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

An Autumn Afternoon

Show moreShow less

Filmed in sumptuous black and white, and full of scenes of lush, strange beauty, it tells the story of Vittoria (Monica Vitti), a young woman who leaves her older lover (Francisco Rabal), then drifts into a relationship with a confident, ambitious young stockbroker (Alain Delon).

But this base narrative is the starting point for much, much more, including an analysis of the city as a place of estrangement and alienation and an implicit critique of colonialism.

This true life story follows the struggles of T.E.Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) in uniting the hostile Arab factions and leading them to victory over the ruling Turkish Empire during the First World War.

Show moreShow less

Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his brilliant performance as the Southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape in this film version of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel. The setting is a dusty Southern town during the Depression. A white woman accuses a black man of rape.

Though he is obviously innocent, the outcome of his trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him - except Peck, the town's most distinguished citizen. His compassionate defense costs him many friendships but earns him the respect and admiration of his two motherless children.

Show moreShow less

After saving the lives of his platoon during the Korean War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) is hailed as a bona fide American hero.

This couldn't have come at a better time for his mother (Angela Lansbury) who is hell-bent on boosting the career of his stepfather, a senator straight from the McCarthyite wing of the US political spectrum with designs on the Presidency. So far so familiar - but why does Shaw's former captain (Frank Sinatra) have recurring nightmares that suggest that his distinguished comrade-in-arms might not be all that he seems?

Show moreShow less

Newly arrived in Ramsdale, New Hampshire, European emigre Humbert Humbert is smitten, so much so that he comes up with a master plan. He'll marry Charlotte Haze.

That way he'll always be close to his dear one - Charlotte's precocious daughter! Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick explores the theme of sexual obsession (a subject he would revisit 37 years later in 'Eyes Wide Shut') with this darkly comic and deeply moving version of Vladimir Nabokov's novel.

Show moreShow less

When peasant farmer Ze (Leonardo Villar) learns that his prized donkey is seriously ill, he makes a deal with God: If the animal recovers, Ze will carry a large cross to the village church. When the donkey pulls through, Ze begins his long journey.

But when he arrives at the church, he finds that the priest is less than thrilled with his sacrifice.

Show moreShow less

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.

Show moreShow less

Two icons from the golden age of Hollywood, Oscar winners Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, take their famous feud onscreen in Robert Aldrich's newly restored thriller.

In fierce, no-holds-barred performances, Bette Davis portrays aging ex-child star Baby Jane Hudson while Joan Crawford plays Blanche, the crippled sister Jane torments psychologically. As the sisters descend into madness, the tension builds to a shocking ending...

Show moreShow less

Described as 'a perfect film' by Susan Sontag, Jean-Luc Godard's compelling fourth feature presents 12 episodes in the life of Nana (wonderfully played by Godard's muse, Anna Karina), a young Parisian who turns to prostitution after becoming disillusioned by poverty and her failing marriage.

Stylistically innovative and boasting several of both the director's and star's most memorable moments, 'Vivre Sa Vie' is an undiminished classic of the French New Wave that is by turns both playful and sad, and which borrows the aesthetics of cinema verite to present a captivating vision of 1960's Parisian street life and pop culture.

Show moreShow less

As beautiful blonde Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) rolls into Bodega Bay in pursuit of eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), she is inexplicably attacked by a seagull.

Suddenly thousands of birds are flocking into town, preying on school-children and residents in a terrifying series of attacks. Soon Mitch and Melanie are fighting for their lives against a deadly force that can't be explained and can't be stopped in one of Hollywood's most horrific films of nature gone berserk.

Show moreShow less

Jerry Lewis directed, co-wrote arid stars in this riotously funny movie that set a new standard for screen comedy. Lewis plays Dr. Julius Kelp, a homely and nearsighted chemistry teacher who's ignored by the ladies and ridiculed by his students and fellow professors.

All of that changes one day when he concocts a magical potion that can transform him into a sophisticated and handsome Romeo, a confident, self-assured swinger dubbed "Buddy Love". But the Jekyll-and-Hyde routine soon creates double the trouble for the bumbling professor and the girl of his dreams (Stella Stevens), a student who's fallen head-over-heels for the conceited, debonair Buddy.

Show moreShow less

Marcello Mastroianni is (Fellini's alter ego) Guido, a successful filmmaker who, embarking on his next film, discovers he has a complete "director's block": he has no story to tell! Harassed by his producers, his mistress (Sandra Milo) and his wife (Anouk Aimee), while struggling to find the

inspiration for his film, he increasingly retreats in dreamy recollections of his life and lovers, until fantasy, memories and reality merge in the director's mind - and on screen, in an astonishing, masterful spectacle, culminating in an electrifying triumph of optimism. As Guido-Federico says at the end of 8 1/2: "Life is a party, let's live it together!"

Show moreShow less

Described as 'one of the most audacious fictions ever made about the Holocaust', Passenger is a classic of Polish cinema. Director Munk died, aged just 39, in a car crash in the middle of filming.

His friend and colleague Witold Lesiewicz decided to complete the film to what he believed were Munk's intentions and assembled it using the existing footage, Munk's photographs and a voice-over narration. On release the film won main awards at the Cannes and Venice film festivals and is widely considered a masterpiece. Unseen for far too long, this is the first-ever DVD release of this unique film.

Show moreShow less

Camille falls out of love with her husband Paul while he is rewriting the screenplay Odyssey by American producer Jeremiah Prokosch.

Just as the director of Prokosch's film, Fritz Lang, says that The Odyssey is the story of individuals confronting their situations in a real world, Le Mepris itself is an examination of the position of the filmmaker in the commercial cinema industry.