A superbly lighthearted production, and the epitome of 1930s screwball comedies.

[An] utterly beguiling film.

An ideal animated film for young children, it has also found favor among adults who appreciate its unusually gentle, painterly style of animation, a trademark of the film's director, Japan's most renowned animator, Hayao Miyazaki.

Few debuts have been as impressive or odd as that made by the voice of Claude Rains in this macabre classic based on the novel by H.G.Wells.

Amadeus is a must for any music lover, any film lover, or anyone who reveres excellence.

While it may not be Chandler, it is a moody and entertaining film.

The second film in John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy" features John Wayne at his best and boasts some incredible, Oscar-winning Technicolor photography of Monument Valley.

If Sirk exploits the material for all it's worth and seems to be sardonically allowing the artifical genre to devour itself as he sits back and watches, at the same time the weepie aspect is so melodramatic as to tear the sobs from your throat.

The final effect, particularly the climactic ballroom sequence, is astonishing -- a haunting impression of the vast synchronicity of unbroken time that must surely stand as one of the great achievements in the development of the movie medium.

Simple but deeply touching documentary.

It's a creepily sensuous film that suggests that the dark and troubling things we like to repress inhabit dresser drawers, live behind the radiator or lie under the bed. They are part of the environment.

A hilarious black comedy and already something of a cult favorite.

This semiautobiographical work by Federico Fellini was the first film to bring him a measure of world attention.

This minor classic from the 60s time capsule is a self-conscious essay on the meaning of the media and the nature of political commitment.

It's extraordinarily sexy: The atmosphere is all cigarette smoke and Nat King Cole songs, silk suits and tight sheath dresses.

An intriguingly mysterious, self-reflexive ode to the dream factory, it's one of Lynch's most satisfying films.

One of the most inventive and invigorating nonfiction features ever made.

Literally, a slice of life.

A rapt fascination with transcendent lunacy runs through Herzog's work, both fiction and documentary; while disdaining Treadwell's rhapsodically anthropomorphized vision of nature.

Goldfinger contains more crowd-pleasing moments than any other Bond film, including Oddjob's flying bowler, a laser beam that almost emasculates Bond, the lavishly accessorized Aston Martin DB5, and the bizarre murder of Goldfinger's secretary (Shirley Eaton): she's gilded to death. It also features Shirley Bassey's terrific rendition of the Leslie Bricusse-Anthony Newley title song.

From the outrageously frightening opening--in which a beautiful young woman skinny-dipping in the moonlight is devoured by the unseen shark--to the claustrophobic climax aboard Quint's fishing boat, Spielberg has us in his grip and rarely lets go.

Spartacus is still a remarkable epic--one of the greatest tales of the ancient world ever to hit the screen. It's especially strong, and more typical of Kubrick, in the first half--before satire gives way to sentiment.

Eminently worth seeing, even if it leaves you wishing it were as consistently inventive as Aardman's first feature, "Chicken Run" (2000).

The action varies from a show-stopping train/bus wreck of Schwarzeneggerian proportions, to some more ironically staged pursuits which throw a welcome dash of "Tom and Jerry" into the mix.

Featuring some astonishing acting from the highly trained animal stars and some beautiful shots of the Canadian high country, this simply told, episodic tale is great for kids and not too bad for big people either.

It's full of humor, pathos and a deep humanism that comes as a warm blast in this age of lifeless, cinematic junk.

Reed, one of Britain's finest directors, made his name with this haunting, lyrical masterpiece about a doomed fugitive.

Moreno's subtly calibrated mix of intelligence, naivete, rebelliousness, charisma and practicality produces an unforgettable protagonist; even Maria's recklessness seems reasonable because it's so clearly rooted in desperation.

This delightful, fast-paced and entirely fictional imagining of Shakespeare's life during the writing of "Romeo and Juliet" brims with witticisms predicated on the determination to have a rollicking good time exploring the link between libido and creativity.

This exceptional film features some of the most beautiful cinematography ever seen on film, in service of some of the most horrible images imaginable.

They're answers that will either earn your respect, or further damn him as the architect of an American nightmare.

While Gyllenhaal is a competent actor, Ledger - surprisingly enough - is becoming a great one, and the levels of intensity they bring to their roles render this romantically star-crossed relationship emotionally lopsided.

Expertly crafted and brilliantly acted, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is one of the most durable and engrossing adventure films ever made.

The Wicker Man is intelligent entertainment that takes its subject seriously without resorting to gratuitous effects to make a point. It remains a fine example of occult horror that remains with the viewer well past its conclusion.

A bold, painful memoir that finds an innovative middle-ground between conventional documentary and a homemade, home-movie collage.

The spectacle is absolutely enthralling, and even a bit frightening.

The film is filled with humor, compassion and cajones, and never once glosses over the fact that these guys are prickly personalities who can sometimes act like jerks. There are also a few tears, but remarkably, not a single one is shed in pity.

Anyone looking for the comfort in a tense thriller ending in a satisfying restoration of order and psychological security will be bitterly disappointed, but Haneke isn't in the business of encouraging comforting illusions.

Delightful, sophisticated comedy sparked by the famous chemistry between Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

A fascist film, or a film about a fascist cop? Either way, this is suspenseful, energetic stuff, directed with urgency and style by Cahiers du Cinema favorite Don Siegel.

Classic melodrama given a thoroughly modern, utterly Almodovarian face-lift.

This film is the product of artists working at the peak of their powers.

On the surface, nothing really happens, but to call it a nonevent would be to miss the point entirely.

One of director Jack Conway's finest efforts, the film never suffers from a sense that the novel has been compressed or rushed. Moving, fresh and aware of its effects, this film stands as one of Hollywood's finest adaptations of a novel.

A wonderfully funny and creative film with a cornucopia of comical characters in absurd situations. These loony elements combine to offer some perceptive observations about human joy, fear, and passion for food.

I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! is a beautiful film about the profound effects of nature on people, and that fact that the universe can be a wondrous and magical place if one keeps oneself open to its vast mysteries.

Travolta gives a sensitive performance, as does the director's then-wife Nancy Allen. The film's emphasis on the role of sound technology in movie-making is unusual and instructive.

The Magician is still fascinating, presenting a myriad of challenging ideas about magic, reality, and the nature of film itself. The acting, as in typical in Bergman, is exceptionally good, with Bjornstrand a standout.

Inexpensively shot on digital video, it's an invaluable work of art.

The ultimate arty 60s thriller, and we mean that as a compliment.

Beautifully edited by Soderbergh, the film is evenly paced, its subtleties accreting slowly, and by the end it gathers powerful emotional momentum.

Though it offers a host of fine performances in a smoothly crafted, adult drama of unfulfilled love, it lacks the cumulative dramatic impact of the team's best work.

A masterpiece of satire and one of the more controversial films of its day, TO BE OR NOT TO BE is a brilliant example of how comedy can be as effective in raising social and political awareness as a serious propaganda film, while still providing hilarious entertainment.

Dog Day Afternoon benefits immeasurably from a cast and crew doing some of the finest work of their careers. One of the finest films of the 1970s.

Kristin Scott Thomas is the film's revelation. She takes center stage as a smart, fearless woman who's utterly irresistible.

Though one wonders if Arau couldn't have found more visual parallels for Esquivel's narrative, overall the film is a witty, charming diversion that struck a chord with audiences.

Although the story is admittedly slight, Redford demonstrates a tremendous understanding of his subjects, wealthy white suburbanites who struggle to conceal the rage and fear that eats away at them. His quiet, gentle direction is epitomized in memorably painful moments, such as the famous photo scene, when the squelched feelings threaten to explode.

The film ends with a return to the beach, and one of the most psychologically chilling and expertly photographed shots imaginable.

The ultimate in lush melodrama, Written on the Wind is, along with Imitation of Life, Douglas Sirk's finest directorial effort, and one of the most notable critiques of the American family ever made.

A disturbing, boldly conceived story.

From its explosive intro to its surprisingly giddy finale (think WHITE HEAT), this glossy adaptation is arch, nasty fun.

In direct contrast to the flag-waving, jingoistic propaganda films typical of Hollywood during WWII, John Ford's They Were Expendable is a somber and moving account of America's defeat in the Philippines early in the war.

An odd, unsettling film which suggests the dangers of both emotional restraint and unchecked passion, Black Narcissus is also one of the most visually beautiful films ever made in color.

Where this still vital series was once about what sets us apart, it now seems to be turning towards the things that, in the end, render us all equal.

Eastwood's slow-building story of loss and deliverance is a fine, understated piece of storytelling that earns every emotional body blow it lands.

The film perfectly captured a specific time and place, illuminating simple truths regarding the human condition, while unveiling an important, powerful, and visionary new force in the American cinema.

Depending on your own feelings, you will find Fontaine either endearing or totally maddening. Whichever, she's right in the part; and Hitchcock's relentless camera seems to luxuriate in her emotional masochism.

Quietly devastating... Extremely unsettling, at times amusing, cold yet personal, Dead Ringers gradually and deliberately comes to horrify the viewer, rather than shocking outright.

He (Anderson) manages to guide his cast of characters through an epic story of self-delusion with a skill and grace that many more experienced filmmakers would be hard put to match.

Oddly enough, this uncharacteristic offering from a director whose name instantly evokes a very particular kind of film -- call it postmodern American gothic -- is also one of his best.

Expertly directed and written with an infectious undercurrent of wry humor, this classic WWII POW escape yarn features an all-star cast of hardened Allied prisoners who the Germans have thrown together in a special escape-proof camp.

THE BIG SLEEP comes magically alive through Hawks's careful direction and Bogart's persona, which is twin to his character of Philip Marlowe.

The film has a strikingly unsettling mood that enhances its power and gives it an impact that the story would otherwise lack. Much of the credit, though, must go to Spacek, who so convincingly portrays Carrie's pain and her longing for acceptance.

Hope and Glory is a wonderful film, an intelligent, heartfelt, personal, and marvelously entertaining look at what it was like to grow up in wartorn England.

Meticulously observed and devastatingly well-acted.

What really makes The Thin Man an enduring classic, though, is the interplay between Powell and Loy, one of the greatest happily married couples ever to flicker on a screen.

Nicole Kidman does the best work of her career in a character that seems to fit her tighter than pantyhose. Swathed in camera-friendly pastels, she's dead from the neck up (a scene with uncredited George Segal confirms that) but she's got legs like scissors, ambition like a knife, and a will of pure steel.

Nobody's Fool is to be commended just for acknowledging the existence of old age in the context of youth-obsessed pop culture; more importantly, the film is refreshingly frank about the everyday struggles of many senior citizens in an era of fractured families and a disappearing social safety net.

The true star of this nerve-racking family crime drama, shot with a minimum of fuss by Ron Fortunato, is playwright and first-time screenwriter Kelly Masterson's deft script, which carefully develops each fatally flawed character and tells their stories in achronological flashbacks that seamlessly fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

A bleak but mordantly funny portrait of three aimless characters who discover that paradise isn't such an easy place to find.

Landmark gangster film that made a huge commercial and cultural splash.

When it's good, very good; when it's bad, a stinker.

Ford's performance is an underrated but remarkable achievement; he succeeds in fully embodying a comic-book style hero without ever descending into camp.

The most infuriating revelation in Amy Berg's powerful documentary is the lengths to which current Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney and other church officials went to protect Father O'Grady and themselves, even though it meant knowingly delivering countless other children into a child molester's hands.

Seldom have such complexity, emotional depth, honesty, and realism been invested in what is ostensibly a teen love story.

The good news is that, as sitcom-style theater goes, The Odd Couple is often highly amusing, with Lemmon and Matthau ideally cast as prissy neatnik and unmitigated slob.

Miraculously mad masterpiece.

Patton is a war movie of unusual depth and a landmark in screen biographies.

Westlake's screenplay has the right combination of vivid characters, mordant wit and avaricious savagery which distinguishes the best noir.

Though meticulously researched, well acted and filled with striking moments, the movie ultimately feels oddly disconnected.

This ode to the peculiar strength and flexibility of love, romantic and platonic, is simultaneously perverse, overwrought, deeply creepy and truly moving, a high-wire act that finds humor in the grotesque and hope in emotional malformation.

By inflating the life of a common shop girl into a musical spectacle, Demy succeeds in turning a tedious existence into a fantasy, yet he and cinematographer Jean Rabier and art director Bernard Evein do so without creating a false world. [review of original release]

THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE is a delightful romantic comedy which combines a strong cast, great production values, and a good musical score with professional direction by Walsh in a skillfull entertainment.

Swank's nuanced performance is remarkable and it's a powerful film.

In this very personal portrait, Davies, the artist, has re-created universal experiences--familiar passions and needs--that draw us to his family's humanity.

Aladdin is a fairy tale with an edge--a popular children's story that will have even the most media-savvy parents straining to keep up with Williams's machine-gun delivery of quips, allusions and imitations.

Thom Andersen's idiosyncratic, three-hour masterpiece is both a dazzling work of film criticism and a fascinating piece of urban anthropology.

British director Shane Meadows' strongest film to date is also his most personal: A stylish fictionalization of his own wayward youth, spent among a group of working-class skinheads in Thatcher's England.