Perhaps the most influential period in cinema history was the Italian neo-realism period of the late 40s and director Vittorio De Sica was one of the prime reasons for this important period of film-making. "The Bicycle Thieves" is a film about a poor man whose only means for a job is his bicycle, which gets stolen. The film follows him and his young boy throughout war-ravaged Rome in search of the stolen bike. The trip involves some of the most brilliant vignettes in film history; the church, th find out more...

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...

A formidable gangster thriller later to be cribbed by Tarantino. An itchy crew of criminal cronies grab a metro carriage of civilians and demand $1 million ransom, causing the kind of chaos in New York City that a traditional train heist causes the cavalry. But, once they've got the ransom, how on earth do they expect to get away? find out more...

Definitely THE film of 1995, with the added bonus of bearing up to repeated viewing even when you know the final twist. A tightly scripted, complex and compelling whodunnit which slowly unpeels layer upon layer to reveal the truth behind the opening carnage, and in which nothing is as it seems. find out more...