12 reasons movies give to rip up the floor and dig

Sometimes you have to pick up your shovel and dig up that floor. Here are some reasons from the movies.
 

Reason 1. Save the World
The Core (2003) 

The Earth’s core has stopped spinning and the world is about to end. They need to dig to the centre of the earth and need to do it faster than their bare hands can shovel. Manning a giant bore, a team of scientists have to drill down to the Earth’s core, in order for the world to be saved. Also check out the original Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959), although the special effects are funky.

Reason 2. Work as a Team
The Great Escape (1963) 

This is the true story of the men held at a German POW camp with a history of attempted escape. When the inevitable escape plan gets under way, each man contributes his expertise, like the ‘Tunnel Kings’, who have to dig out the three tunnels that take the soldiers to freedom. Seventy-five manage to escape before the tunnel is found but, unfortunately for most, their freedom is short-lived. Maybe the tunnels should have taken them a little further away.

Reason 3. To Buy Some Baubles
Sexy Beast (2001) 

It all starts when one very large rock rolls down the hills past London gangster Gary Dove’s villa and crashes into his swimming pool, which sets in motion a disastrous chain of events. Motivated by his pushy ex-boss and a wife who is rather fond of the finer things in life, Gary is forced to come out of retirement and do one last job, which involves a bunch of middle-aged overweight thugs crashing through the wall of a swimming pool..

Reason 4. Prove your Innocence
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 

A man accused of murdering his wife and her lover is will spend the rest of his life in prison. Over the coming years he finds his way to inner peace and never gives up hope, especially when he manages to dig his way through the wall into the pipe network and, ultimately, his escape route. It sure takes some time, and at the start he is daunted by the sheer magnitude of the task ahead, but he gets there in the end.

Reason 5. Pass the Time
The Grand Illusion (1937) 

A bunch of Prisoners of War dig a tunnel, intending to escape from the camp where they are held. But just as the tunnel is almost complete, the prisoners are moved to another camp, which is a fortress with high walls and a 150ft drop. They do escape, but this time no digging is required as they shimmy down a rather large rope.

Reason 6. Find Buried Treasure
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)

Three guys set off to search for a chest of gold buried in a grave at a faraway graveyard. Angel Eyes knows of it. Blondie knows which grave it’s buried in. Tuco knows which graveyard. Even if you hate Westerns, you will love this film.

Reason 7. Cover Your Tracks
Coup de Torchon (1981) 

Local police chief-turned-avenger runs around town bumping off the bad-guy lowlifes who he figures the townspeople won’t miss. He orders his assistant to dig a grave for one of his victims and when it looks like his assistant may have figured out what is going on and who is really behind the neighbourhood killing spree, the good guy really turns bad when he kills the assistant and buries both the bodies in the grave.

Reason 8. Get Revenge
Count of Monte Cristo (2002) 

While digging a tunnel to escape the prison where he is wrongfully held, the betrayed Edmond Dantes accidentally kills the priest who has taught him to read and write. The priest’s dying act is to give Edmond the map to help him find the way to a fabulous treasure trove. He does escape from prison, befriends a pirate, finds a huge pile of treasure and eventually becomes known as the Count of Monte Cristo.

Reason 9. To Spend Someone Else’s Money
Shallow Grave (1995) 

Three friends dig a shallow grave in the words in which to bury their flatmate, who has died from an overdose and left behind a large suitcase of stolen drug money. The plot twists and turns as the flatmates turn on each other when they decide to keep the cash – and spend it.

Reason 10. To Find Your Missing Stuff
The Borrowers (1997) 

Living under your floorboards, guarding over your misplaced keys, mislaid watches and the like are the little Leprachauns known as the Borrowers. And beware any unscrupulous activity above stairs: they may only be 4-inches tall but the little people will find out and exact their revenge on the unscrupulous, unsuspecting humans – and no matter how fast you rip up the boards you will be very lucky if you catch them!

Reason 11. Keep the Kids Amused
Gremlins (1985) 

An oddball bunch of kids are bored and in dire need of some holiday amusement. Cue a map of buried treasure, a couple of criminals and a forgotten brother chained up in a cellar beneath their play den. While fleeing the bad guys, the kids find the tunnels that lead to the treasure and set off on the trail with the crooks on their tails.

Reason 12. Escape Mad Woman and Menial Task
Woman in the Dunes (Suna no onna) (1964) 

A stranded Tokyo teacher in search of a particular sand beetle climbs down a rope ladder and stays with a woman who lives in a secluded house at the base of the large sand dune. She tragically lost her husband and son when they were buried under an avalanche of sand and spends her nights shovelling damp sand from dusk until dawn. The teacher wakes to find he has fallen into a large pit and the rope ladder has disappeared. He is trapped and has to work as a replacement husband for the woman and is expected to work with her, shovelling sand, day after day.