history-light's - Favourites List
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Deep in the Egyptian desert, a handful of people searching for a long-lost treasure have just unearthed a 3,000 year old legacy of terror. Combining the thrills of a rousing adventure with the suspense of 1932 horror classic, 'The Mummy' is a true non-stop action epic, filled with dazzling visual effects, top-notch talent and superb storytelling. - Director:
- Stephen Sommers
- Cast:
- Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah
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Switchblade Romance (2003)Haute Tension / High Tension
Best friends and holidaying students Marie (Cecile De France) and Alex (Maiwenn Le Besco) travel to the countryside to visit Alex's parents, but when a homicidal maniac turns up at the house, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake, Alex and Marie are forced to fight for their lives with some heavy-duty weaponry. With a heart-pounding pace as brutal as its husky, truck-driving killer, Switchblade Romance delivers a truly visceral experience. - Director:
- Alexandre Aja
- Cast:
- Cécile De France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon
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Bruce Willis stars as Hartigan, a cop with a vow to protect a stripper, Nancy (Jessica Alba); Mickey Rourke as Marv, the outcast misanthrope on a mission to avenge the death of his one true love; and Clive Owen as Dwight, the clandestine love of Shellie (Brittany Murphy), who spends his night defending Gall (Rossario Dawson) and her Old Town girls from Jackie (Benicio Del Toro), a tough guy with a penchant for violence. - Director:
- Frank Miller
- Cast:
- Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis
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The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)Katakuri-ke no kôfuku
One of the most original and innovative films of recent years, 'The Happiness of the Katakuris' combines the most unlikely of genre elements to create the most highly unpredictable and truly unforgettable film of all time! The Katakuris are an average family whose dream is to own a successful country inn. But soon things begin to go wrong and all of their guest begin to drop dead in the most bizarre of circumstances. Desperate to ensure the success of their business, they agree to keep the deaths quiet and resort to burying the bodies in the forest behind the house...Filled with surreal musical numbers, disturbed animated characters, killer zombies and an array of gruesome deaths, this delirious black comedy has to be seen to be believed. - Director:
- Takashi Miike
- Cast:
- Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda
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From the creators of Pulp Fiction and Desperado, comes this wild and wicked action thriller about two brothers on a desperate crime spree! Quentin Tarantino stars as a deranged convict who, along with his brother (George Clooney), kidnaps a preacher and his two kids (including Juliette Lewis) and flees for the safety of a remote nightclub in Mexico. But once they arrive, they discover that the club is anything but a safe haven for criminals. It's bloodthirsty clientele forces the brothers to team up with their hostages in order to escape alive. - Director:
- Robert Rodriguez
- Cast:
- Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Juliette Lewis
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In the Shady Rest Retirement Home. Mud Creek, Texas, something very strange is going on. None other than the King of Rock 'n' Roll himself, Elvis Presley, is growing old in the company of John F- Kennedy. Contrary to news reports, JFK dodged the assassin's bullet and in the aftermath had his skin dyed black and his brains swapped by Them' at the White House. And that's not all. According to the former president, there's a malevolent mummy on the loose in the home and he's devouring the residents' souls one by one. It's time, says JFK, to kick some mummy ass! And so, armed with a zimmer frame, a wheelchair and makeshift flame-thrower, the decrepit duo set about taking care of business... - Director:
- Don Coscarelli
- Cast:
- Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce
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After accidentally unleashing the demonic forces held within the Necronomicon (The Book Of The Dead) the now legendary Ash finds himself being transported back in time to the dark ages where he is forced to do battle with a relentless army of grotesque, flesh eating "deadites". Armed with his ever reliable chainsaw, his big, smoking boom stick and a second hand car. Ash Williams — hero, man of action, prophesised saviour of ancient times and discount store employee — is about to show the medieval dead what it means to be truly groovy, because this time they're messing with the wrong chin. It's time for some sugar baby. - Director:
- Sam Raimi
- Cast:
- Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert
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Tremors (1990)Beneath Perfection
Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward star as two country handymen who lead a cast of zany characters to safety in this exciting sci-fi creature comedy. Just as Val McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Basset (Fred Ward) decide to leave Perfection, Nevada, strange rumblings prevent their departure. With the help of a shapely seismology student (Finn Carter), they discover their desolate town is infested with gigantic man-eating creatures that live below the ground. The race is on to overcome these slimy subterraneans and find a way to higher ground. - Director:
- Ron Underwood
- Cast:
- Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter
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Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)Le pacte des loups
In an isolated district of south-central France, the "Beast of Gevaudan" is blamed for the savage deaths of over 100 people. As panic sweeps across the region, the King sends his finest military minds to Gevaudan to flush out the Beast and kill it. Hired by the King, the knight Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) arrives in Gevaudan during an evening in autumn to solve the mystery of the Beast. Nothing could prepare him for what he was to discover next. - Director:
- Christophe Gans
- Cast:
- Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Vincent Cassel
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The Evil Dead (1981)Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead
Ever-present, ever-listening, the Evil Dead lie in wait for the one ancient incantation that will give them license to possess the living. Watch in horror as five vacationing college students unwittingly resurrect these slumbering demons, and are forced into battle with the supernatural forces that occupy the forests and dark bowers of man's domain. The innocent must suffer. The guilty must be punished. One-by-one, the students are possessed by these demons whose thirst for revenge is insatiable. As the night wanes, only one man remains... Ash. He must now defend himself while trying to uncover the horrible secret of The Evil Dead. - Director:
- Sam Raimi
- Cast:
- Bruce Campbell, Bob Dorian, Ellen Sandweiss
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A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. Star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other. - Director:
- Julie Taymor
- Cast:
- Evan Rachel Wood, 'Cousin Brucie' Morrow, Jim Sturgess
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After the release of Jake Blues (John Belushi) from prison, he and brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) go to visit the orphanage where they were raised by nuns. They learn that the church stopped its support and will sell the place unless the tax on the property is paid within 11 days. The brothers decide to raise money by putting their blues band back together and staging a big gig. They may be on a 'mission from God' but they're making enemies everywhere they go. - Director:
- John Landis
- Cast:
- Tom Erhart, Gerald Walling, John Belushi
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Koyaanisqatsi / Powaqqatsi (1988)Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance / Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation
Double bill featuring two of the films produced by the acclaimed partnership of composer Philip Glass and filmmaker Godfrey Reggio.
Koyaanisqatsi (1983)Prepare to experience a truly remarkable film - a cinematic masterpiece so extraordinary that it regales the senses, stimulates the mind and actually redefines the potential of filmmaking. Celebrated director Godfrey Reggio, innovative cinematographer Ron Fricke and Golden Globe-winning composer Philip Glass have created a spellbinding film so rich in beauty and detail that with each viewing it becomes a new and different film. Unique, profound, mesmerizing, and thought-provoking, Koyaanisqatsi contrasts the tranquil beauty of nature with the frenzied hum of contemporary urban society. Uniting breathtaking imagery with a hauntingly evocative, award-winning score, it is original and fascinating.
Powaqqatsi (1988)
Hailed by audiences and critics around the world as mesmerizing, this second instalment of writer/director Godfrey Reggio's apocalyptic "qatsi" trilogy is quite simply one of the most magnificent visual and aural spectacles ever made. Combining stunning cinematography with the exquisite music of award-winning composer Philip Glass, Powaqqatsi is a breathtaking experience working on many levels - emotional, spiritual, intellectual and aesthetic! Bold, haunting and epic in scale, this extraordinary film calls into question everything we think we know about contemporary society. By juxtaposing images of ancient cultures with those of modern life, Powaqqatsi masterfully portrays the human cost of progress. It is a film that engages the soul as well as the mind - it is truly an absorbing experience.- Director:
- Godfrey Reggio
- Cast:
- Lou Dobbs, Ted Koppel, Christie Brinkley
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The Last Waltz (1978)The Last Waltz: The Masters of Cinema Series
Perhaps the greatest rock documentary ever made, Martin Scorsese's 'The Last Waltz' captures what was advertised as legendary rock group The Band's final farewell concert appearance. Joined on stage by more than a dozen special guests, including Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and Joni Mitchell, The Last Waltz started as a concert, but it became a celebration. Interspersed with candid discussions between director Scorsese and members of 'The Band', 'The Last Waltz' has been called "the greatest rock concert movie ever made - and maybe the best rock movie, period"... - Director:
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast:
- Robbie Robertson, Muddy Waters, Neil Young
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Business blooms at Mushnik's Flower Shop when an exotic potted plant called Audrey II arrives. It turns out to be a carnivorous "mean, green mother from outer space," filling that little shop with lotsa horrors. "Little Shop of Horrors" first flowered in a low-budget 1960 Roger Corman movie, resprouted as a smash 1980 off-Broadway musical and now comes full circle in this 1986 movie musical adaptation of the stage hit with a score by multiple Academy Award winners Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. - Director:
- Frank Oz
- Cast:
- Rick Moranis, Levi Stubbs, Ellen Greene
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