Biography
10 Rillington Place
(1971)
Clive Exton (screenplay), Ludovic Kennedy (book)
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.
London, 1949. John Christie is an unassuming, middle-aged man who, along with his wife Ethel, lives in the ground-floor flat at 10 Rillington Place. His demeanor masks the fact of being a serial killer. His modus operandi is to act as a person with a medical background, lure unsuspecting women to his apartment on the pretense of curing them of some ailment, knock them unconscious with carbon monoxide gas, gain his sexual release through contact with the unconscious body, then strangle the victim dead before disposing of the body somewhere in the house or outside area. His next intended target is Beryl Evans, a young woman who has just moved into the top flat in the house. Beryl's husband, Tim Evans, is an illiterate man who likes to put on airs. Already with an infant daughter named Geraldine, the Evanses learn they are going to have another baby, which they cannot afford to have, nor can they afford to abort the pregnancy. This problem, on top of the constant issue of lack of money in all aspects of their lives, places a strain on the marriage, of which all their neighbors are aware through the constant fighting they overhear. Christie will offer to perform the abortion for free. The difference with this intended murder is that Tim will be aware that his wife will have died, but Christie plans either to goad Tim into keeping silent since the abortion would have been illegal, an act to which Tim would have provided his consent, or pin the murder on Tim who would have motive. Will this change in modus operandi affect Christie's ability to kill Beryl, or kill her without detection?
12 Years a Slave
(2013)
John Ridley (screenplay by), Solomon Northup (based on "Twelve Years a Slave" by)
Won 3 Oscars. Another 239 wins & 335 nominations.
Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty personified by a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
127 Hours
(2010)
Danny Boyle (screenplay), Simon Beaufoy (screenplay), Aron Ralston (book)
Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 22 wins & 135 nominations.
An adventurous mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.
24 Hour Party People
(2002)
Frank Cottrell Boyce (screenplay)
1 win & 12 nominations.
In 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester's music to the world.
All the President's Men
(1976)
Carl Bernstein (book), Bob Woodward (book), William Goldman (screenplay)
Won 4 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 21 nominations.
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
American Gangster
(2007)
Steven Zaillian, Mark Jacobson (article)
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 32 nominations.
In 1970s America, a detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drug into the country from the Far East.
American Sniper
(2014)
Jason Hall, Chris Kyle (book), Scott McEwen (book), Jim DeFelice (book)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 23 wins & 43 nominations.
Chris Kyle was nothing more than a Texan man who dreamed of becoming a cowboy, but in his thirties he found out that maybe his life needed something different, something where he could express his real talent, something that could help America in its fight against terrorism. So he joined the SEALs in order to become a sniper. After marrying, Kyle and the other members of the team are called for their first tour of Iraq. Kyle's struggle isn't with his missions, but about his relationship with the reality of the war and, once returned at home, how he manages to handle it with his urban life, his wife and kids.
American Splendor
(2003)
Harvey Pekar (comic book series American Splendor), Joyce Brabner (comic book series Our Cancer Year), Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 30 wins & 43 nominations.
An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.
Anthropoid
(2016)
Sean Ellis, Anthony Frewin
1 win & 16 nominations
ANTHROPOID is based on the extraordinary true story of Operation Anthropoid, the World War II mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich. The Reich's third in command after Hitler and Himmler, Heydrich was the main architect behind the Final Solution and the leader of occupying Nazi forces in Czechoslovakia whose reign of terror prompted self-exiled Czech and Slovak soldiers (played by Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan) to hatch a top-secret mission that would change the face of Europe forever.
Argo
(2012)
Chris Terrio (screenplay), Tony Mendez (based on a selection from "The Master of Disguise" by), Joshuah Bearman (based on the Wired Magazine article "The Great Escape" by)
Won 3 Oscars. Another 83 wins & 144 nominations.
In 1979, the American embassy in Iran was invaded by Iranian revolutionaries and several Americans were taken hostage. However, six managed to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador and the CIA was ordered to get them out of the country. With few options, exfiltration expert Tony Mendez devised a daring plan: create a phony Canadian film project looking to shoot in Iran and smuggle the Americans out as its production crew. With the help of some trusted Hollywood contacts, Mendez created the ruse and proceeded to Iran as its associate producer. However, time was running out with the Iranian security forces closing in on the truth while both his charges and the White House had grave doubts about the operation themselves.
Black Mass
(2015)
Mark Mallouk (screenplay), Jez Butterworth (screenplay), Dick Lehr (based on the book by), Gerard O'Neill (based on the book by)
5 wins & 20 nominations.
Based on a true story of James "Whitey" Bulger, an Irish Mob godfather and FBI informant who had a "secret trading" deal with his brother, William "Billy" Bulger, a state senator and a Boston public figure, and John Connolly, an FBI agent. They planned to take down the Italian mob and mafia in Boston, which went awry and things turned massively violent. When the credence for each other began fading out, drug dealing, murders, and extortion started to rise, and forced the FBI's Boston office to confirm that Whitey Bulger was one of the most notorious criminals in US history and also one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List criminals.
Capote
(2005)
Dan Futterman (screenplay), Gerald Clarke (book)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 57 wins & 80 nominations.
In 1959, Truman Capote, a popular writer for The New Yorker, learns about the horrific and senseless murder of a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas. Inspired by the story material, Capote and his partner, Harper Lee, travel to the town to research for an article. However, as Capote digs deeper into the story, he is inspired to expand the project into what would be his greatest work, In Cold Blood. To that end, he arranges extensive interviews with the prisoners, especially with Perry Smith, a quiet and articulate man with a troubled history. As he works on his book, Capote feels some compassion for Perry which in part prompts him to help the prisoners to some degree. However, that feeling deeply conflicts with his need for closure for his book which only an execution can provide. That conflict and the mixed motives for both interviewer and subject make for a troubling experience that would produce an literary account that would redefine modern non-fiction.
Casino
(1995)
Nicholas Pileggi (book), Nicholas Pileggi (screenplay), Martin Scorsese (screenplay)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 9 nominations.
This Martin Scorsese film depicts the Janus-like quality of Las Vegas--it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one. Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970's and '80's are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw--Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence.
Casino Jack
(2010)
Norman Snider
Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.
A hot shot Washington DC lobbyist and his protégé go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder.
Control
(2007)
Deborah Curtis (book), Matt Greenhalgh (screenplay)
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 30 wins & 30 nominations.
Ian Curtis is a quiet and rather sad lad who works for an employment agency and sings in a band called Warsaw. He meets a girl named Debbie whom he promptly marries and his band, of which the name in the meantime has been changed to Joy Division, gets more and more successful. Even though Debbie and he become parents, their relationship is going downhill rapidly and Ian starts an affair with Belgium Annik whom he met after one of the gigs and he's almost never at home. Ian also suffers from epilepsy and has no-good medication for it. He doesn't know how to handle the feelings he has for Debbie and Annik and the pressure the popularity of Joy Division and the energy performing costs him.
Ed Gein
(2000)
Stephen Johnston
4 wins & 1 nomination.
The true story of Edward Gein, the farmer whose horrific crimes inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs. This is the first film to Gein's tormented upbringing, his adored but domineering mother, and the 1957 arrest uncovered the most bizarre series of murders America has ever seen.
Escape from Alcatraz
(1979)
J. Campbell Bruce (book), Richard Tuggle (screenplay)
N/A
The true story of three inmates who attempt a daring escape from the infamous prison, Alcatraz Island. Although no-one had managed to escape before, bank robber Frank Morris masterminded this elaborately detailed and, as far as anyone knows, ultimately successful, escape. In 29 years, this seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and "Birdman" Robert Stroud, was only broken once by three inmates never heard of again.
Everest
(2015)
William Nicholson (screenplay), Simon Beaufoy (screenplay)
7 nominations.
On the morning of May 10, 1996, climbers from two commercial expeditions start their final ascent toward the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. With little warning, a violent storm strikes the mountain, engulfing the adventurers in one of the fiercest blizzards ever encountered by man. Challenged by the harshest conditions imaginable, the teams must endure blistering winds and freezing temperatures in an epic battle to survive against nearly impossible odds.
Fitzcarraldo
(1982)
Werner Herzog
Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations.
Fitzcarraldo is an obsessed opera lover who wants to build an opera in the jungle. To accomplish this he first has to make a fortune in the rubber business, and his cunning plan involves hauling an enormous river boat across a small mountain with aid from the local Indians.
Goodfellas
(1990)
Nicholas Pileggi (book), Nicholas Pileggi (screenplay), Martin Scorsese (screenplay)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 37 wins & 31 nominations.
Henry Hill is a small time gangster, who takes part in a robbery with Jimmy Conway and Tommy De Vito, two other gangsters who have set their sights a bit higher. His two partners kill off everyone else involved in the robbery, and slowly start to climb up through the hierarchy of the Mob. Henry, however, is badly affected by his partners' success, but will he stoop low enough to bring about the downfall of Jimmy and Tommy?