Melville's masterful take on the American crime thriller perfectly combines the Hollywood gangster film with his uniquely French style. Alain Delon as a master thief, Yves Montand as an alcoholic ex-cop and Gian-Maria Volonte as an escaped criminal plot a daring heist of an upmarket Parisian jewellery store against impossible odds. find out more...

Johnny is a man on the run. After a bodged robbery on a mill leaves Johnny seriously injured, increasingly desperate and alone in the city, he decides to search out the only person he's ever loved. Meanwhile the police relentlessly close in. 'Odd Man Out' is a darkly atmospheric tale, full of intensity and tension, with a predictably stand out performance from James Mason. find out more...

Running from the law after a bank heist in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to nick the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be caught. Years later, Rio escapes from prison and hunts down Dad, now a respectable sheriff in California and living in fear of Rio's return. find out more...

Inspired by Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment', Robert Bresson's 'Pickpocket' tells the story of Michel (Martin Lasalle), a solitary young man who embarks upon a life of petty theft. Plying his trade on the city streets, racetracks and Metro system of Paris, Michel hones his sleight-of-hand skills to perfection and becomes consumed by his escalating addiction. However his activities alienate him from his few friends, while attracting the attention of a police inspector and a professional crimin find out more...

The classic heist movie, adapted from WR Burnett's novel. A tense, satisfyingly objective study of a gang of hardened villains who fall apart after attempting an ambitious robbery. Sounds familiar? Much imitated but never equalled, this is one of the late John Huston's finest accomplishments. find out more...

An adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's dark social satire, set in the seedy underbelly of Victorian London and revolving around the relationship of Mackie ‘The Knife' Messer and Polly Peachum. The Threepenny Opera is a landmark of early cinema, and one of the few surviving examples of the brief use of a different cast for different languages. This two disk set contains both the German and French productions. Dark, sinister, stylish, magnificent! find out more...

Having pulled off the heist of a lifetime, Max looks forward to spending his remaining days relaxing with his beautiful young girlfriend. But when Riton, Max's hapless partner and best friend, lets word of the loot slip to loose-lipped, two-timing Josy, he is reluctantly drawn back into the underworld. A touchstone of the gangster-film genre, 'Touchez Pas Au Grisbi' is understated, elegant and evocative. find out more...

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs might be Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse's finest hour, a delicate, devastating study of a woman, Keiko, played heartbreakingly by Hideko Takamine, who works as a bar hostess in Tokyo's very modern post-war Ginza district. Sly, resourceful, but trapped, Keiko comes to embody the conflicts and struggles of a woman trying to establish her independence in a male-dominated society. A profoundly moving masterpiece. find out more...