480. The Insider (1999) Dir. Michael Mann, 157 mins.
A fictionalised account of a true story, it is based on the 60 Minutes segment about Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), a whistle-blower in the tobacco industry, covering the personal struggles of him and CBS producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) as they defend his testimony against efforts to discredit and suppress it by CBS and Wigand’s former employer.
479. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Dir. Elia Kazan, 125 mins.
It tells the story of a southern belle, Blanche DuBois, who, after encountering a series of personal losses, leaves her aristocratic background seeking refuge with her sister and brother-in-law in a dilapidated New Orleans tenement.
478. Halloween (1978) Dir. John Carpenter, 91 mins.
In the film, on Halloween night in 1963, Michael Myers murders his sister in the fictional Midwestern United States town of Haddonfield, Illinois. He escapes on October 30, 1978, from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, and returns home to kill again. The next day, Halloween, Michael stalks teenager Laurie Strode and her friends, while Michael’s psychiatrist, Samuel Loomis, pursues his patient, knowing his intentions.
477. The French Connection (1971) Dir. William Friedkin, 104 mins.
It tells the story of New York Police Department detectives named “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy Russo, Based on two real life narcotics detectives.
476. All the President’s Men (1976) Dir. Alan J. Pakula, 138 mins.
Directed by Alan J. Pakula with a screenplay by William Goldman, it is based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post.
475. Midnight Cowboy (1969) Dir. John Schlesinger, 113 mins.
A con man and a Texas hustler try to survive on the tough streets of New York.
474. The Loves of a Blonde (1965) Dir. Milos Forman, 90 mins.
The fiction film tells the story of a young woman who has a routine job in a shoe factory in provincial Czechoslovakia. When the army holds maneuvers near her home town, the factory supervisor organizes a mixer for the largely female workforce and the all-male soldiers. This dance proves a mixed success, with many of the soldiers, who are middle-aged reservists, and many of the factory workers, who are inexperienced young women with idealized views of romance, being confused by and disappointed with their potential dancing partners. The film’s protagonist, though, does meet an attractive young man who plays in the dance band and has a one-night fling with him. When she travels to the capital city where he lives in order to resume their romance, she meets his parents and comes to the realization that there is no future in this relationship.
473. The Silence (1963) Dir. Ingmar Bergman, 96 mins.
The plot focuses on two sisters, the younger a sensuous woman with a young son, the elder more intellectually oriented and seriously ill, and their tense relationship as they travel toward home through a fictional Central European country on the brink of war.
472. War and Peace (1967) Dir. Sergei Bondarchuk, 453 mins.
Epic adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel centres around the lives of two families during Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia.
471. The Cameraman (1928) Dir. Edward Sedgwick, 75 mins.
Fast-paced and funny, this silent Buster Keaton comedy has” the Great Stone Face” playing an aspiring newsreel cameraman who falls in love with an office girl and tries to impress her by getting the scoop on a Chinese tong war. Instead he finds himself in the midst of a terrible gunfight. Still he captures it on film and is about to triumphantly return with it when the mischievous monkey of a local organ grinder steals it away.
470. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) Dir. Michael Mann, 112 mins.
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 American epic historical drama, set in 1757 during the French and Indian War.
469. High Noon (1952) Dir. Fred Zinnemann, 85 mins.
The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal, Will Kane, who is forced to face a gang of killers by himself.
468. Shanghai Express (1932) Dir. Josef von Sternberg, 80 mins.
Two notorious women of the night are aboard a train that is hijacked by rebel Chinese.
467. Groundhog Day (1993) Dir. Harold Ramis, 101 mins.
Murray plays Phil Connors, an arrogant Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, during an assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, finds himself caught in a time loop, repeating the same day again and again. After indulging in hedonism and committing suicide numerous times, he begins to re-examine his life and priorities.
466. Five Easy Pieces (1970) Dir. Bob Rafelson, 98 mins.
The film tells the story of surly oil-rig worker Bobby Dupea, whose seemingly rootless blue-collar existence belies his privileged youth as a piano prodigy. When Bobby learns that his father is dying, he goes home to see him, taking along his waitress girlfriend.
465. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) Dir. Cristian Mungiu, 113 mins.
The film is set in Communist Romania in the final years of Nicolae Ceauşescu’s rule. It tells the story of two students, roommates in a university dormitory, who try to arrange an illegal abortion.
464. The Celebration (1998) Dir. Thomas Vinterberg, 105 mins.
The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father’s 60th birthday. At the dinner, the eldest son publicly accuses his father of sexually abusing both him and his twin sister (who has recently killed herself).
463. Pandora’s Box (1929) Dir. Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 133 mins.
Brooks’ portrayal of a seductive, thoughtless young woman whose raw sexuality and uninhibited nature bring ruin to herself and those who love her.
462. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Dir. John Huston, 112 mins.
Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city.
461. Thelma & Louise (1991) Dir. Ridley Scott, 129 mins.
It stars Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise, two friends who embark on a road trip with unforeseen consequences.