del's - Favourites List
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Blade Runner (1982)Blade Runner: The Final Cut / Dangerous Days / Bladerunner
Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) prowls the steel-and-microchip jungle of 21st century Los Angeles. He's a "Blade Runner" stalking genetically made criminal replicants. His assignment: kill them. Their crime: wanting to be human. A visual stunner, remastered for improved home presentation, director Ridley Scott's vision of this sci-fi cinema classic intriguingly differs from what 1982 moviegoers saw. This version omits Deckard's voiceover narration, develops in greater detail the romance between Deckard and Rachael (Sean Young) and removes the "uplifting" finale. Most intriguing of all is a newly included unicorn vision that suggests Deckard may be a humanoid. The result is a heightened emotional impact a great film made greater. - Director:
- Ridley Scott
- Cast:
- Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
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Battleship Potemkin (1925)Bronenosets Potyomkin
Planned by the Soviet Central Committee to coincide with the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the unsuccessful 1905 Russian Revolution, this film was developed by the 27 year-old Sergei Eisenstein from less than one page of script from a planned eight-part epic that was intended to chronicle a large number of revolutionary actions. Starting with the Potemkin's crew's refusal to eat maggot-infested meat, the mutiny develops and their leader Vakulinchuk is shot by a senior officer. The officers are overthrown and when the Potemkin docks at Odessa, crowds appear from all directions to take up the cause of the dead sailor and open rebellion ensues. What became the most celebrated sequence in world cinema history follows as the Czarist soldiers fire on the crowds thronging down the Odessa steps; the broad newsreel-like sequences being inter-cut with close-ups of harrowing details. Returning to sea, the Potemkin's crew prepares the guns for action as the ship, flying the flag of freedom, steams to confront the squadron. When they finally meet their worst fears are allayed as, with relief coupled with joy, they are universally acclaimed. This film, which was destined to become such an influential landmark in cinematographic history, opened in Moscow in January 1926. It ran for only four weeks. - Director:
- Sergei M. Eisenstein
- Cast:
- Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barsky, Grigori Aleksandrov
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Set in the picture-postcard small town environs of Lumberton, Kyle MacLachlan plays the clean cut Jeffrey Beaumont, who, whilst returning from a visit to his hospitalised father, makes the shocking discovery of a severed human ear. After reporting his discovery to a local police detective, Jeffrey decides to pursue his own line of enquiry, aided by the detective's daughter, Sandy (Laura Dern). This sets Jeffrey on a voyage of discovery that takes him to the very heart of Lumberton's seedy and sinister underworld where he encounters a collection of misfits whose various chronic compulsions to engulf him in their twisted and nightmarish world. - Director:
- David Lynch
- Cast:
- Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper
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The nightmare of war is seen through the eyes of one of its most tragic casualties - a child soldier - in this harrowing vision of innocence lost from Cary Joji Fukunaga. Based on the acclaimed novel by Uzodinma Iweala, 'Beasts of No Nation' unfolds in an unnamed, civil-war-torn West African country, where the young Agu (Abraham Attah, in a haunting debut performance) witnesses carnage in his village before falling captive to a band of rebel soldiers led by a ruthless commander (an explosive Idris Elba), who molds the boy into a hardened killer. Fukunaga's relentlessly roving camera work and stunning visuals - realism so intensely visceral it borders on the surreal - immerse the viewer in a world of unimaginable horror without ever losing sight of the powerful human story at its center. - Director:
- Cary Joji Fukunaga
- Cast:
- Abraham Attah, Emmanuel Affadzi, Ricky Adelayitor
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Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)Steamboat Bill, Jr.
A city-educated student returns to his home-town and his cantankerous father's Mississippi river boat, where he's an embarrassment to dad. But they bond together to ward off the owner of a rival boat, whose daughter Keaton falls for. When his father is arrested, Willie decides to get him out of Jail. - Director:
- Charles Reisner
- Cast:
- Buster Keaton, Tom McGuire, Ernest Torrence
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The General (1926)The Engine Driver
Train engineer Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) is turned down when he tries to enlist in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War as his occupation is deemed too important. When his train (The General) is stolen by Union soldiers so that it can be used to attack Confederate forces, only Johnny and his girl Annabelle Lee can save the train and warn the Confederates about an impending attack. - Director:
- Clyde Bruckman
- Cast:
- Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender
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"The Breadwinner" tells the story of Parvana, an 11-year-old girl growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. When her father is wrongfully arrested, Parvana disguises herself as a boy in order to support her family. With dauntless perseverance, Parvana draws strength from the stories her father told her, and ultimately risks her life to discover if he is still alive. Equal parts thrilling and spellbinding, The Breadwinner is a timely and inspiring tale about the transcendent power of stories, and their potential to unite and heal us all. - Director:
- Nora Twomey
- Cast:
- Saara Chaudry, Laara Sadiq, Shaista Latif
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Starring Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz, alongside Timothy Spall, Tom Wilkinson and Andrew Scott - "Denial" is the gripping and inspirational story of a relentless fight for justice. When writer Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz) speaks out against the lies of Holocaust denier David Irving (Timothy Spall) she is faced with a high-stakes battle to uncover one of the darkest deceptions in history. Passionate, fiery and independent she decides she must face him in court to fight the battle for the truth, even though the odds are solidly stacked against her. - Director:
- Mick Jackson
- Cast:
- Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall
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Powerful and thought-provoking drama which tells the compelling true story of Janet Leach who played a crucial part in uncovering the shocking crimes of Fred and Rosemary West - two of the most notorious serial-killers in history. Featuring electrifying performances by Emily Watson (as Janet Leach) and Dominic West (as Fred West), it reveals the extraordinary relationship which developed between the two, as West tried to evade responsibility for his crimes and protect his wife Rosemary from justice. Based on extensive research, and consultation with numerous people closely involved in the case, including police officers, surviving victims and relatives of victims of the Wests. - Director:
- Julian Jarrold
- Cast:
- Emily Watson, Dominic West, Robert Glenister
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Ivan's Childhood (1962)Ivanovo detstvo
A determined 12-year-old boy named Ivan joins a Russian partisan regiment as a scout due to his uncanny ability to slip quickly through enemy lines undetected. But as his missions become increasingly dangerous he is pulled from duty, something which he is quick to protest against because Ivan has an ulterior motive - to avenge the death of his family at the hands of the Nazis. Andrei Tarkovsky's first feature film is regarded as one of the most accomplished cinematic debuts and launched the career of the most influential and admired Russian filmmaker in history. - Director:
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Cast:
- Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, Evgeniy Zharikov
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John (Jack Reynor) lives with his mother, Jean (Toni Collette), in a Dublin social housing suburb and ekes out a meager living as a taxi driver. Spending his days hanging out with his best friend, Shane (Will Poulter) and long nights driving, he returns home one morning to find his mother unconscious from an overdose. It is not the first time. Embarrassed and engulfed by a sense of helplessness, Jean violently rejects John's attempts to help. But when Jean is offered a final opportunity to recover by her counselor Jim (Michael Smiley), and with no savings or insurance, John is forced to offer his services to a criminal gang to help pay for his mother's costly rehabilitation program. John is subsequently faced with a life-changing task that may alter him and his family's lives forever. - Director:
- Gerard Barrett
- Cast:
- Will Poulter, Toni Collette, Jack Reynor
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"Oranges and Sunshine" tells the real-life story of Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson), a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals in recent times: the organised deportation of children in care from the United Kingdom to Australia. Almost single-handedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice. - Director:
- Jim Loach
- Cast:
- Emily Watson, Clayton Watson, Aisling Loftus
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"Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family..." This is the story of Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his so-called friends - a bunch of losers, liars, psychos, thieves and junkies. Hilarious but harrowing, the film charts the disintegration of their friendship as they proceed seemingly towards self-destruction. Mark alone has the insight and opportunity to escape his fate - but then again does he really want to "choose life"? - Director:
- Danny Boyle
- Cast:
- Ewan McGregor, Archie MacPherson, Ewen Bremner
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Fleeing an ecological disaster past the point of no return, what's left of humanity must escape the hell on Earth they've created and fly to the stars. Giant interstellar cruise liners, outfitted with every luxury money can buy, take the human race on a three-week journey to their new home: Mars. On one such space liner, a woman known only as Mimaroben (Emelie Jonsson) assists the passengers as they use MIMA, an advanced Al, to lose themselves in memories of a time when the earth still thrived. Days into their voyage, disaster strikes the ship; debris throws them off course, depletes their fuel and cuts their comms. As the ship floats aimlessly through space with no sign of rescue, MR holds on to hope as society crumbles around her. She looks past certain doom to find a way to help her fellow survivors live, love and do whatever is necessary to hold on to their humanity. Based on the iconic poem by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson, 'Aniara' explores the challenges faced by humankind with a deeply compassionate eye. - Director:
- Pella Kagerman
- Cast:
- Emilie Jonsson, Meghan Lewis, Bianca Cruzeiro
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In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested and later convicted of raping a white woman in New York City's Central Park. They spent between 6 and 13 years in prison before a serial rapist confessed that he alone had committed the crime, leading to their convictions being overturned. Set against a backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension, 'The Central Park Five' tells the story of that horrific crime, the rush to judgment by the police, a media clamouring for sensational stories and an outraged public, and the five lives upended by this miscarriage of justice. - Director:
- Ken Burns
- Cast:
- Antron McCray, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson
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