griggs's - Letterboxd Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films List
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The Hunt (2012)Jagten
"The Hunt" unfolds in a small provincial town in the days leading up to Christmas. Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen), a forty year old divorcee, is finally getting his life under control. He's got himself a new girlfriend, a new job and is in the process of re-building his relationship with his teenage son, Marcus. But things soon start to unravel. Nothing significant, just a slight comment here, a random lie there. And as the snow falls and the Christmas lights are lit, the lie spreads like an invisible virus. The shock and mistrust gets out of hand, and the small community suddenly finds itself in a collective state of hysteria, while Lucas fights a lonely fight for his life and dignity. "The Hunt" is a disturbing depiction of how a lie can quickly become truth - a modern tale of a witch-hunt, injustice, guilt and, ultimately, forgiveness. A fable on how fragile a community can become when gossip, doubt and malice are allowed to flourish. It is a stirring portrait of a man struggling to exonerate himself, and a father and a son reaching out for one another as their world crumbles. - Director:
- Thomas Vinterberg
- Cast:
- Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp
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It's 2019, the world is on the brink of absolute destruction. Tokyo shimmers with tech-noir fetishism, gangs of cyber-punk bikers cruise the sprawl of the post-atomic city and rioting crowds surge under the neon-topped buildings looming a thousand storeys into the sky. Now, old gods return to do battle with Akira and something more than comic book ultra-violence is unleashed... - Director:
- Katsuhiro Ôtomo
- Cast:
- Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Nozomu Sasaki
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John Merrick (John Hurt) is the elephant man, forced into circus sideshows and spurned by society because of the disfiguring disabilities he was born with. Rescued by a well meaning surgeon (Anthony Hopkins), he tries to escape a life of prejudice and cruelty as he tries to fit into the world ruled by Victorian sensibilities. - Director:
- David Lynch
- Cast:
- Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft
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The Cremator (1968)Spalovac Mrtvol
'The Cremator' has been described in many ways - as surrealist-horror, political allegory, a pitch-black comic satire and a darkly disturbing tale of terror. This unique cult film, a brilliantly chilling mix of Repulsion and Dr. Strangelove, is set during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia and built around a remarkable performance by Rudolf Hrusinsky as the titular cremator. Proud of his mastery of his trade, Mr. Kopfrkingl's perverse and deranged fantasies gradually lead him towards offering a final solution for the 'salvation of the world'. - Director:
- Juraj Herz
- Cast:
- Rudolf Hrusínský, Josef Kemr, Vlasta Chramostová
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Nostalgia (1983)Nostalghia / Tempo di Viaggio
Tarkovsky's unforgettably haunting film, his first to be made outside Russia, explores the melancholy of the expatriate through the film's protagonist, Gorchakov, a Russian poet researching in Italy. Arriving at a Tuscan village spa with Eugenia, his beautiful Italian interpreter, Gorchakov is visited by memories of Russia and of his wife and children, and he encounters the local mystic, who sets him a challenging task. The film is filled with a series of mysterious and extraordinary images, all of which coalesce into a miraculous whole in the film's final shot. As in all Tarkovsky's films, nature, the elements of fire and water, music, painting and poetry all play a major role. - Director:
- Tonino Guerra
- Cast:
- Oleg Yankovskiy, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano
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Children of Paradise (1945)Les Enfants Du Paradis
Set amidst the glittering theatre world of 19th century Paris, the story revoles around the beautiful and free-spirted courtesan, Garanace, and the four men who compete for her affections; a mime-artist, an actor, an aristocrat and a criminal. As the melodrama unfolds, we are treated to one of cinema's greatest love stories, a captivating tale of passion, deception and murder. - Director:
- Marcel Carné
- Cast:
- Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur
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Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)Shin Evangelion Gekijôban / Evangelion 3.0+1.0 / Evangelion 4.0 Final
From legendary director Hideaki Anno, "Evangelion:3.0+1. 11 Thrice Upon a Time" is the fourth and final installment of the 'Rebuild of Evangelion' films, bringing an epic conclusion to the story of Shinji and his fellow Eva pilots, with the stunning visuals and thought-provoking storytelling that has made Evangelion a global pop culture phenomenon. Misato and her anti-NERV group Wille arrive at Paris, a city now red from core-ization. Crew from the flagship Wunder land on a containment tower. They only have 720 seconds to restore the city. When a horde of NERV Evas appear, Mari's improved Eva Unit 8 must intercept. Meanwhile, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei (Provisional Name) wander about Japan. - Director:
- Mahiro Maeda
- Cast:
- Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yûko Miyamura
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Secrets and Lies (1996)Secrets & Lies
Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is a young, black optometrist whose adoptive parents have recently died. Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) is a sad, unmarried mother who works in a factory and lives in a shabby terraced house with her confrontational daughter, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook). Cynthia's brother Maurice (Timothy Spall) is a successful wedding photographer who lives comfortably in suburbia with his snooty wife Monica (Phyllis Logan). In a misplaced effort to re-unite the family, Maurice and Monica throw a small barbecue party for Roxanne's 21st birthday. When Cynthia brings along her new friend Hortense, chaos ensues as some painful truths are revealed. - Director:
- Mike Leigh
- Cast:
- Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan
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A young girl named Teresa Banks (Pamela Gidley) is found brutally murdered. The FBI agents leading the investigation are drawn into a bizarre and dangerous world, and then disappear. The case is handed to Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). He knows it is only a matter of time before the killer strikes again. Welcome to Twin Peaks, an idyllic part of small-town America, one year later. A picture postcard setting, but hiding beneath the surface of this tranquil town lies an evil force. One that is praying on the towns most popular and beautiful student. Her name is Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). - Director:
- David Lynch
- Cast:
- Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Mädchen Amick
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Jimmy Stewart plays the bungling but charming big-city lawyer determined to rid the fair village of Shinbone of its number one nuisance and bad man: Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). And as if all that weren't enough, the biggest star that ever aimed a six-shooter plays the man of the title: John Wayne. Super-sincere Stewart and rugged rancher Wayne also share the same love interest (Vera Miles). One gets the gunman but the other gets the gal. - Director:
- John Ford
- Cast:
- James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles
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Throne of Blood (1957)Kumonosu-Jô / The Castle of the Spider's Web / Cobweb Castle / Spider Web Castle
Kurosawa's transposition of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' to sixteenth century Japan is immensely successful in capturing the spirit of the original. A truly remarkable film combining beauty and terror to produce a mood of haunting power. 'Throne of Blood' also shows Kurosawa's familiar mastery of atmosphere, action and the savagery of war. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada
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Casablanca: easy to enter, but much harder to leave, especially if your name is on the Nazis' most-wanted list. A top that list is Czech Resistance leader VIctor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), whose only hope is Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a cynical American who sticks his neck out for no one... especially Victor's wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the ex-lover who broke his heart. So when Ilsa offers herself in exchange for Laszlo's safe transport out of the country, the bitter Rick must decide what's more important - his own happiness or the countless lives that hang in the balance. - Director:
- Michael Curtiz
- Cast:
- Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
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Samurai Rebellion (1967)Jôi-uchi: Hairyô tsuma shimatsu
Framed within the classic Japanese conflict between giri (feudal loyalty) and ninjo (human feeling) Samurai Rebellion finds ultimate value in the mutual love of a husband and and wife... a rare enough moral resolution in any Japanese warrior film. This is made even more unusual by the fact that the director Kobayashi was a Marxist critic of society, who might have regarded romantic love as a bourgeois luxury. Mifune played Isaburo Sasahara, a man who has spent his life of self abnegation in the service of his lord. A fine swordsman, his only equal is Tatewaki Asano, played by Nakadai. Unused to protesting against personal or social injustice, Sasahara is finally roused by his lord's seizure of his daughter in law. Not only is he brought into direct opposition with his own clan, but with his former friend, Asano. - Director:
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Gô Katô
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Kurosawa's remarkable film - his only produced and financed and survival, based on the memoirs of Russian explorer Vladimir Arseniev (Yuriy Solomin). In the harsh environs of the Siberian frontier, an expedition led by Arseniev encounters the momadic Goldi tribesman Dersu Uzala (Maksim Munzuk), who agrees to guide the men through the vast uncharted wilderness. Although initially considered but the group as little more that a savage, Dersu's skill, courage and spiritual wisdom soon earn their respect and admiration, as well as instilling in them a new-found compassion for the natural world. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Maksim Munzuk, Yuriy Solomin, Mikhail Bychkov
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La Dolce Vita (1960)The Sweet Life
Perhaps his most famous film, La Dolce Vita slices into the decadent amoral core of Roman society with Fellini's trademark attention to detail and spectacular photography. Marcello Mastroianni plays a gossip columnist (the term 'paparazzi' derives from the in a film) who aspires to be a more serious writer but knows he never will be, because like society, he is fascinated by the decadent hedonist pursuits which are seemingly everywhere. The Vatican was appalled by the film, but the public adored it, relishing the images Fellini fed them, most notably the now infamous scene of Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg frolicking in the Trevi Fountain. - Director:
- Federico Fellini
- Cast:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée
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