Movie cup 2017

[rich1uk]

Option 4 - It's a Wonderful LIfe

It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy comedy-drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story "The Greatest Gift", which Philip Van Doren Stern wrote in 1939 and published privately in 1945.[3] The film is considered one of the most loved films in American cinema and has become traditional viewing during the Christmas season.

The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers). Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be had he never been born.

Despite initially performing poorly at the box office because of high production costs and stiff competition at the time of its release, the film has come to be regarded as a classic and is a staple of Christmas television around the world.[4] Theatrically, the film's break-even point was $6.3 million, approximately twice the production cost, a figure it never came close to achieving in its initial release. An appraisal in 2006 reported: "Although it was not the complete box office failure that today everyone believes ... it was initially a major disappointment and confirmed, at least to the studios, that Capra was no longer capable of turning out the populist features that made his films the must-see, money-making events they once were."[5]

It's a Wonderful Life is considered one of the most critically acclaimed films ever made. It was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and has been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made,[3] placing number 11 on its initial 1998 greatest movie list, and would also place number one on its list of the most inspirational American films of all time.[6] Capra revealed that this was his personal favorite among the films he directed and that he screened it for his family every Christmas season.[7]


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[rich1uk]

Option 5 - The Life of Brian

Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British religious satire comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It was also directed by Jones. The film tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.

Following the withdrawal of funding by EMI Films just days before production was scheduled to begin, long-time Monty Python fan and former member of the Beatles, George Harrison, arranged financing for Life of Brian through the formation of his company HandMade Films. [4]

The film contains themes of religious satire that were controversial at the time of its release, drawing accusations of blasphemy, and protests from some religious groups. Thirty-nine local authorities in the United Kingdom either imposed an outright ban, or imposed an X (18 years) certificate, effectively preventing the film from being shown, since the distributors said it could not be shown unless it was unedited and carried the original AA (14) certificate. Some countries, including Ireland and Norway, banned its showing, with a few of these bans lasting decades. The filmmakers used such notoriety to benefit their marketing campaign, with posters in Sweden reading, "So funny, it was banned in Norway!"[5]

The film was a box office success, the fourth-highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom in 1979, and highest grosser of any British film in the United States that year. It has remained popular, receiving positive reviews. The film was named "greatest comedy film of all time" by several magazines and television networks, and it would later receive a 96% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus, "One of the more cutting-edge films of the 1970s, this religious farce from the classic comedy troupe is as poignant as it is funny and satirical."[6]


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[rich1uk]

Option 6 - Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish: El laberinto del fauno, lit. 'The Labyrinth of the Faun') is a 2006 Spanish-Mexican[3] dark fantasy film[4][5] written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by Esperanto Films.

The story takes place in Spain in May–June 1944, five years after the Spanish Civil War, during the early Francoist period. The narrative of the film intertwines this real world with a mythical world centered on an overgrown abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun creature, with whom the main character, Ofelia, interacts. Ofelia's stepfather, the Falangist Captain Vidal, hunts the Spanish Maquis who fight against the Francoist regime in the region, while Ofelia's pregnant mother Carmen grows increasingly ill. Ofelia meets several strange and magical creatures who become central to her story, leading her through the trials of the old labyrinth garden. The film employs make-up, animatronics, and CGI effects to bring life to its creatures.

Del Toro stated that he considers the story to be a parable, influenced by fairy tales, and that it addresses and continues themes related to his earlier film The Devil's Backbone (2001),[5] to which Pan's Labyrinth is a spiritual successor, according to del Toro in his director's commentary on the DVD. The original Spanish title refers to the fauns of Roman mythology, while the English, German, and French titles refer specifically to the faun-like Greek deity Pan. However, del Toro has stated that the faun in the film is not Pan.[5]


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[rich1uk]

Option 7 - Pulp Fiction

ulp Fiction is a 1994 American black comedy neo-noir crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, from a story by Tarantino and Roger Avary.[4] Directed in a highly stylized manner, Pulp Fiction connects the intersecting storylines of Los Angeles mobsters, fringe players, small-time criminals, and a mysterious briefcase. The film's title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue.

The screenplay of Pulp Fiction was written in 1992 and 1993, and incorporated some scenes originally written by Avary for True Romance. Its plot, as in many of Tarantino's other works, is presented out of chronological order. The film is also self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a title card that gives two dictionary definitions of "pulp". Considerable screen time is devoted to monologues and casual conversations with eclectic dialogue revealing each character's perspectives on several subjects, and the film features an ironic combination of humor and strong violence. Its script was reportedly turned down by Columbia TriStar as "too demented". Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was instantly enthralled with it, however, and the film became the first that Miramax fully financed.

Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, and was a major critical and commercial success upon its U.S. release. It revitalized the careers of John Travolta (who received an Academy Award nomination), Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman. It was also nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture; Tarantino and Avary won for Best Original Screenplay. The nature of its development, marketing, and distribution – and its consequent profitability – had a sweeping effect on the field of independent cinema.

Since its release, Pulp Fiction has been widely regarded as Tarantino's masterpiece, with particular praise singled out for its screenwriting.[5] The film's self-reflexivity, unconventional structure, and extensive use of homage and pastiche have led critics to describe it as a touchstone of postmodern film. It is often considered a cultural watershed, with a strong influence felt not only in later movies that adopted various elements of its style, but in several other media as well. A 2008 Entertainment Weekly poll named it the best film since 1983,[6] and the work has appeared on many critics' lists of the greatest films ever made. In 2013, Pulp Fiction was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7]


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[sussexpob]

Is that you John Wayne? Is this me....

[rich1uk]

A pretty impressive list guys

Votes as usual for your first and second choices

[sussexpob]

Being in Vietnam at the moment, and holed up ill for the last 1 or 2 days, I have revisited all the old Vietnam wars classics. Never knew that Full Metal Jacket was based on a book! Great film though, as I confirmed yesterday.

I think the Vietnam War film generation produced some real classics (Platoon, AN, FMJ, the Deer Hunter)

[GarlicJam]

See how wrong I am. I am guessing:

Wonderful life - AC
Back to the Future - GF
Pan's Labyrinth - SP
Life of Brian - BN

which leaves mine as one of the three?

[rich1uk]

See how wrong I am. I am guessing:

Wonderful life - AC
Back to the Future - GF
Pan's Labyrinth - SP
Life of Brian - BN

which leaves mine as one of the three?

no trying to influence the voting or i'll dock points

[sussexpob]

Me? Spanish language film ? Pfft....

All good films here, apart from its a wonderful life, that I haven't seen. I have been meaning to watch for years but my brother insists it can only be watched at Christmas, and I never get time then.

[Gingerfinch]

I think I know which film sussex has picked, but I won't say. All these films are to popular for Arthur, so I'm guessing he withdrew from this round!

[Arthur Crabtree]

Varied choice. I'll be able to guess GJ's by it being the one I choose. Seen all these, but then they are pretty famous.

[Gingerfinch]

10 bonus points for picking whose film is who's?

[Arthur Crabtree]

Wonderful life - AC
Back to the Future - GF
Pan's Labyrinth - SP
Life of Brian - BN

which leaves mine as one of the three?

GJ- Full Metal Jacket
Aidan- Life of Brian
BN- The Godfather

[rich1uk]

all i am going to say is some of the guesses in the above few posts are correct, some are wrong