I was watching "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" in the 2-screen theater at the theater near my college. I was with my older sister. When it finished, we came out and saw people cheering on the streets. Obama had won the election.

@JM: Wow, that's hard to top methinks.

Thanks for sharing your little tale, David. It was funny and sweet.

I was born the year "Dumbo" was released. Now I can't say I actually saw it until years later but when I looked up its biography, if you will, as a child, I remember being proud that we were stepping through life in the same time line. I saw "The Graduate" the year I graduated from high school and remember being disappointed that it wasn't as good as the book. I watched "Five Easy Pieces" while going to college. I know the young man who would eventually become my husband and I went to see a film on our first date but can't be sure of which one it was. We were that struck with each other. The first film I violently disagreed with Roger Ebert was "Harold and Maude" because he ridiculed it and I loved it. I sat through a theatrical rerelease of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" while I was pregnant with my first child which was torture in those little cinema seats for such a long film but I absolutely will never forget being 8 months and watching "The Godfather." It is not exactly the imagery you want as you prepare to bring a new life into the world. It's graphic violence combined with my relentless backache biased me against that francise forever. Thereafter much of my movie viewing is an irratic blur with some highlights like taking my young children to see the first and then the second "Star Wars" in a drive-in theatre and their eventual love of all things "Batman." I will say that there is nothing to compare to watching a well made film with your children and seeing the looks on their faces as they sink into it. Films just weren't a big part of much of my life for many, many years despite my childen's avid devotion. After years of neglect I've slowly returned to my original love of the cinema, catching up via Netflix, to the surprise and delight of my offspring. Two of my three grown children, by the way, are now actors and my son-in-law is a script writer.

Very well written article. A couple of movies that stand out in my life:

At a friend's house, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (Tim Burton's version) was playing the night I met the girl I would later marry.
I watched "Wedding Crashers" with the guys the night before I got married.

I remember when I was younger, my Dad called my school and told them my brother and I would be staying home today. He had a day off and wanted to take us to the movies, we saw "Deep Blue Sea" and "The Haunting". I thought that was very cool of him to do that.

My grandmother is Portuguese and doesn't speak English or French (I'm from Montreal in Canada). Because of that she doesn't go to the movies cuz she won't understand. But back in the 90s when Mr. Bean was ever so popular, she loved it and found it hilarious because she could understand what was going on because he was very visual. So looking back, I find it pretty cool that I saw "Bean: The Movie" in theaters with my family, including my grandmother. It's the only time we went to the theaters for a movie and she loved it.

I'm a youngun, but I'll give it a go regardless. Let's see….

My first film in the theater was Beauty and the Beast. I was 21 months old, and the Beast scared the hell outta me.

The last movie I saw in my childhood theater before it would be remodeled and turned into a nightclub was Return of the Jedi.

The first movie I saw in the theater that would become my second home for the good part of a decade was Lost in Space. I remember loving this movie, but being only 8 years old at the time, I loved anything you'd flash on a screen to me.

The day before I started high school, my friends and I went to see Spider-Man 2. The movie kinda made up for all the shit that would go down over freshman year….

My first ever date movie was Get Smart. Naturally, I don't remember anything about the movie, I just remember the girl, and that four months later, she'd break my heart.

I had graduated late. Stupid summer courses kept me in school through mid-July. It was absolute helll, watching all my classmates have such freedom while I was still in the classroom. When I get out of my last class, I was happy to be out of there, so I called up my two best friends and told them I wanted to celebrate. We went to Johnny Rocket's for burgers and shakes, then we had a day long marathon, consisting of Iron Man (again), Hellboy II, and Hancock. We got out of the last movie at 10:30pm, and there were no more films playing for the day. We noticed hundreds of people waiting outside the theater when we got to our car. Befuddled, we all sat there wondering what was going on. Then, it dawned on me – today was July 17th, and those people were waiting for the midnight show of The Dark Knight. We couldn't get tickets at midnight, but we could get into the newly added 3:00am showing. So, we sat there for 4 1/2 hours waiting to see the movie, and then got home at 6:00am, exhausted, drained and blown away. We all woke up the next morning (er, afternoon) and went back to catch the next show we could.

Last night was one of my best friends' last night here. He headed off to college today, and I wanted to spend some time with him before he left, so I took him and bunch of others to see an advanced screening of Year One. I had gotten four tickets from Film Metro, and we'd all wanted to see it…. Too bad we didn't listen to everyone who saw the trailer, they were right. The film WAS terrible.

@Just Myself:

I like that Movie Day with TDK at the end, that's legendary lol

The first movie i ever remember falling in love with was Toy Story.
The Matrix Reloaded was the first "R" rated film i ever remember my dad taking me too.
The last movie I ever watched with my brother was King Kong.
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring is the movie I had just watched right before I knew that movies would be what I dedicated my life too.

In summer of 95 me and an army buddy were bored and had nothing in particular to do so we went to see a late showing of "BRAVEHEART". The movie blew me away and brought me to tears. Over the course of the following 2 weeks I saw the film in the theater 4 more times for a total of 5. Each time taking we took along someone else who had not seen it. I aquired the soundtrack by James Horner and listening to it brought me to tears. A year later when the movie came out on laserdisc we sat up a surround sound system and big screen TV in the barracks "day" room and screened the movie for about 30 people who showed up after I hung the original 27 by 40 movie poster on the door. Since then … the only other movies I have seen nearly that many times in the theater is WALL-E – 4. Titanic – 3 Star Trek – 3

My Titanic story is for another time.

First movie that i will always treasure as a child is The Sandlot , which got me in baseball for a while. Then as i got older out of baseball i got into karate so the obvious movie that was part of my life there was The Karate Kid and thats been a big part of my life since in still in it. When i was 14 i went to see The Punisher on my birthday , they wouldnt let me and my friend at the time in. We got in later on and 5 free movie passes. An "R" rating is very hard to come by in Canada. 18A is the equilalent to the R in the sates. The first R movie i saw was Dog Soliders ( terrible movie). The first 18A movie i saw in theatres was Terminator3 with my dad. The last movie i saw with my dad was if i remember correctly Star Wars III. I found my love of movies when i was about 16 i knew about a lot of movies and i wanted to know more about movies and actors. I still do this but i tell my friends when a movie comes out in theatres and on DVD. I can recite the entire scence in Hook where Rufio and Peter call each other names , its kinda crazy but thats one of my all time favourite movies and have probably watched it over 300 times. The Dark Knight would mark the last movie i see with my ex. Thats all i have now i still have a lot more movies to see in my life and cant wait MOVIES ARE LIFE !

Ok … My Titanic Story.

It was the fall of 1997 and to make a long story short I quit my job in Las Vegas and drove 1500 miles for a girl I barely new. When it didn't work out an old friend of mine invited me to stop and stay with her for a few days in San Antonio on my drive back to Vegas. That happened to be the week that Titanic came out. We went and saw the movie on its second say out in a theater with subwolfers hidden under the seating (something I have not experienced since to this say) and it was awesome. I still remember the scene with the ships steam engines starting up. Incredible. It was a special moment for me and that friend since I had not seen her in a while and I was down on my luck anyway. I drive in one day from San Antonio to Vegas on Christmas EVE 1997 and arrived at my parents place at about 6 PM. After a 13 hour drive and little sleep, I convinced the family to see Titinic with me that same night at 9:30 PM. Little did they know it was going to be 2.5 hours long and not be over till midnight. Three months later in Feb of 1998 I took the girl who I would eventually be with for 10 years on our second "date" to see Titanic. I gave her a music box that played "My Heart Will Go On" several months later on our first Christmas together. The soundtrack was also by James Horner … and you thought the music to Braveheart invoked tears.

I remember having a crush on this girl all through high school and we were "just friends" and I remember going to see my first movie with her. The movie was The Island, and I was so nervous. All I ever wanted to do through high school was hold this girl's hand…needless to say, there was no holding hands or good night kisses that night but I never gave up and now we are engaged. I know nothing happened that night between us, but I knew that night that this was the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and now that is about to be reality! Never forget that movie night

The first movie I remember seeing in the theater was the disney version of The HunchBack of Notre Dame. The first movie in my hometown theater I remember seeing was The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle with my parents when I was 7. The first time I ever saw an R rated movie was 300 and the best part about it was it was at the IMAX. I will also never forget the time I saw Coraline this past winter because I got my first kiss from my crush.

Wow. Great stories people!! I also have too many to write here.
The first film I have memory of seeing is Wizard of Oz. I was scared of the wicked witch.
1989. I was 4 years old and OBSESSED with Batman. My parents went to see "a movie" on June 23rd after I had gone to bed. I found out they had gone to the premiere (in Vancouver) Burtons BATMAN. They bought me a pin then told me I couldnt see it until I was older. I was devestated and still hold a grudge.
One of my greatest movie experiences was seeing a double feature of The Lion King and Batman Forever at one of the last drive-in theatres in the Pacific North-West somewhere around Bellingham.
my older brother also corrupted me by showing me films that my parents would let me see like Predator, Colours and Lethal Weapon (the first pair of titties I had ever seen!)

First flick I remember seeing is pulp fiction at 5(don't ask long story) while I barely remembered it 'till I saw it again last year I new it did something to me, in terms of other movies of existential life-altering/effecting moments I'd say nightmare before Christmas, I've loved Burton ever since an 90s 2D Disney film, Love actually really shook me in Grade 11, but the ones that solidified my choice to become a film maker were Kubrick's full-metal jacket and Cronenberg's eXistence it they both weirded me out to a point where I had to make movies for a living and I will……as soon as I Graduate

The Rescuers Down Under was the first movie I really remember seeing, I recall going to Jurassic Park on Father's Day with my entire family and the next year being taken to my first R rated movie at the age of 10 to see Speed. A couple years later Twister was the first movie I caught alone with my dad that wasn't animated, which would become a tradition along with films like Scream 2, The Bone Collector, Gladiator, The Cell and Michael Clayton. Saving Private Ryan was the first R-rated movie I saw in theatres without adult supervision and later Scream 3 would be the first R rated movie after I turned 17. The Ring was the first movie I saw as a freshman in college when I knew nobody. Stranger than Fiction was the most enjoyable movie I saw with the first girl I ever loved and whom also broke my heart. I own the movie but still refuse to watch it to this day. Lastly I Crystal Skull might have been one my most anticipated movies (more than the Star Wars prequels). I got drunk before the movie and forgot over half of the movie, and saw it again (and promptly wished my drunken experience was my only experience)

I also have to add mask of the phantasm Man that movie was fantastic when I was a kid and still is Kevin Conroy's the best. Edward scissor hands, I've been a Depp, Vincent price and all things Macabre and all things dark and gory since those days I also owe much of my childhood to many many wonderful Spielberg, Marvel and Disney Cartoons of the 90s and as I mentioned above to My hero(One of) Mr Tarantino and Pulp Fiction for almost instantly teaching me the boundaries between real life and the limitless human imagination.

Some movie milestones for me:
I remember watching Gene Hackman's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" after hearing my great grandma had died. It was the first movie I felt like watching for some reason.

I went to my old mall's movie theater on the last day it was open to watch "Elf". Since they were closing they hadn't cleaned the theaters in days and the floors were so sticky my shoes were literally ripped off. The next day our new state of the art theater opened and I rushed off to watch the premiere of "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Perfect sound, stadium seating, bigger screens, and clean floors quickly destroyed all sentimentality of the old theater.

Lastly I watched "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" the night before I went to college. A touching, hilarious, yet pretty sad movie which only compounded the sadness of leaving home.

@Tim: And by Gene Hackman's Willy Wonka I obviously mean Gene Wilder's. Durhey. :P

In my case,wonderful moving pictures cultivated themselves into my life,i remember those days like yesterday..like the first time i moved from grandma's place to my parents when i was 4…the babysitter bought The Lion King to watch..Its still my most fave animated movie and would bring me to tears anytime i watch it.
My parents were'nt fans of Hollywood,but they got curious with all the hype about that Disaster movie everybody kept talking about.. and thats how i saw Titanic on VHS..my first Hollywood experience,cinema has started to intrigue me.And Leo and Kate were the first celebrity names i uttered.
Way back in the turn of the Millenium,TV had huge premieres..Me and my kid brothers could'nt wait to watch Godzilla.But my elder cousin told me there was a WAY better movie waiting for us at the flick of the remote. He told it will 'blow your mind'.Me and the others,being the dinosaur freaks we are, argued and finally won;My cousin went to his room saddened and disappointed..Years later,as i watch The Matrix for the umpteenth time,i wonder..the house would have been full of blown minds if we had given in..;The biggest cinema mistake of my life.
First time i spilled the Caramel Popcorn and swore? .. Transformers in IMAX
First time i go to a really dirty and stinking and shaggy theatre because the movie was not playing anywhere else and i was DESPERATE? .. The Dark Knight
First time i laughed my head off? … Borat on DVD
First time i saw titties? .. Beverly Hills Cop 2..i thought it was a sin and i covered my eyes. seriously.
First movie marathon? The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy .. that night i slept a happy and blown teenager.

Hollywood will never fail to capture our young minds.We blend our life within its magic,and memorable moments weave themselves around the aura..

Free Willy. Got my first kiss from my girlfriend, Heather. Good times. Kiss lasted for twenty minutes after the movie ended.. btw, how does the movie end?? hehehe

Wall-E. Imho, he most ambitious american animated film in terms of content, delivery, and the like. When reading the premise of this film beforehand, I was adamant that there was NO chance in hell this was going to work even in the hands of the mighty Pixar wizards. The movie just blew me away and It's one of the few films I've seen wherein I left the theater with that overwhelming feeling of joy, that you were just completely captivated by a movie in every way imaginable.

The thing that impacted me the most of TDK went to the Midnight show the night before I was going in for surgery the following morning, and since I was so drugged up and unable to do anything that movie was the main thing on my mind most of the time as it was the last thing I did befor going in lol.

I remember watching 300 before a huge state hockey playoff game with some of my teammates, and walking out saying…"we just won our game" and followed up by doing so.

Nice one.

I couldn't relate to the movies, didn't see any one. But fondly remember watching Dilwale Dulhania Le jayenge, Dhoom, DIl Chahata Hain,300, Forrest Gump, Mi SHivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoi, Fir Hera Pheri, Jane Tu Ya Jane Na and Omkara. Most are hindi films, I cherish memories of friends, broken hearts and hopes..

Great article. I've always been drawn to this way of thinking, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who marks my life with movies I've seen in the theaters. For whatever reason, it's just always made sense to me.

Briefly: the first movie I saw was The NeverEnding Story (although I was too young to remember; my parents have told me this). First movie I remember is E.T. (during a rerelease). First movie that made me an active movie fan was Jurassic Park. First movie that I really went nuts anticipating in my adolescence: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. First more comparatively "grown-up" (in its themes) movie I enjoyed: Gladiator. First more comparatively "serious" movie I enjoyed: Unbreakable. First movie I connected with in college: Garden State. First movie that made me feel old: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

@mike:
As a child, I was unglued by the Wicked Witch as well.
But its funny, I could watch Karloff as Frankenstein and Lugosi as Dracula and
Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man with no problem.

Maybe it was a woman thing.
Or maybe she reminded me of the nuns in school.