It's the late 19th century and in the West the railways are coming. Ruthless outlaw Ben Wade and his equally immoral gang feed off the wealth the lines bring, but after he's captured Wade is forced to confront his worst enemy, his conscience. As they travel across the deserts of Arizona towards the train that will deliver him to ultimate justice, a grudging respect develops between Wade and escort Dan, a dirt poor farmer who knows the values of right and wrong, but with Ben's men in hot pursuit find out more...

A landmark in the history of the cinema; it was ranked Number 1 in the American Film Institute's 100 greatest films of all time in two polls (1998 and 2007) of more than 1,500 film industry movers and shakers and again by UK directors in a BFI poll. "Citizen Kane" narrates the rise and fall of a newspaper tycoon driven by a childhood obssession and is loosely based round the life of William Randolph Hurst, who tried to have it banned, but incorporates elements from the lives of other fat cats il find out more...

Abandoned by her father and brought up in an orphanage Gabrielle Chanel's early years were not easy ones, but her willful determination, intelligence and obvious gift would see her ultimately rise to iconic status within the world of 20th Century fashion. 'Coco Before Chanel' never glamorises her life, neither the way she looks nor the lovers she takes; a thoughtful understated observation of Chanel's life before fortune finally beckoned. Not a visually sumptuous film, as you might expect, but a find out more...

A slightly surreal story of a man with no name who rides into the town of Lago, knocks off some desperados who try to kill him and gets hired to defend the timid townsfolk from some other baddies. One of Clint's best. find out more...

Woody Allen has fun with his affection for long Russian novels, the films of Ingmar Bergman and metaphysical abstraction. One of his funniest! find out more...

Leone's superb all-encompassing epic portraying the death of the mythical 'Wild West'. A superb cast, the collaborations of Bertolucci and Argento, and Morricone's brilliantly atmospheric score all add to the incredible style and weight of Leone's creation. A true cinematic masterpiece! A candidate for greatest movie ever made, if you haven't... then you must. find out more...

An ambitious but competently-handled Civil War epic from versatile director Ang Lee . A fairly heavyweight historical drama, it focuses on the Bushwackers, a rebel southern militia group headed by Maguire, Ulrich and Rhys-Meyers, who're conducting a guerilla war, and black scout Jeffrey Wright, who's forced to fight for the pro-slavery cause. Worthy and well-crafted, but light entertainment it ain't. find out more...

The last months of the infamous bushwacker Jesse James, before being shot by the socially inadequate, unstable, envious, admiring young wannabe Robert Ford. Beautifully shot, and masterfully directed, this is a rambling sepia-toned epic. Produced, but not directed by Ridley Scott, "The Assassination of Jesse James" is still very reminiscent of his style of film making and though there are flaws, the studied novelistic narrative grated, this is a contemplative western about a human psyche, or two find out more...

A man deformed by a rare illness is taken up and patronised by fashionable London society - another freak show for the elephant man to be exhibited in. David Lynch's highly individual style here perfectly complements the film's material. A dark and brooding, yet sympathetic and sentimental film. find out more...

The best of the spaghetti westerns as our three heroes form short lived alliances to try and find some hidden gold during the Civil War. The music, those long low angled shots and the tall silent men - wonderful! find out more...