Phyllis Dietrichson is trapped in a loveless marriage to a man who inspires in her nothing but contempt, but rather than leave him Phyllis decides to kill him and collect on the insurance policy she's had set up with the help of her lover, and naive partner in crime, insurance salesman Walter Neff. The only flaws in their plan are the company's reluctance to pay out so much, the diligence of Neff's increasingly suspicious colleague, (and his 'little man'), and the exemplary ruthlessness of Ph find out more...

The highly eccentric and totally brilliant Alexandro Jodorowsky doesn't make films like anybody else. Directed, written by and starring the man himself "El Topo" is a violent, surreal, quasi-religious Western, if that makes sense (which like the film it doesn't). AJ plays the nomadic lone gunslinger of the title, mostly shooting people for the first half, before being reincarnated as the comedian-cum-holyman protector of a community of deformed outcasts. No doubt some would attempt to read all s find out more...

A very strange little number which was released, then immediately withdrawn in 1932 to remain banned for over fifty years. Still pretty disturbing today, despite the triumph of the various aesthetically-challenged "freaks" over their so-called normal tormenters, showing the revenge taken by a group of circus freaks on a beautiful trapeze artist and her strongman lover after they have tried to kill a midget for his fortune. find out more...

Christy Brown was an Irish cerebal palsy victim who overcame his severe handicap to become a talented painter and author with just the use of his left foot. Daniel Day Lewis is totally and utterly convincing as Brown - using method acting he became Brown and his thoroughness makes the film a great one. find out more...

Hitchcock's masterpiece. A news photographer is confined to his apartment by an injury and spends his days watching the neighbours. He comes to believe that he is witnessing the preparations for a murder. Based on the novel by Cornell Woolrich. Suspense, ambiguity and voyuerism; total brilliance! find out more...

A woman living in the modern world gets struck by a C20th disease, an allergy to all things environmentally unfriendly, and is forced to seek sanctuary in the Texas desert with the evangelical and the afflicted. A tale of our possible future? Psychological suspense, horrifying and occasionally comic. find out more...

A man deformed by a rare illness is taken up and patronised by fashionable London society - another freak show for the elephant man to be exhibited in. David Lynch's highly individual style here perfectly complements the film's material. A dark and brooding, yet sympathetic and sentimental film. find out more...

Scraping past the BBTF board by the skin of its teeth thanks to its notorious yet brief orgy scene, "The Idiots" picked up quite a bit of hype. It took the Cannes Film Festival by storm and shocked, disgusted and largely entertained audiences ever since. The plot centres around a group of friends who decide to explore their 'inner idiot' potential. As the characters throw morals aside, the film looks at the subversive effect on the society. Made under the Dogma 95 Manifesto created by 'Breaking find out more...

Originally banned by both the American and British censors, this has an Oscar nominated Frank Sinatra as you've never seen him before - as a strung-out junkie dealing with heroin addiction, a penchant for gambling at poker and a crippled wife, but trying to start a new life as a jazz drummer. A controversial film with an excellent jazz soundtrack. find out more...

Ex-child star Jane is a has-been losing her looks, who lives in a decaying Hollywood mansion with her younger sister, who had previously surplanted her as a movie star. An absolutely brilliant study of sibling rivalry, shattered dreams and power dynamics within relationships. Davis and Crawford at their best in this adaptation of a classic Henry Farrell novel. find out more...