Ava Gardner is superb in this glitzy Hollywood reprise of the Cinderella story. She is Maria, the Hollywood starlet who rises from poverty and spends all her time trying to deny and forget her past, much to her own unhappiness. Touching glamorous and superbly directed by Mankiewicz.

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Nothing more can be said about this classic melodrama from the peak of the Hollywood studio-film era. Hardened cynic Bogart softens when he meets old flame Bergman who is now a refugee in neutral wartime Casablanca. Together they outwit the Germans... and of course there's that famous song. Watch this classic or some day you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow... find out more...

A landmark in the history of the cinema; it was ranked Number 1 in the American Film Institute's 100 greatest films of all time in two polls (1998 and 2007) of more than 1,500 film industry movers and shakers and again by UK directors in a BFI poll. "Citizen Kane" narrates the rise and fall of a newspaper tycoon driven by a childhood obssession and is loosely based round the life of William Randolph Hurst, who tried to have it banned, but incorporates elements from the lives of other fat cats il find out more...

Paul Newman revels in his role as the sassy and irreverent Luke Jackson, a rebellious prisoner, (sentenced for cutting the heads off parking meters one drunken night!), in one of Florida's notorious prison chain gangs. His refusal to conform wins him the respect of his fellow inmates, but, following the death of his mother, he decides to escape. Newman's role won critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination. A witty and well-observed film, with some very funny scenes, (see the boiled egg race!) find out more...

A father is haunted by the death of his young child. Omens point to disaster and hallucinations predict the future as this wonderful atmospheric film moves to its disturbing climax. Shot in the beautiful city of Venice and based on the book by Daphne du Maurier.

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Brilliantly directed story about a psychotic Hollywood scriptwriter, who is suspected of murder but given a false alibi by his gorgeous neighbour. Bogart's character never lets up and you're never sure if he's guilty or not, and nor is his lovestruck neighbour. As the police close in, it develops into a beautifully tense psychological thriller, did he do it and will the girl stand by her man? Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! find out more...

Huge epic, set during the heyday of Republican Rome, in all its ostentatious glory. The story details the purchase and selection of slaves, the harsh discipline and routine of the gladiators' school, the new comradeship balked by the realisation that a gladiator must kill or be killed. Then the film really comes into its own with the superbly staged revolt and escape, led by the slave who, with his unlikely army, holds the Roman army at bay for four years. Magnificent, masterful....a classic! find out more...

Classic 50s sci-fi and the film that spawned a generation of alien-invasion flicks. When friendly alien visitor Klaatu is wounded by trigger-happy state troopers his robot mate seeks revenge, but Klaatu has a message for mankind and takes to the streets to teach the world the true meaning of peace. Brilliant. find out more...

A Regency romp following the lives of two friends from schoolgirl innocence to bitter betrayal. James Mason is on top form as the blue-blooded bounder who marries Phyllis Calvert, while Margaret Lockwood is hot stuff as the treacherous seductress who sets out to steal her best friend's husband. One of Gainsbrough's best and considered to be rather indecent in its day, it's something of a bawdy bodice-ripper.

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Fantastic Oscar winning film portraying the jury in what appears to be an open and shut murder case. Only Fonda expresses any doubt against the guilty verdict, and combined with the observations of an older man he begins to call the evidence, the witnesses, and the legal system into doubt. find out more...