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

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In a small village in a remote valley where the harshness of life dictates that survival overrules compassion, elderly widow Orin is approaching her 70th birthday - the age when village law says she must go up to the mythic Mount Narayama to die.

But there are several loose ends within her own family to tie up first.

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"Amadeus" triumphs as gripping human drama, sumptuous period epic, glorious celebration of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It's 1781 and Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) is the competent court composer to Emperor Joseph II.

When Mozart (Tom Hulce) arrives at court, Salieri is horrified to discover that the godlike musical gifts he desires for himself have been bestowed on a bawdy, impish jokester. Mad with envy, he plots to destroy Mozart by any means. Perhaps, even murder.

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In 2029, giant super-computers dominate the planet, hell-bent on exterminating the human race! And to destroy man's future by changing the past, they send an indestructible cyborg - a Terminator - back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman whose unborn son will become mankind's

only hope. Can Sarah protect herself from this unstoppable menace to save the life of her unborn child? Or will the human race be extinguished by one mean hunk of mutant metal?

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Out of nowhere, a gaunt man in a dark suit and a red baseball cap appears tn the burning heat of the desert between the US and Mexico. Travis (Harry Dean Stanton).

He drinks the last sip from his water bottle, then he moves on, doggedly, into the inhospitable area that the locals call "The Devil's Playground". Travis might seem to be mute and amnesiac, but he's driven by the desire to reconnect with his family.

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"1, 2, Freddy's coming for you". And here he is, phantom fiend Freddy Krueger in all his razor-fingered infamy. Wes Craven directs this trendsetting first in the slash-hit series. The premise is simple: Freddy (Robert Englund) homicidally haunts the sleep of Elm Street teens.

The results are terrifying and mind-blowingly innovative. There's another film debut too: Johnny Depp. He plays the ready steady of the hottie mcsmarty (Heather Langenkamp) who figures a clever way to flambe the fiend. But ever-say-die Freddy will be 3, 4 back for more...even returning to the screen in a killer 2010 remake of this devilish original. Sweet dreams!

This Is Spinal Tap is Rob Reiner's directorial debut that is often named as one of the funniest films ever made. A fly-on-the-wall look at the comeback tour of the world's loudest heavy metal band.

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The heat is on in this fast paced action-comedy starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street smart Detroit cop tracing down his best friend's killer in Beverly Hills.

Axel quickly learns that his wild style doesn't fit in with the Beverly Hills Police Department, which assigns two officers (Judge Reinhold and John Ashton) to make sure things don't get out of hand. Dragging the stuffy detectives along for the ride, Axel smashes through a huge culture clash in his hilarious, high-speed pursuit of justice.

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When kooky, spooky college profs Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) lose their university jobs, they decide to go freelance, de-haunting New York City with a new ghost removal service.

As soon as they open their doors, their first order of business becomes saving beautiful cellist Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and nerdy Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), who've inadvertently opened the gates of hell...right in their own apartment building!

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Adela (Judy Davis) arrives in India to marry her fiance Ronny Heaslop (Nigel Havers), a provincial magistrate. Chafing under the suburban constraints of British society and anxious to see "the real India", she is delighted to be introduced to a young Indian doctor, Aziz (Victor Banerjee).

Although fascinated by Aziz, Adela fails to understand his motivation or her own feelings and their awkward relationship provokes the tragic enigma of the Marabar caves.

Willie (John Lurie), a Hungarian emigre living in New York City, is disgruntled by the arrival of his sixteen-year-old cousin Eva (Eszter Balint). Along with his pal Eddie (Richard Edson), they take a journey through the American landscape, never really settling on a direction.

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Directed by Roland Joffe and brilliantly scripted by Bruce Robinson, 'The Killing Fields ' is based on the true story of the relationship between Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston), a Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times correspondent, and Dith Pran (Haing S.

Ngor), the Cambodian aide who remains behind following the evacuation of Cambodian citizens by the US army.

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"The Natural" follows the epic journey of Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford). A baseball player on his way to stardom in the big leagues, Hobbs finds his dreams shattered when a mysterious woman and a silver bullet end his career prematurely.

Sixteen years later, Hobbs finds himself coming back to baseball, joining the roster of the lowly New York Knights. Can Hobbs overcome physical pain - and nefarious forces - to lead the Knights to the pennant?

They were five students with nothing in common, faced with spending a Saturday detention together in their high school library. At 7 a.m., they had nothing to say, but by 4 p.m. they had bared their souls to each other and become good friends.

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Akira Kurosawa's acclaimed study of power, revenge and retribution is set against the magnificent backdrop of feudal warfare in sixteenth century Japan.

Transposing the events of Shakespeare's King Lear to the blood-thirsty 'Period of Warring States', 'Ran' tells the story of a bitter power struggle within the family of Warlord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai). After fifty years of ruthless slaughter Hidetora divides his kingdom among his sons, seeking peaceful retirement. However, as his life descends into chaos, he is unable to escape the corruption within his family and the torment within his soul.

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"Come and See" is one of the greatest war films ever made and one of the finest achievements of Soviet cinema.

A devastating account of the Nazi occupation of Belarussia during World War II, it tells the story of a young boy's abrupt loss of innocence when he joins the Soviet resistance and is thrust headlong into the brutal horrors of combat. Featuring terrifyingly authentic battle scenes and poetic, almost surreal imagery, director Elem Klimov has fashioned a vivid and unforgettably powerful portrait of the terrible atrocities committed by men in the name of war.