Polanski has a go at the film noir detective thriller, very bleak, very twisted and very menacing it is to. Nicholson plays a private-eye in pre-war LA who is hired to pursue an adultery case, but finds himself embroiled in a complicated murder investigation.
find out more...
GOSFORD PARK (2007)
Certification15 Our Rating
The year is 1932 and the world of the aristocracy is drawing to an inevitable close, but in the house of Sir William McCordle such realities are forgotten for a weekend shooting party. As the eclectic mixture of guests arrive so the belly of the house also swells with various valets and personal servants; but as characters develop it becomes clear that some have neglected to know their place and before the weekend is out a murder has been committed. 'Gosford Park' is a quite stunning recreation
find out more...
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984)
Certification18 Our Rating
The definitive gangster-epic; violent? Yes, but never mindless. The Jewish Mafia's coming of age on the Lower East Side in 1923, their rise to wealth during Prohibition, and their fall in 1933, provide the background to a story of friendship and betrayal, love and death. Leone's masterful cinematography evokes both the harshness of the vice-ridden decades before and after Prohibition, but also the philosophy behind it. Splendid performances by De Niro and Woods and a stupendous score by Ennio Mo
find out more...
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
Certification12 Our Rating
Laughton's only stab at directing, with Mitchum giving a stunning performance as the psychopathic preacher who, whilst in jail for a minor offence, hatches a devious plan to get his hands on the loot stashed by his condemned cell-mate. Set in '30s rural America, the film polarises into a struggle between good and evil for the souls of innocent children. Laughton's deliberately old-fashioned direction throws up a startling array of images: an amalgam of Mark Twain-like exteriors (idyllic riversid
find out more...
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946)
CertificationPG Our Rating
One of the all-time classic film noirs. Sultry Lana Turner is hypnotic as the bored, beautiful wife whose dreary life takes a dramatic turn when enigmatic drifter Frank walks into the diner she runs. Only her good-natured husband stands in the way of the pair's deadly passion. Superb stuff.
find out more...
THE STING (1973)
CertificationPG Our Rating
The famous con man movie in which two Chicago shysters plot an elaborate revenge on the mobster who killed their friend. Brilliant attention to period detail, a superbly put together plot and an overall damn good movie. Won Best Picture at 1973 Academy Awards. Absolutely brilliant.
find out more...
THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987)
Certification15 Our Rating
Al Capone and the Chicago gangsters versus Elliot Ness and the incorruptable men of his special task force, all set against a brilliantly re-created period background. Very much a traditional gangster movie, good guys are very good and the bad guys, especialy De Niro as Capone, are very bad.
find out more...