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

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Three ill-fated men - a small-time pimp Jack (John Lurie) an unemployed DJ Zack (Tom Waits) and a strong-willed Italian tourist (Roberto Benigni) - meet in the confined space of New Orleans prison cell.

Undeterred by Jack and Zack's evident disdain, Roberto shares with them his improbable plans of escape, thrusting them into an adventure through the Louisiana bayous.

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Ferris Bueller. Larger than life. Blessed with a magical sense of serendipity. He's a model for all those who take themselves too seriously. A guy who knows the value of a day off. 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' chronicles the events in the day of a rather magical young man, Ferris (Matthew Broderick).

One spring day, toward the end of his senior year, Ferris gives in to an overwhelming urge to cut school and head for downtown Chicago with his girl (Mia Sara) and his best friend (Alan Ruck), to see the sights, experience a day of freedom and show that with a little ingenuity, a bit of courage and a red Ferrari, life at 17 can be a joy!

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In this action-packed sequel to Alien, Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the monstrous Alien.

Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with scepticism - until the mysterious disappearance of colonists on LV-426 lead her to join a team of high-tech colonial marines sent in to investigate.

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In a small, woodsy Oregon town, a group of friends - sensitive Gordie (Wil Wheaton), tough guy Chris (River Phoenix), flamboyant Teddy (Corey Feldman), and scaredy-cat Vern (Jerry O'connell) - are in search of a missing teenager's body.

Wanting to be heroes in each other's and their hometown's eyes, they set out on an unforgettable two-day trek that turns into an odyssey of self-discovery. They sneak smokes, tell tall tales, cuss 'cause it's cool and band together when the going gets tough. When they encounter the town's knife-wielding hoods who are also after the body, the boys discover a strength they never knew they had.

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Nola (Tracy Camilla Johns) is an independent woman with an independent libido, and she's having a hard time deciding who will satisfy her in bed.

Courted by a trio of distinctive lovers - the possessive romantic, the vain model and the fast-talking bicyclist (brilliantly played by Spike Lee) - she must find the man who inspires both her lust... and her trust.

Based on Thomas Harris' first story of Hannibal Lecktor, 'Red Dragon', 'Manhunter' introduced this popular character to an unsuspecting public. It remains a cult classic and is considered the most prominent landmark in Mann's career.

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This frightening, but extremely moving and romantic horror film stars Jeff Goldblum as an over-ambitious scientist who accidentally merges with a housefly while conducting a bizarre teleporting experiment.

A journalist (Geena Davis) who has fallen in love with him while covering his scientific endeavours suddenly finds herself caring for a horrifying creature whose insect half gradually begins to take over.

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Set in the picture-postcard small town environs of Lumberton, Kyle MacLachlan plays the clean cut Jeffrey Beaumont, who, whilst returning from a visit to his hospitalised father, makes the shocking discovery of a severed human ear.

After reporting his discovery to a local police detective, Jeffrey decides to pursue his own line of enquiry, aided by the detective's daughter, Sandy (Laura Dern). This sets Jeffrey on a voyage of discovery that takes him to the very heart of Lumberton's seedy and sinister underworld where he encounters a collection of misfits whose various chronic compulsions to engulf him in their twisted and nightmarish world.

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Beijing, 1913. In a time of violent turmoil when local tyrants vie for supremacy, three women's lives converge in the local Peking Opera house. Together they hatch a revolutionary plan to stop president Yuan Shikai from reinstating the monarchy and proclaiming himself emperor.

With the help of a righteous freedom-fighter and a disillusioned palace guard, the rebels must use all their wits and brawn to protect their democratic principles and save the emerging Chinese republic.

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Based on the hit Broadway play, it's the uplifting love story of John Leeds (William Hurt), an idealistic special education teacher, and a headstrong deaf girl named Sarah (Marlee Matlin). At first, Leeds sees Sarah as a teaching challenge.

But soon their teacher/student relationship blossoms into a love so passionate it shatters the barrier of silence that keeps them apart.

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Recently released from prison, the nomadic Henry (Michael Rooker) finds temporary abode in the rundown Chicago lodgings of a former jail acquaintance and small-time drug dealer, Otis (Tom Towles).

Hiding behind his unremarkable employment as a pest exterminator, Henry leads a double life, prowling the streets by night on a brutal and apparently motiveless killing spree. As the bodies mount up, Otis finds himself inducted into Henry's dark secret world, but when Otis' sister Becky (Tracy Arnold) moves in, herself fleeing from an uncomfortable domestic situation, it quickly becomes apparent that two's company, but three's a crowd.

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Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young, naive American who, upon his arrival in Vietnam, quickly discovers that he must do battle not only with the Viet Cong, but also with the gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and intense anger growing within him.

While his two commanding officers (Oscar-nominated Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe) draw a fine line between the war they wage against the enemy and the one they fight with each other, the conflict, chaos and hatred permeate Taylor, suffocating his realities and numbing his feelings to man's highest value...life.

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Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter and John Goodman star in Ethan and Joel Coen's acclaimed screwball love story filled with mad chases, unexpected plot twists and wild pyrotechnics. Vowing to go straight, a convenience store bandit (Cage) proposes marriage to the police department's photographer (Hunter).

All is wedded bliss until they discover she's unable to get pregnant and are turned down by every adoption agency in town. It doesn't take long before they realize the only solution is to kidnap one of the town's celebrated quintuplets and hit the road!

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London. The '60s. Two unemployed actors-acerbic, elegantly wasted Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the anxiety-ridden "I" (Paul McGann) - drown their frustrations in booze, pills and lighter fluid.

When Withnails's Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) offers his cottage, they escape the squalor of their flat for a week in the country, but soon realise they've gone on holiday by mistake when their wits - and friendship - are sorely tested by violent downpours, less-than-hospitable locals and empty cupboards.

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When Babette (Stéphane Audran), a beautiful and mysterious French refugee, arrives in a remote Danish town the tight-knit, puritanical community begrudgingly let her in, providing her with shelter and work.

But after the town patriarch passes away and Babette insists on preparing a feast in his honor, a magical world of sensory revelations is thrown open to the villagers, changing their lives forever...