frankie's - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List
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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 eldest daughter of show-biz parents, Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a devoted wife, loving mother and successful actress. A loyal supporter of her two aimless sisters (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest), she's also the emotional backbone of a family that seems to resent her stability almost as much as they depend on it. But when Hannah's perfect world is quietly sabotaged by sibling rivalry, she finally begins to see that she's as lost as everyone else, and in order to find herself, she'll have to choose - between the independence her family can't live with… and the family she can't live without. - Director:
- Woody Allen
- Cast:
- Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine
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Nola (Tracy Camilla Johns) is an independent woman with an independent libido, and she's having a hard time deciding who will satisfy her in bed. Courted by a trio of distinctive lovers - the possessive romantic, the vain model and the fast-talking bicyclist (brilliantly played by Spike Lee) - she must find the man who inspires both her lust... and her trust. - Director:
- Spike Lee
- Cast:
- Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell
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The Decline of the American Empire (1986)Le déclin de l'empire américain
Witty and provocative look at the battle of the sexes. Four men gather at a country retreat to prepare a gourmet supper, while in the city their female companions are working out at a health club. Both groups discuss their sex lives, affairs and seduction techniques and when they finally meet for dinner, the knives are out, revelations are made and an uncomfortable night is in store for all. - Director:
- Denys Arcand
- Cast:
- Dominique Michel, Dorothée Berryman, Louise Portal
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This frightening, but extremely moving and romantic horror film stars Jeff Goldblum as an over-ambitious scientist who accidentally merges with a housefly while conducting a bizarre teleporting experiment. A journalist (Geena Davis) who has fallen in love with him while covering his scientific endeavours suddenly finds herself caring for a horrifying creature whose insect half gradually begins to take over. - Director:
- David Cronenberg
- Cast:
- Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
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In this action-packed sequel to Alien, Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the monstrous Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with scepticism - until the mysterious disappearance of colonists on LV-426 lead her to join a team of high-tech colonial marines sent in to investigate. - Director:
- James Cameron
- Cast:
- Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn
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Ferris Bueller. Larger than life. Blessed with a magical sense of serendipity. He's a model for all those who take themselves too seriously. A guy who knows the value of a day off. 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' chronicles the events in the day of a rather magical young man, Ferris (Matthew Broderick). One spring day, toward the end of his senior year, Ferris gives in to an overwhelming urge to cut school and head for downtown Chicago with his girl (Mia Sara) and his best friend (Alan Ruck), to see the sights, experience a day of freedom and show that with a little ingenuity, a bit of courage and a red Ferrari, life at 17 can be a joy! - Director:
- John Hughes
- Cast:
- Matthew Broderick, Harry Caray, Larry Lujack
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Three ill-fated men - a small-time pimp Jack (John Lurie) an unemployed DJ Zack (Tom Waits) and a strong-willed Italian tourist (Roberto Benigni) - meet in the confined space of New Orleans prison cell. Undeterred by Jack and Zack's evident disdain, Roberto shares with them his improbable plans of escape, thrusting them into an adventure through the Louisiana bayous. - Director:
- Jim Jarmusch
- Cast:
- Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni
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Set in Florence and the English countryside, the film tells the story of a young English couple, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) and George Emerson (Julian Sands), who encounter passion whilst on holiday in Italy. Defying the Victorian conventions of their elders they dare to be true to their feelings, each other and true love. - Director:
- James Ivory
- Cast:
- Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Denholm Elliott
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Based on the hit Broadway play, it's the uplifting love story of John Leeds (William Hurt), an idealistic special education teacher, and a headstrong deaf girl named Sarah (Marlee Matlin). At first, Leeds sees Sarah as a teaching challenge. But soon their teacher/student relationship blossoms into a love so passionate it shatters the barrier of silence that keeps them apart. - Director:
- Randa Haines
- Cast:
- William Hurt, Leigh French, Marlee Matlin
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Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young, naive American who, upon his arrival in Vietnam, quickly discovers that he must do battle not only with the Viet Cong, but also with the gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and intense anger growing within him. While his two commanding officers (Oscar-nominated Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe) draw a fine line between the war they wage against the enemy and the one they fight with each other, the conflict, chaos and hatred permeate Taylor, suffocating his realities and numbing his feelings to man's highest value...life. - Director:
- Oliver Stone
- Cast:
- Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe
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Derek Jarmam struggled for seven years to bring his portrait of the seventeenth-century Italian artist Michelangelo de Caravaggio (Nigel Terry / Dexter Fletcher) to the screen. The result was well worth the wait, and was greeted with critical acclaim: a freely dramatised portrait of the controversial artist and a powerful mediation on sexuality, criminality and art - a new refreshing take on the usual biopic. The film centres on an imagined love-triangle between Caravaggio, his friend and model Ranuccio (Sean Bean), and Ranuccio's low-life partner Lena (Tilda Swinton). Conjuring some of the artist's most famous paintings through elaborate and beautifully photographed tableaux vivants, those works are woven into the fabric of the story, providing a starting point for its characters and narrative episodes. - Director:
- Derek Jarman
- Cast:
- Noam Almaz, Dexter Fletcher, Nigel Terry
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Tampopo (1985)Dandelion
The tale of an eccentric band of culinary ronin who guide the widow of a noodle-shop owner on her quest for the perfect recipe, this rapturous "ramen western" by Japanese director Juzo Itami is an entertaining, genre bending adventure underpinned by a deft satire of the way social conventions distort the most natural of human urges - our appetites. Interspersing the efforts of Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) and friends to make her cafe a success with the erotic exploits of a gastronome gangster and glimpses of food culture both high and low, the sweet, sexy, and surreal 'Tampopo' is a lavishly inclusive paean to the sensual joys of nourishment, and one of the most mouthwatering examples of food on film ever made. - Director:
- Jûzô Itami
- Cast:
- Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto
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Peking Opera Blues (1986)Do ma daan / Knife Horse Dawn
The film is set in 1913 Beijing, during Yuan Shikai's presidency of the country. It depicts the adventures of a team of unlikely heroines: Tsao Wan (Brigitte Lin), a patriotic rebel who dresses as a man; Sheung Hung (Cherie Chung), a woman in search of a missing box of jewels; and Bai Niu (Sally Yeh), the daughter of a Peking Opera impresario. - Director:
- Hark Tsui
- Cast:
- Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh, Cherie Chung
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A harrowing drama set during the Salvadoran Civil War, 'Salvador' is one of director Oliver Stone's most underrated films, a thrilling and violent look at the chaos of war as seen through the lens of an amoral photojournalist. In 1980, young men, women and children are being brutally killed in a bloody civil war in El Salvador. A horrific setting, but a perfect one for Richard Boyle (James Woods), a sleazy journalist whose career needs a jumpstart. Armed with his camera, Boyle joins the front lines in an attempt to capture atrocious-but-valuable images of pain and horror. But with each picture he takes, he catches a tragic side of humanity that ignites his long-buried compassion. And he unexpectedly discovers something that will change him forever: his soul. - Director:
- Oliver Stone
- Cast:
- James Woods, Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy
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