Rypro 525

Well, if your like me, when growing up, the only movies I liked were either brain dead comedies or movies with lots of car chases and explosions and shit like that.

The first forgien language movie I saw was Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon with a friend of mine (he wanted to see it, and it was just starting to get buzz and still wasn't in alot of theaters at that time) I went with him for the hell of it even though i didn't really know much about it except that it had subtitles and had alot of fight scenes. Anyways, I really loved the movie, and was blown away. Also, I saw it in a packed theater and with an audience that was very well behaved.

This movie started my love affair of these types of movies (and these forums as well, if it weren't for them I probably wouldn't have sought after Memento, and buying Hero from a chinese website a year and a half before the movie was released in the US by Miramax ( I love the way they marketed the movie. I saw the trailer before kill bill vol 2. show all the action scenes, made sure to mention Tarantino's name, and not to show any scene's with dialogue. I heard a bunch of "Oh I gotta see that" not knowing of course that the movie wasn't in english and didn't have fighting right away)

TimeandTide

When I was a sophomore in college I was browsing the VHS selection at the local video store and was intrigued by the box blurbs for Reservoir Dogs and Woo's The Killer. Hadn't heard of either prior. Watched 'em back-to-back--twice--and fell instantly in love with QT (and his influences) and Asian cinema. Those two films really opened my eyes to film beyond the usual big-budgeted action and rom-com fare I'd been used to.

FantasticVSDoom

Well I grew up with the old Bruce Lee films, HK, and Godzilla movies because of my dad... As far as art house/indie types I would have to go with Reservoir Dogs. It seems like there was another before, but I just cant think so I would have to say that.

RichC2

Run Lola Run back in '98, was about 15 at the time.

kms_md

first favorite foreign film would probably be "burnt by the sun".

my all time favorite independent movie is "henry fool".

OldBoy

CTHD was one that i sought out to see. i dragged a friend of mine to NYC, as it was only playing in 9 theaters across the country at the time (before it blew up like it did) and i was enthralled. i loved every minute of it. this was the first foreign language that i saw in theaters, followed shortly by "Amelie" which i dragged another friend and she fell asleep, i loved it! (same friend that i sought out Larry Clark's "KIDS" in a theater in Philadelphia where it was 1 of 16 places featuring it. i loved it as well and she was shocked and slightly appalled by the content).

but, i think the very first was blind buying "Run Lola Run". i loved it and Franka Potente to this day. also, started my love affair with smaller, independent cinema.

i never thought i would get into subtitles and the like, but now they are some of my favorites of all time. i have several, not an overwhelming amount, but i have rented and seen many more.

i love Pedro Almodóvar and seen a few of his. i adore Audrey Tautou and seen many of hers. the foreign language films/indies bring such a different light to cinema. they are for the most part the most highly original pieces i have ever seen and i love originality.

the story telling is just so unique and so many times high art rather than a lot of the cookie cutter pop culture we get in American cinema. don't get me wrong i too love cookie cutter pop culture, but when i want more depth the foriegn language films usually deliver.

Kudama

As far back as I can recall right now it was when La Femme Nikita was on VHS. I saw it at home. Does that count?

I remember when a friend scored a non-subbed VHS copy of Akira. This was when the Epic Comics colorized reprints were at about issue 20. About 2-3 years before America "discovered" anime and they played the incredibly poorly dubbed version on the big screen in the States. For some reason the guy left this fucking incredible score (the VHS tape) with me. I watched that Goddamned thing to death. I already was in love with the comic by by issue 4 (flying bucket sequence in the sewers) and was already into Hayao Miyazaki's Lupin III work. Anyone remember the Dragon's Lair VG rip off Cliffhanger? That's actually what got me into anime. But, who's kidding who? I already liked animation. When you like something and see it done with more flair, more respect for the adult audience and better technical skill, what are you gonna do?

Mondo Kane

My Life as a Dog was the first one that I rented. And for awhile, I thought it would be the last foreign/arthouse flick I would ever see. The adolescent sexual content in it just bugged me so much that I didn't want to re-visit these types of works again. Good to know that I would eventually let this grudge go.

As for Indies, well Night of the Living Dead,Drugstore Cowboy, and Halloween were among my first. But I always thought those were just "regular" movies at first.

The Bus

I grew up watching the occasional foreign movie. The first theatrical one I can remember is Jean de Florette in 1987. I grew up watching a lot of Miyazaki, although I would not make the connection until just this year (Future Boy Conan).

kms_md

good call on drugstore cowboy - i saw that on the smaller screen at the dream theater in monterey when it was released.

devilshalo

Kung Fu Instructor (1979) at the Empress Theater in Hawaii. I was 11. In original Cantonese.

Tobidasu Jinzô ningen Kikaidâ (1973) at the Varsity Theater, tho I never watched it in 1973, I think it was revived around 1978 or 79. My first 3D movie, too.

Ginwen

I've pretty much always watched them since it was something my parents liked (and they chose the movies), the ones I remember from when I was a kid.

I know I saw Z at the theater, and I must've been 6 or 7 since it came out when I was 6. I remember liking it but don't know if I understood it. I liked the part where the car was chasing the guy. In my 2nd grade picture I'm even wearing a Z button.

I saw Day For Night twice at the theater, once dubbed once with subtitles, I would've been about 10. Even then I preferred the subtitles.

I saw The Tenant when I was 13 at the movies in a double feature with the not foreign but very strange Man Who Fell to Earth. I liked the Tenant better, since The Man Who Fell to Earth made no sense to me at the time.

I also watched a few on TV (PBS I guess) Beauty and the Beast was one, not sure what else.

That's all I remember pre-High School.

As far as non-mainstream movies, I saw lots of those as a kid. I don't remember them all (I know a Boy and His Dog was one, kind of surprised they let me in), but I used to ride my bike over to the Rialto theater in South Pasadena a lot--it was kind of a dump at that time but they showed lots of cool movies (that's where I saw my first 3D movies, Creature From the Black Lagoon and It Came From Outer Space).

obscurelabel

In 1973 (I was 13) , the local PBS station had an Ingmar Bergman festival and ran most if not all of his movies up to that time. I watched them all on a b&w 13" tv, complete with rabbit ears. The one I remember most is Summer with Monika (my memory is probably enhanced because of some near-nude shots of star Harriet Andersson), which I haven't seen since. I remember thinking how weird the Janus logo looked.

Since then, I've scrambled to catch obscure stuff on TV, revival houses (sadly no more in Atlanta), specialty theaters, museum showings, etc. Now with TCM and Netflix it's so easy a lot of the fun is gone

f1shf00d

if you talking in the theater, the earliest one I can remember is The Brother from Another Planet or The Gods Must Be Crazy, if you count either one of those....

Kudama

God!!!! I remember seeing those in 3D when I was knee high to a grasshopper (not the Kung Fu kind.)
____OFF TOPIC -Some kids get lucky some don't. I got to see The Spy Who Loved Me, A Shot in the Dark, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and ('78) Invasion of the Bodysnatchers on the big screen because of my parents' whims. For the same reason: Missed out on Alien (rectified in 1998 at a revival theater) and took things into my own hands with Heavy Metal when I was a wee tyke.

PopcornTreeCt

The first one I can remember was Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress on DVD. I grew up in a tiny town that would never play any movie that wasn't in english. Though I do remember watching some foreign films on a local movie channel back home, I can't really recall any of the titles.

Nowadays, foriegn films and indies are all I watch. I'm happy to see that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon got people into foreign films despite the fact that I absolutely hate that movie and think it's the probably one of the most wasted 2 hours of my life. Amelie was decent but there are tons better films out there.

Please seek out other foreign films not released by Miramax! I beg of you! They only release foreign films that they believe are "American" enough for people to handle.

Rypro 525

your gonna hate me for this (even though the movie is amazing) I actually sought out City of God when it was released at our mainstreme multiplex (it had just receved a few oscar nods.) The funny thing was that a group of kids and teens came during the previews. A guy sitting next to them told their mother asking if she was sure that this was the movie they wanted to see. One of the disney movies was apparenltly playing next door, and they got confused.

mndtrp

I think the first foreign film I saw was The City of Lost Children. I don't have a clue what the first indie/arthouse movie was.

Coral

I have to agree.

A few people have told me that they watch foreign movies, but it usually winds up being movies like CTHD, Hero, Kung-Fu Hustle, etc. They seem to "put up" with foreign films for films that have action (I see that on the forums as well). When I ask if there are any "non-action" foreign films they've seen, they usually slip in Life is Beautiful - but I always find out they watched the English-dubbed version.

There's nothing wrong with watching these films, but there's a world of film outside of the US. These handpicked films major US studios bring over (which will probably be edited and dubbed) are usually an attempt to add some prestige into their library while trying to gain an award - while trying to turn a profit.

Someone should start an foreign film movie challenge thread (similar to the AFI challenge) to spark some more interest in all the great films people are missing.

d2cheer

Mine was the Original Ring, or whatever the real title is...

kitkat

I think I'm too old to remember the first. Like Ginwen, I've pretty much always watched them, so they don't really stand out as events in my mind. You've got me wondering now, though.

HybridLane

My first of any of the thread title asks for, is foreign film.

A French one with the lovely Virginie Leloyden and the scrumptuous Mathieu Amalric. Late August, Early September.

I was only 15 and it was my first foray into French cinema. It was a late night and I was exploring the world movie channel. It made quite the impression on me. Not only with French language but the French way of life. It was like nothing else I had watched in our English films.

It wasn't the most successful French flick, but it bolstered my appreciation for foreign films, and I now have a great love for foreign films.

MartinBlank

A Clockwork Orange, must've been 15 or 16.

Mondo Kane

Oh I'll never forget. I rented this the same night as I rented Toxic Avenger! Had a helluva double-feature that night! And I was only 11 at the time.

I first heard about "Clockwork" when I was about 9, due to a science-fiction-movie book that I borrowed from the local library at the time. I rented it expecting to see androids (Since a snapshot of Alex with the eyeshadow convinced a young lad like me that he was non-human. But NOT the non-human I was expected to see, eh?)

inri222

Dubbed version of Amarcord on cable when I was about 10.