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

When a beautiful, college-bound girl, disturbingly preoccupied with the threat of nuclear destruction, falls in love with a handsome ex-con who is rumoured to have murdered the father of his high school sweetheart many years ago, the pair embark on a tempestuous affair.

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One of the most controversial issues in America today - drugs - forms the centre of 'Drugstore Cowboy', a powerful story of a Junkie's life of crime and redemption in the 1970s. Despite today's outcry against the dangers of drugs, the world of the dope addict remains shrouded in mystery.

A painstakingly authentic depiction of the life of drug addicts, 'Drugstore Cowboy' tells the shattering tale of the destructive force of narcotics and reveals an inspiring example of human resilience, hope and survival against the odds.

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Soon after Japan relinquishes control of Taiwan in 1945, the Lin brothers face hardships from the changing culture.

Bar owner Wen-heung (Chen Sown-yung), the eldest brother, falls foul of local gangsters, Wen-sun disappears, and Wen-leung, scarred by his experiences in the war, ends up in an insane asylum. Deaf-mute photographer Wen-ching (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), the youngest brother, decides to make a stand and fight the Kuomintang government from China that is assuming power.

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Cliff Stern (Woody Allen) is an idealistic filmmaker…until he is offered a lucrative job shooting a flattering profile of a pompous TV producer (Alan Alda).

Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) is the pillar of his community…until he learns that his ex-mistress (Anjelica Huston) plans to expose his financial and extramarital misdeeds. As Cliff chooses between integrity and selling out, and Judah decides between the counsel of his Rabbi (Sam Waterson) and the murderous advice of his mobster brother (Jerry Orbach), each man must examine his own morality, and make an irrevocable decision - that will change everyone's lives forever.

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In the old days it was called hypochondria, or black melancholia. Now, apparently, it's termed the Asthenic Syndrome. Whatever it is, Nikolai (Sergei Popov), a teacher of epic indifferent pupils, has got it, and it's not much fun.

Worse yet, quite a few other people, even an entire society, seem to be afflicted with the same problem writ extremely large...After a funeral, Natasha (Olga Antonova) is angry with everyone alive, quits her job and pisses off people in the street...

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Dekalog, from the acclaimed director of the 'Three Colours' trilogy, was premiered to unanimous glowing critical praise at the 1989 Venice Film Festival and its reputation as a cinematic masterpiece remains undiminished. The Ten Commandments, are equally captivating and powerful.

The storied are set around the same Warsaw apartment block and focus on the complexities of human relationships. The themes are the universal ones of love, marriage, infidelity, parenthood, guilt, faith and compassion. The result is a unique and life enhancing look at various moral dilemmas faced by ordinary people in their daily lives.

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The heart-stopping story of the first black regiment to fight for the North in the American Civil War, "Glory" stars Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes and Morgan Freeman.

Broderick and Elqes are the idealistic young Bostonians who led the regiment; Freeman is the inspirational sergeant who unites the troops; and Denzel Washington, in an Oscar-winning performance is the runaway slave who embodies the indomitable spirit of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts. Despised by the South, distrusted by the North, the 54th overcame seemingly insurmountable odds in their fight to join the war for freedom. Underpaid and ill-equipped, facing certain death at the hands of the Confederacy, the 54th rose to every challenge; their courage, skill and sacrifice paying the way for the Union's ultimate victory.

Vivian (Julia Roberts) is a spirited, streetwise diamond in the rough when she meets shrewd, no-nonsense billionaire Edward Lewis (Richard Gere). It's a chance encounter that turns a week long "business arrangement" into a timeless rags-to-riches romance.

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Kevin Costner is Lt. John Dunbar who, as a reward for an act of heroism, chooses reassignment to the Western Frontier. Dunbar becomes caught between two worlds as he drawn into the loving and honourable folds of a Sioux tribe living in the Dakota territory.

This powerful story follows Dunbar's romances and friendships with extraordinary race of people, and ultimately, the crucial decision he must make as white settlers continue their violent and ruthless journey into the lands of the Native Americans.

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Linklater's breakout second film is an utterly unique series of loosely interweaved episodes shining a delightfully off-beat light on a parade of socially disconnected, overly educated, and barely motivated citizens in Austin Texas.

In coffeehouses, clubs, bars, apartments, stores, and streets of the college town, life's strange quirks, odd foibles and disruptive inanities come astonishingly to life. Linklater's film remains a cult sensation that launched a thousand imitators. But none of the effusive 20-somethings littering the casts of 1990s US independent cinema can hold a candle to those of this hilarious and vibrant true original.

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A brilliant exploration of the power of movies, Close-Up reconstructs the true story of a cinephile's attempt to become a filmmaker he admires.

Hossein Sabzian introduces himself as celebrated Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf and, under the pretext of working on a film project, enters the private life of a well-to-do Teheran family and eventually faces fraud charges.

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After years inside, drug lord Frank White (Christopher Walken) is fresh out of jail and back on the streets of New York City.

Seeing himself as half Scarface, half Robin Hood, Frank and his enforcers brutally take back control of the city, turf by turf - with starry dreams of using the millions to benefit the community and save a local hospital. Before Frank can fulfil his ruthless lust for power, though, he's got to get past the crooked cops determined to take him down, and the criminal competition that won't bend to his will.

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It's 2084 AD: and Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is haunted by recurring dreams about a journey to Mars. A visit to a vacation parlour unlocks erased memories in Quaid's mind.

Quaid discovers that he is, in fact, a top intelligence agent on Mars which is now under the harsh rule of the treacherous tyrant Vilas Cohaagen. Quaid's memory has been erased to suppress his knowledge of Cohaagen's plans. Quaid outwits the Secret Police and makes his way to Mars where he is reunited with his former lover Melina. Together they must stop Cohaagen's diabolical plan and unlock the mysteries within the planet's core.

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Literally, a film like no other, this weird, wild and extraordinary photoplay is both melodrama and deadpan parody.

With striking black and white cinematography and stylized set design, Guy Maddin tells a tale of obsessive love in the arctic Russian town of Archangel, where Bolsheviks, White Russians and German Huns converge during World War I.

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Two young men, Dah (Isaach De Bankolé) from Benin and Jocelyn (Alex Descas) from the Caribbean decide to work together as a team that organizes illegal cockfights in order to gain quick cash. Dah is responsible for the financial transactions while Jocelyn trains the animals.

Jocelyn has a special attachment to one of the champion roosters he has named 'No Fear, No Die'. 'No Fear, No Die', like all roosters, is eventually defeated causing Jocelyn to begin to lose interest in cockfighting. Dah and Jocelyn have a third partner, Pierre (Jean Claude Brialy) who owns the space where the cockfights take place. Pierre has a pre-existing relationship with Jocelyn, having known both him and his mother before he immigrated to France. However he constantly haggles with the two men over money and insists that the cockfights become more violent urging the men to use razor blades and steel spurs instead of small horns on the roosters. After one particular fight Pierre also insinuates that he slept with Jocelyn's mother. Disgusted, Jocelyn takes to drinking and becomes more and more despondent, developing an obsession with Pierre's wife Toni (Solveig Dommartin) and naming one of the roosters after her. One night he gets drunk and releases the roosters from their cages. Afterwards Jocelyn and Dah learn that Pierre has begun locking them in and insists on using steel spurs on the roosters that night. Enraged, Jocelyn breaks out and flees to Paris where Dah manages to track him down and convinces him to return to the cockfighting ring for one final night. At the final fight Toni asks Jocelyn to take her with him after the fight when he and Dah leave, but he refuses. Meanwhile, Pierre organizes a fight between Toni's namesake rooster and one brought in by his gypsy business partners. Unable to watch his rooster die, Jocelyn jumps into the ring and rescues his bird, but is stabbed by Michel, Pierre's son and Toni's lover, before he can flee. Dah prepares and cleans his body before being arrested, along with Tony, Michel and other members of the cockfighting ring. After his release he quickly packs up his few possessions and finally leaves.