The anger that fuels Ferguson's film is felt in nearly every frame.

Few filmmakers have rivaled director Frank Capra when it comes to examining the human heart, and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is a masterfully crafted exercise in sentiment, augmented by Capra's undying faith in community. Reed and Barrymore give excellent performances, as does a superb cast of character players, but this is Stewart's film--heart-stirring as the dreamer who sacrifices all for his fellow man.

Acclaimed stage director Nicholas Hytner was obviously determined to make his cinematic debut a memorable one. He doesn't just open up the play; he scatters it across sun-drenched country fields, seemingly all of London, and every nook and cranny of the royal residence. Despite the talents involved, however, the effect is surprisingly static and unexciting, probably because the source material is the kind of talky tour de force that is best carried off on the stage. Even so, Hawthorne's performance is tremendously intelligent and affecting.

This brilliant, often devastating look at Hollywood and the real world behind its tinsel is arguably Preston Sturges's greatest film.

Downhill Racer is fascinating viewing, even if the closest you've gotten to a ski slope is "Wide World of Sports."

Argento here presents a stylish and compelling film that boasts remarkable visuals and an inventive use of sound effects and music.

And while this director's cut doesn't really differ all that much from the original 1979 release, it contains a few minutes of never-before seen footage, including one serious bitch slap and an entire scene in which Ripley stumbles upon a few not-quite-dead crew members whose terrible fates foreshadow James Cameron's 1986 sequel.

Despite mostly unprofessional acting, near nonexistent production values, homemade special effects, and cheap grainy black-and-white film stock, the film is a triumph.

It's heartfelt entertainment and anyone who ever whistled a tune, tapped a toe or hummed a bar of music will love it.

One of Hitchcock's greatest entertainments, Foreign Correspondent is also a stirring propaganda piece which clearly indicts the Nazi regime.

Campion's eye is extraordinary. She searches out the detail that makes the image, and the image that tells the story more eloquently than words ever could.

Though grim and offbeat, Of Mice And Men is a noble morality tale that can be appreciated for its simplicity. The acting is faultless and Copland's score is magnificent.

THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE captures a sense of realism rare in any type of film, bringing us deep beneath the surface of the characters' exteriors.

While the story is thin, Clouzot uses his immense skills to raise the picture above the standard for the genre.

Not a frame is wasted in this taut, superbly directed, masterfully acted film, the first so-called "adult Western." (Review of Original Release)

In this powerful study of juvenile violence, Dean is riveting as a teenager groping for love from a society he finds alien and oppressive.

This is sentimentality of the best kind, a touching display of male bonding amid terror and aching loneliness worthy of Howard Hawks at his finest.

Tough-minded, moving study of a working-class housewife's mental breakdown, enhanced by superb performances from Rowlands, in the title role, and Falk as her husband.

The oddly cast Sharif is better than usual, but Streisand, of course, is most of the show, belting out songs, pulling heartstrings, alternating between raucous slapstick and dramatic power, and generally demonstrating that she has arrived in a big way.

Easily the best of the many versions of the Stevenson horror classic.

In a startling move, Oliveira devotes the first 15 minutes of the film to the final moments of Ionesco's play, and it's thrilling to watch.

One of Coppola's very best.

Master director Whale, here essaying his first musical, does some typically marvelous things with the camera and mise-en-scene and gets wonderful performances from his cast.

This film lacks the cinematic boldness of Olivier's earlier screen Shakespeare; there's nothing here to match the gloomy mise-en-scene of Hamlet or the cocky theatrical conceits of Henry V. But his riveting performance transcends his conventional directing and utterly dominates the movie.

The film has some of Disney's most spectacular animation yet -- particularly in the wildebeest stampede -- and strong vocal performances, especially by skilled Broadway comedian Nathan Lane. However, it suffers from a curiously undeveloped story line.

Lee occasionally stumbles as a documentarian... But the material is so profoundly moving that it hardly matters.

Possibly Ingmar Bergman's finest film and a landmark in film history.

What's most important here is that THE SEVENTH SEAL, for all its downbeat aspects, is so gripping as to be entertaining in an enlightening way. Less austere and more visually striking than some of Bergman's later films.