The list of movies that is shown here has been sourced from the online IMDB database.
1) Shawshank Redemption - 23 September 1994 (USA) – Rating: 9.1 Nominated for 7 Oscars, another 11 wins & 13 nominations
The life of a young successful banker, Andy Dufresne, drastically changes when he is convicted and imprisoned for life for the murder of his wife and her lover. Set in the 40’s this film shows Andy is far from a conventional prisoner. Andy makes friends with Red who is a black marketer who is influential within the prison.
Over the years of his imprisonment he eventually gains the respect of his fellow inmates after suffering many years of unpleasantness. Eventually Andy achieves his own end on his own terms.
2) The Godfather - 24 March 1972 (USA) Won 3 Oscars, another 19 wins & 17 nominations – Rating: 9.1
Don Vito Corleone is the head of the Corleone Mafia Family. His youngest son Michael has returned home from the war and wishes not to be like the rest of the family but to lead a normal life. Vito Corleone turns down an offer from a drug dealer, Virgil Sollozzo, who then orders his hit men to shoot Vito Corleone. The don only just manages to survive after which Michael begins a violent mob war with Sollozzo which eventually tears the Corleone family apart.
3) The Godfather: Part 2 - 20 December 1974 (USA) – Rating: 9.0 Won 6 Oscars, another 7 wins & 15 nominations
The continuing story of the Corleone mafia family shows the story of a young Vito Corleone growing up in Sicily throughout the movie with flashbacks. This film follows Michael Corleone’s, after the events of the first movie, as he attempts to expand the family business in 1958/59.
4) The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - 29 December 1967 (USA) – Rating: 8.9 1 win – Golden Laurel
Blondie (The Good), Angel Eyes (The Bad) & Tuco (The Ugly) are the three main characters of this movie. Blondie is professional gunslinger, Angel Eyes is a hit man and Tuco is a wanted outlaw. Blondie and Tuco work together until their partnership is split by Blondie who then finds Tuco hunting him down. After learning about some buried gold, Blondie and Tuco set out on the journey to locate it. Angel Eyes realises that these two know the location of the gold and decides that the best way for him to find it is to let Blondie and Tuco lead him to it.
5) Pulp Fiction - 14 October 1994 (USA) – Rating: 8.9 Won Oscar, another 43 wins & 40 nominations
The lives of two hit men, a gangster’s wife, a boxer and two thieves intertwine in four stories of violence and redemption. The lives and stories of these apparently unrelated people are woven together in a non linear fashion creating a series of funny and bizarre un-called incidents.
6) Schindler’s List - 15 December 1993 (USA) – Rating: 8.8 Won 7 Oscars, another 63 wins & 21 nominations
This is a true story about a vain and greedy German business man, Oskar Schindler. After witnessing the horrific Holocaust he decides to begin a factory with cheap labour, employing a list of 1100 Polish Jews. Eventually his ideal’s turn from one of greed to one of human sympathy and manages to save the lives of all the Jews he employs.
7) One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - 26 February 1976 (Sweden) – Rating: 8.8 Won 5 Oscars, another 28 wins & 11 nominations
McMurphy finds himself in prison again and decides that the best way for him not to have to work whilst doing his sentence is to pretend to be mad. He is eventually sent to a mental institution where he fits in very well and even influences the progression of some of the other inmates. The head nurse who finds McMurphy to be a nuisance and is not happy about him not fitting into the hospital routine is after him at every turn.
8) 12 Angry Men - 29 July 1957 (Sweden) – Rating: 8.8 Nominated for 3 Oscars, another 13 wins & 6 nominations
This movie focuses on a 12 man jury and its deliberations in a capital murder case. What appears to be an open and shut case quickly becomes a story of each of the jurors’ complex personalities, preconceptions and backgrounds in the discussion started by Mr Davis as to why a not guilty verdict may be appropriate.
9) The Dark Knight - 18 July 2008 (USA) – Rating: 8.8 Won 2 Oscars, another 77 wins & 59 nominations
With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and the newly appointed District Attorney, Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. Soon many criminals have been rounded up and things seem to be taking a turn for the better when a new criminal mastermind makes himself known, the Joker who creates a new wave of chaos. A personal war between the Joker and Batman pursues.
10) Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back - 21 May 1980 (USA) – Rating: 8.8 Won Oscar, another 10 wins & 12 nominations
The battle to save the galaxy from the evil of Darth Vader still rages on. Luke Skywalker seeks the assistance and guidance of Jedi Master Yoda whilst Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca defend a devastating attack by the imperial army. Luke finally heads out to face Darth Vader to be confronted by a startling revelation.
