"David Lean again, in perhaps the best translation of a Dickens novel to the screen, and surely the greatest of Dickens’s novels too. Crisp, brilliantly cast, a flawless rendition of the period, and amazingly faithful to the novel, Great Expectations is the model that every Masterpiece Theater rendition of an English classic strives to emulate, only better, far better than that."

"This has got to be the most wonderful film about that transitional period that groups of close friends in young adulthood must go through as they accept more and more the responsibilities of maturity. There is so much spontaneous camaraderie, natural humor, truth, and, finally, Chekhovian sadness in this gentle masterpiece. Plus, those Italian slackers sure know how to dress!"

"Originally issued as Reign of Terror, Anthony Mann’s Classics-Illustrated-meets-film-noir treatment of the French revolution is one of the most striking low budget period pieces to come from Hollywood, abetted by graphic b/w imagery from the great d.p. John Alton and striking production design from the always reliable William Cameron Menzies. Plus it’s witty moves like lightning."

"I’ve had the advantage of seeing this movie at many different times in my life, and I don’t really know how it’s put together or why it works. Peter Bogdanovich captures the lives of real people using every aspect of filmmaking: casting, location, and period music whose static-y radio sound cuts against the desolate wind of a decaying small town."

"I only saw this a few years ago, and I think it’s become my favorite of the French New Wave. I think it’s virtually impossible to make a film about complex ideas and yet at the same time make it feel as light as air. It’s a thrilling film that feels very much of its period but also completely timeless."

"That was in 1994. That was right around the time I was finishing college and moving to California, in that period of my life, and I was secretly interested in the entertainment business but didn’t tell anybody. There was something about the writing and the music and John Travolta’s resurgence. Sam Jackson was just a badass motherf—er. I love Tarantino’s writing."