griggs's - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List

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Renowned filmmaker Douglas Sirk directed this internationally acclaimed story of the very, very rich whose lack of morality and character leads to ruin and death.

The stunningly photographed films stars Robert Stack as Kyle Hadley, the never-do-well son of Texas magnate Robert Keith whose dynasty begins to crumble due to the activities of his pleasure-seeking brood. Along for the downhill ride is an all-star cast that includes Lauren Bacall as Stack's unfortunate wife, Rock Hudson as his best friend and Dorothy Malone who picked up a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Kyle's nymphomaniac sister.

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For sheer pageantry and spectacle, few motion pictures can claim to equal the splendor of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 remake of this epic "The Ten Commandments".

Filmed in Egypt and the Sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture, this version tells the story of the life of Moses (Charlton Heston) once favoured in the Pharaoh's (Yul Brynner) household, who turned his back on privileged life to lead his people to freedom. With a rare on-screen introduction by Cecil B. DeMille himself.

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"Giant" is a movie of huge scale and grandeur in which three generations of land-rich Texans love, swagger, connive and clash in a saga of family strife, racial bigotry and conflict between cattle barons and newly rich oil tycoons.

It's also one of the most beloved works of director George Stevens, who won an Academy Award for this film, one of 10 Oscar nominations the film earned.

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'Aparajito' sees Apu (Smaran Ghosal / Pinaki Sengupta) move with his family to the busy city of Benares, where they hope to build a new life after suffering a devastating family tragedy.

But when Apu's father then dies, the young man decides to head out on his own and attend college in Calcutta, leading to a growing estrangement between himself and his widowed mother.

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Based on the true story of Resistance fighter Andre Devigny, who was imprisoned and sentenced to death by the Nazis during the Second World War, the film reconstructs his actual cell at the Lyons fortress of Montluc, and follows his meticulous plans for escape.

This totally involving and thrilling tale of courage and faith is all the more authentic for its use of non-professional actors and Bresson's spare style.

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"The Wrong Man" is like and unlike any other Alfred Hitchcock movie. The story packs tension, the images are spellbinding and the dilemma genuinely frightening. But this time the master of suspense dramatizes the harrowing true experiences of a man tried for crimes committed by a lookalike robber.

Henry Fonda plays musician Manny Balestrero, a man full of visible but unspoken rage at his wrongful arrest. Vera Miles is his distraught wife Rose, driven to madness by the ordeal. And the right man to bring the unsettling facts of the case to vivid screen life with documentary precision is Hitchcock. He made New York City a star of the film and cast real-life Balestrero case witnesses in small roles. He shot in many actual locations, among them the Stork Club, Manny's jail cell and Rose's sanitarium.

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Kurosawa's transposition of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' to sixteenth century Japan is immensely successful in capturing the spirit of the original. A truly remarkable film combining beauty and terror to produce a mood of haunting power.

'Throne of Blood' also shows Kurosawa's familiar mastery of atmosphere, action and the savagery of war.

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From INDIA, the cradle of the gods, comes this epic drama of an Indian mother, the nucleus round which revolves the tradition and culture of the ages in this ancient land. In India, every woman is an integral part of a man.

With marriage she merges her individuality into her husband's and both together form a single entity in society. One without the other is but half the story of an eternal harmony going beyond a single birth and through seven births as the Indian scriptures say. A woman's marriage is thus an eternal spiritual bond and in her absolute dedication to her husband, her single prayer is to die in the presence of her husband and carried out by him even as a bride in death. To this eternal Indian woman, the home is her temple, the husband her god, her children his blessings and the land her great mother. This is a story of one such Indian woman, a supreme symbol of millions of mothers that make this ancient land Mother India.

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As the Black Death continues to wipe out the population of Europe, knight Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) returns from the Crusades, disillusioned and worn. When suddenly Death (Bengt Ekerot) appears before him, he asks for the chance to live, proposing a game of chess to decide his fate.

The knight takes his squire, a troupe of traveling players and a deaf and dumb girl under his protection as the game is played out. One by one Death exacts his toll, and it is up to Block to stall his opponent for as long as possible if he is to help save the lives of those he is trying to protect. All the while, the villages and towns about them fall further into ruin and religion takes a stranglehold on those desperate for a means of survival.

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Scott Carey (Grant Williams) encounters a mysterious radioactive mist on a boating trip and soon finds his life taking a bizarre and frightening twist. His physical size begins to diminish as he shrinks to a mere two inches.

Suddenly ordinary household situations loom over him with lethal intensity: a playful cat becomes a demon and a spider a gargantuan monster. Carey finds he must rely on his wits to survive...

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Eleven jurors are convinced that the defendant is guilty of murder. The twelfth has no doubt of his innocence.

How can this one man steer the others toward the same conclusion? It's a case of seemingly overwhelming evidence against a teenager accused of killing his father in "one of the best pictures ever made".

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Welcome to a bittersweet world of episodic adventures and strange encounters. Welcome to a sordid, nocturnal world of ruthless, callous boyfriends and stray movie stars looking for seedy kicks.

Welcome to the harsh, unforgiving streets of a crumbling Rome where hope can still prevail and dreams cradle the lost. Welcome to the world of Cabiria, a feisty, loud, outspoken and somewhat naïve prostitute waiting for a miracle, and one of the most unforgettable and endearing characters of European cinema. Eventually remade in Hollywood as 'Sweet Charity', 'Nights of Cabiria' is a often humorous, poignant, unflinching and vivid portrait of one woman's picaresque existence and her perseverance through adversity. Starring Fellini's wife, Giulietta Masina, as the irrepressible protagonist, 'Nights of Cabiria' marked Fellini's last foray into gritty neo-realism before venturing into the surreal satire and dream logic of 'La Dolce Vita' and 'Eight and a Half'.

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A gang of ruthless outlaws...a pair of larger-than-life heroes...a timeless tale of good versus evil. Blended together, the result is a sprawling, epic adventure bigger than the wild frontier - Gunfight at the O.K.

Corral! Acclaimed actors Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas team up to rid Tombstone, Arizona of the murderous Clanton gang in this all-star, action-packed classic. When lawman Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) and gunfighter John "Doc" Holliday (Kirk Douglas) ride into town, they find themselves pitted against one of the biggest foes ever encountered, in the form of Ike Clanton (Lyle Bettger) and his ruthless gang.

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A powerful film about a ruthless journalist and an unscrupulous press agent who'll do anything to achieve success, this fascinating, compelling story crackles with taut direction and whiplash dialogue.

Bristling with vivid performances by Curtis and Lancaster, this gutsy expose of big-city corruption is a timeless classic that cuts deep and sends a chilling message. It's late at night in the steamy, neon-lit streets of New York's Times Square, and everything's buzzing with nervous energy. But press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) is oblivious to the whirlwind of street vendors, call girls and con men bustling around him as he nervously waits for the early edition of The Globe. Whose career did gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) launch today…and whose did he destroy?

Although each is engaged to someone else, Nickie (Cary Grant) and Terry (Deborah Kerr) meet aboard an ocean liner and fall deeply in love. They agree to rendezvous six months later atop the Empire State Building, but tragedy strikes...and the lovers' future takes an emotional and uncertain turn.