griggs's - Favourite Films of the 20th Century List
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Rome, Open City (1945)Roma, città aperta
One of the greatest foreign language films ever made, Roberto Rossellini "Rome, Open City" was filmed in the direct aftermath of World War II on the war-ravaged streets of Italy. Based on real events that took place in the Nazi-occupied Italy in 1944, it examines the choices that people are forced to make in wartime. Centring on the Resistance and its members, this is a tragic and emotional exploration of human spirit and the effects of war. - Director:
- Roberto Rossellini
- Cast:
- Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero
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Alvin's eyesight is poor, he has little money and he can't stand the thought if being driven anywhere. So when he discovers his estranged brother has suffered a stroke he decides to make the journey by the only means of transport available to him - a John Deere lawnmower. Hundreds of miles, six weeks and several breakdowns later Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) finally pulls up at his destination, where the fate of his brother awaits him. - Director:
- David Lynch
- Cast:
- Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz
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Peeping Tom (1960)Face of Fear
Mark (Carl Boehm), a focus puller at the local film studio, supplements his wages by taking glamour photographs in a seedy studio above a newsagent. By night he is a sadistic killer, stalking his victims with his camera forever in his hand trying to capture the look of genuine, unadulterated fear - an obsession that stems from his disturbing and terrifying childhood at the hands of his scientist father. Mark slowly becomes enamoured with Helen (Anna Massey), who lives with her blind mother (Maxine Audley) in the flat downstairs, but how long before he turns the deadly gaze of his camera towards her? - Director:
- Michael Powell
- Cast:
- Karlheinz Böhm, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer
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Cher is devastatingly funny, sinuous and beautiful as Loretta, an unlucky-in-love Italian widow who finds romance through the intervention of the Manhattan moon. With her wedding to a close friend just weeks away, she meets - and falls hopelessly in love with - his younger brother (Nicolas Cage)! Her dilemma - and her equally passionate and hilariously eccentric family - make for an unforgettable film you'll find beguiling, enchanting and irresistible. - Director:
- Norman Jewison
- Cast:
- Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis
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Advertising executive James Ballard (James Spader) and his wife Catherine (Deborah Unger) lead complex, if hollow sexual lives. However, after being involved in a near fatal car crash with Dr. Helen Remington (Holly Hunter), Ballard finds himself being drawn into a provocative exploration of the connections between danger, sex and death - and, as his involvement deepens, Ballard and Catherine discover new and increasingly disturbing ways of expressing love... - Director:
- David Cronenberg
- Cast:
- James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas
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Three friends push the boundaries of trust in this hermetically sealed shocker from the creators of 'Trainspotting'. Starring Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor, 'Shallow Grave' is a masterpiece of terror riddled with hairpin turns that take you on a fantastic ride to the lowest depths of human nature. Juliet (Fox), David (Eccleston) and Alex (McGregor) find that their new reclusive roommate has not left his bedroom for days. After kicking in the door they discover his drug over-dosed corpse...and a suitcase full of money! Fatefully choosing to keep the money they have to get rid of the remains. But the body wont stay buried and a careless trail from the shallow grave leads the police - and two money hungry thugs- back to the trio. And as the stakes get higher, so does the body count, not to mention their paranoia which is quickly putting their friendship in jeopardy...forever! - Director:
- Danny Boyle
- Cast:
- Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor
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Hellraiser (1987)Clive Barker's Hellraiser
When Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) solves the mystery of a Chinese puzzle box he enters the world of the Cenobites. A world where these cruel sadists thrive on pain. Later, restored to life by the blood of his brother Larry (Andrew Robinson), Frank rises to feed on the life force of others. When Larry's wife agrees to provide the sacrifices he needs, the spills, chills and thrills are just beginning. - Director:
- Clive Barker
- Cast:
- Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence
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Persona (1966)Kinematografi
Bergman's masterpiece of self-doubt, identity and eroticism is an audacious example of cinematic art. The notional story centres on newly mute actor Elisabet (Liv Ullmann) recuperating at her coastal holiday home in the care of a nurse, Alma (Bibi Andersson). As tensions between the pair grow, their very selves seem to blur, chronology becomes uncertain and what is real and unreal loses significance. Yet the true impact of Persona goes beyond mere storytelling, touching, as Bergman said, 'wordless secrets that only the cinema can discover'. - Director:
- Ingmar Bergman
- Cast:
- Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook
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A Woman Under the Influence (1974)Neurosis de mujer
Cassavetes' most commercially successful feature and a benchmark of American independent cinema, 'A Woman Under the Influence' is a devastating drama starring Gena Rowlands as Mabel Longhetti, a mother of three whose blue collar husband Nick (Peter Falk) toils as a construction worker. Their simmering differences lead to a series of domestic dramas that eventually culminate in Mabel's nervous breakdown and six-month stay in a psychiatric hospital. Once released, Mabel and Nick must confront their uncertain futures. - Director:
- John Cassavetes
- Cast:
- Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper
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Apur Sansar (1959)The World of Apu
'Apur Sansar', the adult Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee) hopes to become a writer, but his lack of finances force him to abandon his university studies. He meets an old friend Pulu (Swapan Mukherjee) and together they travel to the wedding of Pulu's cousin, Aparna (Sharmila Tagore). When the bridegroom turns out to be insane and the wedding is cancelled, Apu agrees to marry Aparna to save her from ridicule. They return to his Calcutta apartment to start a new life and Apu comes to love his wife, but his happiness is soon shattered by a tragic turn of events. - Director:
- Satyajit Ray
- Cast:
- Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty
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