Many people who later get into filmmaking, directing, cinematography, or even film criticism can trace everything back to one defining movie. A film that didn’t just entertain them, but changed the way they looked at cinema and made them realize that movies can be more than simple storytelling.
For me, that film was Fight Club (1999). I first saw it around the late ’90s or early 2000s, and at the time I couldn’t fully explain why it hit so hard I just knew it felt different from everything else I had seen before.
Fight Club wasn’t only powerful because of its story, but because of how that story was told. The visual style, the editing, the narration, the music, and the bold directing choices all came together to create something that felt fresh, raw, and unmistakably cinematic. It was the first time I started paying attention to camera movement, editing rhythm, and how images themselves can tell a story.
That film showed me that filmmaking isn’t just about following rules. It’s about perspective, risk-taking, and having a clear vision. Fight Club didn’t try to please everyone, and that was exactly what made it inspiring. It planted the first real thought in my mind: this is something I want to explore deeper.
Since then, many other films classics and indie projects alike have influenced me, but Fight Club remains that first true cinematic experience. The one that made me stop watching films only as a viewer and start thinking about what happens behind the camera: directing, editing, cinematography, and the creative process as a whole.
That’s why I’m curious to hear from others:
Which film inspired you to start filmmaking, or made you see cinema in a completely different way?
When did you first watch it, and what was the moment that really stayed with you?
