One of the most compelling character-based films to emerge from the decade of the 1960s.

Yojimbo does not cause viewers to ponder deep issues in the way Rashomon does, nor does it possess the epic grandness of The Seven Samurai, yet it must still be considered in the top tier of Kurosawa's films. Stylish, compelling, and involving, it became as much a blueprint for future productions as it is an homage to past ones.

By introducing comedy into the mixture and telling the tale from an atypical perspective, Kurosawa has differentiated The Hidden Fortress from nearly every similar feudal era Japanese epic ever committed to the screen. This is a masterpiece that deserves more credit than it is often given.

Psycho is a brilliant excursion into fear that pushes many of our primal buttons, but it lacks the story and character complexity of Vertigo and Rear Window.

The Apartment represents Wilder at his most complete - seamlessly weaving the lighthearted and the serious without encountering a snarl or tangle.

North by Northwest is also surprisingly forthright when it comes to sexual matters. There aren't many euphemisms or double entendres in the interaction between Thornhill and Eve.

Taken as a whole, it’s excruciating in ways that few would consider enjoyable.

With an unnecessarily protracted running length of more than 140 minutes, Rio Bravo at times moves too slowly for its own good but the climax is as rousing as that of any Western made during the decade when the genre was at its peak.

It’s an adorable confection – light, airy, and largely without substance.

Hitchcock does a masterful job blending all of Vertigo's diverse elements together. It's a love story, a mystery, and a thriller all rolled into one. It deals with issues of obsession, psychological and physical paralysis, and the tenuous nature of romantic love. Vertigo should really be seen more than once to be fully appreciated. Many of the darker, deeper aspects only begin to bubble to the surface on subsequent viewings. [Restored version]

The post-World War II cinematic landscape is littered with big-budget movies about the conflict and the toll it took upon those who participated. Some of those pictures have become timeless classics and some are nearly forgotten. Few, if any, are as simultaneously thrilling, awe-inspiring, and tragic as The Bridge on the River Kwai

The stakes of those deliberations are so high, the personalities of the jurors so forceful, and the arguments so pregnant with importance that there is no instance in which boredom threatens.

Aggressive editing could have shortened Giant considerably, but the three hour twenty-one minute running time permits the tale to breathe. And, even at this length, there are times when events feel rushed or compressed... So, although Giant may not be a classic in the purest sense of the word, it's a fine example of a virtually-extinct genre.

Although Around the World in 80 Days offers gorgeous visuals, that’s not sufficient justification for watching a film – any film – for three hours.

High Society doesn't just have a voice -- it has a heart and a soul as well.

This is the one Godzilla movie in which the title character plays second fiddle to the humans. While the film's moral and ethical situations are interesting, they are not as compelling as the film's adherents would have us believe, and their resolutions are simplistic.

A thoughtful, existential meditation about the meaning of life and what constitutes a life well-lived, Ikiru is almost guaranteed to prod the viewer to examine his or her own mortality and ponder how, in the end, the scales will tip.

Although The Night of the Hunter offers many pleasures for students of film history, its ability to captivate a generation for which its qualities are so foreign is as much an indication of how degraded film literacy has become as a counterargument to the movie’s timelessness.

It’s a cliché to remark that “they don’t make them like they used to” but, in the case of Marty, it’s true.

Sabrina is playfully seductive, and will leave almost all viewers, even those as cold as Linus, with a smile on their lips and a warm glow in their hearts. [Review of re-release]

Simply put, Rear Window is a great film, perhaps one of the finest ever committed to celluloid. All of the elements are perfect (or nearly so), including the acting, script, camerawork, music (by Franz Waxman), and, of course, direction. The brilliance of the movie is that, in addition to keeping viewers on the edges of their seats, it involves us in the lives of all of the characters, from Jefferies and Lisa to Miss Torso. There isn't a moment of waste in 113 minutes of screen time.

On the Waterfront may have baggage, but that doesn't prevent it from being one of the great American productions of the mid-20th century.

The film tells a compelling story with many of the elements that audiences find appealing. However, 65 years later, there’s little about From Here to Eternity to differentiate it from other well-made productions of its era.

It delivers on everything it promises, from the modern day reverse-Cinderella fable to a fabric of low-key humor. [Review of re-release]

Stalag 17, despite often being labeled as one of Wilder's "lesser" films, is a bona fide classic, and an example of how an accomplished director can meld many elements into a workable whole.

The Quiet Man showcases [Wayne] as the leading man in an old fashioned romantic drama. Cast against type, Wayne pulls it off with aplomb, largely because his tremendous screen presence allows him to get away with gaffes that would sink other actors.

The Western may be one of the few truly American art forms, and High Noon shows exactly how much potential it can embrace.

The story, which retains an element of corny appeal, is hamstrung by a too-long running length that tries the viewer’s patience.