky" & "Local Perfect"(Jet Li). And when the music stops understand that it is high time to start the fight ;) - DirectorPeter WeirStarsJim CarreyEd HarrisLaura LinneyAn insurance salesman is oblivious of the fact that his entire life is a TV show and his family members are mere actors. As he starts noticing things and uncovers the truth, he decides to escape.Key Lessons / Interesting Ideas from the movie - Prince Pratap:
There are no secrets in your life. Everything is public ultimately. Someone is watching you always. Call it any name you like - God, Universe, your conscience etc. - DirectorVictor SalvaStarsScott MechlowiczNick NolteAmy SmartDan, a college student and a world-champion gymnast, is disturbed and wants to add some meaning to his life. A chance encounter leads him to discover an enlightened way ahead.Socrates: Where are you?
Dan Millman: Here.
Socrates: What time is it?
Dan Millman: Now.
Socrates: What are you?
Dan Millman: This moment.
“Everything has a purpose, even this, and it's up to you to find it.”
“Death isn't sad. The sad thing is: most people don't live at all.”
“The ones who are hardest to love are usually the ones who need it the most.”
“The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination.”
“A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds the love in what he does.” - DirectorRoberto BenigniStarsRoberto BenigniNicoletta BraschiGiorgio CantariniWhen an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.Lessons:
1. Sense of humor even in life threatening situations
2. Importance of positive attitude that can make you a winner - DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.Major Fambrough: You wish to see the frontier?
John Dunbar: Yes sir, before it's gone.
Stands With a Fist: [translating for Kicking Bird] He thanks Dances with Wolves for coming.
John Dunbar: Who is Dances with Wolves?
Stands With a Fist: It is the name all the people are calling you now.
John Dunbar: [voice-over] Nothing I have been told about these people is correct. They are not thieves or beggars. They are not the bogeymen they are made out to be. On the contrary, they are polite guest and I enjoy their humor.
John Dunbar: [voice-over] It was hard to know how to feel. I had never been in a battle like this one. This had not been a fight for territory or riches or to make men free. This battle had no ego. It had been fought to preserve the food stores that would see us through winter, to protect the lives of women and children and loved ones only a few feet away. I felt a pride I had never felt before. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHugh JackmanScarlett JohanssonAfter a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.Cutter: Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.We escape the routine when we excel in it. People are the key to your success.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.Lessons:
1. Strength & Honor
2. What we do in life echoes in eternity
3. Win the crowd - DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.Lessons:
1. Just see what mind can create
2. Each must find his own perfect 10 :)