Top 100 Movies you must Watch... 34- Apocalypse Now

1979 Film

8.6/10-IMDb

99%-Rotten Tomatoes

4.2/5-Amazon.com

Release date: August 15, 1979 (USA)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Running time: 202 minutes

Screenplay: John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola

Awards: Palme d'Or, Academy Award for Best Cinematography,Academy Award for Sound Mixing, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Film, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Film, BAFTA Award for Best Direction,BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director, London Film Critics Circle Award for Film of the Year

Description

U.S. Army Captain and special operations veteran Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen) has returned to Saigon where he drinks heavily and destroys his hotel room. Military intelligenceofficers Lt. General Corman (G. D. Spradlin) and Colonel Lucas (Harrison Ford) approach him with an assignment: Willard must follow the Nung River into the remote jungle, find rogue Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and kill him. Kurtz apparently went insane and now commands his own Montagnard troops inside neutral Cambodia.

Willard joins a Navy PBR commanded by George "Chief" Phillips (Albert Hall) and crewmen Lance Johnson (Sam Bottoms), Jay "Chef" Hicks (Frederic Forrest) and Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller (Laurence Fishburne). For escort they rendezvous with reckless Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall), who commands a squadron of attack helicopters. Initially scoffing at them, Kilgore befriends Johnson as both are keen surfers. When Willard suggests the Viet Cong-filled coastal mouth of the Nung River, Kilgore accepts due to the surfing conditions there. Amid napalm strikes and Ride of the Valkyries playing over the chopper loudspeakers as they attack, the beach is taken and Kilgore orders others to surf it amid enemy fire. While Kilgore nostalgically regales everyone about a previous strike, Willard gathers his men to the PBR, which had been transported from a helicopter.

Willard sifts through files of Kurtz, learning he was a model officer and possible future general. Navigating upstream, the crew encounters a tiger and later visit a supply depot USO show featuring Playboy Playmates. The crew search a civilian sampan they come across, but Mr. Clean snaps and kills almost all on board, while Willard coldly shoots an injured survivor to prevent any delay of his mission. On reaching a US outpost at a bridge under constant attack, Willard is informed that a Captain Colby (Scott Glenn) was sent to find Kurtz, but is now missing. Lance and Chef are continually under the influence of drugs. Lance in particular smears his face with camouflage paint and becomes withdrawn.

The next day the boat is fired upon by an unseen enemy in the trees, killing Mr. Clean and turning Chief hostile toward Willard. Later, they are ambushed again, by Montagnard warriors and return fire. Chief is impaled with a spear and tries to pull Willard onto the spearhead before dying. Afterwards, Willard confides in the remaining Chef and Lance about his mission, and they reluctantly agree to continue upriver where they see the banks littered with bodies. Arriving at Kurtz's outpost, Willard takes Lance with him to the village, leaving Chef behind with orders to call an airstrike on the village if he does not return.

In the camp, the two men are met by a manic freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), who explains that Kurtz's great philosophical skills inspire his people to follow him. As they proceed, they see bodies and severed heads scattered about the nearby temple that serves as Kurtz's living quarters, and encounter the missing Captain Colby among Kurtz's army. Willard is brought before Kurtz in the darkened temple, where Kurtz derides him as an errand boy. Meanwhile, Chef prepares to call in the airstrike but is kidnapped. Bound to a post, Willard screams helplessly as Kurtz drops Chef's severed head into his lap. After some time, Willard is released and given the freedom of the compound. Kurtz lectures him on his theories of war, humanity and civilization while praising the ruthlessness and dedication of the Viet Cong. He asks Willard to tell his son everything about him in the event of his death.

That night, as the villagers ceremonially slaughter a water buffalo, Willard enters Kurtz's chamber as Kurtz is making a recording, and attacks him with a machete. Lying mortally wounded on the ground, Kurtz whispers his final words "The horror ... the horror ..." before dying. Willard descends the stairs from Kurtz's chamber and drops his weapon. The villagers do likewise and allow Willard to take Lance by the hand and lead him to the boat. The two of them sail away as Kurtz's final words echo.

. Wikipedia

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Top 100 Movies you must Watch... 3- The Godfather: Part II

1974 Film

9/10-IMDb

98%-Rotten Tomatoes

Release date: December 20, 1974 (USA)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Running time: 200 minutes

Screenplay: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, Academy Award for Original Music Score, Academy Award for Best Art Direction, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director,DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film,Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Drama, Satellite Award for Best Classic DVD

Description

In 1901 Corleone, Sicily, nine-year-old Vito Andolini’s family is killed after his father insults local Mafia chieftain Don Ciccio. He escapes to New York and is registered as "Vito Corleone" on Ellis Island.

On the occasion of the 1958 first communion party for his son, Michael Corleone has a series of meetings in his role as the Don of his crime family. With Nevada Senator Pat Geary, he discusses the terms of a fourth state gaming license for the Corleones, but the two only trade insults and demand payoffs. Johnny Ola arrives to express support for Michael on behalf of Florida gangster Hyman Roth. At the same time as the Don tries to manage his depressed sister Connie and older brother Fredo, Corleone caporegime Frank Pentangeli is upset that his boss will not help him defend New York against the Rosato brothers, who work for the Jewish Roth. That night, Michael survives an assassination attempt at his home and puts consigliereTom Hagen in charge, reassuring him of their fraternal bond.

In 1917, Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) lives in a tenement with his wife Carmela and son Sonny, and works in a New York grocery store owned by the father of a close friend. A member of the Black Hand, Don Fanucci, who extorts protection payments from local businesses, forces the store owner to fire Vito and give his job to Fanucci's nephew. As a favor to his neighbor, Peter Clemenza, Vito hides a stash of guns; in return, he is invited to the burglary of a rich apartment. His share of the loot is a plush rug, which he lays in his own living room.

In Miami, Michael tells Roth that Pentangeli was behind the assassination attempt; he then tells Pentangeli that Roth ordered it and asks him to cooperate. Pentangeli meets the Rosatos; their men ambush him, saying they act on Michael's orders, but a passing policeman interrupts them and they flee, leaving Pentangeli for dead.

Geary finds himself in Fredo's brothel with a dead prostitute and no memory of how he got there; he accepts Tom's offer of "friendship" to cover up the incident.

After witnessing a rebel suicide bombing in Havana, Cuba, Michael becomes convinced of the rebels' resolve to overthrow the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Fredo brings Michael the money for a deal with Roth, but instead of turning it over to Roth, Michael asks who put out the hit on Pentangeli. Roth is reminded of his late friend Moe Greene – dead in a spate of Corleone killing – saying, "This is the business we've chosen. I didn't ask who gave the order because it had nothing to do with business!" As they go to the President's New Year's Eve party, Michael tells Fredo that he knows Roth plans to kill him as he leaves the party and later Fredo reveals that he knew Johnny Ola, despite his previous denial. Michael's bodyguard strangles Ola but is killed by police before he can finish off the ailing Roth. Michael embraces his brother, revealing that he knows he was behind the plot on his life but the party breaks up as word spreads that the rebels are taking over, and Fredo flees in the chaos. Back home, Tom informs Michael that Roth is recovering in Miami and that Kay's pregnancy has miscarried.

Three years later, two more sons—Fredo and then Michael—have been born to Vito. He and his partners (Clemenza and Sal Tessio) face extortion by Don Fanucci, who demands they let him "wet his beak" from their recent burglary or he will have the police ruin the Corleone family. Vito persuades his partners to pay Fanucci less than he asks and promises he will "make him an offer he can't refuse" as a favor to them. During a neighborhood festa, Vito meets with Fanucci and earns his respect. He then follows Fanucci, surprises him in his apartment foyer, shoots and kills him, takes back his partners' money and escapes.

In Washington, D.C., a Senate committee investigating the Corleone family cannot find evidence to implicate Michael until a surprise witness is called. Pentangeli, ensconced in FBI witness protection and ready to avenge the attempt on his life, is prepared to confirm accusations against Michael until his Sicilian brother attends the hearing at the Don's side; Pentangeli denies his sworn statements and the hearing dissolves in an uproar.

Vito has become a respected figure in his New York community. He confronts a landlord who doesn't know him, offering extra money to let a widow keep her apartment. The landlord says he has already leased it and becomes angry when Vito demands that he allow her to keep her dog. Later the landlord learns that he may have offended the wrong person. Terrified, he returns to assure Vito that the widow can stay, along with her dog, at a reduced rent.

Michael and Tom observe that Roth's strategy to destroy Michael is well planned. Fredo has been found and persuaded to return to Nevada, and in a private meeting he explains his betrayal to Michael; he was upset about being passed over to head the family, and helped Roth, thinking there would be something in it for him. He swears he was unaware of their plan to kill Michael. He tells Michael that the Senate Committee's chief counsel is on Roth's payroll. Michael disowns Fredo and instructs Al Neri that "nothing is to happen to him while my mother's alive." Afterwards, Michael violently prevents Kay from leaving with their children; she retaliates with the revelation that her miscarriage was actually an abortion.

Vito, together with his young family, visits Sicily for the first time. He is introduced to the elderly Don Ciccio by Don Tommasino as the man who imports their olive oil to America, and who wants his blessing. When Ciccio asks Vito who his father was, Vito says, "My father's name was Antonio Andolini, and this is for you!" He then plunges a large knife into the old man's stomach and carves it open. As they flee, Tommasino is shot and injured.

Carmela Corleone dies. At the funeral, a reformed Connie implores Michael to forgive Fredo. Michael relents and embraces Fredo, but stares intently at Al Neri. Roth is refused asylum and even entry to Israel. Over Tom's dissent, Michael plans his revenge. Tom visits Pentangeli and offers to spare his family, reminding him that failed plotters against the Roman Emperor took their own lives.

Connie helps Kay visit her children, but Michael closes the door on any forgiveness.

As he arrives in Miami to be taken into custody, Hyman Roth is shot in the stomach and killed by Rocco Lampone, who is immediately shot dead by FBI agents. Frank Pentangeli is discovered dead in his bathtub with slit wrists. Al shoots Fredo while they are fishing on Lake Tahoe.

On December 7, 1941, the Corleone family gathers to surprise Vito for his fiftieth birthday. Sonny introduces Carlo Rizzi to Connie. Tessio comes in with the cake, and they discuss the attack on Pearl Harbor. Michael announces he has left college to enlist in the Marines, leaving Sonny furious, Tom incredulous, and Fredo supportive. Vito is heard at the door and all but Michael leave the room to greet him.

Michael sits alone by the lake at the family compound.

. Wikipedia

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Top 100 Movies you must Watch... 2- The Godfather

1972 Film

9.2/10-IMDb

100%-Rotten Tomatoes

Release date: March 24, 1972 (USA)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Adapted from: The Godfather

Featured songs: I Have But One Heart, Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from The Godfather)

Screenplay: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola

Description

On the day of his only daughter's wedding, Vito Corleone hears requests in his role as the Godfather, the Don of a New York crime family. Vito's youngest son, Michael, in a Marine Corpsuniform, introduces his girlfriend, Kay Adams, to his family at the sprawling reception. Vito's godson Johnny Fontane, a popular singer, pleads for help in securing a coveted movie role, so Vito dispatches his consigliere, Tom Hagen, to the abrasive studio head, Jack Woltz, to secure the casting. Woltz is unmoved until the morning he wakes up in bed with the severed head of his prized stallion.

Shortly before Christmas 1945, drug baron Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo, backed by the Corleones' rivals, the Tattaglias, asks Vito for investment in the emerging drug trade and protection through his political connections. Vito disapproves of drug dealers, so he sends his enforcer, Luca Brasi, to spy on them. The family then receives two fish wrapped in Brasi's vest, imparting that he "sleeps with the fishes". An assassination attempt by Sollozzo's men lands Vito in the hospital, so his eldest son, Sonny, takes command. Sollozzo kidnaps Hagen to pressure Sonny to accept his deal. Michael thwarts a second assassination attempt on his father at the hospital, but is accosted by corrupt police captain McCluskey, who breaks his jaw; Sonny retaliates by having Tattaglia's son killed. Michael comes up with a plan to hit Sollozzo and McCluskey that his brother approves over Hagen's objections: on the pretext of settling the dispute, Michael lures the pair to a restaurant, retrieves a planted handgun and murders them.

Despite a clampdown from the authorities, the Five Families erupt in open warfare and the brothers fear for their safety. Michael takes refuge in Sicily, and Fredo Corleone is sheltered by associate Moe Greene in Las Vegas. Sonny attacks his brother-in-law Carlo on the street for abusing his sister Connie. When it happens again, Sonny speeds for her home but assassins ambush him at a highway toll booth and riddle him with submachine gun fire.

Vito is saddened to learn that, despite his hopes, Michael has become involved in the family business. However, Michael has fallen in love with Apollonia Vitelli and married her in Sicily. His euphoria is shattered when a car bomb intended for him takes the life of his new wife.

To end the feuds, Vito meets with the heads of the Five Families, withdrawing his opposition to the Tattaglias' heroin business and swearing to forgo revenge for Sonny's murder. He deduces that the Tattaglias were under orders of the now dominant Don Emilio Barzini. With his safety guaranteed, Michael returns home and over a year later marries Kay. His father at the end of his career and his surviving brother too weak, Michael takes the reins of the family and promises his wife to make it legitimate within five years.

Biding his time, Michael allows rival families to pressure Corleone enterprises even as he plans to move family operations to Nevada, while delegating New York operations to members who stay behind. Hagen, upset when Michael replaces him with Vito, is mollified by the older man's reassurance about their long-range plans for him. When Michael travels to Las Vegas to buy out Greene's stake in the family's casinos, Greene derides the Corleones as a fading power. To add injury to insult, Michael sees Fredo falling under Greene's sway.

Vito collapses and dies in his garden while playing with Michael's son, Anthony. At the funeral, caporegime Salvatore Tessio arranges a meeting between Michael and Don Barzini, signalling his treachery as Vito had warned. The meeting is set for the same day as the christening of Connie's son, to whom Michael will stand as godfather. As the christening proceeds, Corleone assassins, acting on Michael's orders, murder the other New York dons and Moe Greene. Tessio is told that Michael is aware of his betrayal and taken off to his death. After Carlo is questioned by Michael on his involvement in setting up Sonny's murder and confesses he was contacted by Barzini, caporegime Peter Clemenza kills him with a wire garrote. Michael is confronted by Connie, who accuses him of having her husband killed. He denies killing Carlo when questioned by Kay, an answer she accepts. As Kay watches warily, Michael receives his capos, who address him as the new Don Corleone.

. Wikipedia

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