CINEMANIA:

Adam’s Rib (USA, 1049, George Cukor)

Dan Jardine:

Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin's witty and intelligent script (despite many improbabilities, such as the conflict of interest in having a husband and wife contest the same case, and the plausibility-defying circus-like theatrics that Amanda deploys in the courtroom) propels this funny and barbed courtroom comedy.

The legal and gender-fueled debates at the center of the film may seem somewhat antiquated today, but the intelligence and wit that inform much of the film's dialogue are still surprisingly fresh. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn share an onscreen ease and familiarity usually reserved for long-married couples.

Romeo and Juliet (UK, 1968, Franco Zeffirelli)

Dan Jardine:

The unrepentant romanticism of Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet works beautifully in translating William Shakespeare's tragic drama to the silver screen. 

The lyrical score of Academy Award-winner Nino Rota (The Godfather) and the voluptuous and magnificent period costumes by Danilo Donati combine with the sensuous and dusty cinematography of Pasqualino De Santis to evoke the Italian renaissance setting perfectly.

The Stunt Man (USA,1980, Richard Rush)

Dan Jardine:

Vibrating with energy, the incessantly entertaining The Stunt Man is a puzzle-master's delight. 

The clever script and ambiguous direction toy with the audience, almost in the same way that Peter O'Toole's directorial maestro (who anticipates The Truman Show's Christof by nearly two decades) plays with Steve Railsback's baffled fugitive.

Twin Peaks (USA, 1989, David Lynch)

Dan Jardine:

David Lynch took a murder mystery, mixed it with equal parts soap opera and his own surrealist vision and produced one of the most memorable television pilots in the medium's history. Twin Peaks is a fascinating tightrope-walk: Lynch's ultra-cool unconventional storytelling techniques are modified just enough to allow the movie to reach a broad audience, but he still infuses the work with enough perverse touches to keep die-hard fans happy.

Pride and Prejudice (SA, 1940, Robert Z. Leonard)

Dan Jardine:

Pride and Prejudice is a moderately faithful re-telling of Jane Austen's best-known novel. 

The protagonists are appropriately composed in the pre-Victorian England setting, championing Austen's rebellion against what she saw as the excessive emotionalism and romantic world view of the literature of her time.

Bronco Billy (USA, 1980, Clint Eastwood)

Dan Jardine:

Clint Eastwood's assured helmsmanship of this sweet and gentle comedy marks a change in direction and image for the former Dirty Harry. 

While Bronco Billy occasionally suffers from ingratiating lapses of tone, Eastwood's rock solid presence both before and behind the camera keeps the film from losing its focus.

The Yearling (USA, 1946, Clarence Brown)

Dan Jardine:

The Yearling, based on the award-winning novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, is a touching coming-of-age drama set in late nineteenth century rural Florida that explores difficult emotional issues within the context of a struggling frontier family's life.

Little Caesar (USA, 1930, Mervyn LeRoy)

Dan Jardine:

The rise of Al Capone to the head of America's criminal class inspired this Edward G. Robinson vehicle. 

Appearing just as talking pictures were finding their feet, Robinson's gravelly snarl and sociopathic disdain for human conventions became the template for countless future gangster anti-heroes.

The Three Muskateers (USA, 1921, Fred Niblo)

Dan Jardine: 

This lavish silent-era production of Three Musketeers is primarily a comic action film, yet it also pays extraordinary attention to detail, ensuring that the period piece has a ringing authenticity. 

Alexander Dumas' novel receives the royal treatment, as villages and courts of the 17th century are painstakingly recreated and costumes chosen from antique dresses of the period.