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

Show moreShow less

Marking a new chapter in the history of one of the world's greatest films, the release of Abel Gance's "Napoleon" is the culmination of a project spanning 50 years.

Digitally restored by the BFI National Archive and Academy Award-winning film historian Kevin Brownlow, this cinematic triumph is available to experience on video for the very first time. Originally conceived by Gance as the first of six films about Napoleon, this five-and-a-half-hour epic features full-scale historical recreations of episodes from his personal and political life, that see Bonaparte overcome fierce rivals and political machinations to seal his imperial destiny. Utilising a number of groundbreaking cinematic techniques, 'Napoleon' is accompanied by Carl Davis' monumental score, and offers one of the most thrilling experiences in the entire the history of film.

Show moreShow less

Shortly after that 1927 release, an entire quarter of Lang's original version was cut by Paramount for the US release, and by Ufa in Germany, an act of butchery very much against the director's wishes.

The excised footage was believed lost, irretrievably so - that is, until one of the most remarkable finds in all of cinema history, as several dusty reels were discovered in a small museum in Buenos Aires. Argentina in 2008. Since then, an expert team of film archivists has been working at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung in Germany to painstakingly reconstruct and restore Lang's film.

Show moreShow less

The Hickorys are a respected family in Hickoryville. Sheriff Jim (Walter James) and his big, strong sons Leo (Leo Willis) and Olin (Olin Francis) have little respect for the youngest son, Harold (Harold Lloyd), who does not have their muscles.

When Jim, Leo and Olin go to an important town meeting to discuss a dam, Harold is left behind. He puts on his father's gun and badge and is mistaken for the sheriff by "Flash" Farrell (Eddie Boland), who runs a travelling medicine show for Mary (Jobyna Ralston) after the death of her father. Farrell talks Harold into signing a permit to let him, strongman Sandoni (Constantine Romanoff) and dancer Mary perform. Later, Mary tries to avoid the unwanted attentions of Sandoni and encounters Harold. They are attracted to each other...

Show moreShow less

Alonzo the Armless (Lon Chaney) is a circus freak who uses his feet to toss knives and fire a rifle at his partner, Nanon (Joan Crawford). However, he is an impostor and fugitive. He has arms, but keeps them tightly bound to his torso, a secret known only to his friend Cojo (John George), a midget.

Alonzo's left hand has a double thumb, which would identify him as the perpetrator of various crimes. Alonzo is secretly in love with Nanon. Malabar, the circus strongman, is devoted to her as well, but she has a strong fear of men's arms and cannot stand being pawed by them, so she shuns him. She only feels comfortable around the armless Alonzo. When she embraces and kisses him, he is given hope, but Cojo warns him that he cannot let it happen again. If she holds him, she might feel his arms.

Show moreShow less

F. W. Murnau, Germany's finest director, was imported to Hollywood in July 1926. William Fox of the Fox Film Corporation promised and gave him complete artistic freedom. Fox told Murnau to take his time, spend whatever he had to, and make any film he wished to make.

The film that resulted was Sunrise, made entirely without studio interference. Sunrise, a psychological thriller from the silent movie era, begins when the pleasant and peaceful life of a naive country Man (George O'Brien) is turned upside down when he falls for a cold-blooded yet seductive Woman from the City (Margaret Livingston). She persuades him to drown his virtuous Wife (Janet Gaynor) in order to be with her. This is one of the most moving stories ever told on screen - a tale of temptation, reconciliation, reconsecration, and redemption, told with a lyrical simplicity that gives it the timeless universality of a fable.

Show moreShow less

When "The Jazz Singer" was released in theatres, the future of Hollywood changed. For the first time in a feature film, an actor spoke on screen, stunning audiences and leaving the silent era behind.

Al Jolson was the history-making actor, playing the son of a Jewish cantor who must defy his rabbi father in order to pursue his dream of being in show business.

Show moreShow less

With art being used by the Soviet state for propaganda, Eisenstein was commissioned by the authorities to celebrate the tenth anniversary of 1917's October Revolution.

However, his presentation of the events through experiments in editing and camera angles, rather than by using traditional narrative, managed to link religious leaders with pagan idols and the army. It won international praise, except back home where Eisenstein once again fell foul of the Soviet authorities, accused of not using the language of the masses.

Show moreShow less

Young John Sims (James Murray) weathers the death of his father and travels to New York City in search of success. Instead, he becomes a low-level worker in an enormous office of a nameless corporation.

After he meets a beautiful young woman (Eleanor Boardman), things seem to be looking up, but before long the newlyweds are sullen and bickering, and the arrival of their children leaves John feeling trapped in a dead-end existence. Then tragedy strikes, causing him to reassess his life.

Show moreShow less

A city-educated student returns to his home-town and his cantankerous father's Mississippi river boat, where he's an embarrassment to dad. But they bond together to ward off the owner of a rival boat, whose daughter Keaton falls for.

When his father is arrested, Willie decides to get him out of Jail.

Show moreShow less

One of the most emotional film experiences of any era, Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 'The Passion of Joan of Arc' is a miracle of the cinema, an enigmatic and profoundly moving work that merges the worlds of the viewer and of saintly loan herself into one shared experience of hushed delirium.

Drever's film charts the final days of Joan of Arc as she undergoes the debasement that accompanies her trial for charges of heresy - through her imprisonment and execution at the stake.

Show moreShow less

Bill Roberts (George Bancroft) works as a stoker on a coal-red barge. It's dirty, hard work and the men have to put up with a foreman, Andy (Mitchell Lewis), who seems to enjoy making their life miserable.

When finally off the ship, Bill sees a young woman struggling in the water - apparently trying to commit suicide. He takes her to the Sandbar saloon, the sailors' hangout. The girl is Mae (Betty Compson) and Bill takes a shine to her but so does Andy. One thing leads to another and Bill asks her to marry him then and there. They don't have a marriage ;licence however and despite Bill promising to get one first thing the morning he decides to leave her behind. When she gets into trouble however, Bill steps in.

Show moreShow less

It is 1918. An elderly Mongol lies gravely ill in his yurt while a lama says prayers in an attempt to aid his recovery. His son prepares to go the market in his place to sell his father's season's trapping, including a very valuable silver fox pelt.

On leaving, the avaricious lama tries to take the valuable skin and, in the resulting scuffle, drops a talisman. This is found by the superstitious mother who gives it to her son as a lucky charm as he leaves to trade the furs. The western fur traders at the market are protected by the British troops who are occupying the area to protect foreign interests during the disturbances caused by the post-revolutionary civil war. Taking advantage of the inhabitants' near-poverty, the capitalist fur trader offers only a pittance for the silver fox and a brawl ensues which leads to the son having to escape across llie steppe to the mountains where he encounters and joins the partisans. Two years later he is caught and forced to surrender his belongings. On recognising the word 'Moscow' he is summarily sentenced to be shot. While being taken to his death, a missionary translates the characters found on the silk in which the talisman is wrapped; this confirms the young man as a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Although severely wounded he is still alive after the 'execution' which had been carried out reluctantly. The general decides that, as Genghis Khan is still held in high esteem in the area, his 'descendant' should be saved and made the puppet ruler. This is a political blunder of major proportions as the local chiefs not only offer him their veneration but also the services of their fighting men. With his new position of power he transforms into a revolutionary and, with the aid of these forces, clears the landscape of both the exploiters and occupiers in a breathtaking climax.

Show moreShow less

Voted the greatest documentary of all time in the 2014 'Sight and Sound' poll, Vertov's groundbreaking 'Man with a Movie Camera' uses an array of dazzling cinematic techniques to record the people of the city at work and at play, and the machines that keep the city going.

Presented with Michael Nyman's celebrated score, this classic film is accompanied by an exciting selection of new extras, including Vertov's 'Three Songs of Lenin' and two of his radical mid-1920s documentary films, both of which feature equally radical new soundtracks by electronic experimentalists Mordant Music.

Show moreShow less

Adapted from a pair of plays by Frank Wedekind, 'Pandora's Box' tells the story of sex worker Lulu (Louise Brooks), a free spirit whose open sexuality breeds chaos in its wake. When Lulu's latest lover, the newspaper editor Dr.

Ludwig Schdn (Fritz Kortner), announces plans to leave her to marry a more respectable woman, Lulu is devastated. Cast in a musical revue written by Schon's son, Aiwa (Francis Lederer), Lulu seduces Schon once more - only to have their tryst exposed, and Schon's plans for a more socially acceptable marriage shattered. Left with no choice but to marry Lulu, Schon meets with tragedy on their wedding night. Lulu stands trial for the incident, facing years of imprisonment. With the aid of her former pimp (Carl Goetz), an infatuated lesbian countess (Alice Roberts) and Aiwa, she flees toward a fate of increasing squalor and peril, finally crossing paths one Christmas Eve with Jack the Ripper.

Un Chien Andalou is Bunuel's first film and collaboration with Salvador Dali, a surreal exploration of desire and passion. L'Age D'or is another collaboration with Dali, a surrealist dissection of civilised values.