Los Angeles, 1928; Saturday morning in a working-class suburb, Christine Collins says goodbye to her son Walter and leaves for work. When she comes home she discovers he has vanished. A fruitless search ensues, and months later, a boy claiming to be her nine-year-old lad is returned. Dazed by the swirl of police, reporters and her conflicting emotions, Christine allows him to stay overnight, but in her heart she knows he is not Walter. As Christine pushes the authorities to keep looking, she swi find out more...

An excellent black comedy, handsome thriller and a tall story that keeps you guessing as it unwinds. The genuinely ridiculous plot (a man pays a couple of goons to 'pretend' to kidnap his wife in order to get his paws on his in-laws' 'ransom' money) is completely credible as mighty plans fall apart, spiralling ever more beyond the protagonist's control and leaving us marvelling at the complex stupidity of human nature. A modern classic.

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Noirish, black and white thriller, adapted by Kurosawa from a novel by Ed McBain. Wealthy tycoon Kingo Gondo is prepared to face financial ruin when his young son is kidnapped, but it soon emerges that the ruthless abductor has accidentally snatched the chauffeur's child instead. With the ransom demand still standing, Kingo faces a terrible moral dilemma, while wily policeman Inspector Tokuro employs ever more cunning methods in his hunt for the kidnapper. Tense and thought-provoking. find out more...

Cocteau's version of the famous fairytale which, with its fantastic set design, set standards never bettered. The love story between woman and beast, in a fantasy world inside his enchanted castle, is both erotic and tragic, and this bewilderingly, beautiful and mystifying film is often seen as an allegory for a wounded France recovering from the Nazi occupation. Pure genius. find out more...

Ford turns Monument Valley into an interior landscape as Wayne, and a half breed, pursue his five-year odyssey, a grim quest to kill both the Indian who abducted his niece and the tainted girl herself. Essential viewing and generally hailed as one of the greatest westerns. find out more...

Winner of a frightening number of Oscars (Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay); a vulnerable FBI rookie is sent to coax much needed information from the monstrous Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter in order to stop a killer who skins his victims. Brilliant, terrifying and gripping. find out more...