Pfeiffer is a revelation in her part, almost stealing the film. Her relative stillness, masking internal unrest, makes her character seem more authentically "period" than her co-stars, who have adopted no formal period mannerisms.

Salles is a master storyteller, and the film's pacing is flawless.

Moodysson puts it across with a sincerity that's genuinely heartwarming, and he sets it all to a surprisingly good soundtrack culled from the Swedish rock (who knew?) of the era.

Who'd have thought you'd find yourself caring so much about the fate of a flock of fryers? This chicken has legs -- lots of them.

Ritchie appears to have been paying attention to what made "Reservoir Dogs" (a huge hit in the UK) work, rather than coming away convinced that the formula for success begins and ends with pop-culture allusions and scarcely digested "homages" to classic crime films.

The film is informative, often grisly and undeniably riveting.

One of the greatest children's films ever, MARY POPPINS is as perfect and inventive a musical as anyone could see, with a timeless story, strong performances, a flawless blend of live action and animation, wonderful songs, and a sterling script with all the charm of the P.L. Travers books upon which it is based.

While it may lack the sheer comic anarchy of their other work, Life of Brian may be probably the funniest collective efforts concocted by the British comedy troupe "Monty Python's Flying Circus," is their most sustained effort. (Review of Original Release)

A virtuoso update. Gerard Depardieu's Cyrano is nothing short of magnificent.

Screenwriter Curt Siodmak patched together the legend of the werewolf by combining elements from lycanthropic folklore, witchcraft, and Bram Stoker's Dracula, creating a new monster for the screen. All elements combined to make a thrilling, scary, and ultimately tragic horror classic.

The film could easily be reduced to a parable of post-Communist Eastern Europe, but the allegory digs deeper into the very order of things, exemplified by 17th-century musicologist Andreas Werckmeister's arbitrary imposition of a "tempered" tonal system over naturally occurring tunings.

Superb performances by all involved, restrained direction by Wise, and a magnificent and innovative score by Bernard Herrmann help keep this 35-year-old film just as relevant today as it was the day it was released.

First-time feature director Tucker displays an astonishingly assured touch, allowing his phenomenal cast to creep into their characters' skins and surrounding them with images of shimmering and slightly threatening beauty.

Paul Newman gives one of his best comic performances in Robert Altman's underrated BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS, OR SITTING BULL'S HISTORY LESSON, an irreverent western satire that portrays American history as pure showbiz sham and "nothing more than disrespect for the dead," as Sitting Bull claims.

Roger & Me is a pointedly hilarious documentary about a subject that isn't remotely funny, the indifference of corporate America to the lives of its workers. First-time filmmaker Michael Moore shows a city ruined, not by lack of drive and hard work, but by simple corporate greed. He uses humor to keep the viewer involved in what could easily have been an unbearably depressing film.

Arguably one of the best horror films of the 1980s.

Based on a harrowing true story and fueled by a blistering, full-throttle performance from newcomer Crissy Rock, Ken Loach's LADYBIRD, LADYBIRD reconfirms his status as dean and foremost exponent of the British tradition of social realism.

The massive battle scenes rank with the director's best, using brilliant color, contrasting light, and the enormous cast to great advantage. Kurosawa also alternates compelling scenes of near hypnotic stillness with scenes of rousing action.

Like the violence in Alan Clarke's Elephant, the BBC documentary about Northern Ireland from which the film takes its name, Van Sant offers no straightforward reasons for what happens at this particular school. The explosion of violence is far from unmotivated, but its roots are presented as deeply personal and, even more troubling, ultimately inexplicable.

Written by Joe Dante and directed by Allan Arkush, this refreshingly wacky teenage film is filled with warped humor (including mice exploding to Ramones music), and makes wonderful use of the "so dumb they're smart" Ramones, who stepped to the fore when Cheap Trick backed out of the project. Nothing is taken seriously and nothing should be--it's only rock 'n' roll.

A brilliantly realized series of sucker punches, a philosophical howl disguised as a muscular guy movie.

In the end, the film is both a fitting elegy for Arna and the children she tried to help and a deeply disturbing warning about what will continue to breed within the occupied territories until peace is brought to Palestine.

Oliver! is better than most screen musicals of the 1960s, a period when oversized, poorly rendered songfests virtually killed the genre.

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

A pure, personal poem from one of the greats, THE TESTAMENT OF ORPHEUS allows Cocteau to live on forever.

The roots of Steve James's disturbing documentary lie in youthful idealism.

This mordantly funny, emotionally piquant depiction of post-adolescent angst also has its roots in the graphic novel format.

Leisen, who would go on to make Hold Back the Dawn and Lady in the Dark, rarely equalled the splendor of this film.