Apocalypse Now
Martin Sheen plays Captain Willard, an assassin assigned to lead a crew of men on a mission to terminate the elusive and mysterious Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando).

Backdraft
Two feuding brothers carry on a heroic family tradition in the Chicago Fire Department. Before the smoke clears, love affairs are rekindled and lives are shattered as the brothers fight to resolve their differences and solve a puzzling series of arson attacks, each ignited by explosive phenomena known as backdrafts.

Batman
In Batman, Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), mingles with the high society of Gotham City by day and emerges from the shadows at night to strike fear into the hearts of criminals. His number one nemesis is the horribly disfigured The Joker (Jack Nicholson), who blames the Caped Crusader for what he has become and wreaks havoc on the city in an attempt to extract his revenge on Batman.

The Bourne Identity
A man (Matt Damon) fished out of the Mediterranean Sea awakens from a coma-like state, discovers he has been shot several times, and has microfilm implanted in his body. But he has no idea who he is. Soon he becomes the target of international terrorists, and the only person who may hold the answers to his true identity is a woman who knows his past (Franka Potente).

Braveheart
Braveheart, set in the late 13th century, is the story of William Wallace (Mel Gibson), who fought for Scotland's freedom against the forces of King Edward I (Patrick McGoohan), the British monarch who had declared himself king of Scotland.

The Bridge on the River Kwai
Set in a Burmese POW camp in 1943, the story follows a British colonel (Alec Guinness) trying to build a bridge over the river Kwai and an escaped American prisoner (William Holden) hoping to redeem himself by blowing up the bridge.

Bullitt
When the star witness in a high-stakes trial is killed, a detective (Steve McQueen) sets out to find the murderers on the streets of San Francisco.

Con Air
Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage) is on his way home after being wrongly imprisoned for seven years. When the prisoner-transport plane he's on is hijacked by some of the most heinous criminals in the country, Poe pretends to be one of them so he can eventually outwit the vicious thugs.

Crimson Tide
Aboard the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Alabama, tensions reach the breaking point when Capt. Ramsey (Gene Hackman) and Lt. Cmdr. Hunter (Denzel Washington) heatedly dispute whether to fire upon Russia. An earlier launch message is followed by an incomplete second message (the radio dies) that may cancel the previous order. The world hangs in the balance as the two stubborn men hold their ground. The crew is divided as time winds down before a decision must be made.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Eclectic director Ang Lee (The Wedding Banquet, The Ice Storm, Sense and Sensibility) once more pushes the envelope with this thinking person's martial arts epic. Chow Yun-Fat plays a noble 19th-century warrior on a quest to recover a stolen jade sword. Michelle Yeoh co-stars as his beloved, a masterful martial artist who is definitely a woman ahead of her time.

Die Hard
The movie that launched a lucrative franchise, spawned numerous rip-offs, and made Bruce Willis an international star, Die Hard is all about John McClane (Willis). He's a New York cop who flies to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to spend the holidays with his kids and estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia). He arrives at his wife's company party at the 40-story Nakatomi Tower, but the two have a fight in her office and McClane finds himself momentarily alone. Minutes later, German terrorists, led by Hans (Alan Rickman) and planning to steal $600 million in bonds from the building's vaults, storm in, take everyone hostage, and make their demands. The FBI is called in, but only one man is calling the shots — the reluctant, amusingly profane McClane, who responds like an action hero should.

Dr. No
Dr. No is the film that started it all, the first installment of a phenomenon that's still going strong. Sean Connery puts in his first appearance as James Bond in a spy thriller that relies a lot less on gadgets and more on ingenuity than many of the 007 films that follow. The plot follows Bond as he's called to the Caribbean to find a fellow spy who has disappeared. After several attempts on his life, he teams up with an American agent and travels to a remote island, where he meets the mysterious Dr. No.

Escape From New York
Another John Carpenter cult classic, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK was one of the best entries in the once popular post-apocalyptic genre which included ROAD WARRIOR and THE TERMINATOR. In 1997, the island of Manhattan has been turned into the world's largest maximum security prison, a place where the worst of humanity is sent to rot. The U.S. Government finds itself in a major crisis when the president's plane crash lands in New York only days before a vital peace summit between major warring nations is to take place. The president survives the crash, but is taken hostage by the denizens of Manhattan and held for ransom. Only war hero turned felon Snake Plissken can save the day, and he is offered a simple deal for his work: save the president and live, fail to save him and die. The one-eyed bandit sets to work, cutting a path of destruction to the president that has to be seen to be believed. Kurt Russell creates the indelible character of Snake Plissken as no other actor could have. Wisecracking and cool under the very worst of pressures, Snake is the ultimate bad good guy. Often copied, but never duplicated, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is full of the wit, energy and action that marks a John Carpenter picture.

Face/Off
An FBI agent (John Travolta) has a captured bomber's face surgically removed and attached to his head so that he can find out where the latest bomb has been placed. The faceless bomber (Nicolas Cage) wakes up and forces the doctors to attach the FBI agent's face to his head, beginning a deadly game of cat and mouse.

First Blood
A former Green Beret named John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) drifts into a small town where he's harassed by the local sheriff (Brian Dennehy). Eventually, he snaps, flashes back to the Vietnam War, and flees into the local forests with tons of weapons in hand.

The French Connection
Gene Hackman stars as a police detective tracking down a shipment of unusually pure heroin set to be sold in New York City.

From Russia With Love
The evil SPECTRE plots to use spy James Bond to acquire a Russian decoder by seducing him with beautiful women and getting him to steal the decoder. When SPECTRE agents try to kill him, Bond discovers what's going on.

The Fugitive
In The Fugitive, Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford), wrongly convicted of killing his wife, escapes on his way to prison and, as he tries to find the real murderer, must stay one step ahead of a federal agent (Tommy Lee Jones).

Gladiator
In the final days of Marcus Aurelius' reign, the aging emperor arouses his son Commodus' anger when he makes known his wish that Maximus be his successor. Power-hungry Commodus kills his father and orders the death of Maximus. But the latter flees and hides his identity by becoming slave and a gladiator. Eventually, Maximus journeys back to Rome to confront his arch-rival.

Goldfinger
This 007 adventure, the third in the franchise, is the first with James Bond's now famous Aston Martin car and also features the appearance of Pussy Galore. The Bank of England discovers that someone is hoarding gold supplies and suspects international bullion dealer Auric Goldfinger. With help from his right-hand manservant, Oddjob, Goldfinger plots to control the world economy by staging the biggest crime ever: robbing Fort Knox.

The Goonies
The Walsh brothers, Mikey and Brand, and their parents must move out of their house to make way for a new development … unless enough money can be raised to stop it. That looks impossible, until Mikey stumbles upon a map that might lead to the lost fortune of a man named One-Eyed Willy. The two siblings band together with some other neighborhood kids and set out to find the loot.

The Great Escape
Based on true events from World War II, the story is about a group of Allied POWs planning a mass escape from Germany's maximum-security and allegedly escape-proof Stalag Luft North POW camp. Steve McQueen plays the leader, a k a the Cooler King, who rounds up a team (which includes James Garner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Donald Pleasence, and Richard Attenborough) in hopes of pulling off the largest prison breakout ever by digging tunnels out of the camp.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) teams with his father (Sean Connery) to search out the life-giving Holy Grail, the cup Jesus is said to have used at the Last Supper, in this final installment of the trilogy.

Jaws
Jaws sees a small resort community, Amity Island, terrorized by a shark with a hunger for human flesh. Brody (Roy Scheider), the police chief, teams with a bounty hunter, Quint (Robert Shaw), and an oceanographer, Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), to catch and kill the man eater.

Kill Bill, Volume 1
A pregnant assassin (Uma Thurman) named the Bride is shot by her boss, Bill (David Carradine), and her co-workers at her wedding (the wedding guests are also shot). She survives, though, waking up exceedingly angry after a four-year coma, and decides to hunt down and kill every single one of the assassins who were responsible, saving Bill for last. The three-hour film was divided into two parts, this one and Volume 2.

The Killer
A hit man (Chow Yun-Fat) injures the eyes of a singer (Sally Yeh) during a gunfight. Consequently, he falls in love with her and decides to go on one last assignment to raise the money for an operation to restore her vision, and then to get out of the business forever. A cop who has been chasing him forever (Danny Lee) is dead-set on catching him.

Lethal Weapon
An aging veteran cop (Danny Glover) and a suicidal loudmouth lawman (Mel Gibson) make an odd couple when paired up to investigate the likely murder of a young woman.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Dark Lord Sauron seeks to enslave the free peoples of the mythical realm of Middle-earth by recovering a mighty ring of power he forged in the fires beneath Mount Doom. After many generations, the ruling ring, cut from Sauron's hand by the human hero Isildur, has fallen by chance into the keeping of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm). Guided by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and assisted by companions representing the free races of elves, dwarves, men, and hobbits, Bilbo's heir, Frodo (Elijah Wood), embarks on a perilous quest to destroy the ring before Sauron's minions can recapture it. The film is based on the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The final film in Peter Jackson's adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy trilogy follows hobbits Frodo and Sam as they push farther into the land of Mordor to destroy the ring of power. Traveling with them, in an uneasy alliance, is the deceitful Gollum, who brings them to the very heart of Mount Doom. The warrior Aragorn, revealed to be the lost King of Gondor, travels to Minas Tirith with an army of undead soldiers and the remaining members of the fellowship to rescue the ancient city from Lord Sauron's grasp.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Picking up where The Fellowship of the Ring ends, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is the second film in Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy trilogy. The fellowship has divided, with hobbits Frodo and Sam continuing toward Mount Doom to destroy the one ring of power and the trio of warrior Aragorn, dwarf Gimli, and elf Legolas pursuing of a party of Uruk-hai warriors who have captured the fellowship's two other hobbits, Merry and Pippin. Meanwhile, Lord Sauron, in collaboration with the corrupt Saruman, continues to build his forces in the land of Mordor for the coming war with the free races of Middle-earth. The wizard Gandalf, previously thought dead, has returned, but will he be in time to reunite the fellowship against Sauron?

The Matrix
It's 1999, and Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a pretty normal guy, just minding his own business and doing some occasional computer hacking. One day, he's contacted by a man calling himself Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), who informs Thomas that the world he knows is merely a software program, called The Matrix, designed by machines to distract humans while they're used for fuel. The program perfectly simulates everyday life, creating an alternate universe down to the smallest detail. Morpheus tells Thomas, a k a Neo, that he is the only one who can hack into The Matrix and free humankind.

Mission: Impossible
In Mission: Impossible, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is a member of the Impossible Missions Force who must prevent a secret list of covert agents from getting into the hands of an international arms dealer.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Aboard the Black Pearl, infamous pirate Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) attacks the city of Port Royal and kidnaps a governor's daughter, Elizabeth (Keira Knightley). Barbossa then sets sail with his hostage toward a secret hideaway, hoping to lift an ancient curse by sacrificing her and returning a once-plundered treasure. Elizabeth's childhood friend Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) meets an eccentric seaman, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who reveals that the Black Pearl was formerly his ship, until Barbossa committed mutiny. Together, they assemble a ragtag crew and commandeer a British vessel, hoping to chase down and free both Elizabeth and Sparrow's Pearl. Following after them is the British military, led by Elizabeth's would-be fiancé, Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport).

Point Break
FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) and his partner, Pappas (Gary Busey), suspect that a gang of Southern California surfers, led by Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), is behind a series of bank robberies. Utah goes undercover as a surfer to infiltrate the gang and solve the crimes.

The Poseidon Adventure
One of the most gripping disaster films of all time follows 10 survivors as they struggle to escape from an ocean liner capsized by a tidal wave. Audiences were shocked by this film, as key characters were killed off as disaster struck.

The Professional
Leon (Jean Reno) is a professional killer. He lives next door to a family with a rather independent 12-year-old daughter, Mathilda (Natalie Portman). Mathilda's dad is involved in the drug trade, and one day while she's out buying groceries, crooked cops kill her entire family. Leon takes Mathilda in, and soon thereafter she becomes smitten with him, to the point of wanting to follow in his career footsteps.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
The first film in the Indiana Jones trilogy centers on Indiana's (Harrison Ford) attempts to stop Hitler, who has sent his Nazis after the long-lost ark, the chest said to have held the 10 commandments.

The Seven Samurai
Set in the 1600s, The Seven Samurai tells the story of a small town that enlists seven samurai for protection from a band of murderous thieves.

Shaft
Following the breakout success of Melvin Van Peebles's SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG, Gordon Parks' SHAFT would officially launch the historic Blaxploitation movement. Based on the novel by Ernest Tidyman, the film stars Richard Roundtree as John Shaft, a debonair, tough-talking private detective, who became a full-fledged American archetype after the film was released. Combining street smarts and sharp wit, Shaft is the quintessential black action hero. After battling against Harlem gang kingpin Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn), Shaft decides to help rescue Bumpy's daughter from the Mafia. What follows is an action-packed thrill ride through the rough-and-tumble streets of early 1970s New York City.

Featuring one of the most recognizable theme songs in movie history (for which Isaac Hayes' won a Best Song Oscar in 1972), Parks' follow-up to his critically acclaimed, though monetarily disappointing, drama THE LEARNING TREE remains the definitive Blaxploitation film. Roundtree delivers a legendary performance as the ultra-cool detective, in this groundbreaking film that would spawn two sequels (SHAFT'S BIG SCORE! and SHAFT IN AFRICA) and a big-budget remake in 2000.

Speed
In Speed, L.A. cop Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) must foil the plot of a bomber (Dennis Hopper) who has rigged up explosives on a metro bus that becomes armed when the vehicle goes over fifty, and will detonate when it drops below that speed.

Spider-Man
Nerdy high-school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is an orphan living with his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) when his life is changed after he's bitten by a genetically altered spider, giving him amazing abilities. After his uncle is involved in a terrible accident, Peter realizes his powers and becomes a superhero, later facing off with the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe).

Spider-Man 2
It's been two years since mild-mannered Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) first began struggling with "the gift and the curse," and in Spider-Man 2, he's still coming to terms with his dual identity as the web-slinging crime superhero Spider-Man. Now Peter's in college, and his relationships with the people he cares most about are crumbling. He wants to reveal his secret identity to Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), his friendship with Harry Osborn is stressed by Harry's growing hatred of Spider-Man, and Peter's Aunt May has fallen on hard times. Complicating things, a new foe, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), appears.

The Spy Who Loved Me
This time Bond (Roger Moore) has to face evil megalomaniac Stromberg (Curt Jurgens), who wants to create an underwater city. The first step, as any self-respecting megalomaniac knows, is starting a nuclear war on the Earth's surface to drive people underwater, so Stromberg steals nuclear submarines. Of course, Bond is dispatched to find the subs, as is Russian Major Anya Amasova. Spy also features the first appearance of villain Jaws (Richard Kiel).

Superman: The Movie
Superman is the story of a baby with superhuman powers who is sent from the doomed planet of Krypton to the state of Kansas, where he's raised as Clark Kent. Once he moves to the city of Metropolis, the mild-mannered Midwestern editor becomes the Man of Steel and uses his remarkable powers to heroic effect. Superman (Christopher Reeve) soon finds himself pitted against the evil Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), who plans to detonate a nuclear warhead in the San Andreas Fault, causing California to sink into the ocean.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
In the sequel to James Cameron's surprise 1984 sci-fi hit, Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as a killer Terminator cyborg from the future. The mechanical assassin beams back in time to protect John Connor — the future leader of a rebellion aiming to dethrone the machines that rule the Earth — rather than kill him. Robert Patrick plays the villainous T-1000, a new, highly advanced generation of Terminator.

The Terminator
In 2029, the Skynet computer system is waging a war on the last remnants of humanity. It has created a nearly indestructible type of robot, the Terminator, and sends one of them (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time to murder Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who will eventually give birth to John, who will become the leader of the human resistance movement in the future.

Top Gun
A show-off fighter pilot nicknamed Maverick (Tom Cruise) is chosen to attend the Navy's elite flying school. There he pals around with his friend Goose (Anthony Edwards); butts heads with superiors and unfriendly rivals like Iceman (Val Kilmer); copes for the first time with the death of his father, also an infamous fighter pilot; and becomes romantically involved with one of his instructors (Kelly McGillis).

True Lies
When a group of terrorists threatens to blow up half the country with stolen nuclear weapons, a secret agent (Arnold Schwarzenegger) must reveal his occupation to his mild-mannered wife (Jamie Lee Curtis), who thinks he's a computer salesman.

X2: X-Men United
Already living in a society that mistrusts them, the mutants are faced with even more discrimination after an unforeseen enemy — who may be a mutant with extraordinary powers — launches a devastating attack. The news of the assault causes a public outcry against mutants, including renewed support for the act that would require them to be registered, and William Stryker, a military leader rumored to have experimented on mutants (possibly including Wolverine), is among the most vocal supporters of the legislation. Stryker puts into motion a plan to eradicate the "freaks" and begins an offensive on the X-Men mansion and school. Magneto, having escaped from his plastic prison, forms an unlikely alliance with Professor Xavier to stop Stryker. Meanwhile, Wolverine heads north to investigate his past.

X-Men
Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) has created a school where young mutants with superpowers can learn how to better the world. His students include such singularly abled folks as Storm (Halle Berry), Phoenix (Famke Janssen), Cyclops (James Marsden), Rogue (Anna Paquin), and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). But not all mutants are such do-gooders. Take, for example, Magneto (Ian McKellen), whose exploits have caused most humans to become anti-mutant, especially Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), who works tirelessly to rid the world of the perceived mutant menace. Xavier and his X-Men must battle Magneto and his henchmen to keep the world safe.