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.

find out more...

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...

Stunning adaptation of James Ellroy's stylishly sinister 50s crime novel, cruelly robbed of its just desserts by a sinking ship at the Academy Awards farce. An awesomely authentic 1953 Los Angeles provides the backdrop, while the story focuses on a dodgy trio of LA's not-so-finest, united by mutual loathing, and all up to their necks in nefarious goings-on. Kim Basinger deservedly bagged the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her sultry Veronica Lake lookalike hooker, but all the performances are find out more...

The original and best version of the detective thriller classic. Philip Marlowe is hired to investigate the gambling debts of a rich man's daughter, but is plunged into a twilight world of intrigue, blackmail and violence. Stylish and gripping. find out more...

Treachery and deception in this classic film noir as various groups of low life characters try to lay their mits on the ancient treasure. Sam Spade is the honest fall guy. One of the best Hollywood films ever and certainly one of the best of its type. Initiated the move away from gangster movies. find out more...

One of the finest of the genre, this classic western follows two men whose initial contempt for each other's methods, one a hard man rancher, the other a naively honest lawyer, develops into respect when faced with the the town's local hoodlum. Tense, absorbing and not without wit. Superb. 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...

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...

Film Noir from the Ealing funny man! Mackendrick's US debut is a rat-trap of a movie in which a vile NY gossip hustler (Tony Curtis) grovels for his 'Mr Big' (Burt Lancaster). Lancaster plays JJ Hunsecker, a monstrous, amoral and incestuous news columnist obsessed with wrecking his kid sister's romance. The dark streets stink of corruption and fear. Amoral and awesome with a great jazz soundtrack. find out more...