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

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Isolation...alienation...happiness. In America they all go hand in hand. Buy a new TV and you will be happy. Still not happy? Experience alienation. Can't afford a new TV? Then live in isolation. 'Be happy', and if that doesn't work, pretend to make it work.

For the characters in Todd Solondz' award winning, subversively funny film Happiness, the struggle to attain such a state is fraught with perils both heartbreaking and hilarious.

A powerful front line cast, including Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Woody Harrelson, and George Clooney, explodes into action in this hauntingly realistic view of military and moral chaos in the Pacific during World War II.

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Thirteen years after a humiliating prom night disaster, angst-driven Ted (Ben Stiller) hires a private eye (Matt Dillon) to track down his would-be sweetheart, Mary (Cameron Diaz), but the sleazy detective decides he wants her for himself.

The battle for Mary's affections gives way to hair-raising hilarity in this outrageous hit comedy!

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Serial murderer Jean (Marc Barbé) preys on prostitutes, prowling the backwoods of France for his helpless victims. He meets Claire (Elina Löwensohn) and her sister Christine (Géraldine Voillat) when they hitch a ride after their car breaks down.

It doesn't take long for the women to realise that there's a madman behind the wheel.

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A group of teenage friends are found dead, their bodies grotesquely contorted, their faces twisted in terror.

Reiko (Nanako Matsushima), a journalist and the aunt of one of the victims, sets out to investigate the shocking phenomenon, and in the process uncovers a creepy urban legend about a supposedly cursed videotape, the contents of which causes anyone who views it to die within a week - unless they can persuade someone else to watch it, and, in so doing, pass on the curse...

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From the critically-acclaimed director Nagisa Oshima (Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence) comes Gohatto (Taboo) a samurai drama set in an all male Shinsengumi samurai school in Japan circa 1865.

Young recruit Kano joins the elite fighting force Shinsengumi and realises that he has become the object of desire amongst his fellow comrades. Whilst samurai adhere to a set of strict rules, the senior members of the militia have a growing concern of the consequences of Kano's effect on the other samurai. The film stars internationally renowned actor and director Takeshi Kitano (Brother, Hana-Bi). Academy Award winning Ryuichi Sakamoto (Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, The Last Emperor) provides the atmospheric music for the film, with the beauty of pre-modern Japan being captured through the spectacular backdrops and samurai outfits.

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On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of one story.

Through coincidence, chance, human action, past history and divine intervention they will weave through each other's lives on a day that builds to an unforgettable climax.

Amid the azure waters and sunbaked desert landscapes of Djibouti, a French Foreign Legion sergeant (Denis Lavant) sows the seeds of his own ruin as his obsession with a striking young recruit (Gregoire Colin) plays out to the thunderous, operatic strains of Benjamin Britten.

In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary…A year later their footage was found.

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Absurdly comic, highly kinetic, at times shockingly emotional, Three Kings begins when the Gulf War is over.

Amid the partying and confusion, four American soldiers (George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Spike Jonze), determined to take home more than sand fleas, go off into the Iraqi desert to find millions in stolen Kuwaiti bullion. They are plunged into the heart of a democratic uprising that spins the day and their lives out of control.

Feature is an extraordinary portrait of a resourceful teenage girl struggling to find her way in a tough world.

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From acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, a stunning valentine to femininity in all its disguises, motherhood in all its glory and to classic Hollywood melodramas and their diva actresses.

A birthday treat turns into heart-rending tragedy for single mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth) when her teenage son is killed in a car accident after a performance of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' starring his favourite actress Huma Roja (Marisa Paredes). Determined to exorcise her overwhelming guilt, Manuela goes to Barcelona to finally tell his father about the son he never knew he had. There, the reason why she has kept the identity of her forbidden lover a secret for so long is revealed. He is a transvestite named Lola who is dying from an AIDS related illness. However in confronting her own past, Manuela forges a new future with Lola's transsexual best friend Agrado (Antonia San Juan), church social worker Sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz) and Huma, when her play comes to town But even as the women from different fringes of society form a bond, further heartbreak, misfortune and ultimate joy lies in store for each. Considered by critics world wide to be the finest movie Almodovar has directed in his entire glittering career, and featuring glorious acting from the cream of Spanish cinema, All About My Mother combines warmth, love, tears and humour as it builds to an unforgettable emotional crescendo.

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Film adaptation to date of the writings of Marcel Proust. Based upon the last volume of his masterwork 'Remembrance of Things Past', widely regarded as the greatest literary work of the 20th Century, the film features stunning cinematography and a star studded cast.

Brilliantly recreating the timelessness of Proust's work, Ruiz blends the baroque and the surreal, mixing real life characters with the fictional ones of Proust's great novel. "Time Regained" is a fascinating exploration of the relationship between the writer and his creations and a triumphant cinematic achievement.

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Brad Pitt and Edward Norton deliver knockout performances in this stunningly original, darkly comic film from David Fincher, the director of Seven. Norton stars as Jack, a chronic insomniac desperate to escape his excruciatingly boring life.

That's when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charismatic soap salesman with a twisted philosophy. Tyler believes self-improvement is for the weak - it's self-destruction that really makes life worth living. Before long, Jack and Tyler are beating each other to a pulp in a bar parking lot, a cathartic slugfest that delivers the ultimate high. To introduce other men to the simple joys of physical violence, Jack and Tyler form a secret Fight Club that becomes wildly successful. But there's a shocking surprise waiting for Jack that will change everything...

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Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a struggling street puppeteer. In order to make some money, Craig takes a job as a filing clerk. One day he accidentally discovers a door...

a portal into the brain of John Malkovich (played by John Malkovich)! For 15 minutes, he experiences the ultimate head trip – He is being John Malkovich! Then he's dumped onto the New Jersey turnpike! With has beautiful office mate Maxine (Catherine Keener) and his pet-obsessed wife (Cameron Diaz), they hatch a plan to let others into John's brain for just $200 a trip.