I am really not sure how to start this off as I sat here most of the day trying to think of movies that I discovered back in college. I cannot think of one that I had discovered between 1989 and 1993. I think those years were concentrated heavily on the music I was listening to as I worked in a record store and spent all my extra money and time on records and going to concerts.
High School on the other hand I had discovered loads of movies. I mostly wanted to live in any John Hughes movie at the time because well in the end of his movies the girl always got the guy. I was also trying my hardest to be different by shaving my head and dying what little hair I had left black. I was a HUGE fan of Suburbia, Rock n Roll High School and URGH a Music War! because they all rocked (better yet were very PUNK).
I also discovered a bunch of old mostly black and white horror films that were on sale at the WIZ for super cheap. All of them had this sticker on them the fright factor meter on how horrific they were with levels like "goose bumps", "spine tingling", "bone chilling" and "blood curdling". Movies like Attack of the Giant Leeches, The Wasp Woman, Night Tide, The Hands of Orlac and Man Beast. None of them were as good as the horror movies of that time - you know like Hellraiser and A Nightmare On Elm Street. To this day I still get freaked out with the knife screeching sound.
I guess it must have been my senior year of high school when I first saw Female Trouble and you know once you go John Waters there is no looking back. I love love loved Polyester and I so hoped that someday I would be asked to play Tracy Turnblad in any production of Hairspray (mind you this was well before it hit Broadway and I don't have that dream anymore).
I was also into James Dean and Danny Kaye in a very big way with two of my all time favorite movies being Rebel Without a Cause and Wonder Man.
It wasn't until late 1993, actually right after my 22nd birthday when I saw the movie that would turn me into a movie memorabilia collector. I remember I went to see The Nightmare Before Christmas with my friend Sean and Francis (there might have been one other person with us but I can't recall right now). I remember just the week after I saw that movie I started to collect items like little figurines and pencils and BK watches. By January 1994 I had a few dolls and the trading card set and well for the next 13 years I have been acquiring items related to that movie. I stopped buying stuff when I was out of work and it wasn't until this week when I decided I needed to let it go. I am going to get my collection together and try and sell most of it. I will keep a few choice items like the talking Jack doll and the Sally rip-a-part doll and the two snow globes. Maybe the ornament set but I have boxes and boxes of NBC stuff and no place for it. It will probably take me a few months to research everything and be sure I am asking for the right price on some of this stuff. I am a little excited and a little sad but I know I made the right choice. I'll post my NBC list here when I have it.
Weird, when I started to write this I had no movies in mind but halfway through it I remembered all those horror films and who could forget the man James Dean? I had a poster of him on my wall for years. Would you believe? I was the editor of my High School yearbook and our theme for our graduating class was movies! I remember drawing movie icons for the class numbers like little ticket stubs, popcorn boxes and movie reels. Wow I was a geek even back then. Now I have to go break out that VHS collection I have in the back of the closet because I am sure I am missing some good movies on this post.
(note to rich: maybe next month we can do a concert post? bands you seen the most? bands that suck live? bands you went to see just to get laid? or something on that line .... just a thought)
