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...

Lumet's complex and atmospheric thriller is based on a real event. Pacino is superb as the neurotic and incompetent gay bankrobber who needs the money from the robbery to finance his lover's sex change operation. The film's beauty is it's closely detailed psychological observation. Excellent.

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Top-notch gory horror as killer shark threatens holidaymakers on an island resort. Worse still, the islanders want to hush it up in order to save their livelihoods. Brave or fool hardy? The lifeguard decides to confront the beastie. Some totally tense moments that got millions out of the water. "We're gonna need a bigger boat!" find out more...

The world as a lunatic asylum. Jack Nicholson plays the anarchist determined to challenge the smug system of authority and obedience that rule the roost. The first film by Czech dissident Forman after migrating from Czechoslovakia to the United States, and a superb comment on society! Won Best Picture plus others at 1975 Academy Awards. find out more...

One of the great sixties films, the one that brought Dustin Hoffman to public notice, as he plays an alienated Los Angelian rich kid searching for a meaning in life and discovering sex. Great movie to be watched, or rewatched, and with a superb soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel. find out more...

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...

A superb modern-day fairy tale, with everything you could want; princes, pirates, villains, heroes and miracle workers. What makes this really shine is that it manages to combine highly effective adventure and self-parody, and thus is sure to entertain everybody, kids and adults alike. This film is well good. find out more...

Thinking it'll give him a chance to work on his novel, ex-school teacher Jack takes a job caretaking an isolated hotel with his family during the winter season. Soon the evil spirit of the place begins to take him over, leading to a truly shattering, horrific climax... it's redrum! find out more...