Based on the bizarre Leopold-Loeb murder case that gripped the nation back in the mid-1920s, Richard Fleischer's eerie "Compulsion" is a tense, stylish true-crime thriller. Actors Stockwell and Dillman bring the ...

Known for his stop-animation fantasies based on "Alice in Wonderland" and the Faust legend, Czech surrealist Svankmajer has honed to a fine point his characteristic blend of Eastern European puppetry and Euro weirdness ...

Supported by an impressive array of well researched, thoughtfully arranged facts and hypotheses, “Sword” presents a persuasive and damning portrait of religious intolerance in the Catholic Church, particularly against ...

In the hands of New Wave master Godard, this brilliant, piercing film about alienation and the end of a marriage is also quite overtly about the cinema itself - especially the role of art in relation to commercial ...

With his debut film, photographer Anton Corbijn recreates the milieu of working-class Britain and the raw Manchester dance music of that era with an almost documentary fidelity to tone and detail. But it's the wrenching ...

At a time of war, truth is often the first casualty. Noujaim, a Harvard-educated Egyptian-American with one film to her credit ("Startup.com") sought to know more about the Al-Jazeera operation, and she couldn't have ...

"Luke" is a work that transformed Newman from movie star to anti-authoritarian folk hero. Clearly the actor was attracted to the dispossessed, in life and in film. His Luke is two things at once: a loser whose ...

More aptly titled "Poulet Au Vinaigre" (Chicken With Vinegar) in France, this quintessential Chabrol whodunit is indeed a pungently sour portrayal of the deadly intrigues that can hatch in seemingly close-knit, ...

Stallone wisely took the nuanced, meaty role of Freddy as a change of pace from his usual comic book hero parts, and he is surprisingly good here. Keitel also scores as the crooked cop with the most to lose who vastly ...

Selick’s animated spook tale, based on the book by Neil Gaiman, is utterly bewitching, and not just because it puts an eerie, macabre twist on the perennial new-kid-on-the-block scenario. The voicing by Fanning, ...

One of the most popular films ever to be released in Chile, Calozzi’s “Coronation” is a marvel of rhythm and observation (no surprise, considering Calozzi’s experience as a cinematographer). An indelible portrait of ...

William Wyler's engrossing, head-spinning drama features Barrymore in a knockout role as a hotshot attorney with a formidable track record, a notable penchant for hard-luck cases, and a fawning softness for his ...

First and foremost, “Crazy Heart” serves as a fabulous showcase for star Bridges, who snagged a well-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of a broken-down man who suddenly finds reason to seek redemption. Gylllenhaal is ...

With "Cria Cuervos," Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura plunges us into a child's-eye view of the world where past and present coincide, and fantasy and reality mix just as freely--at times rather uneasily. The ...

When it comes to dramatizing the dark night of the soul, Swedish master Ingmar Bergman has no equal, and “Cries” is one of his finest achievements, focusing on mortality and a brand of despair about life’s myriad ...

This funny, intelligent drama trails two pairs of Manhattan men who couldn't be more different: Judah is an emblem of respectability and brother Jack's a wise-guy realist, while Cliff and Lester represent the divergent ...

Panahi's "Crimson Gold" draws a bead on class conflict in modern Tehran with unabashed directness, so it's no surprise the film was banned upon completion. Written by Abbas Kiarostami ("A Taste of Cherry"), the movie is ...

With its use of then cutting-edge portable camera and sound equipment, this historic doc achieves a rare and fascinating immediacy. Drew negotiated wide access for his camera operators (which included future filmmakers ...

This gripping, intricate little thriller boasts an intelligent script, atmosphere to spare and solid performances all around, particularly from Ryan and Young. The film remains as biting a condemnation of Anti-Semitism ...

What makes Istanbul so unique, we learn in Akin's fascinating documentary, is how closely its cross-cultural musical confections reflect Turkey's own geographical in-betweenness, as it sits precisely between the ...