Nick Pinkerton

A few dozen versions of Richard Nixon wrestle for control in Robert Altman’s portrait of the disgraced president, fueled by a lead performance of pure, unloosed spleen.

The foremost chronicler of punk made films that captured the messy contradictions and sheer rage at the heart of the phenomenon.

With these twin monuments of Hong Kong action filmmaking, Jackie Chan catapulted to international stardom, perfecting a unique blend of athleticism and populism.

Before John Cassavetes and his core group of actors became famous for their unflinching melodramas, they converged in this tough and dirty Italian gangster film.

A tragedian at heart, Shirley Stoler found her Medea in the role of a glowering bandit on the run in Leonard Kastle’s seedy true-crime drama.

Samuel Fuller knew how to handle a gun from his army days, and this experience colored all of his filmmaking, which he began at the age of thirty-six.