frankie's - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List
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The Tin Drum (1979)Die Blechtrommel
When Oskar Matzerath (the extraordinary David Bennent, just twelve at the time) receives a tin drum for his third birthday, he vows to stop growing there and then - and woe betide anyone who tries to take his beloved drum away from him, as he has a banshee shriek that can shatter glass. As a result, he retains a permanent child's-eye perspective on the rise of Nazism as experienced through petit-bourgeois life in his native Danzig, the 'free city' claimed by both Germany and Poland whose invasion in 1939 helped kick-start World War II. With the help of Luis Bunuel's favourite screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, director Volker Schlondorff turns Gunter Grass's magical-realist masterpiece into a carnivalesque frenzy of bizarre, grotesque yet unnervingly compelling images as Oskar turns his increasingly jaded eye and caustic tongue on the insane follies of the adult world that he refuses to join. - Director:
- Volker Schlöndorff
- Cast:
- David Bennent, Horst Gentzen, Mario Adorf
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"All That Jazz" is actually a semi-autobiographical account of the life of its celebrated writer/director/choreographer, Bob Fosse. The multi-talented performer was an Oscar, Tony and Emmy Award winner who brought home a combined total of eight trophies. Part tragic, part comic, this outrageous look at life in the fast lane is the Academy Award - winning musical about Bob Fosse's excessive life in show business, played by Roy Schneider. Dazzlingly presented, this electrifying story about the perils of pushing yourself too hard is filled with Fosse's legendary song-and-dance choreography. - Director:
- Bob Fosse
- Cast:
- Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer
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After Being There was published, author Jerzy Kosinski got a telegram from its lead character Chance the Gardner: "Available in my garden or outside of it". Kosinski dialled the accompanying telephone number and Peter Sellers answered. Sellers indeed got the part and gave an indelible performance in this modern comedy classic. Isolated all his life in a Washington DC townhouse, Chance knows only what he's seen on TV. Cast into the world, he stumbles into the inner circle of governmental power brokers eager for "sage wisdom". As Chance might say, you'll like to watch - Director:
- Hal Ashby
- Cast:
- Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas
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Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)Kramer Versus Kramer
"Kramer vs. Kramer" is a ground-breaking drama about the heartbreak of divorce and the struggle between work and family. Young husband and father, Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) loves his family - and his job, which is where he spends most of his time. When he returns home late one evening from work, his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) confronts him and then leaves him to take care of their six-year-old son while she goes off to find herself. Ted struggles with the demands of balancing a high-pressure career while trying to adapt to his new role of single parent. Just as Ted starts to feel like a fulfilled parent, Joanna returns, but this time she wants her son back... - Director:
- Robert Benton
- Cast:
- Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander
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Monty Python delivers a scathing, anarchic satire of both religion and Hollywood's depiction of all things biblical with their second film. The setting is Judea 33 A.D. , a time of poverty and chaos, with no shortage of messiahs, followers willing to believe in them, and exasperated Romans trying to impose some order. At the centre of it all is Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a reluctant would-be messiah who rises to prominence as a result of a series of absurd and truly hilarious circumstances providing ample opportunity for the entire ensemble (John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Chapman) to shine in multiple roles as they mock everyone and everything from ex-lepers, Pontius Pilate, and the art of haggling to crazy prophets, Roman centurions, and crucifixion. - Director:
- Terry Jones
- Cast:
- Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin
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Apocalypse Now (1979)Apocalypse Now Redux / Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier / Apocalypse Now: Final Cut
Francis Ford Coppola's stunning vision of man's heart of darkness revealed through the madness of the Vietnam War. Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) receives orders to seek out a renegade military outpost led by the mysterious Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). Willard's mission: "Terminate with extreme prejudice". - Director:
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Cast:
- Martin Sheen, Hattie James, Marlon Brando
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Steve Martin makes his film-starring debut in this wild and crazy comedy hit The Jerk. Steve portrays Navin Johnson, adopted son of a poor black sharecropper family, whose crazy inventions lead him from rags to riches and right back to rags. Along the way, he's smitten with a lady motorcycle racer, survives a series of screwball attacks by a deranged killer, becomes a millionaire by inventing the "Opti-grab" handle for eyeglasses - and shows why he's on of the hottest comic performers in the world. - Director:
- Carl Reiner
- Cast:
- Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams
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After a fateful meeting with a big-time talent agent, Kermit the Frog heads for Hollywood dreaming of show biz. Along the way, Fozzie Bear, the Great Gonzo and the dazzling Miss Piggy join him in hopes of becoming film stars too. But all bets are off when Kermit falls into the clutches of Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), a fast-food mogul seeking to promote his French-fried frog-leg franchise! - Director:
- James Frawley
- Cast:
- Jim Henson, Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton
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Forty-two-year-old Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates, a seventeen-year-old girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway) he doesn't love, and a lesbian ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep) who's writing a tell-all book about their marriage... and whom he'd like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend's sexy, intellectual mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton), Isaac falls head over heels in lust! Leaving Tracy, bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginning of Isaac's quest for romance and fulfillment in a city where sex is as intimate as a handshake - and the gate to true love... is a revolving door. - Director:
- Woody Allen
- Cast:
- Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway
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In the ravaged near future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorising innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force bent on stopping them. But they underestimate one officer: Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson). And when the bikers brutalise Max's best friend and family, they send him into a mad frenzy that leaves him with only one thing left in the world to live for - revenge! - Director:
- George Miller
- Cast:
- Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne
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Nosferatu: The Vampyre (1979)Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht
It is 1850 in the beautiful, perfectly kept town of Wismar. Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz) is about to leave on a long journey over the Carpathian Mountains to finalise real estate arrangements with a wealthy nobleman. His wife Lucy (Isabel Adjani) begs him not to go and is troubled by a strong premonition of danger. Despite her warnings, Jonathan arrives four weeks later at a large, gloomy castle. Out of the mist appears a pale wraith-like figure with a shaven head and deep sunken eyes who identifies himself as Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski) The events that transpire slowly convince Harker that he is in the midst of a vampire. What he doesn't know, however, is the magnitude of danger he, his wife and his town are about to experience as victims of the Nosferatu. - Director:
- Werner Herzog
- Cast:
- Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz
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An extraordinary motion picture, Ordinary People is an intense examination of a family being torn apart by tension and tragedy. Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore star as the upper-middle-class couple whose "ordinary" existence is irrevocably shattered by the death of their oldest son in a boating accident, suicide and guilt left by the drowning, Judd Hirsch is the empathetic psychiatrist who provides his lifeline to survival. Mary Tyler Moore gives a riveting portrayal of the inexplicably aloof mother. Robert Redford's achievement as director, after more than twenty years as a superstar in front of the camera, earned him an Oscar. Superb performances and masterful direction complement the award-winning screenplay, based upon the novel by Judith Guest. - Director:
- Robert Redford
- Cast:
- Donald Sutherland, Mary-Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch
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Atlantic City (1980)Atlantic City, USA
On the Boardwalk of Dreams, everyone has a fantasy. Once the Queen of Resorts, Atlantic City has become the seedy Queen of Rackets. And with the legalisation of gambling, small-time gangsters like Lou (Burt Lancaster) are the losers; running numbers for the Mob can no longer offer a livelihood. But aging Lou's life changes abruptly when he becomes involved with Dave (Robert Joy), a young dope dealer, and his estranged wife, the beautiful and ambitious Sally (Susan Sarandon). Working at the Casino oyster bar whilst taking a rigorous course in blackjack dealing, she dreams of a glamorous new life in the casinos of Monte Carlo. When Dave is killed, Lou and Sally find themselves thrown together in a real-life escapade involving love, money, dope and danger. - Director:
- Louis Malle
- Cast:
- Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid
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The Last Metro (1980)Le Dernier Métro
In Nazi-occupied Paris Marion and her Jewish husband decide to conceal him in the very theatre that they own with the alibi that he has fled abroad. As he hides in the cellar from the Gestapo she must continue her job as lead actress in the play and take on her husband's job as director to hold up the facade. Meanwhile the German oppression continues to increase on both the characters' lives and the play itself. - Director:
- François Truffaut
- Cast:
- Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poiret
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Writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a former alcoholic, accepts a job as the winter caretaker for a hotel high in the Rocky Mountains, isolating him, his wife (Shelley Duvall) and their psychic young son until spring. But when the first blizzard blocks the only road out, the hotel's stored energy from evil past deeds begins to drive Jack insane...a and there may be no escape for his family in this haunting story of madness, memory and violence. - Director:
- Stanley Kubrick
- Cast:
- Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
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