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On a Friday afternoon in Phoenix, Arizona, Marion Crane and her lover, Sam Loomis, are having a romantic rendezvous at a hotel when Marion complains that she is tired of meeting Sam under such sordid circumstances. Sam, who runs a hardware store in Fairvale, California, assures her that they can marry after he pays his debts, but Marion longs for immediate respectability. Upon her return to the real estate office where she works as a secretary, Marion learns that her boss, George Lowery, is with oil tycoon Tom Cassidy. When the men return, the lecherous Cassidy brags to Marion that he is paying $40,000 in cash to buy a house for his daughter. Lowery, worried about leaving the money in the office over the weekend, tells Marion to take it to the bank, and Marion asks to go home afterward. After rebuffing Cassidy again, Marion departs, but at her apartment, stuffs the money into her purse and leaves with a suitcase. Driving until exhaustion forces her to pull over, Marion falls asleep on a lonely stretch of road. She is awoken on Saturday morning by a highway patrolman, who is suspicious of her irritable manner. After the policeman dismisses her, Marion, afraid that he will remember her, goes to a used car lot and trades in her vehicle for one with California plates. Later, during a fierce rainstorm, Marion misses the turnoff to Fairvale and stops at the Bates Motel, where the proprietor, Norman Bates, welcomes her and offers to fix her dinner at his home, a looming structure on the hill behind the motel. Marion accepts, but as she hides the cash in a newspaper she had purchased, she hears an old woman loudly berate Norman for attempting to bring a girl into her home. When Norman returns with sandwiches, he explains to the apologetic Marion that his mother is ”not quite herself.” Norman then invites her into his parlor behind the office, where Marion is nonplussed by the birds Norman has stuffed in pursuit of his hobby, taxidermy. Marion chats with the shy Norman, who confesses how alone he is, except for his mother. When Marion asks if Norman has any friends, Norman replies that “a boy’s best friend is his mother,” although he admits that he wishes he could run away, as Marion is apparently doing. Norman relates his belief that everyone is in a trap of some kind, and that his mother is mentally ill due to the deaths of his father and later, her lover. When Marion suggests that Norman could lead a life of his own if he put his mother in an institution, he reacts bitterly, stating that his mother is harmless and that he could never abandon her. Relaxing, Norman asserts that “we all go a little mad sometimes.” Realizing that she has gone mad herself, Marion tells Norman that she has to return to Phoenix, in hopes of escaping a private trap. Marion then goes to her room, unaware that Norman is watching her undress through a peephole. While Marion writes a note calculating how much of the stolen money she has spent, Norman strides to the house, resolved to assert himself. Norman’s strength fades, however, and as he sits dejectedly at the kitchen table, Marion tears up her note, flushes it down the toilet and enters the shower. As Marion enjoys her shower, a shadowy female figure enters the bathroom and repeatedly stabs her. A few minutes later, in the house, Norman screams out to his mother about the blood, then rushes to find Marion, lifeless on the bathroom floor. Sickened but determined to protect his mother, Norman wraps Marion’s body in the shower curtain and after cleaning the room, deposits her corpse and belongings into the trunk of her car. Norman also tosses in the newspaper, which he does not know holds the money, then sinks the car in a swamp behind the house. A week later, as Sam is writing to Marion, he is interrupted by her sister Lila, whom he has never met. Sam is baffled by Lila’s frantic questioning about Marion and is prevented from answering by the arrival of Milton Arbogast, a private investigator. Arbogast and Lila explain to Sam about Marion’s theft, and although Sam maintains his innocence, Arbogast remains suspicious that he is involved. Promising Lila that he will find her sister, Arbogast then spends two days searching the area. When he reaches the Bates Motel, he interrogates Norman, who stammers that he has never seen Marion. Arbogast uncovers Norman’s lie, however, and after Norman admits that Marion was at the motel, the detective appears to accept his statement that she left early in the morning. When Arbogast sees Mrs. Bates sitting in a window of the house, he wants to question her, but Norman orders him to leave. Unsettled, Arbogast calls Lila and relates everything that Norman said, then states that he will return to Fairvale after interrogating Mrs. Bates. As Arbogast climbs the stairs in the house, however, he is stabbed to death by a woman. Soon after, Norman sinks Arbogast’s car in the swamp, while in Fairvale, Lila grows impatient about the detective’s absence and Sam eventually takes her to see Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers. Convinced that Arbogast got “a hot lead” from Norman, then left to chase Marion and the money, the skeptical Chambers dismisses Lila’s concerns, especially when she mentions Mrs. Bates. Chambers explains that, ten years earlier, Norman’s mother poisoned her lover upon discovering that he was married, then committed suicide. After Chambers telephones Norman, who confirms that Arbogast left suddenly, Norman confronts his mother, telling her that she must hide in the fruit cellar for her own protection. Over her loud objections, Norman then carries her downstairs. Unsatisfied by Chambers’ remarks, Lila and Sam drive to the motel the following day and check in. After sneaking into the room in which Marion stayed, Lila finds a piece of the paper on which Marion had written. Convinced that Norman hurt Marion to steal the money, Sam detains him in the office while Lila searches for Mrs. Bates. Norman, irritated by Sam’s insinuations, retreats to his parlor and upon hearing Sam’s mention of his mother, knocks Sam unconscious. Meanwhile, Lila has been exploring the house, in which she finds Mrs. Bates’s immaculate bedroom and her bed, which bears the imprint of her body. Lila also snoops around Norman’s squalid room, which contains his childhood toys and a small cot. Returning to the first floor, Lila sees Norman running up to the house and hides downstairs. As Norman goes upstairs, Lila creeps down to the fruit cellar, where she finds Mrs. Bates sitting with her back to the door. Lila inches forward to tap the old woman on the shoulder, but when she swings around, Lila is horrified to find herself staring at a decaying corpse. As she screams, Lila turns around to see Norman, wearing a wig and one of his mother’s dresses. Shrieking “I am Norma Bates,” Norman lunges toward her with a knife, but Sam arrives in time to overpower him. Later, as Sam and Lila wait with Chambers and other officials at the courthouse, Norman is examined by a psychiatrist, Dr. Richmond. Richmond explains that Norman, who suffers from a split personality, has been taken over by the dominant personality, that of his mother, and that Norman himself no longer exists. Richmond states that after the death of his father, Norman was overwhelmed by his domineering mother, and that when she took a lover, Norman killed them both. Unable to bear the guilt, Norman preserved her corpse, then, to heighten the illusion that “Mother” was alive, began dressing and speaking as her. Believing that his mother would be as jealous of him as he was of her, Norman subconsciously allowed the Mother side of his personality to murder any woman whom he found attractive. As they discuss the case, Norman sits in a nearby room, huddled in a blanket, while the Mother side of his personality thinks to herself that she could not allow her son to brand her a killer. Noticing a fly on her hand, Mother cunningly declares that she will not swat it, so that anyone observing her will know that she would not even harm a fly.
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown, William S. Gilmore Jr.
Writer: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
Editor: Verna Fields
Cinematographer: Bill Butler
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Universal Pictures , Zanuck/Brown Company
Composer: John Williams [composer]
One summer evening in late June on the New England island of Amity, teenager Chrissie Watkins invites a drunken fellow student, Cassidy, to skinny dip in the ocean. Although enthused, Cassidy passes out a few feet from the shore, while Chrissie strips and dives into the sea only to be brutally attacked from underwater. The next morning, police chief Martin Brody meets Cassidy, who has reported Chrissie missing, on the beach just as Deputy Hendricks discovers the mutilated remains of a female body. Suspecting that Chrissie was a victim of a shark attack, Brody hurries to his office to make out a report and consult with the town physician. Determined to close the beaches when the doctor confirms his fears, Brody sets off to Amity Bay, but is intercepted by Mayor Larry Vaughn, two city council members and the doctor. Vaughn reminds Brody that closing the beaches requires a signed city ordinance and that the Fourth of July weekend is about to begin. When the doctor reluctantly admits that the body may have been mutilated by a motorboat blade and Vaughn insists they do not want to start a pointless panic, Brody grudgingly agrees to keep the beaches open. The next day, an uneasy Brody oversees the crowded beach, accompanied by his wife Ellen and their two young sons, Michael and Sean. Dozens of children and young people thrash about in the surf and a dog repeatedly fetches a stick thrown in the water by his owner. Moments later, however, the dog disappears and a group of people suddenly notice a pool of bloody red foam in the sea. As the swimmers and waders run to the beach in a panic, a mangled raft washes to shore while vacationer Mrs. Kintner searches in vain for her young son, Alex. After Mrs. Kintner posts a three-thousand-dollar reward to kill the shark that killed Alex, Brody and the Amity city board meets with local businesses, fisherman and townspeople to quell their mounting alarm. When Brody acknowledges that he must close the beaches, Vaughn reassures the dismayed business owners that the closure will last only twenty-four hours. The meeting is interrupted by local professional fisherman and shark hunter, Quint, who vows to capture the shark single-handedly for $10,000, which Vaughn agrees to consider. The following morning, Brody is horrified to find Amity harbor teaming with boats and people from Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey who have responded to Mrs. Kintner’s reward offer. Struggling to control the crowds who bear everything from dynamite to guns to small fishing reels, Brody is relieved when Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute arrives. At police headquarters, Hooper examines Chrissie’s remains and declares that the wounds are from a sizable shark. That afternoon a group of fishermen triumphantly return to Amity harbor with the carcass of a ten-foot shark which they proudly display for reporters and locals. Although Vaughn is delighted by the exhibition, Hooper insists the bite radius of a Tiger shark is too small to be the same shark that killed Chrissie. As Brody remains doubtful, Mrs. Kintner arrives and demands to know why he allowed the beaches to remain open after Chrissie’s death. That evening, Hooper visits the brooding Brody at home and reaffirms that the captured shark is not the one that killed Chrissie, and presses the chief to allow him to cut open the captured dead shark to explore its digestive remains. After Hooper determines that the shark caught by the fishermen has no human remains inside it, Brody realizes that he must close the beaches, but Hooper insists they immediately go in search of the killer shark in his high-tech exploration boat, the Aurora. Despite Brody’s frank admission that he fears the water, Hooper forces the chief to accompany him. With the aid of the Aurora's powerful spotlights, Brody and Hooper soon come upon a half-sunken dinghy showing unusual signs of damage and Brody recognizes the boat as belonging to an islander. Donning scuba gear, Hooper goes underwater to inspect the little boat’s hull and pulls an enormous shark tooth embedded in the planking. When the mangled remains of a torso abruptly float by a gaping hole in the boat, the startled Hooper drops the tooth. The next morning, Brody and Hooper met Vaughn on the beach to excitedly report that the shark attacks were made by a Great White. Without the tooth as evidence, however, the mayor remains skeptical and insists the beaches remain open the next day, which is the Fourth of July. The holiday dawns to hordes of vacationers packing the beaches. Hooper abandons a commitment to an eighteen-month research project in order to search for Amity’s Great White shark, while Brody, Hendricks and backup deputies with helicopter support observe the waters. Distressed that no one has actually gotten into the water, Vaughn appeals with a family to do so and soon the surf is teaming with people. When Brody’s son Michael asks permission to take his new sailboat out to sea, Brody pleads with him to go into the nearby estuary. While Vaughn cheerfully gives an interview to a television reporter, swimmers are suddenly terrified to see a large fin cutting across the water. As the panicked crowd returns en masse to the beach, Brody’s assistants reveal the fin to be a hoax perpetrated by two local teenage boys. Meanwhile, a young woman standing between the sea and the pond sees a massive underwater form head into the relatively shallow estuary where Michael and his friends are struggling to raise their sail. Nearby, a man in a dinghy calls advice to the boys just as the underwater creature smashes into his boat. The subsequent swell overturns Michael’s small sailboat and, as the boys thrash about, Michael witnesses the man being bitten in half by the enormous shark and faints. Meanwhile, the young woman’s continued cries alert Brody who races toward the pond as Michael’s friends pull him safely to shore. Later, at the hospital, where Michael is declared fine, a stunned Vaughn wonders if he can be held accountable for keeping the beaches open, but an angry Brody forces him to sign a contract hiring Quint. The next day, Brody and Hooper meet Quint at his pier-side office where Brody officially charters the fisherman’s boat, the Orca. Although Quint chafes about the college educated Hooper joining them, Brody insists that the oceanographer and much of his technical equipment be taken on board. Over the next couple of days, the Orca roams far out to sea in search of the shark. One afternoon Quint’s thick cable fishing line is bitten in two, but otherwise their quarry remains elusive. Soon after, as a grumpy Brody resumes shoveling bloody chum out to sea to lure the shark, the creature breaks the surface of the water, its massive mouth gaping. Stunned by the enormity of the shark, Brody staggers into the cabin and tells Quint that he will need a bigger boat. As Quint and Hooper excitedly watch the shark circle the Orca, the older man declares the creature is at least twenty-five feet long and three tons. While Quint prepares to shoot a cable line attached to a flotation barrel into the shark, Hooper attaches a radio tracking device to the barrel. After striking the shark with the harpoon and cable, the Orca follows the racing barrel, but Quint is taken aback when the shark easily pulls the air-filled keg underwater and disappears. Night falls with no further sign of the shark and the men sit in the tiny cabin drinking and talking. Quint reveals that in World War II, he served on board the U.S.S. Indianapolis which was sunk by a Japanese submarine and nearly eight hundred of its surviving crew was lost to shark attacks while waiting for rescue in the open sea. The men fill the subsequent tense silence with songs, when the shark surfaces in the dark and rams into the hull, damaging the boat’s shaft. Despite Quint firing several rounds at the shark, it remains unaffected, but disappears for the remainder of the night. The next morning, Quint and Hooper struggle to repair the battered rudder and engine housing, when the shark surfaces and Quint shoots another cable and barrel into it, then ties the cables lines to the transom cleats. As the shark, now hooked to two floatation barrels, races further out to sea, Quint pushes the rough running engine of the Orca in pursuit, ignoring Brody’s argument to turn back toward land. Later the shark appears to have vanished, only to surface suddenly and attack the cable lines. Panicked, Brody attempts to radio the Coast Guard, but Quint smashes the radio with a bat. Quint then calmly shoots another line and a third barrel into the shark, but when the shark heads to sea again towing the Orca, Quint is forced to cut the taunt cable lines, fearing that the transom will be pulled off. As the battered and listing Orca begins taking on water, the men watch incredulously as the barrels turn toward them, then submerge and go beneath the boat. Moments later, the shark rams the keel. The ship’s stressed engine bearings begin to smoke, and Quint, masking his concern, pushes the engine as the shark begins pursuing them. Upon reaching the boat, the great shark rises up, biting into the transom. The violence of the creature’s attack finishes the Orca's weakened engine. The shark disappears as Brody and Hooper realize that the Orca is sinking by the stern. Handing Brody a lifejacket, Quint asks Hooper about the shark cage and other equipment he has brought on board. When Hooper reveals that he has a large syringe full of strychnine nitrate, Quint declares the syringe will never penetrate the shark’s tough skin. Hooper nevertheless volunteers to go underwater in the cage and attempt to shoot the syringe into the shark’s mouth with the harpoon gun. Despite Brody’s protests, Hooper dons scuba gear and oxygen, and is lowered in the cage into the water. Within moments the shark appears and rams the cage from behind Hooper, then grabs the bars and shakes the cage, causing the terrified Hooper to drop the harpoon gun, unfired. Fleeing the shark’s crazed attack through the mangled cage bars, Hooper swims to the sea bottom. Meanwhile the shark, momentarily trapped between the cage and the side of the Orca, thrashes violently as Quint struggles to crank the winch. The bent ginpole gives way as the shark extricates itself and Quint and Brody are horrified when the battered, empty cage surfaces. The shark reappears at the stern and again lunges at the Orca's deck, tilting the boat sharply, causing Quint and Brody to tumble and slide toward the maddened creature. Brody hangs on to the cabin doorframe, but Quint, unable to maintain his grip on Brody’s legs, slides directly into the shark’s jaws. When the shark submerges with Quint’s bloodied corpse, Brody casts about for a weapon and spots Hooper’s remaining oxygen tank. When the shark attacks again, Brody manages to wedge the tank into its mouth. Taking Quint’s rifle, Brody climbs out onto the bridge mast, which is now almost parallel with the water, and as the shark comes at him, fires repeatedly until a bullet strikes the oxygen tank, causing it to explode and blow off the creature’s head. As blood and flesh rain down on Brody and the nearly submerged Orca, the shark’s other half falls slowly through the water. Moments later, Brody is amazed when Hooper surfaces. The men laugh weakly in relief and, after Hooper learns of Quint’s demise, the men use the remaining floatation barrels as support and paddle their way toward land.
Following a series of strange events at an archeological excavation in Iraq, including the discovery of a Christian amulet and an ominous statue of the demon Pazuzu, aging Jesuit priest Father Merrin accepts that he will soon be called on to perform an exorcism. Meanwhile, movie star Chris MacNeil is on location at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school near Washington, D.C., where she lives in a rented two-story house with her ten-year-old daughter Regan, secretary Sharon, butler Karl and housekeeper Willie. Already fearful that her recent estrangement from Regan’s father might cause her daughter emotional damage, Chris is concerned when Regan claims that “Captain Howdy,” an imaginary person, answers the questions she presents to a Ouija board game. Elsewhere on campus, Father Damien Karras, an Ivy league-educated psychiatrist who counsels clergy, is having a crisis of faith. Each day signs of human suffering confirm his doubts, including an encounter with a derelict beggar and visits to his ailing mother, a Greek immigrant who suffers alone, unable to leave her apartment because of an injury. One night, Regan, who earlier heard her mother spout obscenities about her absent father, climbs into bed with Chris, claiming that her own bed was shaking violently. Unable to sleep, Chris hears growling sounds from the attic and is frightened when her candle is blown out while she investigates. When Chris takes Regan to the hospital for a physical soon after, the young girl is uncharacteristically aggressive and blasphemous, but Dr. Klein assures Chris that Regan is merely suffering from depression caused by her parents’ separation and prescribes Ritalin. Meanwhile on campus, a priest discovers that the chapel’s statue of the Virgin Mary has been defaced with red paint and makeshift breasts and penis. Karras is angst-ridden after his uncle insinuates that Karras’ choice to become a penniless priest rather than a well-paid psychiatrist has forced the family to put his mother in a mental institution. Visiting the facility, Karras is devastated when his mother refuses to speak with him. Late one night during a celebrity cocktail party held at the MacNeil house, Regan descends the stairs in her nightgown and, gesturing toward a guest, announces that he will die then urinates on the floor. Chris puts her scared daughter to bed and assures her that the strange behavior is just bad nerves; however, later that night, Chris, finds a screaming Regan being violently tossed on the bed, moving as if controlled by another force. Days later, Father Dyer comforts his close friend, Karras, who is tortured with guilt after his mother dies. Meanwhile, Regan’s unexplained illness worsens, prompting Chris to take her to the hospital where she screams profanities, spits and fights. Attributing Regan’s personality change to temporal lobe lesions, Klein takes brain scans and consults with specialists. Called to the house on emergency one night, Klein and brain expert Dr. Tanney find Regan being slammed against her bed by an unexplained force while her eyes roll back in her head and she rages in a sub-human voice, “fuck me.” After Regan’s slap sends Klein hurtling across the room, the doctors sedate her and suggest to Chris that Regan’s pathological state has given her increased motor power. When a battery of excruciating tests fails to reveal that anything is physically wrong with Regan, Klein admits that the cause must be psychological. One evening, Chris returns home after work to find the lights blinking on and off and Regan alone in a freezing cold bedroom with the window open. Sharon arrives moments later and explains that she left Regan with family friend and the film’s director Burke Dennings, who has mysteriously disappeared. They soon learn that Burke has been found dead, having apparently broken his neck while falling down the stairs outside Regan’s window. That evening, Regan contorts into a bizarre backbend and races backward down the stairs, spewing blood and horrifying her mother, who now suspects Regan is responsible for Burke’s death. Days later, when a psychiatrist hypnotizes Regan to address the other, apparently beastly person inside her, Regan grows pale and growls, then exhales a noxious breath and grabs the psychiatrist’s genitals. Meanwhile, homicide detective William F. Kinderman, who suspects that the chapel desecration and Burke’s death are linked, questions Karras about witchcraft, a subject about which the psychiatrist has written about. Kinderman explains that Burke’s head was turned completely around, facing backwards, an unlikely position to be caused by the fall. Kinderman suspects that Burke was murdered and that the perpetrator might be a mentally ill priest rebelling against the church, but Karras reminds him that confidentiality precludes him from revealing any information. After Chris adamantly refuses to institutionalize Regan, the doctors recommend a Catholic exorcism to rid Regan of the invading spirit, causing Chris to leave, insulted by the suggestion of witchcraft, although she knows she cannot keep Regan sedated at home forever. Interviewing Chris about Burke’s death days later, Kinderman states that Regan was obviously not powerful enough to push the grown man out of her window, but wants to speak with Regan about whether someone else was in her room that night. Chris is barely able to keep her composure, so certain is she that Regan is probably responsible, but manages to usher Kinderman out. Minutes later, a terrified Chris finds Regan stabbing her genitals with a crucifix and screaming, “let Jesus fuck you.” Regan then slaps Chris across the room, blocks her exit by moving the furniture with sheer will and, in Burke’s voice, states that Regan killed him. Desperate, Chris introduces herself to Karras, in hopes that he might perform an exorcism, but the priest tells her that the church has not had call to use the ritual in many years and must have sufficient proof of the devil’s possession before sanctioning an exorcism. Karras reluctantly visits Regan, who is so wounded with gashes from self-abuse that her feet and hands are now tied to the bed, while the furniture has been padded to prevent further injury. Seeing the priest, Regan introduces herself as the devil in the beast’s voice and uses the voice of the derelict beggar to intrigue him further. When Regan insinuates that Karras’ mother is among the inhabitants of Regan’s body, Karras asks for her maiden name, prompting Regan to vomit on him. Although doubtful of the possession, Karras cannot explain Regan’s knowledge of his mother’s death nor her ability to speak Latin, French and an indiscernible language. After Regan writhes as if burned when Karras sprinkles her with holy water, he informs Chris that the water was actually from the tap and that he is unable to support a case for exorcism, prompting Chris to admit that Regan pushed Burke to his death. Karras then listens to tape recordings of Regan’s voice played backwards, which reveal different voices calling for Regan’s death. Finally, after Sharon shows him raised welts on Regan’s body that spell out “Help Me,” Karras presents the case to the president of the university, who summons Merrin to perform the exorcism. The night he arrives at the house, Merrin warns Karras, who is acting as his assistant, to avoid conversing with the devil, who will lie to them to avoid the confrontation. When Karras tries to explain the case’s background, Merrin silences the priest, stating that they deal only with the present. As they enter the room calling out Regan’s full Christian name, the priests can see their breath in the frigid air. Merrin sprinkles holy water and recites the Lord’s prayer while Regan, now grotesquely deformed by the beast within her, screams profanities at the men and hisses at them with a long serpent tongue. Although Merrin proceeds undeterred, Karras is shocked speechless but soon joins Merrin in chanting vehemently for the devil to be cast out of Regan’s body. The room shakes and the walls crack, while Regan accuses Karras of killing his own mother, turns her head completely around and busts her restraints. As she levitates, the priests chant in unison, yelling, “the power of Christ compels you,” which quells the creature. While taking a break, Karras asks Merrin why the devil would inhabit such an innocent girl, and Merrin replies that he wants to make us believe that humans are merely ugly, worthless animals whom God could not love. Physically exhausted by the events, Merrin secretly takes nitroglycerine pills to stave off a heart attack and returns to the room to find Karras falling victim to the devil’s lies and sends Karras away. Minutes later, when Chris asks him if Regan is going to die, Karras regains his strength and returns to the room, but finds Merrin unconscious and Regan freed from her restraints. Unable to revive the priest, Karras chokes Regan, raging for the devil to take him instead of the girl. When Regan rips the medallion from Karras’ neck, the devil enters Karras’ body, leaving Regan to collapse on the floor, whimpering. Karras drives the demon out of his own body just before hurtling himself out the window. The detective, who has just arrived, rushes to the room to find Merrin dead and Karras at the bottom of the stairs. Hearing her daughter’s voice, Chris rushes to aid Regan, while at the foot of the stairs, Dyer asks the dying Karras to confess his sins so that he might enter heaven. Days later, Dyer arrives at the house just as Chris and Regan are about to move out. Regan, who remembers nothing of the possession, sees the priest’s collar and kisses him. When Chris then attempts to give him Karras’ medallion, Dyer hands it back as a memory of their faith. As the MacNeils drive away, Kinderman, who will not press charges against Regan, once again tries to befriend a priest, this time Dyer, to get to the bottom of the strange events.
In New York City, advertising executive Roger Thornhill attends an informal business meeting at The Plaza hotel, where, intending to send his mother a wire, he summons a bellboy who has just paged George Kaplan. Across the room, two men, Valerian and Licht, believe Roger’s summons is acknowledgment that he is Kaplan and when Roger leaves the bar, forcibly take him to a waiting car and drive him to the private home of Lester Townsend in Glen Cove. There he is met by the suave Phillip Vandamm, who Roger believes is Townsend. Vandamm dismisses Roger’s claim that he is not Kaplan and urges him to reveal the information he wants. When Roger continues to deny being Kaplan, Vandamm's secretary, Leonard, forces Roger to drink an entire bottle of bourbon then places him behind the wheel of a car on a mountain road. Although completely befuddled by the liquor, Roger revives sufficiently to drive erratically down the hill until he is picked up by police. At court the next day, Roger and his lawyer describe his abduction and near murder, prompting the judge to order an investigation by county detectives. In the company of his mother and the detectives, Roger returns to the Townsend home but there is no sign of the kidnapping incident. A woman claiming to be Mrs. Townsend indicates Roger attended a party at the house the previous evening and reveals that Townsend is at the United Nations addressing the General Assembly. Roger and his mother return to The Plaza hotel in search of Kaplan. In Kaplan’s room, Roger finds a newspaper photograph of Vandamm who he still believes is Townsend, but is forced to flee when he realizes that Valerian and Licht have followed him. At the U.N., Roger requests to see Townsend, but is confused when the man he meets is not Vandamm. Perplexed, Roger is about to show Townsend the newspaper photo he found in Kaplan’s room when Townsend is struck in the back by a knife hurled by Valerian, who then escapes. As Townsend collapses into Roger’s arms, Roger grabs the knife in shock and is photographed by a nearby photo journalist. Horrified, Roger runs away. Later that day at the U. S. Intelligence Agency, a group of agents led by a man known as the Professor, discuss Townsend’s murder and Roger’s involvement. The Professor and his group are investigating Vandamm for selling government secrets and have created a fictitious agent named George Kaplan in hopes of forcing Vandamm into the open. When the agents wonder if they should intervene on Roger’s behalf, the Professor refuses, declaring that despite the danger to Roger, he is diverting attention from another agent working undercover with Vandamm. Meanwhile, Roger is labeled by newspapers as the U.N. murderer. Having learned that Kaplan has checked out of the hotel and is heading for Chicago, Roger sneaks aboard the Twentieth Century Limited. On board Roger meets an attractive blonde, Eve Kendall, who misdirects the police while he hides. Roger evades the conductors after the train gets underway, then visits the dining car where he is seated with Eve. Roger and Eve flirt with one another when she admits to tipping the waiter to seat Roger with her, but she also reveals to having seen the newspaper coverage accusing Roger of Townsend’s murder. When the train makes an unscheduled stop to allow two police detectives to board, Eve offers to hide Roger in her compartment overnight. Unknown to Roger, Eve is an associate of Vandamm, who is also onboard the train with Leonard. Upon arriving in Chicago the next morning, Roger disguises himself as a porter and escorts Eve off the train. Having concluded that Kaplan can lead him to Vandamm, Roger intends to meet Kaplan and Eve offers to make the arrangements so that Roger might maintain a low profile. After Roger changes clothes, he meets Eve who claims she has contacted Kaplan at the hotel and received explicit directions for their meeting. Roger follows Eve’s directions and by mid-afternoon waits for Kaplan alongside a deserted road in the middle of empty farm fields where a crop duster works in the distance. After several cars go by without stopping, the crop duster abruptly turns towards Roger and, to his amazement, makes several attacking passes at him. Roger seeks refuge in a corn field, but the plane dusts the field with a chemical powder, forcing Roger back into the open. Spotting an oncoming tanker truck, Roger desperately flags it down and stands directly in its path, forcing the tanker to stop. Still pursuing Roger, the plane swoops down at him and smashes into the tanker. When passers-by stop to gape at the scene, Roger steals a pickup and drives back to Kaplan’s Chicago hotel. There he is stunned to learn that Kaplan checked out before Eve’s purported conversation with him from the train station. Moments later, Roger spots Eve in the lobby and follows her to her room where she is startled to see him. Insisting that they cannot get involved with each other, Eve demands that Roger depart. Later, Roger follows Eve to an auction at an art gallery where she joins Vandamm and Leonard. Hurt over Eve’s betrayal, Roger angrily confronts them. Vandamm and Leonard scoff at Roger’s indignation, then bid on and win a small Mexican Tarascan Warrior figure, unaware of the Professor’s presence in the bidding audience. When Valerian and Leonard block the exits, Roger creates a scene, starting a fight in order to get himself arrested. The patrolmen report Roger’s seizure and are instructed to take him to the airport where he is met by the Professor, who explains about the fictitious Kaplan and the need to capture Vandamm with incriminating evidence before he departs the country from his ranch in South Dakota. Roger refuses the Professor’s request to continue posing as Kaplan until the Professor admits that Eve is their inside operative, and that she is now in grave danger of being exposed unless they can convince Vandamm of her loyalty. Upon arriving in Rapid City, Roger sets up a meeting with Vandamm at the cafeteria of the Mount Rushmore memorial. Just as he meets Vandamm, Roger stages an argument with Eve, climaxing in her shooting him with blanks. With Vandamm and Leonard convinced that Roger is critically wounded, the Professor takes Roger to meet Eve secretly and the two apologize to each other for their misunderstandings. Roger is dismayed, however, when Eve discloses that to maintain her cover she must accompany Vandamm out of the country that night. The Professor allows Eve to return to Vandamm and places the angered Roger in protective custody at a hospital. That night, Roger escapes and takes a cab to Vandamm’s ranch, beside which a small airplane runway is lit. Hiding near an open window, Roger overhears Leonard and Vandamm discussing the secret microfilm hidden in the warrior figure. Leonard then tells Vandamm that his long suspicion of Eve has been justified and demonstrates that Eve’s gun is filled with blanks. Deeply angered, Vandamm tells Leonard he will get rid of Eve during their flight that night. Alarmed, Roger climbs up the side of the house to warn Eve, but she leaves her room before he can talk to her. Writing a warning message on a matchbook bearing his initials, Roger then tosses it into the living room where Eve waits with Vandamm and Leonard as their private plane lands outside. After reading Roger’s note, Eve meets him in her room where he tells her of the microfilm and Vandamm’s plan to do away with her. When Eve joins Vandamm outside, Roger attempts to sneak out of the house but is held at gun point by the housekeeper. After escaping from the housekeeper, Roger steals Valerian’s car and races to retrieve Eve, who has snatched the warrior figure and darted away from Vandamm. Stopped by a locked gate, Roger and Eve proceed on foot, followed by Valerian and Leonard. Realizing they are trapped on top of Mount Rushmore, Roger and Eve start down the monument, but Roger is attacked by Valerian and Eve tussles with Leonard. After Roger hurls Valerian off the mountain, Leonard takes the figure and pushes Eve down the cliff where Roger comes to her aid as she dangles perilously on the edge of the monument. As Leonard menaces the couple, the Professor and his men come to the rescue, killing Leonard and arresting Vandamm in the process. Roger and Eve return to New York as man and wife, sentimentally taking the train.
Producer: Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ron Bozman, Gary Goetzman
Writer: Ted Tally
Editor: Craig McKay
Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Strong Heart Productions
Composer: Howard Shore
Clarice Starling, a top student at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Academy in Quantico, Virginia, is summoned by Jack Crawford of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Services Department to partake in a special assignment. Crawford tells Clarice, a former student of his at the University of Virginia, that the FBI is collecting data on all imprisoned serial killers, but thus far, they have had no luck with Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist who ate his murder victims, earning the nickname “Hannibal the Cannibal.” Clarice suspects the assignment is related to an ongoing investigation of “Buffalo Bill,” a wanted serial killer who skins his female victims, but Crawford denies it. In Maryland, at the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital headed by the self-important Dr. Frederick Chilton, Clarice is warned upon arrival that Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a “pure psychopath.” Eyeing her lasciviously, Dr. Chilton suggests Jack Crawford is attempting to manipulate Lecter by sending an attractive woman to question him. Clarice is led to a maximum-security corridor in the basement, where Lecter is being held in a glassed-in cell. Clarice introduces herself, and Lecter sniffs the air, guessing the type of lotion and perfume she uses. He attempts to psychoanalyze Clarice, guessing by her accent and clothing that she is from West Virginia and only one generation removed from “poor white trash.” When she asks him to fill out an FBI questionnaire, he loses patience with her and sends her away. Clarice walks past a neighboring cell, where a prisoner named Miggs masturbates and throws semen in her face. Lecter overhears and calls Clarice back. Apologizing for Miggs’s rudeness, he offers Clarice a clue, urging her, “Look deep within yourself.” He also instructs her to look up his former client, Miss Moffet. Later, Jack Crawford tells Clarice that Lecter retaliated against Miggs by verbally tormenting him until he swallowed his own tongue. Based on Lecter’s clue, Clarice finds a business called Your Self Storage, where a storage unit has been rented for the past ten years under the name Hester Moffet. There, Clarice discovers a transvestite’s disembodied head inside a jar. She returns to the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital and questions Lecter again, pointing out that the name “Hester Moffet” is an anagram for “the rest of me.” Lecter identifies the disembodied head as belonging to Benjamin Raspail, a former client; however, he denies killing the man, and reveals that Raspail was the victim of a fledgling killer interested in transformation. Clarice guesses the killer could be Buffalo Bill and presses for more information, but Lecter demands to be transferred to a new hospital and given a cell with a view. In exchange, he offers a complete psychological profile on Buffalo Bill. Meanwhile, in Memphis, Tennessee, Buffalo Bill kidnaps Catherine Martin, the daughter of U.S. Senator Ruth Martin. When the body of another victim is found in Clay County, West Virginia, Jack Crawford takes Clarice with him to view it. On the way there, they examine photographs of Buffalo Bill’s former victims, all overweight young women missing large swaths of skin. At a funeral home, Clarice discovers a cocoon lodged in the victim’s throat. The cocoon is found to be a Death’s Head Moth, a rare insect indigenous to Asia. Clarice visits Lecter again, and offers him a transfer to a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in upstate New York and a yearly vacation at Plum Island, but only if he helps the FBI find Buffalo Bill in time to save Catherine Martin. She gives Lecter a case file, and he agrees to help in exchange for personal information about Clarice. She confesses that her mother died very young, and her father, a policeman, was killed in the line of duty when she was ten years old, leaving her orphaned. She went to live with relatives on a farm in Montana, although she ran away after two months. Turning the conversation back to Buffalo Bill, Clarice asks about the significance of the moth, which was found in Benjamin Raspail’s head as well as the latest victim’s, and Lecter says it is a symbol of change. Although Buffalo Bill is not a transsexual, he says it is one of many identities the killer has tried on in an effort to escape his own terrifying pathology. Meanwhile, at Buffalo Bill’s house, Catherine Martin is held at the bottom of a well in the basement. Referring to her as “it,” Buffalo Bill sends lotion down the well and forces her to rub it on her skin. Catherine cries and begs to see her mother, then screams in terror when she sees a fingernail embedded in the well wall. Later, Dr. Frederick Chilton visits Lecter, who is restrained inside his cell. Chilton reclines on Lecter’s bed and informs him that the deal Clarice offered was bogus. Unwittingly leaving his pen behind on the bed, Chilton claims he made a legitimate deal with Senator Ruth Martin, who has offered Lecter a transfer to a Tennessee prison. Soon, Lecter is strapped to an upright stretcher, restrained with a face mask, and flown to Memphis, where he meets Ruth Martin at the airport. He informs the senator that the killer is “Louis Friend,” a former lover of Benjamin Raspail. He also gives a physical description, then insults Martin by asking her if she breastfed Catherine and suggesting her nipples must tingle when her daughter is in peril. Clarice goes to the Memphis building where Lecter is being held overnight in a makeshift cell. She accuses him of using another anagram with Louis Friend, which stands for Iron Sulfide, also known as “Fool’s Gold.” She begs him to give her the killer’s real name, but he insists Clarice has everything she needs to know in the case file. He presses her for more personal information, and she reveals the reason she ran away from the farm in Montana: One night, she woke to a frightening noise and discovered lambs being slaughtered in the barn; she tried to save them and was sent to an orphanage as punishment. In turn, Lecter describes Buffalo Bill as someone driven by a covetous nature, and explains that a person begins to covet what he or she sees every day. Later, Lecter uses the pen Dr. Chilton dropped in his cell to break free from handcuffs and attack two police guards, Lieutenant Boyle and Sergeant Pembry, murdering them and posing as a wounded Pembry to escape the building. Back in Quantico, Clarice finds Lecter’s notations on a map of locations where the victims’ bodies were found, describing the spots as “desperately random.” Clarice recalls what he said about coveting and deduces that Buffalo Bill must have known his first victim, Fredrica Bimmel. She goes to Bimmel’s home in Belvedere, Ohio, and discovers that the girl was a seamstress. She reasons that Buffalo Bill must also be a tailor creating a dress made of women’s skin. She calls Crawford to share her theory, but he responds that the FBI has already identified Buffalo Bill, who goes by the names Jame Gumb and John Grant, and they are on their way to arrest him at home in Calumet City, Illinois. Despite the news, Clarice continues her investigation in Belvedere. She finds Stacy, a friend of Fredrica Bimmel’s, who does not recall Fredrica having any male friends but says she often did tailoring for an older woman named Mrs. Littman. Clarice goes to Littman’s house just as Crawford and a SWAT team surround the house in Calumet City and find it empty. Clarice rings the doorbell, and Buffalo Bill answers the door. He identifies himself as Jack Gordon and leads her inside. Clarice observes his odd behavior and notices a moth flying around spools of yarn. She orders him to freeze at gunpoint, but Bill flees into the basement. Clarice follows, discovers Catherine Martin in the well, and assures her she is safe. Catherine begs Clarice not to leave her alone, but Clarice goes in search of Buffalo Bill. She discovers a dress form draped in an unfinished “dress” made from human skin, resembling a woman’s body. The lights are shut off and Clarice fumbles in the dark. Using infrared goggles to stalk her, Buffalo Bill creeps up behind Clarice, but she hears him cock his gun and reflexively turns and shoots him dead. Police arrive and escort Catherine Martin and Clarice outside. Sometime later, Jack Crawford watches Clarice graduate and congratulates her afterward. She is told she has a phone call, and recognizes Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s voice on the line. Calling from an undisclosed tropical location, Lecter promises not to attack her, saying the world is more interesting with her in it. Just before hanging up, he claims he is “having an old friend for dinner” as he watches Dr. Frederick Chilton disembark from a small plane.
Cast: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright
Directors: Ridley Scott
Producer: Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill, Ronald Shusett
Writer: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Editor: Terry Rawlings, Peter Weatherley
Cinematographer: Derek Vanlint
Genre: Science fiction
Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
In a futuristic outer space, the commercial towing ship The Nostromo is returning home to Earth with twenty million tons of mineral ore. On board, “Mother,” the aircraft’s computer, awakens the crew of five men and two women from hyper-sleep. After breakfast, Dallas, the captain, learns that company headquarters has ordered the crew to detour and investigate a mysterious audio beacon. Parker, the ship's engineer, gripes that he is not being paid for rescue work, but Ash, the science officer, reminds him that according to their job contracts, they are obligated to look into transmissions of possible intelligent origins and by refusing, they forfeit their monetary share from the mission. Dallas agrees with Ash, and the crew proceeds to disengage the ship from the docking platform and navigate towards the signal. The ship incurs damages from a rough landing on a rocky planetary terrain. While Parker and his technician, Brent, make repairs, Dallas, along with executive officer Kane and navigator Lambert, don spacesuits and track the signal on foot. After coming upon a derelict spacecraft, they climb inside and discover a large alien life form, fossilized in a chair. Meanwhile on board the ship, warrant officer Ripley learns that the signal is a warning rather than an S.O.S. After being lowered into a cavernous chamber, Kane discovers egg-shaped forms covered by mist. He notices movement inside an egg, but while observing, an organism attaches itself to the front of his helmet, leaving him unconscious. Dallas and Lambert carry him back to the ship, but Ripley reminds Dallas that the quarantine law requires twenty-four hours for decontamination and denies them reentry. Overhearing the exchange, Ash ignores Ripley's seniority and opens the hatch. In the infirmary, Ash and Dallas contemplate whether to detach the organism covering Kane’s face. Although Kane is still alive, the organism has paralyzed him. When Dallas cuts off a digit of the tentacle, an acidic liquid drips on the floor and begins to burn through flooring of the decks, temporarily threatening the hull. Unable to assist Kane for now, the crew waits while Parker and Brett repair the ship. Back in the infirmary, Ripley criticizes Ash for letting the organism onboard, which put the entire crew at risk. Ash claims that he disregarded the quarantine law to save Kane’s life. Sometime later, the organism detaches from Kane’s face and disappears. When its lifeless form drops from the ceiling, Ash is eager to conduct tests, while Ripley suggests discarding it. Because Ash is the science officer, Dallas lets him decide. Outside the infirmary, Ripley confronts Dallas to warn him that she does not trust Ash. With the majority of repairs complete, the ship takes off and returns to the docking station. As they continue the journey home, Kane regains consciousness; but during a meal, he begins to choke and convulse. From his chest, an embryonic organism suddenly bursts out and scurries away. After the crew buries Kane by propelling his body into space, they divide into two groups to locate the alien with a tracking device, nets and electrical prods. During the search, the team of Ripley, Parker and Brett, mistake the movement of Jones, the ship's cat, for the alien. When Brett follows the cat into another section, the alien, who has grown large and menacing, jerks him into an air shaft. Ripley and Parker rush in to witness Brett's death. In reporting to Dallas, Parker speculates that the organism is using the air ducts to move around the ship. Therefore, Dallas devises a plan to trap the alien in the main air lock and set it on fire. While the others monitor the alien’s movement and close off vents, Dallas enters the air shaft with a flamethrower. As he approaches a junction in the passage, Lambert yells that the organism is moving toward him. A screech is heard, followed by static on the radio. Parker finds no sign of the captain's dead body. The remaining crewmembers are tense as Ripley decides to continue with the plan to trap the organism in the air shaft. She becomes more frustrated by Ash’s seeming lack of concern or advice. While Parker is refueling the flamethrower, Ripley, as the new commanding officer, consults with "Mother" and learns that the priority is to bring back the alien species; however the crew is expendable. As a distressed Ripley leaves the computer annex, Ash tries to kill her. Lambert and Parker arrive and struggle to fight him off, until Ash begins to spew goo and disintegrate. When his head becomes detached, Parker and the others realize that he is a robot. Because Ash has been protecting the alien all along, Ripley believes that the company wants the species for their weapons division. She repairs Ash's communication function in the hope of extracting knowledge about how to kill the alien. However, as his head returns to life, Ash merely states that they cannot kill a perfect species and admits that he admires the alien for its purity as a survivor. After disconnecting the robot, Ripley decides that they will blow up the ship and escape in the shuttle. While Lambert and Parker collect supplies, Ripley prepares the shuttle for departure. She hears Jones the cat meowing and secures him in a cage. As Lambert and Parker are loading a cart, the alien attacks them. Ripley hears their distress over the radio and rushes to help, but finds both of them dead. After she runs back to program the destruction of the ship, the voice of "Mother" begins the countdown to detonation. Despite the nearby presence of the alien, Ripley and Jones eventually manage to board the escape shuttle without interference from the creature. From the window of the shuttle, Ripley watches the ship disintegrate and announces that she got the “son of a bitch.” She comforts Jones before placing him in the sleep capsule. While setting the controls for the journey home, the hand of the alien unexpectedly lurches out from the instrument panel. Ripley darts into a closet and puts on a spacesuit while keeping an eye on the alien's location. Returning to the control room, she opens the hatch, spears the organism, and it is jettisoned into space. Just as the creature is almost sucked back into the exhaust, she blasts the jet engines and the blaze pushes the alien away from the shuttle. As the only surviving crew member, Ripley dictates a report before entering hyper-sleep, estimating that she will arrive on the frontier in about six weeks.
Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Inc.
While in a San Francisco pet shop, wealthy Melanie Daniels becomes attracted to Mitch Brenner, a young lawyer who is trying unsuccessfully to find a pair of lovebirds for his little sister Cathy. Acting on a sudden impulse, Melanie buys two of the birds and decides to deliver them to Mitch's home on an island in Bodega Bay. After secretly leaving the birds in the Brenner house, she is returning to the mainland by motor boat when a seagull swoops down on her, gashes her forehead, and then flies away. Mitch meets her at the mainland pier and brings her back to his home. The next day a group of birds attack Cathy and her friends during a birthday party. That evening hundreds of finches fly down a chimney and terrorize Melanie and the Brenners. Panic in the small town mounts as birds murder a chicken farmer by pecking him to death, create a flash fire at a gas station, and swarm over the local children as they leave school. Following the death of schoolteacher Annie Hayworth, most of the townspeople leave their homes and head for San Francisco. Mitch boards up all entrances to his home and awaits the onslaught. The birds dive against the house, tearing at shingles and gnawing at doors, but they are unable to get inside. When Melanie goes to the attic, however, she is attacked by a roomful of crows who have made a hole in the roof. Mitch manages to rescue her but realizes the house is no longer safe. With the coming of morning, the birds are momentarily quiet. Taking advantage of the silence, he puts Melanie and his family into his car and leaves for San Francisco as thousands of birds watch their departure.
From his home in Marseilles, millionaire Alain Charnier runs the largest heroin-smuggling syndicate in the world, employing ruthless Pierre Nicoli to assassinate his adversaries. While they refine their plan to smuggle $32 million worth of heroin into the United States by hiding it in the car of their new accomplice, French television personality Henri Devereaux, in New York City two police detectives continue their dogged pursuit of drug dealers. Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and his partner, Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, use intimidation and psychological tactics to taunt and trap their targets, sometimes skirting the boundaries of ethical behavior. One night after a typically grueling day of chasing down suspects, Popeye convinces Cloudy to go to the local club with him for a drink. There, Popeye, who thinks of little else besides his job, grows suspicious of the patrons at one table who are celebrating boisterously. “Just for fun,” he and Cloudy tail the main carouser, Sal Boca, all night until he returns to the diner he runs with his wife Angie. Days later, they are still watching Sal, who has a record of petty crimes, as does his brother Lou. Cloudy, posing as a patron, is able to observe the steady traffic of local businessmen who hold clandestine meetings in the back room with Sal. One day, the detectives tail Sal to the apartment building of drug financier Joel Weinstock, and exult that they have finally connected him to a known criminal. To obtain insider information, Popeye storms into a gritty bar frequented by drug users and small-time dealers. Shoving the customers against the wall and humiliating them, Popeye picks their pockets for drugs and makes a few arrests. His real aim, however, is to meet in private with one of the dealers, Hector, who is his secret informant, without arousing the others’ suspicions. To that end, Popeye roughs up Hector and pulls him into the back room, and after Hector reveals that a shipment of heroin is due into the New York harbor soon, Popeye punches him to make their “confrontation” appear real. The detectives bring their case to their captain, Walter Simonson, who derides the circumstantial evidence and berates them for failing to break a big case. Together, the partners manage to convince Simonson to allow them two wiretaps, one on Sal’s diner and the other on his house. Days later, at the same time as Charnier and Nicoli, newly arrived in New York, watch Devereaux’s car being transported onto the wharf, federal agents Bill Mulderig and Klein are brought onto the case. Mulderig dislikes Popeye because, on a previous case, the detective’s rough tactics resulted in the death of a policeman. Cloudy, who attempts to defend his partner, later visits Popeye’s apartment and finds him handcuffed to the bed by a young sexual partner. Over the next few days, Popeye and Cloudy follow Sal’s conversations on the wiretap, and one day they rejoice to hear a Frenchman call and make an appointment to meet. In the car on the way to the planned rendezvous, as Mulderig razzes Popeye from the backseat, they are caught in a traffic jam that endangers their ability to follow Sal. Popeye races out onto the street to catch sight of Sal’s car, and soon the police are back on his trail as he enters the Roosevelt hotel. There, they spot Sal with Charnier and Nicoli, then follow them to a restaurant, standing on the freezing street while the Frenchmen enjoy a leisurely gourmet meal. Charnier leads Popeye to his hotel, where the detective is able to learn the Frenchmen’s names from the clerk. Soon after, Sal brings the heroin to Weinstock, whose drug expert tests it and reports that it is high-grade, valuable dope. However, Weinstock, knowing the police are after Sal, insists on taking more time before agreeing to Charnier’s price. Meanwhile, Charnier slips away from the federal agents posted around his hotel and walks along the street, where Popeye is shocked to spot him. Popeye follows him into the subway, but as he attempts to trail him, the wily Charnier manages to evade him, waving as his subway car speeds away from the detective. Klein follows Sal to Washington, D.C, where Sal meets with Charnier to ask for a few more days. Charnier insists on having the money by the end of the week, then tells Nicoli to kill Popeye, as he poses the biggest threat to their deal. At the same time, Simonson informs Popeye that, with no movement on the case, he must close it down. The furious Popeye, unable to convince Simonson to give him more time, fights with Mulderig. Soon after, Popeye is walking near his apartment when Nicoli, hiding on a rooftop, shoots at him. Popeye tries to secure the area, then crawls along the building's side until he can climb to the roof. There, he is able to spot Nicoli and races to follow him into an elevated subway platform. As Nicoli steps onto a car, a transit guard hears Popeye yell a warning, causing him to follow Nicoli suspiciously as he travels from car to car. On the ground, Popeye commandeers a passerby’s car and speeds to the next subway station, hoping to reach it before the train. On the el, Nicoli shoots and kills the policeman, then holds the driver at gunpoint and commands him not to stop at the station. Popeye arrives at the stop and runs to platform, but when the train does not slow down, he jumps back into his car and careens wildly through the city streets, narrowly avoiding other cars and pedestrians, to reach the next station. Nicoli has confronted the conductor and passengers with his gun drawn, and now shoots the conductor as the driver suffers a heart attack. The train, rushing out of control, slams directly into a parked train. Below, Popeye sees the wreck and, stopping his car, walks disoriented to the bottom of the el stairs. Nicoli climbs through a door to the outside of the cars, crawling between them in order to escape the wrecked train, but as he reaches the top of the station stairs, Popeye gets him in his gun sights. Nicoli, now unarmed, turns to run, but Popeye shoots him in the back, killing him. Soon after, Popeye and Cloudy are following Sal when as he picks up Devereaux’s car. They pursue the car to the street where Sal parks it, and watch for days as it sits untouched. When some men approach the car, Popeye arrests them, and although they are soon revealed to be petty car thieves, he orders the car torn apart. The police mechanic rips apart the entire car but finds nothing. Popeye, insisting the heroin is in the car, urges him to try again, and this time, they uncover 120 pounds of dope in the front grille. Hours later, they have replaced the heroin and rebuilt the car, which they return to Devereaux in order to trail him. Devereaux, spooked by the police interest, informs Charnier that he no longer wants to be involved. Charnier and Nicoli then drive the car to meet with Weinstock and his men at an abandoned warehouse, where they swap the drugs for cash. Sal, exulting in his new wealth, drives off with Charnier, only to find the bridge closed off by Popeye and his men. They return to the warehouse, where all of the criminals scatter, followed by the police. Popeye, obsessed with catching Charnier, stalks through the dilapidated building. When he hears footsteps, he turns and shoots, accidentally killing Mulderig. Although Cloudy is horrified, Popeye single-mindedly continues his pursuit, wandering off into the shadows, where a lone shot rings out.
Newlyweds Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move into The Bramford, an old New York apartment building, which, they are told by their friend Hutch, has an infamous history. Shortly thereafter, Terry, the ward of their intrusive next door neighbors, the Castevets, leaps to her death. Although Rosemary avoids Roman and Minnie Castevet, her husband, an ambitious television actor, enjoys Roman's flattery and spends his evenings with the old couple. When a rival actor is mysteriously blinded, Guy is awarded a choice part in a Broadway show. In celebration of his good fortune, Guy and Rosemary plan to conceive a child. Minnie presents Rosemary with an unappetizing dessert, which she eats out of politeness. Rosemary becomes dizzy, and Guy carries her to bed. Upon awakening, Rosemary remembers having intercourse with a rough beast before an elderly coven, but Guy assures her that the scratches on her body are the result of his drunken lovemaking. Finding herself pregnant, Rosemary consults Dr. Sapirstein, a noted obstetrician recommended by the Castevets. Instead of vitamins, Sapirstein prescribes a tonic concocted by Minnie. Alarmed by Rosemary's subsequent loss of weight and cramps, Hutch investigates Minnie's potion. Alarmed by his findings, Hutch arranges to meet Rosemary, but he falls into a coma and dies. At his funeral, Rosemary receives his legacy, a book entitled All of Them Witches, from which she deduces that the name Roman Castevet is an anagram of the celebrated warlock, Steven Marcato. Certain that the Castevets, Guy, and Sapirstein have conspired to murder her unborn child, Rosemary seeks refuge with Dr. Hill, her former gynecologist, who betrays her to the conspirators. In her apartment, Rosemary is delivered of a son. When she asks to see the baby, Guy informs her that the boy was born dead. Having heard an infant crying in the next apartment, Rosemary arms herself with a butcher knife. In the Castevets' living room she discovers the coven and her son Adrian, the antichrist, nestled in a black basinet. Although Rosemary recoils at the sight, she hums him a lullaby.
Producer: Frank Marshall, George Lucas, Howard Kazanjian
Writer: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Editor: Michael Kahn
Cinematographer: Douglas Slocombe
Genre: Adventure
Production Company: Lucasfilm, Ltd.
Composer: John Williams [composer]
In 1936 South America, archeologist-professor Indiana “Indy” Jones explores the jungle for a golden godhead. Retrieving the idol from an ancient temple, Indy unwittingly triggers a series of booby traps and narrowly escapes, but he is thwarted by the unexpected appearance of a rival archeologist named René Belloq, who is delighted to seize the relic and unleash an army of tribal warriors. Dodging arrows, Indy gets away on an awaiting seaplane. Back in the U.S., Indy returns to his university classroom, where is visited by colleague Marcus Brody. The erudite gentleman chides Indy for his illicit practices of hunting artifacts for financial gain, then alerts his friend to the presence of two U.S. intelligence agents on campus, who are waiting to meet him. In a lecture hall, the men ask Indy to interpret a secret German communiqué recently intercepted in Cairo, Egypt. The agents reveal that Nazis are excavating the area for biblical artifacts to prove Adolf Hitler is the Christian Messiah, and to wield the relics’ mystical powers. When the German dispatch gives orders to acquire a “headpiece” from a professor named Abner Ravenwood, Indy acknowledges the name of his former mentor and realizes the Nazis have discovered the ancient city of Tanis, the focus of Ravenwood’s research. Indy explains that Tanis is the burial place of the Lost Ark of the Covenant, which holds the Ten Commandments, but its exact location has remained a mystery for 3,000 years. According to ancient lore, the ark’s tomb in the “Well of Souls” can only be located by taking a special headpiece to the “Map Room” in Tanis and holding it up to the rising sun on the “Staff of Ra.” The refraction will cast a beam on a floor model of the city, and reveal the ark’s secret location. To prevent Hitler from obtaining the ark, the agents offer Indy a lucrative deal to retrieve the artifact, and he begins his journey, unaware he is being followed by a Nazi operative named Arnold Toht. In a remote region of Nepal, Indy finds Ravenwood’s tavern and learns the professor is dead, but his daughter, Marion, is running the family business. The young woman, who was once romantically involved with Indy, is displeased by the reunion and blames him for exploiting her innocence. Marion feigns ignorance about the headpiece, but she is tempted by Indy’s $3,000 payment and instructs him to come back the next day. When Indy leaves, Arnold Toht skulks inside with an army of Nepalese henchmen and demands the headpiece, threatening Marion with a hot poker from her fire pit. However, Indy comes to her rescue and a gun battle ensues, setting the tavern ablaze. In the commotion, Toht grabs the medallion, but it has been scorched by the fire and brands his palm. As Toht drops the artifact and runs away, Indy and Marion overcome their attackers. Marion seizes the headpiece with her scarf and vows to remain by Indy’s side until he pays her in full. The two fly to Cairo, where they are welcomed by Indy’s colleague, Sallah, who reports the Nazis have made progress excavating the Map Room in Tanis. After a brief respite, the couple is attacked in a marketplace, and Indy mistakenly believes his lover has been killed in a truck explosion. Consoling himself with alcohol, Indy is detained by his nemesis, René Belloq. The archeologist explains that after snatching Indy’s godhead in South America, he joined forces with the Nazis and has secret plans to obtain the ark for himself. Outraged, Indy nearly starts a gunfight, but he is saved by Sallah’s brood of children. Sallah takes Indy to the home of a mystic, who decodes the text on Ravenwood’s headpiece to reveal the exact location of the Map Room, and the men are pleased to learn that the Nazis are digging in the wrong place. At dawn, Indy and Sallah sneak to the real Map Room excavation, where Indy rappels into the chamber, affixes the headpiece to its staff, and holds it up to the rising sun to ascertain the exact coordinates of the ark’s burial place. Back at Nazi base camp, Indy disguises himself as an Arab and is joyous to find Marion alive. Although the young woman is tied to a post in Belloq’s tent, Indy refuses to release her because it will draw attention to his whereabouts, and he pursues his quest for the ark with promises to return. At sundown, Indy and Sallah excavate the Well of Souls, and pry open the roof to discover a chamber filled with venomous snakes. Despite Indy’s aversion to reptiles, he fends off the serpents with torches and retrieves the ark. As the sun rises, the ark is hoisted out of the chamber and Indy prepares to follow, but his escape is thwarted by Belloq, who has discovered the site and is thrilled to usurp Indy’s discovery yet again. Belloq, Arnold Toht, and a commander named Colonel Dietrich, throw Marion into the snake pit and trap the couple inside, sealing off light and air. However, Indy uses his bullwhip to topple a statue and knock down a wall. The couple resurfaces at an airfield where Nazis prepare to airlift the ark, but Indy fights off a Nazi muscle man, who meets his death by backing into the plane propeller, the aircraft explodes due to a gas leak. Realizing the ark will be diverted away on a truck, Indy orders Marion to meet him back in Cairo and chases the convoy on horseback. Although Indy hijacks the truck, he is thrown from the speeding vehicle and slides underneath the carriage to regain control of the wheel. In Cairo, Indy and Marion set sail with the ark, but their steamer is overtaken by a German U-boat, with Belloq and Colonel Dietrich aboard. When the Nazis recapture Marion and the ark, the steamer captain convinces the Germans that Indy is dead, and they fail to notice as he stows away on the submarine. As the U-boat lands on a remote island, Belloq convinces Dietrich to open the ark before delivering it to Hitler, and the men lead a procession to find a suitable place for the unveiling. Indy ambushes the Nazis along the way, but Belloq challenges the archeologist to destroy the relic, and Indy backs down. Indy and Marion are tied to a stake and watch from afar as the ark is opened. Although there is nothing inside but sand, steam rises from the vessel, taking the form of ghosts. As Indy warns Marion to keep her eyes shut, chaos ensues. Arnold Toht, Colonel Dietrich, and their soldiers are mesmerized by the phantoms, and Belloq is possessed by a supernatural fire that shoots laser beams from his eyes and drills onlookers through their hearts. After a gas storm sweeps away the bodies, Indy opens his eyes and embraces his terrified lover. Back in Washington, D.C., Indy reconvenes with the secret agents to receive payment for the ark and protests that the relic has been taken into custody without input from scientific researchers, who can safeguard its powers. Despite Indy’s pleas, the ark is taken away to a vast warehouse, where it is obscured in a sea of identical wooden crates labeled “top secret.”
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Alfran Productions, Inc.
Composer: Nino Rota
In August 1945, during the lavish wedding reception of his daughter Connie, Don Vito Corleone, head of a large New York crime family and "godfather" to the Italian-American community, listens to requests for favors, honoring a long-standing Sicilian tradition that a father cannot refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day. While FBI agents jot down license plate numbers of the guests, and hundreds of celebrants dance, eat and gossip in the Corleone family's Long Beach compound, Don Vito, assisted by his foster son and consigliere, Tom Hagen, listens to a plea by the undertaker Bonasera, who seeks justice for two American boys who mercilessly beat his daughter. After mildly chastising Bonasera for refusing his friendship in the past, Don Vito agrees to help in exchange for some future service. Next, Don Vito greets the amiable baker Nazorine, who seeks help in preventing the deportation of Enzo, a young apprentice baker who wants to marry Nazorine's daughter. Outside, as the family welcomes guests such as crime boss Don Emilio Barzini and Don Vito's godson, popular singer Johnny Fontane, Michael Corleone arrives at his sister's wedding with his American girl friend, Kay Adams. Michael, college educated and a decorated soldier during World War II, relates stories about Luca Brasi, a large, violent man who is unquestioningly loyal to Don Vito, but tells her "It's my family, Kay, not me." In Don Vito's study, the final supplicant is Johnny, who cries that powerful studio head Jack Woltz refuses to give him an important part in a new war movie, even though it would be a perfect, career-saving role for him. After slapping Johnny like a child and admonishing him to be a man instead of a "Hollywood finocchio," Don Vito comforts him and promises to help. Just before his father-daughter dance with Connie, Don Vito talks with his son Santino, nicknamed Sonny, and Tom, telling them that Connie's new husband, Carlo Rizzi, may have a job, but should never be privy to the family's business. Don Vito also instructs Tom to fly to Los Angeles to speak with Woltz. At Woltz's studio, when Tom politely suggests that Johnny be cast in the war film, Woltz angrily dismisses him with curses and ethnic slurs. However, after Woltz has learned that Tom is representing the Corleone family, he invites Tom to his lavish estate and apologizes for his earlier rudeness. When the men sit down to dinner after Woltz has shown Tom his beloved race horse, Khartoum, Tom again asks for the part to be given to Johnny, prompting Woltz to erupt in a rage, shouting that Johnny "ruined" a young starlet with whom Woltz had been having an affair, thus making him appear ridiculous. One morning a short time later, Woltz discovers the severed, bloody head of Khartoum in his bed, prompting him to scream in terror. Back in New York, Don Vito is approached by Sollozzo “The Turk,” a ruthless, Sicilian-born gangster who owns poppy fields in Turkey. Sollozzo, who has the backing of the rival Tattaglia family, proposes that the Corleones finance his drug operations. Although Tom and Sonny have argued that narcotics are the way of the future, and Sonny tries to say so in the meeting, Don Vito refuses to risk losing his political influence by embracing the drug traffic and declines Sollozzo's offer. Later, Don Vito privately asks Luca to let it be known to the Tattaglias that Luca might be interested in leaving the Corleones. Just before Christmas, when Luca meets with Sollozzo and one of the Tattaglias, he is caught off guard, stabbed through the hand and strangled. That same evening, Fredo, Don Vito's meek, oldest son, tells him that their driver, Paulie Gatto, has called in sick. Before entering his car, Don Vito decides to buy some fruit from a vendor and is shot several times by assailants who flee before Fredo can react. Tom is kidnapped by Sollozzo that night, and later, as Michael and Kay leave the Radio City Music Hall, Kay notices a newspaper headline announcing that Don Vito has been killed. Stunned, Michael immediately calls Sonny, who relates that their father is barely alive in the hospital and insists that Michael return to the safety of the family’s Long Beach compound. Late that night, Tom is released by Sollozzo, who is infuriated that Don Vito has survived the attack, and warns Tom that he and Sonny must make the narcotics deal with him and the Tattaglias. At the compound, Sonny and Tom try to insulate Michael from their discussions about the family business, knowing that Don Vito had wanted him to have a different kind of life. While arguing over whether or not to take Sollozzo's deal, they receive a package of a dead fish, a Sicilian symbol that Luca "sleeps with the fishes." Now the hot-headed Sonny insists that there will be a war between the Corleones and the Tattaglias. Sonny tells Clemenza, one of his father's lieutenants, to buy mattresses and other supplies to house their men in a safe place during the war and instructs Clemenza to kill Paulie for his part in Don Vito's ambush. A few days later, frustrated by his enforced idleness, Michael goes into New York City to have dinner with Kay. After telling her that she should go home to New Hampshire, but not saying when they will see each other again, Michael goes to visit his father. When he finds the hospital floor deserted and Don Vito's room unguarded, Michael checks to make certain that his father is alive, then calls Sonny to relate what has happened. After moving Don Vito's bed with the help of a nurse, Michael whispers in his ear, "Pop, I'm with you now." Moments later, when the baker Enzo innocently arrives to pay his respects, Michael advises him to leave because there will be trouble, but Enzo enthusiastically offers to help. Michael and Enzo then wait on the steps of the hospital. Because of their menacing appearance, when a car stops, the thugs inside see what they think are Don Vito's guards and drive off. Just then, several police cars appear, and the abusive Capt. McCluskey starts yelling at Michael for interfering, then brutally punches him in the face before Sonny, Tom and their men arrive. The next day, Sonny argues that they must hit back at Sollozzo, even though the corrupt McCluskey is his protector. Because Sollozzo is now asking for a meeting with Michael, who is regarded as a "civilian," Michael volunteers to kill both Sollozzo and McCluskey. A bemused Sonny does not want Michael involved, and Tom argues that this is business, not personal, but Michael insists that to him it is business. When Sonny learns from a police informant that the meeting will be held at Louis, an Italian restaurant in the Bronx, Clemenza arranges for a gun to be planted in the men's room, then teaches Michael how to kill at close range. At the restaurant, Sollozzo offers a truce to Michael if the family agrees to his terms. After excusing himself to go to the men's room, Michael retrieves the gun from behind the toilet, walks to the table and shoots both McCluskey and Sollozzo in the head, then coolly walks out to a waiting car. To avoid being the victim of a revenge killing by the Tattaglias, Michael is forced to leave for Sicily for an extended period without saying goodbye to Kay. When Don Vito, who is now recuperating at home, hears that Michael killed Sollozzo and McCluskey, he weeps over Michael's involvement. While Michael is in Sicily, a wave of violence envelopes the Corleones, the Tattaglias and the other members of the five New York crime families. At the same time, Michael falls in love at first sight with a beautiful Sicilian girl, Apollonia, and soon marries her. Some time later, when a pregnant Connie hysterically calls home and tells Sonny that Carlo has beaten her, Sonny, who had previously warned Carlo never again to hit his sister, impulsively races away from the compound without waiting for his bodyguards. When he stops to pay a toll on the deserted highway, he is ambushed by several henchmen who riddle his body with bullets before speeding away. That night, after Tom reveals Sonny’s death to his father, Don Vito says that the killing must now end and orders no more acts of vengeance. Later, he accompanies his son’s body to Bonasera’s, where he tearfully asks the undertaker to repay his debt by making Sonny presentable to his mother. Shortly thereafter, Don Tommasino, Michael’s protector in Sicily, tells him of Sonny’s death and says that he and Apollonia must leave for their own safety. As they are about to leave, Apollonia decides to surprise Michael by driving his car. Moments after Michael sees one of his bodyguards, Fabrizio, suspiciously run away, Apollonia dies when the car explodes. In New York, Don Vito has called a meeting of representatives of the five crime families of New York and New Jersey, asking for peace. After arguments on both sides, the families reach a peace accord and agree to enter the narcotics trade. As they are driving home from the meeting, Don Vito tells Tom he finally realized at the meeting that Barzini has always been behind the Tattaglias and was responsible for everything. Some time later, Michael goes to New Hampshire, where Kay has been teaching. Although he has been home for more than a year and not contacted her, he tells her that he loves her and asks her to marry him. She is reluctant, and does not understand why Michael now works for his father, but agrees because of her feelings for him and because he assures her that within five years, the Corleone family business will be completely legitimate. Soon Michael becomes the tacit head of the family as Don Vito semi-retires. Michael plans to sell the family’s olive oil business, which had been a legitimate cover for their gambling and prostitution operations, and become the sole owner of a Las Vegas casino. He sends Carlo to Las Vegas, as well as Tom, privately telling the disappointed Tom that there will be trouble at home and Tom is not a “wartime consigliere." Weeks later, on a business trip to Las Vegas, Michael is annoyed that Fredo, who was sent to Las Vegas several years before, has let himself become subservient to Moe Greene, their partner in the casino. When Greene angrily refuses to sell his interest in the casino, Fredo sides with Greene, prompting Michael to warn him never again to side with someone outside the family. One afternoon, Don Vito warns Michael about Barzini and predicts that the person who suggests a meeting with Barzini will be a traitor setting Michael up to be killed. That same afternoon, while Don Vito plays with Anthony, Michael and Kay’s three-year-old son, he has a fatal heart attack in his vegetable garden. At Don Vito’s funeral, Salvatore Tessio, another Corleone family lieutenant, tells Michael that Barzini would like a meeting. Tom is surprised that Sal, rather than Clemenza, is the traitor, but Michael realizes that, for an ambitious man like Sal, it is the smart move. He then reveals that the meeting will be held after the baptism of Carlo and Connie’s baby, also named Michael, for whom he has agreed to be godfather. While the baptismal ceremony takes place, Barzini, Tattaglia and several other Corleone enemies are gunned down in New York and Greene is killed in Las Vegas. At the compound, Tom confronts Sal, who says to tell Michael that it was only business, and resigns himself to his fate. That afternoon, Michael confronts Carlo, promising him leniency if he will just confess that he set Sonny up to be murdered. Though terrified, Carlo believes Michael and reveals that Barzini was behind it. Moments later, thinking that he will be driven to the airport, Carlo enters a car and is strangled from behind by Clemenza. When the Corleones are packing to move to Las Vegas, an hysterical Connie rushes into Don Vito’s old study and accuses Michael of murdering Carlo. Kay tries to calm her down, but when she and Michael are alone, she asks if it is true. Michael initially erupts in anger, then says that, just this one time, Kay may ask him about his business, then answers “No,” and the couple embraces. This satisfies Kay until she sees Clemenza kiss Michael’s ring and address him as “Don Corleone,” before his lieutenant, Neri, closes the study door.
Cinematographer: Eddie Linden, Vernon Walker , J. O. Taylor
Genre: Adventure, Horror
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Max Steiner
Because he refuses to disclose any information concerning the exotic location of his upcoming movie project, Carl Denham, a renowned adventure filmmaker, is forced to search the streets of New York to find a lead actress. At a fruit stand, he stumbles onto the beautiful but broke Ann Darrow as she is about to steal an apple for her dinner. Anxious for work, Ann eagerly accepts Denham's part and agrees without question to make the long sea voyage the next morning. During the trip, Denham, who has refused to disclose his final destination even to the captain, Englehorn, makes screen tests of Ann, coaching her on how to scream and look terrified for the camera. At the same time, the mysogynistic first mate, Jack Driscoll, chides Ann for being a woman on a man's ship, but soon falls in love with her. As the boat enters tropical waters, Denham finally shows Englehorn a map detailing their exact destination--a tiny island dominated by a peak called Skull Mountain. When the boat reaches the island, Ann, Denham and the crew go ashore and discover natives engaged in a frenetic religious ceremony that features men dressed in gorilla skins and a young woman tied to an altar. While Englehorn attempts to make friends so that the camera-wielding Denham can shoot the scene, the native chief eyes the blonde Ann and states cryptically that she would make a good bride for “Kong.” Nervous about the chief's interest in Ann, whose presence on the island Jack has vehemently protested, Denham orders his group back to the boat. That night, Ann is kidnapped from the ship by natives and tied to stakes outside the huge village walls. At the sounding of a gong, King Kong, a gorilla-like ape of enormous proportions, emerges from the primeval jungle and grabs Ann, carrying her away like a tiny doll in his huge hand. In close pursuit of the ape are Denham, Jack and a handful of the ship's men. They follow a trail of broken branches left by Kong and soon stumble on a dinosaur, a horny-tailed stegosaurus, which they kill with gas bombs. They then construct a raft and cross a river, where they are attacked by a brontosaurus. After the group loses several men to the brontosaurus, the survivors scramble to the river's shore and are spotted by Kong. Kong kills several more men by tossing them off a giant log into a treacherous chasm and attempts to kill Jack, who is hiding in a protected alcove. When he hears Ann, whom he has left in the nook of a dead tree, screaming, however, Kong abandons Jack and rushes to her rescue. While Kong saves Ann from the jaws of an allosaurus Jack and Denham, the last two crew survivors, reunite. Denham decides to return to shore for help and wait for Jack to signal when he has rescued Ann. Jack follows Kong and Ann into a cliffside cave and there Kong kills a giant snake. He then gently tickles Ann and plucks off and sniffs her outer clothes. When the hidden Jack inadvertently makes a noise, the ape goes to investigate, leaving Ann unprotected. A pteradodon swoops down and almost flies off with Ann, but Kong once again comes to her rescue. Distracted by the flying reptile, Kong fails to see Jack and Ann escaping down the cliffside via a ropelike vine until they are out of arm's reach. Although Kong snaps the vine in his attempt to retrieve Ann, the couple fall unharmed into the river and make a dash for the ship, closely pursued by Kong. When they finally reach the shore, Ann and Jack are met by Denham and the crew, but must still face Kong, who is rampaging through the village, killing its inhabitants in his search for Ann. To stop Kong, Denham hurls a gas bomb into his face and knocks him out. Seeing Kong unconscious, Denham decides to carry him on an enormous raft back to New York, where he knows the ape will make him a fortune. In the city, a heavily chained Kong, billed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” is a sellout attraction at a fashionable theater. When photographers' flashbulbs start popping in Ann's face, however, Kong believes she is in danger and breaks free in a protective frenzy. Ann flees with Jack, but Kong storms the nearby streets, destroying an elevated passenger-filled train and tossing a woman he momentarily mistakes for Ann to her death. Finally Kong spots Ann in a hotel room and, as a helpless Jack watches, snatches her once again. Then, as though still in the jungle, he scales the Empire State Building with Ann in his hand. At Denham's urging, the city authorities call in airplanes armed with machine guns to stop the ape, and after Kong is shot repeatedly by the gunners, he drops Ann gently on the rooftop and falls over the skyscraper's edge to his death. Upon viewing his conquered prize, Denham retorts to another onlooker that Kong was not downed by airplanes, but “twas Beauty that killed Beast.”
Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard
Directors: Arthur Penn
Producer: Warren Beatty
Writer: David Newman, Robert Benton
Editor: Dede Allen
Cinematographer: Burnett Guffey
Genre: Biography, Drama
Production Company: Tatira-Hiller Productions
Composer: Charles Strouse
During the Depression in the early 1930s, Bonnie Parker meets Clyde Barrow when he tries to steal her mother's car. Intrigued by his brazen manner and bored with her job as a waitress, she decides to become his partner in crime. Together they stage a series of amateur holdups that provide them with excitement but little monetary reward. Eventually they take on C. W. Moss, a dimwitted garage mechanic, who serves as their getaway driver. Finally they are joined by Clyde's brother Buck, recently released from prison, and his wife, Blanche, a whining preacher's daughter. As they add bank robbery and murder to their list of crimes, the quintet quickly becomes the object of statewide manhunts. While holed up in a rented apartment in Joplin, Missouri, they make the first of their incredible escapes from the police. Fascinated by the legendary reputation growing around them, they brag about their exploits, take pictures of each other, and, on one occasion, force a Texas Ranger to pose with them. Through it all a love relationship develops between Bonnie and Clyde that endures despite Clyde's impotence. After a visit with Bonnie's mother, the gang is surrounded in Dexter, Iowa. Buck dies with half of his face shot away, Blanche is blinded and captured, and Bonnie is wounded in the shoulder. The three survivors find a temporary hideout with C. W.'s father in a Louisiana town, and there Bonnie and Clyde finally consummate their love. Bonnie recovers from her wounds, and they plan to move on again; but C. W.'s father, hoping to lighten his son's punishment, has cooperated with the police in setting a trap. In May of 1934, Bonnie and Clyde ride into a police ambush and die as their bodies are riddled with a thousand rounds of ammunition.
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Patron, Inc.
Composer: Franz Waxman
Laid up with a broken leg during the height of summer, renowned New York magazine photographer L. B. “Jeff” Jeffries enters his last week of home confinement, bored and anxious. A bachelor, Jeff has been spending his days sitting in a wheelchair, watching his neighbors through the rear window of his two-room apartment. Although Stella, the nurse who drops by to massage his back and prepare his meals, disapproves of his “peeping” and counsels him to marry his girl friend, model Lisa Carol Fremont, Jeff insists that Lisa is too “perfect” and refined for his adventurous lifestyle. Later, after observing a pair of amorous newlyweds moving into one of the buildings adjacent to his, Jeff is visited by the glamorous Lisa. When Lisa, who has brought Jeff a lavish restaurant meal, suggests that he give up his globe-trotting and become a fashion photographer, Jeff reacts with disdain. Jeff and Lisa then watch as a neighbor whom Jeff calls “Miss Lonely Hearts” entertains an imaginery dinner date, and “Miss Torso,” an attractive dancer, juggles the attentions of three male admirers in her apartment. Jeff also notices the traveling salesman who lives in a second-story apartment directly across the courtyard, arguing with his bed-ridden wife. After admiring the piano playing of Jeff’s neighbor, a struggling composer, Lisa confronts Jeff about their relationship, challenging his perception that their romance is doomed because of their different lifestyles. Jeff, however, insists that the pampered Lisa would never be happy enduring hardships in exotic locales and refuses to consider changing his ways. Before leaving, Lisa announces that she cannot continue seeing him without a commitment, then promises to return the next night. After she goes, Jeff hears a woman scream and glass break, but sees nothing of note outside. During a middle-of-the-night rain shower, Jeff awakens in front of the window and notices the salesman leaving his place with his sample case. Over the next few hours, Jeff drifts in and out of sleep and sees the salesman coming and going with his case. Early the next morning, while Jeff is asleep, the salesman leaves the building with a woman, and by the time Jeff is up, the salesman has returned, alone. After Jeff mentions the salesman and his wife to Stella, the salesman looks down at the courtyard, intently watching an older couple’s dog sniffing around his garden. Intrigued by the salesman’s behavior, Jeff begins to watch him, first through a pair of binoculars, then through the telephoto lens of his camera. Jeff sees the salesman wrapping a saw and a butcher knife in newspaper and, later that evening, tells Lisa about the salesman’s late-night activities and the fact that he spent the day at home but never went into his sick wife’s bedroom. When Jeff suggests that the man might have murdered his wife, Lisa dismisses his suspicions until she spies the salesman wrapping a rope around a large trunk. Believing that the wife’s body is in the trunk, Lisa crosses the courtyard to look at the salesman’s mailbox and tells Jeff over the phone that his name is Lars Thorwald. The next morning, Jeff calls police detective Thomas J. Doyle, a friend from his war days, and tells him about Thorwald. Jeff and Stella observe two movers carrying out Thorwald’s trunk, and Stella runs downstairs to check the name on the moving truck. Although Stella is unable to get the moving company’s name, Jeff fills Tom in on all the other details when he comes by that night. Tom is unconvinced, but promises to look into the matter, unofficially. Later, after Jeff sees Thorwald shooing the neighbors’ dog away from his flowers, Tom telephones to report that Thorwald and his wife were seen leaving together the previous morning by three witnesses, including Thorwald’s superintendent, who also stated that, according to Thorwald, Mrs. Thorwald took the train to Meritsville. Jeff is unimpressed by Tom’s evidence, pointing out that the woman may not have been Mrs. Thorwald. Despite Jeff’s pleas, Tom refuses to pursue the investigation, adding that he found a postcard with a Meritsville postmark in Thorwald’s mailbox, signed, apparently, by Mrs. Thorwald. Discouraged but not defeated, Jeff continues to spy on Thorwald, becoming excited when he sees him pulling his wife’s jewelry out of her handbag. When Jeff tells Lisa about the handbag, she insists that, as a woman, Mrs. Thorwald would not have left without her bag or her jewelry. Before they can act on their latest discoveries, Tom stops by to announce that Thorwald’s trunk, which he had tracked down, contained only Mrs. Thorwald’s clothes and was picked up by her at the Meritsville train station. After Tom leaves, Lisa admits that she is strangely disappointed to learn that Thorwald is not a killer after all. Lisa then slips into a negligee she brought in a purse-sized overnight bag, hoping to prove her resourcefulness to Jeff, but moments later, the courtyard erupts with noise when the older couple’s dog is found strangled. Jeff observes that only one person—Thorwald—did not look out during the ruckus. Convinced that Thorwald killed the dog because of its snooping, Jeff studies some slides he took of the courtyard two weeks before and shows Lisa and Stella that Thorwald’s zinnias are now shorter. Hoping to lure Thorwald out, Jeff writes him an anonymous note, asking, “What have you done with her?” After Lisa slips the note under his door, Thorwald reads it and begins packing. Jeff looks up Thorwald’s phone number and calls him, identifying himself as the note writer and demanding that they meet at a hotel. As soon as Thorwald leaves, Lisa and Stella race down to the courtyard and start digging under the zinnias, but when they fail to unearth anything, Lisa climbs the fire escape and sneaks through Thorwald’s open window. Soon after, Thorwald returns and finds Lisa, who is looking for Mrs. Thorwald’s wedding ring. Thorwald begins assaulting Lisa, but Jeff calls the police in time to save her. While the police are getting a statement from Thorwald, Lisa, aware that Jeff is watching her through his telephoto lens, lets him know that she found the wedding ring. Thorwald catches her gesturing to Jeff, however, and deduces in which apartment he is hiding. After Lisa is hauled to the police station, Jeff sends Stella out with some bail money and frantically calls Tom. Thorwald then bursts in, but Jeff, sitting in the dark, momentarily blinds him by taking flash pictures with his camera. Despite the flashes, Thorwald grabs Jeff, who yells to alert the neighbors. The courtyard fills with on-lookers as Thorwald wrestles with Jeff and dangles him upside-down out the window. Although Tom arrives with some back-up, the police can only break Jeff’s subsequent fall. The police apprehend Thorwald, who confesses that he deposited most of his wife’s body in the East River, except for her head, which he first buried in the garden and then packed in a hatbox. Later, while Miss Lonely Hearts and the composer celebrate the publication of his song, and Miss Torso welcomes home her soldier sweetheart, Jeff, who now was two broken legs, is back in his wheelchair, with the devoted Lisa by his side.
Production Company: Warner Bros., Inc., Elmer Enterprises, Inc.
On a Friday afternoon, Atlanta men Ed Gentry, Lewis Medlock, Bobby Trippe and Drew Ballinger drive two cars to the top of the Cahulawassee River, planning to canoe through the river's rapids and return home on Sunday. The acerbic, athletic Lewis, who has convinced his more docile friend Ed to come on the trip, mourns the impending loss of the river's wildness, which will be tamed when its waters are dammed to make a recreational lake for newly constructed summer homes. When the group arrives at a ramshackle gas station in the hills, Lewis pays two mountain men to follow them to the edge of the river, then drive their cars down to Aintry, a small town at its base. While insurance salesman Bobby makes jokes about the crude living conditions of the hill people, Drew strums his guitar and enjoys a rousing duet with a boy with odd-looking eyes who plays the banjo like an accomplished professional, but does not speak and will not shake hands with Drew. Lewis refuses to ask for directions to the river from "crackers," preferring to drive wildly through the woods until he finds it. Although Ed is happy with his ordinary, middle-class life, he hero-worships Lewis, who has honed his skills as an outdoorsman and is convinced that in the future, only those with the skill to survive against nature will prevail. When the men put their canoes into the water, Lewis takes the overweight, out-of-shape Bobby, while Ed and Drew, who are similar in temperament, ride together. That afternoon they successfully navigate some rapids, prompting Ed, Bobby and Drew to laugh as they set up camp on the side of the river, and Lewis grudgingly tells the exhilarated Bobby, "You did good, Chubby." After a night of drinking, Ed, who is the first one up on Saturday morning, takes his bow and arrow to go hunting in the woods. Although he has an easy shot to kill a deer, as he draws his bow, his hand shakes so violently that his arrow lands in a tree, alerting the deer, which runs away. Back at camp, Ed lies that he found nothing to shoot, and Drew wonders aloud how anyone could shoot an animal. As they prepare for the day's ride, the men switch partners when Lewis tells Ed that he does not want to have Bobby with him. Following more rapids, as well as long stretches of calm waters, Ed and Bobby, who have passed Lewis and Drew, pull their canoe ashore. Moments later, Ed sees two mountain men, one of whom is toothless and carries a shotgun. Although Ed and Bobby try to avoid confrontation, the mountain men grab the stronger Ed and use his belt to bind his neck to a tree. As the toothless man guards Ed, the other man uses his knife to make a shallow cut along Ed's chest, then forces the terrified Bobby to remove his clothes and squeal like a pig while he sodomizes him. Afterward, while Bobby lies whimpering on the hillside, both of the mountain men lasciviously eye Ed as Ed glimpses Lewis sneaking up from the riverbank. Moments later, Lewis shoots an arrow through the rapist, causing the toothless man to run into the hills. After the rapist dies, Lewis, Ed and Bobby argue with Drew about what to do. While Drew proffers that the killing was justifiable homicide and they must take the body to the sheriff, Lewis argues that, by doing so, they would either be killed by the rapist's friends or would have to come back to the area for a trial by locals, who would certainly convict them of killing one of their own. Although Drew insists that he is right, the others vote to go along with Lewis and bury the body in the woods, which Lewis assures them will be at the bottom of a deep lake after the dam floods the area. When the four go back into their canoes, Lewis continues with Bobby, while Ed takes Drew, who fails to put on his lifejacket. As they encounter a treacherous section of rapids, Ed repeatedly yells to Drew to put on his lifejacket, but he does not respond, then suddenly lunges forward into the water. In their simultaneous attempts to find Drew and forge the fierce rapids, both canoes capsize, and Ed's wooden canoe is broken apart. When they finally reach the end of the rapids, Lewis' leg has been badly broken and Ed can only find Drew's guitar. Huddled in a shelter of rocks, Lewis screams that Drew was shot from above, as both Bobby and Ed ask him what they should do. Convinced by Lewis that Drew has been shot by the toothless man, who is stalking them from the hilltop, Ed waits until nightfall, then climbs the steep cliff with his bow and arrow. Exhausted, Ed falls asleep until morning, when he awakens to see a man carrying a shotgun on the ridge above. Ed's hand shakes so violently as he takes aim with his bow that when the arrow is released, the kickback of the bow wounds Ed in the side. Moments later, the other man advances toward Ed and takes aim with his shotgun, but falls over dead, Ed's arrow having run him through. Unsure if he has killed the right man, Ed opens the corpse's mouth and is startled to see a full set of teeth. Ed then jiggles the front teeth and discovers that the man was wearing a bridge that, when removed, makes him appear toothless. Ed throws the shotgun and his bow into the river below and ties the man's body with his rope, but as they descend the cliff, they both fall and Ed becomes entwined with the corpse under the surface of the water. After freeing himself, Ed swims to Lewis and Bobby, but none of the men know for certain whether or not Ed has killed the right man. When they find Drew's body, they examine it but cannot be sure if he was shot or whether his injuries were the result of being crushed against the rocks. After using heavy stones to sink his body, as well as the man Ed killed, Ed and Bobby place Lewis, who is in excruciating pain, inside the metal canoe, then paddle through the last grueling stretch of rapids. They finally arrive at Aintry, but before reaching the shore, as the men laugh nervously over having survived the trip, Ed insists that they must all stick to the story that Drew drowned when they lost the wooden canoe in the last stretch of rapids. While Bobby stays with Lewis and waits for medical help, Ed walks around the village and sees that their cars are parked safely nearby. After an ambulance takes Lewis to the hospital, a local deputy and Sheriff Bullard question Bobby and Ed. While the deputy is sure that Bobby and Ed are lying, the more restrained Bullard does not assume the worst, even though one of the local men is missing after having gone hunting. That night, as Bobby socializes with guests at an inn, Ed starts to cry, garnering sympathy from the others. The next morning, when Bobby tells Ed that the sheriff's men have found parts of the wooden canoe farther up river than their story suggested, Ed accuses him of talking. When Ed later is questioned by Bullard, he tries to cover their lies by saying that they may have been mistaken about which section of rapids caused the accident. At the hospital, under the watchful eye of a deputy, Ed whispers to Lewis that they had to change their story, prompting the semi-conscious Lewis to proclaim loudly that he does not remember anything that happened in the last set of rapids. Later, as Bullard puts Ed into his car, he wonders why they found four life jackets up river, but lets Ed leave, sternly advising him never to come back again, and saying that the missing hunter will no doubt show up one day. Before leaving Aintry, Ed gazes at the town cemetery, which, like the rest of the town, will soon be buried at the bottom of the newly formed lake. After returning to Atlanta and informing Drew's wife and son of his death, Ed resumes his life but is haunted by nightmares in which the hand of the man they buried bobs up to the surface of the lake.
In 1937 Los Angeles, private detective J. J. "Jake" Gittes, who specializes in adultery cases, is hired by the well-dressed Mrs. Evelyn Mulwray to follow her husband Hollis, chief engineer for the Department of Water and Power. Jake later sits in on a city council meeting, where Mayor Bagby offers his support for a new dam that will guarantee an adequate water supply for the city. After Hollis emotionally speaks out condemning the project as unsafe, Jake follows him as he inspects the dry Los Angeles riverbed under the Hollenbeck Bridge, then goes out to Point Fermin, where thousands of gallons of water rush through a drainage pipe out into the sea that night. A few days later, Jake and his associate, Duffy, photographs Hollis rowing a pretty young blonde woman around Echo Park Lake. Jake then follows the couple to the El Macondo courtyard apartments, where he secretly takes pictures of the girl embracing Hollis. The next day, one of Jake's photographs is printed on the front page of the newspaper, accompanied by a story about Hollis' "love nest." When Jake arrives at his office, he is stunned to learn that the woman claiming to be Mrs. Mulwray was an imposter, and the real Evelyn, who has come to the office, intends to sue him. Angry that he has been duped, Jake finesses his way into Hollis' office, but finds no compromising information, only a handwritten notation reading "Oak Pass Reservoir, Tuesday, 2:00 pm." His search is interrupted by Hollis' underling, Russ Yelburton, who assures him that Hollis is not the sort of man to have an affair, then escorts Jake out. Jake then goes to Hollis' estate to speak with him directly. Evelyn says that she will not pursue her lawsuit, then suggests that Hollis might be at the Oak Pass reservoir. Jake then drives there and encounters Lt. Lou Escobar, an old rival from his days on the police force in Chinatown, and sees Hollis' dead body being pulled from the water. Evelyn later identifies Hollis at the morgue and refutes Escobar's suggestion that her husband committed suicide, claiming that they were trying to work out their problems over his affair. Outside, Jake tries to convince Evelyn that Hollis was murdered, but she insists that it was an accident. After she leaves, Jake goes back inside to look around and is puzzled when a medical examiner casually tells him that one of the bodies in the morgue was a homeless man who drowned under the Hollenbeck Bridge. Knowing that there should not have been enough water there to drown someone, Jake revisits the bridge. After finding only a small pool of water in the gravelly land below, Jake speaks with a boy on horseback and learns that water rushes through at night. When Jake returns to walk around the Oak Park Reservoir that evening, he hears a gunshot, then a rush of water, which quickly envelopes him. After making his way out of the torrent, he is stopped by a short man in a white suit, accompanied by Claude Mulvihill, a cheap detective whom Jake detests. The short man puts a knife into Jake's left nostril, then suddenly cuts through it, warning Jake that next time he will lose his entire nose. At the office the next day, as Duffy and Jake’s other associate, Walsh, try to talk him out of pursuing the Mulwray case, he receives a phone call from a woman named Ida Sessions, who reveals that she was hired to impersonate Mrs. Mulwray but had no idea that anyone would be killed. Because she is frightened, she will not reveal anything more, but tells him to look in the obituary column. Later, Jake goes back to see Yelburton, and while he is waiting, notices several pictures on the walls of Hollis with Noah Cross, the man whom Walsh had photographed a few days before having a heated argument with Hollis outside the Pig 'n Whistle restaurant. Yelburton's secretary tells him that Cross and Hollis owned the water company in partnership, but Hollis thought that water should belong to the people and gave the company to the city. When he speaks with Yelburton, Jake alludes to knowing more than he does, saying that Hollis’ murder is tied to the new dam and the deliberate dumping of thousands of gallons of water during a drought. After Yelburton sheepishly admits that some water has been diverted quietly to the northwest San Fernando Valley, Jake proffers that he is not after him, but those behind him. Returning to his office, Jake is visited by Evelyn, who wants to hire him to investigate Hollis' murder. Some time later, Jake goes to Catalina Island to the Albacore Club to see Cross, whom he has learned is Evelyn’s father. Implying that he does not want his vulnerable daughter to be taken advantage of, but also indicating that he feels sorry for the girl Hollis was seeing, Cross offers to double what Evelyn is paying if Jake finds the girl. Jake catches Cross in a lie when he says that he had not spoken to Hollis in years, but Cross brushes aside Jake’s revelation that they had been photographed together. Some time later, Jake goes to the Hall of Records, where he discovers that thousands of acres of farm land in the Valley recently have been sold. Armed with a list of the purchases he has torn from the record books, Jake drives to the Valley but finds himself chased by a family of angry farmers who think he works for the water company. Just before Jake is knocked out by one of the younger farmers, the father snarls that the city has attacked their wells to force them to sell their land cheap. When Jake wakes up, Evelyn is with him, summoned by the father, who found her card in Jake’s pocket. As they drive back into town, Jake tells her that the proposed dam is a fraud because the water will be going to unincorporated areas of the Valley instead of the city of Los Angeles. He also tells her about the recent land sales at bargain prices. As Evelyn comments on the old-fashioned names of the buyers, Jake suddenly remembers that one of them, Jaspar Lamar Crabb, who was listed in the obituary column Ida Sessions suggested he look at, had died a week before his deed was recorded. Because Crabb had lived at the Mar Vista Rest Home, Jake suggests they drive there. Pretending that they are looking for a home for his father, they ask to look around. Jake recognizes the names of many of the residents as the same as those on the newly recorded deeds, but when he speaks with one of the residents, Emma Dills, who is making a quilt with an emblem for the Albacore Club, she knows nothing about any property in the Valley. The home’s manager, now joined by Claude, then orders them to leave. Outside, Jake sees the man in the white suit approaching and, with Evelyn’s quick driving, is able to escape. Later, at Evelyn’s house, the two make love. After Evelyn receives a phone call, she tells him that she must leave, but first confides that her father owns the Albacore Club. When Jake then reveals that he had met her father there, she becomes unsettled and warns him that her father is dangerous. Suspicious of the phone call, Jake follows Evelyn to a house on Canyon Drive where he peeks through the window and sees the young blonde woman crying, apparently struggling with Evelyn and her Chinese butler, Kahn. When Evelyn gets into her car, she is startled by Jake, who assumes that the girl is being held against her will and coldly threatens to call the police. Evelyn then says that the girl is her sister and implies that she condoned Hollis' affair because she wanted him to be happy. Finally back at his house, Jake receives two anonymous calls from a man who says that Ida Sessions wants to see him. The next morning, Jake arrives at Sessions’ house, where he discovers her dead body, then is surprised by Escobar and his partner, Loach. Escobar guesses that Ida had initially hired Jake but assumes that Evelyn killed her husband and is being blackmailed by Jake. Escobar also reveals that the autopsy on Hollis showed that he had drowned in salt water, not the reservoir’s fresh water. After Jake tries to convince Escobar that there has been a plot to divert water and that Hollis was murdered because of it, Escobar gives him two hours to find Evelyn and bring her in to the police. Jake then goes to Evelyn’s house, but only finds the maid. He then goes outside and gazes at the pond, which the gardener complains is filled with salt water. Remembering that he had seen something shiny in the pond the first time he visited, Jake and the gardener retrieve a broken pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Jake then drives to the Canyon Drive house and gruffly asks Evelyn if the glasses belonged to Hollis. After she acknowledges that they look like his, Jake calls Escobar and tells him to come over. Evelyn is confused by Jake’s actions, prompting him to demand that she tell him about the girl, suggesting that she killed Hollis out of jealousy and shouting that he knows that she does not have a sister. As Jake angrily starts to slap her, Evelyn finally breaks down and screams "she's my sister and my daughter." She then explains to the stunned Jake that she became pregnant at age fifteen after her father raped her, then went to Mexico, where Hollis took care of her and continued to take care of both her and the girl, who is named Katherine. Now Jake tells her to find a place to go, and Evelyn suggests Kahn's house in Chinatown. Before leaving, Evelyn glances again at the eyeglasses and mentions that they could not have belonged to Hollis because he did not wear bifocals. A short time after Evelyn drives away with Katherine, Escobar and Loach arrive. Jake lies that Evelyn has gone to her maid's house in San Pedro and offers to give them the address, but Escobar insists that Jake come along. When they arrive in the San Pedro, Escobar reluctantly acquiesces to Jake’s request for a few minutes alone with Evelyn. The house actually belongs to Curly, a man who had hired Jake to follow his cheating wife. Once inside, Jake asks Curly to take him for a ride in his truck, and while Jake hides from sight, offers to forgive his bill and pay him $100 if he will take Evelyn and Katherine to Ensenada in his boat. Later, outside Evelyn’s house, Jake loads Curly's truck with her suitcases, then calls Cross to tell him that he has found the girl and he should bring his checkbook to Evelyn’s house. When Cross arrives, Jake confronts him about murdering Hollis and raping Evelyn. Although Cross genuinely admired Hollis for "making this town," he admits to murdering him so that water could be brought to the Valley. He also said it was not for the money, which he did not need, but for the future, explaining that once water is in the Valley, the land will be incorporated into the city. With Loach as his henchman, Cross forces Jake to take them to Katherine. When Cross, Jake and Loach arrive on Chinatown’s Alameda Street a short time later, they are approached by Escobar and his men, who start to handcuff Jake. Happy to be taken out of danger, Jake blurts out that Cross killed Hollis. During the confusion of conflicting stories, Evelyn and Katherine approach Evelyn's car. When Cross tries to introduce himself to Katherine as her grandfather, Evelyn draws a gun and warns that he will never have her. After shooting Cross in the arm, she drives off, ignoring Escobar’s order that she stop. When she continues driving down the street, Escobar and his men shoot at the car until it stops. Hearing the sound of the car’s blaring horn in the distance, Jake, Escobar, Cross and the others rush to it and find Katherine covered in blood, screaming next to Evelyn’s dead body. Cross pulls Katherine away, shielding her eyes, as Jake stares at Evelyn’s body. When he directs a crack at Escobar, Escobar screams at Walsh and Duffy to do Jake a favor and take him away. As Jake is being pulled away by his friends, Walsh tries to comfort him saying, “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.”
Producer: George Axelrod, John Frankenheimer, Howard W. Koch
Writer: George Axelrod
Editor: Ferris Webster, Carl Mahakian
Cinematographer: Lionel Lindon
Genre: Drama
Production Company: M. C. Productions
During the Korean War, members of a U. S. Army patrol are captured and taken to Manchuria by Chinese Communists who brainwash them into believing that Raymond Shaw, a mother-dominated sergeant, has led a successful action against the Communists. Back in the United States, Raymond is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on the strength of his comrades' testimony. Actually he is now a puppet of the Communists; at the sight of a Queen of Diamonds, his mind is triggered into obeying any instruction, retaining no knowledge of his subsequent actions. Meanwhile, another member of the patrol, Bennett Marco, begins having nightmares in which he vaguely recalls what happened in Korea. Suspicious, he starts an investigation and discovers Raymond's strange reaction to the playing card. Unknown to Raymond, the key Communist behind the U. S. operation is his mother, a politically ambitious woman who plans to have her son shoot the presidential nominee during a rally at Madison Square Garden, thus paving the way for her husband, Senator Iselin, the vice-presidential nominee, to take control of the government. As part of the Communist master plan, she uses the cards to force Raymond into killing both his wife, Jocie, and his father-in-law, Senator Jordan, a crusading liberal and his mother's chief political enemy. On the night of the rally, Marco confronts Raymond with a handful of the cards and tries to convince him that he no longer has control of his own mind, but Raymond follows his mother's instructions and takes a rifle to a deserted projection booth. At the last moment, however, the hypnotic spell breaks and he kills his mother and stepfather and then takes his own life.
Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Alec Coppel, Samuel Taylor
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Genre: Romance
Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp.
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
San Francisco police detective John “Scottie” Ferguson is forced to retire after he is involved in a rooftop chase and his acrophobia and accompanying vertigo leads to the death of a fellow officer. Although Scottie hopes to overcome his phobia, his longtime friend, Midge Wood, an artist who is in love with him, cautions him that only a severe emotional shock might snap him out of it. One day, Scottie tells Midge that he has been contacted by Gavin Elster, an old college friend. Scottie meets with Elster at his office near the waterfront, where Elster oversees a shipbuilding business. Elster informs Scottie that he is worried about his young, blonde wife Madeleine, whose rich family built the business that Elster runs. Scottie is baffled by Elster’s claims that Madeleine has been having blackouts and seems to be possessed by someone from the past. Although Scottie is reluctant to become involved, Elster convinces him that he needs a friend to observe Madeleine before he commits her to a mental institution. That night, Scottie goes to Ernie’s, a popular restaurant, so that he can see Madeleine for the first time as she dines with her husband. Scottie is awed by Madeleine’s beauty and the next morning, follows her as she leaves home and goes to a flower shop to buy a nosegay. Seeming to be in a trance, Madeleine then goes to the cemetery of the old Mission Dolores and stands before a grave. After Madeleine departs, Scottie reads the gravestone, which belongs to Carlotta Valdes, who died in 1857 at the age of 26, the same age as Madeleine. Scottie then follows Madeleine to the Palace of the Legion of Honor art gallery and watches as she sits motionless in front of a portrait of a young woman. Scottie is stunned to see that the nosegay Madeleine carries is an exact duplicate of the one in the portrait, and that she even wears the same hairstyle as the painting’s subject. Upon learning that the painting is called “Portrait of Carlotta,” Scottie follows Madeleine as she drives to the McKittrick Hotel, where she enters a room on the second floor. The landlady, who knows Madeleine as Carlotta Valdes, tells Scottie that “Carlotta” comes to the hotel for a few hours several times a week. When Scottie searches the room, however, Madeleine has disappeared. Scottie then goes to Midge’s and when he asks about sources of information about old San Francisco, she takes him to see bookstore owner Pop Leibel. Pop relates that Carlotta was a young beauty, reared in an old mission and romanced by a rich, older man who built a mansion for her. After their child was born, however, the man took the child and deserted Carlotta, who went mad and committed suicide. Scottie is intrigued when Pop states that Carlotta’s mansion eventually became the McKittrick Hotel. The next day, Scottie tells Elster of his findings, and Elster confesses that he knew about Carlotta but did not tell Scottie in order not to prejudice him. Elster reveals that Carlotta was Madeleine’s great-grandmother, but when Scottie declares that it would be natural for Madeleine to become obsessed with her ancestor, Elster asserts that while Madeleine’s mother told him the truth, she never told Madeleine for fear of upsetting her with the knowledge of insanity in their family. Elster insists that Madeleine, who owns several pieces of Carlotta’s jewelry, including the distinctive necklace she wore while sitting for her portrait, has become possessed by Carlotta. Later, Scottie again follows Madeleine, with whom he has become obsessed, as she goes to the museum and then to Fort Point underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. When Madeleine suddenly throws herself into the water, Scottie jumps in and rescues her. Scottie takes the unconscious Madeleine to his apartment to recover and when she awakens, she claims to have no memory of the incident, although she does recall being at Fort Point. When Scottie then asks her if she has ever been to the art gallery containing Carlotta’s portrait, she states that she has not, confirming Elster’s assertion that she does not remember her wanderings to places connected to Carlotta. Their conversation is interrupted by a phone call from Elster, and while Scottie updates him on Madeleine’s condition, Madeleine departs. The following day, Scottie is tailing Madeleine when she comes to his apartment to leave him a note. Scottie suggests that they take a drive, and they go to a Sequoia forest, where they discuss the ephemeral nature of time and memory. As Scottie presses her about why she jumped into the bay, and about “where” and “when” she currently is, Madeleine relates that she feels like she is walking down a long corridor, covered with mirrored fragments that reflect a life not her own, yet familiar. When Scottie continues to question her, Madeleine reveals her fear that she is insane and will die soon. Scottie embraces her and assures her that he will never let her go, and their relationship is sealed with a passionate kiss. Sometime later, Madeleine awakens Scottie late one night, telling him that she had a recurring nightmare about an old Spanish church. Scottie recognizes her description of the area as nearby San Juan Bautista, an old, Spanish mission that has been preserved as it was one hundred years ago, but Madeleine insists that she has never been there. That afternoon, Scottie takes her there to reassure her that it is a real place and that she has nothing to fear from it. In the livery stable, Madeleine describes having lived at the mission, as if recalling Carlotta’s memories of her youth, and Scottie tries to reason with her, showing her things that she might have once seen and become confused about. After sharing another passionate kiss with Scottie, Madeleine runs off, crying that although she loves him, there is something she must do, and that it is too late for them. Scottie follows her as she races up into the church’s bell tower, but as he climbs the stairs, begins to suffer from vertigo. Madeleine reaches the top of the tower before Scottie, and as he looks through a window, sees her fall to the roof of the church below. Devastated, Scottie leaves the scene. Soon after, at the coroner’s inquest, Madeleine’s death is ruled a suicide, although the official lambasts Scottie’s lack of action. Elster consoles Scottie, asserting that it was his fault for getting Scottie involved, and tells him that he is moving to Europe. After having a terrifying nightmare about Madeleine’s death, Scottie suffers a nervous breakdown and is institutionalized for a year. Upon his release, Scottie sees women resembling Madeleine everywhere he goes until one day, he sees a redheaded woman who looks so strongly like Madeleine that he follows her to her room in a cheap hotel. There, the woman, whose name is Judy Barton, believes that Scottie is trying to pick her up, but when he confesses that she reminds him of someone he once loved, she softens and agrees to dine with him that evening. After Scottie departs, however, Judy begins to pack, then writes a letter to Scottie, confessing that Elster concocted a scheme to kill his wife and make Scottie a dupe to cover his crime. As Judy writes, she recalls how Elster transformed her, his mistress, into a sophisticated double of the real Madeleine, then employed Scottie to follow her, and as they hoped, Scottie fell in love with her. Judy had not planned on reciprocating his love, however, and was distressed upon having to betray him by running to the bell tower, from which Elster threw the already dead body of his wife. Deciding that she wants to make Scottie love her as herself, not as Madeleine, Judy destroys the letter. After dinner, Scottie begs to spend more time with her and Judy consents, although as the days pass, she is unnerved by his attempts to transform her into Madeleine by buying her similar clothes and having her hair dyed platinum blonde. Desperate to regain his affection, however, Judy goes along with his efforts until she looks just as she did when she was impersonating Madeleine. His dream of resurrecting Madeleine achieved, Scottie kisses Judy deeply, recalling the last time that he kissed Madeleine before her death. As they prepare to go out, however, Judy unthinkingly dons Carlotta’s necklace, and Scottie deduces Elster’s scheme, and Judy’s part in it. Scottie drives the nervous Judy to San Juan Bautista and there forces her to climb the bell tower, stating that this is his “second chance.” As they climb, Scottie realizes that he no longer suffers from vertigo, and Judy confesses to her part in the crime, revealing that Elster discarded her after his wife’s death. Alternately calling her Madeleine and Judy, Scottie tells her how much he loved her, and Judy responds that they can begin again, with her transformation back into Madeleine as proof of her love for him. Just then, a nun comes into the tower and her footsteps frighten Judy, who steps back and fall to her death on the roof below. Shattered, Scottie looks down at her body.
Production Company: The Mirisch Company, Inc., Alpha Corp.
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
In 1942 Germany, Allied air force prisoners from England, Australia, Scotland, Canada and America are transferred to a special, maximum security compound, Stalag Luft III. The camp Kommandant, Luftwaffe Col. Von Luger, meets Senior British Officer Capt. Ramsey to warn him that although the newly arriving prisoners are well-known for wreaking havoc throughout the Reich with their constant camp breakouts, they will have no success at Stalag III. Undaunted, Ramsey reminds Von Luger that it is the sworn duty of every officer to attempt escape. Among the new arrivals at the compound are Scottish Flying Officer Archie Ives, American pilot Capt. Virgil Hilts, American R.A.F. Flt. Lt. Robert Hendley, R.A.F. Lt. Commander Eric Ashley-Pitt, Australians Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick and Flt. Lt. Denys Cavendish, Polish R.A.F. Flt. Lt. Danny Velinski and R.A.F. Flt. Lt. Willie Dickes. Within hours of their arrival, Danny and Willie make an escape attempt, trying to blend in with Russian workers while Sedgwick creates a diversion by starting a fight. Although several men successfully hide among piles of tree branches in departing trucks, they are caught at the gate. Meanwhile, Hilts tells Ives that he already has discovered a blind spot between the guard towers, but when he tests his theory by tossing, then trying to retrieve a baseball from the spot, he is stopped by guards and Von Luger sentences him and Ives to twenty days in the isolation block, known as “the cooler.” The next day, Hendley, Ashley-Pitt and fellow R.A.F. Flt. Lt. Sandy “Mac” MacDonald are concerned to note the arrival of British Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett under Gestapo and SS escort. When Von Luger protests the security organizations’ interference, Gestapo head Kuhn declares that Roger is the suspected ringleader of major POW breakouts and will be executed on his next arrest. Later, Ramsey welcomes Roger and informs him that most of his team of experts is also in the camp. When Roger declares his intention to organize a massive breakout of 250 men, Ramsey is taken aback, but Roger insists that their duty is to harass, confound and confuse the enemy. That night, Roger tells several of his men that the prisoners will take up approved camp activities such as gardening and sports, which will serve as cover while others dig not one, but three underground tunnels to the forest nearby. Amazed by the audacity of the plan, the men are galvanized and each leader of a particular group organizes their work for the next several months: master forger Flt. Lt. Colin Blythe requires paper, inks, a camera and current travel documents; tailor Griffith must turn old uniforms and every bit of cloth into suits and Wehrmacht uniforms; and security head Sorren must set up an impenetrable web of communication on the whereabouts of all camp guards. Hendley, known as a “scrounger,” furnishes an odd assortment of necessities through bribery and theft. Mac, head of intelligence, provides Roger with a description of all the wood that can be safely stolen throughout the camp to shore up the tunnel walls. Cavendish, the surveyor, works with “tunneling kings” Danny and Willie, and soon the three tunnels, nicknamed "Tom, Dick and Harry," are begun in the huts closest to the forest edge, with the men digging thirty feet down to mute the activity. Roger soon learns that Hilts and Ives, who became friends while in the cooler, are planning their own breakout, which he allows them to continue to distract Von Luger. Hilts's and Ives’s attempt is quickly discovered and the men are returned to the cooler. As the intensive tunneling continues over the next several weeks, the problem of moving and hiding tons of dirt becomes critical. Ashley-Pitt, in charge of dispersal, devises a plan whereby socks of dirt, held closed by pins attached to strings, are placed down a man’s pant legs, thus allowing streaming dirt from the pant bottoms to be easily and stealthily spread across the grounds. Soon, the men are gardening with fervor as dirt is continually distributed about the compound. As times passes, the men continue to participate enthusiastically in all sporting and holiday events, choreographed to cover another phase of the tunnel excavation and construction. Having discerned that young German guard Werner, whom the men call “The Ferret,” is malleable, Hendley coerces him to secure a number of crucial items and, later, steals his wallet to provide his roommate Blythe with appropriate travel and identity passes to copy. Later, Roger meets with Hilts, who admits that he and Ives are considering another breakout. When Roger suggests that Hilts escape and allow himself to be recaptured to provide them with exclusive details of the layout of the nearby town and train station, Hilts refuses. Although Danny is plagued by numerous cave-ins as the tunnel construction continues, eventually enough wood is gathered to shore up the walls, rail tracks are laid, electric lighting is set up and a relay trolley system is rigged to pull the men and equipment through the lengthening, narrow passageways. Hoping to set the escape date to coincide with the new moon, Roger orders all work halted on tunnels Dick and Harry to concentrate on completing the shortest tunnel, Tom. After hoarding potatoes for months, Hilts, Hendley and Goff, the only other American in the camp, concoct moonshine from a homemade still and on the 4th of July celebrate American Independence Day with the entire camp. While the men celebrate, Von Luger uses the distraction to investigate all of the empty huts and the entrance to “Tom” is discovered. Ives, overcome by despair at the discovery, stumbles toward the barbed wire fence, blindly intent on escaping, and is shot dead by a guard. That afternoon, Hilts tells Roger that he will escape that night and make the reconnaissance mission. Soon after, Hilts is returned to the camp and placed in the cooler. Work continues on the next shortest tunnel, Harry, and Roger again sets the escape night to coincide with the next new moon. After drawing lots, the men go through “dress rehearsal” to practice their identities as German soldiers or businessmen. As the date looms closer, Blythe realizes that his long-distance eyesight has begun to fail rapidly due to the strain. A couple of nights before the escape attempt, Willie discovers Danny intent on breaking out through the fence and his friend confesses that he is secretly claustrophobic and unable to return to the tunnel. After Willie promises his support, Danny agrees to try the tunnel again. The night before the escape, Roger informs Blythe that he is aware of his near blindness and cannot allow Blythe to go. Pointing out that Roger is as much of a hazard because of his notoriety as the helpless Blythe, Hendley insists on managing Blythe’s departure and Roger reluctantly consents. On the day of the escape, Hilts is released from the cooler and reports to Mac, who informs him that he will be directing each of the men as they exit the tunnel into the forest. After bidding Ramsey farewell, Roger, Mac and Ashley-Pitt enter the tunnel, only to run into a panicked Danny who has bolted, unable to endure the small space. Roger lets Danny and Willie return to the hut and then proceeds to the tunnel’s end. There, Hilts pushes up the last few inches of earth to the outside and discovers, to his horror, that the exit falls some twenty feet short of the forest edge and is in full view of a patrolling guard. Realizing that the travel permits and documents are all dated for that day, Roger frantically wonders what to do, when Hilts volunteers to hide in the forest and, using a rope, to signal each man when it is safe to exit. The plan proceeds slowly, and just as Willie convinces Danny to return to the tunnel, an air raid occurs, extinguishing all the lights in the compound. Although Danny panics in the darkness, Willie keeps him under control and Roger encourages as many men to flee under cover of darkness as possible, including Hendley and Blythe. After the all-clear, Roger, Mac and Sedgwick escape but the next man out trips, alerting the guards. When the next man waiting in the tunnel grows impatient at not receiving the signal to exit, he climbs out right at the foot of the guard. Hilts flees, but the remaining men are stopped in the hut and at the tunnel exit. The next morning Von Luger learns that seventy-six men have escaped and confronts Ramsey. At the town of Neustadt, Roger, Mac, Ashley-Pitt, Hendley and Blythe catch the next train, which is also boarded by Gestapo agents. Fearing scrutiny, Hendley and Blythe jump from the train as the others continue without incident to the next town. Meanwhile several others, having caught earlier trains, struggle to get out of Germany: Sedgwick bicycles toward the French border; Hilts steals a Wehrmacht motorcycle and uniform and heads to Switzerland; Cavendish hitchhikes on a delivery truck; and Danny and Willie row a small boat down a river. At the next town, Roger, Mac and Ashley-Pitt disembark from the train, but when Ashley-Pitt observes that an SS agent seems to recognize Roger, he attacks the agent and is shot running away, allowing Roger and Mac time to evade detection. Shortly afterward, Cavendish is picked up by German soldiers and taken for interrogation by Kuhn, and discovers several of the others have already been recaptured. Out in the country, Hendley and Blythe come across a small airfield and steal a German fighter plane, which they pilot toward Switzerland until the engine gives out and they crash-land in a field. Unable to see the German soldiers who are approaching, Blythe walks directly toward them without raising his hands and is shot as Hendley rushes to his side and is arrested. Near the Swiss border, Hilts is confronted by German soldiers and leads them on a long cross-country chase on the motorbike. At the border, which is marked by a sprawling double set of wooden and barbed wire fences, Hilts jumps the speeding cycle over the first fence before soldiers shoot out the bike’s tire, sending him sliding into barbed wire. Sometime later, in a French village, Resistance members befriend Sedgwick and assist him in reaching Spain, while Danny and Willie have rowed to a neutral port, where they board a docked Allied freighter. Still in Germany, as Mac is boarding a bus, he is tripped up by a Gestapo agent speaking English, an amateurish mistake that he had tried to warn his men to avoid. He and Roger then dash through the village, only to be arrested by Kuhn’s men and placed with Cavendish and the others. The next morning, the men are told they will be returned to Stalag III, but when the truck in which they are riding stops for a break, the prisoners are killed by a barrage of machine gun fire. Back at the compound, Von Luger informs Ramsey of the deaths and that eleven other escapees will be returned to the camp. Hendley and a small group arrive later and when informed of the dead, Hendley wonders if the high cost was worth it, but Ramsey declares that Roger’s intended mission to harass the enemy was a great success. The SS arrive to replace Von Luger as Hilts is returned and, after Goff hands him his baseball glove and ball, he assumes his familiar spot in the cooler.
Production Company: Stanley Kramer Productions, Inc.
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
At 10:30 on a quiet morning in 1870, three outlaws ride into the western town of Hadleyville just as its marshal, Will Kane, is being married to a pretty Quaker named Amy Fowler. To please Amy, Will resigns his post immediately after the ceremony, but he is troubled because the new marshal has not arrived to take his place. Suddenly the station master rushes in with the terrible news that Frank Miller, a wild outlaw whom Will had arrested for murder five years earlier, recently received a pardon and is due to arrive in Hadleyville on the noon train. The three outlaws, Jack Colby, Ben Miller and James Pierce, have ridden to the station and are awaiting Miller's arrival. Alarmed, the wedding guests urge Will and Amy to leave town immediately, but after only a few moments on the road, Will turns the wagon around and heads back. "I expect he'll come looking for me," Will replies when Amy asks for an explanation. Will's young wife begs him to leave with her, and when he protests that he has never run from anyone, she threatens to leave on the train whether or not he accompanies her. Will hurriedly begins to make plans for the town's defense, and is surprised when Judge Percy Mettrick, who had sentenced Miller to be hanged, packs his belongings and flees. Will is relieved to see Harvey Pell, his deputy, still in town, but Harvey, angry that an outsider was hired to replace the retiring marshal, agrees to stay only if Will promises to support his bid for the post. Will refuses, whereupon Harvey removes his guns and walks out. Will visits his old flame, businesswoman Helen Ramirez, who had formerly been Miller's mistress. Will warns Helen about Frank, and she admits that she has sold her store and plans to depart on the noon train. In the saloon, men who enjoyed the rowdy times when Frank and his henchmen controlled the town celebrate his imminent return and refuse Will's request for help. Will then visits the home of his friend, Sam Fuller, but as Sam listens from the next room, his wife tells Will that he is not at home. Next, Will interrupts the church service to ask for deputies. Although several of the townspeople proclaim that it is Will who has made their town safe and decent, many of them also argue that Miller's impending arrival is not their problem. Finally, Mayor Jonas Henderson declares that a gunfight would hurt the town's image and that Will should have left when he had the chance. Stunned, Will leaves the church and asks his mentor, Martin Howe, for help. Howe, once the marshal himself, has become cynical, however, and after Will exits his home, he mumbles, "It's all for nothing, Will." Harvey, now drunk, tries to force Will to leave town, but Will refuses, and the two men fight until the marshal knocks his former deputy unconscious. As noon approaches, Amy visits Helen, who assures her that there is no longer anything between herself and Will. She also reproaches the young wife for not defending her husband, but softens after Amy reveals that both her father and brother were killed in a gunfight. In Will's office, the only citizen who had willingly pinned on a deputy's badge now backs out and goes home, leaving the marshal utterly alone. Will writes his last will and testament, then enters the deserted street as Amy and Helen drive a wagon toward the train station. The train arrives, and as Miller disembarks, the two women get on board. Miller straps on his gun, and the four outlaws walk toward the center of town, where Will awaits them. When one of the outlaws breaks a window, Will is able to duck inside a building and shoot him. Hearing the shot, Amy gets off the train and runs back to town. Will kills another of his attackers and takes cover in the livery stable, which the two remaining outlaws set on fire. As the frightened horses charge out, Will leaps on one and makes his escape, but falls after being shot in the arm. Amy shoots one of the gunmen in the back before he can shoot Will, but is captured by Miller, who uses her as a hostage. In response to Miller's threats, Will faces him in the street, but Amy pushes the outlaw, giving Will the chance to shoot him dead. Amy and Will embrace, and the townspeople rush into the street. Disgusted by the cowardice of his former friends, Will tosses his tin star in the dirt at their feet, then leaves with Amy.
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
Directors: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick, Max L. Raab, Si Litvinoff
Writer: Stanley Kubrick
Editor: Bill Butler
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Production Company: Hawks Films Limited, Polaris Productions, Inc.
Sometime in the not-too-distant future, gangs of teenage thugs roam rubble-strewn streets, terrorizing citizens who sequester themselves behind locked doors. Alex, the leader of one of the gangs, and his “droogs,” Pete, Georgie and Dim, distinguish themselves by wearing all-white, cod pieces, bowler hats and walking canes as they spend their nights committing rapes, muggings and beatings for entertainment. One night, after stopping at the Korova Milk Bar for the house specialty, drug-laced milk that induces “ultra violence,” the group kicks an elderly tramp mercilessly. Finding rival gang leader Billyboy and his hoodlums raping a woman nearby, Alex and his droogs take a moment to enjoy the scene then use chairs, broken bottles and knives to pummel the other gang unconscious. The gang speeds off in their Durango 95 sports car playing a game called “hogs of the road,” which entails forcing other drivers off the road. Spotting a wealthy residence displaying the sign “HOME,” the gang gains admittance by claiming that they need to use the phone to report an accident. Once inside, Alex beats and kicks the home’s owner, writer Mr. Frank Alexander, while mimicking a soft shoe dance routine and singing a musical number. After the droogs shove balls into the mouths of Alexander and his wife and wrap their heads in tape, Alex rapes Mrs. Alexander as Mr. Alexander watches helplessly. Later, Alex returns to municipal flatblock 18A, a disheveled modern apartment building where he lives with his cowardly mum and dad. After stashing stolen money and watches, Alex listens to his favorite composer, Beethoven, plays with his pet snake and dreams of further violence. The next morning, Alex refuses to go to school, claiming that his work, “helping here and there,” has left him exhausted. Soon after, a government probation officer, Mr. Deltoid, arrives at the flat and knees Alex in the genitals for reverting to outbursts of violence and wasting the government’s resources trying to reform him. Unaffected by the visit, Alex picks up two young women at a record shop and brings them back to his room to have sex, becoming so involved that he misses a gang meeting. Later, after his droogs express their disappointment to Alex about his missing their meeting, Georgie rebukes him for picking on Dim and then suggests they commit larger robberies. Outraged at the insubordination, Alex knocks Georgie into a river and knifes Dim’s arm when he tries to help Georgie. Having reasserted his authority, Alex appropriates Georgie’s suggestion. The gang then proceeds to the home of health club owner Mrs. Webber, who is known as “Catlady” and lives alone with her dozens of cats. Having read about the Alexanders, Webber refuses the gang entrance when they attempt the accident ruse again, but Alex then breaks into the house and bludgeons Webber unconscious with a large sculpted phallus, part of Webber’s erotic art collection. Hearing approaching sirens, Alex flees outside, where his droogs, fed up with Alex’s brutality, bash him unconscious and leave him for the police. After Webber dies from her injuries, Alex is sentenced to 14 years in prison. During his jail admittance procedure, Alex must submit to an autocratic officer who assigns him a number to replace his name, strips him of clothes and belongings and performs an anal search. For his first two years, Alex panders to the prison chaplain by quoting the Bible and accompanying him on keyboard for service hymns, while secretly fantasizing about the Bible’s violent and sexual passages. One day, Alex, hoping for an early release from jail, claims that he wants to reform permanently and asks the chaplain to help him get on the list for an experimental treatment of aversion therapy known as the Ludivicko technique, but the chaplain warns him that the brainwashing program will erase his will and therefore his soul. Soon after, the unscrupulous Minister of the Interior, hoping the aversion therapy will win his government valuable public support, chooses the enthusiastic Alex as the first candidate and sends him to the Ludivicko Center, where Alex is promised that he will be permanently cured in two weeks. Alex is then injected with a serum that causes him to feel waves of excruciating nausea and suffocation, which he names the “sickness,” when his violent passions arise. Bound in a straightjacket with his eyelids forced open by clamps, Alex is forced to watch hours of violence and mass destruction as part of his conditioning to repulse violence. On the second day of treatment, when the attending doctors play Beethoven’s ninth symphony during the screenings, Alex realizes that the music of his favorite composer will now forever be associated with “the sickness,” and begs them to stop, but the doctors refuse. The day before his release, Alex is presented on a stage before an audience of government officials and other authorities to prove the treatment’s validity. Alex’s fear of “the sickness” prompts him to follow orders and submit to degrading treatment without reacting with violence. When he is then presented with a nude woman, Alex at first grasps for her, but the sickness prevents him from even touching her. Although the chaplain loudly protests that Alex has lost all choice and deems the treatment unethical, the Minister of the Interior proclaims it a success and releases Alex. Returning home, Alex discovers that his parents have taken a lodger, Joe, who defends his mum and dad and protests that Alex should not be allowed to return because of his atrocious behavior. Learning that the police have taken away his belongings and his snake is dead, Alex leaves the apartment sobbing and contemplates suicide at the river. When a tramp interrupts to ask for change, the man recognizes Alex as the brutal youth who beat him years ago, and leads him to a tunnel teaming with elderly drunkards who accost him. Police officers stop the fight, but Alex soon recognizes the officers as Georgie and Dim, who are happy to mete out their revenge against their former leader. They handcuff Alex and drive him to an isolated area where they nearly drown him in an animal trough while laughing at the cruel spectacle. Weak, soaking and unable to recognize his surroundings, Alex mistakenly seeks help at “HOME.” Alexander, who lost his wife to suicide just after Alex and the dross’s attack, recognizes Alex only as the man in the newspaper who was forced to submit to the police’s inhumane experiments and offers him a bath and dinner. However, when Alex starts humming his signature show tune, Alexander then realizes that Alex is his previous assailant and concocts a plan. Thinking Alex’s behavior modification treatment unjust, the politically subversive writer calls several journalists who arrive shortly after to use Alex’s testimony for their own political agenda. After learning that his conditioning includes a severe aversion to Beethoven, the writer serves Alex sedative-laced wine, locks him a room and tortures Alex by playing Beethoven at a deafeningly loud volume. Alex attempts suicide by jumping from the second story window, but the fall succeeds only in broken bones that result in an extended stay at a hospital. Newspapers soon report Alex’s attempt as proof of the government’s inhumanity, thus prompting the government to hire psychiatrist Dr. Taylor to reverse the Ludivicko conditioning. The doctor then tests Alex by presenting him with cartoons with open-ended narratives. Alex happily creates violent dialogue for his characters, thus proving his “recovery.” Soon after, the Minister of Interior visits Alex with an offer. Reminding him that the writer and several of his other victims would like him either killed or imprisoned, the minister, worried about the outcome of the election, offers Alex a job and financial compensation in trade for being the minister’s propaganda tool. As Alex accepts the proposal, the press photographs the two men to publicize the government’s change of heart. When Beethoven’s ninth symphony is then played, Alex spontaneously imagines scenes of public fornication and happily announces that he is “cured indeed.”
Production Company: Bill/Phillips Productions, Italo-Judeo
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Twenty-six year old Travis Bickle applies for a job as a New York City taxicab driver. The personnel officer drills Travis with questions, and warms to him when he realizes they both served in the Marines. After Travis expresses his willingness to drive long hours, any day, in any part of the city, he is hired. Travis later writes in his diary about the poor condition of the city, the disturbing people he sees, and his new job which pays him $300 to $350 per week. At work, he picks up an older man with a prostitute and complains afterward about cleaning bodily fluids off the backseat of the cab. After working twelve hour shifts, he complains that he cannot sleep and wants a purpose in life. One day, Travis sees a campaign worker named Betsy and describes his romantic impression of her in his diary. Inside headquarters for Senator Charles Palantine’s presidential campaign, Betsy and her coworker, Tom, engage in friendly conversation while Travis watches from his parked cab. Betsy becomes aware of Travis; however, when Tom goes outside to confront him, he speeds away. Later, he sits with fellow cab drivers in an all-night cafeteria, and they discuss the various acts of violence they've encountered. Travis remains distant and glares at several African American men. Sometime later, Travis asks Betsy out for coffee, and she accepts. At a diner, Travis and Betsy discuss the campaign, and she offers her impression of Travis, comparing him to lines from a song by Kris Kristofferson. Travis promptly buys the record. One evening, Travis picks up Senator Palantine. Though ignorant about political issues, Travis suggests the candidate clean up the city and expresses his support of the senator's candidacy. Later, a twelve year-old prostitute, Iris, gets into Travis' cab. No sooner is she in the cab, when her pimp, Matthew, also known as “Sport,” arrives and pulls her from the car. Travis takes Betsy to a pornographic movie on their next date. She becomes agitated, storms out of the theater, and hails a cab. After numerous attempts to send her flowers, Travis calls Betsy in an attempt to reconcile, but she has no interest. As time passes, Travis grows angrier. He rushes into Palantine’s campaign office, yells at Betsy, and threatens her. One evening, a passenger instructs Travis to pull over so he can watch the shadow of a woman standing by a lit window in an apartment building. The passenger explains that she is his wife and is having an affair. He tells Travis he intends to kill her. Travis listens, occasionally glancing suspiciously at the passenger in the rearview mirror. Later, at the cafeteria, Travis confides to Wizard, an older driver, that he has been having destructive thoughts. Wizard tells Travis to stop worrying and promises he will be okay. One night, Travis almost hits Iris by accident. He follows her and a friend as they walk down the street, but the girls pick up two men on the corner. Travis discusses loneliness in his diary, and states that his life needs a change. He meets with Easy Andy who sells, among other things, guns. Travis purchases an assortment of firearms and, intent on getting into shape, begins working out, eating healthier, and taking target practice. At home, he practices pulling guns out of holsters and hiding a knife in his boot. One day, Travis attends a rally for Palantine where he talks with a secret service agent who appears suspicious of his behavior. As Travis walks away, agents try to snap a picture of him, but he disappears into the crowd. At night, Travis stops at a convenience store. When a young man holds up the cashier, Travis approaches from the back of the store and shoots the thief. He then panics because he doesn't have a gun permit, but the cashier promises to cover for him and sends him away. After he leaves, the cashier beats the unconscious criminal with a metal bar. Travis watches another campaign event from his cab, but police usher him away. At home, he writes to his parents, telling them he has a top-secret government job and a girlfriend named Betsy. He later approaches Iris and arranges a deal for her services with Sport. They go into a nearby apartment building where Iris’ timekeeper charges Travis for a room and waits in the hallway. Inside the room, Iris seduces Travis, but he rejects her advances. He explains that he came because he wants to help her escape. The next day, they meet for breakfast at a diner. Travis tells Iris he may have to go away for work, and he wants to give her money so she can leave Sport and her life as a prostitute. In the evening, alone with Sport, Iris expresses her unhappiness, but he manipulates her into staying. After more target practice and preparation, Travis arrives at another rally, having shaved his hair into a Mohawk. Travis approaches Palantine, but, when he reaches into his coat, the secret service men see him and spring into action. Travis escapes to his apartment where he regroups and heads back out, this time to the apartment building where Sport operates. Travis shoots Sport and enters the nearby building where Iris sees clients. In the hallway, he shoots Iris’ timekeeper. Having followed Travis inside, the wounded Sport shoots him in the neck, but Travis returns fire and kills the pimp. He makes his way to Iris’ room as the timekeeper, still alive, comes after him. Travis is then shot by Iris’ client, but he quickly fires back and kills the man. The timekeeper attacks Travis as he crashes into Iris’ room. After a struggle, he stabs the timekeeper and shoots him in the head while Iris looks on, terrified. Travis attempts to shoot himself next, but the guns are out of bullets. He collapses on the couch moments before the police enter. In the days that follow, news reports praise Travis as a hero, and Iris' parents send him a thank you letter for bringing their daughter back to them. After recovering from the incident, Travis returns to work. One night, he picks up Betsy, and they awkwardly discuss Palantine's nomination victory and Travis' brush with fame. At her destination, Betsy gets out of the cab and Travis throws the meter, giving her a free ride.
In 1916 British Intelligence supports the Arab rebellion against the Turkish-German alliance. Dryden, a civilian member of the Arab Bureau, selects Lt. T. E. Lawrence, an enigmatic twenty-nine-year-old scholar, to evaluate the Arab revolt. Enthusiastically undertaking this assignment, the officer contacts Prince Feisal, a rebel leader, and persuades Feisal to lend him a force of fifty men. With this skeleton band, accompanied by Sherif Ali ibn el Karish, Lawrence crosses the Nefud Desert. At the journey's end, however, Lawrence learns that one of his men is missing. Undeterred by Arab assertions that the missing man's death had been divinely decreed, Lawrence returns to the desert and rescues him, earning thereby Ali's friendship and the respect of his subordinates. At a well Lawrence is confronted by the sheikh Auda Abu Tayi, whom he persuades to join the assault on Aqaba, a Turkish port at the desert's edge. The Turks, surprised by the overland attack, are routed, and the victory revitalizes the Arab rebellion. Arab unity, however, is undermined by internecine warfare. When one of his troop slays one of Auda Abu Tayi's henchmen, Lawrence in expiation executes the murderer, who proves to be the Arab he had saved in the desert. Unnerved, Lawrence returns to Cairo. Delighted by Lawrence's military success, however, General Allenby provides him with arms and money for future victories. Lawrence launches a series of successful guerrilla raids, which, as reported by American journalist Jackson Bentley, establish his international reputation. While on a scouting mission with Ali, Lawrence is captured and tortured by the Turks. He returns to Cairo, where General Allenby persuades him to spearhead an attack on Damascus. After the battle, Lawrence leads his men in the massacre of the retreating Turks. Upon entering Damascus the British Army is met by victorious Arab forces. Lawrence relinquishes control of the city to an Arab Council, but soon factionalism threatens to destroy it. On May 19, 1935, Lawrence dies in a motorcycle crash in Dorset, England, and is commemorated in services at St. Paul's.
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
Directors: Billy Wilder
Producer: B. G. DeSylva, Joseph Sistrom
Writer: Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler
Editor: Doane Harrison
Cinematographer: John Seitz
Genre: Film noir
Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
On a dark Los Angeles night in July 1938, insurance agent Walter Neff is bleeding from a gunshot wound and slips into his office at the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co. Walter records his murder confession on the dictaphone, addressing his boss and friend, Barton Keyes, a meticulous and intuitive claims agent. Walter thinks back to May when it all started: Walter visits an expensive Spanish-style house in Los Feliz to follow-up an automobile insurance renewal for Mr. Dietrichson. He is immediately attracted to Dietrichson's wife Phyllis, who first appears clad only in a towel. Walter flirts with Phyllis, whose interest is piqued, nevertheless, she rebuffs him and the next day changes his appointment to meet with her husband. When Walter arrives that day, he and Phyllis are alone and she inquires about getting an accident policy for her husband without his knowledge. Upset by her implications, Walter leaves, but his expectation that he has not seen the last of Phyllis is fulfilled when she appears at his apartment. Walter soon gives in to his longing and kisses Phyllis, after which she reveals that she has been abused and neglected by her husband. Phyllis admits to having fantasies of killing Dietrichson, but his life insurance beneficiary is his mature daughter Lola, who hates her. Walter is repulsed by, and at the same time, strangely drawn to Phyllis's fantasy, and his thoughts linger on how to accomplish an undetectable crime. Agreeing to help Phyllis kill her husband, Walter meets with Dietrichson and, in Lola's presence, tries to sell him accident insurance. Dietrichson refuses the accident insurance, but enrolls for auto insurance, and is unaware that Walter has given him an accident insurance form to sign as well. Walter secretly advises Phyllis to book a train for Dietrichson's business trip, as a double indemnity clause in the policy will award her double the stated $50,000 if Dietrichson dies from an unlikely cause, such as a train accident. Phyllis and Walter begin to meet surreptitiously every morning in a local market. Dietrichson breaks his leg just after the accident policy comes through, and the lovers are delayed in carrying out their plan. In mid-June, as Keyes offers to hire Walter as his assistant, Phyllis telephones and informs Walter that Dietrichson is leaving that night on the train. Walter turns down Keyes' offer and after leaving the office, calculates his every move to avoid future suspicion, then hides in the Dietrichsons' car. After Phyllis uses a pre-arranged signal, Walter sits up from the back seat and strangles Dietrichson to death. Dressed as Dietrichson, Walter then boards the train and heads for the observation car. Walter is dismayed to find another passenger, Jackson, sitting on the deck, but when he leaves to get Walter a cigar, Walter jumps off the back of the train. After leaving Dietrichson's body on the tracks, Phyllis and Walter leave together in her car. The police declare Dietrichson's death accidental, but Norton, the president of All Risk, is reluctant to pay out the $100,000 and meets with Phyllis. Phyllis pretends to be bereaved and is genuinely shocked at Norton's suggestion of suicide. After she leaves, Walter is delighted when Keyes assures Norton that he will have to pay out the claim. At his apartment later that night, Walter is surprised by a visit from Keyes, who has developed indigestion due to an incongruity in the case: Dietrichson never filed a claim for his broken leg, even though he had just purchased accident insurance, in addition to which, the train was going so slowly that suicide is unlikely. Keyes concludes that Dietrichson was ignorant of the policy, and he is suspicious of Phyllis. A nervous Walter rushes Keyes out, as Phyllis hides behind the door to escape notice. The next day, Lola confides in Walter that she suspects that Phyllis, who was her mother's nurse, killed her mother six years earlier and now has done the same to her father. In order to distract Lola, Walter spends the next few days with her, and learns that she has broken up with her college drop-out boyfriend, Nino Zachette. During this time, Keyes becomes convinced that Dietrichson was murdered, and sends for Jackson. Jackson confirms that the man on the train does not match photographs of Dietrichson, and Keyes subsequently has Phyllis followed by detectives. Walter urges Phyllis not to sue for the claim, which is now being withheld, as Keyes will oppose it, but she is determined to get the money, and insists that the murder was all his doing. Walter is now suspicious of Phyllis, as Lola has told him that Nino is seeing her stepmother, and Walter thinks about killing her. Phyllis files suit for the insurance money, and Keyes tells Walter that her partner-in-crime has shown himself. Worried that Keyes is on to him, Walter listens to Keyes's dictaphone and hears that Keyes suspects that Nino is Phyllis' partner-in-crime, after which he arranges to meet with Phyllis late that night. Unknown to Walter, Phyllis has prepared for his visit by hiding a gun under a seat cushion. Walter confronts Phyllis and tells her that he knows she has used him and that he intends to frame Nino for the murder. Phyllis then shoots Walter, but is unable to kill him. Admitting that she has never loved him, Phyllis now embraces him, and Walter shoots her twice, killing her. As he leaves the house, Nino walks up, and Walter urges him to go to Lola, who truly loves him. By 4:30 a.m., Walter finishes his confession as Keyes makes his presence known, having been called by the janitor who noticed Walter trailing blood. Walter walks out, intending to escape to the border, but collapses before he gets to the elevator. Keyes, disappointed, nevertheless reveals his affection for Walter, and Walter reciprocates, as Keyes lights Walter's final cigarette.
Editor: Conrad Buff, James Cameron, Richard A. Harris
Cinematographer: Russell Carpenter
Genre: Drama, Romance
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Lightstorm Entertainment
Composer: James Horner
In 1996, a diving team led by Brock Lovett explores the sunken R.M.S. Titanic in search of treasure, specifically a large blue diamond known as the “Heart of the Ocean.” They discover a nude drawing made during the Titanic’s voyage, in which the subject, Rose DeWitt Bukater, wears the Heart of the Ocean around her neck. The woman, now Rose Dawson Calvert, is brought to the research vessel to talk with Lovett. She recalls the beginning of the Titanic’s voyage, in April 1912: in Southampton, England, seventeen-year-old Rose boards the ship with her mother, Ruth, and her fiancé, Cal Hockley. Rose despises Hockley but has resigned to marry him to restore her family’s finances and social status. Nevertheless, she contemplates suicide by throwing herself off the ship. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson, a poor young artist, has boarded the Titanic via a third-class ticket won in a poker game. Dawson happens upon Rose and dissuades her from killing herself. Hockley reacts jealously when he discovers the two together, but Rose insists that Jack saved her from an accidental fall over the side of the ship. Hockley invites the young man to join them at dinner in the first-class dining saloon. Rose continues to enjoy Jack’s company and sneaks away with him after the meal. Although she initially rejects his romantic advances, after spending more time with him, she agrees to pose for a nude sketch. In her room, she sits for him wearing only her Heart of the Ocean necklace—a gift from Cal. Afteward, they elude Cal’s bodyguard, Mr. Lovejoy, by sneaking into the cargo hold, where they have sex inside a motorcar. When they return to an upper deck, Rose and Jack witness the Titanic crash into an iceberg. A mounting hysteria ensues as officers of the ship confront the likelihood that the vessel will sink. In the meantime, Hockley finds the nude sketch of Rose. At his behest, Lovejoy plants the Heart of the Ocean necklace inside Jack’s pocket, and Jack is arrested for theft. As the ship begins to sink, passengers frantically board lifeboats. Rose separates from her mother and Hockley, and rushes to free Jack from the master-at-arms’s office. Soon after, Jack and Hockley urge Rose to take an available seat on a lifeboat, but she cannot bear to leave Jack. An angry Hockley seizes Mr. Lovejoy’s handgun and chases Rose and Jack into the first-class dining saloon, partially underwater. He shoots at them but misses. To save himself, he picks up a lost child and uses him to gain access to a lifeboat. Jack and Rose remain on the ship after all the lifeboats have been filled. Abandoned passengers fall or jump to their deaths as the ship’s stern rises. When the vessel breaks into two, Jack and Rose are plunged into the ocean. He helps her climb onto a floating piece of wood but refuses to join her lest it sink. As he succumbs to hypothermia, Jack soothes Rose with a vision of her promising future. Only Rose survives the ordeal. She is brought aboard the rescue ship, R.M.S. Carpathia, where she narrowly avoids Hockley. Arriving in New York City, Rose registers her name as Rose Dawson, and begins her new life. Back in the present, elderly Rose recalls that Hockley ultimately killed himself after the stock market crash of 1929. Impacted by her story, Lovett changes his mind and abandons his search for the Heart of the Ocean. Secretly, Rose still has the diamond in her possession, after Hockley unwittingly returned it to her while the Titanic was sinking. She goes alone to drop the diamond into the ocean, just above the wreck. Later, in a dream, she and Jack are reunited on the Titanic as it was before it sank, surrounded by other passengers who applaud when they kiss.
At the Spade and Archer detective agency in San Francisco, Samuel Spade is interviewed by the beautiful Miss Wonderly, who wishes to hire him to find her runaway sister. Sam's partner, Miles Archer, agrees to be present when Wonderly meets Floyd Thursby, her sister's seducer, and then follow him to his hotel in hopes of finding the missing girl. Later that night, Sam learns that Miles has been shot. He calls Wonderly and learns that she has checked out of her hotel. Then Thursby is found with four bullet holes in his back and Sam is visited by Lt. Dundy and Detective Tom Polhaus, two policemen, who suspect him of murdering Thursby out of revenge for Miles's death. The following morning, Wonderly summons Sam to her new address, where she confesses that her real name is Brigid O'Shaughnessy and that the story she related the day before was completely false. Despite his doubts that she has told him the whole truth, Sam accepts her as his client. The announcement of Thursby's death draws an inquiry from a mysterious little man named Joel Cairo, who tells Sam that he is trying to recover a statue of a black falcon. When Sam denies any knowledge of the statue, Cairo pulls a gun and demands to search the office. Sam disarms Cairo, who offers the detective $5,000 to find the bird. Sam accepts the offer, and Cairo once again holds Sam at gunpoint while he searches the office. When Brigid learns of Cairo's visit, she asks Sam to set up a meeting with him and tells Cairo that she doesn't have the statue, but will in a few days. Their meeting is interrupted by the police, who have been sent by Miles's widow Iva, who is jealous because she and Sam had been having an affair. The police now begin to suspect Sam of Miles's murder, but he spins a complicated story to stop the police from arresting the three of them for questioning. Kasper Gutman, known as "The Fat Man," is also interested in the statue and summons Sam, but when Gutman refuses to explain his interests, Sam storms out. Later, Wilmer Cook, Gutman's gunman, brings Sam back to Gutman's apartment. Gutman tells Sam that after the Crusades, Charles V of Spain presented the Knights Templar with the island of Malta, requiring only the tribute of a falcon every year. The statue everyone wants is a golden, jewel-encrusted replica of a falcon that was stolen by pirates and afterward disappeared for centuries. After it reappeared in Greece, Gutman planned to buy it, but it was again stolen and he has been following its trail ever since. He offers Sam $50,000 to find it, but before Sam can accept, he passes out from doctored drinks. When he comes to, he searches the room and finds a paper announcing the arrival of a ship from Hong Kong, but at the docks, Sam finds the ship on fire. He returns to his office, where a dying man stumbles in with a package. The man is Jacoby, the captain of the Hong Kong ship, and the package contains the statue. A phone call from Brigid takes Sam on a wild goose chase, but first he checks the package and mails the claim check to himself. When Sam finally returns home, Brigid, Gutman, Cairo and Wilmer are waiting. Sam agrees to turn over the bird if Gutman will allow Wilmer to take the blame for the three murders. When Effie arrives with the package, however, it is quickly discovered that the bird is a fake. In the confusion, Wilmer escapes. After Gutman and Cairo leave, Sam calls the police and turns them all in. Brigid admits that she shot Miles, hoping to implicate Thursby. Even though he is fascinated by her dangerous beauty, Sam turns Brigid in for the murder of his partner.
Editor: Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, Richard Chew, John Jympson
Cinematographer: Gilbert Taylor
Genre: Adventure, Science fiction
Production Company: Lucasfilm, Ltd.
Composer: John Williams [composer]
During an interstellar civil war, rebels battle against an evil empire, led by Darth Vader and a villainous governor named Grand Moff Tarkin. The imperial stronghold is a planet-sized, armored space station called the Death Star, and insurgent Princess Leia Organa leads a mission to seize the battleship’s blueprints, hoping to reveal its vulnerability. During the ensuing battle, Darth Vader and his military force of stormtroopers capture Leia’s spaceship, but she secretly hides the Death Star plans in a robot “droid” named R2-D2, who flees the spaceship with his companion, C-3PO. Unable to recover the plans, Darth Vader discovers that an escape pod was launched during the attack, and orders the droids detained. Meanwhile, R2-D2 and C-3PO crash land on the desert planet Tatooine. Ornery C-3PO is displeased by his companion’s claim that they are on an important mission, and the two droids part ways. However, they are captured by cloaked scavengers called Jawas and sold to young Luke Skywalker and his Uncle Owen. As the boy refurbishes the droids, he complains that Uncle Owen has thwarted his dream of becoming a pilot and following in the footsteps of his deceased father. Fiddling with R2-D2, Luke unwittingly activates a three dimensional projection of Princess Leia, uttering the plea: “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.” Smitten and intrigued, Luke wonders if the message is addressed to a hermit known as “Ben” Kenobi. At dinner, Luke tells Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru about Leia’s message, but Owen orders the boy to erase R2-D2’s memory, and insists that Obi-Wan died alongside Luke’s father. Storming away, Luke discovers that R2-D2 has escaped. The next morning, Luke and C-3PO recover the wayward droid, but are attacked by the hostile, nomadic Sand People. However, “Ben” Kenobi comes to the rescue, and admits that “Obi-Wan” is his real name. Seeking shelter at Obi-Wan’s home, Luke learns that his father was a Jedi knight during the Clone Wars, and was known as the galaxy’s best starfighter. Obi-Wan explains that he mentored Luke’s father and makes good on an old promise, giving Luke his father’s lightsaber. Since Jedis were guided by “the Force,” a mystical energy that unites all living creatures in peace, the neon light sword once upheld universal justice. However, Luke’s father was killed by a colleague, Darth Vader, who used his knowledge of “the Force” to betray the Jedis. As Obi-Wan activates R2-D2’s message from Leia, she explains that she was on a mission to bring Obi-Wan back to her home planet of Alderaan, and adds that vital information has been hidden in R2-D2’s memory system. The only person equipped to retrieve the data is her Jedi father, so the droid must be escorted to Alderaan immediately. Obi-Wan announces he will teach Luke to use “the Force,” so he can be of service on the mission, but Luke insists on returning home. Meanwhile, on the Death Star, Grand Moff Tarkin announces that the galaxy’s government council has been dissolved, and the Empire is one step closer to ultimate power. Back on Tatooine, Luke discovers his family murdered by stormtroopers and vows to become a Jedi. He joins Obi-Wan and the droids in their search for a pilot at the spaceport town of Mos Eisley. In a seamy tavern, they hire rugged outlaw smuggler Han Solo and his first mate, a tall, hairy Wookiee named Chewbacca. The men narrowly escape a stormtrooper attack in Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon. Meanwhile, Vader tortures Leia to discover the whereabouts of the rebel base, but she remains resolute. Tarkin navigates the Death Star toward Alderaan, then orders Leia’s execution and threatens to destroy her home planet unless she confesses. Although Leia claims the rebel base is on planet Dantoonine, Tarkin incinerates Alderaan. At the same moment, on the Millennium Falcon, Obi-Wan feels pain in his heart. He acknowledges a terrible tragedy, but continues Luke’s lightsaber training, teaching the boy to trust his instincts and to use “the Force.” When the Millennium Falcon reaches Alderaan, the planet is gone and the ship is forcibly sucked into the Death Star by its “tractor beam.” Darth Vader learns that the Millennium Falcon began its journey in Tatooine and realizes it is transporting the coveted Death Star plans. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan uses “the Force” to ensure that no humans or droids are detected aboard the spaceship, but Darth Vader perceives the presence of his former Jedi master. Upon their arrival aboard the Death Star, Han Solo and Luke kill several stormtroopers, don their armor, and capture a nearby outpost. There, R2-D2 plugs into the Death Star’s computer network and discovers seven locations that secure the battleship’s “tractor beam.” Once the locks are disabled, the Millennium Falcon can escape. Obi-Wan declares that he alone must immobilize the locks and leaves after promising Luke, “the Force will be with you… always.” Just then, R2-D2 locates Princess Leia and reports that her execution is pending. Luke convinces Han Solo to join him on a rescue mission with assurances of a bountiful reward. As they release the princess, a gunfight ensues, and Leia orders her rescuers into a garbage chute to escape. There, Luke is pulled underwater by a tentacled monster, but the creature suddenly disappears when the dump walls begin to compact. Radioing C-3PO for help, Luke orders R2-D2 to shut down the “garbage mashers,” and the comrades are saved. As they return to the Millennium Falcon and battle stormtroopers, Obi-Wan disables the “tractor beam” and reunites with Darth Vader, who is intent on killing his former Jedi master. However, Obi-Wan warns that the prospect for peace will become infinitely more powerful if Darth Vader succeeds. When Obi-Wan is confident that Luke can see him, and that Leia has safely boarded the Millennium Falcon, he permits Darth Vader to strike him dead, but his voice remains fixed in Luke’s consciousness. The friends escape a firefight, and Leia warns that the Millennium Falcon has been fitted with a tracking device. The Death Star follows as they proceed to the rebel base on the planet Yavin. There, R2-D2’s data is analyzed and soldiers are briefed that the Death Star’s weak point can only be accessed by a one-man fighter jet. The pilots must navigate down a narrow trench and fire into a two-meter-wide thermal exhaust port, causing a chain reaction. As Luke mans his ship, with R2-D2 as his navigator, Han Solo ducks away with his reward money, claiming the battle is a suicide mission. Meanwhile, the Death Star comes within firing range of Yavin and the Imperial leaders anticipate their decisive victory. Rebels race toward the battleship and attempt to dodge their pursuers, including Darth Vader, who pilots a deadly imperial fighter. With many of Luke’s senior comrades defeated, the boy is ordered to the front, but his rear guard is killed. The Death Star takes aim at Yavin just as Luke speeds toward its vulnerable portal. Although he uses a device to guide him, he subconsciously hears Obi-Wan’s refrain, “use the Force,” and turns off the computer to follow his instinct. Just then, Darth Vader directs his guns on Luke’s starfighter and prepares to fire, but Han Solo suddenly appears in the Millenium Falcon and interferes, sending the villain spiraling into space. Luke’s missiles successfully destroy the Death Star an instant before the battle station fires at Yavin, and peace is finally restored to the universe.
While attending a launch party for his client’s latest book, New York City attorney Dan Gallagher meets the publisher’s alluring new editor, Alex Forrest. That weekend, Dan’s devoted wife, Beth, and their young daughter, Ellen, drive upstate to visit Beth’s parents and tour a potential new house in the suburb of Bedford. Dan stays behind to attend an impromptu work meeting, where he strikes up a connection with Alex. Afterward, the two go out for a drink, which leads to a passionate weekend together at her apartment. Early Sunday morning, Dan sneaks out of Alex’s bed and returns home. After learning that Beth has extended her trip, he receives a call from Alex, who convinces him to spend the day with her. While cooking dinner, they listen to Madama Butterfly, and Dan recalls a memory of seeing the opera with his father as a child. Alex expresses her desire to see him again, but Dan reminds her that the affair cannot continue because he is happily married. Distraught, Alex attempts suicide by slitting her wrists, forcing Dan to stay the night while she recovers. The next day, Dan reunites with his family and tours Ellen’s dream house in Bedford, which he reluctantly agrees to buy. Upon returning to work, he is surprised to find Alex waiting outside his office, and she apologizes for her behavior. As a “peace offering,” she invites him to attend a performance of Madama Butterfly, but Dan firmly declines. Although they part on friendly terms, Alex is unable to accept the breakup and continually calls Dan at his office and at home. When he finally agrees to meet, Alex tells Dan she is pregnant with his child and plans to follow through with the pregnancy. After confirming the test results with her gynecologist, Dan panics and changes his telephone number in an effort to protect his family. However, as the Gallaghers prepare to move, Alex poses as a buyer interested in their apartment, and obtains their new phone number from Beth. Furious, Dan confronts her, but she threatens to tell Beth about their affair unless he agrees to take responsibility for the baby. As a warning, Alex dumps acid on the hood of his car and leaves him intimidating messages on an audio cassette tape. Dan attempts to file a restraining order, but police say they cannot implicate Alex without probable cause. One night, she follows Dan to his new home in the suburbs, and vomits at the sight of him spending time with Beth and Ellen. After visiting with Beth’s parents one afternoon, the Gallaghers return home to find Ellen’s pet rabbit boiling in a pot on the kitchen stove. That night, Dan tells Beth about his tryst with Alex and her supposed pregnancy. Before throwing him out of the house, Beth has her husband call Alex to inform her that the affair is no longer a secret. Beth threatens to kill Alex if she ever attempts to harm their family again. A few days later, Alex abducts Ellen from school and takes her to an amusement park, but safely returns her home after a few hours. While frantically searching for her daughter, Beth gets into a car accident that leaves her hospitalized. Seeking revenge, Dan drives into the city and attacks Alex in her apartment, nearly strangling her. Alex lunges at him with a knife, but he wrests the blade from her grasp and leaves without a word. Although police agree to question Alex, they are unable to find her anywhere in Manhattan. Beth returns from the hospital, and Dan prepares tea in the kitchen while she draws a bath. Suddenly, Alex emerges from the hallway brandishing a knife and corners Beth against the bathroom wall. The whistle of the kettle blocks out Beth’s screams for help. Eventually, Dan hears the scuffle and rushes upstairs. He attempts to drown Alex in the scalding bath water, and after a lengthy struggle, her body goes limp. As Dan breathes a sigh of relief, however, Alex revives, and rears up from the water. Beth appears in the doorway with a gun and shoots Alex in the chest. After escorting police outside, Dan returns to the house and embraces his wife.
In the Colorado mountains, teacher and writer Jack Torrance interviews for the position of off-season caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. Because the area becomes snowbound in winter, only the caretaker and his family remain onsite from December to May. The hotel’s manager, Stuart Ullman, cautions Jack that in 1970, a caretaker, Grady, became overwhelmed by “cabin fever” and killed his wife and two young daughters with an ax, then shot himself. Jack assures Ullman that five months of peace is what he is seeking in order to begin a writing project he has planned. Meanwhile, in Boulder, Jack’s wife Wendy and their son Danny discuss the possibility of moving. Danny says that his imaginary friend, “Tony,” is against the move. While Danny brushes his teeth, “Tony” tells him that Jack will get the job and, soon after, Jack calls Wendy and confirms that he has been hired. When Danny insists that “Tony” tell him what is wrong with the hotel, he goes into a trance and sees startling images, among them, two young girls identically dressed and hotel doors from which blood gushes. The visions become so frightening that Danny blacks out and Wendy arranges for a doctor to visit. When the doctor asks Danny what he remembers, he says he was talking to “Tony,” but is otherwise reticent. The doctor prescribes rest and suggests there is a psychological explanation for the incident. Wendy tells her that “Tony” first appeared in Danny’s life after an “accident” in which an inebriated Jack dislocated the boy’s arm. In denial about the significance, Wendy says that good came out of the event, because Jack vowed to quit drinking and has remained alcohol-free for five months. Days later, the family arrives at the Overlook Hotel as staff and guests are leaving. Ullman and staff members give the family a tour of their living quarters and other areas of the labyrinthine building that was built in 1907 on a Native American burial ground. Outside, Jack and Wendy are shown the hotel’s thirteen-foot-high hedge maze and the snowcat, a vehicle necessary to traverse deep snow. While showing the Torrances the grandly decorated Gold Room, Ullman explains that alcoholic beverages are removed during the winter for insurance reasons. While playing in the game room, Danny again sees a vision of the identically dressed girls. Wendy and Danny visit the kitchen and meet head chef, Dick Hallorann, who shows Wendy the stored food in the pantries and walk-in freezer. Wendy is surprised when Dick addresses Danny as “Doc,” because it is a nickname she and Jack sometimes call the boy. As Dick continues the tour, he telepathically asks Danny if he would like some ice cream and, later, when Danny and Dick eat ice cream alone together, Dick reveals that he sensed Danny’s mental powers. Dick explains that he, too, has them and that the abilities are known as “shining.” Danny confides that “Tony” told him not to tell Wendy and Jack about the powers and asks if there is something bad about the hotel. Dick says that the hotel also has a way of shining and that when events happen, they can leave traces like pictures in a book that only those who “shine” can detect. Danny asks about Room 237 and says he thinks Dick is scared of it. Dick tells him he has no need to know about that room, and is adamant that Danny avoid it. A month passes, but during this time Jack is unable to start his novel. However, he proclaims his fondness for the hotel, and tells Wendy he feels as if he has been there before. As Wendy and Danny explore the maze outside, Jack, frustrated about his lack of productivity, bounces tennis balls against the hotel’s inner walls. Days later, while racing his tricycle through the halls, Danny comes to Room 237 and cautiously tries the door handle. The door is locked and an image of the two girls again appears in his mind. Lonely, Wendy visits Jack as he is typing, but, showing anger out of proportion to the situation, Jack tells her to never enter the room while he is working. When the phone lines go down due to snowstorms, Wendy contacts the Forest Service by radio. The ranger suggests she leave the radio on at all times so they can make emergency contact, if necessary. Danny is again racing through the halls on his tricycle when the two girls appear unexpectedly on his path. This time they speak, inviting him to play and anticipating they will be together forever. In his mind, Danny sees images of their bloody and mutilated bodies, and tells “Tony” he is scared. “Tony” reminds him that Dick said the images are harmless, like pictures in a book. One morning, Danny finds Jack in the family’s apartment, sitting in his bathrobe, undressed and unshaven, and staring blankly into space. Jack says he is tired but cannot sleep, and wishes they could stay at the hotel forever. Danny asks if Jack would ever hurt him or Wendy, but Jack reassures Danny that he would never do him harm. A few days later, Danny is playing when Jack’s tennis ball rolls toward him. Danny follows the ball’s path and arrives at Room 237, where the door is now open. In the basement, Wendy is checking the furnaces when she hears Jack screaming. She finds Jack asleep at his desk and when she wakens him, he says he had a nightmare in which he killed her and Danny, and cut them into pieces. Soon after, a traumatized Danny walks into the room, his shirt torn and his neck bruised. Accusing Jack of injuring Danny, she takes the boy from the room, leaving Jack bewildered. Later, Jack enters the empty ballroom, yearning for a drink. At the bar, he sees Lloyd the bartender and orders a bottle of bourbon. He tells Lloyd he always liked him and that he was the best bartender. When Lloyd asks Jack how things are going, Jack expresses resentment that Wendy will not forgive him for injuring Danny. Wendy runs in and tells Jack that Danny told her a “crazy woman” tried to strangle him. Searching for the woman, Jack finds, in Room 237, a young, nude woman, who silently leaves her bath and approaches him. After they embrace, she turns into an elderly hag with gaping sores. Frightened, Jack backs out of the room, but when he returns to the family’s apartment, he says he found nothing and suggests that Danny’s bruises are self-inflicted. Wendy proposes that the family leave, but Jack condemns her for creating Danny’s problem, and not appreciating his need to write or his responsibility to the hotel. In his bedroom, Danny spots the word “Redrum” written on the door in red then sees the vision of the elevator gushing blood. Meanwhile, in Miami, Dick watches Colorado weather reports and is unable to shake his feeling of foreboding. After seeing visions of Room 237 and a terrified Danny, he phones the Forest Service about his concerns for the family. The ranger tries several times to contact the Torrances, but to no avail. On his return to the Gold Room, Jack sees the Overlook’s hallways strewn with balloons and party streamers, and hears music and finds the room filled with revelers in 1920s attire. When a waiter bumps into Jack, spilling a drink on his coat, he offers to help Jack clean up in the men’s room and reveals his name is Grady, the name of the caretaker who killed his family. However, Grady denies he is the man and claims that Jack has always been the caretaker. Grady tells Jack that Danny is trying to bring in someone from outside and that Danny has a “very great talent,” but is “naughty.” In the family’s apartment, Wendy makes plans to leave Jack and drive Danny down the mountain in the snowcat. When Danny begins to call out the word, “Redrum,” repeatedly, she talks to him, but “Tony” answers, saying that Danny cannot wake up. In the hallway, Jack hears the Forest Service’s attempt to contact them and dismantles the radio. Spurred by his concern for Danny, Dick flies to Denver where he borrows a snowcat and drives the winding roads up the mountain. At the Overlook, Wendy, armed with a baseball bat, looks for Jack at his desk and, finding him gone, examines a stack of papers that Jack typed. She discovers that all of them contain, in multiple formats and with spelling and grammatical variations, the words, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” When Jack appears, Wendy warns him to stay away. Although Jack addresses her with brutal language, he maintains that he will not hurt her. Menacingly, he backs her up the staircase until she swings the bat at him and sends him tumbling down the steps. She then drags Jack into a large pantry and locks him inside. Soon after, she discovers that Jack has disabled the snowcat. In the afternoon, Jack is addressed from outside the pantry by the voice of Grady, who chides him for not disciplining Wendy and Danny, and questions his motivation and sincerity. After Jack asks for another chance, the pantry door unlocks, freeing him. In the apartment, Danny repeatedly chants “Redrum,” and takes a knife. With Wendy’s lipstick, he writes the word on a door. As his chant gets louder, Wendy looks in a mirror and sees the word reversed to read “Murder.” Jack breaks the apartment door with an ax, and Wendy and Danny take refuge behind the locked bathroom door. Wendy pushes Danny outside through a window, where he slides down a snow bank to the ground below. However, she cannot fit through the window and, as Jack chops his way through the bathroom door, she takes the knife Danny dropped and slashes Jack’s hand. Jack abandons his pursuit of Wendy when he hears Dick’s Snowcat approaching. When Dick enters, Jack bursts out of the darkness and kills him with the ax. Hiding in the kitchen, Danny lets out a blood-curdling scream and Jack chases the boy. Danny escapes to the hedge maze, but observes that his footprints in the snow will lead Jack to him. After walking backwards several steps, careful to step into his previous tracks, Danny squeezes through a hedge wall. Jack follows Danny’s tracks until they end, but then, cold and exhausted, he collapses. While searching the hallways for Danny, Wendy encounters ghostly images of previous hotel patrons. After she finds Dick’s mutilated corpse, a blood-spattered ghost appears and tells her it is a “great party.” She finds the Colorado room filled with cobwebs and skeletons, and the elevator doors gushing blood. She joins Danny outside and they drive down the mountain in Dick’s snowcat. The next morning, Jack is dead, frozen in the maze, but inside the Overlook there is a photo hanging on a wall. The photo, dated July 1921, shows a large group of people at a party. Jack is among them, front and center, smiling into the camera.
Producer: Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino, John Peverall
Writer: Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker, Deric Washburn
Editor: Peter Zinner
Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond
Genre: Drama
Production Company: EMI
Composer: Stanley Myers
In a small Pennsylvania town called Clairton, five friends, Steven, Stan, Nick, Axel and Michael, leave their job at the steel mill and get ready for Steven’s wedding that night. While making preparations with the priest at the church, Steven’s mother expresses disapproval of Steven’s fiancée, Angela, because the bride is pregnant and Steven may not be the father. She also complains that she will be stuck alone with the new wife when Steven, Nick and Michael leave to fight in the Vietnam War. At the wedding reception, Michael flirts with Nick’s girlfriend, Linda. When Nick asks Linda to marry him when he and his friends return from war, she says yes. The next morning, Michael, Nick, Stan and Axel go deer hunting. Michael explains his theory of the importance of killing a deer cleanly with one shot. During the hunt, Michael shoots and kills a buck. Later, in Vietnam, the Viet Cong destroy a village. Michael kills an enemy soldier and is unexpectedly reunited with Steven and Nick. All three are captured by the Viet Cong and placed in a prisoner camp on a river where the jailers force the men to play Russian roulette: one bullet is placed in a revolver, then a prisoner holds the gun up to his own head and pulls the trigger. When an injured Steven becomes unhinged and refuses to play, he is beaten and put in a watery pit to die. Michael tells Nick he has an escape plan: Michael will have the Viet Cong put three bullets in the Russian roulette gun and he and Nick will play each other. When it’s Michael’s turn, he will signal Nick to grab a captor’s gun and the two of them will start shooting their guards. Nick is dazed but agrees. Michael and Nick carry out the plan, kill their captors and escape with Steven. The three friends float down the river and soon encounter a helicopter that hovers to rescues them. Although Nick makes it onto the helicopter, Steven falls back into the river and Michael jumps after him as the helicopter flies away. Michael pulls Steven to the shore and carries him on land until they join a procession of Vietnamese refugees. Michael places Steven in the care of soldiers in a and continues on foot alone. Meanwhile, Nick convalesces at the U.S. Army hospital in Saigon, but he remains mentally and emotionally damaged. One night in Saigon, Nick stumbles into a secret lair where spectators bet on men voluntarily playing Russian roulette. Unaware that Michael is among the audience members, Nick disrupts the game by grabbing the gun, which still has one bullet in the chamber. Nick aims the weapon at a competitor’s head and fires, then puts the gun to his own head and pulls the trigger; however, the bullet does not discharge. The angry crowd forces Nick out of the building and he runs down the street until a French man, Julien, approaches him and offers to make Nick rich. As Michael forces his way out of the crowd and tries to reach his friend, Nick jumps into Julien's car. Although Nick sees Michael chasing the car on foot, he turns away and leaves Michael behind. Later, Michael returns home. When he sees that there is a party waiting for him, Michael avoids his friends and goes to a motel. The next day, Michael visits Linda. She is happy to see him, but she is still in love with Nick, even though he never contacted her while he was gone; Nick is missing and the army doesn’t know where he is. When Michael reunites with Stan and Axel, he is surprised to learn that Steven is home, too. Visiting Angela, Michael learns Steven's phone number, but instead of calling his friend, Michael prepares to leave home. Before he goes, Michael runs into Linda, who suggests they comfort each other with sex, but Michael insists he can’t stay in town any longer and leaves. Linda chases after him and they make love in a motel. Later, Michael and his friends go hunting. Michael gets a clear shot of a deer, but he lets the animal live. Back at the cabin, Axel teases Stan about the gun Stan carries around with him and Michael returns in time to see Stan pointing his gun at Axel. Michael grabs the gun away from Stan, who protests that the weapon isn’t loaded, but Michael opens the cylinder to find it is full of bullets. Emptying the chamber of all but one bullet, Michael presses the gun against Stan’s forehead and pulls the trigger. As the friends eye Michael warily, he goes outside and tosses the gun away. When Michael returns to Clairton, he goes to see Linda and they spend another night together. Afterward, Michael calls Steven, then visits him at the Veterans Administration Hospital and encourages him to come home. Steven, who lost both his legs in the war, doesn’t want to leave the hospital. Showing Michael the $100 bills he has been receiving from Saigon every month, Steven claims that he does not know who is sending the cash, but Michael immediately realizes the money is from Nick. Steven is worried about Nick's safety because the U.S. is on the verge of withdrawing from the war Saigon will erupt into violence. Michael finally convinces Steven to come home. Later, Michael travels to Saigon and locates Julien. The French man takes Michael to a building where a crowd places bets on two men playing Russian roulette. Michael sees that Nick is one of the competitors and urges his friend to leave with him, but Nick does not recognize Michael and spits in his face. When Michael buys into the game to compete against his friend, Nick takes his turn with the gun and remains in the contest. Michael puts the gun to his own head, pulls the trigger, and makes it to the next round. Although Michael beseeches Nick to come home, Nick takes another turn and loses the last round of Russian roulette, fatally shooting himself in the head. Later, back in Clairton, after Nick’s friends bury their fallen comrade and gather at the local bar for breakfast, singing “God Bless America” and toasting Nick.
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Teri Garr
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips
Writer: Steven Spielberg
Editor: Michael Kahn
Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond, William A. Fraker , Douglas Slocombe
Genre: Science fiction
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, EMI
Composer: John Williams [composer]
A sandstorm batters the Sonora Desert in Mexico. Two vehicles arrive and discharge Mayflower Project operatives including David Laughlin, who explains that he is not a professional interpreter, but a cartographer. However, Laughlin translates for French scientist Claude Lacombe as project members rush to a mysterious circle of vintage WW II airplanes, which were reported missing in 1945. Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, Indiana, air traffic controllers monitor a strange aircraft in the vicinity of two airliners. There is a near miss, but the pilots don’t want to report an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO). Elsewhere, in Muncie, Indiana, a young boy named Barry Guiler is awakened by the wind. As his toys begin to operate independently, Barry goes downstairs, where he is delighted to find the front door is open and the house bathed in bright light. Barry’s mother, Jillian Guiler, awakens to see Barry running into the woods. Nearby, Roy Neary is at home with his wife, Ronnie, and their three children when the phone rings. Ronnie is told that there is a widespread power outage and Roy is to report to work at a substation. As Jillian looks for Barry in the woods, Roy parks on a country road, lost. Lights appear behind Roy’s truck and levitate as mailboxes shake and the truck loses power; gravity is momentarily reversed, then everything goes quiet. Roy sees a spacecraft flying away and drives after it while Barry runs down a road on Crescendo Summit and encounters a family watching the sky. Jillian finds Barry and grabs her son just as Roy’s truck comes around a bend, narrowly missing them. Three low-flying spacecraft fly past, followed by three police cars. The UFOs fly through a toll collection area, cross into Ohio, and disappear into the distance as electric power is restored across the valley. With his face half-sunburned, Roy heads home to collect his family and drives them back to Crescendo Summit, hoping to share another UFO event with them. The next morning, Roy is fascinated by the mountainous shape of his shaving cream and later receives a phone call terminating his employment. Despite Ronnie’s protests, Roy goes back to Crescendo Summit that night and gathers with fellow UFO witnesses, including Jillian and Barry, whom Roy observes making the same mountain shape in the mud that he saw earlier in his shaving cream. Although the crowd is excited by approaching lights, the aircraft turn out to be helicopters. Across the globe in India, Lacombe and his team record thousands of people chanting a series of musical tones. When asked where the sounds came from, the people point to the sky. Back in the U.S., Lacombe shares his breakthrough with an auditorium audience and demonstrates hand signals that correlate to the musical notes. A satellite dish in Barstow, California, beams the tonal sequence into space and a signal of repeating numbers is received in response. Laughlin, the cartographer-turned-translator, notes that the first set of numbers is a longitude and the team determines that the location is in Wyoming. Meanwhile, in Muncie, Barry plays the same notes on a xylophone while Jillian sketches the mysterious mountain. Taking out the trash, Jillian sees rolling clouds and the bright lights of an approaching spacecraft, then runs inside and barricades the house as it rattles. Despite Jillian’s efforts to grab hold of her son, Barry crawls away through the dog door and disappears. Sometime later at a U.S. Air Force briefing, Major Benchley and the Mayflower Support Leader debunk the sightings; however, a team of people in red jumpsuits and sunglasses are loaded on a bus in an unidentified military warehouse. Reviewing a map of a Wyoming mountain called Devil’s Tower, military personnel, including Major “Wild Bill” Walsh, debate possible cover stories to evacuate the area without prompting suspicion. Back at the Neary home, Roy continues to be haunted by the mountain shape; he sculpts it with mashed potatoes at dinner and later builds a clay model, but remains bewildered. In the morning, Roy knocks the peak off of his clay mountain in defeat and the flat plateau triggers recognition. After uprooting plants and collecting debris from neighbors’ yards, Roy’s obsession frightens Ronnie and she gathers the children to leave for her sister’s home. Constructing a mountain from mud, Roy watches television and notices a breaking news report about a train derailment in Wyoming that supposedly unleashed nerve gas. When the footage depicts a mass evacuation near Devil’s Tower, Roy is elated to recognize the flat-topped mountain of his imagination. Meanwhile, Jillian sees the same report and connects the Devil’s Tower to her own obsessive drawings. Sometime later, Roy drives a rented station wagon to Wyoming, where he rescues Jillian from being evacuated on a train. As Roy speeds away from the military checkpoint, Jillian updates him on the search for Barry. Arriving at a barbwire barricade, Roy and Jillian see Devil’s Tower in the distance and marvel at the mountain that had previously only existed in their minds. Continuing on the road, they observe what appear to be dead livestock; although Roy believes the evacuation is a government hoax, they don gas masks to be safe. Soon, the car is stopped by military vehicles. Roy and Jillian are separated and detained by soldiers dressed in hazardous material suits. Lacombe and Laughlin interrogate Roy, asking if he has had a “close encounter” and showing him photographs of eleven people, including Jillian. At a base camp below Devil’s Tower, Roy and Jillian are reunited on a helicopter with the ten other people who sought out the mountain, but Roy is convinced that the air is not contaminated with nerve gas and takes off his mask to prove that the story is a hoax. Meanwhile, Wild Bill Walsh berates Lacombe for allowing civilians into the restricted area; however, Lacombe defends the UFO witnesses and suggests that there may be thousands more. Back at the helicopter pad, Roy, Jillian, and a comrade named Larry Butler escape and soldiers give chase. Maj. Walsh orders helicopters to spray the sleep aerosol previously used on the area’s livestock to make the animals appear dead. Although the sleeping gas fells Larry, Roy and Jillian get away and discover a well-lit arena with a landing strip on the backside of Devil’s Tower. As scientists make preparations, lights appear in the distance and move toward Roy and Jillian. When four spacecraft fly over the arena, project members play the tones that Lacombe discovered in India and Jillian recognizes the tune from Barry’s xylophone. After repeating the musical sequence in response, the spacecrafts fly away and the scientists break into applause. As more spacecraft swarm overhead, Roy wants to get closer, but Jillian is afraid to continue. After kissing his companion farewell, Roy climbs toward the landing strip. In a moment of silence, an enormous mother ship arrives, casting a dark shadow. While the notes are reciprocated between the scientists and the spaceship, Jillian follows Roy into the arena. As the craft lowers its ramp, radiating a warm glow, figures materialize in the light, including the WW II pilots who went missing in 1945 and Barry, who runs to Jillian. Lacombe and the officials discuss Roy as a potential human representative for the spaceship’s next voyage and Lacombe admits envy. The spaceship’s ramp opens again, revealing a spider-like creature and other humanoid aliens, and an official asks Roy for his full cooperation. Following a church service, the team of astronauts in red jumpsuits walks toward the mother ship with Roy in tow, but two aliens pull Roy out of the line and lead him aboard the craft. When an alien exchanges hand signals with Lacombe, a calm falls over the observers. The mother ship ascends into the sky, with Roy aboard, and disappears into the darkness.
Writer: Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde, Whitfield Cook
Editor: William H. Ziegler
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
On a train, wealthy, neurotic Bruno Antony recognizes tennis player Guy Haines and strikes up a conversation. While using Guy's cigarette lighter, Bruno notices it is inscribed "From A to G," and guesses that "A" is Senator Morton's daughter Anne, whom Guy intends to marry after Miriam, his current wife, divorces him. Over lunch in his compartment, Bruno describes to Guy his hatred of his father, and suggests a plan for a perfect murder. He proposes that two strangers, who each want someone in their life killed, swap murders. In that way, each has murdered a perfect stranger and is unlikely to be apprehended. For example, Bruno says, he could kill Miriam, and Guy would then return the favor by killing Bruno's father. Believing Bruno to be a harmless crank, Guy agrees that the theory is viable and disembarks from the train at his home town of Metcalf, unaware that he has left his distinctive lighter in Bruno's compartment. In Metcalf, Guy proceeds to the music store where Miriam works. There, Miriam tells him that although she is pregnant with another man's baby, she has no intention of divorcing him. In full sight of the other employees, a furious Guy brutally shakes her, then calls Anne and, still angry, shrieks that he would like to strangle his wife. Meanwhile, Bruno, at his parents' home, overhears his father threaten to institutionalize him, and decides to put his plan into action immediately. Traveling to Metcalf one night, he follows Miriam and two boyfriends to an amusement park tunnel-of-love ride and strangles her on a nearby island. While Bruno is murdering Miriam, Guy is on the train to Washington, D.C. The only other passenger in his car is extremely drunk, but tells Guy his name is Prof. Collins. Later, outside of his residence, Guy encounters Bruno, who informs him of Miriam's murder and shows him her eyeglasses as proof of the deed. When a stunned Guy insists that he will turn Bruno over to the police, Bruno convinces him that the police will believe that he was involved and makes it clear that he expects Guy to complete his part of the "bargain." Guy flees from Bruno and is soon summoned by phone to Senator Morton's home, where Morton informs him of Miriam's death. Although Guy hopes that Collins will give him an alibi, Collins reports having no memory of his drunken evening. The police release Guy, but assign Hennessey, a police detective, to keep a constant watch on him. Although Guy tries to evade Bruno, Bruno sends Guy a map of his father's bedroom, a key to the house and a gun. When Guy continues to ignore him, Bruno manages to ingratiate himself with Guy's friends. Anne, who has become increasingly disturbed by Guy's strange behavior, then confronts him. Under her questioning, he admits that Bruno killed Miriam and tells her about their encounter on the train. A desperate Guy then telephones Bruno and tells him that he will kill his father that night. He evades the detective and uses the key to enter the Antony house, intending to beg Antony to get help for Bruno. However, Bruno, suspecting Guy's motives, is waiting for him in his father's room. The following day, Anne tries to enlist the help of Bruno's doting, dotty mother, who insists that Bruno must be playing a practical joke. Before a tearful Anne leaves, Bruno informs her that Guy killed Miriam and offers as proof Guy's request that Bruno retrieve the lighter that he dropped at the scene of the crime. When Anne reports this to Guy, he realizes that Bruno intends to use his lighter to frame him for the murder. Guy is scheduled to play in a tennis tournament in Washington, D.C., but believing that Bruno will plant the lighter after dark, decides not to drop out. In order to reach Metcalf before Bruno, however, Guy must win the tournament in three sets. He wins the first two sets easily, but loses the third. Meanwhile, Bruno arrives in Metcalf and accidentally drops the lighter down a storm drain. While Bruno attempts to retrieve the lighter, Guy continues to play a determined game. After recovering the lighter, Bruno proceeds to the amusement park. Guy wins the final match, and while Barbara distracts Hennessey and his partner Hammond, Guy takes a waiting cab to the train. In Metcalf, the police, alerted by Hennessey, stake out the park. When the sun sets, Bruno joins the long line of people waiting for the tunnel-of-love boat to the island, but is recognized by the ride's operator. Guy arrives just as the man points out Bruno to the police, and the police mistakenly believe that the operator has identified Guy as the killer. Bruno bolts from the line, chased by Guy, and heads for the carousel. The police shoot at the running men and accidentally hit the operator, who falls on the controls and sets the ride spinning wildly. While Bruno and Guy struggle under the plunging hooves of the carousel horses, a volunteer pulls the controls, and the carousel crashes to a stop, breaking down completely. Bruno, who has been pinned beneath the carousel, refuses to clear Guy, but as he dies, his hand opens, revealing Guy's lighter. After the tunnel-of-love proprietor explains that it was Bruno he saw on the night of the murder, Guy tells Anne that he has been cleared.
Directors: Andrew Davis, Terry J. Leonard, Mike Gray
Producer: Arnold Kopelson, Keith Barish, Roy Huggins
Writer: Jeb Stuart, David Twohy, David Twohy
Editor: Dennis Virkler, David Finfer, Dean Goodhill, Don Brochu, Richard Nord, Dov Hoenig
Cinematographer: Michael Chapman, Gary H. Holt, George Kohut
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Warner Bros., Inc.
Composer: James Newton Howard
Helen Kimble, the wife of Dr. Richard Kimble, struggles against an attacker. She wields a gun, but the attacker twists it from her grip and shoots her. Shortly before midnight, the Chicago police arrive at the Kimble residence. Officers escort Richard to the station for further questioning. Meanwhile, a local reporter informs viewers that the circumstances of Helen's murder are vague, but they do know that the Kimbles attended a fundraiser earlier that evening. In the interrogation room, Richard sits silently and reflects. Earlier that night, at a fundraising gala, Dr. Charles Nichols returns Richard's car keys, having borrowed the vehicle earlier that day. Helen eyes Richard as she endures a boring conversation with Dr. Alec Lentz. Later, on the ride home, Richard receives a call to assist in a late-night operation. Helen promises to wait up for him. Back in the interrogation room, Richard snaps out of his memories as two officers question him about the scratches on his neck. Richard admits that Helen scratched him as he tried to move her, and becomes irate when he realizes the officers suspect him of murdering his wife for a hefty insurance policy. Richard insists that a one-armed man broke into his house and killed Helen, but officers observing him from a two-way mirror believe Richard to be the prime suspect. Some time later, a judge sentences Richard to death after he is found guilty of murdering his wife. On a bus to the state penitentiary, Richard watches a fellow prisoner fake a seizure. When a guard unlocks the cage to help, the prisoner stabs him. An older guard shoots the prisoner, and, during a struggle with another convict, accidentally shoots the bus driver, causing the bus to careen off the road onto a railroad track. The older guard unlocks Richard’s handcuffs so he can administer medical care to the younger guard, then flees when he sees a train approaching. Seconds before the train collides with the bus, Richard pushes the injured young guard out a window and jumps to safety. Copeland, a fellow prisoner, helps Richard unlock his shackles, and the two run in separate directions. Soon after, Sam Gerard and his team of Federal Marshals arrive at the crash site where the local police have begun an investigation. The old guard claims that he saved the young guard and that all prisoners perished, but Gerard disproves him after the empty shackles are found. Gerard announces that Dr. Richard Kimble is a fugitive. On the run, Richard steals a mechanic's coveralls and goes to a local hospital. He cares for his wounds, shaves off his beard, and steals a sleeping patient’s clothes. An officer passes in the hallway, but Richard eludes him. However, as Richard leaves the building, the wounded guard arrives in an ambulance and recognizes him. Wearing a doctor’s coat, Richard gives orders to the paramedics who take the young guard inside, then steals the ambulance and speeds away. Gerard and his team catch up with Richard via helicopter. Richard enters a tunnel that runs through a viaduct and stops the ambulance. Leaving the vehicle, he escapes into the sewer, but Gerard and his partner, Cosmo, are close behind. Gerard wades through the sewage pipe in pursuit. When he slips and loses his gun, Richard retrieves it. Holding Gerard at gunpoint, Richard pleads that he did not kill Helen. Gerard responds, “I don’t care,” and continues in pursuit of Richard to the end of the pipe where the water drops into a massive viaduct. Gerard uses another gun strapped inside his jacket to arrest Richard, but Richard makes the desperate decision to leap, falling hundreds of feet into the churning water below. Although his team members believe that Richard has perished, Gerard insists they continue their pursuit. Emerging from the river, Richard finds a wooded area and rests. He dreams of Helen and her murder. The next morning, Gerard and his crew head back to Chicago. Richard dyes his hair darker and hitchhikes back to Chicago as well. Gerard and his team locate Copeland at an ex-lover's home. Copeland holds hostage young Marshal Newman, but Gerard defuses the altercation by firing two quick bullets to Copeland's head. A despondent Newman questions Gerard's risky methods, to which the latter replies, "I don't bargain." Richard calls his lawyer from a payphone and asks for money. Gerard monitors the call and deduces that Richard is now in Chicago. Later, Richard stops Dr. Nichols outside his country club and asks for cash. Nichols offers his help, but Richard quickly leaves. Gerard instructs his crew to allow Richard to "re-enter his life," so his capture may be easier. Richard rents a basement apartment then heads to the prosthetics department at Cook County Hospital, where he steals a maintenance identification badge and uniform as a disguise. Gerard later questions Nichols, who admits that he has recently seen Richard, but insists on his innocence. Haunted by nightmares of Helen’s murder, Richard uses his new disguise to research prosthetics patients at the hospital, in search of the one-armed man. At his basement apartment, Richard awakens to police cars swarming outside. However, the officers are there to arrest a drug dealer upstairs. At the station, the drug-dealer informs the police that Richard has been living in the basement of his building. At the hospital, Richard steals files for a handful of patients who match the one-armed man’s age and prosthetic type. In the hallway, facing a large influx of patients, a female doctor asks Richard to take a young patient to an observation room. Richard checks the patient’s x-rays and discovers that he needs emergency surgery, so he delivers him to the operating room instead. Meanwhile, Gerard searches Richard's apartment and finds evidence that Richard has been spending time at Cook County Hospital. When the female doctor learns that Richard overrode her orders, she takes his badge and calls security, but Richard runs away. Gerard arrives at the hospital and realizes that Kimble has been conducting his own investigation. Gerard creates his own list of suspects from the database of prosthetics patients. Later, Richard visits a convict who may be his wife’s killer, but discovers in the visitation room that the man is black. Gerard spots Richard as he leaves City Hall. However, Richard eludes Gerard and Cosmo as he blends into the St. Patrick's Day Parade outside. Some time later, Richard breaks into the home of another on his list, Fredrick Sykes. Inside, he finds a picture of Sykes with Dr. Lentz, whom he met at the gala the night of Helen’s murder. He also finds indications that Sykes works for the pharmaceutical company Devlin-MacGregor. Convinced that Sykes is his wife’s killer, Richard calls Gerard from the Sykes’ phone and leaves it off the hook so the call can be traced. As Gerard and his team investigate, Sykes arrives and indicates that he works security for Devlin-MacGregor. Gerard finds Sykes suspicious. Over the phone, Richard reveals to Nichols that he thinks Devlin-MacGregor and Lentz were after him because he discovered that their drug, RDU-90, caused liver damage. Richard believes Lentz had something to do with Helen’s murder, but Nichols informs Richard that Lentz is now dead. At their office, Gerard and Cosmo discuss Devlin-MacGregor's annual profits, becoming suspicious of Lentz as well. Richard receives help from medical archivist Bones, who gives him a tissue sample of a patient who used Provasic, Devlin-MacGregor's drug containing RDU-90. Lab analyst Cathy helps Richard discover that the original tissue samples have been replaced with healthy samples. Though Richard suspects Lentz of forging the samples, Cathy determines that half of the approved samples were signed for on the day of Lentz’s death. Richard then realizes that Nichols, who also supervised the study, must have approved the false samples. At the same time, Newman questions Bones and discovers that Nichols was Lentz’s boss, disproving Nichols’ former statement to Gerard that he had never met Lentz. Leaving the hospital, Richard boards a train on his way to confront Nichols. Sykes follows him on board and shoots a cop in his pursuit of Richard. Richard subdues Sykes, secures him to a railing using the injured cop’s handcuffs, and leaves the train. Gerard learns of Richard's train fight and heads toward the hotel-based medical conference where Richard confronts Nichols. Interrupting Nichols’ speech promoting Provasic, Richard physically battles with Nichols. The fight continues to the hotel's roof, where a police helicopter pursues the men. Richard pushes Nichols through a skylight, and they both fall into an elevator shaft. The elevator travels down to the laundry room, where Richard continues to chase Nichols. Gerard and Cosmo arrive, and Gerard calls out to Richard that he knows the truth about Helen's murder, urging him to give up the chase. Just before Nichols has the chance to shoot Gerard, Richard knocks him to the ground. Driving away from the scene in an unmarked car, Gerard uncuffs Richard.
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
Directors: Charles Laughton
Producer: Paul Gregory
Writer: James Agee, Charles Laughton
Editor: Robert Golden
Cinematographer: Stanley Cortez
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Paul Gregory Productions
Composer: Walter Schumann
During the Depression of the 1930s, Preacher Harry Powell, a murderous, self-proclaimed “man of the cloth,” travels throughout rural West Virginia believing that he is doing the Lord’s work by killing rich widows. One evening, Preacher is apprehended by the police for stealing a car and is sentenced to thirty days at Moundsville Penitentiary. Soon after, in nearby Cresap’s Landing, Ben Harper robs a bank and kills two employees. Ben races home, where his son John and young daughter Pearl are playing with her doll, Miss Jenny. Ben, who is wounded, looks for a place to stash the stolen $10,000, and after hiding it, makes John and Pearl swear never to reveal where the money is. John then watches with horror as several policemen drag Ben away. Ben winds up in a cell with Preacher, who harangues him to reveal the money’s location. Ben scornfully dismisses Preacher, who nonethless thanks the Lord for leading him to a “widow in the making.” After Ben is hanged, John watches over Pearl and ignores the taunts of other children, while Willa takes a job at Walt and Icey Spoon’s ice cream parlor. One day, John visits his only friend, Uncle Birdie Steptoe, a well-meaning drunkard who lives in a wharfboat on the river. Birdie promises to repair Ben’s skiff, but John’s happiness is tempered when Birdie reveals that he met a stranger claiming to have known Ben. When John then goes to the ice cream parlor, he finds Willa, Pearl, Icey and Walt being charmed by the smooth-talking, gospel-quoting Preacher. Preacher tells them that he worked at the penitentiary, but John remains suspicious. When Preacher spots John eyeing the tattoos of the word “LOVE” on his right hand and "HATE" on his left hand, he wins over Icey completely by dramatically telling the story of “right hand-left hand,” and how love triumphs over hate in the Bible. Icey insists that Preacher attend the town picnic the following Sunday, then begins to pressure Willa to make herself attractive to the handsome stranger. At the picnic, Willa confesses to Icey her fear that Preacher is after Ben’s stolen money, and at Icey’s prompting, asks Preacher if Ben told him about the loot. After Preacher claims that Ben told him he had thrown it into the river, a relieved Willa asserts that she now feels clean. Later, when John goes home one night, he is confronted by Preacher, who reveals that he and Willa are to be married the next day. John replies that Preacher will never be his dad, then inadvertantly blurts out that he will “never tell.” Preacher realizes that John knows where the money is hidden but, stating that they have a long time to share their secrets, allows the boy to run off. On Willa and Preacher’s wedding night, Willa is deeply ashamed when Preacher roars at her that he will not be “pawing” her as the business of their marriage is to tend the children she already has, not to beget more. Later, Willa, who desperately wants to please Preacher, leads a revival meeting with him and renounces her former sinful life. One night, Pearl is playing outside with the stolen money, which Ben had hidden in Miss Jenny, when John finds her and stuffs the bills back into the doll, just as Preacher comes to call them in. After Preacher reprimands John for telling Willa that he has been asking him about the money, Willa scolds John for lying, as she believes that Preacher is innocent. Soon after, however, Preacher locks John in his bedroom while Willa is out, and takes Pearl to the parlor to question her. As Willa is coming home, she overhears Preacher threaten to tear off the little girl’s arm if she does not reveal the money’s hiding place. That night, as Willa lies in bed, she realizes that Preacher always knew that Ben did not throw the money away, and that John knows where it is hidden. Still unable to face the truth, Willa states that Preacher married her to save her soul, and lies passively as he slits her throat with his switchblade. The next morning, Preacher tearfully tells Walt and Icey that Willa has run away. While the Spoons are comforting Preacher, Uncle Birdie discovers Willa’s body, trapped in her old model-T car, in the river. Afraid that he will be blamed for the murder, Uncle Birdie returns to his boat and gets drunk. Later that day, John and Pearl are about to be apprehended by Preacher as they hide in the cellar when Icey suddenly arrives. The children reluctantly emerge at Icey’s bidding, and after Icey departs, John tells Preacher, who is badgering Pearl, that the money is buried in the cellar. Preacher forces the children to accompany him, but John succeeds in outwitting him and escapes outside with Pearl. While Preacher is attempting to break open the cellar door, John runs to Uncle Birdie for help, but finds him passed out. John then puts Pearl into Ben’s skiff and barely manages to push the little boat into the river before Preacher can catch them. Time passes as the children, relentlessly pursued by Preacher, float down the river. One morning, the sleeping children are awoken by Rachel Cooper, an elderly farmer who takes in orphaned and illegitimate children. The pragmatic but compassionate and religious Rachel currently cares for Ruby, Mary and Clary, and quickly settles John and Pearl in with her brood. One night, Ruby goes to town, supposedly for a sewing lesson, but in reality to meet boys. She is approached by Preacher, who questions her about John and Pearl. Although Ruby becomes enamored of Preacher, he leaves upon obtaining the information he seeks, and when she returns home, Ruby confesses her actions to Rachel. Rachel forgives the confused adolescent but remains worried about Preacher, who shows up the next day, claiming to be John and Pearl's father. When John declares that Preacher is not his dad, Rachel realizes that Preacher is a fraud and chases him away with a shotgun. As he retreats, Preacher screams that he will be back that night, prompting Rachel to hold vigil with her gun. Preacher sits in the front yard, waiting, and when Rachel is distracted by Ruby, he slips into the house. When Preacher suddenly appears before her, Rachel shoots and wounds him, and he runs into the barn. Kept company by John, Rachel then waits through the night, watching the barn, until the state troopers arrive in the morning. As the men arrest Preacher, John, overcome by memories of Ben’s arrest, runs to the prone Preacher and hits him with Miss Jenny. When money pours from the burst doll, John, unable to bear the strain any longer, cries out for his father to take the money back. Later, John, incapable of looking at Preacher, is unable to identify him at his trial for Willa’s murder. After the trial, an irate Walt and Icey lead a mob to lynch Preacher, but he is snuck out the back by the police, who are assured by Bart the hangman that it will be a pleasure to carry out his duties. Later, on Christmas day, the girls give Rachel potholders, while John shyly presents her with an apple wrapped in a doily. Rachel gives John a pocket watch, and after the happy boy goes upstairs, warmly states that children continue to abide and endure.
In Montana’s Badlands, paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler, his paleobotanist partner, examine velociraptor fossils. They are interrupted by John Hammond, arriving by helicopter. Grant is annoyed by the imposition until he realizes Hammond is one of the donors supporting his project. Hammond promises to fund the dig for another three years in exchange for a favor: he needs them to endorse his latest endeavor, a “biological preserve” on Isla Nublar, an island just west of Costa Rica. Grant and Ellie agree to fly down for the weekend. On the way, they meet Hammond’s other guests: Dr. Ian Malcolm, a mathematician who specializes in chaos theory, and Donald Gennaro, a lawyer who represents Hammond’s investors, and has organized the weekend investigation of Isla Nublar to ensure the viability of the project. Arriving in Isla Nublar, the group is driven to Hammond’s “Jurassic Park” in jeeps. Grant, Ellie, and Ian Malcolm are stunned to see live brachiosauruses roaming the grounds. Grant falls to his knees when he hears that Hammond also has a Tyrannosaurus rex. The scientists wonder how Hammond accomplished such a feat. Hammond leads them to the visitors’ center, where they view an informational film, explaining the scientific technology behind the park: strands of dinosaur DNA have been extracted from Jurassic-era mosquitos fossilized in amber and combined with frog DNA to form complete DNA sequences, allowing geneticists to successfully clone several types of dinosaurs. In a laboratory, the group witnesses the hatching of a velociraptor egg. A scientist named Wu explains that all the dinosaurs are female, to prevent the animals from breeding. Doubtful of this strategy, Ian Malcolm suggests that adaptations might occur to support procreation because “life cannot be contained.” Hammond leads the group to a highly secure building where the velociraptors are kept. Game warden Robert Muldoon jokes that they should all be destroyed, noting they are extremely intelligent, good at jumping, and lethal by the age of eight months. Malcolm believes that Hammond lacks respect for the genetic power he is wielding, Ellie worries that an ecosystem necessary to support dinosaur life cannot be recreated, and Grant fears the mix of humans and dinosaurs is highly unpredictable. Hammond remains optimistic that his guests will change their minds. After lunch, Hammond’s grandchildren, Lex and Tim, arrive, and he sends them on a tour of the park with Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, and Donald Gennaro. The guests are split into two driverless SUVs guided by a metal track. The SUVs move along a path bordered by electric fences. Hammond monitors the tour from a control room in the visitors’ center, where Robert Muldoon warns him that a tropical storm is headed for the island. Hammond is upset when his guests fail to spot any dinosaurs. Finally, Grant sees a triceratops in the distance. He breaks the rules by getting out of the car and is followed by Ellie, Gennaro, Tim, and Lex. They meet Harding, a veterinarian tending to the sick triceratops. Ellie examines the dinosaur’s droppings, hoping to determine what plant life might have made it sick, and decides to stay with Harding while the others rejoin the tour. Back in the control room, disgruntled computer technician Dennis Nedry informs fellow technician, Ray Arnold, and Hammond that the computer system will be “compiling” for the next twenty minutes, and some systems may turn on and off during that time. After secretly shutting down some of the park’s security and electrical systems, Nedry sneaks into cold storage and steals several dinosaur embryos, which he plans to sell to a rival company for $1.5 million. Nedry hides the embryos in a hollowed-out can of shaving cream, and sets out in the rain to deliver them to an awaiting boat. Meanwhile, the electric fences surrounding the perimeter of Jurassic Park are deactivated, and the tour group’s driverless cars come to a halt. Ray Arnold tries to reboot the system, but Nedry has set a secret password, and is nowhere to be found. The Tyrannosaurus breaks through the deactivated fencing and approaches the tour group’s SUVs. Lex inadvertently draws its attention with a flashlight, and the dinosaur overturns the car, trapping Lex and Tim underneath. The Tyrannosaurus eats Donald Gennaro when he tries to flee, and wounds Ian Malcolm. Grant rescues Lex and Tim from the upturned car, narrowly avoiding attack. Hammond sends Robert Muldoon to rescue his grandchildren, and Ellie volunteers to go along. However, they are only able to rescue Malcolm before the Tyrannosaurus chases them out of the park. Elsewhere, Nedry crashes his jeep on the way to the dock and is blinded by a poison-spitting Dilophosaurus. Just before he is mauled to death, he drops the stolen dinosaur embryos on the ground. Grant and the children spend the night in a tree. They are awakened at dawn by a brachiosaurus, munching on the tree branches. On the hike back to the visitors’ center, Grant finds a dinosaur egg and determines that Malcolm was right – the dinosaurs have found a way to procreate. He explains to Tim and Lex that certain breeds of West African frogs are able to change sex in order to breed, and because the dinosaur clones were created using frog DNA, they must have inherited this adaptation. In the control room, Ray Arnold attempts to restore order by shutting all systems down, but circuit breakers are tripped in the process. Hammond, Ellie, Malcolm, and Muldoon take cover in an emergency bunker as Arnold goes to turn on the circuit breakers in a maintenance shed. When Arnold doesn’t return, Ellie and Muldoon set out to complete the job. Wielding a tranquilizer gun, Muldoon tracks a velociraptor outside the maintenance shed as Ellie goes inside. At the same time, Grant, Lex, and Tim scale the deactivated electrical fence. Ellie turns on the circuit breakers and restores power, which causes Tim to be electrocuted; however, Grant revives the boy with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). As Ellie is chased out of the shed by a velociraptor, she sees Ray Arnold’s mangled body. Although she narrowly escapes, Muldoon is killed. Grant and the children make it back to the visitors’ center. He leaves them in the restaurant to go in search of the others, and two velociraptors chase them into the kitchen. Tim and Lex outsmart the velociraptors, and join up with Ellie and Grant as they take refuge in the control room. Lex uses her computer hacking skills to lock the door and restore the phone system. Grant calls Hammond in the emergency bunker and instructs him to call for a rescue helicopter. The velociraptors break through the glass of the control room and chase Grant, Ellie, and the kids into the lobby. Just when the dinosaurs have them cornered, the Tyrannosaurus appears and attacks the velociraptors, allowing the group to flee to an awaiting jeep. A frazzled Grant announces his decision not to endorse the park, and Hammond concurs. They board a helicopter leaving the island, and Hammond is filled with disappointment as he takes a last look at his failed venture.
Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset
Directors: Peter Yates
Producer: Philip D'Antoni, Robert E. Relyea
Writer: Alan R. Trustman, Harry Kleiner
Editor: Frank P. Keller, Ralph H. Martin
Cinematographer: William A. Fraker
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Solar Productions, Inc.
Composer: Lalo Schifrin
Chicago, Illinois, hoodlum Johnny Ross defrauds his Mafia associates and escapes to San Francisco, California, where he agrees to testify before a Senate subcommittee on crime headed by ambitious politician Walter Chalmers. At the request of Chalmers, Detective Lieutenant Frank Bullitt is assigned to protect Ross, who is hiding out in a dilapidated hotel; two gunmen manage to enter Ross's room, however, and seriously wound him. Chalmers then warns Bullitt that he will destroy his career if Ross dies. When Ross is stabbed to death in the hospital, Bullitt persuades a member of the hospital staff, Dr. Willard, to help conceal the death, and he sets out to investigate the case. The Mafia gangsters follow him, but Bullitt escapes in an automobile chase through San Francisco that ends when the Mafia car crashes into a gasoline pump and explodes. Despite the objections of his girl friend Cathy, Bullitt retraces Ross's movements and eventually learns that the dead man was a decoy, and that the real Ross plans to leave the country under the name of Albert Renick. Tracing a phone call Ross made to a San Mateo motel, Bullitt drives there with Cathy and finds a murdered woman with $30,000 in traveler's checks made out to Albert and Dorothy Renick. Bullitt then learns that Ross has booked a seat on an overnight flight to London, England. He races to stop him at the airport, but runs into Chalmers, who admits that he sent him to guard the wrong man and demands that the real Ross be taken alive. After an angry exchange with Chalmers, Bullitt goes after Ross, chases him from a departing plane onto the runway, and finally kills him as he tries to escape.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Directors: Michael Curtiz
Producer: Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis
Writer: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
Editor: Owen Marks
Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson
Genre: Romance
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Max Steiner
During World War II, Casablanca, Morocco is a waiting point for throngs of desperate refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. Exit visas, which are necessary to leave the country, are at a premium, so when two German couriers carrying letters of transit signed by General DeGaulle are murdered and the letters stolen, German Major Strasser and Louis Renault, the prefecture of police, are eager to find the documents. Strasser is particularly concerned that the letters not be sold to Victor Lazlo, the well-known Czech resistance leader, who is rumored to be on his way to Casablanca. That night, Renault and Strasser search for the killer at Rick's Café Americain, a popular nightclub run by the mysterious American expatriate Richard Blaine. Earlier, Ugarte, a shady dealer in exit visas, had asked Rick to hold the stolen letters temporarily, explaining that he has a buyer for them and with the money from their sale, he plans to leave Casablanca. Although Rick fought on the side of the loyalists in Spain, he has grown cynical, and when Renault advises him not to interfere with Ugarte's arrest, Rick replies "I stick my neck out for nobody." He makes a bet with Renault, however, that Lazlo will manage to leave Casablanca despite German efforts to stop him. After Ugarte is arrested, Lazlo and his companion, Ilsa Lund, arrive at Rick's. Ilsa recognizes Sam, the piano player, and while Lazlo makes covert contact with the underground, Ilsa insists that Sam play the song "As Time Goes By." Reluctantly, Sam agrees, and a furious Rick, who had ordered him never to play the song again, emerges from his office to stop him. Rick is taken aback when he sees Ilsa, whom he knew in Paris. Later, after the café is closed, Rick remembers his love affair with Ilsa: After a brief happy time together, the Nazis invade Paris and, worried that Rick will be in danger because of his record, Ilsa advises him to leave the city. He refuses to go without her, and she agrees to meet him at the train station. Instead of coming, though, she sends him a farewell note, and Sam and Rick leave just ahead of the Nazis. Rick's thoughts return to the present with Ilsa's arrival at the café. She tries to explain her actions, but when a drunken Rick accuses her of being a tramp, she walks out. The following day, Lazlo and Ilsa meet with Renault and, there they learn that Ugarte has been killed while in police custody. After Rick helps a young Romanian couple win enough money at roulette to allow them to leave the country, Lazlo, suspecting that Rick has the letters, asks to buy them. Rick refuses and, when Lazlo asks his reasons, suggests that he ask Ilsa. Angered when Rick allows his orchestra to accompany a rousing rendition of "La Marseillaise," Strasser orders the closing of the Café. That night, while Lazlo attends an underground meeting, Ilsa meets Rick and explains that she stayed behind in Paris because, on the day Rick left Paris she had learned that Lazlo, her husband, whom she had married in secret and thought dead, was alive. Now realizing that they still love each other, Ilsa tells Rick that he must made decisions for both of them. Meanwhile, the police break up the underground meeting, and Lazlo takes refuge at Rick's. Before he is arrested, he begs Rick to use the letters to take Ilsa away from Casablanca. The next day, Rick sells the café to his competitor Ferare, the owner of the Blue Parrot, and tricks Renault into releasing Lazlo from prison. They head for the airport, but Renault has managed to alert Strasser, who hurries after them. At the airport, Rick tells Ilsa, who thought that she would be staying with him, that she is to leave with Lazlo because she gives meaning to his work. He then tells Lazlo that he and Ilsa loved each other in Paris, and that she pretended she was still in love with him in order to get the letters. Lazlo, who understands what really happened, welcomes Rick back to the fight before he and Ilsa board the plane. Strasser arrives just as the airplane is about to take off and when he tries to delay the flight, Rick shoots him. Renault then quickly telephones the police, but instead of turning in Rick, he advises them to "round up the usual suspects," and the two men leave Casablanca for the Free French garrison at Brassaville. It is, Rick says, "the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
After her Nazi father is convicted of treason by a Miami, Florida jury, German-born Alicia Huberman tries to forget her pain by throwing a loud party and flirting with uninvited guest T. R. Devlin. Late that evening, an intoxicated Alicia takes Devlin on a drive and is stopped for speeding by a motorcycle officer. When Devlin flashes his official credentials, however, the officer allows Alicia to go without a ticket. Alicia, who has been hounded by reporters and police, is infuriated at Devlin and denounces him as a double-crossing "cop." Although Devlin disapproves of Alicia's self-destructive, promiscuous life style, he is confident of her patriotic feelings toward America, having heard secretly recorded comments she has made, and offers her a job infiltrating a Nazi industrial combine in Brazil. The embittered Alicia at first rejects Devlin's offer, but eventually agrees to accompany him to Rio de Janeiro. While waiting for her assignment, Alicia enjoys a romantic, carefree week in Rio and proudly tells Devlin she is a changed woman. Devlin is skeptical about her reformation, but nonetheless finds himself falling in love with her. The couple's newfound bliss is shortlived, however, as Devlin's boss, Paul Prescott, informs him that Alicia's assignment is to woo her former suitor, German-born Alexander Sebastian, and determine what his war machine combine is manufacturing. Although Alicia is conflicted, Devlin refuses to tell her what to do, and believing that he doesn't truly love her, she accepts the assignment. Devlin, in turn, views Alicia's acceptance as proof of her fickleness. As pre-arranged, Alicia encounters Alex while riding in a park and encourages him to pursue her. At a dinner party at Alex's home, Alicia notices one of the guests, Emil Hupka, gesture nervously at a wine bottle sitting on a mantle. Later, Alex and his other male guests discuss Hupka's improper dinner behavior and agree that he must be eliminated, a job the sinister Eric Mathis eagerly assumes. Soon after, Alicia reports to Devlin, who is posing as a public relations representative, at a Rio racetrack and tells him with sarcasm that the lovestruck Alex is her new "playmate." Devlin reacts to the remark with disgust, but easily plays the part of Alicia's rejected lover in front of Alex. When a jealous Alex then questions Alicia about Devlin, she reassures him that the handsome American "means nothing" to her. A short time later, Alicia pays an unexpected call on Prescott and Devlin and informs them that Alex has proposed to her. Although stunned by the news, Devlin once again refuses to interfere, and a heartbroken Alicia agrees to the marriage. After a brief honeymoon, the newlyweds return to Alex's house, where his domineering mother Anna views her new daughter-in-law with jealous disdain. Alicia immediately inspects the layout of the house and learns from butler Joseph that only Alex has the key to the house's large wine cellar. Some days later, Devlin instructs Alicia to throw a party and secure the key long enough for him to investigate the wine cellar. Before the party, Alicia sneaks the wine cellar key off Alex's key ring and later passes it to Devlin. Alicia then slips away from Alex's watchful eye and accompanies Devlin to the cellar, where they discover that one of the bottles contains not wine, but a mineral substance. When Devlin accidentally drops the bottle, Alicia quickly drains a similar bottle and helps him pour the spilled contents into it. As they are leaving the cellar, Alex approaches with Joseph, and Devlin kisses Alicia to distract him. Although Alex falls for the ruse at first, he soon notices that his cellar key is missing. Early the next morning, after he finds the key back on his ring and discovers that the bottle has been tampered with, he deduces Alicia's true mission and informs his mother. The quick thinking Anna declares that to keep Alex's slip from their ruthless group, they must slowly poison Alicia. Over the next few weeks, Alicia grows sicker from Anna's poison, which is placed in Alicia's coffee. At their next meeting, Prescott informs Alicia that the mineral substance is uranium and asks her to find out where the group is mining it. He also tells Alicia that Devlin has requested a transfer, a fact Devlin denies when he next meets with her. Instead, Devlin questions Alicia about her obvious illness and believes her when she claims she has a hangover. Later, however, when she fails to show up for their next meeting, Devlin realizes that Alicia was really ill. Alicia, in turn, deduces what Alex and Anna are doing to her, as well as the location of the mine, but is now too weak to escape. With Prescott's backing, Devlin goes to Alex's house to rescue Alicia, confident that the Nazi will not try to stop him in front of the group. Although sedated, Alicia is overjoyed to see Devlin, and they confess their love for each other. As Devlin carries Alicia to his car, a helpless Alex announces to his suspicious comrades that he is taking Alicia to the hospital. When Devlin calmly refuses to allow Alex in the car, however, the Nazi's blunder is revealed, and his fate, sealed.
Cast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov
Directors: John McTiernan
Producer: Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver, Charles Gordon
Writer: Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza
Editor: Frank J. Urioste, John F. Link
Cinematographer: Jan de Bont
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Gordon Company , Silver Pictures
Composer: Michael Kamen
New York City police detective John McClane flies to Los Angeles, California, to visit his estranged wife, Holly, and their two children for Christmas. Argyle, an inexperienced limousine driver, picks John up at the airport and drives him to his wife’s office located on the thirtieth floor of Nakatomi Plaza. Uncertain whether Holly will invite him home that night, John enlists Argyle to wait for his call in the underground parking lot. At the lobby desk, he is disappointed to find his wife listed under her maiden name, “Holly Gennaro.” Riding the elevator to the thirtieth floor, John finds himself among revelers at the Nakatomi Corporation’s Christmas party. The President, Joe Takagi, recognizes him and leads him to Holly’s office, where they find her colleague, Harry Ellis, alone at her desk, snorting cocaine. When Holly returns, she is surprised to see John and shows him to the bathroom, where he washes up. Holly invites John to stay at the house and says she has missed him, but he confronts her about using her maiden name. Holly claims the Japanese businessmen prefer to think of a high-powered career woman as single. Holly is called away to make a speech, leaving John behind. Meanwhile, a group of international criminals led by a German man, Hans Gruber, park a truck in the underground parking lot and storm the building, killing two security guards and taking over the lobby desk. Theo, a computer expert, hacks into the security system to lock down the building, while John, who has taken off his shirt and shoes, calls Argyle from the bathroom and tells him to keep waiting in his limousine. The phone line goes dead, and John senses something is wrong. Armed with automatic weapons, Hans’s group emerges from the elevator onto the thirtieth floor and takes the partygoers hostage. Hearing shots fired, John pulls his gun and escapes to the emergency stairwell. Railing against the Takami Corporation’s greed, Hans leads Takagi at gunpoint to his office on another floor. There, Hans announces his plan to steal $640 million in bearer bonds stored in the company’s vault, but Takagi claims he cannot provide the necessary access codes. John spies some of the terrorists moving explosives into the building, then sneaks up on Takagi’s office as Hans shoots Takagi dead. After retreating to an unoccupied floor, John pulls a fire alarm, and although police respond, one of the terrorists posing as a security guard, Eddie, convinces the officers that it was a false alarm. Pinpointing the floor where the alarm was pulled, another terrorist, Tony, pursues John. Activating a table saw to lure Tony out, John ambushes the terrorist and the men struggle until they fall down a stairwell, where Tony dies from his injuries. Still barefoot, John tries to steal Tony’s shoes but they are too small. John sends Tony’s corpse down in the elevator to the thirtieth floor with the message, “Now I have a machine gun,” scrawled on Tony's shirt. Tony’s brother, Karl, intends to avenge Tony’s death, but Hans reminds him they must prioritize the robbery. John procures a CB radio and gains access to the roof, where he radios police. Although a policewoman reprimands him for using a secure line, she overhears loud noises as Karl and two of his cohorts shoot at John, and sends Sgt. Al Powell to investigate. Running back inside, John uses the strap of Tony’s machine gun to descend into a ventilation shaft, where he almost falls to his death but saves himself by grabbing onto the edge of an air duct and climbing inside. Sensing John might be inside the duct, Karl shoots at it from below but is drawn away when he learns Sgt. Al Powell is outside the building. John retreats to Takagi’s office where he smashes the window with a chair to get Al’s attention. Two more assassins, Heinrich and Marco, pursue him, but John shoots them both dead. In the lobby, Eddie opens the door for Al, who performs a cursory walk-through and leaves. Before Al drives away, however, John drops Marco’s corpse onto Al’s police car, prompting Al to call for back-up. Hearing Al’s distress call, television reporter Sam Thornberg begs for a news truck to cover the event. Over the CB radio, John tells Al that nine terrorists, led by Hans Gruber, remain, along with roughly thirty hostages on the thirtieth floor of the building. Deputy police chief Dwayne T. Robinson takes Al’s radio and orders John to stand by. Introducing herself as “Miss Gennaro” to Hans, Holly asks to move her pregnant assistant to a couch and requests bathroom breaks for the hostages. In the parking lot, Argyle hears news of the attack over his CB radio and realizes it is taking place above him. While continuing to penetrate the vault’s security system, Theo watches surveillance cameras and announces when four SWAT [Special Weapons and Tactics] members attempt to infiltrate the building’s main floor. As the terrorists fire shots outside, Robinson wants the SWAT members to retreat but their leader insists they keep going. The SWAT men are killed, and two terrorists, James and Alexander, launch a missile at an armored police vehicle when it approaches another corner. John sends an explosive device down the elevator shaft to the floor where James and Alexander operate their rocket launcher, causing a major blast. Police chief Robinson reprimands John over the radio, but John demands to speak to Al, who informs him that he just killed two more terrorists. Holly’s colleague, Harry Ellis, attempts to make a deal with Hans, lying that he and John are longtime friends. Hans gives Ellis his CB radio to contact John; although Ellis tells John that Hans will kill him if John does not produce a bag of detonators that Heinrich was carrying, John refuses, and Hans shoots Ellis. To stall the police, Hans offers a deal: if they release a list of incarcerated revolutionaries in Northern Ireland, Canada, and Sri Lanka, he will release the hostages to awaiting helicopters on the roof. Two FBI agents, “Big” Johnson and “Little” Johnson, arrive, informing Robinson that they are taking over. John comes across Hans, who fakes an American accent and pretends to be a Nakatomi employee, Bill Clay. Identifying himself as a policeman from New York, John enlists Hans’s help, giving him a handgun. However, when Hans points the gun at John and demands the detonators, Hans discovers the gun is not loaded. Terrorists Karl, Fritz, and Franco emerge from the elevator and John shoots them both dead as he retreats, cutting his foot on broken glass. As Karl and Hans return to the thirtieth floor, Holly notices Karl’s frustration and grins, sensing John is still alive. In a bathroom, John removes the glass from his bloodied foot and radios Al, asking him to pass along an apology to Holly in case he dies. He says he should have been more supportive when she was promoted; instead, he allowed her to move to California without him. He asks why Al is just a beat cop, and Al confesses that he accidentally shot a child while on duty. When the FBI cuts power to the building, the vault opens and the terrorists remove the bearer bonds. FBI agents lie to Hans that the prisoners have been released in exchange for the hostages and helicopters are on the way. At the McClane residence, Sam forces his way inside with a news crew to put John and Holly’s children, Lucy and John Jr., on the air. Hans sees the report and realizes Holly and John are married; thus, he takes Holly at gunpoint while the other hostages are ushered to the roof. John realizes Hans is planning to blow up the roof as the helicopters descend, and radios Al to warn him, but Al does not hear. Near the roof, Karl ambushes John and shoots him in the shoulder; however, John overpowers Karl, tying a chain around his neck and leaving him to hang. On the roof, John demands Holly, but the other hostages alert him that Hans took her to the vault. After John sends the hostages back inside, FBI agents in helicopters mistake John for a terrorist and shoot at him. He ties a fire hose around his waist and jumps over the side of the building, shooting through a window and swinging inside just before the hose snaps. As the terrorists’ explosives blow up the roof, John heads to the vault, where he and Hans come to a stand off. Hans holds Holly at gunpoint and forces John to drop his weapon. However, John removes a second gun secretly taped to his back and shoots Hans and Eddie. Hans totters backward and falls through a window, still holding onto Holly’s wrist. Just in time, John undoes Holly’s watch, and the two watch as Hans loses his grip and falls to his death. Reunited, John and Holly kiss. Outside the building, John embraces Al and introduces Holly using her maiden name, but Holly corrects him, identifying herself as “Holly McClane.” Covered in blood, Karl emerges from the building and points his gun at John, but Al shoots him dead before anyone else can react. Excited by the evening’s dramatic turn, Argyle drives his limousine out of the parking lot and picks up Holly and John.
Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Directors: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
Editor: Ray Lovejoy
Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth
Genre: Science fiction
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
At the dawn of mankind, a colony of peaceful vegetarian apes awakens to find a glowing black monolith standing in their midst. After tentatively reaching out to touch the mysterious object, the apes become carnivores, with enough intelligence to employ bones for weapons and tools. Four million years later, in the year 2001, Dr. Heywood Floyd, an American scientist, travels to the moon to investigate a monolith that has been discovered below the lunar surface. Knowing only that the slab emits a deafening sound directed toward the planet Jupiter, the U.S. sends a huge spaceship, the Discovery , on a nine-month, half billion-mile journey to the distant planet. Aboard are astronauts David Bowman and Frank Poole, plus three others in frozen hibernation, and a computer called HAL 9000. During the voyage, HAL predicts the failure of a component on one of the spacecraft's antennae. Bowman leaves the ship in a one-man space pod to replace the crucial part; the prediction proves incorrect, however, and when Poole ventures out to replace the original part, HAL severs his lifeline. Bowman goes to rescue him, but HAL closes the pod entry doors and terminates the life functions of the three hibernating astronauts. Forced to abandon Poole, who is already dead, Bowman reenters the Discovery through the emergency hatch and reduces HAL to manual control by performing a mechanical lobotomy on the computer's logic and memory circuits. Now alone, Bowman continues his flight until he encounters a third monolith among Jupiter's moons. Suddenly hurtled into a new dimension of time and space, he is swept into a maelstrom of swirling colors, erupting landscapes and exploding galaxies. At last coming to rest in a pale green bedroom, Bowman emerges from the nonfunctioning space capsule. A witness to the final stages of his life, the withered Bowman looks up from his deathbed at the giant black monolith standing in the center of the room. As he reaches toward it, he is perhaps reborn, perhaps evolved, perhaps transcended, into a new "child of the universe," a fetus floating above the Earth.
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
Directors: Don Siegel
Producer: Robert Daley, Clint Eastwood, Don Siegel
Writer: Harry Julian Fink, R. M. Fink, Dean Riesner , Harry Julian Fink, R. M. Fink
Editor: Carl Pingitore
Cinematographer: Bruce Surtees
Genre: Drama
Production Company: The Malpaso Company
Composer: Lalo Schifrin
In San Francisco, while police inspector Harry Callahan, called "Dirty Harry" by his colleagues, is at the crime scene of a young woman shot to death in a rooftop swimming pool, he notices a nearby high-rise building that has an unobstructed view of the roof. Climbing to the top of the other building, Harry finds a shell casing for a 30-06 high-powered rifle, then sees a handwritten note attached to an aerial. The note, which is addressed "to the city of San Francisco" and signed "Scorpio," demands $100,000 or Scorpio will kill one person each day, starting with a Catholic priest or a black person. The mayor decides to pay the ransom, over the objections of Harry, his boss, Lt. Bressler, and the chief of police, and instructs them to do what Scorpio has demanded, respond with a personal ad placed in The San Francisco Chronicle . The mayor then instructs them to add that it will take some time to get the money, hoping to give the police more time to find Scorpio. After the ad appears, Scorpio goes onto a rooftop in the North Beach area looking for a victim. While he is setting his rifle sight on a gay black man, a police helicopter crew spots him and, using a loud speaker, orders him to desist, but Scorpio quickly packs up and escapes. That night, Harry and his temporary partner, Chico Gonzalez, a college graduate who majored in sociology and is the antithesis of Harry, are driving through the Tenderloin District when Chico sees a man carrying a tan suitcase that looks like one the police saw Scorpio carrying. They stop the car and separate, after which Harry follows the man to a nearby apartment and, spying at him and his girlfriend through their window, determines that he is not the killer. Some time later, when the body of a ten-year-old black boy is found in a vacant lot, with a spent 30-06 shell casing nearby, Harry knows that Scorpio has killed again. The police establish a command center to set a trap for Scorpio in North Beach. There the police arrange for a particular building's rooftop to remain unlocked, near St. Peter and Paul Church, assuming that Scorpio will try to carry through with his threat to kill a priest. That night, while Harry uses binoculars to survey the area, Scorpio goes onto the unlocked rooftop. Harry yells to Chico to turn on the lights when he gives the signal, illuminating Scorpio on the roof. Harry shoots at, but misses the killer, precipitating a gunfight between the two. By the time Harry and Chico reach the other building, Scorpio has disappeared, but not before killing a policeman. The next day, Bressler shows Harry a letter that Scorpio has just sent in which he encloses pictures of fourteen-year-old Ann Mary Deacon and a demand for the $100,000. The letter, which also encloses a lock of Ann Mary's hair and one of her molars, states that she has been buried in a secret location and only has enough oxygen to live until 3:00 a.m. Although Harry is convinced that the girl is already dead, Bressler asks him to carry the money, at the mayor's request. Bressler orders Harry to go alone, as instructed by Scorpio, and tells Chico to take the night off, but Harry and Chico secretly obtain sensitive microphones that enable them to keep in contact at a distance. That night, Harry waits at the Marina until Scorpio calls him on a pay telephone, then sends him to various locations throughout the city, with Chico secretly driving to each point after hearing the instructions through the listening device. The final destination is beneath the cross on top of Mt. Davidson. Scorpio, who is wearing a ski mask, tells Harry to drop the bag of money and stand with his nose against the cross, then starts to beat and kick him, saying he has changed his mind and will let the girl die. Hearing this from a short distance away, Chico starts to shoot until Harry tells him not to kill Scoprio. In the melee, Harry manages to take a switchblade knife taped to his leg and stab Scorpio in the leg, sending the squealing killer rolling down the hill. Chico is badly wounded and taken to the hospital, but Scorpio manages to escape. Later, despite his own beating, Harry goes to question a physician at a local hospital who reported a man receiving treatment for a suspicious knife wound. Under questioning, the doctor remembers that the wounded man sells programs at nearby Kezar Stadium, where he has a small room. Accompanied by fellow detective DeGeorgio, Harry climbs over the locked stadium fence then finds Scorpio's room, where he has hidden his 30-06 rifle. Harry then sees Scorpio in the distance and chases him out onto the field. When DeGeorgio turns on the stadium lights, Harry has a clear shot at Scorpio and wounds him in the leg. Lying on the field, Scorpio screams and demands a lawyer, as Harry slams his foot on Scorpio's leg. Although Harry elicits a confession from Scorpio for killing Ann Mary, whose body was found where Scorpio said he buried her, as the district attorney angrily tells him the next day, his blatant violation of Scorpio's rights mean that the seized rifle and confession will be inadmissible in court. Frustrated and angry, Harry is convinced that Scorpio will kill again because he likes it and decides to use his own time to follow him. Scorpio soon becomes unnerved by Harry's constant presence and, in retaliation, hires someone to beat him so that he can tell reporters that Harry did it. Meanwhile, Harry goes to visit the recuperating Chico and tells him that he wants him to be his permanent partner, but Chico sheepishly says that he is going to get a teaching job instead. As Harry leaves the hospital with Chico's wife, she says that it is her fault, not Chico's, but Harry, whose own wife was killed by a drunk driver, gently tells her not to blame herself because the violence of his life is not for her and Chico. Soon Scorpio robs and attacks a liquor store owner, then seizes a school bus carrying several grammar school children. He then forces the terrified bus driver, Marcella Platt, to phone the mayor so that Scorpio can reveal his new demands for $200,000 and an airplane. The mayor is told to have the money delivered just off the Sir Francis Drake Blvd. off-ramp on the highway north toward Santa Rosa. The mayor asks Harry to deliver the money, but Harry angrily refuses then leaves the mayor's office. A short time later, as the bus exits the highway and approaches a rock quarry, Scorpio sees Harry standing on a trestle bridge. Harry jumps onto the roof as the bus passes underneath, then Scorpio starts shooting into the roof, causing the bus to barrel to a stop. The terrified children and bus driver escape, while Scorpio enters the quarry, chased by Harry. Seeing a young boy fishing in a nearby pond, Scorpio exits the quarry and takes him hostage. When Harry follows, Scorpio puts his gun to the boy's head, threatening to shoot unless Harry drops his gun. Harry quickly shoots and disables Scorpio, enabling the boy to rush away. As Harry approaches, the badly wounded Scorpio eyes his gun, prompting Harry to tell him that in all the excitement he himself does not know if he fired five shots or six and asks Scorpio if he feels lucky. Laughing, Scorpio starts to reach for the gun but is mortally wounded by Harry's powerful .44 Magnum pistol. Harry now opens his wallet and removes his badge, flinging it far out into the water.
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
Directors: James Cameron
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd, John Daly, Derek Gibson
Writer: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd
Editor: Mark Goldblatt
Cinematographer: Adam Greenberg, Chuck Colwell
Genre: Science fiction
Production Company: Hemdale Productions
Composer: Brad Fiedel
In Los Angeles, California, a Terminator humanoid “cyborg” arrives from the twenty-first century, and attacks a group of young delinquents for their clothing. Elsewhere in the city, soldier Kyle Reese arrives through the same time portal. The accompanying atmospheric disturbance attracts police, who chase Kyle into a clothing store. After evading his pursuers, Kyle dons contemporary clothing, steals a police rifle, and searches a telephone directory for the address of Sarah J. Connor. In the morning, the Terminator steals a car and robs a gun shop of several automatic weapons. He discovers three listings for “Sarah Connor” in the telephone directory and kills the first two. Certain that Sarah J. Connor will be the next victim, police detective Hal Vukovich telephones her apartment and leaves a message. However, Sarah’s roommate, Ginger Ventura, is in the bedroom, making love with her boyfriend, Matt, and does not hear the warning. Sarah learns of the murders and enters a nightclub to evade Kyle, who appears to be stalking her. She telephones her apartment, unaware that the Terminator has already killed both Ginger and Matt. Hearing her voice, the cyborg realizes that his intended victim is still at large. He memorizes Sarah’s face from a photograph, and makes his way to the nightclub. Sarah telephones the police department and Lieutenant Ed Traxler offers protective custody. Seconds later, Kyle aids Sarah’s escape while the Terminator sprays the club with bullets. Pursuing his victims, the cyborg commandeers a police car and rallies several officers to join the chase. After taking refuge in a parking structure, Kyle calms the hysterical Sarah, explaining that he was sent from the year 2027 to protect her from the Terminator, a creature devoid of emotion and impervious to conventional weapons, despite its exterior of flesh and blood. Ignoring Sarah’s skepticism, Kyle recounts a series of events in the near future, beginning with a nuclear war started by defense network computers. The machines will perceive all humans as a threat and herd them into concentration camps for extermination. Sarah’s unborn son, John Connor, will save humanity by teaching the prisoners how to fight and ultimately win. The machines have responded by sending the Terminator to kill Sarah, ensuring that John Connor will never be born. Following another encounter with the Terminator, Sarah and Kyle are taken into police custody. While Lt. Traxler comforts Sarah, psychiatrist Dr. Peter Silberman interviews Kyle, certain that the soldier suffers from psychosis. Meanwhile, the Terminator attends to his damaged body, and dons sunglasses to hide the sight mechanism exposed by a missing eye. He attacks the police station, killing most of the officers while Kyle and Sarah escape to the city outskirts. The soldier delivers a verbal message to Sarah from John, thanking her for the values she instilled in him, and reminding her that his life depends on her survival. Kyle describes the world of 2017, in which humans are forced to hide during the day, but have some freedom at night, despite the presence of roving “hunter-killer” devices. Realizing their robotic soldiers were too easily identified, the machines created Terminators to infiltrate and kill their human enemies. He recalls an incident in which he narrowly survived a Terminator attack that killed many in his underground bunker. In the morning, they rent a motel room and make pipe bombs from common household items. Using information from Sarah’s address book, the Terminator invades her mother’s home and intercepts a telephone call. He replicates Mrs. Connor’s voice and convinces Sarah to reveal her location. At the motel, Kyle admits to falling in love with Sarah after seeing a photograph given to him by her son. Sarah reciprocates and they make love. The Terminator appears that evening and pursues the couple through the streets, while Kyle throws pipe bombs in his path. The chase ends with Kyle and Sarah trapped inside their overturned car. The cyborg commandeers a tanker truck, intending to crush his enemies. Kyle places a bomb in the vehicle, causing its flammable contents to explode. He embraces Sarah, believing their ordeal is over, until the cyborg’s mechanical skeleton rises from the flames. It follows the couple into a factory building, where Kyle attempts to destroy it with a pipe bomb. The ensuing explosion leaves Kyle dead, the skeleton in pieces, and Sarah with a shrapnel wound to the leg. As she mourns Kyle, the upper half of the skeleton crawls toward her. She leads it into a hydraulic press and crushes it until its glowing red eyes go dark. Sometime later, Sarah drives through the Mexican desert, pregnant with Kyle’s son, John. She stops at a gas station, where a young boy photographs her. She buys the photograph, recognizing it as the same one Kyle carried with him. The boy warns of a storm on the horizon, but Sarah continues her journey.
Writer: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, Noel Langley
Editor: Blanche Sewell
Cinematographer: Harold Rosson
Genre: Fantasy, Musical
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl, lives with her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. When Almira Gulch, who owns half the county, brings a sheriff's order to take Dorothy's little dog Toto away to have the dog destroyed, because Toto bit Miss Gulch's leg, Auntie Em and Uncle Henry refuse to go against the law, and they give the dog to Miss Gulch. However, as Miss Gulch rides away on her bicycle with Toto in her basket, the dog escapes and returns home. Realizing that Miss Gulch will come back, Dorothy runs away with Toto. They come to the wagon of the egotistical, but kindly Professor Marvel, a fortune-teller and balloonist, who tricks Dorothy into believing that her aunt has had an attack because she ran away. Dorothy rushes home greatly concerned, but a cyclone's approach causes her difficulty, and by the time she gets to the farm, Auntie Em, Uncle Henry and the three farmhands have entered the storm cellar. Inside her room, Dorothy is hit on the head by a window and knocked unconscious. When she revives, she sees through the window that the house has risen up inside the cyclone. When she sees Miss Gulch, traveling in mid-air on her bicycle, transform into a witch on a broomstick, Dorothy averts her eyes. The house comes to rest in Munchkinland, a colorful section of the Land of Oz inhabited by little people, and lands on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. Knowing that the dead witch's ruby slippers contain magic, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, through her powers, has them placed on Dorothy's feet before the dead witch's sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, can retrieve them. The Wicked Witch vows revenge. Glinda then suggests that the wonderful Wizard of Oz can help Dorothy get back to Kansas and instructs her to take the yellow brick road to the distant Emerald City, where the Wizard resides. Along the way, Dorothy meets a friendly scarecrow who laments that he is failure because he has no brain, an emotional tin man, who longingly describes the romantic life he would lead if he only had a heart, and a seemingly ferocious lion who actually lacks courage. Dorothy suggests that they all go with her to ask the Wizard for his help. With help along the way from Glinda to battle a spell of the Wicked Witch, the four friends reach the Emerald City, where in the great hall of the Wizard, they see a terrifying apparition that identifies itself as “Oz” and lambasts Dorothy's companions for their deficiencies. When the lion faints from fright, Dorothy rebukes the Wizard for scaring him, and the Wizard agrees to grant their requests if they will first prove themselves worthy by bringing him the broomstick of the Witch of the West. As they pass through a haunted forest on their way to the witch's castle, the witch sends an army of winged monkeys, who capture Dorothy and Toto. In her castle, when the witch threatens to have Toto drowned, Dorothy offers the slippers in exchange for her dog, but the witch cannot remove them, and she remembers that the slippers will not come off as long as Dorothy is alive. As the witch ponders the proper way to kill Dorothy, Toto escapes. The dog leads Dorothy's friends to the castle, where they rescue her, but the witch's guards soon surround them. After the witch sadistically says that Dorothy will see her friends and dog die before her, she ignites the Scarecrow's arm. Dorothy tosses a bucket of water to put out the fire, and when some water splashes in the witch's face, she melts. The guards and monkeys, relieved that the witch is dead, hail Dorothy and give her the broomstick. Upon their return to Oz, the Wizard orders Dorothy and her friends to come back the next day. As they argue, Toto snoops behind a curtain and pulls it back to reveal a man manipulating levers and speaking into a microphone, who then admits to the group that he is really the “powerful” Wizard. Greatly disappointed and angry at the sham, Dorothy calls him a bad man, but he retorts that while he is a bad wizard, he is a good man. He then awards the Scarecrow a diploma, the Lion a medal and the Tin Man a testimonial, and states that where he comes from, these things are given to men who have no more brains, courage or heart than they have. Confessing that he is a balloonist and a Kansas man himself, the Wizard offers to take Dorothy back in his balloon. However, as they prepare to leave, Toto leaps from the balloon to chase a cat, and after Dorothy goes to retrieve the dog, the balloon takes off without them. Glinda then comforts Dorothy and reveals that she has always had the power to return home, but that she had to learn it for herself. Dorothy says that she has learned never to go further than her own backyard to look for her heart's desire. After Dorothy tearfully kisses and hugs her friends, Glinda tells her to click the heels of the slippers three times with her eyes closed and to think to herself, “There's no place like home.” This she does, and she awakens to find Uncle Henry and Auntie Em at her bedside. Professor Marvel, having heard that Dorothy was badly injured, comes by, and she begins to tell about her journey, which Auntie Em calls a bad dream. The farmhands come in, and Dorothy remembers them as her three friends in Oz and the professor as the Wizard. When Toto climbs on the bed, Dorothy says she loves them all and that she will never leave again, and she affirms to her aunt that there is no place like home.
Cast: Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
Writer: Melissa Mathison
Editor: Carol Littleton
Cinematographer: Allen Daviau
Genre: Fantasy, Science fiction
Production Company: Universal Pictures , Amblin' Entertainment
Composer: John Williams [composer]
On a late autumn night, a spaceship filled with foliage and fungi sits among the trees of a quiet forest. Small, squat alien creatures wander near the ship observing plants on Earth until their chests illuminate red. One alien wanders off alone, looking at the city lights below, when a brigade of trucks parks nearby and humans begin to inspect the area with flashlights. The extra-terrestrial’s chest glows red, attracting the attention of the humans, and the creature runs screeching back toward its spaceship. However, the aircraft’s ramp closes and the ship launches into the sky, leaving the alien behind. Meanwhile, as a group of boys play games in a suburban home, Michael instructs his younger brother, Elliott, to retrieve pizzas from the deliveryman. While outside, Elliott hears a rustling in the illuminated shed behind the house. Believing the noise to be coming from the dog, Harvey, the boy tosses a baseball inside the shed, but the ball is thrown back to him. Elliott leads the other boys and his mother, Mary, outside to show them the strange occurrence. There, they find unusual footprints, which they assume were made by coyotes. After everyone has gone to sleep, Elliott inspects the yard and nearby cornfield with a flashlight. He follows a pair of tracks into the dirt and encounters the wrinkly, blue-eyed extra-terrestrial, which screams and runs away. The next morning, Elliott rides his bicycle into the park, dropping a trail of Reese’s Pieces candies behind him, but quickly returns home when he notices a man inspecting the area. During dinner, the boy insists that the alien he saw was real, despite the skepticism from his mother, brother, and younger sister, Gertie. When Elliott mentions that his absent father is in Mexico with a woman named Sally, his mother begins to cry and leaves the room. That night, Elliott sits outside on a lawn chair and the alien approaches him, dropping a handful of Reese’s Pieces at his feet. Elliott uses more of the sweets to lure the creature into his bedroom, where the alien mimics Elliott’s movements and watches the boy as he falls asleep. Elsewhere, a group of men use radar equipment to search the forest and find a cluster of the forgotten candies. The next day, Elliott feigns illness so he can stay home while his mother goes to work and his siblings attend school. The boy speaks to the alien and shows it his belongings. Once he retrieves food from the kitchen, Elliott draws a bath and speaks to his mother on the telephone while the alien swims in the water. After school, Elliott shows the creature to Michael and Gertie, who yell in alarm, but agree to keep the creature a secret from their mother. The alien uses its powers to levitate balls of clay into the air, mimicking the orbit of planets in the solar system, and revive a wilted flower. Although amazed, Elliott becomes concerned about beeping noises and voices of the scientists nearing the house. After Elliott and Michael leave for school, Mary hears shuffling in Elliott’s closet, but the alien hides itself among the children's stuffed animals. While Elliott attends a dissection lesson in biology class, the creature drinks beer from the refrigerator at home. As the alcohol takes effect in the alien’s body, their telepathic connection causes Elliott to simultaneously become intoxicated and slide out of his chair. Meanwhile, the alien reads a newspaper comic depicting spacemen attempting to contact their home planet, and watches television programs featuring flying spaceships and people using telephones. In class, Elliott frees the frogs from their jars before their classmates can dissect them. As the alien watches John Wayne kiss Maureen O’Hara in The Quiet Man, Elliott grabs his classmate and kisses her, prompting a teacher to drag him away. The alien then dismantles a Speak & Spell toy and carries various household items upstairs to the closet. Later, Gertie attempts to show the creature to her mother, but Mary is distracted putting away groceries and does not notice that it has begun to mimic the girl's educational television program. She then receives a telephone call from the school and leaves to pick up Elliott. When the boy returns home, he finds that Gertie has dressed the alien in a dress and wig, and that the creature can now speak. Elliott calls the creature “E.T.,” and E.T. uses signals and its limited vocabulary to tell the children that it wishes to “phone home.” That night, a man drives by the house in a van and eavesdrops on Elliott and Michael rummaging through the garage for equipment to build a radar machine. On Halloween, Elliott reminds Gertie to meet him at “the lookout” point later that evening, and covers E.T. in a sheet, pretending it is his sister dressed as a ghost. He and Michael lead E.T. up the hill to meet Gertie with his bicycle, and Elliott rides into the woods with E.T. in the front basket. After nightfall, E.T. levitates the bike into the air and they ride through the sky. Elliott then helps E.T. construct a device that will send a signal to the alien's home planet. When the children do not return home that night, Mary leaves to search for them, and a group of suited men enter the house. She finds Gertie and Michael on the streets, who inform her that Elliott is in the forest. Meanwhile, the wind pushes the gears on the machine, emitting a code out into space. Upset by the thought of E.T. leaving, Elliott cries and falls asleep among the trees. The next morning, Mary reports Elliott’s disappearance to a police officer, but the boy returns home, ill and alone. Michael finds E.T., white and sickly, lying in a stream. When he brings the dying creature home and shows it to Mary, she attempts to take the children away. However, a team of scientists dressed in spacesuits enter the house and cover the premises in protective quarantine barriers. While scientists run medical tests on E.T. and Elliott and asks the family questions, Michael informs them that his brother is able to telepathically sense E.T.’s feelings, and one man tells Elliott he is glad that he found E.T. before they did. As Elliott regains strength through the night, E.T. fades, and the alien’s heart eventually stops. Despite the scientists’ efforts to resuscitate the creature, E.T. dies, and they pack its body in a nitrogen chamber. As Elliott says goodbye, E.T.’s chest glows red, and a nearby pot of wilting flowers blooms again. E.T. repeats “E.T. phone home,” prompting Elliott to realize that the alien’s companions are returning. Elliott loudly weeps to distract the doctors from noticing that E.T. is still alive, and later Mike steals a medical van, with Elliott and E.T. hiding in back. He instructs his friends to meet them at the top of the hill as Mary and Gertie chase after them in the car, the scientists trailing behind. The boys ride their bicycles through the neighborhood with E.T. perched in Elliott’s basket, lifting them into the air to evade the police. As they reach the forest, E.T.’s spaceship lands in the clearing, and Mary arrives with Gertie. The girl gives E.T. a flower pot, and the alien tells her to “be good.” Elliott asks his friend to stay, but E.T. hugs the boy goodbye, assuring him, “I’ll be right here,” before walking up the ramp. The spaceship flies away, leaving behind a rainbow in the sky.
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn
Writer: Robert Rodat
Editor: Michael Kahn
Cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Amblin Entertainment , Mutual Film Company
Composer: John Williams [composer]
In Normandy, France, an elderly veteran visits a World War II memorial and cemetery with his family, and cries at a gravesite. Decades earlier, on June 6, 1944, U.S. soldiers participate in the invasion of Normandy. Under heavy German gunfire, droves of American troops fall to their deaths on Omaha Beach. U.S. Captain John H. Miller and some of his battalion survive the ordeal. Soon after, at U.S. War Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., General Marshall gets the news that three brothers in a family of four sons have died in combat; and that the remaining brother, James Ryan, is currently stationed in Normandy with the 101st Airborne Division. Marshall orders for Private Ryan to be brought home safe to his family. Capt. Miller receives the order and selects seven men to accompany him on the rescue mission. The team includes Sergeant Horvath; Private Reiben; Private Caparzo; Private Mellish; Private Jackson; T/4 Medic Wade; and Corporal Upham, an interpreter. They meet up with the 101st Division in Neuville, France, where they locate a Private James Ryan; however, he is not the Ryan with three brothers. In the meantime, Private Caparzo is shot and killed by a German sniper. Private Jackson retaliates by killing the sniper. Miller is told by a group of soldiers moving through the area that the correct Private Ryan is stationed at a bridge in the French town of Ramelle. On the way there, Miller and his men discover two dead bodies of U.S. paratroopers near a radar site, and locate a German machine gun position. Miller chooses to engage the Germans, putting his company at risk. The ensuing skirmish leaves Wade dead. They succeed, however, and take a remaining German soldier as their prisoner. Cpl. Upham speaks to the German and convinces Miller to let him go. Private Reiben disapproves and threatens to leave, but Miller regains his confidence with a personal confession. He reveals his work as a school teacher back home, and openly regrets how many lives he has taken. While he does not actually care about Private Ryan, he wants badly to complete the mission as he hopes it will earn all of them a return home. Miller and his men continue to Ramelle, where they find Private Ryan making preparations for an impending attack on the bridge he’s been defending. Although he is devastated by the news about his brothers, he is adamant to keep fighting alongside his men. Miller agrees to join forces with Ryan’s paratrooper unit, and helps orchestrate an ambush. The ensuing fight ends in many casualties, including Privates Jackson and Mellish, and Sergeant Horvath. Capt. Miller is shot by the same German soldier he freed in Neuville. Cpl. Upham, who had advocated for the man, kills the German in retaliation. As an American plane and more ground units show up, the Germans retreat. A dying Miller is surrounded by Privates Reiben and Ryan. With his last words, he tells Ryan, “Earn this.” Back in the present, the elderly man at the memorial is Private Ryan, and the grave he visits belongs to Capt. Miller. Ryan asks his wife if his life was worthy of Miller’s sacrifice, and she assures him that it was. As he leaves, Ryan gives a heartfelt salute to Miller’s tombstone.
In the locker room at her high school, shy teenager Carrie White notices blood running down her legs in the shower. Unaware that she is menstruating for the first time, she panics and screams for help. She is teased by classmates Sue Snell, Chris Hargenson, and Norma, who are reprimanded by the gym teacher, Miss Collins. Carrie becomes hysterical and Collins slaps her to calm her down. Carrie is sent to the office of the principal, who expresses disbelief that a girl Carrie's age is unfamiliar with the concept of menstruation. When the principal accidentally calls the girl “Cassie” for the third time, Carrie loses her temper and an ashtray shoots off the desk as she runs out of the room. On her walk home, Carrie is taunted by a younger boy on a bicycle, who calls her "creepy Carrie." Her eyes go wide and the boy flies off his bike. Later, Carrie’s mother, Margaret White, a religious fanatic, receives a call from the school, informing her why Carrie left school early. After the call, Margaret hits Carrie and blames her menstruation on lustful thoughts. Carrie pleads innocence, but Margaret locks her in a closet. Inside the closet, a statue of St. Sebastian torments Carrie with its glowing eyes and arrows protruding from its sides. Later, when a distraught Carrie looks in her bedroom mirror, it cracks. The next day, in gym class, Miss Collins punishes the girls who bullied Carrie by assigning them an hour of calisthenics for the next three days, or else they will not be allowed to attend prom. Chris Hargenson disrespects the gym teacher, who slaps the girl’s face. Collins tells Chris she cannot go to prom, and Chris storms off. Meanwhile, in the library, Carrie searches for books on the paranormal, and finds a book on telekinesis. After school, Sue Snell asks her boyfriend, Tommy Ross, to take Carrie to the prom. Tommy reluctantly agrees. That night, Chris persuades her boyfriend, Billy Nolan, to help her get revenge on Carrie. The next day, Tommy asks Carrie to the prom, but she refuses. In the gym's stairwell, Carrie tells Miss Collins that Tommy asked her to the prom to trick her. Collins says that Carrie has to change her attitude, and that, with a little makeup, she could show everyone how beautiful she is. Collins later confronts Sue and Tommy, who claim they are only trying to be nice to Carrie. Tommy goes to Carrie’s house to ask her to the prom again, but Carrie urges him to go away as her mother is home. Tommy presses her until Carrie finally agrees to be his date. Later that night, Chris, Billy, and Billy’s friend, Freddy, break into a pig farm. To Chris’s excited screams, Billy repeatedly smashes a pig’s head. Meanwhile, Margaret denies Carrie permission to attend prom. When Carrie resists, Margaret throws water in her face and tells her to get in the closet. Margaret gets up to close the windows, but they shut by themselves. Carrie warns Margaret that she can move things with her mind, and things are going to be different now. Margaret calls her a witch and says she has Satan’s power. At school, news spreads that Tommy is going to the prom with Carrie. One girl asks Sue why Tommy is not taking her, and Sue explains that she is helping the girl. Carrie makes her own gown for the prom. As she gets ready, Margaret demands that she take off the dress and burn it. When Carrie refuses, Margaret warns Carrie that everyone is going to laugh at her and begs Carrie not to go. Margaret screams and scratches at her own face, but Carrie orders her to sit down and be quiet, causing Margaret to fall into the bed, paralyzed. At the prom, people are shocked by how pretty Carrie looks. Miss Collins hugs the girl and tells her she will never forget this moment. Tommy coaxes her onto the dancefloor. Carrie stumbles, but Tommy pulls her close and kisses her. She asks what prompted him to invite her to the prom, and he recalls that she liked his poem in English class. When promgoers fill out ballots for prom king and queen, Tommy suggests that he and Carrie vote for themselves. Norma and Freddy collect the ballots, then switch them out with fake ones. Meanwhile, Sue has sneaked into the gym. Tommy and Carrie are announced as prom king and queen, and Sue runs backstage to get a better look. She notices a rope leading up to a bucket, then sees Chris and Billy under the stage. Before she can warn Carrie, Sue is grabbed by Miss Collins and led out of the gym. As a crown is placed on Carrie's head, Chris pulls the rope attached to the bucket, and pig blood rains down on Carrie. The emptied bucket falls, hitting Tommy on the head and knocking him out. Hearing her mother’s voice say, “They will all laugh at you”, Carrie imagines that the principal, Miss Collins, and all the students are laughing at her. Her eyes go wide and all the lights go out in the school gym. Doors and windows slam shut, and a fire hose sprays the crowd. A teacher and the principal are electrocuted as they fight over the microphone. A falling backboard slices Collins in half. The gym bursts into flames and a blood-soaked Carrie walks out, leaving everyone to burn. Chris spots Carrie walking home and tries to run her over, but Carrie causes the car to catch fire. At home, Carrie finds candles burning throughout the house. She draws herself a bath and cries as she washes off the pig’s blood. In the bedroom, she finds her mother in a white nightgown. Margaret confesses to Carrie that the first time she had sex with Carrie’s father, he was drunk. She claims that he raped her and she liked it. Thus, Carrie was born of sin and Margaret should have killed her at birth. They kneel to pray, and Margaret stabs Carrie with a butcher knife. Carrie falls down the stairs, but as her mother approaches, knives fly across the room and impale Margaret in the same position as the St. Sebastian statue. Carrie removes the knives as the house catches fire, and drags Margaret into the closet as the house sinks into the earth. Days later, Sue dreams she is wearing a white nightgown and holding flowers. She comes to a pile of black rocks with a “for sale” sign that is shaped like a cross. “Carrie White burns in Hell” is written on it. As Sue places the flowers by the sign, a bloody hand reaches up and grabs her. Sue wakes up screaming and her mother tries to comfort her.
In California, at the request of Dr. Harvey Bassett, psychologist Dr. Hill is brought in to confer about Dr. Miles Bennell, who has been admitted to the hospital as a mental patient. Although highly agitated, Miles convinces the doctors to listen to his story, which began a few days before, when Miles left a medical conference early, at the urgent request of Sally, his nurse: Although the small town of Santa Mira seems unchanged when he arrives, Sally reports that his waiting room is filled with patients. Driving to his office, Miles narrowly escapes hitting young Jimmy Grimaldi, who darts into the street. Grandma Grimaldi explains to Miles that Jimmy is afraid to go to school and, when Miles notices that her successful vegetable stand is closed, she says her husband lost interest in it. At the office, Miles finds few patients waiting, but, later, Becky Driscoll, Miles’s former girl friend, comes to consult him about her cousin, Wilma. Becky, who has until recently been living in England, explains that Wilma insists someone is impersonating their uncle, Ira. After Miles offers to see Wilma, he and Becky chat and discover that they have both recently divorced. As Miles walks Becky outside, he speaks with a policeman who asked Sally for an appointment but now says it is unnecessary. Near the end of the day, Grandma brings in Jimmy, who says someone is pretending to be his mother. After talking to Jimmy, Miles, who is intrigued by the similarity of his and Wilma’s claims, proceeds to Wilma's house and determines that Ira is not an imposter. Wilma disagrees, saying that the imposter looks like Ira and has his memories, but lacks emotion, and Miles tactfully refers her to a psychologist, Dr. Danny Kauffman. That evening, Miles and Becky go out together and encounter Kauffman and another doctor, both of whom believe that mass hysteria has stricken the townspeople. Later, Miles and Becky find that a once-popular restaurant is empty of customers and has been for the last two weeks, according to the proprietor. An emergency call from Jack and "Teddy" Belicec prompts Miles and Becky to visit them. At their home, the couple shows them a mysterious, half-formed body, without facial lines or fingerprints, found lying inert on their billiard table. When Teddy points out that the height and build are similar to Jack’s, her husband is startled into dropping a drinking glass that cuts his hand. Miles suggests they watch the body until morning. He then takes Becky home, where he checks out an unsettling noise caused by her father working in the basement. During the night, Jack dozes as Teddy notices that the body has a cut on its hand in the same place as Jack’s. Screaming, she awakens Jack and they drive to Miles’s house. Miles calls Kauffman and then, acting on a premonition, rushes to Becky’s house, breaks into the basement and discovers a double of her forming there. He rescues the real sleeping Becky and takes her to his house. Accompanied by the skeptical Kauffman, Miles and Jack return to the Belicecs and discover that the body is gone. They also find Becky’s double missing. When Becky's father, having heard them in the basement, calls the police station, a policeman, Nick, responds to check out the house. When Miles tells him about the mysterious body at Jack's house, Nick says that it belonged to a murder victim later found burning on a haystack. The next morning, Wilma tells Miles that she feels better and withdraws her allegations about Ira. Grandma and Jimmy come to Miles's office and inform him that the boy is back to normal, prompting Miles to wonder why the strange ailments have mysteriously disappeared. While making dinner at Miles's house that night, Miles, Becky and the Belicecs discover four pods growing in the greenhouse. Horrified, they watch as one body pops out of a foaming pod. Miles guesses that the pods create a double of a person while he or she sleeps, after which the original body is either destroyed or disintegrates. It then occurs to Becky that her father has acted strangely since her return and is one of the pod people. Miles attempts to call the FBI in Los Angeles, but an emotionless telephone operator claims that she cannot get through. Increasingly frantic, Miles asks her to try Sacramento. While waiting, Miles discusses with his friends whether the pods might be caused by an atomic reaction or alien organism, and how the new bodies take over the person’s mind. As they wait, one of the pods forms a double of Teddy. Sensing immediate danger, Miles asks Jack to take the women to safety, but Becky insists on staying with him. Miles kills the bodies with a pitchfork and leaves with her. At a gas station, the attendant slips two pods into his trunk, which Miles finds and burns later. Hoping to rescue Sally, Miles and Becky drive to her home, where Miles learns that she, too, has been transformed. Nick, whom he now realizes has been transformed all along, corners him, but Miles escapes with Becky, after which Nick alerts the police to search for them. Abandoning the car, Miles and Becky hide in his office, planning to rendezvous with the Belicecs there. After giving himself and Becky a shot of a drug stimulant to keep them awake, Miles says that, in his work he often sees people slowly grow callous and lose their humanity, and is troubled how they do not seem to mind. The next morning, Miles and Becky watch through the window as farmers distribute to their emotionless neighbors pods that are destined for other towns. Then Jack and Kauffman appear, both transformed, and place pods in the office for Miles and Becky. Kauffman explains to them that the solution to humanity’s problems has come from space seeds. The pods from these seeds reproduce an exact likeness of any form and painlessly absorb its mind, so that the being awakens into an “untroubled world.” Although Becky and Miles argue that they prefer to have love, Kauffman points out that life is simpler without it. After tricking the men, Miles injects them with sedatives, then flees with Becky. On the street, they hide their emotions, pretending to have changed, but Becky shrieks when a truck almost hits a dog, thus giving them away. Pursued by the townspeople, they run up a hill and into an old mining tunnel, where, exhausted but fighting sleep, they wait until nightfall. The sound of beautiful music coming from outside the cave gives them hope that others have survived. Miles leaves Becky to investigate it and learns that the music is coming from a car radio. When he returns, Miles kisses Becky but, to his great shock, realizes that she has been changed, having fallen asleep in his brief absence. Panicking, Miles runs toward the highway after Becky alerts the others, but the townspeople let Miles escape, presuming that no one will believe him. Through the dense, slowly-moving traffic Miles runs, screaming warnings, but the drivers think he is either drunk or crazy. When seed pods fall out of a truck, Miles yells, “They’re here already! You’re next!” At the hospital, Miles ends his tale, aware that the doctors will not believe him. Then, an ambulance delivers casualties from a highway accident, in which victims were buried under large pods that fell from a truck. Upon hearing that the truck originated in Santa Mira, the doctors call the FBI and police, to the relief of the exhausted Miles.
In her London apartment, wealthy Margot Wendice discusses with her American ex-lover, Mark Halliday, why she changed her mind about leaving her husband Tony. Several months ago, she explains, Tony suddenly became more affectionate and now, convinced that he cares for her, she plans to remain loyal, despite her love for Mark. Wanting a fresh start in her marriage, she is concerned about an anonymous blackmailer who stole a letter Mark wrote to her, but never picked up the money she paid or returned the letter. When Tony, a former tennis professional-turned-salesman, comes home, he announces that unexpected business matters have pre-empted their evening plans, but encourages Mark and Margot to go out without him. In consolation, he invites Mark to his club’s banquet that will be held the following evening. After they leave, Tony calls Capt. Lesgate, feigning interest in a car the man is selling. After manipulating him into meeting at the apartment to negotiate, Tony surprises Lesgate by revealing that they are former Cambridge schoolmates and that he is aware of several illegal activities in which the small-time crook has been involved. Intimating that he married for money, Tony tells Lesgate that he stole Margot’s letter and blackmailed her to confirm her affair with Mark. Anticipating that she will leave him, Tony wants Margot killed before she takes off with her wealth, and blackmails Lesgate into agreeing to do the killing. As further enticement, Tony promises to pay Lesgate with money that he has been surreptitiously amassing through small bank withdrawals over the past year. As his reputation is spotless, Tony warns Lesgate that attempting to report his proposition to the police will backfire. After Lesgate agrees to cooperate, Tony unveils his elaborate plan: On the following evening, while Tony and Mark attend the banquet, Lesgate is to watch the apartment and when Margot retires, enter using Margot’s own house key, which Tony plans to sneak out of her handbag and put under the stairway carpet outside their door. At a specified time, Tony will call, and when Margot gets up to answer, Lesgate, who will be hiding behind drapes near the telephone, is to strangle her. When the deed is done, Lesgate is to whistle into the phone and hang up. Before leaving, he is to leave the garden window open and replace the key under the stairway carpet. The next evening, while chatting over cocktails, Tony’s interest is piqued when Mark, who is a television mystery writer, claims that, although he can write the “perfect murder,” in real life he would overlook some detail and be caught. Before he and Mark leave for the club, Tony gets the key from Margot's handbag and manipulates her into staying home to clip articles for his scrapbook. At the club, Tony excuses himself from the table, saying he must call his boss, but instead calls home. Meanwhile, after Lesgate has unlocked the apartment door and returned the key to its hiding place, he waits inside the dark apartment. When Margot gets up to answer the phone, Lesgate tries to strangle her with a stocking, but she struggles and stabs him in the back with a pair of scissors that she used to clip Tony’s articles. Lesgate falls on the scissors and dies. Tony, on the other end of the phone line, hearing his plans go awry, quickly contrives a different way to accomplish his goal. He talks into the phone and the shaken Margot, recognizing his voice, tells him what happened. After telling her that he will call the police, Tony immediately goes home. Later, at the apartment, while pretending to “protect” Margot from police questioning, he sneaks the key in Lesgate’s pocket into Margot’s handbag and leaves the love letter where police find it. Other evidence indicates that Lesgate did not come in through the garden window, so Inspector Hubbard, who is in charge of the case, concludes that Margot let in and killed Lesgate, who was blackmailing her. Although Hubbard finds it odd that no key is found on Lesgate’s body, Margot is arrested, tried and sentenced to death. Tony, while waiting to inherit her fortune, begins paying his bills with the cash meant for Lesgate. On the day before Margot’s scheduled execution, Mark shows up at the apartment urging Tony to invent a story to save Margot’s life. As an example, Mark suggests that Tony “confess” that he hired Lesgate to kill Margot, but that she killed her attacker in self-defense. Tony would be safe from prosecution, Mark says, as he could not be convicted for an uncommitted crime. Tony refuses, saying the police would never believe such a story. When Hubbard unexpectedly shows up, Mark hides in the bedroom. While he overhears the inspector inquire about the large amounts of cast Tony appears to have on hand, Mark finds the briefcase of money that was meant to pay off Lesgate. With briefcase in hand, Mark confronts Tony in front of Hubbard, but Tony dismisses Mark’s and Hubbard’s questions by claiming that the briefcase contains Margot’s payoff to Lesgate, which he concealed to hide her guilt. Before leaving, Hubbard reminds Tony to collect Margot’s belongings at the police station and then secretly exchanges his own raincoat for Tony’s. Later, when the apartment is vacant, Hubbard enters with Tony’s key, followed by Mark. Plainclothesmen bring Margot to the apartment and show her in when she is unable to enter using the key in her handbag. As they wait, Hubbard intimates that he needs proof of his suspicions about Tony and has his men return Margot’s handbag to the station. Later, Tony arrives, but has no key to get in. Now aware that he has the wrong raincoat, he proceeds to the police station and later returns with Margot’s effects, including her handbag. When he again fails to open the door, this time using Margot’s key, Tony realizes that the key he took from Lesgate’s pocket on the night of the attempted murder was the dead man’s own, so he checks under the stairway carpet, retrieves the key he took from Margot’s handbag and unlocks the door. Upon finding Hubbard, Mark and Margot waiting inside, Tony acknowledges that his scheme failed and congratulates Hubbard for correctly solving the case.
Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet
Directors: William Wyler
Producer: Joseph R. Vogel, Sol C. Siegel, Sam Zimbalist, J. J. Cohn
Writer: Karl Tunberg
Editor: Ralph E. Winters, John D. Dunning, Margaret Booth
Cinematographer: Robert L. Surtees
Genre: Epic
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
During the reign of the emperor Tiberius, the Roman officer Messala arrives in Jerusalem as the new Tribune, head of the Roman garrison. Having spent much of his boyhood in Jerusalem while his father was provincial governor of Judea, Messala became close friends with Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince from a rich and influential family. On the night of his return, Messala is visited by Judah, and the two men warmly reminisce about happy times of their boyhood. Messala tells Judah that the emperor wants the recent rebelliousness of Judea crushed and asks for his help. Judah is uneasy with the request but, as he is against violence, agrees to speak with other influential Jews. The next day, Messala visits Judah, his mother Miriam and sister Tirzah. Messala gives Tirzah a beautiful brooch, and Judah presents Messala with a horse he has raised, but the men argue over Messala’s insistence that Judah tell him the names of Jewish leaders who will not denounce rebellion. Judah refuses, severing their friendship. That night, Simonides, the faithful steward of the house of Hur, returns from Antioch with good news of the family's increasing wealth. He asks for permission for his daughter Esther to marry a free man, and says that she wants to ask Judah personally for permission. Judah is attracted to Esther, whom he has not seen since childhood, and grants permission, saying her freedom will be his wedding gift, even though he knows that she is marrying only because her father wishes it. Later that night, when Judah and Esther are alone, they exchange a passionate kiss. Judah then takes Esther's slave ring and promises to wear it until he meets the woman he will marry. The next day, Gratus, the new governor, arrives to a cold reception by the people of Jerusalem. As Judah and Tirzah watch his procession from the roof of their house, Tirzah leans against some tiles and accidentally loosens them, causing them to fall just as Gratus is passing. After he is thrown from his horse and knocked unconscious, Roman soldiers storm the house. As they enter the courtyard, Judah tells Tirzah and Miriam to say nothing, then tries to reason with the soldiers, pleading that it was an accident. When Messala suddenly appears at the courtyard entrance, Judah appeals to him, but Messala coldly watches as Judah, Tirzah and Miriam are taken away. After their arrest, Messala goes to the roof and sees the loose tiles, confirming that Judah had been telling the truth, but says nothing. Soon guards go to Judah's cell to tell him that he is being sent to the seaport of Tyrus, which Judah knows means imprisonment as a galley slave. He overpowers the guards and escapes into the garrison, then steals a spear and breaks into Messala's quarters. After Messala orders his guards to leave them, Judah demands to know what has happened to Miriam and Tirzah. Messala tells him that Gratus will recover but they will be punished for their crime. Judah does not understand why Messala would let this happen, especially after Messala admits that he knows the truth. Judah begs for mercy, but Messala rebuffs him, saying that the people now will fear him, and warning if Judah kills him, Tirzah and Miriam will be crucified before his eyes. Defeated, Judah has no choice but to let the guards take him away as he asks God to grant him vengeance. Days later, as Judah and other chained prisoners, weakened by thirst and exhaustion, enter the town of Nazareth, townspeople offer them water, but the Roman guard stops a woman who tries to give some to Judah. In despair, Judah falls to the ground and implores God to help him. At that moment, a carpenter, who has seen his plight, approaches, gives him water and bathes his face and hands. The guard then tries to stop the carpenter but strangely acquiesces when he looks into the man's face. Judah also gazes in awe at the young Nazarene, not understanding why he has offered help. Three years later, Judah is rower 41 in a Roman galley. On the day that Roman Consul Quintus Arrius takes command of the vessel, Arrius goes below to survey the rowers. Sensing both strength and hatred in 41, Arrius deliberately taunts him by lashing him, and later observes his reaction when the men are submitted to a grueling test of endurance to increase their rowing speed. Later, Judah is ordered to Arrius' quarters, where the consul offers him the chance to leave the galley and become a charioteer or gladiator. Judah declines, saying that he has not died because God does not want it so. Soon a fleet of Macedonian ships is sighted and the galley prepares for battle. Prior to the start of the fighting, Arrius orders a subordinate to chain and lock the rowers' shackles to their posts, but leave 41's unlocked. During the battle, when their galley is rammed, the rowers are trapped until Judah kills their guard, takes his keys and unlocks the others. He then goes on deck, where he throws a spear at an enemy soldier who has attacked Arrius and forced him into the water. Judah dives after Arrius and pulls him to safety on some floating debris that serves as a raft. When Arrius realizes that his ship is sinking, he tries to kill himself with his own knife, but Judah stops him. The next morning, the two men are alone in the sea, with no ships in sight. Arrius asks to know 41's name and wonders why he saved his life. Moments later, they see a ship in the distance and realize that it is Roman. When they are brought onboard, Arrius shocks the captain by giving Judah water before he himself drinks. He then learns that, although five galleys were lost in the battle, the Romans were victorious. Arrius then takes Judah's arm, and leads him off, past the rowers’ hole. Some time later, Arrius is hailed in a procession through the streets of Rome, accompanied by Judah, who rides in his chariot. When the emperor awards Arrius with the baton of victory, he inquires about Judah and agrees to meet with Arrius to discuss his situation. The next day, the emperor gives Judah to Arrius, to be his slave. Months later, Judah has ridden Arrius' chariot to victory five times in the Roman arena, bringing him fame and admiration throughout Rome. At a celebration banquet, Arrius announces that he is adopting Judah as his heir, replacing the son who had died. When Arrius and Judah, who accepts his new name as Young Quintus Arrius, speak privately, Judah tells Arrius of his affection and gratitude, and accepts his signet ring, but reveals that he must return to Judea to find his mother and sister. On his way to Jerusalem, Judah stops at an oasis, where an old man, Balthasar of Alexandria, thinks that he may be the man whom he saw as a baby in a stable in Bethlehem. Balthasar soon realizes that Judah is not that man, but the two strike up a friendship. Balthasar introduces Judah to Sheik Ilderim, a wealthy Arab who cherishes his magnificent team of white chariot horses. Judah observes the team and admires them, but over dinner in Ilderim’s tent, refuses his suggestion that he drive the team for him in the arena. Judah is intrigued, though, when Ilderim expresses his hope to humiliate the arrogant Messala by a victory over his chariot and adds that, in the arena, there is no law. When Judah arrives at his family’s now-decaying home in Jerusalem, he is surprised to see Esther, who never married but returned to the house with Simonides after he, who was also imprisoned, was released. Simonides, who was crippled and blinded under torture, proudly tells Judah that his fortune is safely hidden. Later, Judah and Esther kiss and reveal their feelings for each other, but Esther worries that Judah is consumed with hate and tells him of a young Nazarene she has heard of who preaches of love. The next day, Messala receives the gift of an expensive knife from Quintus Arrius, the younger. Messala is shocked when the man is revealed to be Judah, who shows him the seal from Arrius’ signet ring. Judah then tells Messala if Miriam and Tirzah are restored to him, he will forget what has happened, and says that he will return the next day. Shaken by Judah’s appearance, Messala tells his underling Drusus to go to the prison and find out what has happened to the women. In the lowest level of the prison, Drusus discovers that the women, who had not been seen in years, are now lepers. Fearful of the disease, the guards order the women taken to the edge of the city and the contents of their cell burned. Late that night, Miriam and Tirzah, covering their deformities in rags, go to their home. Although they merely want to look at it, Esther hears them. The women refuse to let her approach, and when Esther reveals that Judah is not dead, but in Jerusalem, Miriam makes her promise to tell him that they have died in prison. When Esther later tells Judah what Miriam had asked, his bitterness and despair frighten her, and she implores him not to be consumed with hatred. Judah will not listen, though, and leaves, determined to find a means of revenge against Messala. [An intermission divides the story at this point.]
Soon Ilderim goes to Messala’s home, offers a wager of a trunk filled with gold and silver and asks him and his companions for odds on an upcoming chariot race. When Messala hears that his opponent will be Judah, he accepts the wager at four to one, calling it the difference between a Roman and a Jew--or an Arab. On the day of the race, Pontius Pilate, an old friend of Arrius, who has become the new governor of Judea, oversees the race. Ilderim is optimistic, and happy that Judah has earned his horses’ affection, but worries when he sees that Messala’s chariot has spiked wheels and warns Judah. During the nine-lap race, Messala uses the blades on his wheels to destroy many chariots, and several of the other charioteers are killed or maimed. Messala tries to destroy Judah’s chariot, but instead crashes his own and is dragged by his team. Judah wins the race and is crowned victorious by Pilate, who calls him the crowd’s current god when the Judeans cheer loudly for him. After the race, Messala, who is in agony, will not allow the physician to amputate his mutilated legs until after Judah, whom he has summoned, arrives. Rather than seeking forgiveness, as Messala dies, he taunts Judah by revealing that Tirzah and Miriam are not dead but living in the valley of the lepers. In despair, Judah goes to the valley to find his mother and sister, ignoring the fear of contagion. As he searches, he is stunned to see Esther and Malluch, the mute who takes care of Simonides, bringing baskets of food down to the lepers’ caves. Judah angrily confronts Esther for her deception and demands to see Miriam and Tirzah, but she pleads that they would be shattered if he saw what has become of them. When Miriam and Tirzah weakly call for Esther, Judah hides as Esther gives them food, and weeps when he hears his mother ask if he is well and happy. Although still unconvinced by Esther’s pleas to remain hidden, Judah nonetheless leaves with her and Malluch. On their way back to the city, they see a crowd gathering on a mountain top. Balthasar, who is in the crowd, calls out to Judah, saying that the Nazarene who will speak is the one he sought, and that he is the son of God. Although Judah momentarily thinks of the Nazarene who had given him water, he scoffs at the remark and returns to the city alone. Judah is then summoned by Pilate, who greets him warmly as the son of his old friend, and delivers the message that he has been granted Roman citizenship. Though expressing his affection for Arrius, Judah rejects the citizenship and gives Arrius’ ring to Pilate to return, saying that Rome turned Messala into what he became. When Judah returns home, Esther tells him of the words of love and forgiveness she heard from the Nazarene, but Judah will not listen. The next day, Esther returns to the valley of the lepers, followed at a distance by Judah. When Miriam approaches she reveals that Tirzah is dying. As Esther tells Miriam of the Nazarene’s words and says that she wants to take them to him, Judah comes forward. Miriam tries to make Judah go away by showing him her deformed face, but Judah strokes her forehead and embraces her. He then carries Tirzah from the cave and, with Miriam and Esther, walks back to Jerusalem. The city is almost deserted when they arrive. People shun the lepers, but an old blind man tells them that people are gathered for the trial of the Nazarene. They then walk to the center of the city and observe Pilate washing his hands of the man, who is sentenced to death. Seeing the Nazarene's tortured body, the women weep, but Judah suddenly recognizes him. Judah then follows his journey to the crucifixion site, and when the Nazarene stumbles under the weight of his cross, offers him water. As the women sadly return to the valley of the lepers, Judah continues to follow the Nazarene. When Judah sees Balthasar, he relates what happened in Nazareth and wonders what the man has done to deserve this, but Balthasar says that he came into the world for this purpose. As the Nazarene dies, the skies darken and a storm rages. Outside the city, Miriam, Tirzah and Esther have taken cover. Tirzah says that she is no longer afraid, and Miriam sadly says, “His life is over.” Suddenly, through lightning flashes, Esther sees that Miriam and Tirzah no longer bear the deformities of leprosy. That night, when Judah returns home, he embraces Esther and relates that, even near death, the Nazarene sought forgiveness for those who caused his suffering. Esther then shows him that Miriam and Esther have been cured and the four lovingly embrace.
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider
Directors: John Schlesinger
Producer: Robert Evans, Sidney Beckerman
Writer: William Goldman
Editor: Jim Clark
Cinematographer: Conrad Hall
Genre: Drama
Composer: Michael Small
On the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, Thomas Babbington “Babe” Levy, a Columbia University graduate student, runs in New York City’s Central Park. Elsewhere, after removing a Band-aid tin from a security deposit box at a bank, an older German man hands off the tin to a passerby on the street. Driving home, he has a heated argument with another driver, and both cars run into an oil truck, causing an explosion. Later that day, Babe sees a news report about the accident, in which the German man is identified as Klaus Szell, the brother of infamous Nazi, Christian Szell, who was presumed dead after World War II. In a hotel room in Paris, France, a valet attempts to deliver a suit that does not belong to the room’s occupant, Doc Levy. On a phone call to his friend “Janey,” Doc worries that someone besides Janey might know he is there. Doc becomes more suspicious after he delivers a package to LeClerc, a French antique dealer, and detects that LeClerc is surprised to see him. However, LeClerc denies it and promises to have a package for Doc that night at the opera. When Doc leaves in a taxi, a bomb explodes nearby. After showing up late to a seminar, Babe speaks to Professor Biesenthal about his dissertation on the use of tyranny in American political life. Biesenthal says he was once a mentee to Babe’s father, H. V. Levy., and tells Babe that McCarthyism will have to be a focus of his dissertation, even if it was the force that brought his father down, prompting Babe to remember his father’s suicide. Back in Paris, Doc meets his colleague, Peter Janeway, aka “Janey,” for lunch, and announces that someone is trying to kill him. That night, at the opera, Doc finds LeClerc dead and runs away. The next morning, Chen, an assassin, tries to strangle Doc in his hotel room, but Doc overpowers the man and breaks his neck. Doc learns from Janeway that Klaus Szell has died, and deduces that the attack by Chen must be related, saying that they are “getting rid of the couriers.” Meanwhile, Babe meets an attractive girl named Elsa Opel at the library and follows her home. Despite Elsa’s insistence that their relationship cannot go anywhere, she agrees to a date. Sometime later, Babe and Elsa are robbed by two well-dressed muggers in Central Park. On a flight from Uruguay to New York City, Christian Szell disguises himself by shaving the top of his head bald. As Szell’s airplane lands in New York, Karl and Erhard, the men who robbed Babe, are there to meet him. Doc, who is Babe’s older brother, shows up at Babe’s apartment and becomes suspicious when he hears that Babe was robbed by men in suits. Babe asks Doc to take a look at some interviews he has conducted with his father’s old colleagues, but Doc yells at him to forget their father, saying he was a suicidal drunk. The next day, Doc takes Babe and Elsa to lunch, and Babe nervously watches as Doc flirts with Elsa. Catching Elsa in a lie, Doc accuses her of being German instead of Swiss, and suggests she is after Babe for a green card. That night, at a secret rendezvous, Szell admits to Doc that Elsa has been spying on Babe, then stabs Doc in the abdomen. Doc stumbles to Babe’s apartment, bleeding to death, but dies before he can deliver a warning about Szell. Janeway arrives at Babe’s apartment, where police officers address him as commander. Sending the others away, Janeway tells Babe that he suspects Doc’s murder was “political,” having to do with Doc’s line of business. Although Babe believed his brother worked in the oil industry, Janeway reveals that he was an employee of a secret government agency called “The Division.” Later that night, after Janeway has left, Karl and Erhard break into Babe’s apartment, kidnap him, and take him to a secret location. There, Babe is tied to a chair in a sparse room and joined by Szell, who arrives with a set of dental instruments. Szell asks Babe multiple times, “Is it safe?” After Babe responds that he has no idea what Szell is talking about, Szell examines Babe’s teeth with a metal scraper and asks again, “Is it safe?” Babe doesn’t answer, and Szell tortures him with the dental instrument. Later, when Karl moves Babe to another room, Janeway appears and stabs Karl to death. Shooting Erhard as they escape, Janeway takes Babe to his waiting car and drives away, explaining that Karl and Erhard were associated with Szell, the wealthiest and most wanted Nazi alive. He says Szell was a dentist who made money bribing Jewish prisoners for release from Auschwitz, and later invested in gold and diamonds that had been hidden in New York in a safety deposit box. Janeway says that Szell was after Babe because Doc was a courier who transported diamonds to Paris for Szell in exchange for Szell’s cooperation with the Division as an informant. Becoming stern, Janeway orders Babe to confess what Doc has told him about the diamonds, but Babe claims ignorance. Janeway stops the car, and Karl and Erhard approach from outside. Stupefied, Babe cries out that Janeway already killed Karl and Erhard but Janeway admits to using a fake knife and blanks in his gun. Back in Szell’s hideout, Janeway informs Szell that Babe knows nothing, but Szell insists he cannot risk it. In another torture session, Szell wields an electric drill and tells Babe there must be a reason Doc went to his apartment. After Szell drills into one of Babe’s teeth, he determines that Babe knows nothing. Meanwhile, Janeway calls Szell a useless relic and informs him that he must leave the country the next day. When Karl and Erhard force Babe into another car, Babe manages to break away. Using his distance running skills, he outruns Janeway, who hops into Karl and Erhard’s car and directs them toward the highway ramp where Babe has run. Babe jumps from one ramp to another, and an automobile accident stops Janeway’s crew from pursuing him further. Exchanging the Rolex watch that Doc gave him for a taxi ride back to his block, Babe calls Elsa from a payphone and arranges to meet her, then sneaks into a building across the street from his apartment, aware that his building is being watched. In the other apartment building, Babe asks Melendez, a loose acquaintance, to rob his apartment and take his father’s old gun, stashed inside a desk drawer. Melendez agrees, and later breaks into Babe’s apartment with a crew of several men. As Janeway appears and draws a gun, five of Melendez’s men draw their own guns and continue with the robbery. Retrieving the gun from Melendez, Babe meets Elsa and she drives them to a country house. Upon arrival, Babe is suspicious and asks if the house belongs to Szell and if Janeway is inside. Elsa finally admits that Janeway is coming soon and confesses to working as a courier for Szell. When Janeway arrives with Karl and Erhard, Babe holds Elsa hostage, but allows the men to come inside. In the living room, Karl draws his gun unexpectedly and Janeway tries to stop him, but Babe shoots Karl first. Janeway shoots Erhard and Elsa before dropping his own gun, then tells Babe the location of the bank where Szell’s safety deposit box is located. Elsa urges Babe to leave, but as he walks out of the house, Janeway retrieves his gun, shoots Elsa again, and aims at Babe through the window. Babe shoots Janeway first, however, killing him. In Manhattan’s jewelry district, Szell goes to various appraisers to learn the market value of diamonds, but is recognized by one of the appraisers who is a Holocaust survivor. Running away, Szell is recognized on the street by an old lady, another Holocaust survivor, who yells for people to stop him. When the appraiser catches up to him, Szell slits the man’s throat with a switchblade and takes a taxi to his bank. Opening the security deposit box, Szell rejoices at the sight of his massive diamond collection. Leaving the bank with his briefcase full of diamonds, Szell is accosted by Babe, who leads him, at gunpoint, to a water treatment facility in Central Park. There, Babe grabs a handful of diamonds and throws them into the air, telling Szell that he can keep as many diamonds as he can swallow. After swallowing a few, Szell refuses to continue and orders him to shoot. Babe remains frozen, and Szell eventually knocks the gun out of his hand, approaching him with the switchblade. Babe grabs the briefcase and throws it down a set of stairs. Lunging after the diamonds, Szell falls down and accidentally stabs himself, dropping dead into the water. Outside, Babe throws his father’s gun into a lake.
Producer: Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Peter Savage
Writer: Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Cinematographer: Michael Chapman
Genre: Biography
Production Company: Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Inc.
Composer: Pietro Mascagni
In 1941, at a boxing match in Cleveland, Ohio, pandemonium breaks out when Jake La Motta, an up-and-coming young boxer, loses a decision to Jimmy Reeves, suffering his first loss and igniting a brawl in which audience members are trampled underfoot. Following Jake’s defeat, Salvy Batts, who works for boxing racketeer Tommy Como, informs Jake’s brother and manager Joey that an association with Tommy could advance Jake’s career. Although Joey agrees with Salvy, he observes that his stubborn brother, whom he affectionately calls "Jack," has "a head like concrete" and insists upon remaining independent. Nevertheless, Joey promises to present Salvy’s offer to Jake, and proceeds to his brother’s dreary, run-down apartment, where Jake is in the middle of a screaming match with his wife Irma. Once Joey mollifies his enraged brother, the mercurial Jake laments that his small, girlish hands limit his ability to rise to the top. Suddenly hostile, Jake provokes Joey into hitting him in the face. Later, when Salvy comes to watch Jake in a sparring match with Joey, Jake becomes so angered by Salvy’s presence that he pummels Joey. At the neighborhood swimming pool one day, Jake spots blonde, fifteen-year-old Vickie Thailer, who piques his interest and passion. When Jake questions Joey about Vickie, Joey reminds him that he is a married man. Leaving Irma at home one night, Jake attends a church charity dance with Joey, where he sees Vickie seated across the room with Salvy. Watching Vickie drive off with Salvy, Jake sends Joey to the pool the next day to arrange an introduction to her. When Vickie admires Jake’s shiny convertible, he invites her for a ride, and after changing from her swimsuit into a virginal white outfit, she joins him. After a visit to a miniature golf course, Jake takes her to the apartment he purchased for his father and ushers her into the bedroom, where a crucifix perches above the headboard. He nudges her onto the bed, but she quickly rises and walks to the bureau, where she looks at a photo of Jake and Joey sparring, a rosary dangling over its frame. In 1943, Jake scores a major victory against Sugar Ray Robinson, Robinson’s first loss and the beginning of a life-long rivalry between the two boxers. Following the fight, Vickie, who is now living with Jake, kisses his blackened eye, but when he becomes sexually aroused, he pours a pitcher of ice water down his crotch in order to preserve his energy for the next match with Robinson, which is to take place three weeks later. Although Robinson is named winner of the bout by the unanimous decision of the judges, Jake’s career takes off when he wins a series of victories and, now successful, he marries Vickie and buys a new home in the Bronx. Joey has also married and moved into a nearby house with his wife Lenore. In 1947, after having had three babies and living a relatively quiet life in the suburbs, Jake has gained weight and bristles when Joey enters him into a match with newcomer Tony Janiro, for which Jake will have to lose fifteen pounds. When Joey explains that he set up the match because established boxers are afraid to face Jake, Vickie supports Joey, noting that Janiro would be an apt opponent because he is so good-looking and popular. Vickie’s comment triggers Jake’s obsessive jealousy, and he balks at going to training camp and thus leaving Vickie alone. When Jake asks Joey to keep an eye on Vickie while he is gone, Joey suggests taking her out for a night on the town before he leaves. They all go to the Copacabana nightclub, and when Vickie excuses herself to go the ladies room, Salvy, who is there with Tommy, invites her to join them for a drink. Jake warily watches their encounter, and when Vickie returns to the table, accuses her of flirting with Salvy and Tommy. During his match with Janiro, Jake viciously pummels his opponent in the face, destroying his good looks and winning the bout. Following his victory, Jake returns to training camp, and one night while at a nightclub, Joey spots Vickie enter with Salvy and his friends. Pulling her away from Salvy’s table, Joey orders Vickie to leave with him, then smashes a glass in Salvy’s face. When Salvy follows Joey outside, Joey kicks him, then bangs him in the head with a taxicab door. Afterward, Tommy summons Joey and Salvy, his arm in a sling and his face bandaged, to his headquarters at the Debonair Social Club and orders them to forget their argument and shake hands. After Salvy departs, Tommy warns Joey that Jake is embarrassing him by not accepting his patronage. Although Joey argues that Jake wants to make it on his own, Tommy counters that Jake will never get a chance at the title without his help. Upon Jake’s return from training camp, Joey reports that Tommy has offered him a shot at the title in exchange for throwing a match with Billy Fox. During the fight, Jake offers no resistance to Fox, allowing his opponent to strike him at will until being declared the victor. As Jake later tearfully relates to his cornermen, he did not know any other way to lose. Following the fight, Jake is suspended by the boxing board while the district attorney probes into the possibility of a fixed fight. Two years later, in 1949, Jake faces middleweight champion Marcel Cerdan in a title bout. Before the match, Tommy comes to Jake’s hotel room to wish him good luck, but after Tommy kisses Vickie goodbye and leaves, Jake slaps her and demands to know why she is so friendly with Tommy. After Jake wins the bout on a technical knockout in the tenth round, the referee straps the championship belt around his waist. By 1950, Jake has developed a paunch from his extensive binges of eating and drinking, although he is set to defend his title in a month. Still insanely jealous of Vickie, Jake suspects that she and Salvy had an affair, and when Joey denies it, Jake irrationally accuses him of having an affair with her. In response, Joey advises Jake to indulge in more sex and less food. Jake then goes to Vickie’s bedroom to ask if she had sex with his brother. Offended, she locks herself in the bathroom, after which he breaks down the door and slaps her. Proceeding to Joey’s house, Jake pulls his brother away from dinner with his family and begins to beat him, accusing him of adultery with Vickie. When Vickie arrives, he punches her, prompting her to go home and pack her things. She later tells Jake that she is leaving him, but his more subdued, contrite demeanor causes her to relent and she agrees to stay, although the brothers remain estranged. In 1951 Jake faces Robinson to defend his championship title in the “fight of the year.” As Joey watches the bout on television, Robinson viciously pounds Jake, sending streams of blood trickling down his legs and spewing from his mouth. Even though Robinson is declared the new champion, Jake remains cocky and defiant. Five years later, in 1956, Jake, now living in Florida and grown fat and bloated, announces his retirement from boxing and the opening of his eponymous nightclub. As emcee, Jake tells crude jokes and flirts with underage women customers. Tired of Jake’s abuse, Vickie finally files for divorce and takes custody of the children. One evening, while sleeping in his office, Jake is arrested for pandering to underage customers. To pay his legal fees, Jake smashes his championship belt to pry out the jewels, only to be informed by the pawnbroker that the belt was worth much more intact. Unable to raise the money for his defense, Jake, bellicose and belligerent, is thrown into solitary confinement, where he slams his head against the wall and sobs that he is not an animal. By 1958, Jake, now out of jail and living in New York, has been reduced to introducing his new wife, Emma, a stripper known as "Miss 48's," in a dive bar. One night, he spots Joey walking down the street and runs after him. Although Jake smothers him with hugs and kisses, Joey, still angry, shrugs him off. In 1964, Jake rehearses his lines for his one-night show at the Barbizon Plaza Hotel. As he stands in front of his dressing room mirror, Jake recites the famous speech from On the Waterfront in which “Terry Malloy” accuses his brother, “Charley,” of betraying him, saying “I could have had class. I could’ve been a contender, I could’ve been somebody…instead of a bum, which is what I am.” Before going on stage, Jake gazes into the mirror and sparring with his reflection, declares, “Go get ‘em champ. I’m the boss.”
Producer: Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Gene Kirkwood
Writer: Sylvester Stallone
Editor: Richard Halsey, Scott Conrad
Cinematographer: James Crabe
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Inc.
Composer: Bill Conti
In late November, 1975, Rocky Balboa, a sweet, garrulous, slightly over-the-hill boxer, wins his latest match with more fury than talent. Although he is well-known and well-liked in his South Philadelphia neighborhood, back in his dingy apartment, he has only his turtles to whom he can report his triumph. He then visits the local pet store in the hope of winning over the painfully shy clerk, Adrian Pennino, but she barely responds to his efforts. During his day job Rocky works as a collector for local loan shark Tony Gazzo, but when he cannot bring himself to break the thumb of one debtor, Rocky earns Gazzo’s displeasure. Demoralized, Rocky turns to the one place at which he feels at home, the gym, but there discovers that his manager, Mickey Goldmill, has given his locker to a new contender. When Rocky confronts Mickey, the 76-year-old former bantamweight states that although Rocky has heart, he fights “like an ape” and should quit before he loses his one distinction, his unbroken nose. After once again getting nowhere with Adrian, Rocky visits her brother, meat packer Paulie Pennino, to ask why she disdains him. Paulie declares Adrian a “loser,” a spinster at almost thirty, but invites Rocky to Thanksgiving dinner with them the following night. Meanwhile, reigning heavyweight champion Apollo Creed learns that his next opponent, set to fight him in five weeks’ time, is injured and no worthy contender can be arranged. Creed, a colorful attention-seeker, despairs of losing the media coverage and decides to launch an exhibition fight with a Philadelphia unknown on New Year’s Day, the first day of the country’s bicentennial. Declaring that Americans will love the idea of an underdog ostensibly being given his big chance, he thumbs through a list of local boxers and pinpoints Rocky, whose self-appointed nickname is "The Italian Stallion," as an interesting ethnic counterpoint. At the same time, Rocky prepares for his first “date” with Adrian, but upon entering Paulie’s house, realizes that Adrian is unaware of the set-up. Embarrassed, she declares herself unready for guests, prompting Paulie to explode in anger and throw her turkey dinner into the alleyway. Although she locks herself in the bedroom in response, Rocky urges her to come out and takes her to a closed ice skating rink, which he convinces the manager to open briefly. As Adrian skates, Rocky trots alongside her, explaining that he never succeeded as a boxer because he is a left-handed hitter. When he confesses that his father told him he had no brains so had better work with his body, Adrian reveals that her mother told her to develop her brains, as she did not have a good body. Walking to his apartment, he asserts that their weaknesses—his dim-wittedness and her timidity—make them perfect partners. At his stoop, she tries to leave but he charms her into staying, then once inside soothes her skittishness and gently initiates a passionate embrace. The next day, Rocky learns from Mickey that Creed’s promoter, Miles Jergens, wants to meet with him, and both assume Creed is looking for a sparring partner. When Mickey insults him, Rocky demands an explanation, and Mickey spits out his disgust that Rocky failed to live up to his early promise as a fighter and instead became “a leg-breaker.” At Jergens’ office, Rocky is stunned to learn that he is being offered a chance at the heavyweight championship but quietly turns down the opportunity, knowing he has no possibility of winning. However, Jergens convinces him that he cannot pass up the chance of a lifetime, and soon after the bout is announced on television. Watching the broadcast later, Paulie points out to Rocky that the commentators were mocking him, and although Rocky professes not to care, he later admits his distress to Adrian. He plans to train alone, and when Mickey visits to plead to be his manager, Rocky brushes off the old man’s desperate self-marketing, declaring that he needed a manager ten years ago when he still had a future. Mickey, for whom Rocky’s fight represents his last stab at success, shuffles out in defeat, but outside stops to listen as Rocky explodes in anger, shouting that this lucky break has come too late for him and he is sure to be beaten badly. Minutes later, however, Rocky chases after Mickey and hires him. Rocky immediately begins a self-imposed, grueling training schedule, running through the city at four a.m. On his first day, he ascends the steep, stone stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and is exhausted by the time he reaches the top. He stops by Paulie’s meat-packing plant, where Paulie, as is customary, pesters him for a job with Gazzo. When Paulie then questions angrily whether or not Rocky has slept with Adrian, Rocky pushes him away, punching a frozen carcass until his fists bleed. Later, a reinvigorated Mickey trains Rocky enthusiastically, and despite agreeing to the trainer’s demand that he swear off women during training, Rocky spends more and more time with Adrian. After weeks of Rocky’s training regimen, which now includes daily workouts punching the frozen meat, a drunken Paulie arranges a television interview in the meat locker. Although Creed, busy preparing his media exposure, ignores the broadcast, his trainer is impressed by Rocky’s tenacity. Afterward, Paulie overhears Rocky complaining to Adrian about him, and threatening them both with a bat, raves that he failed to marry in order to take care of Adrian. With sudden vitriol, she screams that she owes him nothing and no longer wants to feel like a loser, and after Paulie collapses in drunken exhaustion, Adrian and Rocky agree that she will move in with him. Each day, Rocky runs through the neighborhood, receiving the well-wishes of the locals. Finally, after weeks of exertion, he is able to run up the museum steps with ease, and at the top throws up his hands in triumph. His status as the underdog contender has earned him national attention and affection, but on the night before the fight, Rocky visits the empty arena and realizes anew that there is no way he can win. At home, he tells Adrian that it does not matter if he loses, but if he can just last all fifteen rounds, as no one ever has against Creed, he will know for the first time that he is more than “just another bum from the neighborhood.” On the day of the fight, as the arena fills, Rocky prays, then banters with Adrian. As he enters the ring, the announcers report that some have called the bout “the caveman vs. the cavalier,” and that the Las Vegas odds assume that Rocky will be knocked out within three rounds. Next, with supreme fanfare, Creed, throwing money to the crowd, enters the arena, costumed as George Washington on a boat. The fight begins, with Rocky’s friends watching eagerly on the local tavern television. Creed, overconfident, is far quicker than Rocky and jabs at him tauntingly, but when Rocky lands an unexpected strong hit, felling Creed for the first time ever, the champion returns with renewed vigilance. He begins to pummel Rocky, and when Rocky manages to back Creed up against the ropes, Creed breaks his nose. During the ensuing bout, Rocky takes a tremendous beating but continually rebounds to land a few hard punches. Fourteen rounds later, both are still fighting with equal commitment and have suffered multiple injuries. Exhausted, Rocky keeps struggling to his feet, even as the commentators wonder what could possibly be keeping him up, and Mickey demands that he give up. Finally, Rocky slams Creed in the ribs, causing internal bleeding. In their respective corners, Rocky demands that his cut man slice his eye with a razor to drain it of blood, while Creed orders his trainer to let the fight continue. The fifteen rounds finally draw to a close and the crowd roars its approval. As the reporters swarm him with questions, Rocky bats them away and shouts Adrian’s name. She runs toward him, slowed by the crowd, as the announcer proclaims that the fight has ended in a split decision. When Adrian finally reaches Rocky, she falls into his arms. Flush with his own personal victory and barely even registering that the fight has been called for Creed, Rocky declares his love for her.
Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman
Directors: Quentin Tarantino
Producer: Lawrence Bender
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Editor: Sally Menke
Cinematographer: Andrzej Sekula
Genre: Comedy-drama
Production Company: A Band Apart , Jersey Films
Referring to each other as “Pumpkin” and “Honey Bunny,” two lovers finish their meal at a diner, and decide to hold up the place. Elsewhere, at another time, Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield arrive at an apartment to collect a briefcase from a man named Brett, on behalf of their gangster boss, Marsellus Wallace. Inside the apartment, the hitmen shoot Brett and one of his cohorts for double-dealing behind Marsellus’s back. They deliver the briefcase to Marsellus, as he is cutting a deal with a boxer named Butch, who agrees to throw an upcoming boxing match. Afterward, Marsellus enlists Vincent to take his wife, Mia, out on the town while he is away. Prior to picking her up, Vincent buys heroin from his drug dealer, Lance, and injects himself with a dose. Mia, a once-aspiring actress, goes with him to a 1950s-themed restaurant, where the two bond over milkshakes and participate in a dance contest, which they win. Returning home, Mia discovers the heroin in Vincent’s jacket while he is in the bathroom. Assuming it is cocaine, she snorts the drug and accidentally overdoses. Vincent rushes her to Lance’s house, where they revive her with a shot of adrenaline to the heart. Butch, the boxer, betrays Marsellus by winning his boxing match and accidentally killing his opponent in the process. At a motel, he prepares to flee town with his girl friend, Fabienne, who reveals that she forgot to pack Butch’s lucky gold watch, passed down to him by his father. Aware that Marsellus might have already sent a hitman after him, Butch risks a trip back home to retrieve the watch. Inside his apartment, he discovers a gun on the kitchen counter and surmises that someone has broken in. As Vincent Vega emerges from the bathroom, Butch shoots him dead. On the drive back to the motel, Butch is spotted by Marsellus, who gives chase. The pursuit ends at a pawnshop, where Butch and Marsellus are unexpectedly kidnapped by the sadistic shop owner, Maynard. They are taken to the basement, where Marsellus is raped by Maynard and his cohort, Zed, while Butch is held captive by a man in a bondage suit. Butch breaks free, rescues Marsellus, and the two of them kill Maynard and Zed. Thankful for his life, Marsellus agrees to let Butch go but swears him to secrecy over the assault. Earlier, back at Brett’s apartment, Vincent and Jules are poised to leave with the briefcase when another man rushes out of the bathroom, shooting at them but missing with every shot. They retaliate by shooting him dead, and leave with the apartment with Marvin, the only surviving cohort. As they drive, Vincent talks with his gun casually trained on Marvin. Jules hits a bump and Vincent accidentally shoots him dead. With Marvin’s blood splattered throughout the car, they speed to the nearest safe haven, the home of a friend named Jimmie. Vincent and Jules enlist the help of Marsellus’s associate, “The Wolf,” to clean up the car and dispose of the body. Afterward, Jules and Vincent go to a diner. Jules has decided that his and Vincent’s lives were spared earlier by a miracle. He proclaims that his life of crime is now over. Just then, at a nearby table, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny announce they are robbing the place. Jules intervenes and takes Pumpkin at gunpoint. Honey Bunny threatens Jules with her gun. Returning from a trip to the bathroom, Vincent pulls his gun on Honey Bunny. During the ensuing standoff, Jules quotes a Bible passage, Ezekiel 25:17, which he has traditionally recited before murdering his targets. He declares his intent to take the path of “the righteous man” from now on. Still pointing his gun at Pumpkin, he hands over the money in his wallet, and instructs him and Honey Bunny to leave. Having defused the crisis, Jules and Vincent take the briefcase they are about to deliver to Marsellus and leave the diner together.
Dismayed by the extreme measures to prevent robberies taken by a small-town western bank, notorious bank robber Butch Cassidy wanders over to a saloon to meet his partner, The Sundance Kid, who is in the middle of a card game. One of the players, Macon, unaware of Sundance’s identity, accuses the outlaw of cheating and, refusing to surrender his money, prepares to fight it out. When Butch attempts to intervene, Macon orders him away until he learns Sundance’s identity after which he meekly withdraws his accusation. On the long ride back to their hideout, the Hole in the Wall in Wyoming, Butch tries to convince Sundance that they should go to Bolivia, which abounds in gold. Arriving at the hideout, Butch is surprised to find gang members Harvey Logan, News Carver and Flat Nose Curry preparing to rob the Union Pacific Overland Flyer train. Butch vetoes their plan, declaring that banks are much more reliable. Harvey then informs Butch that because Butch has spent so much time away, Harvey has taken over leadership of the gang and made the decision to rob the Flyer. Butch insists he remains the gang’s leader, leading Harvey to challenge him to a fight, which Butch quickly wins by distracting his opponent. Afterward, Butch decides that the plan to rob the train on both of its scheduled trips through the area is sound. The gang stops the Flyer, whose engineers are excited at being robbed by Butch, but the theft is almost thwarted by the dedicated efforts of a young clerk, Woodcock, who refuses to open the train car containing the bank safe. News then dynamites the door and, while the others retrieve the money, Butch revives the stunned Woodcock. A few nights later in a nearby town, Butch and Sundance sit on a bordello balcony and watch with amusement as down on the street the town marshal struggles to incite the townspeople into forming a posse to go after the Hole in the Wall gang. Butch then envisions he and Sundance joining the army and becoming officers, and confides that his real name is Robert LeRoy Parker. Sundance reveals his real name is Harry Longabaugh and as the men toast each other, the townspeople lose interest in the marshal's exhortations when a salesman demonstrates a new invention, the bicycle. When Butch turns his attentions to one of the bordello girls, Sundance rides off. One evening some days later, schoolteacher Etta Place arrives at her small house and is startled to find Sundance waiting for her in the dark. While Sundance points his gun at her, Etta disrobes and lets her hair down, then as he embraces her, she chastises him for being late. A few days later, Etta awakens to the strange sight of Butch riding around the house on a bicycle. Delighted, Etta takes a ride with Butch who performs tricks on the bicycle before being run off by a bull. On the way back to the house, Etta asks Butch if he has come to enlist Sundance in another robbery. Butch admits that he cannot understand why, despite working hard all his life, he has always been broke. Later, Butch, Sundance and the gang make another strike on the Flyer and Butch is delighted to discover the committed Woodcock back on the job. After tricking the young clerk into opening the car door, Butch discovers that Woodcock has firmly secured the safe. Using several sticks of dynamite, Butch blows up the entire train car and as the men laughingly retrieve the flyaway money, a train engine pulling a single car comes up behind the Flyer. Alarmed, Butch and the others watch as several horses and riders leap from the train car and start after them. Butch and Sundance immediately flee, but two of the gang members scrambling to get away are shot down. When Butch and Sundance split off from the surviving two gang members, they are frustrated that all the pursuers come after them. Butch and Sundance ride hard through the day into the evening, returning to the friendly bordello, but their efforts to throw off the pursuers fail, forcing them to escape into the night. To their dismay, their hunters follow using torches. Impressed and incredulous at the group’s tenacity in tracking over various terrains throughout the next day, Butch repeatedly wonders about the men’s identities. In a far-flung town, Butch and Sundance stop at the office of old friend Sheriff Ray Bledsoe, who angrily informs them that their presence might compromise his position. When Butch asks Bledsoe to vouch for them so they can enlist in the army, the old sheriff roughly tells them that they are doomed to meet a bloody end. Butch and Sundance resume their flight and during brief rest stops observe their single-minded pursuers. Sundance believes one of them may be a famous full-blooded Indian tracker from Oklahoma named Lord Baltimore. Although Butch is skeptical, after studying the men, he wonders if their leader is the famous lawman LaForce, known for his trademark white skimmer hat. Increasingly apprehensive, Butch and Sundance continue their evasions, riding high into a steep mountain range, where they let their remaining horse go and proceed on foot only to find themselves on a cliff overlooking a river. Realizing that half of the trackers are behind them, and the others have taken up positions on the cliff across the river, Butch determines they can fight or surrender. Sundance refuses to capitulate, but when Butch abruptly suggests they jump into the river, he staunchly refuses, finally admitting that he cannot swim. Butch assures Sundance the fall will likely kill them and, as their pursuers watch helplessly, the duo plunges into the river, which sweeps them away to safety. Some days later, an exhausted Butch and Sundance arrive at Etta’s home, where she relates that the newspapers had reported their capture. She explains that the head of the Union Pacific lines, E. H. Harriman, outraged by the constant robberies of his trains by the Hole in the Wall gang, has put together an exclusive posse comprised of the nation’s best lawmen to assure the demise of Butch and Sundance. Butch angrily accuses Harriman of bad business practices, declaring that if the tycoon would simply pay them the money he has paid the posse, Butch would stop robbing him. Sundance fears they will be on the run forever and later that night he and Butch invite Etta to flee with them to Bolivia. She agrees, stipulating that if the law should reach them there, she will not stay to watch them die. The next day, the trio sets off for New York, where they catch a steamer to South America. Upon arriving in a small, dusty village in Bolivia, Sundance expresses disgust with the primitive surroundings. While attempting to rob a village bank, the duo is horrified that no one speaks English, prompting Etta to teach them holdup commands in Spanish. Etta joins in the next several heists and, soon, Butch and Sundance develop a reputation as Los Bandidos Yanquis, or the Yankee Bandits. Their spree comes to an abrupt end, however, when Butch spots LaForce in a village. Etta insists that the lawman is outside his jurisdiction, but Sundance reminds her that the posse’s mission is to kill them. Butch declares that if they commit no further robberies, they cannot be traced, and so announces they are going “straight.” The men then take a job with Percy Garris, escorting a mining payroll, but on their very first job, Garris is killed by local bandits. When the bandits fire on Butch and Sundance, they readily surrender the money, but when it becomes obvious the thieves do not intend to let them go, the duo is forced to kill them. Dejected, Butch and Sundance return to Etta who urges them to take up farming or ranching. When they refuse, Etta decides to return to America. Butch and Sundance resume robbing banks and one day arrive in the small town of San Vicente, where they are recognized and reported to the local police. The police chief summons the army, then surrounds Butch and Sundance with his own forces. In the ensuing gunfight, the outlaws run low on ammunition, forcing Butch to make a daring race across the courtyard to grab their gun belts, while Sundance provides furious cover. Badly wounded, the men collapse in a local building and as they painfully rearm, Butch confides to the skeptical Sundance that he has discovered another place rich with potential, Australia. Unaware that a large contingent of soldiers has joined the police outside, Butch and Sundance confidently rush out of the building to make their escape, only to be caught in a hail of bullets.
Production Company: Warner Bros.--Seven Arts, Inc.
Composer: Henry Mancini
As a flight from Montreal lands at Kennedy Airport, Lisa, a fashion model asks commercial artist Sam Hendrix to hold a toy doll for her. When the woman disappears, Sam takes the doll to his Greenwich Village apartment. A short time later, hoodlums Mike Talman and Carlino arrive at Sam's empty apartment to keep what they think is an appointment with Lisa. Instead, they are met by Roat, a master criminal skilled in disguise, who informs them that he has murdered Lisa for attempting a doublecross and that they must now dispose of her body and find the missing doll, which contains a fortune in heroin. The following day, after Lisa's corpse has been removed to a nearby lot, the three man trick Sam into going to New Jersey, leaving his blind wife, Susy, alone. One by one the three hoodlums call at the house under false pretenses. Finally, Carlino, in the guise of a detective, announces that he is investigating the murder of a young woman found in the neighborhood; by insinuation Susy is led to suspect that Sam is involved in the killing and the missing doll is the link. Gradually, however, Susy begins to suspect that Roat and Carlino are imposters, and she appeals to Mike for help. After he has left, Gloria, a little girl from upstairs who had taken the doll, returns it. Believing Mike to be her husband's friend, Susy telephones him the good news; but with the help of Gloria, Susy learns that the number Mike gave her is for a telephone booth across the street. Realizing that all three men are involved in the plot to get the doll, Susy sends Gloria to meet Sam, returning from New Jersey, at the terminal. After the child has left, Susy discovers that her telephone line has been cut. Mike arrives and, touched by Susy's plight, tells her the truth about Sam's innocence. Roat, who has already killed Carlino, bursts into the apartment and murders Mike. Terrified, Susy smashes all the light fixtures in a desperate attempt to even her chances against Roat. When he opens the refrigerator door and turns on the small bulb, Susy grabs a kitchen knife and stabs him. As he lunges after her, she hides behind the refrigerator and pulls the plug. Clutching the knife he was stabbed with, Roat inches toward her in the dark. A few seconds later, Sam and the police arrive and find Susy in a corner with Roat lying dead at her feet.
Writer: Garrett Fort, Francis Edwards Faragoh, Richard Schayer
Editor: Clarence Kolster
Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson
Genre: Horror, Science fiction
Production Company: Universal Pictures Corp.
In a prologue, an announcer steps from behind a curtain to warn the audience of the horrifying nature of the film they are about to see. In the main story, at a funeral, Fritz, a dwarf, and young scientist Henry Frankenstein dig up a freshly buried body, claiming that the corpse is waiting for a new life. They also remove a man hanging from a gibbet, but his broken neck requires that a new brain be found. After Doctor Waldman's lecture at Goldstadt Medical College, Fritz sneaks in and, after dropping a bottle containing a normal brain, leaves with one containing the brain of a criminal. Meanwhile, in Henry's hometown, Victor Moritz visits Elizabeth, whom he loves. She has received a strange note from Henry her fiancé, who writes that his experiments preclude her from joining him. Concerned, Victor and Elizabeth visit Waldman, Henry's former professor, who explains that Henry had left the college to pursue a mad dream of recreating human life. Together the three go to Henry's laboratory, a watchtower in the mountains. There, Henry and Fritz are preparing to use the power of lightning to charge their electrical mechanisms and give life to a body they have pieced together. Henry agrees to let his friends observe and explains his scientific theories as his creation comes to life. Later Victor and Elizabeth attempt to pacify Henry's doubting father, Baron Frankenstein, who is only interested in promoting the date of his son's wedding. At the laboratory, while Waldman tells Henry of the monster's criminal brain, Fritz torments the monster and the monster kills him. After a fight, Henry and Waldman sedate the monster just as the baron approaches the lab. The exhausted Henry is taken home after Waldman promises to destroy the monster, but instead Waldman is killed by the escaping monster. As the wedding of Elizabeth and Henry is celebrated, the monster drowns Little Maria, a village child who plays with him, then menaces Elizabeth. Ludwig, Maria's father, carries his daughter's body into town, and an angry search party is formed. They go through the mountains by torchlight until Henry finds the monster, and the two engage in a struggle that continues in an abandoned mill, where the monster has fled. The mob sets the mill ablaze, and the monster hurls Henry to the ground before being engulfed by flames. Later, the baron celebrates the wedding of his recovered son with a toast to a future grandchild.
In June 1972, a smiling, confident President Nixon is about to address the American people. At the Watergate building in Washington, D. C., flashlight beams are visible through the windows of an office. Security guard Frank Wills discovers a piece of masking tape covering a door latch in the garage, and calls the police to report a possible burglary. Inside an office, one of the burglars announces through a walkie-talkie, “We’re home.” On the receiving end is a man watching from an adjacent window, who warns them of “activity.” Undercover police enter the building and arrest the burglars. The next morning, Harry Rosenfeld and Howard Simons, editors at the Washington Post, briefly discuss the burglary, including the large amounts of cash, 35mm cameras and walkie-talkies found in the burglars’ possession, and the fact that they invaded the Democratic Party’s national headquarters. Reporter Carl Bernstein asks to cover the story, but it is given to Bob Woodward. Woodward attends the burglars’ arraignment and is surprised to learn that they have private council. The burglars, James W. McCord, Bernard Barker and three others, have a Mr. Starkey as their private attorney, even though they hadn’t contacted anyone since the arrest. Back at the office, Woodward, Rosenfeld and Bernstein discuss the information they’ve gathered: McCord had worked for the CIA, though the CIA denies knowledge of him. That night, a policeman calls Woodward concerning some entries found in the address books of two of the burglars, which include the names “Howard Hunt” and “WHouse.” Woodward calls the White House the next morning and asks for Hunt; he is referred to the office of Charles Colson, special council to the President. When he finally reaches Hunt, Woodward’s questions are greeted with shock and evasiveness. Woodward continues his investigation, and is ultimately given an unsolicited denial of Colson’s involvement in the Watergate burglary from the White House. Simons, realizing that the story is of national interest, believes it should be covered by a top political writer, rather than an inexperienced youngster. Rosenfeld disagrees, and partners Bernstein with Woodward. Bernstein begins his research by interviewing Karen, a former employee of Colson’s. She describes both Colson and Hunt as very secretive, but she learned that Hunt was investigating Senator Edward Kennedy on behalf of the White House, doing extensive research at the White House library. Bernstein contacts the librarian, who corroborates Karen’s story, then suddenly denies any knowledge of Hunt. Woodward calls Deputy Director of Communications Ken Clawson at the White House, who denies that the librarian spoke to Bernstein. The reporters take their investigation to the Library of Congress but find nothing. The resulting news story is lacking in hard evidence, and Executive Editor Ben Bradlee keeps it off the front page. From a phone booth, Woodward calls an anonymous man, who refuses to discuss Watergate. The next morning, Woodward finds a note from the man in his copy of The New York Times . That night, Woodward takes a series of taxis to an underground garage, where the anonymous man is waiting. Woodward promises the man that his identity will remain secret, then recounts the details of the investigation. The man advises Woodward to “follow the money.” Soon after, The New York Times uncovers evidence of the Watergate conspiracy dating back to March 1972. Bernstein travels to Miami, FL, where State Attorney Dardis has subpoenaed Bernard Barker’s telephone and money records. Dardis’s file contains several checks from a Mexican bank, and one from a Florida Bank issued to Kenneth H. Dahlberg for $25,000. Woodward contacts Dahlberg, an officer with the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP), who gave the check to CREEP finance chairman Maurice Stans, who in turn gave it to Barker. At a meeting of Washington Post editors, feelings are mixed about continuing the Watergate investigation, with Rosenfeld as the strongest advocate. One editor admits that he simply does not find the story believable. At their next conference, Woodward and Bernstein inform Bradlee and Simons that the General Accounting Office (GAO) has discovered a secret fund containing hundreds of thousands of dollars among CREEP’s accounts. Woodward’s anonymous source, now referred to as “Deep Throat,” points to the money as the key to the investigation. Bradlee is losing faith in the story, but Woodward and Bernstein are undaunted. They acquire a list of CREEP employees and attempt to interview several in their homes. One woman tells them to leave before they are seen, and is in tears as she closes the door. The reporters continue to visit CREEP employees, but virtually all refuse to talk; Woodward and Bernstein suspect an organized cover-up. After two weeks, they still have no solid evidence. Rosenthal further discourages them with the news that the GAO report will not be released until after Nixon is re-nominated for president, and only Hunt, the five burglars, and CREEP operative G. Gordon Liddy will be indicted for the Watergate burglary. Bernstein continues his efforts to interview CREEP employees, using any excuse to get inside their houses. One woman, a CREEP bookkeeper, admits that she had long been aware of the secret fund and mentions a list of fifteen names with a dollar amount next to each. The list was destroyed, however. She refuses to disclose the names of the men who control the secret fund but she will identify initials. As Woodward and Bernstein transform the bookkeeper’s comments into a story, they discover that former Attorney General and CREEP chairman John Mitchell controlled the secret fund, along with Liddy, Bart Porter, Jeb Magruder, attorney to the President Herbert Kalmbach, and one other. When the reporters visit the bookkeeper again, she indicates that they are being watched. Woodward and Bernstein next visit Hugh Sloan, who recently resigned as CREEP treasurer as an act of conscience. Sloan states that all CREEP activities are approved by the White House, and estimates the amount of the secret fund at close to $1 million. The two reporters describe John Mitchell’s criminal activities to Bradlee, Rosenfeld and Simons; Bradlee is aggravated by the fact that none of the sources can be named, but still approves the story. Bernstein calls Mitchell at home to read him the story, in case he’d like to comment on it. Mitchell responds with vulgarity and threats, and issues a statement the next day denouncing the story, without pointedly denying it. Bernstein travels to Los Angeles, CA, to interview Donald Segretti, a young lawyer who, under the supervision of CREEP operative Dwight Chapin, sabotaged the campaigns of several Democratic presidential candidates. That night, Woodward meets with Deep Throat, who explains that the Department of Justice was well aware of the infiltration and sabotage of the Democrats. As Woodward leaves the underground garage, he suspects that he’s being followed and starts to run, though no one is behind him. Woodward learns from an FBI source that Segretti was paid from the CREEP secret fund by Chapin, who was hired by White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, suggesting that Haldeman is the fifth man who controls the fund. Woodward and Bernstein visit Sloan for confirmation of Haldeman’s involvement, but rather than confirming the story, Sloan says he has “no problem” with it. Bernstein calls his source at the FBI, who confirms that “John Haldeman” controlled the fund. Woodward is not convinced, nor is Bradlee, but Bernstein gets further confirmation from a contact at the Justice Department and Bradlee runs the story. The following morning, Sloan denies implicating Haldeman, and the Nixon administration publicly denounces the Washington Post. The paper is barraged with criticism, and Bradlee is angered by his reporters’ blunder, but he stands by the story. At Woodward’s next meeting with Deep Throat, he learns that Haldeman runs the entire operation, Mitchell has the entire U. S. intelligence community involved in his covert operations, and the cover-up exists mainly to protect these covert operations. He is also told that he and Bernstein are under surveillance and their lives are in danger. Woodward heads to Bernstein’s apartment and shares this new information via typewriter to keep their conversation from being heard. They wake up Bradlee at his home and disclose what they’ve learned from Deep Throat. Bradlee states that, even though half of all Americans have no interest in the Watergate affair, the future of the nation may be riding on it. Woodward and Bernstein are soon back at their typewriters, relentlessly working on the story as Nixon is sworn in for his second term. Sometime later, the Washington Post teletype reports the convictions and sentences of the conspirators, and Nixon's resignation from office.
Writer: Pierre Boulle, Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson
Cinematographer: Jack Hildyard
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Horizon-American Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Malcolm Arnold
In World War II Burma, after they are captured by Japanese troops during World War II, British commander Col. Nicholson and his troops march into Prisoner of War Camp 16 whistling their regimental tune. Their crisp arrival is wryly observed by Shears, an American sailor who bribes a guard to transfer him from the burial detail to the infirmary. When the camp’s commander, Col. Saito, imperiously informs the new prisoners that they will all be expected to work on building a railroad that will connect Bangkok to Rangoon, Nicholson protests that under the regulations of the Geneva Convention, all officers are exempt from manual labor. Afterward, Nicholson goes to the infirmary to visit Jennings, one of his wounded men. There Maj. Clipton, the camp’s medical officer, introduces the colonel to “Commander Major” Shears. When Jennings proposes escaping, Nicholson counters that he was ordered by headquarters to surrender, and therefore escaping would constitute a military infraction. Incredulous at the colonel’s naïveté, Shears retorts that escape is their only chance to avoid the death sentence of forced labor. The following day, Saito announces that all the men, including officers, will work on building a bridge across the River Kwai. When Nicholson defiantly waves a copy of the Geneva Convention, Saito slaps him across the face with it and flings it to the ground. Nicholson still refuses to let his officers perform manual labor, and after the other men march off to work, Saito calls for a machine gun and threatens to gun down all the officers. Watching in horror, Clipton runs out of the infirmary and protests that he and his patients have seen everything and will be witnesess to murder if Saito orders the gunners to fire. Saito then changes his mind and forces the officers to stand for the entire day in the merciless sun. Afterward, Saito locks Nicholson in “the oven,” a crude metal shed, and imprisons the other officers in the “punishment hut.” As the troops encourage Nicholson with a rendition of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” Shears, Jennings and a prisoner named Weaver escape into the jungle. Jennings and Weaver are gunned down by the guards, who then pursue Shears to a ridge above the river and shoot him. The guards assume that Shears is dead after he plunges into the river, but he survives and makes his way down river to the shore. Later, Saito summons Clipton and asks him to tell Nicholson that unless he cooperates, the patients in the infirmary will be forced to work. Confronted with the ultimatum, Nicholson still refuses to comply on the grounds that “it is a matter of principle.” With only two months left before the May first deadline for the completion of the bridge, Saito, frustrated by the slow progress, takes command of the project himself. After a segment of the bridge collapses, a defeated Saito has Nicholson brought to his office from the oven and explains that if he fails to meet the deadline, he will be forced to commit hara-kari. Unmoved, Nicholson insists that the Geneva Convention be adhered to, after which Saito orders him taken back to the oven. Meanwhile Shears, who was found near death by some friendly villagers, recovers and begins a solitary boat trip down river. Days later, his water exhausted, Shears passes out, leaving his boat to drift aimlessly. Plagued by ineptness and sabotage in his efforts to build the bridge, Saito orders the weakened and dehydrated Nicholson pulled from the oven and brought to his office where he grants a general amnesty to the officers and declares it will not be necessary for them to perform manual labor. As the men cheer Nicholson’s victory, Saito sits in his office, broken and sobbing. Upon inspecting the bridge, Nicholson criticizes the workers’ cavalier attitude and asks Capt. Reeves, who worked as a civilian engineer, for advice. Reeves observes that the river bottom at the present location is soft mud and suggests moving downstream where the bottom is solid bedrock. When Maj. Hughes, a public works engineer, criticizes the men’s lack of teamwork, Nicholson declares that they will rebuild the company’s morale by building an exemplary bridge. Nicholson, completely oblivious to the fact that he is about to aid and abet the enemy, presents a plan to Saito increasing the men’s daily work quota and suggests that Japanese soldiers should work laying track. Seeing his position crumbling, Saito stoicly says that he has already given the order. Shears, meanwhile, has been picked up by a sea rescue plane and brought to a hospital in Ceylon where he is visited by Maj. Warden, the explosives instructor at a nearby British commando school, who invites him to a meeting at the school. At the meeting, Warden explains that he plans to lead a team into Burma to blow up the bridge and asks Shears to join them. Shears, desirous of returning to civilian life, demurs, confessing that he was merely impersonating an officer and therefore is not qualified for the mission. Warden then informs him that the U.S. Navy already knows about his deception and has authorized his transfer to the British commandoes. Faced with possible imprisonment for impersonating an officer, Shears reluctantly accepts the assignment and retains his rank as Major. At the prison camp, Clipton warns Nicholson that he could be charged with treason for collaborating with the enemy. Obsessed by proving the mettle of his British soldiers, Nicholson turns a deaf ear to the medic’s protest. At the commando school meanwhile, Shears joins a team comprised of Warden, Chapman and Lt. Joyce, a young recruit wary of killing. As the four parachute into the jungle, Chapman crashes into a tree and is killed. The others are met by Yai, a native guide who hates the Japanese, and four women bearers. As they begin their trek through the jungle, they receive a radio transmission from headquarters informing them that a special train carrying troops and VIPs is scheduled to inaugurate the bridge on the thirteenth, and ordering them to carry out the demolition on that day. Realizing that he cannot finish the bridge by the deadline, Nicholson matter-of-factly tells Clipton that he has asked the officers to work beside the enlisted men and they have volunteered "to a man." After Clipton's protests, Nicholson then recruits wounded men from the infirmary to perform “light labor.” In the jungle, meanwhile, Warden’s team is accosted by Japanese soldiers, and in the skirmish Warden is shot in the ankle. Warden subsequently stumbles along on his crippled foot, climbing torturous mountain paths, but when they are just six hours away from the bridge, he declares that the others should continue on without him. Angrily denouncing Warden’s self-sacrifice as the histrionics of a British gentleman, Shears orders him hoisted onto a stretcher, after which they all continue on together, reaching the bridge just as Nicholson is nailing up a plaque commemorating the work of the British soldiers. That night, as the prisoners put on a show in celebration of the completion of the bridge, concluding with “God Bless the King,” Joyce and Shears, aided by the women, pilot a raft filled with plastic explosives to the bridge while Saito, having been bested by the British, makes preparations for hara-kari. After attaching the explosives to the bridge, Joyce takes cover with the detonator while Shears swims back across the river to await the arrival of the train the next day. At daybreak, the commandoes discover that the water level of the river has dropped, exposing the wires leading to the detonator. When the troops march onto the bridge for the ribbon cutting ceremony, Clipton informs Nicholson he wants no part of the festivities and retreats to a hill to watch. As the train whistle is heard in the distance, Nicholson spots the wires and calls Saito to go with him and investigate. Warden watches in disbelief as Nicholson follows the wire to the detonator, incredulous that a British officer would try to prevent an act of sabotage against the enemy. Sneaking up behind Saito, Joyce stabs him in the back with his knife, then informs Nicholson that they have been sent by the British to blow up the bridge. Crazed, Nicholson attacks Joyce, prompting Shears to scream “kill him” and swim to Joyce’s defense. As Warden bombards the bridge with mortar shells, the Japanese open fire, wounding Shears and killing Joyce. When the injured Shears dies at Nicholson’s feet, the colonel realizes his folly just as he is wounded by mortar fire and falls onto the detonator, setting off the explosives as the train approaches the bridge. As the bridge collapses, sending the train spilling into the river, Clipton surveys the scene and utters “madness.”
While traveling some 2,000 years through time and space, four astronauts crash-land on an unknown planet. After finding the female of their quartet dead, the three male survivors cross the barren wasteland of the planet until they encounter a tribe of mute sub-humans living amidst lush vegetation. They are set upon and captured by uniformed riders on horseback, who, much to the astronauts' horror, turn out to be sentient gorillas. One of the astronauts, Dodge, is killed and his body placed in the simian museum of natural history; another, Landon, is subjected to a frontal lobotomy; the third, George Taylor, who has been rendered speechless by a throat wound, is placed in a hospital cage. Taylor, although aware that he is a prisoner in a society where humans are treated as beasts, persuades the sympathetic chimpanzees, psychologist Zira and her archeologist fiancé Cornelius, that he can speak, read and write. Intrigued by the possibility that man may be the missing link in the evolution of the ape, Zira and Cornelius spare Taylor from experimental vivisection, intending to mate him with a female captive, Nova. Taylor eventually regains his power of speech and is able to communicate with the apes. Chief of state Dr. Zaius, an orangutan, is outraged by Taylor's unexpected abilities and demands that he be silenced by a lobotomy. Deeply resentful of the infringement upon their freedom of thought by the orangutans, the intellectual ruling class of the ape planet, Zira, Cornelius and their young assistant, Lucius, help Taylor and Nova escape. The group travels to the Forbidden Zone, a vast, deserted territory in which Cornelius had found human artifacts during an archaelogical dig, including a human-shaped doll that says "Mama." When they are pursued by the ape militia, led by the war-like gorillas, Taylor seizes Dr. Zaius and threatens to kill him unless he orders the soldiers to retreat. Zaius, after confessing that he has long been aware of man's reputation as "the harbinger of death," permits Taylor and Nova to continue into the Forbidden Zone, provided that they never return with evidence of their superior human culture. Some distance down the coastline, Taylor discovers the half-buried remnants of the Statue of Liberty and yells with rage as he realizes the destructive destiny of man's civilization.
Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
Directors: M. Night Shyamalan
Producer: Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Editor: Andrew Mondshein
Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Production Company: Hollywood Pictures , Spyglass Entertainment Group, LP, The Kennedy Marshall Company
Composer: James Newton Howard
Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe is shot in his home by Vincent, a deranged former patient. Sometime later, Malcolm has recuperated from the gunshot wounds but has become estranged from his wife, Anna, who resents his workaholism. He begins treating a new patient, nine-year-old Cole Sear, who claims to see the ghosts of dead people and reminds Malcolm of Vincent. While Malcolm initially believes the ghosts are hallucinations, he is eventually convinced of Cole’s ability to communicate with the dead. He encourages the boy to help the spirits with their problems. One night, Cole sees the ghost of a vomiting girl. When they discover her identity, Malcolm takes Cole to the girl’s funeral. With the aid of the girl’s ghost, Cole locates a home video and delivers it to the girl’s father. The video reveals that her mother poisoned her. With this knowledge, the father can save his younger daughter. Satisfied with his power to help ghosts and the living, Cole becomes better adjusted, and wins the lead role in a school play. As he finishes his work with Malcolm, he encourages the psychologist to talk to his wife, Anna, while she sleeps. The boy finally tells his mother, Lynn, about his interaction with ghosts. He offers proof by describing a memory of Lynn as a child, which the ghost of his grandmother once shared with him. Elsewhere, Malcolm returns home to Anna and finds her sleeping, with their wedding video playing in the background. Anna speaks in her sleep, asking why Malcolm had to leave. He sees her drop his wedding ring, then recalls being shot. Malcolm realizes his gunshot wound has not gone away, and that he is, in fact, dead. Malcolm’s ghost speaks to the sleeping Anna, promising that she was his first priority and that he loves her. This releases his spirit from the world of the living, and he vanishes.
Following a 6-year imprisonment for committing a sadistic sex crime, Max Cady arrives in a small southern town to seek revenge on the man responsible for his conviction, counselor Sam Bowden. Although Cady makes no direct threats, it is apparent that he is after Sam's wife, Peggy, and his 12-year-old daughter, Nancy. Because he has broken no law, neither Sam nor the police are able to take any legal action against him. Consequently, Sam cannot prevent Cady from poisoning the family dog, menacing Nancy when she leaves school, and whispering obscenities to Peggy over the telephone. Furthermore, Cady refuses to be bribed or bullied out of town. Desperate, Sam decides to take the law into his hands and lay a trap for Cady. After hiding his wife and daughter in a houseboat on the Cape Fear River, he leaves town. He then secretly returns, hopeful that Cady has discovered the hiding place. The ruse works, and Cady arrives on the scene late one night. Following a furious struggle in the river, Sam overpowers Cady and once more is instrumental in sending him to prison.
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
Directors: Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann
Producer: Kirk Douglas, Edward Muhl, Edward Lewis
Writer: Dalton Trumbo
Editor: Robert Lawrence
Cinematographer: Russell Metty
Genre: Epic
Production Company: Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc., Bryna Productions, Inc.
Composer: Alex North
During the last century of the Roman Republic, thousands are born enslaved to either the privileged class known as patricians or the wealthiest of the commoners, known as plebeians. One exceptionally strong slave in the rock mines of Libya, Spartacus, is regularly whipped for displaying his intelligence and pride. One day, Batiatus, who trains slaves to become gladiators, purchases Spartacus and several other slaves for his training camp in Capua. There, Batiatus announces that each man will be taught to fight to the death strategically, for the pleasure of patricians who enjoy the “sport.” Training proves as dehumanizing as the mines; each slave is branded, mercilessly instructed by head trainer Marcellus, and kept in cells. Spartacus tries to befriend Ethopian gladiator Draba, but soon learns that the men refuse to ally, knowing that they may be forced to kill each other. One night, Spartacus is presented the slave woman Varinia. Batiatus and Marcellus, knowing that Spartacus has never had a woman, watch from a grate above his cell as Varinia stoically undresses. Their laughter disgusts Spartacus, and after he refuses to mistreat the young woman, Batiatus takes her away as punishment for not acting as “a man.” Over the next weeks, Spartacus excels at gladiatorial skills and falls further in love with Varinia. Marcellus attempts to derail their attraction, but the couple manages to exchange furtive touches. One day, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a patrician in competition with the plebeian Gracchus for control of the Roman Senate, arrives at Capua along with his wife Lady Helena, sister-in-law Claudia and her fiancé, Marcus Glabrus. To celebrate the betrothal, Crassus insists that a gladiatorial match be arranged, ignoring Batiatus’ concern that forcing the slaves to fight to the death in their own camp could cause an uprising. Helena and Claudia choose four slaves, including Spartacus and Draba, to fight, and order them to be scantily clad. As the matches begin, the patricians banter happily, undisturbed by the desperation of the fighting men. Spartacus listens from the holding cell as a friend is killed, then enters into battle against Draba. Draba overcomes Spartacus, but, unwilling to kill his compatriot, instead attacks Crassus and is immediately killed by a guard. When Spartacus later hears that Crassus has bought Varinia, he can no longer control his rage, and attacks Marcellus. Emboldened, the other slaves follow suit and escape, forming an “army” that travels across the countryside, looting landowners and freeing slaves, who then join the swelling ranks. Word soon spreads to Rome of the slave rebellion, causing outrage in the senate. While Crassus is away, Gracchus cannily challenges Glabrus, now head of the Roman garrison, to lead some of the troops against the slaves, leaving Julius Caesar as temporary chief of the remaining garrison. When Crassus returns, he comprehends immediately that Gracchus plots to keep Glabrus out of Rome, leaving Crassus more vulnerable to attack. Meanwhile, Spartacus inspires his troops to form a united front that can sweep across the country and escape over the sea to their homelands. In one town, Spartacus is elated to find Varinia, who has escaped and now confesses her love. Back in Rome, while Crassus admires his new “body slave,” Antoninus, Gracchus schemes with Batiatus, who blames Crassus for Spartacus’ rebellion. Soon, Spartacus’ army settles at Mt. Vesuvius, where an escaped Antoninus impresses Spartacus, who longs for an education, with his songs. One day, Tigranes, a representative of Salician pirates, visits to offer the slaves support. Spartacus trades the army’s riches for 500 ships, to await the army on the east coast of Italy. Tigranes agrees to the trade, and when he wonders aloud why Spartacus believes he can defeat the mighty Roman garrison, the former slave replies that, unlike soldiers, his men are not afraid to die, since even death is preferable to a life in chains. Soon after, Glabrus arrives and, underestimating the intelligence of the slaves, fails to prepare his troops adequately. Spartacus is able to destroy the garrison and capture Glabrus, whom he sends back to the senate with the message that the army will not be stopped. Crassus is forced to banish Glabrus and retire in shame. Throughout the winter, Spartacus’ ever-growing group crosses the country, many dying along the way. In the spring, Spartacus is overjoyed to learn that Varinia is pregnant. Meanwhile, Gracchus convinces the senate to name Caesar as commander of the garrison and to send two legions to destroy Spartacus. When no one volunteers to lead the legions against Spartacus, Gracchus is forced to ask Crassus, who is delighted to head the campaign to "restore order" to Rome. Later, Gracchus reveals to Caesar that he has maneuvered the sale of the Salician ships to Spartacus, knowing that Spartacus’ triumph will spell defeat for Crassus. Although Spartacus celebrates upon reaching an encampment a mere twenty miles away from the Salician ships, Tigranes soon arrives, with the news that Pompey and Crassus have conspired to surround Spartacus’ army, necessitating the withdrawal of the ships. Spartacus realizes that Crassus is forcing him to attack Rome, which will allow the patrician to use all the troops at his disposal against them. Dismissing Tigranes’ offer to smuggle Spartacus and Antoninus, now his closest aide, to freedom, Spartacus instead stirs his troops to march against Rome. At the same time, the Romans elect Crassus as head consul and leader of the legions, and he vows to destroy Spartacus and restore order to the empire. The armies soon come within fighting distance of each other, and Crassus, single-minded in his fear of and hatred for Spartacus, pays Batiatus to identify the former slave on the battleground. Just before the battle, Spartacus tells Varinia that his only prayer is for his son to be born free and to learn about his father’s cause. Within hours, Crassus’ trained troops have overcome the slave army, and Crassus announces to the survivors that they will be spared crucifixion if they identify Spartacus. Spartacus stands to speak, but before he can sacrifice himself, Antoninus stands and declares, “I am Spartacus.” One by one, each slave follows suit, choosing death over betraying the man who brought him freedom. Enraged, Crassus orders them all to be crucified during a long march, lining the road to Rome with their bodies. He also finds Varinia, clutching Spartacus’ newborn son, and sends her to his estate. Along the march, Crassus recognizes Antoninus and then, upon spotting Spartacus, guesses he may be his enemy, and orders the two men be kept alive until they reach his estate. There, he banishes Gracchus to the country, intending to use him in the future for his popularity with the “rabble.” Soon after, Batiatus experiences what Gracchus terms “a bad case of dignity” and refuses to identify Spartacus, and instead plots with Gracchus to steal Varinia from the estate in order to irritate Crassus. Crassus dotes on Varinia, whose love he believes will prove his superiority over Spartacus but she vows never to stop loving Spartacus. Meanwhile, Spartacus mourns Varinia and his son, who he assumes have died. When Crassus confronts Spartacus, the slave spits in his face, spurring the dictator to order him to fight Antoninus to death, with the winner to be crucified. Spartacus and Antoninus fight valiantly, each trying to save the other from a more painful death, and Spartacus soon triumphs. After murmuring that he loved Spartacus like a father, Antoninus dies, and Spartacus proclaims that “he will come back, and he will be millions.” Crassus, fearful even in his victory, orders Spartacus crucified at the gates to Rome. Meanwhile, Batiatus brings Varinia and the boy to Gracchus, who presents them with falsified papers that will allow them freedom, then kills himself. As Varinia leaves Rome, she catches sight of Spartacus on the cross. In his last moments of life, Spartacus sees Varinia lift his son and hears her declare that the boy, now free, will never forget his father.
Production Company: Associates & Aldrich Co., Inc.
Composer: Frank De Vol
In the 1920's, 6-year-old Baby Jane Hudson becomes an enormously successful child star in vaudeville while her older sister, Blanche, is forced to remain quietly in the background. As the two reach maturity, however, Jane loses both her appeal and her talent, and Blanche develops into a beautiful and renowned film actress. Then, at the height of her career, Blanche is crippled in an automobile accident for which the alcoholic Jane is held responsible. As the years pass, the two sisters become virtual recluses in an old mansion, where the slatternly and guilt-ridden Jane cares for the helpless Blanche. When she learns Blanche is planning to sell the house and perhaps place her in a home, Jane plots a diabolical revenge. She serves her sister trays of dead rats and parakeets, tears out her phone, and keeps her a prisoner in her bedroom. She even resorts to killing their black maid, Elvira, with a hammer when the woman becomes suspicious and threatens to go to the police. Jane is also planning to make a comeback and has hired the obese pianist Edwin Flagg to accompany her. But when Edwin discovers Blanche gagged and bound to her bed, he runs hysterically from the house. Realizing he will go to the police, Jane drags Blanche into a car and drives to a nearby beach. There Blanche confesses that she had arranged the automobile accident and had intended to kill her sister to avenge herself for the years of humiliation she had spent in the shadow of Baby Jane. As the police arrive upon the scene, the now totally deranged Jane goes into her song-and-dance routine of long ago.
Production Company: Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc.
Composer: Henry Mancini
While passing through the seedy border town of Los Robles, newlyweds Mike and Susan Vargas witness a car bomb explosion in which Rudy Linnekar, a local construction magnate, and his female companion are killed. Suspecting that the bomb was planted on the Mexican side of the border and may be the work of the Grandi narcotics ring, Vargas, the Mexican head of the Pan-American Narcotics Commission, offers his assistance to the Los Robles officials investigating the case. The lead detective, the obese and lumbering Capt. Hank Quinlan, rudely rebuffs Vargas' offer and makes subtly racist remarks. However, Quinlan's partner, the loyal Sgt. Pete Menzies, and Adair, a district attorney, apologize for Quinlan's behavior and invite Vargas to observe their investigation because of his status as a highly placed Mexican government official. In the meantime, a group of young Mexican men working for "Uncle" Joe Grandi, a small-time crime boss with a bad toupee, bring Susan, an American, to Grandi's headquarters in a sleazy hotel. Grandi warns Susan of dire consequences if her husband continues his prosecution of Grandi's brother, an imprisoned drug dealer awaiting trial in Mexico, but Susan, unimpressed, insults Grandi by calling him a "lop-sided Little Caesar." While investigating the case on the Mexican side of the border, Quinlan visits the tawdry brothel run by Tana, a former lover, and the place fills him with nostalgic yearnings. Tana, who at first does not recognize him, looks upon Quinlan with pity and suggests that he "lay off the candy bars" which he has substituted for liquor since going on the wagon several years before. Upon learning of Susan's encounter with Grandi, Vargas decides that she will be safer stashed in a motel on the American side of town while he continues working on the Linnekar case. However, unknown to Vargas, the motel is owned by Grandi, managed by a disturbed night clerk, and in the middle of the desert. Quinlan soon tracks down a suspect, a Mexican shoe clerk who was having an affair with Linnekar's daughter, Marcia, and later married her in a secret ceremony. Sanchez claims he is innocent and appeals to Vargas for help, infuriating Quinlan, who demands that they stop speaking in Spanish. After a prolonged search, Quinlan declares that Menzies has found damning evidence of Sanchez's guilt concealed in a shoe box. Vargas, who had earlier seen that the box was empty, accuses Quinlan of planting dynamite in the box to frame Sanchez, but Quinlan claims that Vargas is only trying to protect his own kind and has a "natural prejudice" for Mexicans. Grandi approaches Quinlan to suggest that they work together to ruin Vargas and after Quinlan has downed several drinks at Grandi's prodding, they plot to destroy Vargas professionally and personally by framing Susan. Grandi's gang of young hoodlums, led by a sadistic woman clad in black leather, take over the motel and accost the terrified Susan, who is shot up with drugs and then transported to a room in Grandi's hotel. When Vargas meets with Police Chief Gould and District Attorney Adair to discuss his suspicions about Quinlan, the faithful Menzies doggedly tracks down his partner to inform him of the meeting and is devastated when he finds Quinlan drunk in a bar. Quinlan storms in on the meeting and, furious that Gould is not defending him, makes a show of throwing down his badge. Uncomfortable with the fact that Vargas is an outsider making accusations against a star detective, Gould and Adair placate Quinlan by telling Vargas to stay out of police business. Al Schwartz, a young assistant D.A., stands by Vargas and secretly gains him access to Quinlan's case files, which strongly suggest that Quinlan, tortured by the fact that he was unable to find enough evidence to convict the "half-breed" who strangled his wife, has been framing suspects for years. Unable to accept that his partner and best friend is crooked, Menzies attempts to defend Quinlan, blaming Vargas for Quinlan's binge after years of sobriety. Unable to reach Susan by phone, Vargas finally makes it to the motel to find the night clerk sitting in the dark and seemingly speechless with fear. To Vargas' horror, all that remains in Susan's room are the stench of marijuana smoke and the debris of a wild party. Meanwhile, Quinlan arrives at Grandi's hotel and enters the room where Susan lies naked and unconscious, the smell of marijuana clinging to the clothing strewn about the floor. After forcing Grandi at gunpoint to telephone Menzies to report that he has found Vargas' wife surrounded by evidence of a drug party, Quinlan, who wants to ensure that he will not be a victim of blackmail, strangles Grandi with one of Susan's stockings. Soon after, Vargas, who has launched a desperate search for his wife, learns that Susan has been jailed on suspicion of drug use, prostitution and the murder of Grandi. Knowing that Quinlan is behind the frame-up and feeling helpless to stop him, Vargas explodes with rage, but Menzies takes him aside and reveals that he found Quinlan's cane at the murder scene. Although he is devastated by the fall of his idol, Menzies agrees to help Vargas amass more incontrovertible evidence of Quinlan's criminal activities and consents to being wired in the hopes that Quinlan will confess to his trusted partner. Quinlan, still on a binge, has holed up at Tana's place where, in a drunken haze, he asks her to read his fortune. Tana, however, sadly declares that his future is "all used up" and advises him to go home. As he reels out the door, Quinlan is confronted by Menzies, who begins asking questions about the Grandi murder while, nearby, Vargas records the conversation. As they walk toward a bridge spanning a murky canal, Menzies accuses Quinlan of betraying his loyalty by setting him up as the stooge who always found the planted evidence. The argument is interrupted when Quinlan hears the sound of their voices on Vargas' tape and finally realizes that Menzies is wired. When Menzies tries to stop Quinlan from harming Vargas, who is clinging to the side of the bridge, Quinlan shoots him and then, in shock at what he has done, stumbles down to the canal to wash the blood from his hands. Vargas confronts Quinlan with the evidence he now has on tape, and Quinlan prepares to kill him so that he can pin the Menzies murder on him. However, Menzies, on the brink of death, manages to crawl to the edge of the bridge and shoot Quinlan. Schwartz arrives with Susan, who has been released from jail, and Vargas departs to take her home to Mexico City, knowing that he is leaving behind enough evidence to prove that Quinlan framed Susan, Sanchez and many others. Ironically, however, Sanchez has ended up confessing to the murder of Rudy Linnekar. Tana arrives at the edge of the canal and gazing with Schwartz at Quinlan's large frame floating in the black water, she sadly remarks that Quinlan was "some kind of man."
Cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson
Directors: Robert Aldrich
Producer: Kenneth Hyman
Writer: Nunnally Johnson, Lukas Heller
Editor: Michael Luciano
Cinematographer: Edward Scaife
Genre: Drama
Production Company: M. K. H. Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Composer: Frank De Vol
A few months before D-Day, Major Reisman, a U. S. Army officer stationed in England, is given the task of training 12 convicted GI's--murderers, rapists, thieves--for the suicidal mission of parachuting into Nazi-occupied France and blowing up a chateau housing top-ranking German officers. Although the 12 men agree to undertake the assignment in the hope of being granted pardons, their initial reaction to Reisman is one of indifference and contempt. But with Sergeant Bowren's aid, Reisman goads, browbeats, and drives the men until he earns a small measure of respect from each of them. And by standing up for his squad against the opposition of two superior officers, Colonel Breed and General Denton, Reisman eventually succeeds in forging his band of misfits into a fighting unit. To prove the worth of "The Dirty Dozen," a nickname the men acquired when they were deprived of soap and water, Reisman gains permission from General Worden to allow the men to participate in war game maneuvers. After making a fool of the pompous Colonel Breed by capturing his entire staff, the men are given the go-ahead for the dangerous mission. Once parachuted into France, they make their way to the chateau and, by various ruses and surprise attacks, gain entry. Everything goes as planned until one of the Dozen, a Bible-spouting sex degenerate, Archer Maggott, goes berserk and betrays his colleagues. He is shot down, however, as the chateau is turned into a battleground of rapid machine-gun fire and exploding grenades. The savage in-fighting ends only when gasoline-soaked grenades are thrown down ventilator shafts, blowing the chateau to bits. Only three of the 12 men--Wladislaw, Posey, and Sawyer--are still alive when it is over. Both Reisman and Sergeant Bowren are present when General Worden reveals that the ex-criminals who gave their lives are now listed as soldiers who died honorably in the line of duty.
Sometime in the future, computer programmer Thomas Anderson operates as a “hacker,” under the alias “Neo.” Through his work with computers, he comes across an unknown concept, referred to as “The Matrix,” that piques his curiosity. One day, he is contacted by a woman named Trinity, whose cohort, Morpheus, wants to share information with him. Soon, a group of Agents in suits take Neo into custody, and insist on his help in apprehending Morpheus, whom they have deemed a terrorist. When Anderson meets up with him, Morpheus offers him a red pill that will reveal to him the meaning of the Matrix, or a blue pill that will send him back to his regular life. Anderson takes the red pill, and wakes up as Neo in an another world, in which he and other humans are held captive in liquid pods, hooked up to a power grid. Neo is saved from his pod and taken aboard Morpheus’s hovercraft, the Nebuchadnezzar, where he learns the truth about the Matrix. Following a twenty-first-century war between humans and artificial intelligence, machines conquered humans and began using their bodies as a source of power, by hooking them up to an electrical system to sap their energy. Meanwhile, the captive humans’ brains were tricked into believing life was back to normal, via the Matrix, a virtual reality program that presents a simulation of late-twentieth-century human existence. Morpheus operates out of Zion, the only city in the real world inhabited by free humans. By hacking into the Matrix, he has been able to recruit people like Neo, who can use their knowledge of the Matrix to manipulate it, gain superhuman abilities like the power of flight, and, ultimately, overpower the machines. However, if they are killed within the Matrix, their human bodies are put to death by machines called Sentinels. The Agents who apprehended Neo earlier have to be evaded, as they constantly police the Matrix for aberrations. Morpheus oversees Neo’s training, and based on his combat skills, determines that he is “the One” who will save the human race. They go to see “the Oracle,” a seer who indicates Neo is not the One, and that, in the fight against the Machines, he will have to sacrifice either Morpheus’s life or his own. One of Morpheus’s men, Cypher, resents the struggle and wants to go back to living in the Matrix. He tips off the Agents, who descend on Morpheus’s group. Morpheus offers himself as prisoner while the others flee. Back in the real world, Cypher attacks and kills several crew members, but a fighter named Tank kills him before he can attack Neo. Inside the Matrix, Morpheus is interrogated by the Agents, who want access to Zion’s mainframe computer system. Neo is determined to save Morpheus by giving his own life. He re-enters the Matrix with Trinity, and Morpheus manages to escape with Trinity while Neo is killed in combat by the Agents’ leader, Smith. Back on the Nebuchadnezzar, which is under attack by Sentinels, Trinity hovers over Neo’s body, which has not yet been extinguished by a Sentinel. She reveals her love for him, and says that the Oracle told her she would fall in love with the One. Trinity brings him back to life with a kiss. Newly fortified, and having learned his own power to manipulate the Matrix, Neo overpowers Smith and frees himself from the Matrix just as the Sentinels are incapacitated by a pulse sent out across the Nebuchadnezzar. Sometime later, back in the Matrix, Neo calls to alert the machines of his plan to free the human race. Afterward, he takes flight.
In 1925, in Tampico, Mexico, down-and-out Fred C. Dobbs is hired to work in an oil field, where he meets another American named Curtin. After the job is finished, Dobbs and Curtin head for a flophouse for the night. There, Howard, an old prospector, talks about men who succumbed to gold fever and lost everything, and Dobbs swears that would never happen to him. Having learned that Pat McCormick, the man who hired them, has a reputation for defaulting on the money he owes his men, Dobbs and Curtin demand that he pay them immediately. McCormick puts up a fight, but Dobbs and Curtin overpower him and take their money. They then ask Howard to help them prospect for gold. Using their pay and the money from Dobbs's winning lottery ticket, the three men head toward the Sierra Madre mountains. When their train is attacked by bandits, the Americans help fight them off, but a sudden motion of the train prevents Dobbs from killing their leader, Gold Hat. Later, in a small village, the men buy burros and supplies and head for undiscovered territory. Just as the exhausted Dobbs and Curtin decide to quit, Howard informs them that they have located a rich lode of gold. After a while, Dobbs begins to suspect the others of cheating him and suggests that they divide up the gold as they go along. Just as Howard had warned, the men become suspicious of each other. When Dobbs is caught in a cave-in, Curtin briefly considers leaving him to die, in order to get a larger share of the treasure. One day, when Curtin goes into the valley for supplies, he encounters Cody, a Texan, who questions him closely about the territory because he is sure that there is gold in the surrounding mountains. Although Curtin lies about his business, Cody follows him to the camp site and suggests that they make him a partner. Secretly, the others decide to kill Cody, but before they can take action, the camp is attacked by bandits, led by Gold Hat. Although the bandits are scared off by the appearance of federal soldiers, Cody is killed in the crossfire. The gold streak thins out and the men leave the camp. When Curtin suggests that they give a fourth of their gold to Cody's widow, Howard agrees, but Dobbs greedily refuses. Later, Howard helps revive an Indian child after he falls in the water and is forced to visit their village to allow them to repay their debt to him. Dobbs and Curtin continue on to Durango and, while in the desert, Dobbs, who has become obsessed with the gold, urges Curtin to steal Howard's share. When Curtin refuses, Dobbs accuses him of conspiring with Howard to get rid of him. Fearing for his life, Curtin tries to stay awake all night, but when he finally falls asleep, Dobbs shoots him and leaves him for dead. Curtin manages to crawl away and is found by Indians and brought to the village where Howard is being honored. When Howard learns what transpired, he and Curtin ride after Dobbs. Meanwhile, Dobbs is attacked by Gold Hat's bandits, who kill him and steal his boots and burros. They do not recognize the dust as gold-laden and, assuming that it is sand used to make the hides that cover it weigh more, dump it in the desert. In Durango, the bandits are captured when they try to sell the burros and are shot. Howard and Curtin are later taken to the place where Dobbs was murdered and, as they search for whatever remains of the gold, a storm blows the dust back toward the Sierra Madre mountains. Laughing at the irony of their situation, Howard decides to return to the Indians and spend the rest of his life as their medicine man, while Curtin plans to go to Dallas and visit Cody's widow.
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis
Directors: John Carpenter
Producer: Debra Hill, Irwin Yablans
Writer: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Editor: Tommy Wallace, Charles Bornstein
Cinematographer: Dean Cundey
Genre: Horror
Production Company: Falcon International Productions
Composer: John Carpenter
On Halloween night, 1963, in Haddonfield, Illinois, six-year-old Michael Myers stabs his teen sister, Judith, to death with an over-sized butcher's knife just after she has sex with her boyfriend. On 30 October 1978, in Smith's Grove, Illinois, Michael's long-time psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, and an accompanying nurse drive to the maximum-security sanitarium where Michael, now twenty-three years old, is committed. Although they must, in accordance with the law, take Michael to court for a judge to evaluate his mental state, Loomis believes Michael is pure evil and admits he hopes "it" never gets out. As the car approaches the sanitarium grounds, Loomis and the nurse realize something is wrong: the patients are loose. When Loomis gets out of the car to open the front gate, Michael shatters the car window and takes off in the vehicle. On Halloween day, Haddonfield teen Laurie Strode heads off to school. She drops off a key at the vacant Myers house at the request of her realtor father and in spite of warnings from Tommy Doyle, the young boy Laurie frequently babysits, that the house is haunted. Laurie is unaware that Michael is inside, watching her. Later, in class, she spots Michael watching her from the street outside. This continues throughout the day, as he trails her and her friends around town, always vanishing quickly after he is spotted. When the elementary school lets out, three boys taunt little Tommy, teasing him that the Boogeyman is coming for him that night. As the boys chant this, an unnoticed Michael lingers in the distance, watching Tommy as he leaves for home. Back in Smith's Grove, Loomis, unconvinced that the sanitarium officials understand the threat Michael poses, sets out to recapture him personally. Guessing that Michael will go to Haddonfield, Loomis phones the Haddonfield police to warn of Michael's homecoming. On his way to Haddonfield, Loomis discovers an abandoned pickup truck containing Michael's discarded patient's robes and the "Rabbit in Red" matchbook the nurse was using the night before. He does not, however, notice the stripped body of the driver discarded in the brush. Later that afternoon, Laurie and her friend, Annie Brackett, carpool to their babysitting jobs. Laurie is watching Tommy for the night, while Annie is babysitting his neighbor Lindsey Wallace. En route, the two smoke a joint and chat casually about boys, unaware that Michael is trailing them in the stolen station wagon. They run into Annie's father, Sheriff Brackett, who is responding to a robbery at a hardware store. He tells the girls that children were responsible for the break-in, because only a Halloween mask, rope, and knives were stolen. Loomis, having just discovered that Judith Myers's tombstone is missing, arrives at the scene to ask the sheriff for his assistance in apprehending Michael. As the girls drive off, Loomis does not notice his stolen car pulling away in pursuit. It is night by the time Laurie and Annie arrive at their destinations. The trailing Michael parks and watches each girl but ultimately follows Annie. Loomis and Brackett visit the Myers house in search of clues. Inside it they find the fresh carcass of a slaughtered dog, proof for Loomis that Michael is near. Upstairs, in Judith's former bedroom Loomis recounts her murder. However, he is interrupted when a rain gutter crashes through a nearby window. Startled, Loomis draws a concealed pistol. He admits to Brackett that he is scared, and recalls his first meeting with Michael fifteen years before, describing the boy as empty, devoid of reason, conscience, or understanding, a six-year-old with "the blackest eyes, the devil's eyes." Truly, he believes Michael is evil. Across the street from one another Laurie and Annie talk on the phone, while Michael, donning a ghostly white mask, creeps outside the Wallace house. Though Lester, the Wallace's family dog, senses Michael's presence, Annie, annoyed at the dog's barking, fails to heed his warning. Eventually Michael crushes the dog, permanently silencing the pet. From his house, Tommy spots Michael and runs to tell Laurie that the Boogeyman is outside, but Michael has vanished by the time she looks. When Tommy again mentions his concern about the Boogeyman, Laurie consoles the child, by promising that she will protect him. At Lindsey's house, Michael watches as Annie spills butter on herself and goes to the outside laundry room to wash her clothes. While in the laundry room, Annie is accidentally locked in, and, though danger looms just outside, she is unaware and more concerned with an expected phone call from her boyfriend, Paul. When Paul finally calls, Annie is stuck in the laundry room's obstructed window, after she unsuccessfully attempts to squeeze through it. With Lindsey's help, Annie eventually works her way free and arranges a night of sexual escapades with Paul. Annie then convinces Laurie to watch Lindsey, so she can pick up Paul. However, Michael chokes Annie and eventually slits her throat in her car before she can leave. Tommy sees Michael once again, this time carrying Annie's corpse into Lindsey's house. Again, he screams out to Laurie that the Boogeyman is outside, but, as before, she does not believe him. Laurie's friend, Lynda, and her boyfriend, Bob, arrive drunk at the Wallace house intent on using it as a love nest. Finding no one home, the two make out on the couch while an unseen Michael watches from the hallway. Upon learning from Laurie that Lindsey is out for the night, Lynda and Bob move their escapades upstairs. After they have sex, Bob leaves Lynda to retrieve beers from the downstairs fridge. Michael kills Bob in the kitchen, pinning him to the wall with a knife. Then Michael dons a sheet and Bob's glasses and returns to Lynda. When Lynda quickly becomes annoyed at "Bob's" silence, she calls Laurie. However, before she can speak, Michael strangles Lynda with the telephone cord. Laurie hears only "squealing" on the end of the line and assumes Annie is playing a prank, though she becomes increasingly concerned. Noticing lights on at Lindsey's house, Laurie heads over to see if Annie is okay. Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis, having spent the night casing the Myers house, discovers his stolen car down the street. Lindsey's house is dark when Laurie arrives, except for the upstairs bedroom that is illuminated by a jack-o-lantern. When Laurie opens the bedroom door, she discovers Lynda's corpse arranged on the bed, below Judith Myers's stolen tombstone. Terrified, Laurie cowers back, into the closet, where Bob's corpse swings down onto her. She screams and retreats to another part of the room where she discovers Annie bloodied and dead. Laurie stumbles out of the room and into the hallway where a waiting Michael slashes her in the arm with a knife. The shock sends Laurie over the banister and onto the stairs below. Injured, but mobile, she escapes out the back door, screaming out for help. She retreats to Tommy's house pursued by Michael. Once inside, she locks the door and tells Tommy to lock Lindsey and himself upstairs. In the house, Laurie finds the phone line dead and a window ajar. She cowers by the couch clutching a large knitting needle for protection. With knife in hand, Michael rears from behind the couch, but the desperate Laurie stabs him in the neck with the needle. Michael lays limp on the floor as Laurie grips his dropped knife. Outside, Loomis, having informed Brackett about the finding of his car, scours the neighborhood for any sign of Michael. Convinced that she has disabled Michael, Laurie retrieves Tommy and Lindsey, but before they can leave the house Michael rises. Spotting Michael ascending the stairs, Laurie locks the children in an upstairs bathroom while she escapes into a bedroom closet. Inside the closet, she rigs its doors shut, forcing Michael to break through it. As he smashes his way into to the closet, Laurie fashions a clothes hanger into a weapon and jabs Michael through the eye. Injured, Michael again drops the knife, which Laurie uses to stab him. Once more Michael crumbles to the floor motionless. Laurie leaves the closet, drops the knife, and gathers the children, whom she sends across the street for help. A wounded Laurie shrinks to the floor with her back to Michael. Silently, Michael sits up, and, as Laurie stands to leave, he again lunges at her. The two struggle briefly in the hallway before Loomis rushes up the stairs and shoots Michael. The force of the bullets sends Michael crashing through the upstairs window, falling to the lawn below where he lays lifeless. A tearful Laurie declares that Michael is the Boogeyman, and Loomis agrees. Still wary, Loomis surveys the lawn for Michael's body, but it is gone.
Cast: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan [1909-1973]
Directors: Sam Peckinpah
Producer: Phil Feldman
Writer: Walon Green, Sam Peckinpah, Walon Green, Roy N. Sickner
Editor: Louis Lombardo
Cinematographer: Lucien Ballard
Genre: Western
Production Company: Phil Feldman Productions, Inc., Warner Bros.--Seven Arts, Inc.
Composer: Jerry Fielding
By 1913, the outlaw gangs of the Old West are rapidly disappearing. Under the leadership of aging Pike Bishop, one such gang rides into San Rafael, Texas, to rob the local railway office. Though dressed in U.S. Cavalry uniforms, Bishop and his men--Dutch Engstrom, brothers Lyle and Tector Gorch, and a young Mexican, Angel--are ambushed by bounty hunters led by ex-convict Deke Thornton, a former member of Bishop's gang who must pursue his old friend or return to prison. When a group of temperance marchers are caught in the crossfire, the ambush turns into a massacre that ends when Bishop's men escape into Mexico and the bounty hunters stop to loot the corpses. At a rendezvous in Mexico with Sykes, an old, broken-down gunslinger, the gang discovers that the stolen railway bags contain iron washers instead of money. Accepting their bad luck, they ride to Angel's home village, where they learn that the bandit general Mapache, a sadistic opponent of Pancho Villa, has killed Angel's father and ridden off with the youth's sweetheart, Teresa. Though Angel kills Teresa in public when he finds her with the general, Bishop intervenes on behalf of the boy and makes a deal with Mapache whereby Bishop's gang will rob an army munitions train and sell its load of rifles to the bandits for $10,000. In spite of the presence of Thornton's bounty hunters on the train, Bishop's gang hijacks the vehicle and escapes with the army rifles. Angel, who has given a carton of munitions to the people of his village, is seized and held prisoner by the bandits. Because loyalty to one another is all that remains, the "wild bunch" demands Angel's release; but when the demand is made during a drunken celebration, Mapache slashes the boy's throat. Bishop kills the bandit chief in retaliation, thereby setting off a slaughter in which the entire gang, as well as hundreds of Mexicans, are killed. Thornton and his bounty hunters arrive to collect the bodies of the ransomed outlaws; but when all except Thornton ride out of town, they are shot down by Sykes and the peasants from Angel's village. As the Mexicans tie the sacks of gold to their horses, Sykes and the weary Thornton decide to become a team.
Production Company: Arts Entertainment Complex Production
On an August 1972 afternoon in Brooklyn, New York, three young men, Sonny, Sal and Stevie, enter the First Brooklyn Savings Bank near closing time. Inside, Sal sits at the desk of manager Mr. Mulvaney and pulls out a machine gun from his briefcase. After a panicked Stevie leaves, Sonny takes a rifle from a flower box and warns Mulvaney and the tellers that he will shoot anyone who triggers an alarm. Sonny then closes the window drapes and spray paints over the lenses of the security cameras then orders Mulvaney to open the vault. Cautioning Mulvaney and the others that he knows all of the security measures as he has worked at a bank, Sonny sends a teller, Miriam, with Mulvaney into the vault to fill plastic bags with money. Although she complies, Miriam begins crying and admits there is only a little over a thousand dollars in the vault as the rest of the money had been picked up earlier that day. Dismayed, Sonny instructs head teller, Sylvia, to empty the tills, reminding her that he knows that one slot of each drawer is rigged to set off a silent alarm. While allowing Mulvaney to answer the ringing telephone, Sonny rejects a pile of marked money and when, in mounting agitation, he swears, Sylvia asks him to watch his language. After setting fire to the bank register, Sonny demands the building keys from the elderly guard, Howard, who is paralyzed with fear. Meanwhile, Sal notices a man across the street staring intently at the bank and the robbers realize the smoke from the burning register is visible. When Howard remains too terrified to act, Mulvaney calmly unlocks the door and reassures the business neighbor that a cigarette caused the smoke. Sonny then orders Mulvaney and the tellers into the vault, but one woman insists they will suffocate and Sylvia pleads to use the bathroom. Exasperated, Sonny inspects the restroom where he surprises teller Maria Sandora who has been changing clothes and is completely unaware of the hold-up. While Mulvaney answers another phone call, Sonny herds the tellers into the vault, then is startled when Mulvaney informs him the call is for him. On the phone, Sonny is addressed by Detective Sgt. Moretti who is in the barber shop across the street. As Sonny and Sal watch in disbelief, the bank is surrounded by wailing police cars and a growing crowd of curious onlookers. Sonny hangs up on Moretti and asks Mulvaney why he reported the robbery when no one had been hurt. The phone rings and Sonny barks a threat into the receiver only to discover the call is for Jenny, another teller, from her husband. When Moretti telephones again, Sonny informs him that he and Sal are Vietnam veterans and know how to kill. Despite Sonny’s subsequent assurances to the hostages that they will be fine if they obey, Howard suddenly collapses and Sylvia explains that the older man has severe asthma. Incredulous that a bank would hire an infirm guard, Sonny leaves Howard to the tellers’ ministrations while he and Mulvaney block off the bank’s back entrance with a large piece of furniture. Outside, FBI agent Sheldon arrives and is displeased by the large number of police whom Moretti admits he hoped would scare the robbers into surrendering. Sheldon watches silently as Moretti waves away reporters while, overhead, television crews in helicopters photograph the mob of police and spectators. As Sonny frets about his next step, Moretti telephones and encourages him to let one hostage go as a sign of good will. Deciding to release the ailing Howard, Sonny and Sylvia help the elderly man through the front door, but the guard is terrified when numerous police leap forward with guns drawn, unsure if he is a hostage or criminal. Alarmed, Moretti, bids the anxious policemen to holster their weapons, then, demonstrating that he is unarmed, pleads with Sonny to come out to the street to see the hopelessness of his situation. Reminding Moretti that Sal is inside holding a gun on the remaining hostages, Sonny, carrying a white handkerchief, steps outside and observes that the forces surrounding the bank resemble a militia. When Moretti presses Sonny to surrender, suggesting that he will only be charged with robbery, Sonny angrily tells the detective that he knows that armed robbery is a federal offense. Demanding someone “better” with whom to negotiate, Sonny turns to the crowd and begins yelling “Attica,” referring to the recent New York prison riot and hostage situation brutally squelched by police that resulted in the death of inmates and hostages alike. Excited by the exhibition, the crowd chants along and cheers Sonny, infuriating Moretti. As Sonny returns to the bank, Sylvia, who has remained in the doorway to speak with a reporter on a fire escape nearby, refuses Moretti’s attempt to pull her outside, explaining that she is obliged to return to her fellow tellers. Back in the bank as Sylvia excitedly relates her interview with the reporter, Sonny takes a call from a television reporter. Turning on Mulvaney’s small TV set, Sonny sees himself photographed through the bank’s glass doors. Admitting that he is committing the robbery because he cannot support his wife and two children, Sonny then grows angry with the reporter and swears, prompting the live broadcast to abruptly cut off. Sonny then tells Sal privately that he believes the police will make a deal with them because of the excessive publicity, but Sal disagrees and reminds him that they vowed to make a clean getaway or commit suicide. A little later, Sonny is taken aback when an anonymous caller urges him to kill everyone. After reflecting on their situation, Sonny tells Sal they can demand a helicopter to take them to an airport where they can flee the country, but Sal remains unconvinced. Insisting that holding the hostages gives them bargaining power, Sonny encourages Sal to choose any country in the world to go and Sal suggests Wyoming. Returning outside to present their demands to Moretti, Sonny playfully stirs up the crowd again, but is abruptly tackled by a man who beats him. After the police pull the man away, Moretti tells the stunned Sonny that the man is the boyfriend of one of the hostages. Although shaken, Sonny requests a helicopter and jet plane and also asks to see his wife. Back inside the bank, the air grows stuffy after Moretti orders the air conditioning disabled. Going to the back of the building in an effort to restart the cool air, Sonny sees the figures of numerous police through a small window and, panicked, shoots his rifle at the window, terrifying the tellers. The shot results in mayhem outside and Moretti anxiously calls to Sonny on a bullhorn demanding to know why he fired. Drained and anxious, Sonny goes outside where the eager onlookers have begun mimicking Moretti calling for Sonny. Moretti informs Sonny that he cannot bring a helicopter into the narrow street, but has arranged for a bus or limousine. Sonny asks for pizza and aspirin for the tense hostages, then later pays the delighted delivery boy with hundreds of the marked bills, before flinging more bills to the excited crowd. As the stifling afternoon drags on, the tellers pass the time chatting quietly and Sonny shows one woman how to perform a military rifle drill. When Sylvia smokes a cigarette out of nervous anxiety, Sal expresses his disgust with smoking, claiming that the body is “a temple.” Amazed, Sylvia mocks him for being a “temple” while robbing a bank, but Sal dismisses her as “weak.” Later, a disheveled young man in a hospital robe, Leon Shermer, steps out of a police car and a stunned Moretti telephones Sonny to inform him that his wife has arrived. Overwhelmed by the police and gaping crowds, Leon faints as word spreads through the police ranks that Sonny is a “fag.” After Leon revives in the barber shop, he tells Moretti of his difficult relationship with Sonny, which included a church wedding. Leon reveals that upon learning from a psychiatrist that Leon is a woman in a man’s body, Sonny has been obsessed with providing him the money to get a sex-change operation. Admitting that stress has provoked him to attempt suicide, Leon dismisses Moretti’s intimation that he could be held as an accessory to the robbery, then breaks into tears and refuses to speak to Sonny. Reporters quickly confirm Leon’s story and, in the bank, Sal grows alarmed when a television newsman describes the robbery as conducted by two homosexuals and urges Sonny to correct the error. At dusk, the lights inside the bank are turned off and when Sonny goes outside responding to Moretti’s summons, he finds himself facing Sheldon. The federal agent informs Sonny that he has taken over and will put an end to the circus atmosphere, then insists on going into the bank to verify the condition of the hostages. Inside, Sheldon notes Sal’s grim demeanor and assures the hostages that their freedom is imminent. Upon departing, Sheldon assures Sonny that they will “take care” of Sal, but Sonny furiously counters that he will never sell out his friend. Moments later, Mulvaney unexpectedly collapses and Sylvia reveals that he is a diabetic. An ambulance physician is sent into the bank to tend to him while Sheldon then informs Sonny that Leon will now speak with him on the phone. After an awkward conversation and despite Sonny’s declarations, Leon evades any personal promises, pleading with Sonny to confirm that he had no knowledge of the heist. Afterward, Sonny asks Sheldon to speak to his other wife, Angie, and their two children. When Angie is put through on the phone, however, she proves so distraught that she will not listen to Sonny, who hangs up in frustration. When Sonny suggests that the recovering Mulvaney depart with the doctor, the manager curses him and tells him not to pretend that he is a good person. Disturbed when his mother arrives and beseeches him to surrender, Sonny instead dictates his last will and testament to Sylvia, leaving insurance money for Leon to have his operation. When a limousine arrives, Sonny inspects the vehicle carefully and refuses Sheldon’s appointing another agent as driver, choosing instead the easy-going African American who delivered the car. When Sheldon agrees too readily, however, Sonny surmises correctly that the delivery driver is a police plant and accepts the agent. Gathering the hostages around them for cover, Sonny and Sal shuffle to the car and enter safely and, amid hoots and jeers from the crowd, depart for the airport. Once at the airport on the tarmac, Sheldon points out their jet to Sonny and asks for another hostage release. Sonny tells Sylvia to go, but she has a younger, volatile teller leave instead. At a secret verbal cue from Sheldon, who is standing by the passenger window, the driver secretly pulls a pistol and asks Sal to point his gun upwards so it will not discharge by accident while the others exit the car. As Sal complies, Sheldon reaches into the car and grabs Sonny’s rifle barrel as the driver turns and, firing between two hostages, shoots Sal in the head. The shocked hostages are quickly taken from the car as a stunned Sonny is handcuffed and placed under arrest.
Production Company: Danjaq, S. A., Eon Productions, Ltd.
Composer: John Barry
Auric Goldfinger, one of the wealthiest and most evil men in the world, is suspected of depleting England's gold reserve through smuggling. Secret agent James Bond is assigned to investigate the matter. He meets Goldfinger at a Miami hotel and learns Goldfinger's method of cheating in high stake card games. Jill, the smuggler's secretary, views the other players' hands through a telescope and relays the information to her boss through his hearing aid. When Jill becomes attracted to Bond, Goldfinger murders her by coating her body with heavy gold paint. Bond then trails Goldfinger's Rolls Royce across Europe to his Alpine headquarters. Tilly Masterson, Jill's sister, is also trailing Goldfinger, but she is killed by Goldfinger's mute Asian servant, Oddjob. Bond learns that the Rolls Royce is solid gold and provides the means for smuggling, but he is captured and flown to Goldfinger's Kentucky headquarters by Pussy Galore, Goldfinger's beautiful pilot. Bond learns that Goldfinger is planning to rob Fort Knox by paralyzing the defense forces with gas sprayed from the planes of Pussy's flying circus, and then blowing up the fort with an atomic bomb borrowed from Communist China. Goldfinger proceeds with the plan, and Bond is handcuffed to the bomb; but, unknown to Goldfinger, Pussy, who has succumbed to Bond's charm, changes sides, and warns Washington. The plot is thwarted, and Bond manages to free himself from the bomb only seconds before detonation and then escapes attack from the razor-brimmed hat of Oddjob. Later, as Bond is being flown to meet the President, with Pussy aboard the Air Force jet, he is confronted by Goldfinger disguised as a U.S. general. During a fight, Goldfinger is killed when he is sucked out of the plane window; Bond and Pussy parachute to safety.
Producer: Arnold Kopelson, John Daly, Derek Gibson
Writer: Oliver Stone
Editor: Claire Simpson
Cinematographer: Robert Richardson
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Hemdale Film Corporation
Composer: Georges Delerue
In September of 1967, Chris Taylor enters the Vietnam War after dropping out of college. He joins an infantry stationed near the Cambodian border, and struggles to acclimate to the physical demands of soldiering in the jungle. When Taylor vomits on a patrol after seeing the corpse of a Vietnamese soldier, Sergeant Bob Barnes reprimands him, but Sergeant Elias later comes to his aid and lightens the load in his pack. In a letter to his grandmother, Taylor describes his duties, including walking all day, digging foxholes in the evening, and going on all-night ambushes, and worries that he has made a mistake by volunteering for the war. One afternoon, Barnes orders Elias to lead his men on a night patrol, but Elias argues that it is Sergeant O’Neill’s turn. Lieutenant Wolfe, the platoon commander, believes he should be the one giving orders and confronts Barnes, who agrees begrudgingly. In the jungle late at night, Taylor wakes up fellow soldier, Junior, when it is his turn to stand watch; however, Junior quickly falls back asleep, and Taylor later wakes to find soldiers from the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) circling their camp. A firefight ensues, and Taylor is grazed by a bullet while another new recruit, Gardner, is killed. After Taylor returns from a short hospital stay, King, a fellow soldier, invites him to party with Elias and a group of soldiers called “hopheads,” who use drugs, listen to rock n’ roll music, and dance together in their bunker. While Taylor bonds with Elias’s crew, a more aggressive group of soldiers drinks beer and listens to country music while Barnes and O’Neill play poker in their bunker. On New Year’s Day, 1968, the platoon patrols the jungle and comes across a bunker recently abandoned by the NVA. Two men are killed by an explosive booby trap, while another soldier, Manny, goes missing. After the platoon finds Manny’s mutilated body tied to a tree by the river, Wolfe receives orders for the platoon to search a nearby village where Vietnamese soldiers may be hiding. The platoon rounds up villagers, mostly women and children. When Taylor finds an old woman and a mentally handicapped, one-legged man inside a hut, he shoots at the man’s foot, forcing him to hop around. As Taylor walks away, Bunny, one of Barnes’ men, laughs and continues the abuse, brutally bludgeoning the handicapped man until he dies. Outside, Barnes interrogates the village chief, who says the villagers were forced to stash weapons but he doesn’t know when the army will be back. The village chief’s wife demands to know why Barnes’s men killed their livestock, and Lerner, a soldier who speaks Vietnamese, translates, but Barnes becomes agitated and shoots her in the head. He then holds the village chief’s daughter at gunpoint, demanding more information; however, Elias arrives and hits Barnes with the butt of his rifle, ordering him to stop. The sergeants fight, but Wolfe interferes. Elias demands to know why Wolfe allowed Barnes to shoot the woman, but Wolfe feigns ignorance. In the bushes nearby, Taylor comes across a group of soldiers, including Bunny and Junior, who watch while their companion, Morehouse, rapes a young Vietnamese girl. Taylor pulls Morehouse off the girl and yells at the group, calling them animals. His comrades ridicule him, and Bunny calls Taylor “a homosexual” for interrupting. On Wolfe’s orders, the platoon sets fire to the village and leaves. Later that day, Elias informs Captain Harris that Barnes shot the village chief’s wife. Harris orders Elias and Barnes to make a report when they return to base camp, and promises there will be a court-martial if he finds that Barnes’s actions were illegal. That night Elias tells Taylor that he no longer believes the United States can win the war. On the platoon's next patrol, they are ambushed by NVA soldiers. Elias devises a plan to strike the NVA from behind, and takes four soldiers, including Taylor and Rhah, with him as he sets off to another location. Meanwhile, Wolfe provides the wrong coordinates for an air strike, and many of his men are killed. After he reprimands Wolfe, Barnes takes charge and orders everyone to retreat to helicopters. Barnes then searches for Elias’s group. When he finds Elias separated from the others, Barnes shoots him down. Moments later, Barnes runs into Taylor and tells him that Elias was killed in action. Though Taylor wants to find Elias, Barnes orders him to escape in the helicopters. As the surviving soldiers are flown out of the area, they spot Elias on the ground below, running from a group of NVA soldiers. As Elias is shot several more times and falls to the ground, Taylor glares at Barnes, realizing his previous report of Elias's death was a lie. Back at the base, Barnes hears Taylor secretly urging the other soldiers to kill their sergeant, but no one moves when Barnes dares them to try. Taylor attacks Barnes, but the sergeant overpowers him and holds a knife to his face. Although Rhah urges Barnes to back off, Barnes makes a cut under Taylor’s eye before leaving. Wolfe commands Rhah to head Elias’s squad, but Rhah argues that the squad has only six people remaining. O’Neill, who has reservations about the platoon’s upcoming mission, asks Barnes if he can take his rest and recuperation leave early, but Barnes rejects the request, claiming that everybody must die sometime. That night, Taylor and his companion, Francis, watch from a foxhole as NVA soldiers invade their camp. Though they are outnumbered, Francis and Taylor gun down several soldiers and escape the foxhole just before it is hit by a grenade. Taylor runs through the camp, on a killing spree, shooting one soldier after another. Meanwhile, Harris orders the Air Force to “expend all remaining” within the surrounding perimeter. Barnes and Taylor cross paths on the battlefield, and though Barnes attempts to kill Taylor with a shovel, the two are knocked out by an air strike. Taylor wakes up the next day, surrounded by corpses. He sees Barnes crawling through the jungle, severely injured, and shoots him dead. A search crew later finds Taylor sitting on a log, holding a grenade. Francis emerges from a foxhole and stabs himself with a bayonet in order to be taken away as a casualty. O’Neill emerges from his hiding place under the body of a dead NVA soldier. To O’Neill’s dismay, Harris gives him control over the platoon when gets back to camp. Francis informs Taylor that they get to go home since they've been wounded twice. As Taylor is lifted away by helicopter, he waves goodbye to Rhah, then holds himself and weeps.
Writer: Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Betty Reinhardt
Editor: Louis Loeffler
Cinematographer: Joseph La Shelle, Lucien Ballard
Genre: Film noir
Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Composer: David Raksin
While investigating the brutal murder of Laura Hunt, New York police lieutenant Mark McPherson calls on erudite columnist Waldo Lydecker, a close friend of the dead woman. Waldo knows of Mark from his heroic battles with gangsters, and Mark points out that Waldo once wrote a story about a murder committed with a shotgun loaded with buckshot--the very way that Laura was killed. Claiming to be intrigued by crime, Waldo asks to accompany Mark on his investigation, and the two men call on Laura's aunt, the wealthy Ann Treadwell. Mark inquires about Ann's relationship with Laura's fiancé, Shelby Carpenter, citing evidence that she has been giving him money. Just then, Shelby, a charming Southerner, arrives and says that he and Laura were to have been married that week, but Waldo insists that when Laura canceled their dinner date on the night of the murder, she had not yet decided whether to go through with the wedding. Shelby accompanies Mark and Waldo to Laura's apartment, where the murder occurred, and after Shelby reluctantly hands over the key to Laura's country home, Waldo accuses him of the murder. Later, Waldo takes Mark to a restaurant and recalls how he met Laura five years earlier: Waldo is dining alone at the Algonquin when he is approached by Laura, an eager young employee of an advertising agency. Laura asks Waldo to endorse a pen for her company, and is hurt and disillusioned when he rudely dismisses her. Unable to get her out of his mind, Waldo later goes to see Laura at the agency, where he apologizes and agrees to the endorsement. They become friends, and under Waldo's tutelage, Laura rises in her profession and society. Although their relationship is platonic, Waldo is jealous of her suitors, and uses both his column and his influence over her to keep any rivals for her affections at bay. One night, at one of Ann's parties, Laura meets Shelby, who confesses that his family has been bankrupt for years. Laura gives him a job at the advertising agency, and they soon become romantically involved. Waldo has Shelby investigated and informs Laura that her fiancé is seeing a model, Diane Redfern. Laura is furious at Waldo's interference and dismisses the accusations until he produces a gold cigarette case that she gave Shelby, saying he retrieved it after Diane pawned it. Back in the restaurant, Waldo tells Mark that Laura had lunch with Diane the day of her death, and had planned to go to her country home for a few days. The following night, Mark, who is growing obsessed with Laura, returns to the apartment and continues searching through her personal effects. Waldo stops in and says he knows Mark has secretly put in a bid for Laura's portrait, and chides him for falling in love with a corpse. After Waldo leaves, Mark falls asleep under the portrait. He awakens to the sound of someone entering the room, and looks up to see Laura standing before him. Laura, who has been isolated in the country, is stunned when Mark shows her a newspaper story about her "murder." Laura then discovers one of Diane's dresses in her closet, and Mark concludes that the murder victim, whose face was damaged beyond recognition, was actually Diane. Mark questions Laura, brightening when she says she had decided not to marry Shelby, and instructs her not to leave the apartment or use the phone. As soon as Mark leaves, however, Laura calls Shelby, unaware that the police have tapped her phone. Shelby and Laura meet briefly, and Mark follows Shelby to Laura's country home, where he finds him removing a shotgun from a rack. Shelby claims that he had brought Diane to Laura's apartment to talk, but when Diane answered the door and was shot to death, he panicked and fled. Later, at a party to celebrate her return, Laura asks Shelby why he went to the cottage, and when he replies that he went to hide the shotgun, she realizes with horror that Shelby believes she is the murderer. Mark takes Laura into custody in front of her guests, but after questioning her at the police station, is convinced of her innocence. After taking Laura home, Mark searches Waldo's house and discovers a hollow compartment in his grandfather clock. He then goes to Laura's apartment and announces that her gun was not the one used in the murder. Resentful of the growing bond between Laura and the handsome detective, Waldo insults Mark, and Laura coolly sends her old friend away. Mark examines Laura's clock, which is a duplicate of the one in Waldo's home, and finds a shotgun hidden inside. He tells Laura that Waldo killed Diane, thinking it was Laura, and hid the gun in the clock after Shelby ran out. After kissing Laura goodnight, Mark locks her in and leaves, and Laura prepares for bed, unaware that Waldo has come back into the apartment through the service entrance. Waldo enters Laura's room and is about to shoot her when Mark and his men break in. Waldo is shot by the police and dies with Laura's name on his lips.
Producer: Michael Deeley, Brian Kelly, Hampton Fancher
Writer: Hampton Fancher, David Peoples
Editor: Marsha Nakashima
Cinematographer: Jordan Cronenweth
Genre: Science fiction
Production Company: The Ladd Company, Sir Run Run Shaw
In 2019 Los Angeles, California, police squads called Blade Runner Units seek out Replicants, advanced robots created by the Tyrell Corporation that are nearly identical to humans. Because Replicants were being used as slaves in “Off-world” colonies on other planets, they led a bloody revolt against humans and are no longer welcome on Earth. Blade Runners are responsible for disabling, or “terminating,” them. Holden, a Blade Runner, interrogates Leon Kowalksi, a new employee of the Tyrell Corporation suspected of being a Replicant. When Holden asks him to describe his mother, Kowalski shoots the agent. Later, ex-Blade Runner Deckard orders from an Asian food stand and remembers that his ex-wife used to call him “Sushi,” implying that he was a cold fish. A policeman named Gaff appears and informs Deckard in another language that he is under arrest. As Deckard rides in Gaff’s flying police vehicle, he guesses that Gaff is from the streets due to his use of “city speak,” a newfangled language combining Japanese, Spanish, and German. Deckard is escorted to an office where Bryant, his former boss, orders him to find four Replicants who killed the passengers and crew of an off-world shuttle and later landed on Earth. Deckard refuses, telling Bryant to employ Holden in the task, but Bryant informs him that Holden was critically injured by Kowalski. When Deckard tries to walk out, Bryant reminds him that he has no choice but to cooperate. Later, Bryant and Deckard watch video footage of Kowalski, and Bryant explains that the suspected Replicants recently escaped from an off-world colony – three male and three female. Two have since died in an attempt to infiltrate the Tyrell Corporation, but Kowalski and possibly others have successfully penetrated the company as new employees. Footage of Roy Batty, an optimum-efficiency combat Replicant, appears on the screen, and Bryant suggests that Batty is leading the group. Deckard then sees images of the two other suspects: Zhora, a female combat Replicant, and Pris, a beautiful “pleasure model.” Deckard learns that these Replicants are “Nexus 6” versions, built to have a four-year lifespan in order to prevent the development of human emotions over time. Deckard visits Dr. Eldon Tyrell’s headquarters, where he meets Rachael. Tyrell orders Deckard to perform an emotional response test on Rachael to prove how a human reacts to the questioning. At a table, Deckard aims a camera at Rachael’s eye and monitors the movement of her pupils as she answers roughly one hundred questions. Toward the end of the interrogation, Tyrell sends Rachael away and Deckard states that she is a Replicant, though it took more than the usual twenty or thirty questions to confirm. Tyrell informs him that is partly because Rachael believes she is human. He says she is an experiment, and a result of his efforts to create more human robots by instilling them with memories of a life they never lived. Later, Deckard and Gaff examine the hotel room where Kowalski is registered as a guest, finding what appears to be a reptilian-like scale in the bathroom and family photos. Deckard insists that Replicants have neither scales nor family photos, so the findings are particularly strange. In search of Tyrell, Batty and Kowalski threaten Chew, a scientist who creates eyeballs for Replicants. Frightened, Chew tells Batty that J. F. Sebastian, a Tyrell operative, will lead them to their target. Rachael surprises Deckard at his apartment, and he convinces her that she is a Replicant by citing her implanted memories. Having upset Rachael with the news, Deckard offers her a drink, but she disappears. Roaming the streets alone in the rain, Pris runs into J. F. Sebastian and convinces him to invite her inside. At his apartment, Sebastian introduces her to his friends, two robotic toys he has invented. Pris tells Sebastian she has lost her own friends, but plans to find them soon. At home, Deckard examines a photograph taken from Kowalski’s apartment and blows it up to find an image of a woman. He prints the image, then visits a woman in town who examines the scale from Kowalski’s apartment and informs Deckard that it is a snake scale. Deckard questions an Egyptian street vendor who makes artificial snakes, forcing him to reveal that club owner Taffey Lewis purchased the artificial snake made from the same scales Deckard found at Kowalski’s hotel room. At a nightclub, Deckard questions Lewis, asking if he knows the girl in the picture he was examining earlier. After the Replicant, Zhora, performs with a snake on Lewis’s stage, Deckard approaches her dressing room disguised as a union representative. Zhora showers off her makeup then attempts to strangle Deckard but runs away after they are interrupted. Deckard pursues her through the busy streets and shoots her down. Bryant arrives and says Deckard has four more Replicants to retire, including Rachael. As Deckard walks home, Kowalski ambushes him in the streets and beats him, but Rachael saves Deckard by shooting the Replicant in the head. They regroup at Deckard’s apartment, and Rachael asks if Deckard would come after her if she ran away to the North. He promises no, but says that somebody would. As Deckard drifts to sleep, Rachael plays the piano. He wakes to the music and they kiss. At Sebastian’s apartment, Batty arrives, kisses Pris, and tells her that Zhora and Kowalski have been retired. Learning that Pris and Batty are Nexus 6 Replicants, Sebastian asks them to show him something, so Pris grabs an egg out of boiling water without flinching. Batty convinces Sebastian that he needs to speak to Tyrell directly, and they go along with Pris to Tyrell’s headquarters. In his bedroom, Tyrell meets Batty, who demands that his lifespan be elongated. Tyrell tells Batty it is not possible; in turn, Batty kills him with his bare hands. In search of Sebastian, Deckard goes to his apartment where he finds Pris and kills her after she attacks him. Batty arrives and finds Pris’s dead body. After Deckard attempts to shoot him, Batty breaks two of his fingers then allows him time to run away. In pursuit of Deckard, Batty senses his energy dwindling and recognizes that he has reached the end of his lifespan. To revive himself, Batty stabs his own hand and follows Deckard to the roof. There, Deckard jumps onto a nearby building, catching himself on a strut protruding from its roof. Leaping to the adjacent roof, Batty taunts Deckard before pulling him up from the strut. Batty tells Deckard he’s seen incredible things in space, but all the moments will be lost with his death. He then slumps his head forward and terminates. Deckard wonders why Batty saved him, imagining that perhaps he came to love life more than he had before in his final waking moments. Soon after, Gaff finds Deckard on the roof, throws his gun back to him, and tells him it’s unfortunate that Rachael will not live. Deckard later looks for Rachael at his apartment and finds her asleep in bed. He asks if she loves and trusts him, and she responds that she does. Deckard realizes that Gaff spared her life, thinking she would terminate in four years like the other Replicants. However, Tyrell informed Deckard that Rachael has no termination date. Some time later, in a remote landscape, Deckard and Rachael drive through the wilderness together.
In post-war Vienna, a city occupied by four Allied forces and sustained by a thriving black market, American writer Holly Martins arrives, penniless, at the invitation of his old friend Harry Lime, who had offered him a job. Holly goes to Harry's apartment and is told by the porter that Harry was run over by a car and killed. He rushes to the cemetery, where he finds Harry's funeral in progress. As he leaves the gravesite, Holly is approached by a British officer, Major Calloway, who offers him a ride and buys him a drink. When Calloway tells him that Harry was a notorious racketeer, Holly drunkenly vows to prove him wrong. Later, at his hotel, Holly is approached by Crabbin, the head of a cultural institute, who mistakes him for a prestigious novelist and offers to pay for his stay in Vienna if he will speak at one of their meetings. Holly soon receives a call from "Baron" Kurtz, who identifies himself as a friend of Harry and arranges to meet Holly at a café. Kurtz describes Harry's accident and mentions that Harry's Rumanian friend Popescu was also present when Harry died. Holly inquires about the beautiful woman he saw at the funeral, and Kurtz replies that she was Harry's girl friend, Anna Schmidt, an actress at the Josefstadt Theatre. Holly calls on Anna after a performance, and she tells him that Harry's personal physician, Dr. Winkel, happened to show up at the scene of the accident, and that the man behind the wheel of the car was actually Harry's driver. Anna expresses her suspicion that Harry's death was not accidental, and accompanies Holly to Harry's apartment to question the porter. Contrary to Kurtz's account, the porter says that Harry was killed at once, adding that an unidentified third man was present and helped carry the body. When Holly escorts Anna to her apartment, they find Calloway and members of the international police force searching her room. Calloway confiscates Anna's identification papers, claiming they were forged, takes her to the police station and questions her about Josef Harbin, an employee of a military hospital who recently disappeared. After Anna is released, she and Holly go to a nightclub, where they are joined by Kurtz and Popescu, and Holly relates what the porter told him about the third man. The next evening, Holly and Anna set out to talk to the porter again, but as they approach the building, the neighbors tell them that the porter has been murdered. When Holly returns to his hotel, he is promptly whisked away to Crabbin's cultural institute. The badly shaken Holly stumbles through his guest appearance at the literary salon, but when Popescu arrives with two men, he flees. Holly goes to see Calloway, who tells him about Vienna's black market for penicillin, explaining that racketeers often increase their profits by diluting the drug, which has disastrous medical effects. Calloway says that Harbin worked for Harry, stealing penicillin from laboratories, and shows Holly the evidence his men have collected implicating Harry and Kurtz. Holly is appalled by his friend's actions, and goes to Anna and tells her that he is returning to the U.S., then admits his strong feelings for her. After leaving Anna's apartment, Holly notices a man standing in the shadows and dares him to reveal himself. When an irate neighbor opens a window, the light falls across the face of Harry Lime, who disappears before Holly can reach him. Holly summons Calloway, who retraces Harry's escape route and discovers an abandoned news kiosk leading underground to the main sewer. Calloway has Harry's coffin exhumed, and the body inside turns out to be Harbin's. Using Kurtz as an intermediary, Holly arranges a meeting with Harry at the amusement park ferris wheel. Harry smoothly dismisses Holly's moral outrage at the penicillin racket and warns his old friend to stop talking to the police. Undeterred, Harry offers to help the police capture Harry in exchange for safe passage out of Vienna for Anna, who is about to be arrested by the Russians. When Anna furiously rejects the deal, Holly wants to quit, but Calloway takes him to the children's hospital to see some of the brain-damaged young victims of Harry's racketeering. Heartsick over what he sees, Holly agrees to act as a decoy to capture Harry. After waiting for Harry for hours in a café, Holly is joined by Anna, who berates him for working for the police. When Harry arrives, Anna warns him, and he escapes into the sewer, with Holly and the police in pursuit. Harry shoots and kills a British soldier, Sgt. Paine, and Holly slips away and shoots Harry as he tries to crawl through a grate to the street above. After Harry's real funeral, Holly watches in despair as Anna silently walks away down a long, tree-lined avenue.
In Arkansas, best friends Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer arrange a weekend fishing trip. Thelma, a subservient housewife, is too intimidated to ask her husband, Darryl, for permission to go. Instead, she packs her bags and leaves him a note. Louise picks Thelma up in her convertible Ford Thunderbird, and Thelma presents Louise with a handgun she brought for protection. Louise is disturbed by the gun, but tells Thelma she can stow it in her purse. That evening, Thelma persuades Louise to make a pit stop at a honky-tonk. There, a man named Harlan Puckett buys them a round of drinks. Louise fends him off, but Thelma encourages her to loosen up. She says Louise’s years of waitressing have hardened her against men, and suggests she break up with her absentee boyfriend, Jimmy. Louise counters that Thelma should ditch her “loser husband.” Thelma gets drunk and dances with Harlan. When Louise goes to the bathroom, Thelma tells Harlan she has the “spins,” and he takes her outside to vomit. Afterward, he pushes her onto the hood of a car and undresses her. She resists, but he strikes her and flips her onto her stomach. Just as he is about to rape her, Louise appears with Thelma’s gun. Harlan lets Thelma go but shows no remorse, saying that he should have gone ahead and raped her. Louise loses her temper and shoots him dead. Thelma runs to get the car. As they drive away, a shocked Louise stares at the gun in her hand. Thelma suggests they go to police, but Louise thinks no one will believe their alibi after seeing Thelma flirt with Harlan. They drive to a diner, where Louise drinks coffee and tries to formulate a getaway plan. Thelma, whose nose is still bleeding from Harlan’s attack, becomes offended when Louise implies the murder was her fault because she put herself at risk. Back at the honky-tonk, Arkansas State Police detective Hal Slocumbe questions a waitress named Lena, who admits she saw Thelma dancing with Hal, but says the women were not “murdering types.” Thelma and Louise get back on the road. At dawn, Louise frets about money and asks Thelma how much she has. Thelma loses a $20 bill as she counts her cash, and announces she has $41. At a motel, Louise takes a shower and finds Thelma sulking on the bed. She accuses her of having a bad attitude and demands help, but Thelma says she already made her suggestion that they go to the police. Louise apologizes and says she is not ready to go to jail. She sends Thelma to the pool, calls her boyfriend, Jimmy, and asks him to wire her $6,700, which she promises to pay back from her savings. Although she won’t tell him what happened, he agrees to send the money to her next destination, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Hal Slocumbe receives orders to issue an all-points bulletin for Thelma and Louise, and to involve the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the search. Leaving the motel, Louise outlines her plan to go to Mexico. She coaches Thelma to call her husband, Darryl, and act is if everything is normal. When they talk, Darryl distractedly yells at Thelma while watching a football game on television. She tells Darryl he is her husband, not her father, and hangs up. Outside the payphone booth, she runs into J.D., an attractive young cowboy who asks for a ride. She wants to say yes, but Louise refuses. On the road, Thelma asks how long until they are in Mexico, revealing that she wants to escape with her friend. Louise asks her to find a route on the map that does not take them through Texas. Thelma argues that Texas offers the only direct route, and asks why Louise refuses to go there. Louise will only say that Texas is not a good place for women accused of shooting a man with his pants down. On a desolate strip of road, they pass by J.D., the hitchhiking cowboy, and Thelma begs to pick him up until Louise acquiesces. Back in Arkansas, Hal gets a tip that the women may be driving a Ford Thunderbird. With that information, he tracks down Louise’s apartment and place of work. He questions Darryl Dickinson, who reveals that Thelma took a .38 revolver on the trip. Meanwhile, Thelma bonds with J.D. She tells him she first started dating Darryl when she was fourteen years old, married him at eighteen, and has mostly tolerated his bad attitude. They arrive at a motel, where Jimmy surprises Louise by delivering her money in person. He encourages her to stay the night, and says he got Thelma a room of her own. Louise forces J.D. to leave, then gives Thelma the envelope with $6,700 for safekeeping. She spends the night with Jimmy, who proposes marriage out of fear of losing her. Louise confesses that she once wanted to marry him, but not under these circumstances. Later, J.D. knocks on Thelma’s door. She lets him in and they goof around. When she learns he is an armed robber, Thelma asks him to demonstrate how he conducts a robbery, and he recites a speech he gives during hold-ups. They kiss and make love. In the morning, Jimmy offers to run away with Louise, but she declines and kisses him goodbye. Thelma joins her in the motel diner, giddily revealing that she had good sex for the first time in her life. Meanwhile, she forgot to safeguard Louise’s $6,700, and they return to the room to find J.D. has stolen it. Louise crumples to the floor and cries. Thelma assumes an uncharacteristic cool and urges her to get up. They drive west to a convenience store, where Thelma leaves Louise in the car. Minutes later, Thelma emerges with a bag of stolen cash. As they drive away, she boasts that she executed the robbery like a professional. Elsewhere, Darryl watches security camera footage, in which Thelma recites J.D.’s hold-up speech. Further west, the women drive past a gasoline tanker truck, and the driver sexually harasses them. They stop at a bar, where Louise orders Thelma to call home and, if she detects anything strange, to hang up. Thelma does so and hangs up when Darryl is nice to her. Louise deduces that police have tapped his phone. She calls back and asks to talk to whoever is in charge. Hal gets on the line, urges the women to turn themselves in for questioning, and warns that they will not make it to Mexico. That night, as they drive through the desert, Thelma, who has always wanted to travel, marvels at the landscape. Later, she laughs hysterically when she recalls Harlan’s murder. Louise tells her it is not funny and Thelma becomes somber. She asks Louise if she was raped in Texas, but Louise will not discuss it. When a policeman pulls them over for speeding, they steal his gun and lock him in the trunk of his car. Afterward, Louise worries that she ruined everything by refusing to go to police in the first place. Thelma assures her she did the right thing, and says her life would have been much worse if Harlan had raped her; she only regrets not killing him herself. Louise calls Hal again, and learns that she and Thelma have been officially charged with murder. Thelma interrupts and hangs up the receiver. However, unbeknownst to the women, the call lasted long enough for police to trace their whereabouts in Arizona. Thelma suspects Louise might be considering a plea deal, but Louise promises she is not. Thelma admits she has crossed a line, and can never go back to her old life. Louise agrees. Later that day, they encounter the rude gasoline truck driver and lure him to the side of the road, where they demand an apology. The man refuses, and they shoot up his truck, causing it to explode. They drive further into the desert, where several police cars track them. They gain a momentary lead but are forced to stop at the edge of the Grand Canyon. A helicopter appears, along with more police cars. Hal emerges from the helicopter and approaches. Thelma sees all the guns trained on them and tells Louise to keep driving. Louise realizes she wants to drive into the canyon. She kisses her friend, and the women hold hands as they plummet over the edge.
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick
Directors: James Cameron
Producer: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd
Writer: James Cameron, William Wisher
Editor: Conrad Buff, Mark Goldblatt, Richard A. Harris
Cinematographer: Adam Greenberg, Michael A. Benson
Genre: Adventure, Science fiction
Production Company: Carolco, Pacific Western , Lightstorm Entertainment
Composer: Brad Fiedel
Sarah Connor explains that a nuclear blast killed more than three billion people in 1997. In present-day 2029, survivors wage war against machines controlled by a computer named Skynet. Sarah recounts that Skynet sent two machines, called Terminators, back in time to destroy the human resistance leader, her son, John Connor. The first Terminator attempted to kill Sarah in 1984, before John was born, but failed. The second Terminator was sent to kill John as a young boy; however, the human resistance sent their own Terminator to protect him. In 1995, in Los Angeles, California, a Terminator, resembling a naked man, is transported to a parking lot outside a bar. The Terminator walks inside and is met with laughter and hostility. After stabbing one of the patrons with his own knife, the Terminator takes another patron’s clothing, a motorcycle, and a shotgun. The same night, a second Terminator, the T-1000, arrives, kills a police officer, and steals his patrol car and uniform. In the morning, John Connor works on his motorbike. Though his foster parents, Todd and Janelle Voight, order John to clean his room, he speeds away with his friend, Tim. At Pescadero State Hospital, a "Criminally Disordered Retention Facility," Sarah Connor exercises in her cell while Dr. Silberman leads a group of medical professionals on a tour of the facility. Approaching Sarah’s cell, Silberman describes her condition as “acute schizoaffective disorder,” saying she believes a machine was sent back in time to kill her while the father of her child, a soldier, was sent back simultaneously to protect her. The T-1000, dressed as a policeman, arrives at the Voight residence to question John's foster parents and obtains a picture of the boy. Meanwhile, John hacks into an automated teller machine to steal cash, telling Tim that Sarah taught him the trick. In an office building, Miles Dyson, a leading scientist with Cyberdyne Systems, examines a robotic arm and central processing unit in glass cases; unbeknownst to him, the items are relics of the 1984 Terminator. At an arcade in a shopping mall, John and Tim play games, while the Terminators close in on the boy. The T-1000 appears in the arcade, and John escapes to a hallway where he sees the Terminator brandishing a shotgun. As the Terminator and the T-1000 exchange fire, the Terminator pushes John to safety and shoots the other machine multiple times; however, the T-1000 quickly recovers. John runs to his motorbike and rides away, pursued by the Terminator on a motorcycle and the T-1000 in a stolen tow-truck. Riding onto an overflow channel, the Terminator pulls John onto the motorcycle while shooting at the tow-truck. The T-1000 crashes into an overpass and the truck explodes, allowing the Terminator to ride away with John. Moments later, the T-1000 emerges from the flames unharmed, re-forming into human shape. At the side of the road, John confirms that the Terminator has come to protect him, realizing that his mother’s beliefs about the future were true. He learns that the Terminator’s body is “living tissue over metal endoskeleton” and the T-1000 is a newer prototype, made of liquid metal. That evening, John calls the Voights to warn them about the T-1000, but when Janelle answers the phone, he senses that she seems different. In fact, the T-1000 has killed Janelle and assumed her form, and proceeds to kill Todd while talking on the phone. The Terminator deduces that John is speaking to the T-1000 and hangs up, explaining to the boy that Terminators can imitate any living thing of approximately the same size. At the hospital, police show Sarah pictures of the Terminator in 1984 and at the mall earlier that day, identifying the Terminator as her son’s kidnapper. She says nothing, but steals a paper clip. Realizing that the T-1000 will go after his mother next, John insists that he and the Terminator save Sarah. The Terminator rejects the idea and they argue. John discovers that the machine must obey his orders without question after he screams for the Terminator to let him go and the machine immediately drops him. Hearing the screams, two men in an adjacent parking lot offer to help the boy, but John rudely dismisses them and they insult him in return. When he orders it to take care of them, the Terminator wields a gun but John shoves it away. After the men run to safety, John informs the Terminator that killing people is unacceptable. That night, Sarah uses the paper clip to escape from her room. The T-1000 arrives at the hospital and assumes the identity of a policeman who patrols the building and then kills him. Fighting off nurses and guards, Sarah attacks Silberman and fills a syringe with Liquid Rooter. Moments later, John and the Terminator gain access to the hospital after the Terminator shoots a guard in the knees, careful not to kill him. Plunging the syringe into his neck, Sarah takes Silberman hostage and makes her way through the hospital. A guard grabs the syringe and frees the doctor, and Sarah runs away. At the end of a hallway, the Terminator emerges and Sarah runs in the other direction. Guards subdue her, but the Terminator fights them off and John arrives, assuring his mother that the Terminator will help them. The T-1000 appears and chases Sarah, John, and the Terminator to a parking garage where they steal a police car. Pursuing them on foot, the T-1000 climbs aboard the car, but the Terminator shoots it off. Sarah scolds her son for risking his life to save her. John cries and the Terminator asks what is wrong with his eyes. At a closed auto repair shop, the Terminator stitches a cut for Sarah and she removes the bullets from the Terminator’s back. When John suggests the Terminator behave more like a human, he learns that the machine is in “read-only” mode. To reverse the “read-only” mode, Sarah unscrews a port built into the Terminator’s skull and removes a central processing unit. Though she wants to destroy the computer altogether, John stops her, insisting he needs the Terminator. The next morning, John teaches the Terminator colloquialisms such as “no problemo” and “hasta la vista, baby.” The Terminator informs Sarah that Miles Dyson will soon invent a microprocessor that allows stealth bombers to fly unmanned. Dyson’s employer, Cyberdyne Systems, will use the microprocessor to innovate military technology, resulting in the creation of the machines ultimately controlled by Skynet. The Terminator states that the machines become “self-aware,” and when humans attempt to shut them down, Skynet will bomb Russia in retaliation. Russia will respond by attacking with a nuclear bomb on August 29, 1997. In Mexico, Sarah, John, and the Terminator arrive at a camp and meet Sarah’s militant friend, Enrique Salceda. They obtain an arsenal of weapons, clothes, and a new vehicle. John bonds with the Terminator and talks about his nomadic childhood and the rogue military training to which Sarah subjected him. After a nightmare about the nuclear blast, Sarah awakens, determined to kill Dyson before he invents the microprocessor. She leaves John and the Terminator behind, but they soon follow. Outside Dyson’s home, Sarah shoots through the window and pursues the scientist inside, shooting him in the shoulder; however, when she takes aim at the fallen Dyson, she cannot bring herself to execute him. The Terminator and John arrive, and the Terminator explains to Dyson the catastrophic consequences of his invention. Convinced, Dyson agrees to help them destroy Cyberdyne Systems in order to save humanity. Fully armed, they arrive at Cyberdyne’s offices, subdue the night watchman, and break into the lab. A security guard sounds a silent alarm, and police swarm the building. Dyson and John retrieve the previous Terminator's arm and central processing unit from their glass cases. The group disperses explosives throughout the lab, and Dyson grabs the detonator as they leave. At that moment, police arrive and open fire, hitting Dyson multiple times. Sarah, John and the Terminator escape, but Dyson remains behind. As he dies, he strikes the detonator, causing the lab to explode. John and Sarah take cover in an elevator as the Terminator shoots through the lobby, steals a police van, and crashes into the building to retrieve them. The T-1000 arrives on a police motorcycle and drives up the stairs, spotting his targets from above as they leave in the van. When a helicopter passes, the T-1000 drives out the window, grabs onto the aircraft, and commandeers it. He pursues the van and exchanges gunfire with Sarah, who is shot in the leg. The T-1000 rams the helicopter into the van, and both vehicles crash. Continuing the chase, John, Sarah, and the Terminator hop into a pickup truck, while the T-1000 obtains a large tanker truck filled with liquid nitrogen. John takes the steering wheel as the Terminator climbs aboard the tanker and blasts the T-1000 with bullets. The tanker rolls on its side, and the Terminator jumps off. Sarah and John drive inside a steel mill and crash; nearby, the tanker also skids to a stop. The T-1000 exits and steps into spilled liquid nitrogen which causes it to freeze and break apart. The Terminator opens fire, and the T-1000 shatters into frozen shards. The Terminator and John help Sarah, incapacitated by her bullet wound, move through the mill. Extreme heat liquefies the T-1000's frozen shards, and the machine re-forms. In hand-to-hand combat against the T-1000, the Terminator’s arm is trapped under a gear. While the T-1000 pursues John and Sarah, the Terminator breaks free, leaving an arm behind. Sarah lowers John down a shaft before the T-1000 extends its finger into a sharp point and pierces her shoulder. The Terminator appears and beats the T-1000 with a steel bar. In retaliation, the T-1000 rams the bar through the Terminator’s body, causing the Terminator’s system to shut down. However, shortly after the T-1000 leaves, the Terminator regains power. As the T-1000 approaches John, disguised as Sarah, the real Sarah appears and opens fire. Just as she runs out of ammunition, the Terminator arrives, shooting the T-1000 with a grenade launcher. The T-1000 explodes and falls into a vat of molten metal which destroys the machine. After they dispose of the robotic arm and central processing unit, John becomes upset at the suggestion that the Terminator must now be destroyed. The Terminator expresses a newfound understanding of why people cry. Sarah presses a button to lower the Terminator into the molten metal, and the Terminator signals them with a “thumbs up.”
Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten
Directors: George Cukor
Producer: Arthur Hornblow Jr.
Writer: John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, John L. Balderston
Editor: Ralph E. Winters
Cinematographer: Joseph Ruttenberg
Genre: Mystery
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Bronislau Kaper
After her aunt and guardian, Alice Alquist, a renowned opera singer, is strangled to death in their London home at No. 9 Thornton Square, traumatized teenager Paula Alquist moves to Italy. Ten years later, Paula confesses to her devoted voice teacher, Maestro Guardi, that she has finally put her past behind her and fallen in love. Guardi encourages Paula to follow her heart, and consequently, she accepts the proposal of Gregory Anton, a pianist whom she has known for only two weeks. During their honeymoon in Lake Como, Gregory tells Paula that he has always dreamed of living in a fashionable London square, and anxious to please her husband, Paula suggests they move to her aunt's house in Thornton Square. As soon as they are back at long-deserted No. 9, however, Paula's terrifying memories begin to resurface, so Gregory insists that all her aunt's belongings be stored in the attic. Paula then finds a letter hidden in her aunt's sheet music, dated two days before her murder, in which the writer, Sergius Bauer, begs to see her aunt. When Paula reads Bauer's name out loud, Gregory angrily grabs the letter and silences her. Three months later, as they are about to leave for a much-anticipated Tower of London tour, Gregory presents Paula with his great-grandmother's brooch, but cautions her not to wear it until the clasp has been fixed. Paula, who has not strayed from the house or entertained any visitors since marrying, puts the brooch in her purse, dismissing Gregory's warning that she might lose it. During the tour, however, Paula senses that the brooch is missing and becomes agitated. Then, while walking toward the Crown Jewels exhibit, Paula is greeted warmly by Brian Cameron, who had been a fan of Alice's and momentarily mistook Paula for her aunt. Gregory is immediately suspicious of Brian, even though Paula insists that she has never met him. Once back at home, a contrite Paula confesses to Gregory that she lost the brooch, and he accuses her of being forgetful. Later that night, after Gregory has left for his music studio, Paula sees the gaslights in her bedroom dim inexplicably and hears footsteps overhead. Two months later, Brian appears in Thornton Square and questions Paula's nosy neighbor, Miss Bessy Thwaites, about Paula. At that moment, Brian sees Paula standing in her front door, apparently preparing to leave. When Nancy Oliver, a saucy young maid hired by Gregory, asks Paula exactly where she is going, however, the increasingly insecure Paula retreats inside. Made suspicious by Paula's odd behavior, Brian, a Scotland Yard detective, studies the police file on Alice's unsolved murder and learns that several foreign crown jewels, which had been given secretly to Alice by a royal admirer, disappeared on the night of the murder. Convinced that Paula is in danger, Brian assigns Williams, a constable, to keep an eye on No. 9. Later, after Gregory accuses Paula of harboring an irrational mistrust of Nancy, Brian, posing as Miss Thwaites's nephew, tries to call on Paula, but is turned away on Gregory's orders. Paula is upset and confused by Gregory's manipulations, but forgives him as soon as he announces that he is taking her to the theater that night. Paula's joy is cut short, however, when Gregory accuses her of absentmindedly removing a painting from the parlor wall. Although Paula pleads her innocence, Gregory finds the painting on the staircase, where it had ended up twice before, and contends that she moved it in a thoughtless daze. Gregory then tells Paula she is too sick to go out and prepares to leave for his studio. Revealing that she has been hearing strange noises, Paula begs Gregory not to go, but he dismisses her fears and leaves. Soon after, Paula sees the lights dim and hears the overhead footsteps. Sometime later, Brian and the Antons are invited to a piano concert at Lord and Lady Dalroy's. As the evening is about to start, however, the Dalroys receive a note from Gregory stating that Paula is too ill to attend. At home, Paula becomes upset when Gregory tells her about the note and threatens to go to the Dalroys' alone. Gregory then agrees to attend, but during the concert, he whispers to Paula that his watch is missing. Paula immediately finds it in her purse and starts to cry, disrupting the performance. Gregory and Paula return home hurriedly and, unknown to them, are followed by Brian. When Paula comments that her mental problems began with the discovery of her aunt's letter, Gregory angrily informs her that the letter never existed and that she is going insane, just as her dead mother had years before. He then tells her that he has arranged for two doctors to examine her, with the intention of committing her to an asylum, and leaves for his studio. Brian and Williams trail him as he circles around the block, but soon lose him in the fog. Inside, Paula begins to hear the footsteps and asks Elizabeth Tompkins, the cook, if she hears them too. Elizabeth is hard of hearing, however, and says no. Later, Williams reports to Brian that he saw a disheveled Gregory emerge from the mews outside his house, causing Brian to speculate that he must have gone into the deserted No. 5 and crossed the roof to No. 9. That night, Brian waits for Gregory to depart and then pushes past Elizabeth to see Paula. While Brian talks with Paula, convincing her that she is sane, Gregory is tearing apart Alice's furniture in the attic, searching for something. Brian forces open Gregory's desk and notices that Gregory's gun is missing from its box. At the same time, Paula finds her aunt's letter, and by comparing the handwriting on the letter against Gregory's note to the Dalroys, Brian concludes that Gregory is Bauer, whom he knows was one of Alice's accompanists. Brian speculates that Gregory killed Alice for the jewels but, as he was unable to find them on the night of the murder, married Paula to gain access to the house. At that moment, Gregory, still upstairs, finally finds the jewels, which were sewn onto one of Alice's opera costumes, and tears them off. Seeing the gaslights suddenly brighten, Brian leaves the house before Gregory descends from the attic. As Gregory confronts Paula about the broken desk lock, Brian, having entered the attic through the roof, appears with the torn costume and accuses Gregory of Alice's murder. The two men begin to fight upstairs, and, when Paula hears a gunshot, she rushes to the attic and finds Gregory tied to a chair. After a distraught Paula taunts the imprisoned Gregory, he confesses his crimes, noting that the jewels had an unnatural hold over him. As they wait for the police, Brian consoles Paula and offers to visit her whenever she needs him.
Production Company: The Mirisch Company, Inc., Alpha Productions
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
When ruthless bandit leader Calvera and his forty men raid the Mexican village of Ixcatlan for food and goods, the villagers, used to Calvera's harvest-time plundering, keep quiet with the exception of one outraged farmer, whom Calvera summarily shoots. After the banditos leave, the villagers, barely able to survive on what remains but unable to fight the banditos, seek the advice of the old man, a village elder, who tells them to buys guns at the border and learn how to use them. When the three-man delegation from Ixcatlan led by Hilario arrives at a border town to buy guns, they are awed by gunslingers Chris and Vin, who offer to drive a carriage carrying the body of an Indian through town when the funeral director refuses to transport it for fear of the bigoted citizens’ reprisals. After witnessing Chris and Vin easily outdraw the angered townsmen as they make their way to the graveyard, the delegation asks Chris to buy guns for them, explaining that the Mexican rurales cannot guard the village from Calvera's repeated plundering. Chris instead offers to round up a team of gunmen, even though the villagers can only afford to pay $20 pay for six weeks’ work. As word spreads, young, impetuous Chico, inspired by Vin and Chris’s triumphant carriage ride, asks for the job, but is humiliated when he fails Chris's test to determine if Chico is a quick draw. Soon after, jovial gold hunter Harry Luck, assuming that there must be some hidden treasure which the other gunslingers will split, joins the team, as well as Vin and the brawny war veteran O'Reilly. The next day, Chris watches as expert knife-thrower and gunslinger Britt easily wins a draw with a deadly knife throw and considers him for the team. At a bar that night, an enraged Chico holds Chris at gunpoint and orders him to draw, but Chris quietly refuses the challenge until the boy collapses from drunkenness. Soon after Britt joins the group, the well-dressed but destitute Lee offers his services in attempt to regain his nerve, which he has lost while on the run from his enemies. Days later, as the delegation, joined by the six gunslingers, rides toward Ixcatlan, they notice Chico following and Chris, softened by the young man's resolve, finally motions for him to join them. When they are greeted with silence as they enter the village, Chris accepts the villagers' fearful reluctance, but Chico angrily rages at them for their cowardice. The next day, the seven attend a town celebration and notice that all the village women are missing. Soon after, Chris learns that three of Calvera's men are nearby and sends Britt and Lee to bring the men back alive. However, Chico ruins the plan by shooting one of the banditos, forcing Britt to kill the second and third men, who were fast escaping on horseback. When an amazed Chico compliments him on his long-distance shot, an irritated Britt tells him that it was “the worst. I was aiming for the horse.” Later at the village, Chris observes that Calvera probably sent the men ahead to scout for the coming raid and reassures the villagers that they will have time to train before Calvera’s men arrive in force. Over several days, the seven use the dead men’s weapons to coach the farmers in how to shoot. One afternoon, Chico catches the strident young Petra, who is spying on him as he tests his bullfighting skills against a tame farm animal, and learns that the villagers have hidden their women for fear of the gunslingers raping them. After warning the village men that the women have more to fear from Calvera than from the gunslingers, Chris orders Chico to bring the women back. That night Petra and others petulantly serve the men food, but when the seven learn the village is starving on a few meager beans, they give their servings away. The next day, after the boys on guard signal that the enemy is approaching, Chris, Britt and Vin stand in the middle of town to meet Calvera, who does not flinch at finding gunslingers there. Instead, he offers to share the village spoils with the seven in exchange for standing down, but when Chris orders him to "ride on,” a gunfight erupts. Unprepared for the onslaught, Calvera and his men try to escape but are trapped by newly built nets and rock walls erected by the villagers, thus enabling the villagers and gunslingers to pick off many of the banditos. That night, as the mild-mannered Sotero and other villagers toast the seven on their success, shots interrupt the jubilant occasion, forcing Chris to send O'Reilly, Vin and Sotero to track the sharpshooters. While searching for the men, Sotero tells Vin that he is committed to protecting his family, and Vin openly envies Sotero’s bond with his family, which neither he nor the other six have. Meanwhile, disobeying her father's orders against talking to the gunslingers, a love-struck Petra begs Chico to be careful. Later that night, Chico, wanting to prove himself to the others, touts the gunslinger lifestyle as the stuff of legends. While Chris reminds them, as hired gunmen, they are beholden to no one, Vin laments that he has no family and Lee adds that they have no enemies, because they are dead. When Lee awakens screaming from a nightmare about his enemies, two villagers reassure him that "only the dead are without fear." Meanwhile, three young boys adopt the Mexican-Irish O'Reilly, promising that they will avenge his death and put flowers on his grave if he should die in battle. Harry is convinced that the villagers must be hiding ancient treasure, which is rumored to be buried in the nearby mountains. Believing that this is the real reason for Calvera’s return, Harry tries to entreat the village men into gambling. Meanwhile, Chico, hiding his face under a sombrero, infiltrates the Calvera camp and surprises the six when he reports back that Calvera will attack soon because his men are starving. The villagers fight among themselves about whether to surrender to save their families, while Chris argues with his men about their chance of success. Later, Chico boasts to Petra about his new life as a roving gunslinger, but his resolve quickly weakens as she kisses him. That evening, after Chris and his men find the Calvera camp empty when they attempt to steal their horses, the seven return to the village and are immediately surrounded by Calvera's men, who have been tipped off by the cowardly Sotero. Although he could easily kill them, Calvera decides to spare their lives to avoid alerting the United States police to his operation. After publicly ordering them to leave their guns, Calvera quietly offers to return the weapons once the seven are out of town and asks why they became involved with the villagers, unable to believe the gunslingers would have any motivation other than money. As he lays down his gun, Vin cryptically explains with a joke: When someone asked a man why he threw himself into a prickly pear cactus, the man simply replied that it “seemed to be a good idea at the time.” Before the seven leave, O'Reilly explains to his boys that they should respect their fathers, who are brave to carry the burden of family responsibility, something O'Reilly has never had the courage to do. That night, after the seven are escorted out of town and given their guns, Chico explodes in anger about the villagers’ betrayal, but Chris reminds him that his hatred stems from being the son of just such a Mexican villager. The next day, after Harry, tired of fighting without the hope of riches, leaves the group, the remaining six ride into town and begin a shootout with the banditos. Wounded, Vin drags himself into a store, while Harry, having changed his mind, rides into town and is shot. Following Vin, Chris drags Harry into the store, where he soothes the dying man with a story of imaginary riches. Meanwhile, Lee finally draws and shoots four of Calvera's men, but is then killed. Spurred by the seven's sacrifice, the villagers, including the women, come out of hiding and beat Calvera's men with every chair and stick available. Meanwhile, Chris wounds Calvera, who, with his dying breath, continues to express his disbelief that the seven had any reason to return. After Britt takes out four banditos with perfectly aimed shots, he dies from a wound sustained in the battle. O'Reilly's boys find their hero, who begs them to emulate their fathers, then dies from a wound suffered before their young eyes. By the end of the battle, the remaining banditos are finally driven from town, but the old man sagely announces to those remaining of the seven, Chris, Vin and Chico, that only the farmers have won. As they ride out of town, the astute Chris turns to Chico, tells him "adios” and watches as Chico returns to Petra, for whom he lays down his holster. As they pause to look back on the village, Chris tells Vin that the old man was right, only the farmers have won, not the gunslingers, who will always lose.
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: David O. Selznick
Writer: Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison, Barbara Keon, Philip MacDonald, Michael Hogan
Editor: Hal C. Kern
Cinematographer: George Barnes
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Selznick International Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Franz Waxman
Maxim de Winter, who is in Monte Carlo to forget the drowning death of his wife Rebecca, meets the demure paid companion of matronly socialite Edythe Van Hopper and begins to court her. The girl falls in love with Maxim and happily accepts when he asks her to be his wife. The bride's happiness comes to an abrupt end when Maxim takes her to his grand seaside estate, Manderley. There she is tormented by the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who continually reminds the young bride of the great beauty and elegance of the first Mrs. de Winter and undermines her attempts to assert herself in the household. One night shortly after her arrival, a boat is wrecked off shore, and during the rescue attempt, another submerged boat is found in which the body of Rebecca is trapped. Maxim then confesses to his insecure wife the true story of his miserable marriage to Rebecca: After only four days of marriage, Rebecca began flaunting her infidelities. For the family's honor, Maxim continued his marriage, with Rebecca playing the great lady, until she informed her husband that she was to become a mother and he was not the father. Angered, Maxim struck Rebecca and she fell, hitting her head on a ship's tackle. He then placed her body in a boat and sunk it. When a new inquest is held into Rebecca's death, things look dim for Maxim until Rebecca's London doctor testifies to the authorities that she was dying of cancer and was contemplating suicide. Maxim is then free to begin life anew with his now blossoming bride. However, Mrs. Danvers is unable to relinquish her beloved Manderley to the new Mrs. de Winter and sets fire to the house and perishes.
Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Productions Limited
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Robert Thorn, a wealthy American, sits in the lobby of a Catholic hospital in Rome, Italy, on 6 Jun at 6:00 a.m. after his newborn son dies at birth. Fearing that his wife, Katherine Thorn, cannot handle loss of the infant, Robert allows Father Spiletto to secretly replace the deceased baby with another newborn whose mother died in childbirth. Years later, Robert is appointed ambassador to the U.K. and the family moves into an English country manor. At a large birthday party for the Thorn’s five-year-old son Damien, a news photographer, Keith Jennings, snaps a photograph of Damien’s nanny, Holly. Minutes later, Holly is confronted by a large black Rottweiler. Later, Damien hears Holly yelling his name. The party guests look to the roof of the house where they see the nanny with a noose around her neck. Declaring she is killing herself for Damien, Holly jumps off the roof. As Katherine and Robert console Damien, the boy waves at the black dog. A few days later, Robert walks into the U.S. Embassy followed by reporters and he knocks Jennings’ camera to the ground. Robert apologizes and offers to pay for the broken camera, but Jennings declines. Father Brennan unexpectedly arrives at Robert’s office, announcing that Robert must accept Jesus as his savior or the ambassador is doomed. Robert calls security, but before they arrive, Brennan explains that he was present at Damien’s birth and the boy’s real mother was a jackal. As Marines escort Brennan out of the embassy, Jennings snaps the priest's photograph. At home, Robert and Katherine are perplexed when Mrs. Baylock, a new nanny, arrives without solicitation, but Baylock explains an agency sent her. However, Baylock later tells Damien that she was sent to protect him. Despite Baylock’s protests, the Thorns take Damien to a wedding. When the boy sees the church, he attacks Katherine. Later, Robert is shocked to see the black dog at Damien’s nursery door. Mrs. Baylock declares that she thought the stray would make a good watchdog, but Robert insists she get rid of the animal. The next day, Katherine takes Damien on a drive through Animal Park, but all the animals run away from the boy except the baboons, which attack the car. That night, Katherine confesses to Robert that she is having irrational thoughts about Damien and begs her husband to find a psychologist. Days later, at a rugby match, Brennan tells Robert that Katherine is in great danger and the two men agree to meet the following day at Bishop’s Park. As Brennan leaves, Jennings photographs from afar. At Bishop’s Park, Brennan insists Damien is the Antichrist and must be killed. He warns that Katherine is pregnant and Damien will kill the mother and child. When Damien is Robert’s sole heir, the baby will kill Robert as well. Brennan begs Robert to visit a small town called Megiddo to see an old man named Carl Bugenhagen, but Robert says he never wants to see Brennan again, and leaves. Just then, a storm begins, pelting Brennan with leaves and hail. Lightning strikes as Brennan races to a nearby church for shelter, but all the doors are barred. A bolt strikes the church’s lightning rod and it falls, impaling Brennan to the ground. When Robert returns home, Katherine sobs she is pregnant and wants an abortion. At that moment, Jennings phones to tell Robert to look at the evening newspaper, which features a picture of the impaled Brennan. Later, Robert talks to Katherine’s psychologist, who tells him that Katherine is fantasizing that Damien is evil and not her child. The doctor recommends the abortion, but Robert refuses to consider it. Meanwhile, on the second level landing at the Thorne house, Katherine climbs onto a small table to prune a plant while Damien rides his tricycle into the table, causing his mother to fall and lose her unborn baby. At the hospital, Katherine begs Robert not to let Damien kill her. Robert returns home to find the black dog guarding Damien’s nursery. When Jennings phones, begging Robert to come to his flat, Robert sees photographs of Brennan and Holly, Damien’s deceased nanny. In the image of Holly, there is a flaw that looks like a noose and the picture of Brennan also shows a spear-like flaw impaling his body. Brennan’s autopsy photograph reveals a birthmark in the shape of “666,” the sign of the devil from the Biblical Book of Revelations. The men investigate Brennan’s apartment, which is plastered with Bible pages and crucifixes. Brennan’s diary contains a five-year-old newspaper article about a comet changing shape on 6 June at 6 a.m., the exact time of Damien’s birth. Jennings reveals a photograph he took of himself in a mirror that has a similar flaw running through his neck. Back in Rome, Robert and Jennings discover that the hospital where Damien was born burned in a fire five years earlier. All the records were destroyed, but a nun tells Robert that Father Spiletto, the priest who gave him Damien, now lives in a monastery nearby. The men find Spiletto, but the priest was badly maimed by the fire, and can no longer speak. When Robert demands information about Damien’s biological mother, Spiletto writes the name of an ancient Etruscan cemetery. That night, Robert and Jennings break into the cemetery and find Damien’s mother’s grave next to the grave of a child. Exhuming the woman’s grave, they find the bones of a jackal. The child’s grave contains the skeleton of Robert’s natural son with a smashed skull. As Robert realizes his son was murdered at birth, a pack of black Rottweilers attack. Escaping over a spiked fence, Robert slips and impales his arm, but Jennings pulls him free. Robert phones Katherine and reports that his assistant will take her to Rome. When Katherine hangs up, Baylock throws her out the window onto an ambulance ten floors below. After Robert learns of Katherine’s death, Jennings informs him that the ancient city of Megiddo is in Israel and that “Megiddo” is another word for “Armageddon.” Robert remembers the name of Carl Bugenhagen, the man Brennan told him to meet. In Israel, Bugenhagen sends Jennings away and gives Robert a set of knives with crucifix handles, explaining that Damien must be killed on consecrated ground. Robert asks if there is any way to prove the boy is the Antichrist and Bugenhagen describes a birthmark in the shape of “666.” When Robert insists Damien does not have the mark, Bugenhagen tells him to check under the boy’s hair. Disbelieving Bugenhagen, Robert declares to Jennings that he will not kill Damien, and throws the knives away, but Jennings runs to retrieve them. However, a nearby truck loses its emergency brake, rolls down the hill, hits a rock, sending glass flying through the air and decapitating Jennings. Robert flies back to England with the knives, sneaks back into his home and traps the black Rottweiler in the basement. While Damien sleeps, Robert cuts the boy’s hair and sees the mark of the beast. As Robert recoils, Baylock leaps on him and tries to claw his eyes out, but he knocks her unconscious and grabs Damien. As they head downstairs, Damien grabs a wall sconce and the electrical shock sends them tumbling. Robert regains consciousness, and carries Damien into the kitchen, where Baylock attacks him with a carving fork. He stabs her in the neck, then speeds out of the driveway with Damien. Robert's car almost hits a police officer, who radios for backup and gives chase. Robert takes Damien into a church and places him on the altar. As he prepares to stab Damien, the boy begs for his life, and Robert hesitates. The police arrive and shoot Robert before he can stab Damien. Robert and Katherine are given a formal ambassador’s funeral. After the ceremony, Damien is led away by the U.S. President and First Lady.
Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
One morning, in Jul 1951, people around the world are astonished by the appearance of an unidentified, fast-moving object circling the globe. The object, a large, metallic saucer, lands on the Mall in Washington, D.C., where a crowd quickly gathers. Soldiers surround the saucer, and tension grows until a helmeted man emerges, telling the crowd that he has come in peace. A nervous soldier shoots the man when he brandishes a small object, and people run in terror as an enormous robot lumbers out of the saucer. The robot, Gort, emits a mysterious ray that melts the soldiers' weapons until the wounded alien, Klaatu, orders him to desist and informs the soldiers that the object was a gift for their president. Klaatu is then rushed to Walter Reed Hospital, where presidential secretary Harley learns that he has traveled over 250,000,000 miles in five months. Klaatu reveals that he must talk to all of Earth's leaders, but Harley explains that due to the unstable political climate, not all of the leaders will consent to meet with one another. Klaatu insists that his mission is too important to be derailed by petty squabbles, and warns Harley that the future of the planet is at stake. The next day, doctors find that Klaatu has recovered from his wound, after which Harley returns with news that although the president has invited the world's leaders to meet, many have refused unless they can host the gathering. Bemused by their childish jealousies, Klaatu decides to learn more about the species he is visiting, and escapes from the hospital. Radio and television broadcasts announce Klaatu's escape, but no pictures of him are available. Using the name Carpenter, Klaatu obtains a room in the boardinghouse of Mrs. Crockett, which is also inhabited by Mr. and Mrs. George Barley, Mr. Krull and an attractive widow, Helen Benson, and her young son Bobby. The next day, Helen and her beau, Tom Stevens, go on a picnic, and Klaatu babysits Bobby, who takes him on a tour of the city. Klaatu is impressed with the Lincoln Memorial, and when he asks Bobby who the greatest man alive is, the boy replies that famed scientist Jacob Barnhardt is the one Klaatu seeks. After taking Bobby to visit the saucer, Klaatu goes with him to Barnhardt's house, where he easily solves a math problem begun by the absent Barnhardt. That night, Helen watches as a government agent picks up Klaatu at the boardinghouse. Klaatu is taken to see Barnhardt, who is thrilled to learn that he is the alien. Klaatu explains that because Earth's people are reaching a technological level at which they could be a danger to other planets, he has been sent to warn them of the consequences of their violence. Barnhardt speculates that no one will take his message seriously unless he can prove his superior capabilities, so Klaatu promises to arrange a demonstration in two days. The next evening, Tom belittles Klaatu's involvement with Helen and Bobby, although Bobby states that Klaatu is his best friend. After Helen and Tom leave, Bobby follows Klaatu as he goes to the saucer, where he signals to Gort and obtains entrance to the vessel. Inside, Klaatu arranges his demonstration, while Bobby runs home. When Helen and Tom return, Bobby tells them of his adventure, but they dismiss it as a bad dream. Tom grows worried though, when he snoops in Klaatu's room and finds one of the diamonds that Klaatu trades for currency. The following day, Klaatu gets Helen from her office, and when they enter the building's elevator, the power suddenly dies, and Klaatu reveals his identity to Helen. As he discusses his mission with her, people around the world are confused by the loss of all electricity, except to critical locations such as hospitals. Barnhardt is gleeful about the nonviolent demonstration, which he believes will ensure full attendance for his meeting that night of scientists and social leaders. Half an hour later, when the power is restored, Helen is convinced of Klaatu's sincerity, and is determined to help him. She is concerned about Tom, however, as he has taken the diamond to a jeweler for appraisal. Helen rushes to Tom's office, where she is dismayed to learn that he is more interested in the fame and fortune that will result from betraying Klaatu than in the reason for his visit. While Tom alerts the Pentagon, Helen storms out and whisks Klaatu away from the boardinghouse just before the military arrives. During their ride to Barnhardt's meeting, Klaatu tells Helen that if anything happens to him, she is to find Gort immediately and tell him "Klaatu Barada Nikto" to prevent him from destroying the Earth. Before they can reach the ship, however, Helen and Klaatu are stopped by soldiers, and Klaatu is fatally shot. Helen escapes and goes to Gort, who responds to her repetition of Klaatu's orders by carrying her inside the saucer, then stealing Klaatu's body and returning it to the ship. There, Gort revives Klaatu, although Klaatu tells Helen that his re-animation will last for an uncertain duration. Klaatu then appears before Barnhardt's colleagues and warns them that because the universe grows smaller every day, threats of aggression cannot be tolerated. Klaatu assures them that they will not lose any freedoms, but that they will be under the watchful eye of a robot such as Gort, who was invented by an organization of planets determined to stamp out violence. Each planet is guarded by a robot that impartially acts against aggression, and the inhabitants live in peace, Klaatu states, with their energies turned toward higher goals. Klaatu informs the crowd, "Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration." With a final smile for Helen, Klaatu then leaves with Gort.
Christine Daaé, an understudy at the Grand Opera House in late nineteenth-century Paris, France, is guided to stardom by a mysterious and compelling male voice that emanates from behind the wall of her dressing room. Though she believes he is the “Spirit of Music,” a fantasy she has had since childhood, the man is actually the apparition everyone in the cavernous opera building calls “the Phantom,” who reportedly lives in ancient underground cellars and haunts the performances. When the voice eventually summons Christine to a meeting, she discovers a sinister, masked man named Erik Claudin. He demands that Christine give up her fiancé and childhood friend, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, and devote herself solely to opera. Christine agrees, and Erik arranges for her to replace prima donna Carlotta in the role of “Marguerite,” in Faust. During the opera house’s annual “Bal Masque de l’Opera,” Erik attends dressed as the “Red Death,” and discovers that Christine has returned to Raoul. He kidnaps her to his underground chambers. As he woos her by playing his own composition, “Don Juan Triumphant,” on a large pipe organ, Christine slips behind him and removes the mask, revealing his hideously scarred face. Raoul de Chagny and Ledoux, an officer of the secret police, search the caverns for Christine, but a trap door drops them into a dungeon. An angry mob descends into the Phantom’s realm, forcing him to flee. As Raoul and Ledoux escape and rescue Christine, the mob chases Erik into the Seine River.
Cast: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight
Directors: Tobe Hooper
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall
Writer: Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, Mark Victor, Steven Spielberg
Editor: Michael Kahn
Cinematographer: Matthew F. Leonetti
Genre: Horror
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Inside the Freeling family home in the suburban California community of Cuesta Verde, Steve Freeling dozes in front of a flickering television. The golden retriever, E. Buzz, walks through the bedrooms where housewife Diane Freeling and her children, sixteen-year-old Dana, eight-year-old Robbie, and five-year-old Carol Anne, are asleep. Carol Anne rises from her bed, descends the stairs, and sits in front of the screen’s static transmission. She speaks to the television, causing her parents and siblings to awaken in confusion. The next day, Diane notices that Carol Anne’s pet bird died. Downstairs, Steve watches football with a group of friends when the broadcast is suddenly interrupted by the television program, Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. Realizing the signal is crossed with his neighbor Ben Tuthill's, Steve goes outside and demands that Ben stop changing the channel. As Diane and Carol Anne bury the bird in a cigar box, Robbie climbs a tall, knobby tree and notices storm clouds looming overhead. That night, Diane tucks the children into bed and turns on the closet light to calm Carol Anne’s fear of the dark. In the master bedroom, Steve and Diane smoke marijuana, and Diane worries that their plan to build a swimming pool in the backyard could be dangerous with Carol Anne’s recent sleepwalking. Unable to sleep because of the rain, Robbie walks in on his inebriated parents, and Steve returns his son to his bedroom. When Robbie expresses his dislike of the tree outside his window, Steve tells him that his real estate development company built their home next to the old tree so it would protect their family. After he leaves, however, a loud boom of thunder forces Robbie and Carol Anne to retreat to their parents’ bed. While they sleep, the television turns to flickering static yet again. Carol Anne awakens and sits in front of the screen. As she reaches toward it, the ghostly image of a skeletal hand emerges from the picture, swirls through the air, and blasts through the wall above the bed. The room shakes violently, and Carol Anne announces, “They’re here.” In the morning, Steve insists that the disturbance was an earthquake, and multiple construction workers begin digging the pool. Over breakfast, Diane asks Carol Anne what she meant by saying, “They’re here,” and Carol Anne tells her that the “TV people” have arrived. Suddenly, Robbie’s milk glass shatters, his utensils bend, and the kitchen television set turns to static. When Diane notices Carol Anne transfixed by the fuzzy screen, she changes the channel. Upstairs, E. Buzz barks at the wall above the master bed. Later, Diane notices that the kitchen chairs have rearranged themselves around the room, and Carol Anne blames the invisible “TV people.” When Steve returns from work that evening, Diane takes him to the kitchen, where she demonstrates how an invisible force slides the chairs and Carol Anne across the room. During a tornado storm that night, a tree branch breaks through the children’s bedroom window and grabs Robbie. As Dana and her parents run outside to pull Robbie to safety, a vacuum force sucks the children’s toys, furniture, and Carol Anne into the closet. The Freelings return, but are unable to find their daughter. Upstairs, Robbie and Diane hear Carol Anne’s distant voice coming from the master bedroom’s static television screen. Three days later, Steve consults with a University of California, Irvine, psychology professor named Dr. Martha Lesh and her two associates, Ryan and Dr. Marty Casey. He brings them to the bedroom, where the children’s belongings float through the air. Dr. Lesh explains the strange occurrences are caused by a temporary poltergeist intrusion. Diane switches the television to a static transmission and speaks out loud to Carol Anne, asking if she can answer. Carol Anne’s voice replies, crying out that she is afraid of “the light.” Dr. Lesh urges Carol Anne to stay away from the light. Believing the presence to be a hoax, Dr. Casey runs upstairs. Moments later, a white glow emanates from the living room ceiling, as multiple pieces of antique jewelry fall to the ground. As Carol Anne yells that someone is coming for her, Diane claims that she felt her daughter’s spirit pass through her body. A gust of wind knocks the family to the floor, and Dr. Casey returns with a large bite wound on his abdomen from attempting to enter the children’s bedroom. That night, Dr. Lesh tells Robbie about the light many people believe they see before death. After they fall asleep, Dr. Casey attempts to cook a steak in the kitchen, but the meat slides across the counter and begins to mutate. He runs to the bathroom, where the light causes him to imagine flesh melting off his face. Meanwhile, Ryan’s video camera records the upstairs bedroom door opening, emitting a bright light and the swirling apparition of a figure descending the stairs. The poltergeist vanishes through the living room ceiling, and the group replays the tape. The video depicts a cluster of vivid orbs floating through the room, indicating the presence of more than one ghost. In the morning, Robbie and E. Buzz leave for their grandmother’s house, and Dr. Lesh takes the mysterious jewelry to her lab but promises to return with help. Steve’s boss, Mr. Teague, stops by the house and expresses his concern over Steve’s supposed sick leave from work. While walking up a hill overlooking the community, Mr. Teague reveals that the Freelings’ current home was constructed on top of a relocated cemetery but he assures Steve that the bodies were interred elsewhere. Later, Dr. Lesh returns with a clairvoyant named Tangina Barrons, who inspects the house and determines that Carol Anne is still alive. She claims that the souls inhabiting the house do not know they have died, and that Carol Anne must help them cross over into death; however, a demon called “the Beast” has been controlling her to keep the spirits away from the light. Diane speaks to Carol Anne and tells her to run toward the light so that the spirits will follow her. When Tangina opens the bedroom door, Steve throws a rope into the brightly illuminated closet, which falls out the portal’s exit in the living room ceiling. Diane kisses her husband before tying the rope around her waist and entering the closet. Tangina instructs Carol Anne to go into the light, but Steve panics and pulls the rope back. The Beast’s gigantic, ghostly skull appears in the doorway as Diane and Carol Anne’s bodies, covered in pink ectoplasm, drop onto the floor downstairs. Once they regain consciousness, Tangina proclaims the house is clean. Sometime later, the Freelings pack their belongings into a moving van, hoping to leave before morning. As Steve meets with Mr. Teague and the children go to bed, Diane draws a bath. Suddenly, Robbie’s clown toy grabs him around the neck and drags him under the bed. Diane hears him scream, but a force pushes her up onto the ceiling and into the hallway. The growling Beast blocks her from entering the children’s bedroom and she runs outside, slipping into the muddy swimming pool pit, filled with human skeletons. The neighboring Tuthills hear her screams and pull Diane to safety. She runs back to the bedroom, where Robbie and Carol Anne cling to the bed as a wind sucks them toward a glowing orange hole in the wall. As she pulls them to safety, Steve arrives home with Mr. Teague, and multiple coffins containing decomposed corpses unearth themselves from under the house. Steve yells at his boss for moving the cemetery headstones without transplanting the bodies. The Freelings drive away in their car while Mr. Teague watches the house emit a fiery light and implode. After the family checks into a motel, Steve pushes the room’s television set outside onto the balcony.
English businessman Renfield has a harrowing journey to Transylvania, where he is to arrange a lease of the Carfax Abbey in England for Count Dracula. Unknown to Renfield, Dracula is a centuries-old vampire, who lives off the blood of humans and cannot withstand the light of day. Renfield is greeted at Dracula's castle by Dracula himself, but after he passes out from drinking drugged wine, his host descends upon him to feed on his blood. Renfield, weakened by the attack, and Dracula board an England-bound ship which also carries the coffin in which Dracula sleeps during the day and several coffins filled with his native soil, which is required for his survival. When the ship docks in Whitby Harbor, the entire crew is found dead. Only Dracula and Renfield, who appears to have gone insane, survive. Renfield is installed in Dr. Seward's sanitarium, where the physician studies his strange habit of consuming the blood of small animals. Meanwhile, Dracula drains the blood of the female population of London. One night at the opera, Dracula introduces himself to Dr. Seward and meets his daughter Mina, her fiancé, John Harker, and friend Lucy. Lucy is enchanted by Dracula's romantic manner, and later, Dracula attacks and kills her. German scientist Van Helsing arrives in London to assist Dr. Seward, and correctly assesses the situation. As Carfax Abbey is next to Seward's estate, Dracula has easy access to its occupants, and he takes advantage of his ability to transform himself into a bat to attack his next victim, Mina. However, she does not die immediately, but undergoes a change over several nights. Van Helsing confirms for Seward and Harker that Dracula truly is a vampire when Dracula's reflection does not appear in the mirror of a cigarette box. Meanwhile, Renfield constantly escapes from the hospital as ordered by his master, Dracula. Despite the precautions of Van Helsing to prevent Dracula's entry into Mina's room, he hypnotizes her maid to open the windows to admit him. Mina succumbs to a final bonding with Dracula and becomes a vampire. She confesses to Van Helsing that she has seen Lucy since she was buried, which confirms his suspicions that the "woman in white" who has been attacking young children is Lucy. Dracula tries to hypnotize Van Helsing to force him to do his will, but Van Helsing resists and is saved by his crucifix, upon which Dracula cannot look. Dracula, followed by Renfield, takes Mina to Carfax Abbey, where he plans to make her final transition to vampirism. Van Helsing and John follow Renfield there, but when Dracula discovers their presence, he kills Renfield. Dawn approaches, and when Van Helsing finds Dracula in his coffin, he drives a stake through his heart, killing him for eternity. At the same time that Dracula is killed, Mina is released from her spell. With the horror ended, John and Mina reunite.
In London in 1886, Lord Henry Wotton's curiosity is aroused when his friend, artist Basil Hallward, devotes his energies to painting the portrait of a beautiful young Adonis named Dorian Gray. Lord Henry, a cynical idle aristocrat who finds pleasure in manipulating the lives of others, takes an interest in Dorian, advising him that youth is all too fleeting and that the pursuit of desire is the only real goal in life. Lord Henry's words strike a chord in Dorian, and as Basil completes his portrait, Dorian declares that he would give his soul if the painting would grow old while he remained forever young. Lord Henry then cautions Dorian about making a wish in the presence of his Egyptian cat statue, a figure capable of granting it. Inspired by Lord Henry's sentiments, Dorian begins to seek new adventures, and one day wanders into a cheap music hall where he is smitten by singer Sibyl Vane. The idealistic Sibyl addresses Dorian as "Sir Tristam," the name of a mythical, chivalrous knight. When Dorian tells Sir Henry that he plans to marry Sibyl, whom he describes as an antidote to his cynicism, Lord Henry suggests that he test her integrity by inviting her to see the portrait and then asking her to spend the night. At first, Sibyl refuses Dorian's unseemly request, but unable to displease him, agrees to his terms. Disillusioned, Dorian writes Sibyl that she has killed his love and he will never see her again. Troubled by his cruelty, Dorian glances at the portrait and notices that the face has grown hardened, a reflection of his own soul. Vowing to reform, Dorian writes a letter begging Sibyl's forgiveness. Just as he finishes it, Lord Henry arrives to inform him that Sibyl has committed suicide. When Lord Henry advises Dorian to expunge the incident from his mind, Dorian's guilt prompts him to assume an air of indifference. Basil comes to the house to reproach Dorian for his unconcern and notes that the portrait has been concealed behind a screen. After Basil leaves, Dorian decides to lock the painting in his old schoolroom amid the souvenirs of his innocent childhood. As the years pass, rumors of Dorian's changeless youth and strange debauchery intensify. Periodically, Dorian scrutinizes his portrait, which has become disfigured by his sins and his aging. The only person to whom Dorian remains vulnerable is Basil's niece Gladys, who has loved him since she was a child. Over the objections of her suitor, David Stone, Gladys impetuously decides to propose to Dorian, but he rejects her offer. One foggy night, Basil, on his way to Paris, visits Dorian to ask him to deny the unremitting rumors about his wicked ways. In response, Dorian offers to show Basil his soul and takes him to view the portrait, by now a monstrous testament to his venality. Realizing that Basil might reveal his terrible secret to Gladys, Dorian plunges a knife into his back, causing fresh blood to appear on the painting. Afterward, Dorian arranges for Allen Campbell, a chemist over whom he has a sinister hold, to dispose of Basil's body. Dorian then proposes to Gladys and she accepts. Months pass as the police search in vain for Gladys' missing uncle. Then one day, the police notify Dorian that Campbell has committed suicide. Throughout the years, Sibyl's brother, James Vane, has sought the man responsible for his sister's death, the man he knows only as "Sir Tristam." One night, in a cheap pub, Vane hears Dorian called Sir Tristam and follows him into the alley, intending to slay him. Upon discovering that Dorian is a young man, Vane thinks he is mistaken until he later learns Dorian's strange story. Vane tracks Dorian to his country estate, and while hiding behind a clump of bushes, awaiting his chance to slay Dorian, Vane is accidentally shot and killed by a hunter. Realizing that he is indirectly responsible for Vane's death, Dorian decides to break his engagement to Gladys and returns to London. Believing that by destroying his portrait he will be free of its evil spell, Dorian plunges a knife into its heart. As the knife pierces the painting, Dorian falls to the floor, mortally wounded. While Dorian fervently prays, the portrait slowly changes into the image of a beautiful young man. Soon after, Lord Henry, Gladys and David burst into the room and find the hideously disfigured body of an old man lying on the floor.
Cast: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite
Directors: Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks
Producer: Howard Hawks
Writer: Charles Lederer
Editor: Roland Gross
Cinematographer: Russell Harlan
Genre: Horror, Science fiction
Production Company: Winchester Pictures Corp., RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
At a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, Air Force general Fogarty orders Captain Patrick Hendry and his crew to fly to a scientific research station at the North Pole to help Dr. Arthur Carrington investigate the landing of an unidentified object. During the flight, Pat receives a radio call from the station, alerting him to a recent "disturbance" in the area, which has been causing inaccurate instrument readings. Shortly after the military men arrive at the station, Carrington tells Pat about the landing of a large, mysterious object. He then shows Pat photographic images taken by a telescopic camera, which indicate that the object flew upwards before landing and therefore could not be a meteor. Pat, his men, reporter Ned "Scotty" Scott, who has accompanied them from Anchorage in search of a story, and a group of scientists led by Carrington fly to the object's estimated location. Protruding up from an area of thin, radioactive ice, they spot an air foil and determine that it is attached to a circular craft, which they presume to be extraterrestrial. To free the craft, a thermite bomb is planted, but the explosion triggers another, bigger blast that destroys the object. Just as Scotty starts to bemoan the loss of his story, the team's Geiger counter alerts them to the presence of a large manlike creature buried nearby. To preserve the creature, the men cut it out of the ice in a block and fly the block to the station. There, Pat defies Carrington and orders that the creature not be thawed and that the men take turns guarding it. Pat then tries to contact Fogarty for instructions, but learns that a blizzard has disrupted communications. Later, while guarding the extraterrestrial, Corp. Barnes becomes unnerved and places an electric blanket over the ice, unaware that the blanket is turned on. Soon, enough ice has melted to free the creature, who suddenly comes to life and threatens Barnes. Terrified, Barnes shoots at the creature, but it flees the storeroom and stumbles into the snow. Barnes and the others then watch in disbelief as the creature fights with several sled dogs, killing two before running off. Near one slain dog, the men find a severed arm and examine it in the laboratory. Carrington and the other scientists conclude that the extraterrestrial is made of vegetable matter but is highly intelligent. Then, when the severed hand begins to flex, the scientists realize that it is feeding off the dog's blood on its fingertips. Although Carrington demands that the creature be studied, not hurt, Pat and his ax-wielding men are determined to kill it. Once alone with his fellow scientists in the station's greenhouse, Carrington reveals that the creature broke the outside door lock, entered and then left after repairing the lock. Noticing some sap on a storage bin, the scientists open the bin, and a dead, bloodless dog falls out. Later, as the military men again attempt to reach Fogarty, Dr. Stern, one of the scientists, stumbles into the room and announces that the "thing" attacked him and two others in the greenhouse, leaving the other two hanging upside down with their throats slit. When Pat and his men go to investigate, the creature, its severed arm restored, surprises them at the greenhouse's inside door, but they manage to throw up a barricade before it can get out. In the nursery, Carrington then tells the other researchers that the alien planted a seed in the greenhouse and was feeding it with the dripping blood of his human victims. Carrington also reveals that he planted an alien seed found in the severed arm, and shows them how it multiplied at a spectacular rate after being fed blood plasma. Soon after, Pat questions Carrington's secretary, Nikki Nicholson, with whom he enjoys a serious flirtation, about the disappearance of the blood plasma supply. She reveals Carrington's activities, and Pat confronts the scientist. Although he dismisses Carrington's plea that the new life form must be researched, Pat is overruled by Fogarty, whose order to preserve the alien finally comes through on the radio. Later, however, as the temperature becomes dangerously cold for the outside guards, the military men realize they must kill the creature to save themselves. Taking Nikki's suggestion, they set a trap using kerosene, but the alien is only slowed by the fire. The military men then decide to electrocute the alien, but as they are devising the new trap, Nikki discovers that the creature is shutting off the heat in the complex. For protection, the group moves to the generator room and quickly begins building the trap. As the extraterrestrial lumbers toward the generator room, lured by the smell of flesh, Carrington tries to derail the men's efforts and even attempts to talk to the creature. The alien knocks Carrington to the floor, then unwittingly walks into the trap. Shocked with powerful electrical bolts, the creature slowly disintegrates. Later, as Nikki and Pat contemplate marriage, Scotty is able finally to file his story over the radio and warns his audience to "keep watching the skies!"
At the close of a murder trial conducted in a New York City courtroom, the judge gives the jury its final instructions, reminding them that a guilty verdict will mean an automatic death sentence for the defendant, a Puerto Rican youth accused of killing his father. Once in the stiflingly hot jury room, Juror 3, a middle-aged businessman who is estranged from his own son, loudly proclaims that the boy is guilty and that all ghetto youths are criminals, while Juror 7, a fast-talking salesman, wants the jury to reach a decision quickly because he wishes to attend a baseball game that evening. Juror 1, the foreman, who is a genial high school football coach, conducts a preliminary ballot and, without hesitation, eleven jurors vote for conviction. Juror 8, a sensitive and thoughtful architect, casts the only dissenting vote, stating that he has doubts about the case and wishes to give the boy, who has had a difficult life in the ghetto, a fair hearing. Juror 10, approximately sixty years old and the owner of a garage, gruffly declares that the architect is a weak-willed "bleeding heart" before launching into a diatribe against slum dwellers. Wishing to restore calm, Juror 12, a young advertising executive, suggests that each juror present the reasons behind his verdict as a means of convincing Juror 8. The salesman, the garage owner and the businessman all suggest that the boy's ethnicity and class have been enough to convince them he murdered his father, while Juror 2, a shy and stammering bank clerk, appears to be maintaining his guilty verdict because he feels intimidated by the more outspoken jurors. Juror 4, a middle-aged and articulate stockbroker, and Juror 6, a young blue-collar worker, go over the evidence which determined their verdicts with much detail and thought. The prosecution has presented two seemingly reliable eyewitnesses, and motivation for the murder was suggested by the youth's frequent fights with his father. In addition, a shopkeeper identified the murder weapon as identical to an unusual and ornately carved knife he had sold the boy shortly before the murder. Finishing his exposition, Juror 4 offhandedly remarks that "everyone knows slums breed criminals," leading Juror 5, who until this point has remained silent, to declare with great dignity that he was raised in a slum. After Juror 8 points out inconsistencies in the prosecution's case and raises a number of questions, he throws down a cheap knife he bought near the courthouse which appears almost identical to the murder weapon. As many of the jurors begin to grow frustrated with the discussion, Juror 8 suggests that the foreman take a secret ballot from which he will abstain, promising that if all of them vote guilty this time, he will go along with them on the final ballot. Now, however, one juror out of the eleven votes "not guilty." Most of the jurors believe that Juror 5 has changed his mind, but the "not guilty" vote turns out to be that of Juror 9, an elderly and frail man to whom the jurors have, until now, paid little attention. After tempers have cooled down, Jurors 8 and 9 point out the inconsistencies in the prosecution's version of events on the night of the murder, and Juror 9 is especially convincing when he notes problems with the testimony of a prosecution witness who, like himself, is elderly. The two men manage to sway Jurors 5 and 11 to their side, for a total of four "not guilty" verdicts. Juror 10 now explodes with anger over what he views as "nitpicking" and Juror 3 harasses Juror 11, an Eastern European refugee, for changing his mind. After tempers subside, the weary jury continues its deliberations and when another ballot is taken, the tally is six to six, with Jurors 2 and 6 changing their original verdicts. Now at a complete standstill, some of the jurors want to declare a hung jury, but know that the judge will not accept the declaration without further deliberations. When Juror 11, who takes his duty as a citizen very seriously, questions whether all of the jurors have a clear understanding of "reasonable doubt," the obnoxious Juror 7 makes an angry speech full of anti-immigrant invective. Next, the newly confident Juror 2 asks how a 5'6" boy could have made a downward stab wound on a man who stood 6'2", leading Juror 5, who saw many a knife fight in the tough neighborhood in which he was raised, to convincingly demonstrate that the boy would most likely have held the knife underhanded, making a downward wound impossible. The foreman and Juror 12 eventually vote "not guilty," as does Juror 7, whose lack of concern over the case and desire to do whatever is most expedient greatly angers Juror 11, the immigrant. When Juror 8 asks the three remaining jurors to explain their continued insistence on a guilty verdict, Juror 10 makes an angry speech so full of hate and bigotry that everyone is shocked into silence. Juror 4, earlier so confident that the boy was guilty, admits he has reasonable doubt when the astute Juror 9 suddenly remembers that a female prosecution eyewitness had impressions on the sides of her nose of the sort left by eyeglasses. In support of their "not guilty" verdicts, the jurors realize that the witness deceived the court by taking off her glasses prior to her court appearance and they surmise that she was most likely not wearing them in bed the night she claimed to have witnessed the murder. Since Juror 10, who remains separated from the group because of shame over his outburst, has indicated he will change his vote, Juror 3 now stands alone in his conviction that the boy is guilty and he becomes increasingly belligerent and stubborn. When a picture of his son, who is only a few years older than the accused, unexpectedly falls out of his wallet, he suddenly breaks down into sobs and exclaims that all children are rotten ingrates. Overcome with emotion and guilt at the memory of his son, who rejected his harsh and authoritarian manner, he finally whispers "not guilty." As the jurors silently file out of the jury room, Juror 8 gently hands the distressed man his jacket. On the courthouse steps, Juror 8 and Juror 9 bid farewell, secure in the knowledge that they helped to ensure that personal prejudices did not determine the fate of the accused.
In 1943, an Allied force becomes trapped on the island of Kheros in the Aegean Sea. The only possible way to evacuate the men is through a small channel dominated by two huge German guns buried deep in the solid rocks of Navarone. Because the guns are impregnable against air or sea attack, a sabotage team of six is sent to Navarone in a desperate attempt to destroy the massive weapons. Security officer Major Franklin leads the commandos, who include: Captain Mallory, a world-famous mountaineer; Corporal Miller, an explosives expert; Col. Andrea Stavros, a Greek resistance fighter; Pvt. Spyros Pappadimos, a New York--educated delinquent who was born on Navarone; and C. P. O. Brown, a veteran knife fighter. After sinking a German patrol boat, the little group loses its own vessel in a violent storm. The men reach shore with their gear, however, and succeed in scaling a sheer cliff face, the only unguarded approach to Navarone. In the ascent Franklin breaks his leg, and Mallory assumes command. The saboteurs then make contact with two resistance fighters (Spyros' sister, Maria, and a former schoolteacher, Anna, who has been shocked into dumbness by Nazi torture). Despite the aid of the two women, the commandos are captured by the Germans. Andrea tricks the Nazi guards, and the saboteurs escape in their captors' uniforms. As they approach the guns, they learn that Anna is a traitor, feigning muteness while supplying the Germans with the group's positions. Realizing she must be killed, Mallory draws his pistol, but it is Maria who fires the fatal bullet. Mallory and Miller then sneak into the fortress and set their explosives, while the others divert the attention of the Germans. Brown and Spyros are killed in the fighting, but the remainder of the group escape to the sea. At midnight British destroyers move into the channel and head for Kheros. As the giant weapons swing into action, a tremendous explosion shatters the entire cliff and the guns of Navarone crash into the sea.
Producer: Sherrill Corwin, Steve Broidy, Irwin Allen
Writer: Stirling Silliphant, Wendell Mayes
Editor: Harold F. Kress
Cinematographer: Harold E. Stine
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Kent Productions, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Composer: John Williams [composer]
Just before New Year’s Eve, the ocean liner S.S. Poseidon hits choppy weather at sea. On the bridge, Capt. Harrison argues with Linarcos, the representative of the consortium that now owns the ship, who is insisting that they carry on without ballast in order to make up lost time. When young Robin Shelby bursts into the cabin, he impresses Harrison with his fascination with and knowledge of the ship, but is ushered out to await a safer moment to take his tour of the bridge. In addition to Robin and his eighteen-year-old sister Susan, the ship’s passengers include police detective Mike Rogo and his wife Linda, meek haberdasher James Martin, older Jewish couple Manny and Belle Rosen and Reverend Scott, an unorthodox, rebellious clergyman who has been banished to Africa by his church. While the passengers endure the turbulent seas, Harrison orders that they take on ballast but is forced to back down after Linarcos threatens to have him removed from command. In the bar, singer Nonnie Parry rehearses her songs, watched appreciatively by a British waiter named Acres. Later, Scott delivers a guest sermon to the ship's passengers, preaching that God is not concerned with individuals, so everyone must have the tenacity and courage to solve his own problems. That night is New Year’s Eve, and the passengers prepare for the ballroom gala. Linda, a former prostitute, worries that others disdain her, and when Mike tries to calm her, they spar briefly, then embrace. At dinner, while Belle worries that Martin is lonely and urges him to find someone to marry, Susan develops a crush on Scott. On the deck, meanwhile, Harrison learns of a subsea earthquake that is causing heavy swells nearby, and he and his crew wait tensely. Just as midnight strikes and the ballroom erupts in celebration, an enormous wall of water slams into the ship. The force of the water turns the Poseidon onto its side and then, as everyone and everything inside the ship slides downward, the ship flips completely over. In the ballroom, passengers are flung against the walls and slide down the floors to the ceiling, which is now below them. Many people are killed or crushed under furniture, while others hang for their lives from the tables, which were bolted into the floor. In the ensuing silence, the survivors rouse and search for their loved ones. Manny and Belle find each other, as do Linda and Mike. Scott tries to help the wounded and Nonnie cradles the dead body of her beloved brother, as the purser announces that they must stay where they are and await help. When Susan, trapped on a table, yells for help, Scott organizes the men to form a net out of a curtain and urges the terrified teenager to jump. After Susan lands safely in the net, Acres, who sits on a high platform with an injured leg, also asks to jump. Martin and Scott determine, however, that because the boat is now upside down, any rescue team will have to come from above them through the hull, thus everyone is safer joining Acres at his higher vantage point. Robin, who has amassed copious data about the ship, informs them that the hull is thinnest near the propeller shaft, prompting Scott to announce that everyone must make their way toward the shaft. Although Mike is reluctant to trust a child and chafes at Scott’s officiousness, Linda insists that they go along. Scott leads some men in righting the huge, ornamental Christmas tree, which has a strong inner skeleton that can act as a ladder, and Acres anchors it from above. After the women remove their skirts, Robin, Susan, Linda and Mike climb the tree. Martin tries to convince the others to come along, but only Belle, Manny and Nonnie agree, although Belle is convinced she is too heavy to make it, and Nonnie is in mild shock. Before following Martin up the tree, Scott urges the ship’s chaplain to join them, but the older man feels he must remain to comfort the others. Scott addresses them all, stating that climbing represents their only chance to escape drowning as the ship continues to sink, but they side with the purser and refuse to leave. Just as Scott reaches the top of the tree, an explosion rocks the ballroom and water rushes in. Panicked, everyone runs for the tree at once, and their combined weight topples it, trapping them below. With no other choice, Scott closes the door on their cries for help. The party of ten crosses the galley to a fire door, and although Mike is fearful of a flash fire on the other side, Scott pushes through and leads them toward a passageway, which Acres identifies as running the full length of the ship to the engine room. Looking for an entrance to the passageway, the group climbs broken, upside-down stairways. As they struggle to stay steps ahead of the water and debris rushing at them, each group member’s strengths and weaknesses are highlighted, with Mike constantly chafing at Scott’s domineering attitude, and Nonnie nearly collapsing with despair. When they find the entrance to the passageway sealed, Acres recalls that there is a duct into the central air shaft. They crawl through the shaft to its end, where Scott barely manages to open the door before water floods in. The shaft opens onto a vertical tube housing a steep ladder leading to higher doors. After Scott confirms that the next door can be opened, each climbs up precariously. During another explosion, Acres falls to his death, after which Nonnie freezes in fear and Martin must talk her into continuing to climb. The door leads to a deck of the ship, where they are thrilled to spot other survivors being led forward by the ship’s doctor. Scott, however, informs the doctor that he is going the wrong way, toward the section of the ship that is sinking fastest. Despite the doctor’s certainty that he is correct, Scott tries urgently to convince the others that the engine room is the only way out. When Scott blames Mike for failing to save Acres, Mike explodes, asking if Scott thinks he is God himself. After Martin breaks up the fight between Scott and Mike, Scott determines to go ahead to the engine room by himself to ensure that it is accessible, with Mike vowing to follow the doctor if Scott does not return in fifteen minutes. While Susan follows Scott, the others wander the deck looking for supplies. Belle tells Manny she hopes the children survive, and hands him her necklace, the Hebrew letter chai, meaning life. As Scott finds a hatch and climbs into it, cautioning Susan to return to the others if he is not back within minutes, Martin urges Nonnie to be strong, and Robin wanders into a bathroom. When Scott fails to reappear, Mike prepares to leave, but as Manny and Martin argue with him, Scott returns with the news that he has discovered the engine room. Robin cannot be found, however, and as another explosion rocks the deck, Scott searches for the boy. Locating him, he grabs Robin and reaches the hatch just moments before the water rises above their necks. The engine room is now one deck below them, and although climbing downward is frightening, they all do so, only to find the corridor now under water. Scott orders them to swim the short corridor, and dives in to lead the way. When the rope tied around his waist goes slack, Belle, a former champion swimmer, hurls herself in to rescue him. Underwater, she frees Scott from the debris pinning him down, and they surface in the engine room. Moments later, however, she suffers a heart attack and dies in his arms. Mike has followed and now Scott demands that he round up the others, revealing nothing about Belle. Nonnie, who cannot swim, holds on to Martin, and all reach the engine room safely. There, Manny weeps while holding his beloved wife, and although he does not want to go on, Scott convinces him that dying will only render Belle’s death meaningless. The engine room is racked by fires, but Scott points out that the shattered machinery forms a catwalk on which they can climb to the propeller shaft. They all climb until a blast knocks Linda into the flames. Mike howls in grief, blaming Scott for taking from him the only thing he has ever loved. Another explosion sends plumes of steam up, blocking the propeller shaft door. Exhausted, Scott rails against God, asking how many more sacrifices He will demand. Leaping over the flames to jump onto the red valve that controls the steam pressure, Scott grabs the valve, which is directly under the scalding steam, and tortuously twists the valve closed yelling “You want another life, then take me." Knowing that he has no way back, Scott encourages the others to go on, then lets go of the valve and drops to his death. Susan threatens to jump, but Martin holds her back, then taunts Mike into leading them. The steam now subsided, Mike is able to pull the door open, and the group hammers on the thin hull. An answering bang is heard, and Mike realizes that Scott was right all along. The rescuers use blowtorches to cut a hole in the hull and escort the group, tattered and stunned, to safety.
Cast: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan
Directors: Mel Gibson
Producer: Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd Jr., Bruce Davey
Writer: Randall Wallace
Editor: Steven Rosenblum
Cinematographer: John Toll
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Icon Productions , Ladd Company
Composer: James Horner
In thirteenth century Scotland, the death of King Alexander III leads to an invasion by King Edward I of England, a.k.a. Edward “Longshanks.” A Scottish boy named William Wallace is spared from the fighting, but his father and brother are killed. Wallace goes on a journey through Europe with his Uncle Argyle. He gets an education, and when he returns to Scotland as a young man, he is married in a secret ceremony to his childhood sweetheart, Murron MacClannough. Later, English soldiers attack and try to rape Murron, but Wallace saves her. She defends herself in yet another attack, which leads to her arrest and execution. To avenge her death, Wallace organizes a group of fighters to attack the English soldiers stationed in his hometown. Longshanks hears of the uprising and instructs his heir, Prince Edward, to retaliate. Wallace organizes a mass rebellion against the occupying English. The Scots win at the Battle of Stirling, and Wallace teams up with nobleman Robert the Bruce, whose father, Robert the Elder, aspires for his son to win the Scottish crown. Meanwhile, Longshanks sends Prince Edward’s wife, Princess Isabella of France, to divert Wallace with negotiation talks. She develops a romantic interest in him, instead, and reveals that more English troops are set to invade. Wallace mobilizes Scottish nobles and Robert the Bruce to fight back. However, Robert the Bruce betrays the Scots by aligning with Longshanks. He later regrets the decision and promises to fight on behalf of the Scottish from now on. Wallace murders Lochlan and Mornay, two noblemen who betrayed him by taking bribes from Longshanks. He launches a seven-year-long campaign against the English, with the aid of Isabella. She engages in a secret affair with Wallace, and becomes pregnant with his child. After Wallace is taken captive by the English, Isabella taunts a dying Longshanks with the knowledge that she is carrying Wallace’s child. The English court finds Wallace guilty of high treason, and sentences him to torture and beheading. Wallace refuses to utter any words of submission as he is tortured before a crowd. He is told to ask for mercy prior to his beheading, but instead cries out, “Freedom!” Robert the Bruce eventually becomes King of Scotland. In 1314, he is due to accept English rule in a ceremony at Bannockburn in Scotland. There, he uses Wallace’s sword to signal a surprise attack on the English. The resulting Battle of Bannockburn leads to the re-establishment of Scotland’s freedom.
Cast: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna
Directors: Lawrence Kasdan, Bruce Humphrey
Producer: Fred T. Gallo
Writer: Lawrence Kasdan
Editor: Carol Littleton
Cinematographer: Richard H. Kline
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Production Company: The Ladd Company
Composer: John Barry
During a Florida heat wave, lawyer Ned Racine watches from his window as a building burns in the distance, then returns to bed with his lover. The next day in court, the Judge orders Ned to make a deal with Assistant Prosecutor Peter Lowenstein since Ned presented such a bad defense for his client. That night, Ned wanders the boardwalk and stops at a bandstand. Intrigued by a beautiful woman leaving the show, he follows her and tries to engage her in conversation. Matty Walker is married and not looking for company, but Ned jokes that she should have said, “happily married.” Ned learns that Matty lives in Pine Haven with her husband, who only comes home on weekends. When Matty spills liquid on her blouse, Ned goes to get a wet cloth, but returns to find her gone. Later, Ned finds Matty alone at Pine Haven Tavern. They talk about the heat and she offers to show Ned her wind chimes, but she does not want anyone to suspect an affair, so they leave separately. At Matty’s home, it is the maid’s night off, so they are alone as Matty shows Ned the chimes, and points out the gazebo and boathouse. Asking Ned to leave, Matty kisses him goodnight and closes the door, but Ned turns back, breaks through the door, and they make love in the hallway. They continue to see each other, although Matty insists no one else can know. Later, at lunch with Lowenstein and local police officer Oscar Grace, Ned is teased that he has never before been silent about his conquests. When Matty’s husband, Edmund, leaves at the end of the weekend, Ned returns to the mansion and rushes up to “Matty” in the gazebo; however, the woman is not Matty, but a close look-alike. Matty comes outside to join them and introduces her friend, Mary Ann, to Ned. Matty hands an envelope to Mary Ann and the woman leaves. Later, Matty talks about her husband’s will and Ned learns that, among Edmund’s businesses, he owns shore-front properties, including a place called The Breakers. As Matty expresses fear of her husband and wishes him dead, Ned suggests that she leave Edmund, but Matty confesses that she signed a pre-nuptial agreement and that will not get her much money in a divorce. That weekend, Edmund brings home his niece, Heather Kraft, who will be visiting for the week. Matty tells Ned to stay away, but he surprises her late one night after Heather has gone to sleep. As they make love on the porch, Heather comes outside, sees them and runs back into the house. However, Heather does not say anything about the event and leaves with her mother, Roz, on Thursday as planned. At a local restaurant, Ned runs into Edmund and Matty, who introduces the two men, pretending not to know Ned’s first name. Edmund insists that Ned join them, and, when Matty excuses herself, Edmund admits that if Matty was adulterous, he would kill the lover with his bare hands. The next day, Matty sneaks into Ned’s office and admits that she loves him. Ned plans to kill Edmund so Matty will inherit half of his estate. Matty complains that Heather will also inherit half of Edmund’s estate, but that Roz will certainly take her daughter’s money. Matty suggests that Ned covertly rewrite Edmund’s will. Ned refuses because it would look suspicious, and Matty agrees. Sometime later, Ned meets with a former client, Teddy Lewis, who gives Ned a bomb. The next day, Ned drives to Miami and meets a client regarding a real estate deal, but leaves his car in the city and drives back to Pine Haven in a rental car. Hearing an intruder downstairs, Edmund grabs a gun and investigates. Matty yells a warning, and Ned attacks. The men struggle until Ned bashes Edmund’s head with a board. Ned wraps the body in plastic and drives Edmund’s car to The Breakers. There, Ned dumps the body inside, and sets the bomb. Just before it explodes, Matty picks up Ned and they escape. Days later, Ned gets a call from Miles Hardin, Edmund’s lawyer, who says that Matty submitted a new will written by Ned, but there is a problem. Ned meets with Hardin, Matty, Roz, Heather and Lowenstein, who is handling the inquiry into Edmund’s death. Ned pretends that he re-wrote the will with Mary Ann, who is currently out of town, as a witness. Although the will is almost identical to the original document, Hardin points to an error that Ned made in the bequest to Heather. The error renders the will invalid and the entire inheritance is therefore bequeathed to Matty. Hardin also discovered that Ned ran into serious trouble when he made a similar error in the past. When Ned and Matty leave, Matty asks to see him that night. Meanwhile, Lowenstein and Oscar want to know how Ned got involved with Matty, but Ned insists that he updated the will before she showed any interest in dating him. Later, Matty reveals that she learned how to invalidate the will from a lawyer friend, but she never would have done it if she had known about Ned’s previous error. At the police station, Oscar questions Ned and discloses that Edmund’s glasses were not found at the scene, concluding that Edmund was murdered elsewhere and moved. Roz and Heather arrive to make a statement about the man Heather saw with Matty before the murder, but Ned deliberately greets them and Heather does not recognize him. Ned tells Matty about the glasses, and she supposes that the maid has them. Later, Lowenstein warns Ned that Oscar has come to suspect him, and cautions Ned that someone is setting him up. Ned learns from another lawyer that Matty was aware that Ned had previously written an invalid will, and Teddy informs him that Matty asked him for an additional bomb, which he instructed her to rig to a door. Soon, Matty calls Ned from Miami, reporting that she received Edmund’s money and sent it somewhere safe. Confessing that she paid off the maid to leave Edmund’s glasses in the boathouse, Matty asks Ned to retrieve them, but when Ned sees the boathouse door is rigged, he realizes Matty wants to kill him. Ned gets Edmund’s gun and waits for her at the gazebo while Oscar heads for the mansion to arrest Ned. When Matty arrives, she is surprised that Ned has a gun, and he claims there were no glasses in the boathouse. Oscar arrives as Matty heads to the boathouse to find the glasses. Ned drops the gun and runs after Matty, but the boathouse explodes. In jail, Ned realizes that Matty is still alive and that Mary Ann’s body was in the boathouse as a decoy. Dental records identified the body as Matty, but Ned theorizes that the woman he knew as Mary Ann was blackmailing Matty for stealing her identity, and Matty rigged the boathouse explosion to kill both Ned and Mary Ann. Later, Ned gets a copy of Matty’s high school yearbook and learns his theory was correct; the yearbook picture of Matty is the girl he knew as Mary Ann. The photograph of her classmate, Mary Ann Simpson, depicts the woman Ned knew as Matty. As Ned sits in his prison cell, “Matty” relaxes on an exotic beach.
While visiting their father's grave, a sister and brother, Barbara and Johnny, are attacked by a strange, disheveled man. Leaving the unconscious Johnny behind, Barbara flees to a nearby farmhouse and discovers a horribly mutilated corpse. Meanwhile, the strange man has been joined by several other ghoulish figures who are trying to help him break into the farmhouse. Suddenly, Ben, a young black salesman also seeking refuge, appears and fights his way past them into the house. While barricading the windows and doors, he explains to Barbara that a mutation resulting from radiation has caused the dead to arise and devour the living. Ben learns from a television report that fire frightens the ghouls and that they can be killed by a bullet or blow to the brain. Barbara and Ben then find that they are not alone in the farmhouse: in the basement are teenaged couple Judy and Tom as well as married couple Helen and Harry and their young daughter, Karen. Unknown to Helen and Harry, Karen has been injured by the ghouls and is slowly acquiring their disease. Ben improvises a plan to help Tom and Judy escape; but they panic and die in a fire and are devoured by the zombies. The ghouls finally burst through the barricades, and Ben accidentally shoots Harry; Barbara is dragged away by her brother Johnny, who has become a ghoul; and Helen is murdered and eaten by her infected daughter. By morning, when the living have succeeded in suppressing the dead, only Ben has survived by barricading himself in the basement of the farmhouse. But he is mistaken for a ghoul and shot through the head when he looks out a window at a posse sent to destroy the zombies.
In Southern California, KXLA television reporter, Kimberly Wells, arrives at Ventana Nuclear Power Plant with cameraman Richard Adams and soundman Hector Salas to film a segment for an energy special. During their visit, an unexpected tremor is felt inside the plant. From the soundproof visitors’ gallery overlooking the control room, they observe the operators responding to a malfunction. Although the public relations officer, Bill Gibson, informs them that the incident is merely a “routine turbine trip,” the behavior in the control room indicates a more serious crisis. Richard surreptitiously films the event, even though photography is forbidden. Meanwhile, in the control room below, shift supervisor and nuclear engineer, Jack Godell, calmly directs the operators to stabilize the reactor, but pauses when he feels a milder, secondary shudder, which no one else notices. During the procedure, a stuck indicator causes a misreading of the water level, which is dangerously low and threatens to expose the nuclear core. When Jack realizes the equipment error, he executes a risky maneuver to adjust the water level, then waits with apprehension. As the water begins to rise, he breathes a sigh of relief. Later, plant superintendent Herman DeYoung reports to utility company chairman, Evan McCormack, that there was no damage, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will be conducting an investigation. With news that the company is losing half a million dollars per day, McCormack urges DeYoung to finalize the investigation at Ventana as soon as possible, so the plant can resume operation. At the KXLA news studio in Los Angeles, California, station director, Don Jacovich, decides that the footage of the control room cannot be broadcast because it represents unauthorized photography of a security installation. Richard is furious, believing that the public should be informed. After noticing Gibson at the station earlier, Kimberly suspects that the utility company may be pressuring Jacovich to suppress the story. The next day, news producer Mac Churchill informs Kimberly that Richard stole the Ventana footage from the film vault and warns her to retrieve it before Jacovich finds out. Looking for Richard, Kimberly stops by a local hangout near the Ventana plant. At the bar, Jack celebrates with his friend and colleague, Ted Spindler, after learning that the investigation is complete and the plant has been cleared to resume operation. Recognizing Kimberly from television, he invites her to join them. When Kimberly reminds Jack that she was in the visitors’ gallery on the day of accident, Jack corrects her and says the malfunction was not serious enough to be called an “accident.” She asks if the public was in danger, and Jack explains that nuclear plants have multiple backup systems, known as “defense-in-depth.” As a result, there was never a threat of radiation exposure. Later at the plant, however, Jack discovers radioactive leakage near one of the pumps. When he examines X-Rays of the pump’s welding seals, he is shocked to discover that the inspectors duplicated X-Rays, instead of examining each welded joint individually. DeYoung refuses to authorize new radiographs, which could cost $20 million, and reminds Jack that the plant must be back online that afternoon. Reluctantly, Jack follows orders, but becomes increasingly concerned about the safety of the plant. When he confronts D. B. Royce, the inspector responsible for the X-Rays, Jack threatens to expose the negligence to the NRC. Meanwhile, Richard takes the Ventana accident footage to a NRC safety hearing being conducted for a new nuclear plant at Point Conception, also owned by McCormack’s company. In a locked room, Kimberly arrives while Richard is showing the footage to physics professor, Dr. Lowell, and nuclear engineer, Greg Minor. Based on the visual evidence, the two experts believe the reactor was close to exposure, which could have caused an uncontrollable nuclear meltdown, known as “The China Syndrome.” In such a case, radioactive clouds would have been released into the atmosphere, leaving a large portion of the state uninhabitable, followed by outbreaks of cancerous diseases. That evening, Kimberly and Richard visit Jack at home and learn that the problem during the accident was not a near-exposure of the core since the reactor’s defense system responded correctly, but rather the falsification of the X-Rays. The unusual shudder Jack felt following the main shock of the turbine trip indicated a weak pump, which could trigger a China Syndrome if too much pressure is applied. Although he has devoted his life to the plant, Jack believes it is unsafe and agrees to hand over the false X-Rays for Richard and Kimberly to present at the NRC hearing. The next day, Hector discreetly collects the evidence from Jack, but he is seriously injured when his car is deliberately pushed off the road by a truck. Unable to reach Hector, Kimberly telephones Jack and asks him to testify in person. Jack leaves immediately, but soon discovers that he is being followed. To dodge his pursuers, Jack drives to Ventana, which has a guarded entrance. Inside the plant, Jack panics when he realizes that the reactor is almost at full power again, and warns Ted that another outage could destroy the weak pump. Ted believes Jack is intoxicated and tells him to go home, but Jack grabs a gun from a security guard and orders the operators to leave the control room. He summons Kimberly to the plant and allows her alone into the control room, announcing that he wants to make a statement on live television. Watching anxiously from the visitors’ gallery, McCormack objects, but DeYoung reminds him that Jack can flood the containment with radiation as long as he has the control room hijacked. While Richard makes arrangements for the broadcast on KXLA, McCormack and DeYoung instruct Ted to trigger a reactor “scram,” or shutdown, from outside the control room, which should distract Jack until a SWAT team can break in and restrain him. Richard informs Kimberly that the camera crew is ready, and she introduces Jack on live television. Jack begins by admitting a serious accident happened at the plant, but has difficulty relating the complexity of the problem and appears flustered. Suddenly, an alarm sounds and Jack screams, knowing that a reactor scram will jeopardize the pump. After DeYoung orders the television cables disconnected, the SWAT team forces open the control room doors and shoots Jack. Before he dies, Jack whispers to Kimberly that he can feel the shudder. Meanwhile, Ted watches a monitor to see the pump responsible for the radioactive leakage coming apart and realizes that his friend was right. The shudder grows stronger and the lights go out, until the reactor stabilizes automatically. Afterward, Gibson informs a crowd of reporters outside that the situation involved an emotionally disturbed, intoxicated employee, but the plant is now secure. At the camera truck, Mac tells Kimberly that Jack appeared unstable during his statement on air, but Kimberly is determined to prevent the posthumous systematic assassination of Jack’s character. On live television, she asks Ted if Jack was disturbed, and he declares that his friend was not a lunatic, but a hero.
Cast: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio
Directors: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick, Jan Harlan
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford
Editor: Martin Hunter
Cinematographer: Douglas Milsome
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures , Harrier Films, Natant Films, N.V.
Composer: Abigail Mead
In the midst of the Vietnam War, a new class of U.S. Marine Corps recruits arrives at Parris Island, South Carolina, for eight weeks of basic training. Once their heads are shaved, the members of Platoon 3092 are assigned to their bunks and meet Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, who introduces himself with a barrage of expletives and verbal assaults. Among the first targets of his wrath are Privates James “Joker” Davis and the overweight, dimwitted Leonard Lawrence, who is derisively nicknamed “Gomer Pyle.” Seemingly unmotivated by the drill sergeant’s relentless abuse, Pyle struggles to complete the standard drills, and Hartman instructs Joker to supervise his performance. Although Pyle improves with Joker’s help, the entire platoon is punished when he is caught smuggling a jelly doughnut from the mess hall. In revenge, the other recruits haze Pyle in his sleep by beating him with bars of soap wrapped in towels. Over time, Pyle proves himself to be an excellent marksman and is assigned to an infantry unit. While Hartman is impressed by his transformation, Joker notices Pyle frequently talking to his rifle and worries he is suffering a mental breakdown. On the platoon’s final night at Parris Island, Joker finds Pyle in the latrine, loading his gun with live ammunition. As Joker tries to pacify him, Pyle recites the Rifleman’s Creed, rousing Hartman and the other recruits. When Hartman attempts to seize the weapon, Pyle shoots the officer in the chest, then kills himself. By January 1968, Joker has risen to the rank of corporal while working as a combat correspondent for the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes. Disillusioned by the war, he openly displays a peace sign on his uniform and writes “Born to Kill” on the front of his helmet in reference to Carl Jung’s philosophy about the “duality of man.” After several days of ceasefire, the Viet Cong launch the Tet Offensive, overrunning the U.S. installation at Da Nang and the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. As enemy attacks continue, Joker and combat photographer Rafterman are sent north to Phu Bai, where Joker reunites with a fellow recruit, Private “Cowboy,” who is now a sergeant in the Lusthog Squad. As the squad participates in the Battle of Hue, Joker and Rafterman collect footage and interview soldiers about their experiences. Many of the young men question the purpose of risking their lives for the Vietnamese people, who do not welcome U.S. interference. After receiving word that the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) has retreated, the Lusthog Squad leader, “Crazy Earl,” steps on a landmine. Cowboy assumes command, but the squad becomes lost on its way back to base camp. Several are wounded, and Cowboy realizes they have been ambushed by a lone sniper. Although he insists they withdraw, the group’s impetuous head gunner, “Animal Mother,” disobeys orders and runs into the line of fire to rescue two fallen comrades. As the rest of the team attempts to locate the sniper, Cowboy is shot in the chest and dies in Joker’s arms. Vowing to avenge him, the squad storms the shooter’s hideout. Joker sees a lone figure in the window and draws his weapon, but the sniper turns around, revealing herself to be a teenage girl. Rafterman shoots her, and the squad reconvenes over her crippled body. Although Animal Mother would prefer to let her suffer, he permits Joker to perform a mercy killing. After a momentary hesitation, Joker shoots her, and the other soldiers congratulate him on his first kill. Leaving the burning city behind, the troops move on to their next assignment, and Joker reflects that he is thankful to be alive.
Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper
Directors: David Lynch
Producer: Fred Caruso, Richard Roth
Writer: David Lynch
Editor: Duwayne Dunham
Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Blue Velvet Productions
Composer: Angelo Badalamenti
College student Jeffrey Beaumont returns home to the small logging town of Lumberton when his father suffers a heart attack. After visiting the hospital, Jeffrey finds an amputated human ear in a vacant lot, and takes the organ to police detective John Williams, whose daughter, Sandy, was an underclassman at Jeffrey’s former high school. As Det. Williams takes over the case, Jeffrey plies Sandy for information, and she reports that a mysterious singer named Dorothy Vallens is somehow involved. They drive to her apartment building, which is located near the field in which the ear was discovered. The following day, Jeffrey picks Sandy up from school, and plots to covertly survey Dorothy Vallens’s apartment by pretending to be a pest exterminator. Dorothy allows Jeffrey inside, but his ruse goes awry when a man dressed in a yellow suit arrives, and Jeffrey steals a spare key to return later. That night, Sandy and Jeffrey watch the chanteuse perform the song “Blue Velvet” at a local nightclub, and drive back to her apartment before the performance ends. Sandy, who is terrified by Jeffrey’s homespun investigation, promises to honk the car horn if she sees Dorothy return. Inside, Jeffrey is overwhelmed by the urge to urinate and does not hear Sandy’s alarm when he flushes the toilet. Heeding Dorothy’s approach, Jeffrey hides in the living room closet and peers through its wood-slat door as she undresses, and answers a telephone call from a deranged, sadistic tormentor, Frank Booth. The conversation leads Jeffrey to believe that Frank has aligned himself with Dorothy’s estranged husband, Don, and has kidnapped their young son, Little Donny. Finishing the call, Dorothy is terrified to find Jeffrey in her closet. She threatens him with a knife, orders him to strip naked, and seduces him, but Frank arrives unexpectedly and Jeffrey returns to the closet. He watches through the slats as Frank becomes psychologically unhinged, inhaling drug vapors through a gas mask, simulating sex, and slapping Dorothy while referring to her as “Mommy.” When Frank leaves, Jeffrey consoles the frenzied singer, and she propositions him for sex. Jeffrey is intrigued, but recoils when she orders him to hit her. The next evening, Jeffrey gives Sandy a chaste description of the encounter, leaving out the sex, and speculates that Frank cut off the ear of Dorothy’s husband. Sandy, who has led an idyllic and sheltered life, is devastated to learn about the sinister nature of humanity, and describes a dream she had the night she met Jeffrey. In her vision, the darkness of the world turned to light when thousands of robins, the birds of love, were liberated from captivity. Sometime later, Jeffrey returns to Dorothy’s nightclub, follows Frank home, and begins to conduct surveillance, taking photographs of various associates, including the man in the yellow suit from Dorothy’s apartment, who he calls the “Yellow Man,” and a figure in a “well-dressed man disguise.” Reporting back to Sandy, Jeffrey suspects the transactions are drug-related, as a dealer was killed nearby, and a girl’s legs were broken. While Sandy is aghast at Jeffrey’s discoveries, he remains exhilarated, and explains he is finally able to see mysterious aspects of life that were previously concealed. He confesses that Sandy is one such “mystery,” and kisses her, but she begs him to respect her innocence. That night, Jeffrey makes love to Dorothy, and reluctantly submits to her masochistic desires. As they bid each other farewell, Frank arrives and orders Jeffrey to join his gang for a “joy ride” in his car. They speed to a brothel called “This Is It,” where Dorothy is permitted to visit her son, and an effeminate host named Ben serenades Frank with his favorite song, “In Dreams.” Frank loses patience and declares it is time to resume his journey of sexual conquest. Back on the road, Frank fondles Dorothy’s breasts and Jeffrey punches him in protest. Frank drags the boy out of the vehicle at knifepoint, applies lipstick, and kisses him. Threatening to possess Jeffrey in his dreams, Frank beats the young man until he loses consciousness. Jeffrey awakens alone in a lumberyard, stumbles home, and telephones Sandy, who convinces him to reveal his findings to her father. Looking for Det. Williams at the police station, Jeffrey is shocked to discover that Williams’s partner, Tom Gordon, is Frank’s associate, the “Yellow Man.” Jeffrey takes his photographs to the Williams home to reveal them to Det. Williams in private, and promises to end his amateur investigation. When Jeffrey returns to the house for a date with Sandy, he finds Det. Gordon fraternizing with the family and fears Det. Williams is also allied with Frank, but the officer quietly assures him that he is still on the case. Sandy takes Jeffrey to a high school party, where they kiss on the dance floor, and declare their love. However, their bliss is suspended when a car chases them home, and Jeffrey believes Frank is coming after him. Pulling over, he discovers the stalker is Sandy’s jilted boyfriend, Mike, who challenges him to a fight. Just then, Dorothy limps toward them in a stupor, naked and bruised. As Jeffrey embraces her and guides her to his car, Sandy wonders why the woman is so intimate with her paramour. Back at the Williams house, Dorothy calls Jeffrey her “secret lover,” and tells Sandy that he “put his disease in me.” Sandy is grief-stricken, and sobs in her mother’s arms. While paramedics take Dorothy away, Sandy hits Jeffrey, but she later forgives him when he calls from a hospital pay phone. Jeffrey orders Sandy to send her father to Dorothy’s apartment and heads there himself, only to discover a gruesome crime scene. Det. Gordon, aka the “Yellow Man,” stands in rigor mortis with a lethal gorge in his skull, and Dorothy’s husband, Don, who is missing an ear, is sitting nearby with a deadly gunshot to his head. A police radio in Gordon’s coat pocket alerts Jeffrey to a raid at Frank’s warehouse, and he decides to finally relinquish his obsession with the case. As Jeffrey leaves, however, he sees the outlaw in the “well-dressed man disguise,” and realizes the imposter is Frank. Rushing back to Dorothy’s apartment, Jeffrey grabs Det. Gordon’s radio and hides in the bedroom, transmitting his whereabouts to Det. Williams. He suddenly remembers that Frank has a radio, too, and is listening to his report. Jeffrey drops the intercom and runs to the living room. As Frank searches the bedroom, Jeffrey snatches Det. Gordon’s gun and returns to his hiding place. Frank realizes he has been deceived and storms toward the closet, where Jeffrey shoots him through the forehead. Just then, Sandy arrives with her father, who assures the boy that the nightmare has ended. Sometime later, Jeffrey awakens in his backyard, and Sandy calls him inside for lunch. His father has returned home from the hospital in good health, and a robin perches in the kitchen window with a beetle in its beak, restoring light and love to Lumberton. At a park, Dorothy embraces her young son.
The Boy, Harold Lloyd, bids farewell to his mother and The Girl, his fiancée Mildred, at the train station in his home town, Great Bend. Harold promises Mildred he will send for her as soon as he finds success in the big city and, after several mishaps, boards the train. A few months later in the city, Harold admits to his best friend and roommate, Limpy Bill, that he pawned their phonograph and record albums to buy Mildred a gold pendant, and consequently, they now have no money for rent. In Great Bend, Mildred is delighted by his gift and the accompanying letter, in which she learns that Harold has a prestigious position at the De Vore Department Store. In truth, Harold is a salesclerk. One day, he nearly misses work when the delivery truck in which he is sitting takes off and does not stop until it is on the other side of the city. Harold then rushes to find swift transportation home, first by clinging to the edge of an overloaded streetcar and then jumping into a stranger’s automobile. He finally fakes an injury in order to get a ride in an ambulance, and then astonishes the attendant when he pretends to awaken and instructs the driver to stop near the store. After seeing a co-worker nearly lose his job because of tardiness, Harold poses as a mannequin and is carried into the store, thereby avoiding the watchful floor manager, Mr. Stubbs. On Saturday after work, Harold encounters Jim Taylor, an old neighbor from Great Bend, who is now a policeman. While Jim makes a telephone call, Harold tells Bill that police let him get away with anything, and convinces Bill to help him trip Jim. However, Harold does not notice that Jim has been replaced by another patrolman. This policeman is so angered by the prank that he chases Bill, an agile construction worker, up the side of a building while Harold hides. Bill safely reaches the roof and eludes the patrolman, who vows to arrest him at their next encounter. Harold later spends his entire paycheck on a necklace for Mildred’s pendant. When she receives it, his mother urges her to immediately visit Harold in the city. Mildred arrives shortly after a frenzied fabric sale at the store, during which Harold was reprimanded by Stubbs for his unkempt appearance. Surprised by Mildred’s visit, Harold attempts to act like a supervisor, and bewilders his co-workers with his behavior. Shortly thereafter, Harold is summoned to the general manager’s office where he receives an official reprimand about his attire. When Mildred sees him exiting the office, however, she assumes it is his office and insists on going inside. Harold distracts her until the general manager leaves, then takes her inside, where they experiment with the paging machine. When Stubbs comes to the office as a result of the page, Harold hides behind a large piece of paper, and impersonating the manager, orders Stubbs to refrain from complaining about their employees’ attire. When the general manager returns, Harold tells Mildred to sit, close her eyes and open her mouth. As a result, Harold tricks the manager into believing that Harold is helping an incapacitated woman. Mildred forgets her purse in the office and when Harold returns for it, he overhears the manager exclaim that he would pay a thousand dollars for a new advertising idea. Harold boldly proposes to draw crowds the very next day by having a “mystery man” climb up the exterior side of the building. Later, Bill agrees to climb the building when Harold offers to split the fee with him. The next day, the store is surrounded by expectant crowds who have heard of the stunt through the newspapers. When Bill is detained by the policeman on whom they pulled their earlier prank, he urges Harold to climb to the second floor in his place, by which time he expects to elude the cop and replace Harold. Harold reluctantly agrees but when he reaches the second floor, the policeman is still chasing Bill. Harold unsteadily climbs floor after floor, but Bill never loses his pursuer. Although Harold nearly falls several times, and at one point perilously clings to the hands of a large clock, he eventually reaches the roof ledge, where his foot catches in a rope and he is swung upside down several times. When he lands on the rooftop, he is greeted with a kiss from a relieved Mildred. Harold then sees Bill still being pursued by the policeman across the rooftops. Harold and Mildred walk to the door leading to the stairs, and he unintentionally steps out of his shoes when they get stuck in a puddle of tar.
Abby, the wife of bar owner, Julian Marty, begins an affair with Ray, one of Marty's bartenders. Driving through a rainstorm at night, unaware of a Volkswagen Bug following close behind them, Ray gives Abby a ride to Houston, Texas, as she attempts to separate from Marty. Despite their uncertainty, the expedition is curtailed when they consummate the relationship at a motel. In the morning, a man calls the room and, after hanging up, Ray tells Abby that it was her husband. Already suspicious, Marty hired private detective, Loren Visser, to investigate, and Visser confirms Marty’s fears with photographs of Ray and Abby at the motel. When Marty angrily demands to know why he took the pictures even though he had already called to let him know that they were together, Visser wields a silver lighter engraved with his name and claims that voyeurism is one of the perks of the job. Marty threateningly tells Visser that in Greece it is customary to cut off the head of a messenger who brings bad news, but Visser laughs and leaves with his payment. The next evening, Ray takes Abby back to her house, where she secretly collects the pearl-handled revolver Marty gave her as a gift, and he offers to let her stay at his place. He then goes to Marty’s bar to quit and claim unpaid wages. Marty refuses to pay and warns Ray that Abby will cheat on him as well. Marty’s comment elicits mistrust, and although a quarrel ensues between Ray and Abby when Ray returns home, they spend the night together. In the morning, Marty hides in Ray’s living room and attacks Abby, who unsuccessfully reaches for the revolver in her purse. The fight continues outside, where Abby kicks Marty in the groin, and when Ray appears at the door with Abby’s gun, Marty retreats. Later, Marty meets Visser, who has parked his Volkswagen Bug at a popular teen hangout, and offers him $10,000 to kill Ray and Abby. Reluctant at first, Visser accepts and tells Marty to arrange a fishing trip as an alibi. That night, Visser breaks into Ray's house, steals Abby's gun and then returns outside to stalk the couple through the large, exposed window beside Ray’s bed. Marty returns from his trip and meets Visser at the bar office. Visser presents him with a photograph displaying Ray and Abby in bed, shot and killed. When Marty opens the safe to withdraw Visser’s fee, he hides the photograph inside. After Visser collects his money, he shoots Marty with Abby's gun, but accidently leaves his lighter under a dead fish on Marty's desk. Later that night, Ray returns to the bar, seeking the wages he is owed. Not finding anything in the cash register, he walks into the office, stumbles over Abby’s revolver, which misfires, and finds Marty in his chair, covered with blood. Assuming Abby shot Marty, Ray attempts to clean up the office with his windbreaker, then slips her gun into Marty’s pocket and drags the body to his car. After driving away, Ray pulls over and runs from the car, but turns back to find that Marty is no longer in the backseat. As Marty slowly crawls away, Ray considers running him over with the car and beating him with a shovel, but cannot muster the will. He drags Marty back into the car and drives to a freshly plowed field. After digging a hole, Ray buries Marty alive. Before he is completely covered, however, Marty weakly draws Abby’s revolver from his pocket. He points it at Ray and squeezes the trigger, but there are no remaining bullets. Now panicked, Ray frantically finishes filling the grave with dirt. In the morning, Ray calls Abby from a payphone and tells her that he loves her, then shows up at her new apartment with blood on his shirt. Meanwhile, in a darkroom, Visser sets fire to the photographs he doctored to show the murder of Abby and Ray, but realizes the one Marty returned to him has been replaced with a sign from the bar reminding employees to wash their hands before returning to work. He attempts to light a cigarette and discovers his lighter is missing, then taps his fingers on his phone. Back at Abby’s apartment, Ray vaguely describes the events from the previous evening and how he cleaned up her mess, but Abby does not understand what he is talking about. They are interrupted by a phone call, but when Abby picks up, she hears nothing on the other end and assumes that it is Marty. Still unconvinced that Abby did not attempt to kill Marty, Ray leaves, but sets Abby’s gun down by the door on his way out, telling her that she had left it behind. That evening, in an attempt to make sense of Ray's behavior, Abby goes to the bar. When she arrives, Visser is in the office, trying to break open the safe with a hammer to reclaim the incriminating photograph. Visser hides and watches as Abby uncovers broken glass and blood on the floor, a hammer and chip marks on the safe, and fish rotting on Marty’s desk. Suddenly back at her apartment, Abby wakes in the night and washes her face. Hearing footsteps through the walls, Abby leaves the bathroom to find Marty sitting on her bed. He says that he loves her and that she left her weapon behind, tossing a threatening metal object from his pocket that turns about to be a compact. With the warning "he'll kill you too," Marty falls on the ground, vomiting blood. Abby wakes from the apparent nightmare and sits up in bed. She goes to Ray's apartment and accuses him of murdering Marty over the money he is owed, but Ray, who is packing to leave, explains that he found her gun at the bar and buried Marty alive. A newspaper loudly strikes the screen door beside them, and Abby leaves in haste. Ray returns to the bar and finds Visser’s doctored photograph. Upon leaving, he notices a Volkswagen Bug on the empty street. That night, Abby returns to her apartment to discover Ray waiting in the dark, looking out the window. As she switches on the lights, he urges her to turn them off. She does, but when he explains that he thinks someone is watching, she turns the lights back on in fear that he plans to hurt her. Visser, watching from the rooftop of a building across the street with a sniper rifle, uses the light to aim and fires a shot through the window. Ray falls down dead and Visser targets Abby, who dives to the floor and narrowly avoids the bullet meant for her. Barely out of Visser's view, she throws a shoe and shatters the light bulb, plunging the room into darkness. Visser soon arrives at the apartment and Abby hides in the bathroom. He searches Ray in an attempt to retrieve his lighter but does not find it, then moves on to the bathroom to kill Abby. When he does not see her there, he reaches out the bathroom window toward the building’s adjacent window. As he slides it open, Abby grabs him, slams the window frame down on his wrist and stabs his hand with a knife. The blade goes deep into the windowsill, immobilizing Visser. Desperate, he shoots holes into the wall, and, when his gun is empty, he breaks through the wall with his fist. Abby returns next door to her apartment and finds her gun where Ray left it while Visser removes the knife from his hand. Aiming her gun from outside the partially closed bathroom door, Abby sees Visser’s shadow, fires a shot and hits him. As he falls to the ground and hears Abby declare, "I'm not afraid of you, Marty," Visser bursts into laughter. With his last breath, Visser jokes that if he sees Marty, he’ll “give him the message” and looks up at the underside of the bathroom sink. Water collects on the pipes and a single drop falls on him.
In Los Angeles, California, an elevator full of people is held hostage by a bomber, Howard Payne, who demands $3 million from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Payne is outwitted by two LAPD SWAT team members, Jack Traven and Harry Temple. He attempts to flee by detonating a bomb that appears to kill him. However, sometime later, the mastermind re-emerges with a new ransom plot. After blowing up a Los Angeles city bus, Payne calls Jack Traven via payphone to warn that a second bus has been rigged with a similar bomb. Once that bus reaches fifty miles-per-hour, the explosive will arm, at which point the bus cannot dip below that speed or the bomb will detonate. Payne demands $3.7 million to deactivate the bomb, and warns that in the meantime, all passengers must remain on the bus. Jack manages to board the bus just before one of the passengers, a paranoid criminal, panics and shoots the driver, Sam. To keep the bus moving at the designated speed, passenger Annie Porter takes the injured driver’s seat. She and Jack work together to maneuver the bus to the airport, going so far as to jump the vehicle over a fifty-foot gap on an elevated freeway under construction. Once they reach the airport, Jack negotiates with Payne to allow Sam, the injured driver, off the bus. However, when a passenger named Helen tries to escape as well, Payne detonates a smaller bomb that kills her. Jack’s superior, Police Captain McMahon, determines that Payne has been monitoring the situation inside the bus via a hidden camera. With the help of a local news crew, he carries out a plan to interrupt the camera feed, record a minute’s worth of footage, and place it on a loop. Thus, the bus is evacuated unbeknownst to Payne, shortly before it explodes. The bomber realizes he has been fooled just as police drop his ransom money in the designated spot. He takes the cash and, posing as a police officer, kidnaps Annie. Strapping a bomb-laden vest to her chest, he hijacks a subway train, and kills the conductor. Jack is in pursuit, however, and chases Payne onto the roof of the subway car, where Payne is decapitated by an overhead light signal. Jack defuses Annie’s bomb vest, but she remains handcuffed to a pole. Unable to free her, he speeds up the train to derail it onto a new track, still under construction. The two hold onto each other as the train jumps a curve onto the makeshift track. It skids upward, through the unfinished train station, onto Hollywood Boulevard. Jack and Annie kiss passionately as a crowd of onlookers gathers outside the wrecked train.
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone
Directors: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
Producer: Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis
Writer: Norman Reilly Raine, Seton I. Miller
Editor: Ralph Dawson
Cinematographer: Tony Gaudio, Sol Polito
Genre: Adventure
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold
King Richard the Lion-Heart, who left England to fight in the Crusades, has been taken captive and is being held for ransom. He has entrusted his kingdom to his brother, Prince John, who, along with Sir Guy of Gisbourne and the Sheriff of Nottingham, is plotting to overthrow the throne. At a banquet in John's honor, Sir Robin of Locksley disrupts the proceedings and openly accuses John of treachery. Robin eludes John's knights and hides out in Sherwood Forest, where he gathers a band of men, including Will Scarlett, Little John and Friar Tuck, to protect and provide for the Saxon poor by stealing from the rich. When Gisbourne and the sheriff ride through the forest, accompanied by Richard's ward, the lovely Maid Marian, Robin, who is now known as Robin Hood, kidnaps the royal group, seizes their tax money for Richard, and opens Marian's eyes to the reality of Norman oppression. They are released unharmed, but the enraged sheriff proposes an archery tournament to lure Robin out of Sherwood. The sheriff's trick succeeds, and when Robin accepts his victory prize from Marian, he is caught and sentenced to hang. Marian, now in love with Robin, alerts his men, who save him from the gallows. While Robin secretly visits Marian and confesses his love, Richard rides into Sherwood. He discovers John's plans to be crowned king and enlists Robin's help. At the castle, Gisbourne exposes Marian's allegiance to Robin and imprisons her. The coronation begins on schedule, but Richard's and Robin's men appear from under monks' robes and attack John's knights. In a spectacular sword fight, Gisbourne is killed by Robin. After Richard is restored to his rightful throne, he banishes John and gives Robin and Marian permission to marry.
1. Psycho (1960)
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Joseph Stefano
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: John L. Russell
Production Company: Shamley Productions, Inc.
2. Jaws (1975)
Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown, William S. Gilmore Jr.
Writer: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
Editor: Verna Fields
Cinematographer: Bill Butler
Production Company: Universal Pictures , Zanuck/Brown Company
3. The Exorcist (1973)
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb
Directors: William Friedkin
Producer: William Peter Blatty, Noel Marshall
Writer: William Peter Blatty
Editor: Bud Smith, Evan Lottman, Norman Gay
Cinematographer: Owen Roizman, Billy Williams
Production Company: Hoya Productions, Inc.
4. North by Northwest (1959)
Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Ernest Lehman
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Cast: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn
Directors: Jonathan Demme
Producer: Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ron Bozman, Gary Goetzman
Writer: Ted Tally
Editor: Craig McKay
Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto
Production Company: Strong Heart Productions
6. Alien (1979)
Cast: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright
Directors: Ridley Scott
Producer: Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill, Ronald Shusett
Writer: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Editor: Terry Rawlings, Peter Weatherley
Cinematographer: Derek Vanlint
Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
7. The Birds (1963)
Cast: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Evan Hunter
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Inc.
8. The French Connection (1971)
Cast: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider
Directors: William Friedkin
Producer: G. David Schine, Philip D'Antoni
Writer: Ernest Tidyman
Editor: Jerry Greenberg
Cinematographer: Owen Roizman
Production Company: D'Antoni Productions, Inc.
9. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
Directors: Roman Polanski
Producer: William Castle
Writer: Roman Polanski
Editor: Sam O'Steen, Robert Wyman
Cinematographer: William Fraker
Production Company: William Castle Enterprises
10. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Frank Marshall, George Lucas, Howard Kazanjian
Writer: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Editor: Michael Kahn
Cinematographer: Douglas Slocombe
Production Company: Lucasfilm, Ltd.
11. The Godfather (1972)
Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
Directors: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Robert Evans, Albert S. Ruddy
Writer: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola
Editor: William Reynolds, Peter Zinner
Cinematographer: Gordon Willis
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Alfran Productions, Inc.
12. King Kong (1933)
Cast: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot
Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Producer: David O. Selznick
Writer: James Creelman , Ruth Rose
Editor: Ted Cheesman
Cinematographer: Eddie Linden, Vernon Walker , J. O. Taylor
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
13. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard
Directors: Arthur Penn
Producer: Warren Beatty
Writer: David Newman, Robert Benton
Editor: Dede Allen
Cinematographer: Burnett Guffey
Production Company: Tatira-Hiller Productions
14. Rear Window (1954)
Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: John Michael Hayes
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Patron, Inc.
15. Deliverance (1972)
Cast: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty
Directors: John Boorman
Producer: John Boorman
Writer: James Dickey
Editor: Tom Priestley
Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production Company: Warner Bros., Inc., Elmer Enterprises, Inc.
16. Chinatown (1974)
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
Directors: Roman Polanski
Producer: Robert Evans
Writer: Robert Towne
Editor: Sam O'Steen
Cinematographer: John A. Alonzo , Stanley Cortez
Production Company: Long Road Productions, Inc.
17. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh
Directors: John Frankenheimer
Producer: George Axelrod, John Frankenheimer, Howard W. Koch
Writer: George Axelrod
Editor: Ferris Webster, Carl Mahakian
Cinematographer: Lionel Lindon
Production Company: M. C. Productions
18. Vertigo (1958)
Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Alec Coppel, Samuel Taylor
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp.
19. The Great Escape (1963)
Cast: Robert Graf, Nigel Stock, Angus Lennie
Directors: John Sturges
Producer: John Sturges
Writer: James Clavell, W. R. Burnett
Editor: Ferris Webster
Cinematographer: Daniel L. Fapp
Production Company: The Mirisch Company, Inc., Alpha Corp.
20. High Noon (1952)
Cast: Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges
Directors: Fred Zinnemann
Writer: Carl Foreman
Editor: Harry Gerstad, Elmo Williams
Cinematographer: Floyd Crosby
Production Company: Stanley Kramer Productions, Inc.
21. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
Directors: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick, Max L. Raab, Si Litvinoff
Writer: Stanley Kubrick
Editor: Bill Butler
Production Company: Hawks Films Limited, Polaris Productions, Inc.
22. Taxi Driver (1976)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks
Directors: Martin Scorsese
Producer: Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips
Writer: Paul Schrader
Editor: Tom Rolf, Melvin Shapiro
Cinematographer: Michael Chapman
Production Company: Bill/Phillips Productions, Italo-Judeo
23. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn
Directors: David Lean
Producer: Sam Spiegel, David Lean
Writer: Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson
Editor: Anne V. Coates
Cinematographer: F. A. Young
Production Company: Horizon Pictures (G.B.), Ltd.
24. Double Indemnity (1944)
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
Directors: Billy Wilder
Producer: B. G. DeSylva, Joseph Sistrom
Writer: Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler
Editor: Doane Harrison
Cinematographer: John Seitz
Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Inc.
25. Titanic (1997)
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane
Directors: James Cameron
Producer: James Cameron, Jon Landau
Writer: James Cameron
Editor: Conrad Buff, James Cameron, Richard A. Harris
Cinematographer: Russell Carpenter
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Lightstorm Entertainment
26. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George
Directors: John Huston
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Writer: John Huston
Editor: Thomas Richards
Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
27. Star Wars (1977)
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Directors: George Lucas
Producer: Gary Kurtz, George Lucas
Writer: George Lucas
Editor: Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, Richard Chew, John Jympson
Cinematographer: Gilbert Taylor
Production Company: Lucasfilm, Ltd.
28. Fatal Attraction (1987)
Cast: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer
Directors: Adrian Lyne
Producer: Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing
Writer: James Dearden
Editor: Michael Kahn, Peter E. Berger
Cinematographer: Howard Atherton
Production Company: Jaffe/Lansing Productions
29. The Shining (1980)
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
Directors: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick, Jan Harlan
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson
Editor: Ray Lovejoy
Cinematographer: John Alcott
Production Company: Hawk Films Ltd.
30. The Deer Hunter (1978)
Cast: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage
Directors: Michael Cimino
Producer: Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino, John Peverall
Writer: Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker, Deric Washburn
Editor: Peter Zinner
Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production Company: EMI
31. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Teri Garr
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips
Writer: Steven Spielberg
Editor: Michael Kahn
Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond, William A. Fraker , Douglas Slocombe
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, EMI
32. Strangers on a Train (1951)
Cast: Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde, Whitfield Cook
Editor: William H. Ziegler
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
33. The Fugitive (1993)
Cast: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward
Directors: Andrew Davis, Terry J. Leonard, Mike Gray
Producer: Arnold Kopelson, Keith Barish, Roy Huggins
Writer: Jeb Stuart, David Twohy, David Twohy
Editor: Dennis Virkler, David Finfer, Dean Goodhill, Don Brochu, Richard Nord, Dov Hoenig
Cinematographer: Michael Chapman, Gary H. Holt, George Kohut
Production Company: Warner Bros., Inc.
34. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
Directors: Charles Laughton
Producer: Paul Gregory
Writer: James Agee, Charles Laughton
Editor: Robert Golden
Cinematographer: Stanley Cortez
Production Company: Paul Gregory Productions
35. Jurassic Park (1993)
Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen
Writer: Michael Crichton, David Koepp
Editor: Michael Kahn
Cinematographer: Dean Cundey
Production Company: Amblin Entertainment
36. Bullitt (1968)
Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset
Directors: Peter Yates
Producer: Philip D'Antoni, Robert E. Relyea
Writer: Alan R. Trustman, Harry Kleiner
Editor: Frank P. Keller, Ralph H. Martin
Cinematographer: William A. Fraker
Production Company: Solar Productions, Inc.
37. Casablanca (1942)
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Directors: Michael Curtiz
Producer: Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis
Writer: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
Editor: Owen Marks
Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
38. Notorious (1946)
Cast: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Ben Hecht
Editor: Theron Warth
Cinematographer: Ted Tetzlaff
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
39. Die Hard (1988)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov
Directors: John McTiernan
Producer: Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver, Charles Gordon
Writer: Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza
Editor: Frank J. Urioste, John F. Link
Cinematographer: Jan de Bont
Production Company: Gordon Company , Silver Pictures
40. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Directors: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
Editor: Ray Lovejoy
Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
41. Dirty Harry (1971)
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
Directors: Don Siegel
Producer: Robert Daley, Clint Eastwood, Don Siegel
Writer: Harry Julian Fink, R. M. Fink, Dean Riesner , Harry Julian Fink, R. M. Fink
Editor: Carl Pingitore
Cinematographer: Bruce Surtees
Production Company: The Malpaso Company
42. The Terminator (1984)
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
Directors: James Cameron
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd, John Daly, Derek Gibson
Writer: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd
Editor: Mark Goldblatt
Cinematographer: Adam Greenberg, Chuck Colwell
Production Company: Hemdale Productions
43. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger
Directors: Victor Fleming, King Vidor
Producer: Mervyn Le Roy
Writer: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, Noel Langley
Editor: Blanche Sewell
Cinematographer: Harold Rosson
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
44. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Cast: Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
Writer: Melissa Mathison
Editor: Carol Littleton
Cinematographer: Allen Daviau
Production Company: Universal Pictures , Amblin' Entertainment
45. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn
Writer: Robert Rodat
Editor: Michael Kahn
Cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski
Production Company: Amblin Entertainment , Mutual Film Company
46. Carrie (1976)
Cast: Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, William Katt
Directors: Brian DePalma
Producer: Paul Monash
Writer: Lawrence D. Cohen
Editor: Paul Hirsch
Cinematographer: Mario Tosi
Production Company: Redbank Films
47. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Cast: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates
Directors: Don Siegel
Producer: Walter Wanger
Writer: Daniel Mainwaring
Editor: Robert S. Eisen
Cinematographer: Ellsworth Fredericks
Production Company: Walter Wanger Pictures, Inc.
48. Dial M for Murder (1954)
Cast: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Frederick Knott
Editor: Rudi Fehr
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
49. Ben-Hur (1959)
Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet
Directors: William Wyler
Producer: Joseph R. Vogel, Sol C. Siegel, Sam Zimbalist, J. J. Cohn
Writer: Karl Tunberg
Editor: Ralph E. Winters, John D. Dunning, Margaret Booth
Cinematographer: Robert L. Surtees
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
50. Marathon Man (1976)
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider
Directors: John Schlesinger
Producer: Robert Evans, Sidney Beckerman
Writer: William Goldman
Editor: Jim Clark
Cinematographer: Conrad Hall
51. Raging Bull (1980)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci
Directors: Martin Scorsese
Producer: Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Peter Savage
Writer: Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Cinematographer: Michael Chapman
Production Company: Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Inc.
52. Rocky (1976)
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young
Directors: John G. Avildsen
Producer: Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Gene Kirkwood
Writer: Sylvester Stallone
Editor: Richard Halsey, Scott Conrad
Cinematographer: James Crabe
Production Company: Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Inc.
53. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman
Directors: Quentin Tarantino
Producer: Lawrence Bender
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Editor: Sally Menke
Cinematographer: Andrzej Sekula
Production Company: A Band Apart , Jersey Films
54. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross
Directors: George Roy Hill
Producer: John Foreman, Paul Newman, Paul Monash
Writer: William Goldman
Editor: John C. Howard, Richard C. Meyer
Cinematographer: Conrad Hall
Production Company: Campanile Productions, Inc.
55. Wait Until Dark (1967)
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna
Directors: Terence Young
Producer: Mel Ferrer, Walter MacEwen
Writer: Robert Carrington, Jane-Howard Carrington
Editor: Gene Milford
Cinematographer: Charles Lang
Production Company: Warner Bros.--Seven Arts, Inc.
56. Frankenstein (1931)
Cast: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles
Directors: James Whale
Producer: Carl Laemmle Jr.
Writer: Garrett Fort, Francis Edwards Faragoh, Richard Schayer
Editor: Clarence Kolster
Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson
Production Company: Universal Pictures Corp.
57. All the President's Men (1976)
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden
Directors: Alan J. Pakula
Producer: Walter Coblenz
Writer: William Goldman
Editor: Robert L. Wolfe
Cinematographer: Gordon Willis
Production Company: Wildwood Enterprises, Inc.
58. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Cast: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins
Directors: David Lean
Producer: Sam Spiegel
Writer: Pierre Boulle, Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson
Cinematographer: Jack Hildyard
Production Company: Horizon-American Pictures, Inc.
59. Planet of the Apes (1968)
Cast: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter
Directors: Franklin J. Schaffner
Producer: Arthur P. Jacobs
Writer: Michael Wilson, Rod Serling
Editor: Hugh S. Fowler
Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy
Production Company: Apjac Productions, Inc.
60. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
Directors: M. Night Shyamalan
Producer: Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Editor: Andrew Mondshein
Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto
Production Company: Hollywood Pictures , Spyglass Entertainment Group, LP, The Kennedy Marshall Company
61. Cape Fear (1962)
Cast: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen
Directors: J. Lee Thompson
Producer: Sy Bartlett
Writer: James R. Webb
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: Sam Leavitt
Production Company: Melville-Talbot Productions
62. Spartacus (1960)
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
Directors: Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann
Producer: Kirk Douglas, Edward Muhl, Edward Lewis
Writer: Dalton Trumbo
Editor: Robert Lawrence
Cinematographer: Russell Metty
Production Company: Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc., Bryna Productions, Inc.
63. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono
Directors: Robert Aldrich
Producer: Robert Aldrich, Kenneth Hyman
Writer: Lukas Heller
Editor: Michael Luciano
Cinematographer: Ernest Haller
Production Company: Associates & Aldrich Co., Inc.
64. Touch of Evil (1958)
Cast: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles
Directors: Orson Welles
Producer: Albert Zugsmith
Writer: Orson Welles
Editor: Virgil Vogel, Aaron Stell, Edward Curtiss
Cinematographer: Russell Metty
Production Company: Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc.
65. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson
Directors: Robert Aldrich
Producer: Kenneth Hyman
Writer: Nunnally Johnson, Lukas Heller
Editor: Michael Luciano
Cinematographer: Edward Scaife
Production Company: M. K. H. Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
