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of the hand grenades on Smalls' vest. Smalls attempts to get rid of the
grenade, but he cannot get it off in time and is blown to pieces when
the grenade explodes and sets off all his weapons.
Hi and Ed sneak Junior back into the Arizona home and are confronted
by Nathan Sr. After Nathan Sr. learns why they took his son, he
understands the couple's predicament and decides not to turn them
over to the police. He counsels them: when Hi and Ed say that they are
splitting up, he advises them to sleep on it. Hi and Ed go to sleep in
the same bed, and Hi has a dream about Gale and Evelle reforming
after returning to prison; Glen gets his due from a Polish-American
police officer after "telling one Polack joke too many"; and Nathan Jr.
gets a football for Christmas from "a kindly couple who wish to remain
unknown", later becoming a football star. The dream ends with an
elderly couple together enjoying a holiday visit from a large family of
children and grandchildren.
Script notes
to Heaven, but Sharon refuses to renounce her anger at God for His
cruelty. Mary pleads with her to accept God back into her heart so she
can join her and Randy in Heaven, but Sharon declines, preferring to
remain alone in the purgatory-like landscape for eternity.
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Lyle returns with Michael and Suzanne hostage and gets Wayne out of
jail to retrieve their stash of money. At a remote graveyard, Wayne
pulls a gun from the case of money and holds Lyle at gunpoint before
Lyle throws a knife into Wayne's neck. Michael and Lyle fight, with Lyle
ending up being impaled on a grave marker. When Lyle rises to attack
Michael, Suzanne shoots him dead.
Michael and Suzanne escape onto a nearby train, but when Suzanne
tries to betray Michael, he throws the money out of the speeding train
and then throws Suzanne off to be arrested by the arriving Police
alongside a wounded Wayne. Michael's train continues its journey into
a new town.
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As Sarah thinks it is best for all of them, Rachel is put into an out-oftown elite school for girls, as had been planned but now that she and
her father are closer than ever, she is not happy to go. At orientation,
Henry tells Rachel a fib to encourage her to enjoy the new
surroundings and people. Sarah and Henry become much closer, as
they had been when they first met. Henry also misses Rachel dearly.
His firm allows him to return to work out of deference to his previous
contributions to the firm's success. His wife suggests the family
relocate to a smaller, less expensive residence. As his firm takes away
his old assignments and large office and essentially assigns him only
busy work, Henry begins to realize he does not want to be a lawyer any
more either. While the couple are at a dinner party, they overhear
several of their 'friends' making derogatory comments about Henry.
He finds letters to Sarah from a former colleague disclosing an affair
they had, becomes angry and upset and leaves home. He is confronted
by Linda, a fellow attorney at his firm, who reveals that they were also
having an affair and that he had told her he would leave Sarah for her,
making him have second thoughts about himself and his
relationships.
He gives documents from his last case, that were suppressed by his
firm, to the plaintiff who was in the right all along and apologises.
Henry then goes back to the firm and resigns, says goodbye to Linda
and realising that (as Sarah had said) everything had been wrong
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before but was now so much better, returns to her and they reconcile.
The couple goes to Rachel's school and withdraw her and she is
overjoyed to be with her parents. As the family leaves the building, she
tosses her school-uniform hat away.
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Miss Kenton, it later emerges, has been married for over 20 years and
therefore is no longer Miss Kenton but has become Mrs Benn. She
admits to wondering occasionally what a life with Stevens might have
been like, but she has come to love her husband and is looking
forward to the birth of their first grandchild. Stevens muses over lost
opportunities, both with Miss Kenton and with his long-time employer,
Lord Darlington. At the end of the novel, Stevens instead focuses on
the "remains of [his] day", referring to his future service with Mr
Farraday.
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the Titans lose one game, implying he wants Boone to be fired over his
race. During the game, it becomes apparent that the referees are
biased against the Titans. Yoast warns the head official that he will go
to the press and expose the scandal unless it is refereed fairly. The
Titans win, but Yoast is told that his actions have resulted in his loss of
candidacy for induction.
While celebrating the victory, Bertier is in an automobile
accident, after driving through an intersection. Although Bertier could
not play due to being paralyzed from the waist down, the team goes
on to win the championship. Bertier would remain a paraplegic for the
rest of his life. Ten years later Bertier dies in another automobile
accident being hit by a drunk driver after winning the gold medal in
shot put in theParalympics. His family, coaches and friends reunite to
attend his funeral.
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Rent-A-Kid (1995)
Cliff Haber (Tony Rosato) runs an orphanage, and decides to
go on a vacation. He has his father, Harry Haber (Leslie Nielsen), run
the orphanage while he is away. Harry has a rental store and decides
that it would be a good idea to rent out youngsters to prospective
adoptive parents after he hears his son's testimony on how hard it is
for him to find parents for the youngsters he takes care of. Meanwhile,
as his son is away, he gets a bigger ideas by overhearing a couple at a
Mexican restaurant, a couple by the name of Russ and Valerie Syracuse
(Matt McCoy andSherry Miller) arguing over the issue of wanting to
have children.
Through enough persuasion from Harry Haber and giving it
thought on their own, they decide to rent all three Ward children, who
are Brandon (Amos Crawley), Kyle (Cody Jones), and Molly (Tabitha
Lupien). A couple, the Lachmans, come to the orphanage wanting to
adopt a girl. They find and choose Molly which they tell Cliff Haber and
he spreads on to his father, and as Harry gives the news to Molly, she is
not happy, because she does not want to leave her brothers, Kyle and
Brandon. So, to try and fix the issue, they attempt to set out to behave
as good as they can, so that Russ and Valerie will fall in love with them
enough to want to keep them. But their behavior plan ends up failing
now and again. But even through all the pros and cons that Russ and
Valerie face dealing with them for ten days, at the very last moment,
Russ and Valerie decide to adopt all three. Meanwhile, Harry has been
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trying to find ways to keep his renting out orphan youngsters idea
covered up from his son, knowing how eccentric he considers him to
be for it. But due to a forum that Harry leaves out on the office table by
a phone which his son happens to stumble on, when he returns at the
end of the renting period, the attempts fail at the last moment, and he
goes and scolds his dad outside the apartment building that the
Syracuses live in, accusing him of being overly insane, but changes his
mind, when he finds out that his plan worked.
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30
generator, allowing the Rebel fleet to launch their assault on the Death
Star. At the same time, a furious Palpatine tortures Luke with Force
lightning. Unwilling to let his son die, Vader kills the Emperor, but is
himself mortally wounded in the process. He asks Luke to help remove
his mask before dying in Luke's arms.
As the battle between the Imperial and Alliance fleets continues, Lando
leads a group of Rebel ships into the Death Star's core and destroys the
main reactor. As Luke escapes on a shuttle with his father's body, the
Falcon flies out of the Death Star's superstructure as the station
explodes. On Endor, Leia reveals to Han that Luke is her brother, and
they share a kiss. Luke returns to Endor and cremates his father's body
on a funeral pyre. As the Rebels celebrate their victory over the Empire,
Luke smiles as he sees the spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and the redeemed
Anakin watching over them.
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Sullivan drives his son to stay at his Aunt Sara's beach house in
Perdition, a town on the shore of Lake Michigan. However, he is
ambushed and shot by a disfigured Maguire. As Maguire prepares to
photograph the dying Sullivan, Michael Jr. appears and points a gun at
Maguire, but cannot muster the will to fire. Sullivan pulls out his gun
and kills Maguire, before dying in his son's arms. Mourning his
father's death, Michael Jr. returns to the elderly farm couple to live
with them. While growing up, Michael Jr. reflects that his father's only
fear was that his son would become like him. When asked if Sullivan
was a good or bad man, he replies "he was my father."
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RoboCop (1987)
In a dystopian 2029, the city of Detroit, which is now
bankrupt and overrun with crime, gives Omni Consumer Products
(OCP) control of its struggling police force. The company plans to
replace the poor, run-down sections of Old Detroit with the high-end
"Delta City," but must first address the city's high crime rate. As an
alternative to existing law enforcement, OCP senior president Dick
Jones (Ronny Cox) offers the prototype ED-209 enforcement droid, but
it accidentally kills a board member during a demonstration. The OCP
chairman, nicknamed "The Old Man" (Dan O'Herlihy), decides instead
to back Jones' young rival, Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer), and his
experimental cyborg police officer program, "RoboCop."
Meanwhile, police officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is transferred to
Old Detroit, where he is teamed with officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen).
On their first patrol, they tail a gang of bank robbers, led by ruthless
crime lord Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith), to an abandoned
steel mill. Inside, Lewis is incapacitated; and Murphy, attempting to
make an arrest, is surrounded, brutally maimed by several gunshots,
and nearly killed by the gang. After attempts by an ER trauma team to
resuscitate him fail, his body is taken to a lab at OCP and rebuilt as
RoboCop. He is given three primary directives serve thepublic trust,
protect the innocent, and uphold the law as well as a fourth, secret
directive.
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fourth directive. Desperate, Jones takes the Old Man hostage and
demands a helicopter for his escape. The Old Man, realizing the nature
of the fourth directive, immediately fires Jones from OCP, nullifying
the restriction of Directive 4. RoboCop shoots Jones and sends him
flying out a window to his death. The Old Man thanks RoboCop and
asks for his name, to which RoboCop replies, "Murphy."
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Romero (1989)
During the 1977 El Salvadoran presidential elections, amid public
unrest and a guerrilla uprising, the military regime sends death
squads to detain, torture and kill any people who speak out against its
human rights record. The Vatican elevates conservative Oscar Arnulfo
Romero (Raul Julia) to the position of Archbishop of San Salvador,
hoping that he will accept the status quo. Although conservative,
Romero is afraid of the government's increasing hostility. After the
assassination of FatherRutilio Grande (Richard Jordan), an outspoken
Jesuitadvocate for the poor, Romero begins to take a stand against the
government's policies, prompting the death squads to begin targeting
priests.
After failing to rescue a pro-government hostage of the guerrillas in a
botched ransom, Romero discovers that his friend Father Osuna
(Alejandro Bracho), a militant critic of the ruling regime, has been
captured and tortured. After securing his release, Romero instigates a
boycott of thepresident elect's inauguration, defying him by taking
Massin a church the military took over as a barracks. He later attempts
to secure the release of a soldier taken hostage by Osuna and the
guerrillas, but is arrested in the process. Osuna is subsequently
tortured to death. Undeterred, Romero rejects the violent methods of
the guerrillas, but is nonetheless assassinated while holding Mass.
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Rope (1948)
Two brilliant young aesthetes, Brandon Shaw (Dall) and Phillip Morgan
(Granger), strangle to death a former classmate, David Kentley (Dick
Hogan), in their apartment. They commit the crime as an intellectual
exercise; they want to prove their superiority by committing the
"perfect murder".
After hiding the body in a large antique wooden chest, Brandon and
Phillip host a dinner party at the apartment, which has a panoramic
view of Manhattan's skyline. The guests, who are unaware of what has
happened, include the victim (David)'s father Mr. Kentley (Cedric
Hardwicke) and aunt Mrs. Atwater ( Constance Collier); his mother is
not able to attend. Also there are his fiance, Janet Walker (Joan
Chandler) and her former lover Kenneth Lawrence (Douglas Dick), who
was once David's close friend.
In a subtle move, Brandon uses the chest containing the body as a
buffet table for the food, just before their housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson
(Edith Evanson) arrives to help with the party. "Now the fun begins,"
Brandon says when the first guests arrive.
Brandon and Phillip's idea for the murder was inspired years earlier by
conversations with their prep school housemaster, publisher Rupert
Cadell (Stewart). While at school, Rupert had discussed with them, in
an apparently approving way, the intellectual concepts of Nietzsche's
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member of Ryan's regiment who informs them that his drop zone was
at Vierville and that his and Ryan's companies had the same rally
point. Once they reach it, Miller meets a friend of Ryan's, who reveals
that Ryan is defending a strategically important bridge over the
Merderet River in the town of Ramelle. On the way to Ramelle, Miller
decides to neutralize a German machine gun position, despite the
misgivings of his men. Wade is fatally wounded in the ensuing
skirmish, but Miller, at Upham's urging, declines to execute a
surviving German and sets him free on condition that he gives himself
up. No longer confident in Miller's leadership, Reiben declares his
intention to desert the squad and the mission, prompting a
confrontation with Horvath. The argument heats up until Miller
defuses the situation by revealing his origins, upon which the squad
had earlier set up a betting pool. Reiben then reluctantly decides to
stay.
Upon arrival at Ramelle, Miller and the squad come upon a small
group of paratroopers commanded by Corporal Henderson, one of
whom is Ryan. Ryan is told of his brothers' deaths, the mission to bring
him home, and that two men had been lost in the quest to find him.
He is distressed at the loss of his brothers, but does not feel it is fair to
go home, asking Miller to tell his mother that he intends to stay "with
the only brothers [he has] left." Miller decides to take command and
defend the bridge with what little manpower and
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57
Saving Grace(1986)
A year after his election, a youthful Pope (Conti) longs
to be involved in ordinary peoples lives again, as he was when he was
a priest.
During an audience, the Pope communicates with a
deaf mute young girl whose village has no priest. Accidentally locked
out of the Vatican, the Pope travels to the small impoverished and
demoralized village, his identity concealed by his beard growth. He
realizes that the people need to rebuild a dilapidated aqueduct but,
more importantly, that they must regain their community spirit and
self-sufficiency. Without expertise and, initially, only the help of some
street-wise orphans, he starts construction. All this is watched
skeptically by a mysterious neighbour played by Giannini and opposed
by local thugs led by Ciolino (Olmos) whose ill-gotten gains depend on
the village remaining overly dependent on outsiders.
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The search leads Ethan and Martin to a military fort, and then toNew
Mexico, where a Mexican man leads them to Scar. They find Debbie
after five years, now an adolescent (Natalie Wood), living as one of
Scar's wives. She tells the men that she has become a Comanche, and
wishes to remain with them. Ethan would rather see her dead than
living as an Indian, and tries to shoot her, but Martin shields her with
his body and a Comanche wounds Ethan with an arrow as they escape.
Though Martin tends to Ethan's wound, he is
furious with him for attempting to kill Debbie, and wishes him dead.
"That'll be the day," Ethan replies, as they return home.
Meanwhile, Charlie McCorry (Ken Curtis) has been courting Laurie in
Martin's absence. Ethan and Martin arrive home just as Charlie and
Laurie's wedding is about to begin. After a fistfight between Martin
and Charlie, a nervous "Yankee" soldier, Lt. Greenhill (Patrick Wayne),
arrives with news that Ethan's half-crazy friend Mose Harper (Hank
Worden) has located Scar. Clayton leads his men to the Comanche
camp, this time for a direct attack, but Martin is allowed to sneak in
ahead of the assault to find Debbie, who welcomes him. Martin kills
Scar during the battle, and Ethan scalps him. Ethan then locates
Debbie, and pursues her on horseback. Martin fears that he will shoot
her as he has promised; but instead he sweeps her up onto his saddle.
"Lets go home," he says. Debbie is reunited with her family, and
Martin with Laurie. In an iconic closing scene, Ethan departs the
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into a demanding, short tempered, helpless boy who has never left his
room or learned to walk. Mary eventually discovers Colin and learns
the strange noises she has been hearing is him crying. She is taken
aback by his difficult nature, but reaches out to him anyway. She shows
him that he's not sick and that the outside world is not as dangerous as
Mrs. Medlock, who is in charge of caring for him, claims, so he decides
to go outside for the first time.
Soon Colin, Mary, and Dickon spend all of their time in the garden,
where Colin learns to walk. Anxious to show Colin's new-found life to
his father, they perform "magic" in hopes to bring him back home. It
appears to work, as Lord Craven awakens suddenly from a dream and
decides he must return home immediately. He discovers Colin walking
and playing upon his return, which brings joy back to him. Mary
initially fears that she will be neglected again, but her uncle assures
her that she is part of the family and thanks her for bringing the house
back to life.
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Shadowlands (1993)
In the 1950s, the reserved, middle-aged bachelor C. S. Lewis is an
Oxford University academic at Magdalen College and author of The
Chronicles of Narnia series of children's books. He meets the married
American poet Joy Gresham and her young son Douglas on their visit
to England, not yet knowing the circumstances of Gresham's troubled
marriage.
What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly
develops into a feeling of connection and love. Lewis finds his quiet
life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken, feisty
Gresham, whose uninhibited behaviour offers a sharp contrast to the
rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the
other with new ways of viewing the world.
Initially their marriage is one of convenience, a platonic union
designed to allow Gresham to remain in England. But when she is
diagnosed with cancer, deeper feelings surface, and Lewis' faith is
tested as his wife tries to prepare him for her imminent death.
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Shadrach (1998)
Before the Civil War, the Dabney family of Virginia
sold their slave, Shadrach (John Franklin Sawyer), to plantation owners
in Alabama, separating him from his family. In 1935, during the Great
Depression, Shadrachat the age of 99walks the 600 miles from his
home in Alabama to the Dabney farm in Virginia. His one request is to
be buried in the soil of the farm where he was born into slavery.
The farm is owned by the descendants of the Dabney family, consisting
of Vernon (Keitel), Trixie (McDowell) and their seven children. But to
bury a black man on that land is a violation of strict Virginia law, so the
family
goes through the arduous task of figuring out how to grant his
request. Along the way they form a touching
bond with the former slave and sharecropper, who has outlived both
his former wives and some 35 children.
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75
The last scene of the film reveals that Jake's voice over was the new
father reading his novel entitledShe's Having a Baby to his wife and
son.
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She is confronted by Jack, who threatens her before she knocks him
unconscious with a baseball bat. She drags him into the kitchen and
locks him in the pantry, but she and Danny are trapped at the hotel;
Jack has sabotaged the hotel's two-way radio and snowcat. Later, Jack
converses through the pantry door with Grady, who unlocks the door.
Danny writes "REDRUM" on the outside of the
bathroom door in the family's quarters. When Wendy sees this in the
bedroom mirror, the letters spell out "MURDER". Jack begins hacking
through the quarters' main door with a firefighter's axe. Wendy sends
Danny through the bathroom window, but it will not open sufficiently
for her to pass. Jack breaks through the bathroom door as Wendy
screams in horror. He leers through the hole he made, shouting
"Here's Johnny!", but backs off after Wendy slashes his hand with a
butcher's knife.
Hearing the engine of the snowcat Hallorann borrowed to reach the
hotel, Jack leaves the room. He kills Hallorann with the axe, and
pursues Danny into the hedge maze. Wendy runs through the hotel
looking for Danny, encountering ghosts and the cascade of blood
Danny envisioned in Boulder. Danny lays a false trail to mislead Jack,
who is following his footprints. Wendy and Danny escape in
Hallorann's snowcat, while Jack freezes to death in the maze.
In a photograph in the hotel hallway dated July 4, 1921, Jack Torrance
smiles amid a crowd of party revelers.
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Signs (2002)
The Hess family lives on an isolated farm in
Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is
a former priest whose wife, Colleen, died in a horrific traffic accident
caused by a town local, Ray Reddy (Shyamalan). No longer practicing
religiously, Graham lives with his asthmatic son, Morgan (Rory Culkin),
daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin), who leaves water glasses all over the
house claiming that the water tastes funny, and Graham's younger
brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), a former minor league baseball star
who never made it to the major leagues because he swung too hard
and struck out too often. Graham discovers a huge crop circle in his
field, reports of violent animal behavior have spread across town, and
one of the Hess' dogs tries to attack Bo and Morgan.
Graham discovers that the farm is being watched at night, and he and
Merrill chase a tall, dark figure from the roof of the barn and into the
crops, where it quickly disappears. Meanwhile, crop circles similar to
the one in Graham's field appear around the world. Morgan hears a
strange noise on a baby monitor, but it stops before he can investigate
further. That evening, Graham goes to the crop circle, and hears the
sound again. After spotting a green leg sticking out of the cornrows, he
flees to the house. A news report reveals that strange lights in the sky
have been spotted over Mexico City.
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That night, Graham reveals to Merrill that he lost his faith after the
death of his wife. A flashback shows Graham approaching the scene of
an accident. He sees his wife pinned to a tree by a truck, and the officer
tells him that his wife won't live.
The following morning, Graham visits Ray Reddy's
house, whom he finds bleeding. Ray apologizes for the accident, and
tells Graham that he is fleeing to a nearby lake as he believes "they
don't like water." Graham sadly and kindly accepts his apology, and
Ray leaves. Meanwhile, Merril watches the news, and sees a video
taken at a child's birthday party in Brazil. The footage shows an alien
crouching behind bushes, then slowly walking from out the bushes
and across a small alley where it disappears. Merril is shocked as the
footage is shown. Back at Ray's house Graham goes into the kitchen,
where Ray has an alien locked in his pantry. Graham uses the blade of
a kitchen knife to try to see the alien's reflection under the door.
When the alien attempts to grab at him through the
crack at the floor, Graham reacts by cutting off some of the alien's
fingers, causing the creature to scream in pain. Back at the Hess farm,
Merril resorts to joining Morgan and Bo with their tin foil hats. Graham
returns home and the family decides between going to the lake or
staying at the farm, opting to board up all the doors and windows and
remain in the house. While Graham and Merrill do this, Morgan and
Bo watch a news report on the growing number of sightings around
the world. The baby monitor again starts emitting the alien noises, and
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the television loses its signal. They finish boarding up the windows,
and all move into the living room. One of the dogs, called Isobel, left
tied up outside, barks loudly and is silenced, and an alien is heard
climbing up the house and onto the roof, where it breaks into the attic.
The family moves to the basement and props the door closed with a
pick axe. Graham and Merrill ward off an alien that attacks Morgan,
who then has an asthma attack. The news channel declares that the
aliens have seemingly left earth.
The next morning, Graham decides to leave the basement and find
Morgan's medicine. The family follows, and to their horror, find an
alien still inside the house. It is revealed that it is the same alien from
the pantry whose fingers Graham had cut off. The unconscious Morgan
is again attacked by the alien and taken hostage. The alien acts as a
predator and attempts to poison Morgan by releasing a toxin from its
body, but because he is having an asthma attack (which prevents him
fully from breathing), the poison doesn't get into his lungs. Graham
remembers his wife's dying words, which were "Tell Merrill to swing
away". He tells Merrill to "swing away" and Merrill attacks the alien
with a baseball bat, and it releases Morgan. They discover that water
reacts like acid with the alien's skin, and Merrill smashes all the water
glasses Bo had left all over the house. Finally, Merrill hits the alien into
furniture and water splashes on its face, killing it. Graham administers
Morgan's medication, and the boy recovers.
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Some time later, the Hess family has recovered from the incident and
they appear to be doing much better than before. In the final scene,
Graham is shown returning to his priestly duties, apparently having
regained his faith.
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89
Souther confronts Tate, gets him arrested, and flies to San Francisco to
try and warn Mary Clarence, but Vince's men abduct her.
The nuns, led by the Reverend Mother, risk their lives by going to Reno
to save Mary Clarence. Meanwhile, she flees Vince and his men,
leading to a chase around the casino until the nuns find her and try to
sneak out. Vince, Joey and Willy confront the nuns, but are unable to
bring themselves to shoot Deloris while she is in a nun's habit. As
Vince eventually tries to shoot Deloris, Souther bursts in and shoots
Vince in the arm, and has the men arrested.
The film ends with the choir, led by Deloris, singing "I Will Follow Him"
before the Pope and a packed and refurbished St. Katherine's, earning
a loud standing ovation from the audience, the Pope, Reverend
Mother, Monsignor O'Hara and Lt. Souther. The end credits reveals that
Deloris' secret life as a nun was sold to the media and has become a
sensation. The ending of Deloris' "career" as a choir leader is revealed
through magazine and album covers and Deloris has continued
leading the choir as a famous group with published albums.
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Sarah advises that Hank and Jacob team up to plot against Lou. Much
to Jacob's dismay, the two brothers visit Lou at his home where Jacob
has him drunkely confess to the old man's murder. Hank records the
false confession with a tape recorder. Lou grows enraged when he
realizes that the two have conspired against him and pulls a gun on
them. Jacob grabs a rifle from his truck and kills Lou to save his
brother. Hank then kills Lou's wife with the rifle when she appears with
another gun. The two brothers avoid arrest after Hank concocts a
rehearsed speech for himself and Jacob to tell the police.
Because Jacob mentioned hearing a plane in the woods, Carl asks the
brothers to assist an FBI agent, Neil Baxter, in a search for the missing
aircraft. Hank and Jacob meet with Baxter and Carl at the police station.
Sarah grows skeptical of Baxter, whom she later discovers to be an
impostor; she contacts and warns Hank, who steals a handgun from
Carl's office. The four men head into the woods and split up. When he
finds the plane, Baxter kills Carl, and engages in a gunfight with Hank.
Hank manages to kill Baxter with the gun he had stolen. Hank starts to
concoct another story to tell the authorities. Jacob however announces
that he does not want to live with these bad memories; he threatens to
shoot himself to end it. He then encourages Hank to kill him instead
and frame Baxter for the crime. After grappling with the decision, Hank
kills Jacob.
At the police station, Hank tells his rehearsed story to real FBI agents.
As Sarah predicted, the agents do not believe that Hank, an
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and then returns, Vincent was crying. Turning up the volume, Crowe
hears a weeping man begging for help in Spanish, and now believes
that Cole is telling the truth and that Vincent may have had the same
ability. He suggests to Cole that he should try to find a purpose for his
gift by communicating with the ghosts and perhaps aid them with
their unfinished business. At first, Cole is unwilling since the ghosts
terrify and sometimes even threaten him, but he finally decides to do
it.
Cole talks to one of the ghosts, Kyra Collins, a young chronically ill girl
who recently died. He goes with Crowe to her funeral reception, where
Kyra directs him to a box holding a videotape, which he then gives to
her father. The tape shows Kyra's mother putting a cleaning fluid in her
soup. By proving she was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy,
Cole has saved Kyra's younger sister, the mother's next victim.
Learning to live with the ghosts he sees, Cole starts to fit in at school
and gets the lead in the school play, which Crowe attends. The doctor
and patient depart on positive terms and Cole suggests to Crowe that
he should try speaking to Anna while she is asleep. Later, while stuck
in a traffic jam, Cole confesses his secret to his mother, Lynn, saying
that someone died in an accident up ahead and he knows because the
person is right next to him. Lynn does not see the recently deceased,
but Cole sees a woman cyclist with blood dripping down her face.
Although his mother at first does not believe him, Cole proves his
ability to her by talking about how his grandmother visits him. He
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While dropping Victoria off at the airport for a flight, Sam sees Annie
exiting from her plane and is mesmerized by her, although he has no
idea who she is. Annie later secretly watches Sam and Jonah playing
on the beach together but mistakes Sam's sister for his girlfriend. He
recognizes her from the airport and says "Hello", but Annie can only
respond with another "Hello" before fleeing. She decides she is being
foolish and goes to New York to meet Walter for Valentine's Day.
With Jessica's help, Jonah flies to New York without Sam's permission
and goes to the Empire State Building searching for Annie. Jonah goes
to the observation deck and asks every unattached woman if she is
Annie. Sam, distraught, follows Jonah and finds him on the
observation deck. Meanwhile, Annie sees the skyscraper from the
Rainbow Room where she is dining with Walter and confesses her
doubts to him. They amicably end their engagement. She rushes to the
Empire State Building but is told that the observation deck is closed.
Annie begs the guard to let her go to the observation deck, using a
phrase from An Affair to Remember which the guard recognizes. Citing
it as his wife's favorite movie, he lets her go up. She arrives at the top
just moments after the doors to the down elevator close with Sam and
Jonah inside.
In spite of the observation deck being deserted, Annie convinces the
elevator operator to let her take a quick look around. She discovers a
backpack that Jonah has left behind. As she pulls out Jonah's teddy
bear from the backpack, Sam and Jonah emerge from the elevator, and
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the three meet for the first time. Annie asks Jonah if the teddy bear is
his, and he says it is. "Are you Annie?" Jonah asks. She nods yes, and
Jonah smiles. "You're Annie?" says a stunned and lovestruck Sam. The
elevator operator clears his throat. Sam indicates they should go,
momentarily making it unclear what his intentions are, until he says
"Shall we?", tenderly offering his hand to Annie. "Magic" is implied,
because the couple keep holding hands as the three enter the elevator
together. When the elevator door closes, the last thing we see is
Jonah's beaming smile as he realizes his plan to bring Annie and his
father together has worked.
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Sling Blade(1996)
Karl Childers (Billy Bob Thornton) is an intellectually disabled Arkansas
man who has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since
the age of 12 for having killed his mother and her lover. Although
thoroughly " institutionalized," Karl is deemed fit to be released into
the outside world. Prior to his release, he is interviewed by a local
college newspaper reporter, to whom he recounts the brutal murder of
his mother and her boyfriend with a Kaiser blade - during which scene
he notes to the reporter that, "Some folks call it a sling blade. I call it a
kaiser blade," the line from which the film derives its name. Karl
continues, saying that he killed the man because he thought he
wasraping his mother. When he discovered that his mother was a
willing participant in the affair, he killed her also.
Having developed a knack for small engine repair during his
childhood and his institutionalization, Karl lands a job at a smallengine repair shop in the small town where he was born and raised.
Around this time, he befriends 12-year-old Frank Wheatley (Lucas
Black). Karl shares with Frank some of the details of his past, including
the killings. Frank reveals that his father was killed - hit by a train leaving him and his mother on their own - he later admits that he lied,
and that his father committed suicide.
Frank introduces Karl to his mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday), as well
as her gay friend, Vaughan Cunningham (John Ritter), the manager of
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himself had received at the hands of his own parents. Karl tells his
father that killing the baby was wrong, and that he had wanted to kill
his father for making him do it, but eventually decided that he wasn't
worth the effort.
Meanwhile, Doyle becomes increasingly abusive towards Karl and
Frank, leading to an eventual drunken outburst and physical
confrontation with Linda and Frank. Linda then kicks Doyle out of the
house (despite his threats to kill her if she ever left him). The next day,
Linda and Doyle reconcile. Knowing that he has the upper hand again,
Doyle confronts Karl and Frank and announces his plan to move into
the house permanently; he plans "big changes", including Karl's
removal from the house. Karl begins to realize that he is the only one
who can bring about a positive change and thus spare Frank and his
mother a grim fate. Karl makes Frank promise to spend the night at
Vaughan's house, and asks Vaughan to pick up Linda from work and
have her stay over also.
Later that evening, Karl returns to Linda's house, but seems undecided
about whether he should enter. When confronted, a drunk Doyle asks
what Karl is doing with the lawnmower blade he had sharpened and
fashioned into a weapon which he was carrying. Karl replies, "I aim to
kill you with it." After Karl asks Doyle how to reach the police by phone,
Doyle says Karl should dial 911 and request "an ambulance, or a
'hearst'". Then Karl kills Doyle with two chopping blows of the
lawnmower blade to the head. Karl then calls the police to turn himself
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in, and requests a "hearst" be sent for Doyle. He then eats mustard and
biscuits while waiting for the police.
Returned to the state hospital, he seems a different person than he
was during his previous incarceration. He silences a sexual predator
(played by J. T. Walsh) who had previously forced him to listen to tales
of his horrible deeds.
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mast to cut down a lantern, been knocked from the mast by the
freighter's wake, hit his head, then fallen into the sea. The charges
against Kazuo are dismissed. Hatsue thanks Ishmael by allowing him
to hold her "one last time."
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Nebraska. She tells them a great conflict is imminent, and they must
all travel on to Boulder, Colorado. There, the various survivors,
including Stu, Frannie, and Larry, join with others to form a new
community founded on Mother Abagail's teachings. Meanwhile, Flagg
sets up an autocraticsociety in Las Vegas.
Initially, all is well in Boulder. However, Frannie discovers she is
pregnant by her deceased ex-boyfriend, causing her anxiety because
she is not sure whether or not her child will be immune to the
superflu. Meanwhile, Harold grows increasingly dissatisfied with his
life in Boulder and begins experiencing visions from Flagg. He is soon
seduced by Nadine and decides to follow Flagg's dictates. Mother
Abagail, now the spiritual center of Boulder, becomes convinced that
she has fallen into the sin of pride and leaves town to walk in the
wilderness. Shortly thereafter, Harold and Nadine plant a bomb in
Frannie and Stu's home, and set it off during a meeting of the Free
Zone council. Meanwhile, Abagail returns to town greatly weakened
and gives a psychic warning to the council members at the meeting.
The warning allows most of the council to escape the explosion, but
Nick and Susan Stern are killed. In the hospital after the bombing,
Mother Abagail tells Stu, Larry, Glen, and fellow council member Ralph
Brentner that they must travel to Las Vegas to confront Flagg; then she
passes away. Meanwhile, Nadine and Harold make a run for the hills,
where Harold dies in an accident created by Flagg, and Nadine is raped
by Flagg, who shows his demonic face.
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Stand By Me (1986)
In 1985, after reading a newspaper article about the death of a man
named Chris Chambers, author Gordie Lachance (Richard Dreyfuss)
recalls a childhood journey to find the body of a missing boy near the
(fictional) town of Castle Rock, Oregon (Maine in the novella) over
Labor Day Weekend in 1959. Young Gordie (Wil Wheaton) was a quiet,
bookish boy with a penchant for writing and telling stories. He is
rejected by his father (Marshall Bell) after the death of his football-star
older brother Denny (John Cusack), who had paid more attention to
Gordie than their parents did.
Gordie spends his time with three friends: Chris Chambers (River
Phoenix), who is from a family of criminals and alcoholics and is
usually stereotyped accordingly, even though he does not conform to
the perceptions and stigmas; Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), who is
eccentric and physically scarred after his mentally unstable father held
his ear to a stove; and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell), who is overweight,
timid, and often the target of bullying. Overall, all four of the boys,
especially Gordie and Chris, are often hazed and by the disdainful
teenaged gang members, Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) and Chris'
older brother, Eyeball (Bradley Gregg).
Vern overhears his older brother, Billy (Casey Siemaszko), and his
friend, Charlie Hogan (Gary Riley), talking about finding the body of
Ray Brower, who was killed after being struck by a train while
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forklift driver at a local lumber yard. Teddy tried to join the Army, but
was denied entry because of his poor eyesight and ear injury. He
eventually served a prison sentence and was now doing odd jobs
around Castle Rock. Chris was able to stick it out and get by in the
advanced classes with Gordie and later moved out of Castle Rock and
became a lawyer. However, as revealed in the opening scene, Chris
was stabbed in the throat and killed when he attempted to intervene
in a fight in a fast food restaurant the week before the present day
scenes took place. Gordie then finishes his memoir, and takes his son
and his son's friend swimming.
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Starman (1984)
Launched in 1977, the Voyager 2 space probe carried agold
phonographic disk with a message of peace, invitingalien civilizations
to visit Earth. The probe is intercepted by an alien ship which then
sends a small scout vessel to establish first contact with Earth.
However, instead of greeting the alien craft, the US government shoots
it down. Crashing in Chequamegon Bay, Wisconsin, the lone alien
occupant, looking like a floating ball of glowing energy, finds the
home of recently widowed Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen). While there,
the alien uses a lock of hair from her deceased husband, Scott, to clone
a new body for himself as a terrified Jenny watches. The alien
"Starman" (Jeff Bridges) has seven small silver spheres with him which
provide energy to perform miraculous feats. He uses the first to send a
message to his people stating that Earth is hostile and his spacecraft
has been destroyed. He arranges to rendezvous with them in three
days time. He then uses the second sphere to create a holographic
map of the United States, coercing Jenny into taking him to the
rendezvous point in Arizona.
Jenny is initially both hostile and frightened of him and attempts to
escape. Having a rough understanding of English language from the
Voyager 2 disk, the Starman learns to communicate with Jenny and
assures her that he means no harm. He explains that if he does not
reach the rendezvous point, Arizona'sBarringer Crater, in three days, he
will die. Sympathetic but still wary, Jenny teaches him how to drive a
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car and use credit cards so he can continue the journey alone, but
when she witnesses him miraculously resurrect a dead deer, she is
deeply moved and decides to stay with him. However, they are
pursued across the country by the authorities and, after nearly being
caught, Jenny is shot and critically wounded by a police officer. In
order to escape, the Starman crashes their car into a gas tanker and
uses another sphere to protect the two of them from the explosion.
They take refuge in a mobile home that is being towed. He uses
another silver sphere to heal Jenny. After being assured that Jenny will
recover, the Starman proceeds to hitchhike towards Arizona without
her, but Jenny manages to catch up to him while he and his driver are
stopped at a roadblock . Reunited, the two of them hitchhike together,
resuming their journey towards the crater.
Later, while stowing away on a boxcar train, the couple make love. The
Starman tells Jenny "I gave you a baby tonight." Jenny explains that
she is infertile and cannot have children, but he assures her she is now
pregnant. He explains that the baby will be the son of her dead
husband, because he is a clone of Scott, but will possess all of the
Starman's knowledge and will grow up to be a teacher. He offers to
stop the pregnancy if she wishes, but the joyful Jenny embraces him,
accepting the gift.
The couple mistakenly travel too far on the train and arrive in Las
Vegas. Jenny realizes she has lost her wallet. The Starman uses one of
their last quarters in a slot machine, which he manipulates in order to
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win the $500,000 jackpot. They then buy a new car to complete their
journey to Arizona.
Meanwhile, National Security director George Fox learns that the
Starman's flight trajectory, prior to being shot down, was to the
Barringer Crater. Fox arranges to have the Starman captured by the
Army, dead or alive. SETI scientist Mark Shermin, another government
official involved in the case, criticizes Fox's heavy-handed approach
and reminds him that the Starman was invited to Earth. Appalled to
learn that Fox is planning to vivisect the alien, Shermin then resolves
to help the Starman escape rather than allow Fox to capture him.
Jenny and the now dying Starman reach the crater as Army helicopters
pursue them. Just as they are surrounded, a large, spherical spaceship
appears and descends into the crater. Light surrounds the couple, and
the Starman is instantly restored to health. As he prepares to leave, he
tells Jenny he will never see her again. Jenny begs him to take her
with him, but he says she would die on his world. He then gives her his
last silver sphere, telling her that their son will know what to do with it.
Jenny watches as the ship departs.
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schedule with her nursing job, and is later found unconscious on the
porch of her house.
Shelby is rushed to the hospital, where it is determined that her body
rejected the new kidney, sending her into a coma. The doctors inform
the family that Shelby is likely to remain comatose indefinitely, and
her
family and husband jointly decide to take her off life support. At the
funeral, after the other mourners have left, M'Lynn breaks down in
hysterics in front of Ouiser, Clairee, Truvy, and Annelle but is comforted
by the other women.
Later, at the wake, M'Lynn begins to accept her daughter's death and
focuses her energy on helping Jackson raise Jackson Jr. Annelle, who
is now married and pregnant, asks M'Lynn if she could name her own
baby after Shelby, since Shelby was the reason Annelle and her
husband, Sammy (Kevin J. O'Connor), met. M'Lynn agrees, and assures
Annelle that Shelby would love it. Months later, on Easter morning,
Annelle goes into labor during an Easter egg hunt, is rushed to the
hospital by
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Stigmata (1999)
The film opens in the Brazilian village of Belo Quinto,
with Father Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne), a former scientist and an
ordained Jesuit priest who investigates supposed miracles, examining
a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupeweeping blood at the funeral of
Father Paulo Alameida (Jack Donner). While Andrew is collecting
evidence, a young boy steals the rosary from the father's hand. The boy
later sells it to a woman in a marketplace, who sends it to her atheist
daughter Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) living in Pittsburgh.
Shortly after, Frankie is attacked by an unseen force while bathing, and
receives two deep wounds on her wrists. As the wounds are treated,
the doctors cannot find the cause beyond that they are puncture
wounds and go all the way through the wrist. On the way home from
work on the train, Frankie approaches a priest and asks if he is Andrew
Kiernan. After the priest tells her he is Father Derning, the lights in the
train begin to flash, and Frankie is whipped from behind by an unseen
force, Father Derning watching in horror. While Frankie is hospitalized
again, the priest sends security tapes showing the attack to the Vatican,
and Andrew is sent to investigate.
Andrew meets Frankie, who tells him she has been expecting
him, and Andrew interviews her, believing her wounds may be
stigmata. When she tells him she is an atheist, Andrew tells her that
stigmata is when the deeply devoted are struck with the five wounds
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blood. Houseman and Dario arrive with Derning and take Frankie to
another church, sending Andrew to Derning's. At Derning's church,
Andrew meets Petrocelli, who tells him the words Frankie has been
writing are part of a document found outside Jerusalem that they
believed to be a gospel in the exact words of Jesus. Petrocelli,
Delmonico and Alameida were assigned to translate it, but Houseman
ordered them to stop. Alameida refused and stole the document to
continue translating it alone, having been excommunicated by
Houseman.
Petrocelli tells Andrew that the document was Jesus
telling his disciples that the Kingdom of God is in all of us and not
confined to churches, a revelation that could ruin the Catholic Church.
Petrocelli also tells Andrew that Alameida suffered from stigmata.
Andrew races to the church where Frankie is, while Houseman and
Dario attempt to perform an exorcism on Frankie. Frankie shouts at
them in a male voice, and Houseman attempts to strangle her. Andrew
stops him, and the room is set on fire. Now believing Frankie is
possessed by Alameida's spirit, Andrew offers to be Alameida's
messenger instead. He walks unharmed through the fire to retrieve
Frankie, bidding Alameida's spirit to depart in peace. Some time later,
Andrew returns to Belo Quinto and finds the original documents for
the lost gospel in Alameida's church.
The film ends with a screen of text describing the discovery of the
Gospel of Thomas, believed, according to the film, to be the closest
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thing to the actual words of Jesus while alive: the film states the
Catholic Church refuses to recognize the document as a gospel and
considers it heresy.
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When she resisted, they unintentionally suffocated her and hid her
body. Tom brings Frank back to the basement to disclose to him the
crime and Frank breaks down and admits that Adam and Kurt had
already confided their secret to him and Harry. Frank pulls out a gun
and demands to be alone. As Tom leaves the basement, he hears a
single shot and assumes that Frank committed suicide.
Harry and Kurt suddenly show up and Harry, in his capacity as landlord,
voices displeasure with the torn up house. They corner Tom with the
intention of killing him to silence him, but Maggie arrives back home
and Harry takes her hostage. Frank suddenly emerges from the
basement and fatally shoots both Kurt and Harry in order to save Tom
and Maggie. Tom then notices Samantha's spirit putting on her glasses
and coat, smiling as she walks down the road and disappears.
Afterwards, the family packs up a U-Hauland moves out of the house.
Meanwhile, Samantha's mother and sister are finally able to give her a
proper funeral and burial. Tom and Maggie smile happily as they drive
away to a new neighborhood, but Jake, covering his ears as they
approach their new home, overwhelmed by the spirits that linger in all
of the houses they pass by.
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can punish. If the residents accept his request, he will leave them in
peace, promising that the child he takes will have a long life with much
to see. If they refuse, he threatens to force them to march into the sea
two-by-two, as he claims to have done at Roanoke Island, North
Carolina, centuries before. With his demands set, he leaves them with
half an hour to make their decision.
Although Michael Anderson begs the town to refuse Linoge's request,
appealing to their common decency and the fact that they may be
aiding in a great evil, his arguments fall on deaf ears. All of the
townspeople except him vote to give Linoge what he desires. Linoge is
deeply pleased at this choice, and has each parent draw one of eight
"weirding stones" from a sack; seven white stones, and one black
stone. The parent who draws the single black stone is the one whose
child will be taken. It ultimately comes down to Molly Anderson and
Melinda Hatcher. When they both open their hands, Molly is revealed
to have the black stone. Ralph Anderson, her son, and the child hinted
to be favored by Linoge throughout the series, is thus chosen. Even
though Mike had refused to vote and therefore have his son withdrawn
from this request, Molly had, against her husband's wishes, and
therefore included Ralph in. Molly believes the choosing was fixed, a
claim Linoge brushes off, saying the game was "straight" but says it in
such a way as to raise doubt. Contemptuously thanking the town,
Linoge transforms into his true form, and suggests that the less they
say to the outside world about the events with him, the happier they
156
will be, "but of course, such matters are ultimately up to you." With a
final remark to Molly that Ralph will eventually come to call him
"father", Linoge flies off into the night with his new protg.
Most of the film's epilogue is narrated by Mike Anderson, as he
explains how he leaves Little Tall the following summer. Unable to live
with those who sacrificed his child, Mike divorces Molly and severs
contact with the people he once called his friends but still keeps
contact from a distance to know about what is going on in Little Tall
after what happened. He eventually settles in San Francisco,
attempting to move on from the storm. He goes back to school,
earning a degree in law enforcement and another degree in
accountancy, ultimately ending up as a US Marshal. Molly ends up
marrying Alton Hatcher after his wife Melinda suddenly dies after a
long period of depression. Other Little Tall townsfolk are not so lucky,
with several committing suicide over the ensuing years. However,
Linoge is not finished with Mike. Nine years after the storm, Mike is
seen dropping take-out onto the ground as he is startled by the sound
of something familiar. When an old man and a teenage boy walk by,
humming Linoge's favorite tune "I'm a little teapot". He calls out to the
boy, and they turn around. The boy looks strangely similar to Mike, and
he realizes it is his son, now corrupted by Linoge. He chases after them
into an alley, but they are gone.
Mike considers telling Molly about what he saw, but ultimately decides
against it. It is implied he severs contact with Little Tall permanently
157
after this event. His final thoughts are that sometimes, he thinks that
was the wrong decision, "but in daylight, I know better."
Script notes
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this is not extremely physically obvious) and has run away from home.
He reveals more information about his daughter: one night somebody
was watching Rose's children and there was a fire and one of her sons
got badly burned; the state then decided that Rose was not competent
to look after her children and took them away from her. Alvin tells the
hitchhiker about the importance of family by describing a bundle of
sticks that is hard to break ("United we stand; divided we fall"). The
next day Alvin emerges from the trailer to find that his hitchhiker
friend has left him a bundle of sticks tied together, implying that she
plans to return home to her own family. He continues with his journey.
Alvin enjoys watching a rainstorm from the shelter of an abandoned
farmhouse. The next scene shows Alvin as a huge group of RAGBRAI
cyclists race past him. Although the film takes place in September, the
original journey was in July, when RAGBRAI actually takes place. He
later arrives at the cyclists' camp and he is greeted with applause. He
speaks with them about growing old. When he is asked about the
worst part of being old, he replies, "remembering when you was
young."
The next day, Alvin is troubled by the massive trucks passing him. He
then interacts with a distraught woman who has hit a deer, and is
being driven to distraction by the fact that she continually hits deer
while commuting, no matter how hard she tries to avoid them. She
drives away in a tearful huff, and Alvin, who had started to run short of
food, cooks and eats the deer, then mounts the antlers above the rear
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Later, Alvin camps in a cemetery and chats with a priest. The priest
recognizes Lyle's name and is aware of his stroke. The priest says that
Lyle did not mention he had a brother. Alvin replies that "neither one
of us has had a brother for quite some time." Alvin wants to make
peace with Lyle and is emphatic that whatever happened ten years ago
does not matter anymore. "I say, 'Amen' to that, brother," the priest
replies.
The next obstacle Alvin must overcome is apparent engine trouble, just
a few miles from Lyle's house. Alvin stops in the middle of the road,
unsure of how to proceed. A large farm tractor driving by then stops to
help, but fortunately this time the problem was evidently just a few
drops of bad gas, because the lawn-tractor's engine sputters to life
again after sitting for a few minutes. The gracious farmer then leads
the way on his own tractor, and drives along slowly ahead of Alvin
during the final leg of his journey to make sure he gets there okay.
Lyle's house is dilapidated. Using his two canes, Alvin makes his way to
the door. He calls for his brother. At first Lyle does not appear and Alvin
expresses relief when he does. The two brothers make contact, one
with a walker and one with two canes. Lyle invites Alvin to sit down.
Lyle looks at Alvin's mower-tractor contraption and asks if Alvin has
ridden that thing just to see him. Lyle is moved. The two men sit and
look at the stars, as they had done as children.
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Integrity/Honor
The intrinsic authority of the art itself is more important (and more
life-giving) than the authorities who supply consequences for betrayal
of their rules. Fran and Scott dance with integrity at the
Championships, despite the consequences for doing so.
Rebirth/New Life
Scott and Fran's rebellion sparks new life in the Competitive
Ballroom Dancing
adherents.
Teacher/Student
Fran and Scott teach each other different things about dancing.
Fran's father's lessons to Scott.
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167
shoot him in the back. He slowly mounts his horse and rides off.
However, he turns around and comes back and tries to kill Brennan
with a rifle, forcing Brennan to shoot him dead. As Brennan and Mrs.
Mims walk away, side by side, she timidly reaches for Brennan's arm,
as he places his arm around her.
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Tarzan (1999)
n the 1880s, an English couple and their infant son escape a burning
ship, ending up on land near uncharted rainforests off the coast of
Africa. The couple craft themselves a treehouse from their ship's
wreckage, but are subsequently killed by Sabor, a rogue leopardess.
Kala, a female gorilla who recently lost her own child to Sabor, hears
the cries of the orphaned human infant and finds him in the ruined
treehouse. Though she is attacked by Sabor, Kala and the baby manage
to escape. Kala takes the baby back to the gorilla troop to raise as her
own, an act of which her mate, Kerchak, disapproves. Kala raises the
human child, naming him Tarzan. Though he befriends other gorillas
in the troop and other animals, including the young female gorilla Terk
and the paranoid male elephant Tantor, Tarzan finds himself unable to
keep up with them, so he takes great efforts to improve himself. As a
young man, Tarzan is able to kill Sabor with his crude spear and protect
the troop, gaining Kerchak's reluctant respect.
The gorilla troop's peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of a team
of human explorers from England, consisting of Professor Porter, his
daughter Jane, and their hunter-guide Clayton. Jane is accidentally
separated from the group and chased by a pack of baboons. Tarzan
saves her from the baboons. He recognizes that she is the same as he
is: a human. Jane leads Tarzan back to the explorers' camp, where both
Porter and Clayton take great interest in him the former in terms of
scientific progress while the latter hoping to have Tarzan lead him to
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the gorillas so that he can capture them and return with them to
England. Despite Kerchak's warnings to be wary of the humans, Tarzan
continues to return to the camp and be taught by Porter, Clayton, and
Jane to speak English and learn of the human world, and he and Jane
begin to fall in love. However, they are having a hard time convincing
Tarzan to lead him to the gorillas, due to Tarzan's fear for their safety
from the threat of Kerchak.
When the explorers' boat returns to retrieve them, Clayton makes
Tarzan believe that Jane will stay with him forever if he reveals the
gorillas. Tarzan agrees and leads the party to the nesting grounds,
while Terk and Tantor lure Kerchak away to avoid having him attack the
humans. Porter and Jane are excited to mingle with the gorillas, but
Kerchak returns and threatens to kill them. Tarzan is forced to hold
Kerchak at bay while the humans escape, and decides to leave the
troop himself, now humiliated by his actions. Kala takes Tarzan to the
treehouse she found him in, and shows him his true past, tells him
that she wants him to be happy whatever he decided. When Tarzan
returns to the ship with Jane and Porter, they are ambushed by Clayton
and his band of stowaway pirates and detained in the brig. Tarzan flees
with the help of his friends, and he races back to the gorillas'
homeground. Clayton mortally wounds Kerchak and then engages
Tarzan in a fierce battle across the vine-covered trees. Although Tarzan
spares his life, Clayton is finally killed when he falls with a vine around
his neck, hanging him. Kerchak, in his dying breath, finally accepts
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Tarzan as his own and names him as leader of the gorilla troop. The rest
of the gorillas are freed after scaring away the rest of Clayton's men.
The next day, as Porter and Jane prepare to leave on the ship, Tarzan
reveals that he now plans to stay with the gorilla troop. As the ship
leaves shore, Porter encourages his daughter to stay with the man she
loves, and Jane jumps overboard to return to shore; Porter shortly
follows her. The Porters reunite with Tarzan and his family and embark
on their new life together.
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manager, his old friend Harry (Wilford Brimley). Mac gives him a copy
of a new song he has written and asks him to show it to Dixie. Mac tries
to talk to Dixie, but she becomes angry upon seeing him and warns
him to stay away from their 18-year-old daughter, Sue Anne (Ellen
Barkin).
Upon his return home, Mac assures Rosa Lee he no longer has feelings
for Dixie, whom he describes as "poison" to him. Later, Harry visits Mac
to tell him, seemingly at Dixie's urging, that the country music
business has changed and his new song is no good. Hurt and angry,
Mac drives away and nearly crashes the truck. He buys a bottle of
whiskey but, upon returning home to a worried Rosa Lee and Sonny,
he tells them he poured it out. He tells them he tried to leave Rosa Lee,
but found he could not. Some time later, Mac and Sonny are baptized
together in Rosa Lee's church.
Eventually, Sue Anne visits Mac, their first encounter since she was a
baby. Mac asks whether she got any of his letters, and she says her
mother kept them from her. Sue Anne also reports that Dixie tried to
keep her from visiting Mac and that she plans to elope with her
boyfriend despite her mother's objections. Mac admits he used to hit
Dixie and that she divorced him after he tried to kill her in a drunken
rage. Sue Anne asks whether Mac remembers a song about a dove he
sang to her when she was a baby. He claims he does not, but after she
leaves he sings to himself the hymn "On the Wings of a Dove," which
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references a dove from the Lord saving Noah and descending at Jesus'
baptism.
Boys at school bully Sonny about his dead father, and he and Mac grow
closer. The members of the local country band ask Mac permission to
perform one of his songs, and he agrees. Mac begins performing with
them and they make plans to record together. His newfound
happiness is interrupted when Sue Anne dies in a car accident. Mac
attends his daughter's funeral at Dixie's lavish home in Nashville and
comforts her when she breaks down.
Back home, Mac keeps quiet about his emotional pain, although he
wonders aloud to Rosa Lee why his once sorry existence has been
given meaning and, on the other hand, his daughter died. Throughout
his mourning, Mac continues his new life with Rosa Lee and Sonny. In
the final scene, Sonny finds a football Mac has left him as a gift. Mac
watches the hotel from a field across the road and sings "On the Wings
of a Dove" to himself. Sonny thanks him for the football and the two
play catch together in the field.
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A brief shelling of the hill begins the next day at dawn. Shortly after, C
Company attempts to carry the hill and is repelled by gunfire from the
bunker. Among the first killed is the leader of the attacking
platoon,Second Lieutenant Whyte (Jared Leto). During the battle, a
squad led by Sergeant Keck (Woody Harrelson) hides behind a swell
safe from enemy fire to wait for some reinforcements. Keck reaches for
a grenade but accidentally pulls the pin and dies in the process.
Lieutenant Colonel Tall orders thecompany commander, Captain James
Staros (Elias Koteas), to take the bunker by frontal assault, at whatever
cost. Staros refuses, unwilling to treat his men as cannon fodder. When
the two reach a stalemate, Tall decides to join Staros on the front line to
see the situation firsthand. By the time he arrives, the Japanese
resistance seems to have lessened, and Tall's opinion of Staros seems
to have been sealed. Meanwhile, during the battle, Private Witt, having
been assigned punitively as a stretcher bearer, asks to rejoin the
company, and is allowed to do so.
A small detachment of men performs a reconnaissance mission on
Tall's orders to determine the strength of the Japanese bunker. Private
Bell (Ben Chaplin) reports back that there are five machine guns in the
bunker. He joins another small team of men (including Witt), led by
Captain John Gaff (John Cusack), on a flanking mission to take the
bunker. The operation is a success and C Company stands poised to
overrun one of the last Japanese strongholds on the island. They are
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drink motor oil, Iraqi Captain Sad (Sad Taghmaoui) explains that he
learned interrogation techniques from the Americans, berates Troy
about the hypocrisy of American involvement in the region, and
informs him that his son was killed during the American bombing of
Baghdad.
The Americans with the rebels go to a band of Iraqi Army deserters,
who are persuaded to sell them luxury cars stolen from Kuwait. The
cars are outfitted as Saddam's entourage, in a ruse to scare away the
bunker's defenders, pretending that an enraged Saddam is coming to
kill them for losing the gold. After storming the bunker, they free Troy,
who spares his torturer's life, as well as more Shi'ite dissidents held in
a dungeon. But a few of the soldiers who ran away return, and Conrad
and Troy are shot. Conrad dies but Troy survives with a punctured lung,
requiring a flutter valve in his chest to relieve pressure so he can
breathe until they reach a hospital.
Archie radios Walter, arranging transport and telling him to bring
Adriana, while the hapless officers in the camp try to locate the trio
after getting the message from Troy's wife. Each of the rebels is given a
bar of gold and the rest is buried as they wait for the transport to
arrive. The convoy goes to the Iranian border, where the three
Americans will escort the rebels across to protect them from the Iraqi
soldiers guarding the crossing. But the American officers arrive in
helicopters and stop the group, arresting the trio while the rebels are
recaptured. Archie, Troy and Chief nod to each other, and Archie
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proffers the buried gold to the American officers in exchange for letting
the refugees through.
All of the soldiers are cleared of the charges, thanks to Adriana's
reporting. Archie goes to work as a military adviser to Hollywood action
films, Chief leaves his airport job to work with Archie, and Troy returns
to his wife and baby, running his own carpet store. The stolen gold was
returned to Kuwait.
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During closing arguments, Brigance tells the jury to close their eyes
and listen to a story. He describes, in slow and painful detail, the rape
of a young 10-year-old girl, mirroring the story of Tonya's rape. He then
asks the jury, in his final comment, to "now imagine she's white." It is
implied that the father's motive in murdering the rapists would have
been seen by the public as justified, and there would have been no
prosecution.
The argument Brigance then makes is that if the jury canat any time
be compelled to spare the life of a white man for a vengeful murder,
then they must do the same for a black man. After deliberation, an
African-American child runs out of the courthouse and screams, "He's
innocent!" Jubilation ensues amongst the supporters outside. The
Klan, enraged, becomes violent again. Sheriff Ozzie Walls arrests
Freddie Lee, as well as a corrupted deputy that was by Freddie's side.
The movie ends when Brigance brings his wife and daughter to a
family cookout at Carl Lee's house.
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Atticus arrives home to discover from the sheriff (Frank Overton) that
Tom has been killed by a deputy during his transfer to prison. The
sheriff states that according to this deputy, Tom was trying to escape.
The deputy reported that Tom ran like a "crazy" man before he was
shot. Atticus and Jem go to the Robinson family home to advise them
of Tom's death. Bob Ewell, Mayella's father, appears and spits in
Atticus' face while Jem waits in the car. Atticus wipes his face and
leaves.
Autumn arrives and Scout and Jem attend a nighttime Halloween
pageant at their school. Scout wears a large hard-shelled ham costume,
portraying one of Maycomb county's products. At some point during
the pageant, Scout's dress and shoes are misplaced. She's forced to
walk home without shoes and wearing her ham costume. While
cutting through the woods, Scout and Jem are attacked by an
unidentified man who has been following them. Scout's costume, like
an awkward suit of armor, protects her from the attack but restricts her
movement and severely restricts her vision. Their attacker is thwarted
and overcome by another unidentified man. Jem is knocked
unconscious and Scout escapes unharmed in a brief but violent
struggle. Scout escapes her costume in time to see a man carrying Jem
to their home and entering. Scout follows and once inside runs into
the arms of a concerned Atticus. Doc Reynolds comes over and treats
the broken arm of an unconscious Jem.
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When Sheriff Tate asks Scout what happened, she notices a man
standing silently behind the bedroom door in the corner of Jem's
room. Atticus introduces Scout to Mr Arthur Radley; he is the person
who came to their aid against Ewell in the woods. Boo is also the man
who carried Jem home. The sheriff reports Bob Ewell was discovered
dead at the scene of the attack with a knife in his ribs. Atticus assumes
Jem killed Ewell in self-defense. Sheriff Tate, however, believes that
Boo killed Ewell in defense of the children and tells Atticus that to drag
the shy and reserved Boo into the spotlight for his heroism would be
"a sin." To protect Boo, Sheriff Tate suggests that Ewell "fell on his
knife." Scout draws a startlingly precocious analogy to an earlier lesson
from the film (hence its title) when she likens any public outing of Boo
to the killing of a mockingbird. The film ends with Scout considering
events from Boo's point of view, and Atticus watching over the
unconscious Jem.
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Tombstone (1993)
TWyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), a retired peace officer with a notable
reputation, reunites with his brothers Virgil ( Sam Elliott) and Morgan
(Bill Paxton) in Tucson, Arizona, where they venture on towards
Tombstone, a small mining town, to settle down. There they encounter
Wyatt's long-time friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), a Southern gambler
and expert gunslinger, who seeks relief from his worsening
tuberculosis. Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany) and Mr. Fabian (Billy
Zane) are also newly arrived in Tombstone with a traveling theater
troupe. Meanwhile, Wyatt's wife, Mattie Blaylock (Dana WheelerNicholson), is becoming dependent on a potent narcotic. Wyatt and his
brothers begin to profit from a stake in a gambling emporium and
saloon when they have their first encounter with a band of outlaws
called the Cowboys, led by "Curly Bill" Brocious ( Powers Boothe). The
Cowboys are identifiable by the red sashes worn around their waist.
Wyatt, though no longer a lawman, is pressured to help rid the town of
the Cowboys as tensions rise. Curly Bill begins shooting aimlessly after
a visit to an opium house and is approached by Marshal Fred White
( Harry Carey, Jr.) to relinquish his firearms. Curly Bill instead shoots
the marshal dead and is forcibly taken into custody by Wyatt. The arrest
infuriates Ike Clanton (Stephen Lang) and the other Cowboys. Curly Bill
stands trial, but is found not guilty due to a lack of witnesses. Virgil,
unable to tolerate lawlessness, becomes the new marshal and imposes
a weapons ban within the city limits. This leads to the legendary
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trip to instill in him a fear of the water. Christof also floods the
channels with news reports and commercials about the dangers of
traveling, and television shows about how good it is to stay at home.
The actor that played Truman's deceased father sneaks back onto the
set as a homeless man, but is whisked away as soon as Truman notices
him. Despite Christof's control, Truman has managed to behave in
unexpected ways, in particular by falling in love with an extra, Sylvia,
known to Truman as Lauren, instead of Meryl, the character intended to
be his wife. Though Sylvia is quickly removed from the set and Truman
marries Meryl, he continues to secretly pine for 'Lauren'. Sylvia
becomes part of a "Free Truman" campaign that fights to free him from
the show and to reveal his identity.
Despite the best efforts of his family and his best friend Marlon to
reassure him, all these events cause Truman to start wondering about
his life, realizing how the world seems to revolve and shape around
him, with complete strangers to him knowing his name. Truman
attempts to leave Seahaven but is blocked by emergency situations
created by Christof to prevent Truman from leaving, further
aggravating him. Meryl grows increasingly stressed by the pressure of
perpetuating the deception, and their marriage unravels in the face of
Truman's increasing skepticism and attendant hostility towards her.
This causes her to snap and partially reveal Truman's identity and life
in front of Marlon as well, making Truman confused.
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As a result, Meryl is pulled off the show, and Christof officially brings
back Truman's father, hoping his presence will keep Truman from
trying to leave. However, he only provides a temporary respite: Truman
soon becomes isolated and begins staying alone in his basement. One
night, Truman fools the cameras and escapes the basement undetected
via a secret tunnel, forcing Christof to temporarily suspend
broadcasting of the show for the first time in its history. This causes a
surge in viewership, with many viewers, including Sylvia, cheering on
Truman's escape attempt.
Christof orders every actor and crew member to search the town, even
breaking the town's daylight cycle to help in the search. They find that
Truman has overcome his fear of the water and has sailed away from
the town in a small boat. After restoring the broadcast, Christof orders
the show's crew to create a large storm to try to capsize the boat,
prompting a heated debate with his superiors over the morality and
legality of murdering a human being in front of a live audience.
Truman almost drowns, but his determination eventually leads Christof
to terminate the storm.
As Truman recovers, the boat reaches the edge of the dome, its bow
piercing through the dome's painted sky. Truman then breaks down
crying and continuously punches the wall. An awe-struck Truman then
discovers a flight of stairs nearby, leading to a door marked "EXIT". As
he contemplates leaving his world, Christof finally turns to his last
resort by speaking directly to Truman via a powerful sound system,
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Unbreakable (2000)
TElijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) is born with Type Iosteogenesis
imperfecta, a rare disease in which bones break easily. As revealed
later in flashbacks, Elijah draws a theory, based on the comic books he
has read during his many hospital stays, that if he represents extreme
human frailty, perhaps there is someone "unbreakable" at the
opposite extreme.
Years later, Philadelphia security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is
also searching for meaning in his life. He had given up a promising
football career to marry Audrey (Robin Wright) after they were involved
in anauto accident. Now, however, their marriage is dissolving, to the
distress of their young son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark).
Returning from a job interview in New York, David is the sole survivor
of a major train wreck that kills 131 passengers, sustaining no injuries
himself. At the memorial for victims of the crash, he finds a card on his
car's windshield, inviting him to Elijah's store. Elijah proposes to David
that he is the kind of person after whom comic-book superheroes are
modeled, and repeatedly pursues the issue with David and Audrey,
trying to learn whether or not David was ill or injured during
childhood.
Although unsettled by Elijah, David begins to test himself. While
lifting weights with Joseph, he bench presses 350 pounds, well above
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what he had thought he could do. Joseph begins to idolize his father
and believes that he is a superhero, although David still maintains that
he is "an ordinary man."
Hoping that he might share his father's abilities, Joseph confronts
bullies at school, but is injured. Joseph then aims David's loaded pistol
at him, trying to prove his father cannot be harmed, but David talks
him out of it by threatening to move away to New York.
David challenges Elijah with an incident from his childhood when he
almost drowned. Elijah suggests that the incident highlights his one
weakness: water. While surveying the stored wreckage of the train
crash that he survived, David recalls the car accident that ended his
athletics career, remembering that he was unharmed and ripped a
door off the car in order to save Audrey. David used the accident as an
excuse to quit football, because Audrey didn't like the sport.
Under Elijah's influence, David develops what he thought was an
unusual insight into human behavior into an extra-sensory perception
by which he can glimpse criminal acts committed by the people he
makes contact with. At Elijah's suggestion, David stands in the middle
of a crowd in a Philadelphia railroad station. As people bump into him,
he senses the crimes they perpetrated: a jewel robbery, a hate crime,
and a rape. He then finds one he can act on: a sadistic janitor who
invaded a home, killed the parents, and is holding the children
prisoner.
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David follows the janitor to the victims' house and frees the children,
but is ambushed by the janitor who pushes him off a balcony into a
swimming pool. David nearly drowns due to being tangled in the pool
tarp, but is rescued by the children who used a pool skimmer to pull
him to the edge. He then attacks the janitor from behind, and because
David does not sustain injury (or pain) from the janitor's hits, David is
ultimately able strangle him to death through attrition. That night, he
reconciles with Audrey. The following morning, he secretly shows a
newspaper article on this anonymous heroic act, depicting a sketch of
David in his rain poncho, to his son, who recognizes the hero as his
father.
David attends an exhibition at Elijah's comic book art gallery and
meets Elijah's mother (Charlayne Woodard ), who explains the
difference between villains who fight heroes with physical strength vs.
those who use their intelligence. Elijah brings David to the back room
of his studio, extends his hand, and asks David to shake it. Upon doing
so, David sees visions of Elijah orchestrating several fatal disasters,
detonating a bomb on a plane, starting a hotel fire, as well as
perpetrating David's train accident, causing hundreds of deaths.
David is horrified, but Elijah insists that the deaths were justified as a
means to find David. Calling himself 'Mr. Glass' (based on a nickname
he was teased with in school), he explains that his own purpose in life
is to be David's antithesis. Since they are exact opposites, David being
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the hero means that Elijah must be the arch-villain (representing the
intelligent villain who fights heroes with their mind).
Screen captions reveal that David reported Elijah's actions to the
police, and that Elijah was convicted of murder and terrorism, and
committed to an institution for the criminally insane.
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box of dex, proving that Vaughn used it for himself and ultimately let
Wick's wife die from pulmonary edema to which Wicks swears revenge
on Vaughn.
Meanwhile, in the crevasse, Vaughn administers dex to himself and
kills Tom with the syringe full of air to save the remaining dex for
himself. Wick wakes up to find Peter and Monique gone, having
continued climbing the mountain. He soon locates where Annie and
Vaughn are trapped, and they use the nitroglycerin to blast a hole,
enabling access to the survivors. Wick descends into the cave and
harnesses Annie, and although a weakened Vaughn thinks he is about
to attack him, Wick attaches a harness to him as well. Along with Peter,
he attempts to pull Annie out of the crevasse, but an ice boulder falls,
knocking Wick and Vaughn from the ledge in the crevice and pulling
Annie and Peter down. Monique alone remains on the ledge holding
the rope with the other four hang on to it. To save Annie and Peter, and
to fulfill his revenge on Vaughn, Wick pulls a knife from his pocket,
says a Buddhist prayer and cuts the rope holding himself and Vaughn
(similar to Royce Garrett's death) dropping the two to their deaths.
Recovering at base camp, Annie reconciles with Peter, who finally pays
his respects at a memorial for those killed on K2, including Wick,
Vaughn, Kareem, his cousin Ali, Cyril and Malcolm, Tom McLaren, and
Wick's late wife who was a guide.
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due to his ever present odour of pigs. Finn has a rival in Pat Mulligan
(Fintan McKeown), also hoping to marry Maggie.
Jackie and Michael call the National Lottery to make the claim,
prompting a claim inspector to be sent. The inspector, Mr. Kelly, arrives
to find Jackie on the beach and asks him for directions to Ned's
cottage. Jackie delays Kelly by taking him on a circuitous route while
Michael races to the cottage on a motorcycle, completely naked, and
breaks in so he can answer the door as Ned. After discovering that the
lottery winnings are far greater than they anticipated (totaling nearly
IR7 million), Jackie and Michael are forced to involve the entire
village in fooling Mr. Kelly. All the villagers sign their name to a pact to
participate in the ruse except one the local curmudgeon, Lizzie Quinn
(Eileen Dromey), who threatens to report the fraud in order to receive a
ten-percent reward, and attempts to blackmail Jackie for 1 million of
the winnings. Jackie agrees, but does not actually intend to pay her
more than her fair share.
The villagers go to great lengths to fool the inspector, even pretending
Ned's funeral is a service for Michael when the inspector wanders into
the church. As the inspector leaves, satisfied that the claim is
legitimate, and the villagers celebrate their winnings at the local pub,
Quinn makes her way to the nearest working phone, a phone box
outside the village on the edge of a cliff, and phones the lottery office.
Before she can report the fraud, however, the departing claim
inspector sneezes while driving past her and loses control of his car,
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each other, but with little success. However his honor prompts him to
attempt to salvage his marriage and return home, but when he does
he discovers Betty is involved with another man. She has applied for
an annulment, to which he happily agrees, and he returns to the
Aragon estate to ask Victoria to marry him.
When Paul returns, an argument with an angry and drunk Alberto
leads to a disastrous fire which destroys the vineyard. However, Paul
remembers one plant that may still have its roots intact, races off to
retrieve them, and bring them back to the family. The disaster (as well
as Paul's bravery and dedication during it) has brought Alberto to
realize his errors, so when Paul returns with the plant, he accepts him,
telling him that this is "his family" and "his roots". They set out to
replant and rebuild with the help of their newest member.
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former fiance after Takashi had been killed during World War II.
Takashi has Ichiro assigned to another counselor, but is still troubled
by his memories, causing both him and his quasi-romantic interest
Shiori to re-examine their (after-) lives.
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girls have to pay him to keep quiet, but later after he falls under a
candy coma his brothers force him to betray Lidia's secret.
While the children are busy building their tree house, Stephen and
Moe are caught in a collapse as they drain water out of a cavern. Moe is
caught under falling rubble, but Stephen, who in Vietnam had to leave
his best friend to die in order to be rescued himself, is determined to
save him, even if it costs him his own life. He frees Moe, but is hit by
falling rocks himself, and though the two men are both rescued,
Stephen is badly hurt and comatose, being put on life-support in the
hospital.
While Stu and Lidia fear for their father's life, the Lipnickis find the
treehouse and take it over, stealing the lock and key, which belonged
to Stephen. However, they agree to return them if Stu can win a bet swimming a lap around the inside of a water-tower while it drains which he does. The children can keep the place, but not before the
Lipnickis throw the key onto the rotted, treacherous roof of the watertower, telling Stu that if
he wants it, he can get it back himself. Shortly afterwards, their father
is taken off life-support, and dies.
When the kids run away from home to the tree house, they discover
that the Lipnickis have returned. In the fight that erupts between them,
the tree house is destroyed. Meanwhile, Billy Lipnicki protests against
all the fighting, asking why they can't share the fort, but is ignored. He
takes it on himself to go to the water tower to retrieve the key, but the
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roof caves in just as Stu and the others find him, and he almost drowns
in the water tower. Stu rescues and resuscitates him together with
Lidia, and Billy tells them he saw an angel, one who "looked like [Stu,]
only bigger," (implied to be Stephen) who told him he had to stay on
Earth and take care of his family.
From that time on the Lipnickis stop fighting with the others and stay
out of their way, except for Billy, who becomes a good friend to them.
The twins and their friends start to rebuild the tree house, but give it
up after a couple of days due to lack of interest. Also, they find out that
their father bought them a new house before he died and are happy to
have a proper home again at last.
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Waterworld (1995)
In the beginning of the 21st century, the polar ice caps melted and the
sea level rose to cover every continent on Earth. Surviving humans
were scattered across the ocean on ramshackle floating communities
known as atolls, mostly built from scrap metal and decrepit sea vessels.
Over time, the survivors eventually forget that they ever lived on firm
ground, adapting a mythological place named "Dryland" somewhere
in the ocean.
Five hundred years after the apocalypse, a drifter, known only as "the
Mariner", arrives at an atoll seeking to trade dirt, which is a precious
commodity. When the mariner is revealed to be a mutant with webbed
feet and gills who is able to breathe underwater, the fearful atollers
vote to drown him in a brine pool they maintain for composting. As
they begin lowering the Mariner into the sludge, local pirates known
as Smokers raid the atoll. The Smokers are searching for an orphan girl
named Enola, who has a map to Dryland tattooed on her back. The
leader of the smokers is "the Deacon", who wants the map so he can
be the first to claim Dryland and build a city upon it with his crew.
Enola and her guardian, Helen, had planned to leave the floating city
with Gregor, an inventor. However, Gregor accidentally launches the
gas balloon they planned to escape in with only himself on board,
disappearing in the horizon. Helen rescues the Mariner from drowning
in the sludge, and he agrees to help them escape on his trimaran.
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They encounter the Smokers again, but Helen's nave actions result in
damage to the Mariner's boat, and he angrily cuts their hair. Helen,
convinced that Dryland exists and that people had not always lived on
water, demands to know where the Mariner finds his dirt. The Mariner
puts her in a diving bell and swims her down to the ruins of Denver
where he collects dirt and scrap from the bottom of the sea. Helen then
realises that former human civilisation had indeed existed on land that
is now submerged.
When they surface, the Mariner and Helen are captured by the
Smokers and used to flush Enola from hiding. They dive overboard,
barely escaping. Since Helen cannot breathe underwater, the Mariner
uses his gills to breathe for the both of them. They resurface to find
everyone gone and the trimaran destroyed. They are rescued by Gregor
in his balloon and taken to a new makeshift atoll where the survivors
of the first atoll attack have regrouped.
Using a captured Smoker jet ski, the Mariner chases down the Deacon,
finding him on the remaining hulkof the Exxon Valdez. The Deacon is
celebrating with the huge Smoker crew, proclaiming they have found
the map to Dryland. After the crew have all gone below decks to row
the ship, the Mariner walks out onto the deck, where the Deacon and
his top men are examining Enola's tattoo. He threatens to drop a
flareinto the oil reserve tank unless the Deacon releases Enola. The
Deacon refuses, so the Mariner ignites and drops the flare. The ship
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241
Moore's troops regroup, secure the area, and stop at the base of a hill.
The Vietnamese commander plans a final assault on the Americans and
sends most of his troops to carry out the attack. The Vietnamese have
set up strong emplacements near the hidden entrance of the
underground passage to the command post spoken of by the scout.
Hal and his men charge at them, but before the Vietnamese can fire,
Major Bruce "Snakeshit" Crandall and others in helicopter gunships
attack the Vietnamese, destroying the bulk of the enemy force.
Nguyen Huu An, the Vietnamese Commander, is alerted that the
Americans have broken through their lines and there are no soldiers
between the Americans and their command post. Since the
Commander had deployed his reserve forces to a final offensive and
the base camp has no troops to call upon for defense, the Vietnamese
commander quickly orders the headquarters evacuated.
Moore, having achieved his objective, returns to the helicopter landing
zone to be picked up. Only after everyone (including the dead and
wounded) are removed from the battlefield does he fly out of the
valley.
At the end of the film, it is revealed that the landing zone immediately
reverted to North Vietnamese hands after the American troops were
airlifted out. Hal Moore continued the battle in a different landing
zone, and after nearly a year he returns home safely to Julia and his
family. His superiors congratulate him for killing over 1,800 North
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Tony discreetly visits Maria on her fire escape, where they reaffirm their
love ("Tonight"). Krupke, who suspects the Jets are planning
something, visits them and warns them not to cause trouble. When the
Sharks arrive, both groups agree to have the showdown the following
evening under the highway, with a one-on-one fist fight. When
Schrank arrives, the gangs feign friendship. Schrank doesn't buy it and
orders the Sharks out and unsuccessfully tries to divulge information
from the Jets about the fight.
The next day at the bridal shop, Anita accidentally tells Maria about the
rumble. Tony arrives to see Maria, which shocks Anita. They profess
their love and Anita warns them about the consequences if Bernardo
learns of their relationship. Maria tells Tony that she has heard about
the rumble and, despite that it has been reduced to a fist fight, makes
him promise to stop it altogether. Tony gives his word, then he and
Maria fantasize about their wedding ceremony ("One Hand, One
Heart").
The Jets and Sharks approach the area under the highway ("Quintet").
Tony arrives to stop the fight, but Bernardo antagonizes him. Unwilling
to watch Tony be humiliated, Riff initiates a knife fight. Tony tries to
intervene, but is held back by Ice and Tiger. Just as Riff has Bernardo
where he wants him, Tony pulls him off, but Riff breaks loose and
charges straight into Bernardo's knife. In quick retaliation, Tony grabs
Riff's knife and thrusts it into Bernardo, leading to a free-for-all melee.
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Police sirens start blaring and everyone flees, leaving behind the
bodies of the gang leaders.
Maria waits for Tony on the rooftop of her apartment building, when
Chino arrives and tells her what happened. Tony arrives and explains
what transpired and asks for her forgiveness before he turns himself in
to the police. Maria won't let him do so; she confirms her love for him
and asks Tony to stay with her (" Somewhere").
The Jets have reassembled outside a garage with their new leader, Ice,
having them focus on reacting to the police ("Cool"). Anybodys arrives
and warns them that Chino is now going after Tony with a gun. Ice
sends the Jets different directions to find Tony and warn him.
Anita enters the apartment while Tony and Maria are in the bedroom.
Tony and Maria arrange to meet at Doc's, where he will pick up
getaway money to elope. He leaves through the window, but moments
later Anita spots Tony in the alleyway (being warned by Anybodys
about Chino) and chides Maria for the relationship ("A Boy Like That"),
but Maria convinces her to help them elope ("I Have a Love").
Schrank arrives and questions Maria about the rumble. To cover for
Tony, Maria has Anita go to Doc's drugstore to tell him that Maria is
detained and will meet him as soon as she can. When Anita reaches
Doc's (where Tony is now taking refuge in the cellar), the Jets
physically harass her before she can deliver Maria's message. A shaken
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and enraged Anita declares that Bernardo was right about them and
gives them a different message that Chino killed Maria out of revenge
for loving Tony.
Doc banishes the Jets from the drugstore and delivers Anita's message
to Tony. Stunned, Tony runs into the streets, shouting for Chino to kill
him as well. Suddenly, from the playground next to Doc's, Tony spots
Maria and they run toward each other. Just as suddenly, Chino steps
out of the shadows, points his gun at Tony and fires. Upon hearing the
gunfire, the Jets, Sharks and Doc arrive to find Maria holding Tony, who
dies as they are reaffirming their love. Just as the gangs are about to
start in on each other again, Maria stops them. She takes the gun from
Chino and threatens everyone, blaming their hate for the deaths of
Tony, Riff and Bernardo. After Schrank and Krupke arrive, three of the
Jets start lifting Tony's body and are assisted by two Sharks. As they
carry Tony out, Maria and many of the Jets and Sharks follow in a
funeral procession. When they are all gone, the police arrest Chino and
lead him away ("Finale", end credits).
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249
saved his marriage following Ian and Marie's deaths. Chris then
journeys onward with the tracker.
Chris must walk across the field of Faces of the Damned, stepping on
their faces as he navigates across it. The damned can be heard talking,
including a businesswoman who says she never over-billed her clients.
Chris and the tracker arrive at a dark and twisted version of Chris and
Annie's house. The tracker then reveals himself as the real Albert and
warns Chris that if he stays with Annie for more than a few minutes he
may be permanently trapped in Hell, advising that all Chris can
reasonably expect is an opportunity for a final farewell to Annie.
Chris enters their now-horrific looking home to find Annie suffering
from amnesia, unable to remember her suicide, and visibly tortured by
her decrepit surroundings. Unable to stir her memories, the tracker
sees Chris give up his quest to save Annie from hell. But instead of
returning to Heaven Chris chooses to join Annie forever in Hell. As he
declares to Annie his intent to stay, his words parallel something he'd
said to her as he left her in an institution following the children's
deaths, and she regains her memories while Chris is making her
nightmare his. Annie, wanting nothing more than to save Chris,
ascends to Heaven, bringing Chris with her.
Chris and Annie are reunited with their children in Heaven, and all
appearances are restored. Chris proposes reincarnation, so he and
Annie can experience life together again. The film ends with Chris and
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Script notes
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When she comes out again, she discovers that the store is closed. She
soon figures out how to live undetected in the Wal-Mart.
As karma would have it, Willy Jack Pickens is soon arrested for theft
and for fraternizing with the attractive Jolene, an attractive stranger he
has no idea is actually 14 years old. He is sentenced to serve time
where he composes a country song entitled "Beat of the Heart."
Novalee manages to live at the store for several weeks. Novalee visits
the library and meets Forney Hull ( James Frain) who looks after his
librarian sister Mary Elizabeth (Margaret Hoard) whose health has
been ruined by alcoholism. Novalee visits Sister Husband where she
agrees to let Novalee grow the Buckeye tree that she gave Novalee in
her yard.
Novalee wakes up during a thunderstorm as she starts having
contractions. Her water breaks leaving a puddle at her feet. While
attempting to clean it up, she goes into labor. As she collapses, she
notices that she is in Aisle 5 and manages to pull herself to the next
aisle. Forney (who saw her go into the store at closing time), jumps
through a plate-glass window and helps deliver her baby offscreen.
Novalee wakes up in the hospital to find she is a media celebrity for
giving birth in a Wal-Mart. She befriends her nurse Lexie Coop (Ashley
Judd) and tells her that her daughter's name will be Americus. Lexie
reveals that she is a single woman with four children by three different
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men. Novalee's mother Mama Lil (Sally Field), who abandoned her as a
child, has seen her on television and appears at the hospital. Her
mother says the two women can get an apartment together, takes the
$500 that Novalee received as a gift from the President of Wal-Mart,
and agrees to pick up Novalee and Americus the next morning. Her
mother never shows up and Sister Husband comes to pick up Novalee
and offers to let Novalee and the baby live at her house.
Novalee enjoys her life at Sister Husband's, becomes friends with
Forney, and works at Wal-Mart. One night, while Novalee and Forney
are getting Christmas trees, Forney remarks that Americus is 5 months
old that day. Novalee is alarmed at the realization and hurries home to
check Americus. She comes home to find police at her home and learns
Americus has been kidnapped. Novalee remembers that in the
hospital, she received a card from Mississippi saying her baby was an
abomination under God because she was born out of wedlock. The
police quickly apprehend a vehicle with Mississippi plates and
Americus is found safe in a nativity scene outside a church.
Upon being released from prison, Willy Jack becomes a one-hitwonder with his song and teams with music agent Ruth Meyers (Joan
Cusack).
Three years pass, and Novalee begins a career as a photographer with
the help of Moses. When atornado blows through Sequoyah, Sister
Husband is killed and their home is destroyed. After the funeral, one of
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daughter whom he adopted as his own. They get married, and Lexie
tells Novalee that she's pregnant. Novalee feels deeply that she is not
good enough for Forney and struggles through telling him she does
not love him. He returns to school in Boston.
Severely depressed at his ruined career, Willy Jack becomes an
alcoholic and starts popping pills. He wanders off drunk and collapses
on a railroad track. Unable to move as a train approaches, he loses his
legs.
On Americus's 5th birthday, Novalee picks up a newspaper and sees an
article about Willy Jack having lost his legs some months before and
recently having been robbed of his wheelchair. Novalee visits Willy
Jack in the hospital and he reveals to her that he lied to her their last
day together when he said he couldn't feel the baby's heart. He
confesses his whole life would've been different if he'd been able to
undo this one lie.
Novalee realizes that she has made the same mistake with Forney. She
drives Willy Jack home to Tennessee and then continues to Maine to
find Forney. Novalee tells him she really does love him and they return
to Oklahoma and marry. The final scene is of their wedding, which
takes place in a Walmart.
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262
from the lynching with an elastic rope, and the three escape to their
train The Wanderer. On board, Rita asks for their help in rescuing her
father, one of the kidnapped scientists, Professor Escobar.
Later, Loveless hosts a reception to demonstrate his newest weapon: a
steam-powered tank. The tank uses General McGrath's soldiers as
target practice, which angers McGrath. When McGrath demands an
explanation, Loveless shoots him and leaves him for dead. As Loveless
and his troops head over to Utah, Gordon, West, and Rita find the
dying McGrath, who reveals that he was framed by Loveless for the
massacre of New Liberty, explaining that Loveless used the tank to kill
the people there. Gordon, West, and Rita then pursue Loveless on The
Wanderer, but having expected their arrival and using steam powered
hydraulics, Loveless maneuvers his train behind The Wanderer. West
manages to disable Loveless' train, but not before Loveless uses a
cannon-launched grappling hook to stop The Wanderer. Rita, afraid of
being recaptured by Loveless, grabs one of Gordon's explosive rigged
pool balls and accidentally releases sleeping gas that knocks out West,
Gordon, and herself.
West and Gordon wake up as Loveless and his posse pull away in The
Wanderer taking Rita hostage, announcing that he intends to capture
President Grant at the "golden spike" ceremony and also that should
West and Gordon step outside of the trap they are in they will be
killed. Escaping the trap the two stumble across Loveless' private rail
line, which leads them to his industrial complex, hidden in Spider
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and killed the Wicked Witch of the East, leaving only her feet exposed.
Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, arrives to claim the magic
ruby slippers worn on her sister's feet. Glinda transfers them off her
feet to Dorothy's feet instead. The Wicked Witch of the West swears
revenge on Dorothy and Toto for her sister's death. Glinda tells Dorothy
to follow theYellow brick road to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of
Oz might be able to help her get back home.
On her way to the Emerald City, Dorothy meets and befriends
theScarecrow who wants a brain, the Tin Woodman who desires a
heart, and the Cowardly Lion who is in need of courage. Dorothy
invites each of them to accompany her. After encountering the Witch,
who attempts to deter them from their destination, they finally reach
the Emerald City. Inside, after being initially rejected, they are
permitted to see the Wizard (appearing to them in the form of a large
head surrounded by fire) who agrees to grant their wishes when they
bring him the Witch of the West's broomstick.
On their quest to the Witch's castle, the group passes through the
Haunted Forest while the Witch views their progress through a crystal
ball. She then sends her winged monkeys to ambush the four and
capture Dorothy and Toto. At the castle, the Witch fails to get the
slippers off Dorothy due to a magical electric barrier, remembering
that Dorothy must first be killed. Toto escapes and leads her friends to
the castle. After defeating three Winkie Guards and stealing their
uniforms, they march inside and free her, but the Witch and her guards
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trap them. The Scarecrow drops a chandelier onto the Winkies, and the
group is chased across the battlements, before being trapped on both
sides. The Witch sets fire to the Scarecrow and Dorothy splashes a
bucket of water onto the flames; the Witch, also hit by it, melts. The
guards rejoice that she is dead and give Dorothy the charred
broomstick in gratitude.
Back at the Emerald City, the Wizard still refuses to grant their wishes
despite their bravery. Toto, opening a curtain, exposes the "Wizard" as
a normal middle-aged man who has been operating and controlling
the image of the wizard; he admits to being a humbug. Nonetheless,
he gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Lion a medal, and the Tin Man a
ticking heart-shaped watch, granting their wishes and convincing them
that what they sought has been achieved. He then prepares to launch
his hot air balloon to take Dorothy home, but Toto chases a cat, Dorothy
follows, and the balloon leaves without them. Glinda arrives and tells
her that she can still return home by tapping her heels together three
times and repeating, "There's no place like home". After bidding a
tearful goodbye to her friends, Dorothy taps her heels together and
awakens from her dream, surrounded by her family, the farmhands,
Professor Marvel, and Toto.
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AKIRA KURASAWA
Sanshiro Sugata
The central theme of the film is the education and initiation of Sugata
and the way in which, whilst learning the ways of Judo, he also learns
about himself. The film's central scene concerning this theme is when,
after being accosted by Yano for getting involved in a streetfight,
Sugata leaps into the cold waters near Yano's temple and stays there in
order to show his master his dedication, and the fact that he is neither
afraid to live nor to die.
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
In 1185, the Heike family fights against the Minamoto family. After a
bloody naval battle in the Pacific Ocean, Yoshitsune Minamoto defeats
the enemy and the survivors commit suicide. When the triumphant
Yoshitsune arrives in Kyoto, his brother, the Shogun Yoritomo, is
uneasy and orders his men to arrest Yoshitsune. However, Yoshitsune
escapes with six loyal samurai led by Benkei and they head to the
country of his only friend Hidehira Fujiwara. Near the border, after
crossing the forest disguised as monks, their porter discovers that they
are Yoshitsune and the six samurais and advises that the fearful
Kajiwara and his soldiers are waiting for them in the border to arrest
them. Yoshitsune disguises as a porter and at the barrier at the border,
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Benkei has to convince Kajiwara that they are six monks traveling to
collect donation to build a large temple in Kyoto.
After realizing that Noge has changed from his days at the University,
Yukie gets up from the dinner table and runs to lock herself in her
room. Yukie's mother eventually tells her that Itokawa and Noge are
leaving. At first Yukie is reluctant to see them out, however once
Yukie's mother tells her that Noge is leaving for China she decides to
see Noge one last time to say goodbye.
After Noge's departure, Yukie begins to pack for Tokyo and after a
conversation her father reluctantly lets her go. For three years in Tokyo,
Yukie works menial jobs to get by. One day she runs into Itokawa and
is told that Noge is in Tokyo. She goes to Noge's offices, but is scared of
what will happen. Yukie is shown outside of the offices several times
but eventually Noge notices her. They spend several years together
and get married during this time.
Yukie knows that Noge is involved in illegal activities, but he refuses to
tell her what they are. Noge is arrested on the night before his plans
were to go into effect. Yukie is interrogated, but she proffers no
information. Yukie is treated badly during the interrogations but
Itokawa is eventually able to free her. Yukie's parents take the train
into Tokyo where Yukie's father meets up with Itokawa. Yukie's father
thanks him for what he has done and informs Itokawa that he intends
to represent Noge in court. Itokawa mournfully responds that Noge
died the night before. Yukie is crushed. She brings his ashes to his
parents, and tells them she is his wife. They reject her, believing that
she has come to mock them because their son was convicted of being
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a spy. She stays with his parents, who are scorned and harassed in their
village, and works the rice fields with them. She tries to convince them
of her sincerity and that their son was a good man. The work in the rice
fields is hard on her, but she is determined to prove her mettle, even
to the point of working when she has a severe fever.
The night that they finally finish planting all of the fields, the
neighbors sneak in and destroy their rice fields. When Yukie mourns
the vandalism, Noge's parents finally accept her and their son is
redeemed in their eyes. At the end of the war, Professor Yagihara is
reinstated and Noge is honored for his anti-war efforts. Yukie returns to
Kyoto to visit her parents. Yukie's mother tells her that she can stay
since she has achieved her goal because Noge's parents are no longer
ashamed of him. However, Yukie now feels more comfortable planting
rice than playing the piano, so she goes back to work on the farm.
Drunken Angel
It stars Takashi Shimura as an alcoholic doctor in postwarJapan who
treats a young, small-time hood named Matsunaga (Toshiro Mifune),
after a gunfight with a rival syndicate. The doctor diagnoses the young
gangster withtuberculosis, and convinces him to begin treatment (and
quit boozing and womanizing). The two enjoy an uneasy friendship
until the gangster's former boss, Okada, who is also the former abusive
boyfriend of the doctor's female assistant, is released from prison and
seeks to take his gang over once again. The sick young man then stops
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following the doctor's advice, slips back into old habits and going to
night clubs with Okada. But Matsunaga realizes that Okada is not a
true friend when Okada threatens to kill the doctor if he doesn't reveal
the female assistants whereabouts, and then finds out that the big
Yakuza crime boss is grooming Okada and merely using Matsunaga as
a pawn to be given up to the rival gang. When the doctor leaves his
house to go report on Okada to the police, despite the doctor's orders
to remain in bed, Matsunaga slips out to confront Okada (who has also
managed to steal Matsunaga's girlfriend Nanae) but Matsunaga is
killed in the ensuing knife fight. The film ends with a local shop-owner
woman who had feelings for Matsunaga planning to take Matsunaga's
ashes to be buried on her farm, far from the corrupt and dirty city, and
the doctor happily learning that one of his younger patients has
followed his advice and has been fully cured of tuberculosis.
The Quiet Duel
Toshiro Mifune plays Dr. Kyoji Fujisaki a young idealistic doctor who
works at his father's (Takashi Shimura) clinic in a small and seedy
district. During the war, he contractssyphilis from the blood of a patient
(Kenjiro Uemura) when he cuts himself during an operation.
Contaminated with a disease that was virtually incurable in 1940s
Japan, Fujisaki returns home from the war to the clinic presided over
by his obstetrician father. Treating himself in secret and tormented by
his conscience, he rejects his heartbroken fiance Misao,(Miki Sanj)
275
without explanation. He had been engaged to Misao for six years but
has still not set a date due to his disease. Minegishi (Noriko Sengoku),
a probationary nurse that he took in after he prevented her suicide
attempt, learns of his illness and sacrifice. She dedicates herself to
becoming a fully qualified nurse. Misao becomes engaged to another
man. She makes one last plea to Fujisaki but he stands firm in
rejecting her. The end of the film shows him continuing his work as a
surgeon.
Stray Dog (film)
Action takes place during a heatwave in a bombed-out, post-war Tokyo.
Rookie homicide detective Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) has hisColt
pistol stolen during a trolley ride and gives chase to the pickpocket,
but when he fails to capture him he reports back to headquarters filled
with guilt and shame. He goes on to prowl the city backstreets
undercover, looking for suspects and picking up leads. He eventually
picks up the trail of a gun racket. When the stolen gun is used in a
crime, Murakami partners up with the veteran detective Sat (Takashi
Shimura). After questioning a suspect, Sat and Murakami end up at a
baseball game looking for a gun dealer named Honda. They locate him
and he points to Yusa, a disenchanted war veteran who's fallen to
crime after the war. They investigate Yusa's sister's house and his
sweetheart, showgirl Harumi Namiki (Keiko Awaji), but to no avail.
276
they are staying. On the way, they are spotted by paparazzi for the
tabloid magazine Amour, who track the two down. As Saijo refuses to
grant the photographers an interview, they plot their revenge by
taking a picture of the couple having breakfast on a balcony and print
it under the headline 'The Love Story of Miyako Saijo'.
Aoye is outraged by this false scandal and plans to sue the magazine.
During the subsequent media circus, Aoye is approached by a downand-out lawyer, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), who claims to share Aoye's
anger with the press. Aoye takes him for his attorney, but Hiruta,
desperate for money to cure his daughter with terminaltuberculosis,
Masako (Yko Katsuragi), accepts a bribe from the editor of the
magazine to throw the trial. The trial proceeds badly for the plaintiffs.
Struck by the kindness of Aoye and Saijo towards his Masako, and
Masako's own disgust at the way he is handling the case, Hiruta
becomes ridden with guilt. As the trial draws to an end, Masako dies,
convinced that Aoye and Saijo will win the case. On the final day of the
trial Hiruta, prodded by his conscience, confesses all and though he is
disbarred, his reputation is saved and Amour loses the case.
Rashomon
The film opens on a woodcutter (
Shimura) and a priest (
), who claimed
samurai claims that Tajmaru, after raping his wife, asked her to travel
with him. She accepted and asked Tajmaru to kill her husband so that
she would not feel the guilt of belonging to two men. Tajmaru,
shocked by this request, grabbed her, and gave the samurai a choice of
letting the woman go or killing her. "For these words alone," the dead
samurai recounted, "I was ready to pardon his crime." The woman fled,
and Tajmaru, after attempting to recapture her, gave up and set the
samurai free. The samurai then killed himself with his wife's dagger.
Later, somebody removed the dagger from his chest.
The woodcutter's story ]
280
Back at Rashmon gate (after the trial), the woodcutter explains to the
commoner that all three stories were falsehoods. The woodcutter had
actually witnessed the rape and murder, he says, but just did not want
to get too involved at the trial. According to the woodcutter's new story,
Tajmaru begged the samurai's wife to marry him, but the woman
instead freed her husband. The husband was initially unwilling to fight
Tajmaru, saying he would not risk his life for a spoiled woman, but
the woman then criticized both him and Tajmaru, saying they were
not real men and that a real man would fight for a woman's love. She
spurred the men to fight one another, but then hid her face in fear
once they raise swords; the men, too, were visibly fearful as they began
fighting. They began a duel that was much more pitiful than
Tajmaru's account had made it sound, and Tajmaru ultimately won
through a stroke of luck. After some hesitation he killed the samurai,
who begged for his life on the ground, and the woman fled in horror.
Tajmaru could not catch her, but took the samurai's sword and left
the scene limping.
Climax
At the gate, the woodcutter, priest, and commoner are interrupted
from their discussion of the woodcutter's account by the sound of a
crying baby. They find the baby abandoned in a basket, and the
commoner takes a kimono and an amulet that have been left for the
baby. The woodcutter reproaches the commoner for stealing from the
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An iconic scene from the film is from the last few moments in
Watanabe's life, as he sits on the swing at the park he built. As the
snow falls, we see Watanabe gazing lovingly over the playground, at
peace with himself and the world. He again starts singing "Gondola no
Uta".
Seven Samurai
Marauding bandits approach a mountain rural village; but their chief
decides to spare it until after the harvest because they had raided it
before. The plan is overheard by a farmer who tells the rest of village.
Lamenting their fate, three farmers ask Gisaku, the village elder and
miller, for advice. He declares they should hire samurai to defend the
village. Since they have no money to offer, Gisaku tells them to find
hungry samurai.
After little success in finding any recruits, the group witness Kambei,
an aging but experienced rnin, rescue a young boy who had been
taken hostage by a thief. A young inexperienced samurai named
Katsushir also approaches Kambei to become his disciple. The
villagers then ask for his help, and after initial reluctance, Kambei
agrees. In turn the aged rnin recruits old friend Shichirji and, with
Katsushir's assistance, three other samurai: the friendly and strategic
Gorobei; the good-willed Heihachi; and Kyz, a taciturn master
swordsman whom Katsushir regards with awe. Although
inexperienced Katsushir is taken as a sixth because time is short.
285
Kikuchiyo, a man who carries a family scroll that he claims makes him a
samurai, follows the group to the village despite attempts to drive him
away.
On arrival the samurai find the villagers cowering in their homes
refusing to greet them. Feeling insulted by such a cold reception,
Kikuchiyo rings the village alarm bell prompting the fightened
villagers to come out of hiding. The samurai are both pleased and
amused by this and accept him as their seventh comrade-in-arms.
Slowly the samurai and the farmers begin to trust each other as they
train together in preparation for the return of the bandits. Katsushir
forms a relationship with Shino, a farmer's daughter, who had been
forced to masquerade as a boy for protection from the supposedly
lustful samurai. However the six samurai are angered when Kikuchiyo
brings them samurai armor and weapons. Equipment that the villagers
had mostly likely acquired from killing other injured or dying samurai.
But Kikuchiyo retaliates and castigates the group. He points out that
samurai are responsible for battles, raids, taxation and forced labor
that devastate the lives of villagers. By doing so he reveals his origin as
an orphaned farmer's son. The anger of the samurai turns to shame.
Shortly before the raid, three bandit scouts are seen. Two are killed
while another reveals the location of their camp. Against the wishes of
the samurai, the prisoner is lynched by the villagers. The bandits' camp
is burned down in a pre-emptive strike. However the attack costs
286
Heihachi his life. A farmer, who helps the samurai, watches in horror as
his wife, who had been kidnapped and raped by the bandits,
immolatesherself in shame.
When the bandits attack the village they are confounded by village's
new fortifications, including a moat and wooden fence. Several bandits
are killed according to Kambei's plan. As they individually try and
enter the village, they are hunted down and killed using phalanxes of
farmers armed with bamboo spears. But Gisaku, the village elder,
refuses to abandon his mill on the outskirts of the village and perishes
with his family who die trying to save him. A lone baby is rescued by
Kikuchiyo who breaks down in tears as it reminds him of his own
childhood.
The bandits possess three matchlock guns (Tanegashima). Kyz
ventures off alone and returns with one. An envious Kikuchiyo
abandons his post and his contingent of farmers to bring back
another gun. But his action is castigated by Kambei because the
bandits have attacked while he was gone killing some of his farmers.
The bandit chief attacks again and Gorobei is slain. That night Kambei
instructs everyone, including a remorseful Kikuchiyo, that due to their
dwindling numbers, the bandits will make an all-out effort to take the
village in a final, decisive battle. Meanwhile the relationship
Katsushir is having with a farmer's daughter is discovered by her
father. He hits her until Kambei and the village intervene. Shichirji
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calms the situation by saying they should be forgiven because they are
young and that before any battle passions can run high.
The next morning in a torrential downpour, Kambei orders that the
remaining thirteen bandits be allowed into the village. As the battle
winds down their leader, armed with a gun, enters the women's hut
from where he shoots Kyz. An enraged Kikuchiyo charges the hut
only to be shot as well; he nevertheless manages to kill the bandit
chief as his final act before dying. With the fighting over, Kambei and
Shichirji observe that they have survived once again.
In an epilogue, the three surviving samurai watch as the joyful
villagers sing while planting their crops. Kambei - standing beneath
the funeral mounds of his four dead comrades - reflects that it's
anotherpyrrhic victory for the samurai. While they they gained nothing
for their sacrifice, the farmers' reward is their lands.
I Live in Fear
Kiichi Nakajima (Toshiro Mifune), an elderly foundry owner convinced
that Japan will be affected by an imminent nuclear war, resolves to
move his family to safety in Brazil.[2] Nakajima's fervent wish is for his
family to join him in escaping from Japan to the relative safety of
South America. His family decides to have him ruled incompetent and
Dr. Harada (Takashi Shimura), a Domestic Court counselor, attempts to
arbitrate. Harada, a civil volunteer in the case, sympathizes with
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Washizu knows he must kill all his enemies, so he tells his troops of
the last prophecy, and they share his confidence.
He then finds Asaji in a semi-catatonic state, trying to wash clean the
imaginary foul stench of blood from her hands, obviously distraught at
her grave misdeeds. Distracted by the sound of his troops moving
outside the room, he investigates and is told by a panicked soldier that
the trees of Spider's Web forest "have risen to attack us." The prophecy
has come true and Washizu is doomed.
As Washizu tries to get his troops to attack, they remain still. Finally
they turn on their master and begin firing arrows at him to appease
Miki's son and Noriyasu. Washizu finally succumbs to his wounds just
as his enemies approach the castle gates. It is revealed that the
attacking force is using trees cut down during the previous night to
disguise and protect themselves in their advance on the castle.
The Lower Depths (1957 film)
In a run-down Edo tenement, an elderly man (Rokubei) and his bitter
wife (Osugi) rent out rooms and beds to the poor. The tenants are
gamblers, prostitutes, petty thieves and drunk layabouts, all struggling
to survive. The landladys younger sister (Okayo) who helps the
landlords with the maintenance of the place, brings in an old man
(Kahei) and rents him a bed. Kahei quickly assumes the role of the
mediator and grandfatherly figure, though there is an air of mystery
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about him and some of the tenants suspect his past is not
unblemished.
Sutekichi, the thief and self-appointed tenement leader, is having an
affair with Osugi the landlady, though he is gradually shifting his
attention to her younger and sweet-tempered sister, Okayo. Okayo
thinks little of him, however, which frustrates Sutekichi and sours his
relationship with Osugi. Jealous and vengeful, Osugi conspires to
seduce Sutekichi to murder her husband so she can turn him over to
the authorities. Sutekichi sees through her seduction and refuses to
take any part in the murder. The husband discovers the affair, gets into
a fight with Sutekichi, and is saved only through Kaheis intervention.
Slowly, Okayo begins to see the good in Sutekuchi and warms up to his
advances. Rokubei and Osugi beat Okayo, prompting the tenants to
break into the landlords house to save her. Sutekichi is enraged to
learn about the way Okayo was treated, and in the ensuing chaos,
Rokubei is accidentally killed after being assaulted by Sutekichi. Osugi
blames Sutekichi for the killing of her husband. Rather than defend
himself, the enraged Sutekichi claims that she had goaded him into
doing it. Okayo now believes that the two of them have used her to
provide an excuse for killing Osugis husband. She will have nothing to
do with Sutekichi. Kahei, whose testimony could potentially have
cleared Sutekichi, runs away for fear he would have to appear in court
to testify (adding substance to the suspicions that he had something to
hide). Sutekichi and Osugi are arrested.
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During the mission, the peasants impede it and sometimes try to seize
the gold. They are later joined by a farmers daughter (Toshiko
Higuchi), whom they acquire from a slave-trader. Eventually, they are
captured and held by Rokurta's rival, who later unexpectedly sides
with the Princess and Rokurta.
The peasants stumble upon the gold, but are later captured,
whereupon Rokurta explains Yuki's true identity, and states that all of
the gold has been used to restore her family's domain. The peasants
are then dispatched, taking a single ry. In the final scene, Tahei gives
this to Matashichi to protect; but Matashichi allows Tahei to keep it.
The Bad Sleep Well
The film begins with a group of news reporters watching, and
gossiping, at an elaborate wedding reception for Yoshiko Iwabuchi
(Kyoko Kagawa), the daughter of Vice President Iwabuchi (Masayuki
Mori, the villain character) of the Unexploited Land Development
Corporation, a construction company, and Koichi Nishi, the president's
secretary (a bespectacled Toshiro Mifune). The police interrupt the
wedding when corporate assistant officer Wada, who is the wedding
reception's master of ceremony, is arrested on charges of bribery in a
kickback scheme. The reporters comment this incident is similar to an
earlier scandal involving Iwabuchi, administrative officer Moriyama,
and contract officer Shirai. That earlier case was hushed up after the
apparent suicide of Assistant Chief Furuya, by jumping off the
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eventually force him into revealing the location of the hard evidence
that will finally fully expose the corruption and all involved, once it is
presented to the press. In the meantime, Wada slipped away and
brought back Yoshiko in the hopes that the newlyweds will reconcile.
Nishi tells his wife that he has grown to truly love her. Yoshiko accepts
the truth about her father's evil deeds and reluctantly agrees to allow
Nishi to complete his plans to expose him.
As Nishi calls for a press conference to be held the next day and
prepares to retrieve the final evidence, Iwabuchi is able to deduce that
his daughter has seen Nishi and knows where he is hiding. Iwabuchi
tells her that her brother has left with his shotgun to find and kill Nishi.
He asks her to tell him Nishi's location so that he can stop her brother
from committing murder, saying that he will then confess his crimes
and turn himself in. Yoshiko is taken in by her father's story and reveals
to him Nishi's location. She offers to go with him, but he drugs her
with wine laced with sleeping pills.
When her brother returns home, she discovers that he had left with the
shotgun only to go duck hunting, and she then realizes the truth about
her father's plans. She tells her brother what has happened and they
rush to Nishi's location. However, they arrive too late. They find only
Nishi's best friend and accomplice, who informs them that Iwabuchi
has already had both Nishi and Wada killed and disposed of all
incriminating evidence. All three are devastated by this development,
and though they know the truth of what has occurred, with no
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evidence to back up their story, there is nothing further that they can
do.
The film ends with Iwabuchi's son and daughter confronting and
denouncing him. He then calls his superior, apologizing for the recent
trouble but informing them that he has now handled the situation. He
then states his intention to retire from the company, his and his
superiors' secrets all still safely hidden from public exposure. Before
hanging up the phone, Iwabuchi confuses night for day and wishes his
superior a good evening. Upon realizing his mistake he apologizes and
explains that he hadn't slept at all the previous night.
Sanjuro
Nine young samurai, including his nephew, believe that the lord
chamberlain, Mutsuta, is corrupt after he tore up their petition against
organised crime and said maybe he himself was behind the crimes.
One of them tells the superintendent of this and he agrees to
intervene. As the nine meet secretly at a shrine and discuss their
problem, aronin (Mifune) emerges from another room where he has
been resting. The ronin has overheard their plans, and suggests that
the superintendent is in fact the real corrupt official. While at first the
samurai are insulted by his claims, they soon find themselves
surrounded by the superintendent's men, proving that he was correct.
The ronin hits a few of the attackers and bluffs their leader into leaving,
taking only a small amount of money in reward to buy food because
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samurai will think the corrupt officials are in them and attack. This
backfires on them, however, when a posse of people from the town,
inflamed by the open notice, ride out to protect the palanquins, just as
the samurai are preparing to attack. The samurai then retreat to their
hideout.
Sanjuro decides to get closer to Hanbei's master by going undercover
as his henchman. Mistrust causes several of the samurai to believe he
is switching sides. The samurai agree that four of them will follow him:
two who believe in him and two who do not. However, Sanjuro realizes
he is being followed and the four are easily captured by Hanbei. When
Hanbei leaves to request reinforcements, Sanjuro frees the four
captured samurai, at the expense of having to kill all their guards. He
demands that the four tie him up, and is found in that situation by
Hanbei. Sanjuro tells Hanbei that they were attacked by a large
number of samurai, so Hanbei declares Sanjuro cannot be hired after
being defeated. To make amends, Sanjuro insincerely promises to find
the attackers.
The next day, Mutsuta's wife and daughter find a piece of a petition in
the small stream that flows from the superintendent's compound to
their hideout. The samurai realise that this could only have come from
Mutsuta, who must therefore be imprisoned in the compound. While
at first they consider a full-on attack on the officials, they soon realize
that the compound is full of the superintendent's forces, so that such
an attack would be futile.
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Sanjuro hatches a plan to get the army out of the compound, by telling
Hanbei that he saw the rebellious samurai at a temple where he was
sleeping. He says he will then send a signal for the samurai to attack
by floating large numbers of camellias down the stream. The first part
of the plan works, with the superintendent's forces rushing off to the
temple; however, Hanbei becomes suspicious after catching Sanjuro
trying to drop the camellias into the stream, and ties him up. Just as
Hanbei is preparing to kill Sanjuro, the remaining corrupt officials
realize that Sanjuro has tricked them - his description of the temple
was incorrect. They convince Hanbei not to waste any further time over
Sanjuro and instead to catch up with the superintendent's forces and
have them return to the compound as soon as possible. In a comedic
scene, Sanjuro tricks the officials into making the signal for the
samurai to attack. It works and they manage to rescue Sanjuro and
Mutsuta. Hanbei returns later to find he has been made a fool once
again.
Mutsuta is restored to his position as chamberlain, and the
superintendent commits harikiri, much to the chamberlain's chagrin
as he wished to avoid such a public affair, instead wishing only to force
the corrupt officials to retire. As Mutsuta, his family and the loyal
samurai are celebrating they discover that Sanjuro has slipped away.
The nine samurai race off and find him with Hanbei, about to duel.
Sanjuro is reluctant to fight and tries to dissuade Hanbei, saying that if
they fight, one of them will surely die and nothing will be gained by
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that. However, Hanbei is obdurate, saying his dignity has been soiled
and that killing Sanjuro is the only way to restore it.
The two face off at each other and remain unmoving for almost half a
minute. Finally, as Hanbei draws his sword, Sanjuro kills him by
drawing and cutting in a single, faster action. A fountain of blood
gushes from Hanbei and he falls dead. When the young samurai cheer
his victory, Sanjuro becomes angry, saying that his dead adversary was
exactly like him. He now has a fuller understanding of Lady Mutsuta's
earlier admonition that the best swords are the ones that are kept in
their scabbards. Sanjuro then stalks off in annoyance after warning the
worshipful young men not to follow him.
High and Low
A wealthy executive named Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) is in a
struggle to gain control of a company called National Shoes. One
faction wants the company to make cheap, low quality shoes for the
impulse market as opposed to the sturdy but unfashionable shoes
currently being produced. Gondo believes that the long-term future of
the company will be best served by well made shoes with modern
styling, though this plan is unpopular because it means lower profits
in the short term. He has secretly set up aleveraged buyout to gain
control of the company, mortgaging all he has.
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Just as he is about to put his plan into action, he receives a phone call
from someone claiming to have kidnapped his son, Jun. Gondo is
prepared to pay the ransom, but the call is dismissed as a prank when
Jun comes in from playing outside. However, Jun's playmate, Shinichi,
the child of Gondo's chauffeur, is missing and the kidnappers have
mistakenly abducted him instead.
In another phone call the kidnapper reveals that he has discovered his
mistake but still demands the same ransom. Gondo is now forced to
make a decision about whether to pay the ransom to save the child or
complete the buyout. After a long night of contemplation Gondo
announces that he will not pay the ransom, explaining that doing so
would not only mean the loss of his position in the company, but cause
him to go into debt and throw the futures of his wife and son into
jeopardy. His plans are weakened when his top aide lets the "cheap
shoes" faction know about the kidnapping in return for a promotion
should they take over. Finally, under pressure from his wife and the
chauffeur, Gondo decides to pay the ransom. Following the
kidnapper's instructions, the money is put into two small briefcases
and thrown from a moving train; Shinichi is found unharmed.
Gondo is forced out of the company and his creditors demand the
collateral in lieu of debt. The story is widely reported however, making
Gondo a hero, while the National Shoe Company is vilified and
boycotted. Meanwhile the police eventually find the hideout where
Shinichi was kept prisoner. The bodies of the kidnapper's two
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Taro, begins to urge her husband to take direct control of the Ichimonji
clan. When Taro demands Hidetora renounce his title of Great Lord,
Hidetora storms out of the castle with a few loyal retainers. He travels
to Jiro's castle, only to discover that Jiro is more interested in using
Hidetora as a pawn in his own power play.
Hidetora and his escort leave Jiro's castle to wander, finding no food in
the villages abandoned by the peasants. Eventually Tango appears
with provisions, but to no avail. In a moment of anger Hidetora orders
his escort to burn the villages down. Tango intervenes and Hidetora
learns from him of Taro's decree: death to whomever aids his father. At
last perceiving his eldest sons' treachery, Hidetora takes refuge in the
Third Castle, abandoned after Saburo's forces followed their lord into
exile. Tango and Kyoami do not follow him.
The old Lord and his followers are attacked without warning by Taro
and Jiro's combined forces. In a short but violent siege, the retainers
and concubines are slaughtered as the Third Castle is set alight.
Hidetora succumbs to madness and wanders away from the burning
castle. As Taro and Jiro's forces storm the castle, Taro is killed by a
bullet shot by one of Hidetora's men.
Hidetora is discovered wandering in the wilderness by Tango and
Kyoami, who along with Saburo remain the only people still loyal to
him. The two of them stay to assist Hidetora, who has gone mad. In his
madness, Hidetora is haunted by horrific visions of the people he
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destroyed in his quest for power. They take refuge in a peasant's home
only to discover that the occupant is Tsurumaru, the brother of Lady
Su, Jiro's wife. Tsurumaru had been blinded and left impoverished
after Hidetora took over his land and killed his father, a rival lord.
With Taro dead, Jiro becomes the Great Lord of the Ichimonji clan,
enabling him to move into the First Castle. Upon Jiro's return from
battle, Lady Kaede, who doesn't seem to be fazed by Taro's death,
blackmails Jiro into having an affair with her, and she becomes the
power behind his throne. Kaede demands that Jiro kill Lady Su and
marry her instead. Jiro orders Kurogane to do the deed, but he refuses,
warning Jiro that Kaede means to ruin the entire Ichimonji clan.
Kurogane then warns Su and Tsurumaru to flee.
Tango encounters two ronin who had once served as spies for Jiro.
Before he kills them both, one of the ronin tells him that Jiro is
considering sending assassins after Hidetora. Alarmed, Tango rides off
to alert Saburo. Hidetora becomes even more insane and runs off into
a volcanic plain with a frantic Kyoami in pursuit.
Saburo's army crosses back into Jiro's territory to find him. News also
reaches Jiro that two rival lords allied to Saburo (Ayabe and Fujimaki)
have also entered the territory, forcing Jiro to hastily mobilize his army.
At the field of battle, the two brothers accept a truce, but Saburo
becomes alarmed when Kyoami arrives to tell of his father's descent
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into insanity. Saburo goes with Kyoami to rescue his father and takes
10 warriors with him; Jiro sends a few gunners to follow Saburo and
ambush them both.
Jiro then orders an attack on Saburo's much smaller force. Saburo's
army retreats into the woods for cover and fires on Jiro's forces,
frustrating the attack. In the middle of the battle a messenger arrives
with news that a rival warlord, Ayabe, is marching on the First Castle,
forcing Jiro's army to hastily retreat.
Saburo finds Hidetora in the volcanic plain; Hidetora recovers his
sanity, and commits to repairing his relationship with Saburo.
However, one of the snipers Jiro had sent after Saburo's small group
shoots and kills Saburo. Overcome with grief, Hidetora dies. Fujimaki
and his army arrive to witness Tango and Kyoami weeping over the
two. Kyoami curses the heavens for allowing Hidetora and Saburo to
die, only to be told by Tango to stop, and that the gods are weeping for
them.
Meanwhile, Tsurumaru and Su arrive at the ruins of a castle but
inadvertently leave behind the flute that Su gave Tsurumaru years
before, when he had been blinded and banished. Su decides to
return for it. Tsurumaru begs her not to go; but she insists and gives a
picture of Amida Buddha to him for company during her absence. It is
when she returns to Tsurumaru's hovel that she is killed by Jiro's
assassin.
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Meanwhile, Ayabe's army pursues Jiro's army to the First Castle and
commences a siege. When Kurogane hears that Lady Su has been
finally murdered by one of Jiro's men (who arrived in the First Castle
with Lady Sue's head), Kurogane confronts Kaede, who admits that all
along her purpose had been to exact revenge against Hidetora and his
Ichmonji clan for having destroyed her family years before. Kurogane
finally snaps and decapitates Kaede. Jiro, Kurogane, and all Jiro's men
subsequently die in the battle with Ayabe's army that follows.
The final scene shows a solemn funeral procession for Saburo and
Hidetora. Meanwhile, blind and alone in the castle ruins, Tsurumaru
accidentally drops, and loses, the Amida Buddha image Su had given
to him. The film ends with a distance shot of Tsurumaru, alone,
silhouetted, atop the ruins.
Kagemusha
Lord Shingen Takeda meets with his brother Nobukado, and a thief
whom the latter met by chance and spared fromcrucifixion. Nobukado
believes the thief's uncanny resemblance to Shingen would prove
useful. The brothers then agree that he would prove useful as a
double, and they decide to use the thief as a kagemusha.
Shingen's army has besieged a castle of Ieyasu Tokugawa. When
Shingen visits the battlefield to hear a mysterious nightly flute player,
he is shot by a sniper. Mortally wounded, he orders his generals to
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keep his death a secret for three years. Shingen later dies while being
carried over a mountain pass, with only a small group of witnesses.
Nobukado presents the thief to the generals, proposing to have this
kagemusha impersonate Shingen full-time. At first, even the thief is
unaware of Shingen's death, until he tries to break into a huge jar,
believing it to contain treasure, and instead finds Shingen's preserved
corpse. After this act, the generals decide they cannot trust the thief
and set him free.
The Takeda leaders secretly dump the jar with Shingen's corpse into
Lake Suwa. Spies working for Tokugawa and his ally Nobunaga Oda
witness the disposal of the jar and, suspecting that Shingen has died,
go to report the death. The thief, however, overhearing the spies, goes
to offer his services, hoping to be of some use to Shingen in death. The
Takeda clan preserves the cover-up by saying they were making an
offering of sake to the god of the lake.
The spies follow the Takeda army as they march home from the siege.
Although they suspect that Shingen has died, they are later convinced
by the kagemusha 's performance.
Returning home, the kagemusha successfully fools Shingen's
concubines and grandson. By imitating Shingen's gestures and
learning more about him, the kagemusha begins to take on the
persona of Shingen, and is able to awe even the bodyguards and
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Wakash, who knew Shingen best. When he must preside over a clan
council and is unexpectedly asked for his decision on a military matter,
he cleverly relies on the clan motto, which identifies Shingen with an
unmoving mountain.
When the Tokugawa and Oda clans launch an attack on Takeda
territory, Shingen's son, Katsuyori, launches a counterattack against
the advice of other generals. The kagemusha is forced to lead
reinforcements to the Battle of Takatenjin, and helps inspire the troops
to victory.
In a fit of overconfidence, the kagemusha attempts to ride Shingen's
spirited horse. When he falls off, those who rush to help him see that
he does not have their lord's battle scars, and he is revealed as an
impostor. The thief is driven out of the palace, and Katsuyori, despite
having been disinherited, takes over the clan.
Now in full control of the Takeda army, Katsuyori leads an ill-advised
attack against Nobunaga, who controls Kyoto, resulting in the Battle of
Nagashino. Wave after wave of cavalry and infantry are cut down by
volleys of matchlock fire, effectively wiping out the Takeda. The
kagemusha, who has followed the Takeda army, witnesses the
slaughter. In a final show of loyalty, he takes up a spear and makes a
futile charge against the Oda fortifications, ultimately dying for the
Takeda clan. Mortally wounded, thekagemusha attempts to get a hold
on a Takeda flag that had fallen into a river, but collapses and dies as
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soon as he enters the water. His body then floats past the flag,
signifying the downfall of the Takeda clan.
Dersu Uzala (1975 film)
The film opens to a forest that is being cleared for development, and
Arseniev searching for an unmarked grave of a friend he says he
buried 3 years ago. The film then flashes back to Arseniev's surveying
expedition to the area of Shkotovo in Ussuri region in 1902. A
topographic expedition troop, led by Captain Arseniev (Yury Solomin),
encounters a nomadic, aboriginal Goldi tribesman namedDersu Uzala
(Maxim Munzuk) who agrees to guide them through the harsh frontier.
Initially viewed as an uneducated, eccentric old man, Dersu earns the
respect of the soldiers through his great intelligence, accurate
instincts, keen powers of observation, and deep compassion. He
repairs an abandoned hut and leaves provisions in a birch container so
that a future traveler would survive in the wilderness. He deduces the
identities and situations of people by analyzing tracks and articles left
behind.
Dersu Uzala saves the life of Captain Arseniev for the first time when
the two are lost on a frozen lake and a sudden blizzard overtakes them.
Dersu shows Arseniev how to quickly build a straw hut for shelter
using grass and then, when Arseniev collapses due to exhaustion,
Dersu pulls him into the shelter. The two men avoid freezing to death
and are discovered by the rest of their comrades when the blizzard
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Arsenievs' family, Dersu realizes that his place is not in the city and
asks Arseniev if he can return to living in the hills. As a parting gift,
Arseniev gives him a new rifle.
Some while later, Arseniev receives a telegram informing him that the
body of a Goldi has been found, with no identification on him save
Arseniev's calling card, and is requested to come identify the body.
Arseniev finds that it is indeed Dersu. The officer who found Dersu
speculates that someone may have killed Dersu to obtain the new rifle
that Arseniev gave him.
Dreams (1990 film)
The film does not have a single narrative, but is rather episodic in
nature, following the adventures of a "surrogate Kurosawa" (often
recognizable by his wearing Kurosawa's trademark hat) through eight
different segments, or "dreams", each one titled.
Sunshine Through The Rain
There is an old legend in Japan that states that when the sun is shining
through the rain, the kitsune (foxes) have their weddings (this is a
common theme globally seesunshower). In this first dream, a boy
defies the wish of a woman, possibly his mother, to remain at home
during a day with such weather. From behind a large tree in the nearby
forest, he witnesses the slow wedding procession of the kitsune.
Unfortunately, he is spotted by the foxes and runs. When he tries to
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return home, the same woman says that a fox had come by the house,
leaving behind a tant knife. The woman gives the knife to the boy,
implying that he must commit suicide. The woman asks the boy to go
and beg forgiveness from the foxes, although they are known to be
unforgiving, refusing to let him in unless he does so. The boy sets off
into the mountains, towards the place under the rainbow in search for
the kitsune's home.
Kurosawa built a near exact replica of his childhood home for this
segment, and the nameplate on the gate even reads "Kurosawa".
Kurosawa even showed the actress playing the mother a photo of his
own, and gave her tips on how to act as her.
The Peach Orchard
Hina Matsuri, the Doll Festival, traditionally takes place in spring when
the peach blossoms are in full bloom. The dolls that go on display at
this time, they say, are representative of the peach trees and their pink
blossoms. One boy's family, however, has chopped down their peach
orchard, so the boy feels a sense of loss during this year's festival. After
being scolded by his older sister the boy spots a small girl running out
the front door. He follows her to the now-treeless orchard, where the
dolls from his sister's collection have come to life and are standing
before him on the slopes of the orchard. The living dolls, revealing
themselves to be the spirits of the peach trees, berate the boy about
chopping down the precious trees. But after realising how much he
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loved the blossoms, they agree to give him one last glance at the
peach trees by way of a slow and beautiful dance to Etenraku. After
they disappear the boy finds the small girl walking among the treeless
orchard before seeing a single peach tree sprouting in her place.
The mysterious girl may be a reference to an older sister of Kurosawa's
who died of illness when he was in the fourth grade.[4]
The Blizzard
A group of four mountaineers, including an adolescent Kurosawa,
struggle up a mountain path during a horrendous blizzard. It has been
snowing for three days and the men are dispirited and ready to give
up. One by one they stop walking, giving in to the snow and sure
death. The leader endeavors to push on, but he too, stops in the snow.
A strange woman (the Yuki-onna of Japanese myth) appears out of
nowhere and attempts to lure the last conscious man to his death give in to the snow and the storm, she urges him on, in to reverie, in to
sleep, in to certain death. But finding some heart, deep within, he
shakes off his stupor and her entreaties, to discover that the storm has
abated, and that their camp is only a few feet away.
The setting for this sequence was most likely inspired from Kurosawa's
personal life, since he confessed to being "a devotee of mountain
climbing".[5]
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The Tunnel
A discharged Japanese company commander is
walking down a deserted road at dusk, on his way back home from
fighting in the Second World War. He comes to a large concrete
pedestrian tunnel that seems to go on forever into the darkness.
Suddenly, an angry, almost demonic-looking anti-tank dog (strapped
with explosives) runs out of the tunnel, barking and snarling. The dog
herds him into the tunnel. The commander walks hesitatingly into its
darkness. He comes out the other side, only to witness the
horrificyrei (ghost) of one of his soldiers, Private Noguchi (Yoshitaka
Zushi, who was also in Kurosawa'sDodes'ka-den), who had died
severely wounded in the commander's arms. Noguchi's face is light
blue with blackened eyes, signifying that he is dead.
The soldier seems not to believe that he is gone. Noguchi has
appeared because his parents' house is visible in a nearby
mountainside, a light in the darkness left on for his return. He is
heartbroken, knowing he cannot see them again, even while he
remains respectful to the commander who led him to his death.
Following the commander's wish that he accept his fate Noguchi
returns to the tunnel.
Just when the commander thinks he's seen the worst, his entire third
platoon, led by a young lieutenant brandishing an officer's sword,
marches out of the tunnel. They come to a halt and present arms,
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saluting the commander. Their faces too are colored blue, for they were
all annihilated in a single action. The commander searches for words to
tell them that they are dead, and says that he himself is to blame for
sending them into a futile battle. They stand mute in reply. The
commander orders them to turn about face, and salutes them in a
farewell as they march back into the tunnel. Collapsing in grief, the
commander is quickly brought back to his feet by the reappearance of
the hellish dog.
Crows
A brilliantly colored vignette featuring director Martin Scorsese as
Vincent van Gogh. An art student finds himself inside the vibrant and
sometimes chaotic world of Van Gogh's artwork, where he meets the
artist in a field and converses with him. When asked why he's missing
an ear, Van Gogh replies that the ear gave him problems during a self
portrait, and so he did away with it. The student loses track of the artist,
and travels through other works trying to find him, concluding with
Van Gogh's Wheat Field with Crows.
This Segment features Prelude No. 15 in D-flat major ("Raindrop") by
Chopin. The visual effects for this particular segment were provided by
George Lucas and his special effects group Industrial Light & Magic. It
is also the only segment where the characters do not speak Japanese.
Mount Fuji in Red
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A large nuclear power plant near Mount Fuji has begun to melt down;
its six reactors explode one by one. The breaches fill the sky with
hellish red fumes and send millions of Japanese citizens fleeing in
terror towards the ocean. After an unspecified amount of time, two
men, a woman, and her two small children are seen alone, left behind
on land in broad daylight. Behind them is the sea. The older man
(Hisashi Igawa, who appeared in a number of Kurosawa's later
movies), who is dressed in a business suit, explains to the younger
man that the rest have drowned themselves in the ocean. He then says
that the several colours of the clouds billowing across the now rubbishstrewn, post-apocalyptic landscape signify different radioactive
isotopes; according to him, red signifies plutonium-239, a tenth of a
microgram of which is enough to cause cancer. He elaborates on how
other released isotopes cause leukemia (strontium-90) and birth
defects (cesium-137) before wondering at the foolish futility of colourcoding radioactive gases of such lethality.
The woman, hearing these descriptions, recoils in horror before angrily
cursing those responsible and the pre-disaster assurances of safety
they had given. The suited man then displays contrition, suggesting
that he is in part responsible for the disaster. The other man, dressed
casually, watches the multicoloured radioactive clouds advance upon
them. When he turns back towards the others at the shore, he sees the
woman weeping: the suit-clad man has leaped to his death. A cloud of
red dust reaches them, causing the mother to shrink back in terror. The
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picked wild flowers and laid them atop the stone. When I wondered
why they did this and asked, the children said they didn't know. I
found out later by asking one of the old men in the village. In the
Battle of Boshin, a hundred years ago, someone died at that spot.
Feeling sorry for him, the villagers buried him, put the stone over the
grave and laid flowers on it. The flowers became a custom of the
village, which the children maintained without ever knowing why.[6]
Before the end credits, the young man himself pauses to lay a flower
over the stone.
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Rhapsody in August
Rhapsody in August is a tale of three generations and their responses
to the atomic bombing of Japan. Kane is an elderly woman whose
husband was killed in the bombing of Nagasaki. Next, come her two
children and their spouses, all of whom grew up in postwar Japan, as
well as their Nisei cousin Clark (played by Richard Gere) who grew up
in America. Finally, there are Kane's four grandchildren, who were born
after the Japanese economic miracle and provide most of the dialogue
in the film.
Kane's grandchildren come to visit her at her rural home on Kysh
one summer while their parents visit a man who may or may not be
Kane's brother in Hawaii. Like most children, they are bored out of
their minds, find her cooking to be disgusting, and escape to the
urban environment of Nagasaki the first chance they get. While in
Nagasaki the children visit the spot where their grandfather was killed
in 1945 and become aware of the atomic bombing for the first time in
their lives. They slowly come to have more respect for their
grandmother and also grow to question the United States for dropping
the Bomb.
In the meantime they receive a telegram from their American cousins,
who turn out to be rich and offer the parents a job managing their
pineapple fields in Hawaii. Matters are complicated when, in their
response, the grandchildren mention the attack, which infuriates their
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324
Madadayo
The main story of the film is based on the life of a Japanese academic
and author, Hyakken Uchida (18891971). The film opens with him
resigning as professor ofGerman, in the period immediately before the
Second World War. The plot of the film is centered on his relationship
with his former students, who care for him in his old age. The title, Not
Yet in English, is an allusion to an ancient Japanese legend mentioned
in one scene of the film, of an old man who refuses to die. This story is
constantly referred to in the movie, as every year on the old man's
birthday, his students throw him a party in which they all ask him,
"Mada kai?" ("Are you ready?"). He responds by drinking a large
ceremonial glass of beer and shouting "Mada dayo!" ("Not yet!"),
implying that death may be near, but life still goes on. The movie also
covers the events that transpire in between these birthdays, such as his
moving into a new house, his discovery of (and loss of) a beloved
house cat, etc. As the years progress, the annual celebrations shift from
a fraternity party atmosphere to a gathering of families, and the
ceremonial large glass of beer that Uchida drinks changes as well, but
he always completes his full glass.
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