This pitch-perfect adaptation of Elmore Leonard's "Rum Punch" delivers the goods-and then some. With its cheeky dialogue, blasts of violence, and an eccentric gallery of characters, "Jackie Brown" exemplifies the kind ...

This original cinematic adaptation of Holocaust survivor Jurek Becker’s autobiography manages to be funny and heartbreaking all at once. (Beware the American remake with Robin Williams). With admirable delicacy, Jacob ...

This 1957 release directed by Richard Thorpe is most often cited as Elvis's best film, and rightly so. It certainly feels closest to Elvis's own story and persona, as Hollywood had yet to sully the King's talent with an ...

This invaluable documentary gives Dean fans of any age exactly what they crave: tons of rare footage, from his earliest professional acting stint (a Pepsi commercial!) to his bold turns on live TV soundstages, starring ...

Welles put his distinctive stamp on this haunting adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's canonical novel playing the brooding, ill-starred baron who falls for his humble governess, movingly played by the fresh-faced Fontaine. ...

Even if you’ve read the book or seen the earlier film version with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, you’ll be struck by the emotional intensity of this masterful remake. The casting is inspired—the two lead actors ...

Woefully unheralded war classic came five years after our own "Longest Day", and matches that film in conveying all the complexities of turning the tide of war; indeed, in this case, bringing it to a deeply humiliating, ...

A legend in his time, Ray Harryhausen was the undisputed master of stop-motion animation. And working closely with director Don Chaffey in “Argonauts”, he created his masterpiece. For preteens, it was thrilling to ...

Still under age 30 when released, wunderkind director Spielberg hit the big time with this runaway box-office hit, based on Peter Benchley's novel. John Williams's unforgettable score and Spielberg's clever mounting of ...

This special film should be catnip not only for jazz fans, but all music lovers. The jams indeed soar, what with performers like Satchmo and Gerry Mulligan playing their hearts out, and Mahalia Jackson showcasing her ...

Cocteau's influence on cinema-especially in France-is hard to overstate. From his early dalliance in surrealism (Bunuel and Picasso were close friends) to the development of his own special effects and uniquely magical ...

Adapted from Marcel Pagnol's two-volume novel, Claude Berri's magnificent "Jean de Florette" (and its sequel, "Manon of the Spring"), center on the bounty we owe to water, comprising two parts of one rich story. The ...

Director Tamra Davis was Basquiat’s close friend, and while her film examines his life as a public figure—taking into account varying opinions on the man and his legacy—it is always through the loving, largely ...

Despite the long running time, Akerman’s meticulously detailed slice-of-life drama pays handsome rewards to those who surrender to its real-time rhythm. Akerman is so attentive to Dielman’s monotonous existence that it ...

While so many films from Israel focus on the political and religious conflicts in the region, this whimsical secular fantasy reminds us that individual human stories happen there as well. The screenplay, co-written by ...

Cameron Crowe's directorial breakthrough (he also scripted) is an infectious comedy-romance buoyed by a star-making turn from Zellwegger, and an Oscar-winning comic performance from Gooding. Young Lipnicki is pretty ...

By focusing intently on a single woman's efforts to raise a theocratic revival in America, film-makers Grady and Ewing have supplied us with a thumbnail sketch of this country's fastest growing, most influential social ...

Quebecois director Arcand is known for intelligent and stimulating films like "Montreal," which broaches a controversial subject-the historical accuracy of Christ's crucifixion and the true message of his teachings-with ...

But this is no “Last Temptation of Christ”—nor is it a grotesque death march a la “Passion of the Christ.” Reverent, enthralling, and ardently faithful to the Gospels, this solemn, sensitive film is epic in scope, yet ...

"Jezebel" was Davis's consolation prize for not landing the part of Scarlett O'Hara. Inevitably compared to "Gone With the Wind" (released one year later), this lavish melodrama stands on its ...