griggs's - Rented List

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This is the film that catapulted Sylvester Stallone into the international spotlight and launched one of the most successful series of films in movie history, This is the story of a loser, a two bit boxer from Philadelphia, who gets a second chance in life by being offered an impossible shot at the

heavyweight title. Stallone's performance is as powerful as his character's punches in the ring. This is one of the most exciting action movies you will ever see. Rocky is the simple story of a man whom fate chooses for a shot at glory in what has otherwise been an ordinary life. And while this subject matter is nothing new, it was unusual for Hollywood to release an old-fashioned 'feel-good' movie in the seventies, a decade whose films were mostly unconventional in attitude and anti-establishment in tone. Rocky is, of course, a fairy tale, but by grounding its characters in an everyday reality, the filmmakers were able to make them seem real and alive. And making the major contribution to that sense of reality was Sylvester Stallone, an out-of-work actor/writer whose faith in himself took him from utter obscurity to world-wide fame and fortune virtually overnight.....

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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.

Eastwood and Morgan Freeman play retired outlaws who pick up their guns one last time to collect a bounty. Richard Harris is an ill-fated killer-for-hire. And Hackman is a lawman of sly charm...and chilling brutality

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Classic romantic comedy starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart. Wealthy Philadelphia socialite Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is set to marry the politician and businessman George Kittredge (John Howard), but her wedding plans are complicated by the arrival of her irresponsible ex-husband C.

K. Dexter Haven (Grant), with magazine reporter Macauley Connor (Stewart) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) in tow. Tracy resolves to give them a story they will never forget but finds herself re-evaluating her life choices in the process.

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"The Perverts Guide to Cinema" is a film about cinema itself with close readings of some of the most intriguing and celebrated films in cinema history.

Serving as guide is the charismatic Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek, who delves into the hidden language of cinema uncovering what movies can tell us about ourselves. Structured in three parts. The Pervert's Guide To Cinema offers an introduction to Zižek's ideas on fantasy, reality, sexuality, subjectivity, form and desire. In a striking visual leap, director Sophie Fiennes immerses Žižek into the scenes he discusses. Whether he is unravelling the films of David Lynch, or overturning everything you thought you knew about Hitchcock, Žižek illuminates the screen with his passion, intellect and unfailing sense of humour.

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Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) first met in their twenties in 'Before Sunrise'; Reunited in their thirties in 'Before Sunset'; and, now, in director Richard Linklater's amazing 'Before Midnight', they face the past, present and future; family, romance and love.

Now on a writer's retreat in Greece, the couple looks for a night of passion, but instead their idyllic night turns into a test of their relationship and a discussion of what the future holds for them.

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Is there someone who lingers in your memory - someone who makes you wonder what might have been? Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy make magic again, reprising their 'Before Sunrise' roles of Jesse and Celine and reuniting with director Richard Linklater (School of Rock) in this engaging tale of love and

renewal. When Jesse and Celine first met in the mid 90's, their few hours together in Vienna were spontaneous and life-altering. Nine years later, lightning strikes twice. They unexpectedly meet in Paris...and have only one fading afternoon to decide if they should share their tomorrows. Smart, witty, real and unfolding largely in real time to heighten its immediacy, 'Before Sunset' glows with the moments that are every heart's greatest adventure.

James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Rains star in this award-winning 1939 classic about an idealistic, small-town politician who heads to Washington and suddenly finds himself single-handedly battling ruthless politicians out to destroy him.

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In this outstanding psychological and political thriller, we get a fascinating insight into the lengths and depths that the East European government went to in order to keep tabs on the lives of its population in 80's.

When cold and brutal official Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is given the task of spying on acclaimed playwright Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his actress girlfriend, he relishes the task, knowing that if he uncovers subversive behaviour he will gain favor with his boss. But the longer he listens in on the couple, their friendships, passions and ideas, the more he realises that his own life and the harsh political regime are lacking in color and joy in many respects. Slowly he begins to doubt morality of is job and politics. As the lines between orders and compassion become blurred, Wiesler becomes more involved with his subject, walking a dangerous path between his duty and his new found reality.

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Ranked at No. 30 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 all-time greatest American films, 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' is a genuine masterpiece that went on to win 3 Academy Awards.

Bogart gives a tremendous performance as a vicious down-and-out wage worker who stakes his meagre earnings on a gold-prospecting expedition.

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A gallery of high-living lowlifes will stop at nothing to get their sweaty hands on a jewel-encrusted falcon. Detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) wants to find out why - and who'll take the fall for his partner's murder.

An all-star cast (including Sydney Greenstreet, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook Jr.) joins Bogart in this cracking mystery masterwork written for the screen (from Dashiell Hammett's novel) and directed by John Huston.

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From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) moves relentlessly towards her goal: taking the reins of power from the great actress Margo Channing (Bette Davis).

The cunning Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend (Gary Merrill), her playwright (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife (Celeste Holm). Only the cynical drama critic (George Sanders) sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit. Thelma Ritter and Marilyn Monroe co-star in this acclaimed classic, which won six Academy Awards and received the most nominations (14) in film history.

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On the day Lawman Will Kane (Gary Cooper) trades in his tin star for his beautiful bride (Gracy Kelly), news arrives that a killer he helped send to jail is returning on the noon train to seek revenge.

At the behest of his friends and concerned for his new bride's safety, they quickly leave town to avoid a confrontation. But Cooper release they'll never run far enough away, and heads back to town to face the killer. But when Kane tries to drum up support, one by one the townspeople he had protected turn their backs on him...until Kane stands alone to face four killers on the deserted streets of town in one of the most famous showdowns ever!

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Following a prison term he served for manslaughter, Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) returns to find his family homestead overwhelmed by the weather and the greed of the banking industry.

With little work potential on the horizon of Oklahoma dust bowls, the entire family packs up heads for the promised land - California. But the arduous trip and harsh living conditions they encounter offer little hope, and family unity proves as daunting a challenge as any other they face.

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Alfred Hitchcock's landmark masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as the troubled Norman Bates, whose old dark house and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening.

No one knows that better than Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), the ill-fated traveller whose journey ends in the notorious "shower scene". First a private detective, then Marion's sister (Vera Miles) searches for her, the horror and the suspense mount to a terrifying climax where the mysterious killer is finally revealed.