Ask HN: Inspirational movies

[olalonde]

When feeling demotivated or simply in need of a gentle kick in the ass, watching a good inspirational/feel-good movie can never hurt. Which movies did you find inspirational? Bonus point for business related movies.

[_b8r0]

Sneakers (http://www.themovietracker.com/movies/8710). The film's aged a little, but it's nice to watch a fairly funny hacking film that doesn't dress up hacking into 3D flying GUIs, Hack the Planet or hacking a TLA with a gun put to your head, while getting head.

Brewster's Millions always cheers me up around Christmas, as does Trading Places (http://www.themovietracker.com/movies/9749), both of which are slightly business related (although not exactly real-world related).

Someone else posted the pursuit of happyness (http://www.themovietracker.com/movies/7605), when I stick that on it comes across as a bit schmaltzy for me but has a good message.

A beautiful mind (http://www.themovietracker.com/movies/1112) is another great film about an incredibly smart but tortured genius who makes a massive contribution to economics.

Catch me if you can (http://www.themovietracker.com/movies/1798) is based on the true story of a fraudster who ripped off banks for tons of money and did all kinds of amazing things with it. It's a great romp and I'd highly recommend a first watch.

Life is beautiful (http://www.themovietracker.com/movies/5583) is hardly an uplifting film but is incredible and if it doesn't make you thankful for what you have, then I'd question whether or not you have a soul.

[adamzochowski]

I think you mistook Sneakers for Swordfish. One is from 1992 and has Robert Redford and Dan Aykroyd.

[aniket_ray]

It's strange. Most of the movies I use aren't here already. So here's my list.

Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096316/

Cinderella Man (2005) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0352248/

The Secret of My Succe$s (1987) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093936/

Strangely I also find, Scarface (1983) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086250/ and The Bucket List (2007) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825232/ strangely inspiring.

Pirates of Silicon Valley and The Social Network would also be on my list but they have already been mentioned.

I also keep the fraud trilogy handy.

Wall Street (1987) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104348/

Boiler Room (2000) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181984/

[signal]

I don't think Scarface is a strange choice for the same reason I like the fraud trilogy. Stories of meteoric success followed by tragic failure are hella inspiring, because you get to see where they went wrong. So while your watching your brain is telling you: 'All we have to do is follow The 10 Crack Commandments and we'll make it!'

[swombat]

Apart from those already mentioned by others, some challenging classics:

  Zorba the Greek
  Ikiru (Living), by Akira Kurosawa
  Babette's Feast
  La Strada
  La double vie de Véronique
  Lawrence of Arabia
  It's a Wonderful Life
  Jakob the Liar
  Citizen Kane
  Deliverance
  Dogville

Worth noting that none of these are "feel-good" american movies. They're "kick you in the balls and get you busy living" movies. I much prefer those to simple feel-good movies. If you want feel-good, just go watch some reruns of Friends (I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing; I do it quite often; but those are not the best inspirational movies by a long shot).

[Tichy]

Ikiru is one of the few movies I bought on DVD. Such a special movie, I don't know any other movie like it.

[prodigal_erik]

Iron Man. I can't say why Downey's portrayal of being in the zone is so compelling, but it makes me want to build something.

Apollo 13. When engineering had heroic scope.

Sometimes 300 is stirring and brings a sort of you're-not-alone feeling when I'm stuck at the office. Also the RiffTrax commentary is hilarious.

[signal]

I would say the appeal of Iron Man in that sense is the montage effect. I love montage sequences in movies, and movies that use them right are totally energizing. There's nothing like seeing the trip from obscurity to success without coffee breaks, writers block, tooth-brushing etc.

[GoogleMeElmo]

Totally agree with Ironman (the first). It just makes me want to build awesome stuff to save the world! :D

[bigmac]

The Social Network

[stevenp]

I couldn't agree more. It's the only movie I've ever seen that references "wget", and the entire time as I sat there watching the early Facebook geeks write code, I kept thinking about how I should be at home working on my startup instead of sitting at the movies.

[dmitri1981]

Am I the only one who found the film a bit disappointing given all the hype? While the first half was pretty cool and I really enjoyed the Facemash hacking scene, the second half felt like it was just endless squabbling over who owns what. Not exactly inspiring.

[coryl]

A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool? A BILLION dollars.

[harscoat]

"I am an entrepreneur." - Sean Parker to the girl he just slept with

[qtcoder]

we don't now 'what it is' or 'what it will be' or 'whether is makes any business at all', we are sure of just one thing that 'it is cool to use', lets code,test and enhance it - Inspired by The Social Network

[db42]

I'd prefer reading the book "The Accidental billionaire" instead of watching the movie "The social Network".

[jamesriley]

I'd agree with two here, while adding one of my own.

The Social Network - have seen it twice, both times eager to get out of the cinema and rush home to continue working on my own projects. We all know it's possible to create something and have the world take notice, but to see the journey and the all too familiar scenarios was hugely inspiring. As much as the lead character may come across as an unemotional awkward individual - you can't help but want his sharpness and drive. Oh, and success.

Good Will Hunting - Maybe I happened to watch this at the right time, during a period where I had met someone special and certain obstacles had me holding back. This movie had me book a flight the second the credits began rolling. There's similarities with The Social Network too, a special yet flawed individual, whose mistakes pale in comparison to his potential. Every line in the film is a quotable.

Hangover - This will be the first and only mention I expect of this film, but in terms of leaving a cinema and feeling inspired, this is up there for me. Would happily have left on the road trip of a lifetime if my groups of friends were to join me. Sure I'd have broken down 2 miles into the journey, broke and a little homesick but I'd have given it a go.

[olalonde]

I'll answer my own question: Catch Me If You Can (2002). It's basically the adventures of a very skilled social engineer.

[bemmu]

But don't read the book if you want to stay motivated.

[jcfrei]

Office Space - gave me an idea what work in an average software company might be like and why I'd rather go my own way.

[vamsikris21]

October Sky. This is one of the inspirational movie i can think of now.

[derwiki]

One of my all time favorites. It's not computer nerd, it's rocket nerd -- but it feels similar to stories of Woz building his own computers from cheap chips.

[bruceboughton]

I haven't seen the film, but the book is one of the most inspiring books I've read.

[coryl]

Pirates of Silicon Valley

[staunch]

The best movie on startups I've ever seen. I've watched it at least 20 times and appreciate it more each time. Woz has said that it's fairly accurate, which makes it that much more awesome.

[cb33]

This was my favorite startup/silicon valley-based movie until The Social Network came out. Great acting, very accurate storytelling (considering it's a made-for-tv movie from 1999), and pretty damn motivational.

[chunkyslink]

Amelie

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/

[papaf]

A Time for Drunken Horses is a less mainstream film that tells the story of entrepreneurship in the face of adversity.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259072/

I also found The Pursuit of Happiness pretty incredible

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454921/

[cubix]

Gattaca is always uplifting.

[inetsee]

I have a soft spot for "Meet the Robinsons".

I went looking for the exact Walt Disney quote at the end of the movie, and discovered "http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Disney which includes quite a few quotes that can relate to entrepreneurship.

[staunch]

Star Trek: TOS. I find the innocence and unabashed optimism puts me in a good mood. I keep it on in the background while I work.

[wyclif]

Breaking Away (1979) "They're gonna keep callin' us "cutters." To them, it's just a dirty word. To me, it's just somethin' else I never got a chance to be." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078902/

[geden]

- I Heart Huckabees - You, Me And Everyone We Know - Juno - The Straight Story - My Neighbour Totoro

Are all straight forward feel good movies.

- Caché - The Lives Of Others - The White Ribbon - The Fountain - Amores Perros - City Of God - Fargo - Dune - Castle In The Sky - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Festen

Make you feel good simply by the presence of their across the board brilliance.

[_b8r0]

I never really liked Nausicaä, but I loved Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo.

Which Dune are you referring to? Film, Mini-Series, original or extended?

[gsivil]

One of my favorite movies that I watch quite often and belongs in that category is "The Shawshank Redemption" from 1994. Persist in adverse environments, make lifetime friends, resist to cruel authorities, develop side projects ;), use your skills in a good and moral way.

"Small Time Crooks" 2000 by Woody Allen. A movie about naive accidental lovable millionaires. Funny and sometimes bitter.

[harscoat]

Or you can just read few pages from "Founders at Work"

[udfalkso]

Rudy. This movie will inspire you to work harder every time.