This fast-paced and beautifully constructed film debut by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has won critical acclaim all over the world. Weaving the stories of the three victims of a brutal car crash which we witness in the first scene, the film takes you through three very separate worlds that all come together on Mexico's mean streets. From the world of a high-class supermodel to the depths of despair felt by an exiled ex-assassin, Amores Perros is a real achievement in filmmaking. 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...

Irish Sicilian Henry Hill always wanted to be a gangster and from running errands as a small boy, he graduates to becoming a trusted member of the "family". A stunning, violent and essential portrait of the Mafia's intimate details. An award winning film, superbly crafted by Scorsese. find out more...

The definitive gangster-epic; violent? Yes, but never mindless. The Jewish Mafia's coming of age on the Lower East Side in 1923, their rise to wealth during Prohibition, and their fall in 1933, provide the background to a story of friendship and betrayal, love and death. Leone's masterful cinematography evokes both the harshness of the vice-ridden decades before and after Prohibition, but also the philosophy behind it. Splendid performances by De Niro and Woods and a stupendous score by Ennio Mo find out more...

Guillermo Del Toro's blockbusting tale of a young girl struggling to make sense of the violent world around her was a big 2006 arthouse hit. Continuing his exploration of the impact of the Spanish Civil War on his generation (it was also the backdrop for his excellent ghost story, The Devil's Backbone) Del Toro's fantasy mixes strong horror with fairytale-style aesthetics to great effect, making Ofelia's escape into an imaginary realm a poignant response to the cruel realities of her existence. find out more...

Chucked out of Cuba as an undesirable by Castro a small time crook claws his way to the top in the Miami cocaine trade. A megolamaniac rise in a twisted version of the American dream. Very violent, foul mouthed and bloody - a telling parable for the 80s. find out more...

A disenchanted Vietnam vet becomes a New York taxi driver and lets the violence and squalor around him explode in his mind. One of the most atmospheric films ever made about urban alienation. Foster's first film and the one which almost resulted in Ronald Reagan's assassination when he was President - it must be good! find out more...

A gangster movie that spawned a million with Coppola on top directorial form and Brando and Pacino at their very best. Brilliantly believable and detailed stories unfold complete in every scene as the movie waltzes to its violent moral climax of living and dying by the sword. find out more...

Reformed hellraiser William Munny saddles up for one last killing, hoping the bounty will help him raise his children. But the steel has softened, and the killing doesn't come so easy any more. More real than any other Western, Clint's creation is bleak, black, desperate and brilliant. find out more...