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

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In a small village in a remote valley where the harshness of life dictates that survival overrules compassion, elderly widow Orin is approaching her 70th birthday - the age when village law says she must go up to the mythic Mount Narayama to die.

But there are several loose ends within her own family to tie up first.

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Bresson's classic film, adapted from a story by Tolstoy, tells of the tragic chain of events which ensue when two schoolboys pass a forged banknote in a photography shop. The note is transferred to the unwitting Yvon (Christian Patey), a delivery driver, who is arrested for possessing it.

Despite being cleared by the court, Yvon loses his job and becomes trapped in a disastrous spiral of theft, imprisonment and murder. Considered to be the last masterpiece of his

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In the spectacular final chapter of the Star Wars saga, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) must travel to Tatooine to free Han Solo (Harrison Ford) by infiltrating the wretched stronghold of Jabba the Hutt, the galaxy's most loathsome gangster.

Reunited, the Rebels team up with tribes of Ewoks to combat the Imperial forces on the forest moon of Endor. Meanwhile the Emperor and Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) conspire to turn Luke to the dark side, and young Skywalker is determined to rekindle the spirit of the Jedi within his father. The Galactic Civil War culminates in the ultimate showdown, as the Rebel forces gather to attack the seemingly defenseless and incomplete second Death Star in the battle that will determine the fate of the galaxy.

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Join Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Berenger, Mary Kay Place, Jobeth Williams and Meg Tilly as they reunite for the funeral of a college pal. During the weekend that follows, these friends compare their sixties ideals with the harsh reality of their lives in the eighties.

Old friendships, shared experiences and a soundtrack featuring Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Procal Harum and Smokey Robinson made 'The Big Chill' an irresistible trip down memory lane. In a cold world, you need your friends to keep you warm.

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Brother and sister Enrique (David Villalpando) and Rosa (Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez) flee persecution at home in Guatemala and journey north, through Mexico and on to the United States, with the dream of starting a new life.

It's a story that happens every day, but until Gregory Nava's groundbreaking El Norte (The North), the personal travails of immigrants crossing the border to America had never been shown in the movies with such urgent humanism. A work of social realism imbued with dreamlike imagery, 'El Norte' is a lovingly rendered, heartbreaking story of hope and survival, which critic Roger Ebert called a 'Grapes of Wrath' for our time.

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Based on Tom Wolfe's best-selling book, 'The Right Stuff' tells the heroic tale of America's early Journeys into space.

It begins with Chuck Yeager - the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound - and continues with the Flying Fraternity and the Mercury Astronauts, the first Americans in space. The bravery and daring exploits of these men captured the imagination of mid-century Americans. In 'The Right Stuff', director and screenwriter Philip Kaufman brings these breathtaking events to life in emotionally riveting and suspenseful detail.

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The Christmas spirit isn't served up with more heartfelt warmth or observant hilarity than it is beloved adaptation of Jean Shepherd's holiday story. In 1940s Indiana, nine-year-old Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) dreams of his ideal Christmas gift: a genuine Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Rifle.

But when gruff dad (Darren McGavin) and doting mom (Melinda Dillon) regularly respond with "You'll shoot your eye out!" Ralphie mounts a full-scale, hint-dropping, Santa-begging campaign. He also endures all kinds of childhood calamities from snowsuit paralysis to the yellow-eyed Scotty Farkus affair to the dreaded tongue-on-a-frozen-flagpole gambit.

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"Terms of Endearment" dazzled critics and audiences alike with its believable, insightful story of two captivating people, mother and daughter, unforgettably played Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger.

Jack Nicholson turns in a great comic performance as MacLaine's neighbour, a boozy, womanizing former astronaut.

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In the spring of 1980, the port at Mariel Harbor was opened, and thousands set sail for the United States. They came in search of the American Dream. One of them found it on the sun-washed avenues of Miami…wealth, power and passion beyond his wildest dreams. He was Tony Montana (Al Pacino).

The world will remember him by another name…Scarface.

"This is Spinal Tap" is Rob Reiner's directorial debut that is often named as one of the funniest films ever made. A fly-on-the-wall look at the comeback tour of the world's loudest heavy metal band.

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"The Natural" follows the epic journey of Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford). A baseball player on his way to stardom in the big leagues, Hobbs finds his dreams shattered when a mysterious woman and a silver bullet end his career prematurely.

Sixteen years later, Hobbs finds himself coming back to baseball, joining the roster of the lowly New York Knights. Can Hobbs overcome physical pain - and nefarious forces - to lead the Knights to the pennant?

Willie (John Lurie), a Hungarian emigre living in New York City, is disgruntled by the arrival of his sixteen-year-old cousin Eva (Eszter Balint). Along with his pal Eddie (Richard Edson), they take a journey through the American landscape, never really settling on a direction.

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Out of nowhere, a gaunt man in a dark suit and a red baseball cap appears tn the burning heat of the desert between the US and Mexico. Travis (Harry Dean Stanton).

He drinks the last sip from his water bottle, then he moves on, doggedly, into the inhospitable area that the locals call "The Devil's Playground". Travis might seem to be mute and amnesiac, but he's driven by the desire to reconnect with his family.

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Rogue CIA agent Sands (Johnny Depp) finds himself having to recruit the services of the legendary vigilante El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) in order to prevent an assassination attempt on the Mexican president.

Although Mariachi has been in hiding since the death of his lover (Salma Hayek), Sands manages to persuade him to help as they will be fighting a common enemy: General Marquez (Gerardo Vigil), who is leading the assassination attempt and with whom Mariachi has a score to settle.

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When kooky, spooky college profs Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) lose their university jobs, they decide to go freelance, de-haunting New York City with a new ghost removal service.

As soon as they open their doors, their first order of business becomes saving beautiful cellist Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and nerdy Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), who've inadvertently opened the gates of hell...right in their own apartment building!