It is certainly one of the best westerns ever made, and the best film of any kind to come out in 1969.

Although the filmmakers are subtle in their methods and unobtrusive in their interviewing style, they make their points forcefully.

Quite simply, Ran is a great, nightmarish motion picture.

Visually imaginative, thematically instructive and thoroughly delightful, it takes us on a roller-coaster ride from innocence to experience without even a hint of that typical kiddie-flick sentimentality.

The movie's sneaky intelligence pokes out in surprising, amusing ways.

This lush classic is funny, dramatic, thought-provoking and always, always, always romantic. [20 Sep 1991, p.43]

To fully appreciate Fantasia, it's best not to think of the animated sequences as visual adaptations of the music. Instead, think of the music as accompanying the images. [01 Nov 1991, p.28]

Much as I like Beauty and the Beast, I think I would have preferred it if its dark parts had even been darker. The brooding beast is a fascinating character to consider, and his fearsome battle with a vicious pack of wolves is one of the most powerful scenes in the movie.

Probably the greatest, wittiest and most eccentric of all classic horror films. [13 Feb 2000, p.F1]

The performances, direction and writing of one of the best pictures of 2010 make this Social Network every bit as addictive, and a little chilling as well.

It's a grim and depressing but powerful story, beautifully told through stunning animation. [25 Oct 2002, p.37]

Shadow of a Doubt is considered to be director Alfred Hitchcock's best American film. Hitchcock himself regarded it so. [02 Aug 1998, p.60]

The first masterpiece of Hollywood's golden age of musicals. [22 Dec 1996, p.63]

A classic of aggressive nonsense. Also, there is something tighter about Duck Soup as compared with their later efforts. It isn't just the absence of an extraneous love story, or the fact that Harpo doesn't play the harp and Chico doesn't "shoot the keys." Nor is it that much of the comedy crosses the magic line from parody into satire. It's a glistening patina of whimsy that rushes through the work, a heightened effervescence. In addition, the film is only 68 minutes long. [16 Dec 2001, p.16]

No, this offbeat story probably wouldn't make it on Matlock. But it does make for a gripping documentary about a particular way of life - and of death. [05 Jun 1993, p.E3]

A mad compound of naturalism, surrealism, farce and philosophy. [07 Jul 1996, p.65]

Frenzy, which was Hitchcock's 54th and next-to-last film, displayed a macabre sense of humor, playful use of film techniques and edge-of-the-seat suspense. [27 Feb 2000, p.60]

Longer, more thorough and tweaked to play to modern audiences better, Apocalypse Now Redux packs every bit the wallop it did when it was new. After Gallipoli and Full Metal Jacket, after even Platoon, it remains the definitive anti-war war movie.

Dazzling, scary and sentimental.

This 1935 adaptation flourishes because of a tasty, idiosyncratic cast (W.C. Fields, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Barrymore) that nicely matches up with Dickens' characterizations, and because of the assured production and direction of David O. Selznick and George Cukor, both at the top of their respective games. [02 Feb 1992, p.G1]

This unblinking look at America's Red State Crystal Meth Belt is an instant Southern Gothic classic.

Strip away the French and Arabic subtitles, the French-prison setting and the Muslim-messianic title, and A Prophet, opening Friday at The Enzian, would still be the grittiest prison thriller in years.

Profoundly moving. [24 Sept 1993, p.17]

Zaillian's usual weakness - a tendency to simplify and sentimentalize - asserts itself from time to time here. But much of the movie has a dry, almost documentary-like tone that helps to keep the material in perspective, as does the filmmaker's loving attention to detail. [13 Aug 1993, p.20]

James Cagney gives an electrifying performance as a psychotic and paranoiac mama’s boy in White Heat. The 1949 film is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying and violent crime films ever made.

Flynn's combination of lithe, animal grace, clear-eyed youthfulness, pure English-speaking voice and athletic prowess is irresistible. [01 Nov 1998, p.68]

The Yearling, based on Florida author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings novel, is one of the best depictions of American rural life that Hollywood has ever produced. [12 July 1998, p.60]

This is getting a little monotonous, but yes, it's another instant classic. [24 June 1994, p.17]