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

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Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Bela Tarr's epic rendering of Laszlo Krasznahorkai's novel, about the decline of Communism in Eastern Europe, is a unique and visionary masterpiece that defies classification and transcends genre.

Set in a struggling Hungarian agricultural collective, a group of lost souls reeling from the collapse of their Communist utopia face an uncertain future, until the arrival of a charismatic stranger in whom they believe lies their salvation. The collective's individual experiences and fates are gradually revealed in Tarr's immaculately composed, brilliantly photographed and bleakly comic tour-de-force, which confirmed his place as one of contemporary cinema's few genuine auteurs.

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They came. They conquered. They looked fabulous! With a contract to perform a drag show way out in the Australian desert, Tick (Hugo Weaving), Adam (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) each has his own reason for wanting to leave the safety of Sydney.

Christening their battered, pink tour bus "Priscilla", this wickedly funny and high-drama trio heads for the outback...and into crazy adventures in even crazier outfits. You go, girls!

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The third and final part of Kieslowski's trilogy has been acclaimed as his masterpiece. Immaculately played by an extraordinary cast, "Red" masterfully plays on Kieslowski's interpretation of brotherhood and destiny.

Irene Jacob is stunning as a young model who meets a retired judge by chance when she rescues his dog from a car accident. Jean-Louis Trintignant is utterly compelling as the embittered judge who spends his days eavesdropping on his neighbours' phone conversations. Their initially fiery relationship mellows into a close friendship that ultimately liberates them both. A final twist of fate reveals the destinies of the characters from all three parts of the trilogy.

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Hollywood's hottest director Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs) assembles an all-star cast for a skillfully woven tale of small-time gangster life in a most ambitious and provocative film, 'Pulp Fiction'.

Bruce Willis (Die Hard) and Oscar Nominees John Travolta (Best Actor) and Samuel L Jackson (Best Supporting Actor) deliver career performances as petty thugs in LA's criminal underworld - where gritty confrontations, fast talk and perverse humour are all part of the daily grind. Nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award 1995, this boldly inventive and expertly orchestrated crime sage is hailed by critics as a landmark achievement in modern filmmaking!

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Linda Fiorentino stars as Bridget Gregory, the most memorably evil and sexy of all cinema femmes fatales; the woman who "makes Stanwyck in Double Indemnity look like Snow White!" (Leonard Maltin) Beautiful, intelligent and ambitious, Bridget Gregory persuades her doctor husband Clay (Bill Pullman)

to enter a $700,000 cocaine deal so they can pay off a loan shark. She then takes off with the money and hides out in a small town where she becomes involved with young , dumb Swale (Peter Berg). Clay hires Harlan (Bill Nunn), a tenacious private investigator, to track down his wife and the money. As the pair close in, Bridget embroils Swale in an elaborate and deadly scheme to be rid of them once and for all.

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Sex in southwest France in 1962, Andre Techine's award-winning film Wild Reed's is a poignant coming-of-age story about four young teenagers awakening to love in a nation torn apart by war.

This bittersweet tale delves in to the life of Francois, a sensitive young man uncertain of his sexuality as he finds himself more attracted to his classmate Serge, than his platonic girlfriend Maite. An older boy, Henri, finds himself drawn into the circle, further complicating relationships. Through their passage into adulthood, the four experience a series of sexual and political conflicts as they explore the mysteries of the human heart.

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Disney's epic adventure follows the story of Simba, a feisty lion cub who "just can't wait to be king". Led astray by his ambitious Uncle Scar, Simba adopts a carefree lifestyle with his hilarious companions, Timon and Pumbaa, and forgets his regal responsibilities.

But destiny calls and he must decide when the time is right to return to the Pride Lands and reclaim his place in the "Circle of Life".

Forrest Gump is the movie triumph that became a phenomenon. Tom Hanks gives an astonishing performance as Forrest, an everyman whose simple innocence comes to embody a generation. Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis) and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

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'Chungking Express', cult filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai's hugely influential international breakthrough, is a supremely stylish combination of love story and thriller, set in and around Hong Kong's infamous Chungking Mansions, a vast complex of shabby hostels, bars and clubs.

The film tells the stories of two lovelorn cops and the women with whom they become involved: a mysterious drug dealer dressed in a blonde wig and sunglasses, and an impulsive young dreamer.

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America has become a society steeped in violence and most decent, ordinary people are sick of it. Or are they? From two of the world's most controversial filmmakers, Quentin Tarantino and Oliver Stone, comes one of the most controversial films ever made.

Meet Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis) - the most terrifying and relentless cold-blooded killers imaginable. Rejected by society, these two lost souls embark on a murderous rampage. But as the body count soars, so too does their notoriety, and before long the greedy tabloid press has made them into cult heroes. In the media circus of life Mickey and Mallory have just become the main attraction...

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Pauline is a student in New Zealand who has no affection for her family or her classmates, but when the beautiful and wealthy Juliet enrols at her school the pair become best friends. Through their shared tastes in art, literature, and music they begin to build an elegant fantasy world.

However, when Juliet's parents threaten to separate the girls, they make a ruthless pact to preserve their fairytale forever, whatever the cost...

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Wrongly accused city banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) arrives at Shawshank Prison in 1947 after receiving a double life sentence for the brutal murders of his wife and her lover. He discovers that when they send you to Shawshank for life...that's exactly what they take.

His quiet strength slowly earns him the respect and friendship of the prison fixer Red (Morgan Freeman). He also becomes popular with the warden and prison guards, as he is able to use his banking experience to help the corrupt officials amass fortunes. But Andy's seemingly stoic acceptance of his unjust imprisonment hides a fierce determination for freedom and provides a unique chance to change his fate.

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This legendary cartoonist-artist drew Keep on truckin' and Fritz the Cat amongst others, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comics - including the illustration of Harvey Pekar's American Splendor.

Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind. As his acid-trip induced images flicker across our own retinas, Zwigoff's hilarious, disturbing film offers a unique insight into this complex and highly creative individual.

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You're invited to one of the most celebrated and audaciously funny hit comedies of the year - Muriel's Wedding! Follow frumpy, misguided Muriel Heslop on her lifelong quest for a glitzy fairy-tale wedding.

With visions of nuptials dancing in her head, this ABBA-obsessed misfit ditches her pathetic life and plastic friends in a small Australian suburb for big-city dreams in Sydney. But the road to the altar takes surprising twists and turns - and Muriel is about to learn the lesson of a lifetime. Wry, witty and hailed by critics everywhere, Muriel's Wedding is one affair you don't want to miss.

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It Is a time of arrivals at The Kingdom. The infamous Swedish surgeon Stig Helmer (Ernst-Hugo Järegård) has taken up his new post, much to the distress of his Danish colleagues.

The position promises to be an eventful one - while Helmer is inducted into the sinister brotherhood of surgeons and performs surgery on a patient who cannot be anaesthetised, his involvement with a brain-damaged patient leaves him open to legal proceedings and a blackmail plot by the idealistic Dr. Krogshoj (Søren Pilmark). And there are other, less wholesome presences beginning to make themselves known in the labyrinthine hospital. When the imagined illnesses of Mrs Sigrid Drusse (Kirsten Rolffes) lead her to be admitted as a patient, she discovers The Kingdom's resident ghost weeping in the lift shafts and embarks on a supernatural search for the wayward spirit. Dr. Judith (Birgitte Raaberg) is pregnant with a highly unusual baby, ghostly ambulances arrive with neither patients or drivers, Dr. Bondo (Baard Owe) finds himself unable to resist the lure of a dying man's tumour and just what is the lovesick Dr. Mogge (Peter Mygind) doing in the morgue with a hacksaw?