This is the best picture of the decade. It's what I see in books about the Holocaust: Nazi brutality in black and white. Schindler's List is the stark truth of what happened in German-occupied Europe from 1933 to 1945. There are many powerful scenes that are beyond belief. Steven Spielberg should be praised for the singular cinematic achievement.

Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter is the best true crime book ever written. You hear a lot about Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Scientology, but Charles Manson came way, way before them and borrowed a lot from its teachings via The Process. The result is two nights of Helter Skelter that disturbed everybody afterwards.

A magnificently made masterpiece, it's David Lean's magnum opus. One of the most remarkable jobs he did with his characters is not only to make them larger than life but also mysterious in terms of their ambitions and desires. Thanks to Freddie Young's spellbinding cinematography, it's impossible to deny the power of the desert that Lawrence of Arabia brings to the screen.

*table crashing* "Bodder me abott a steak? Huh? You bodda me abott a steak??!" That scene pretty much sums up what Raging Bull is about. As almost unrecognizable as he looks, Robert De Niro gives a performance that's among the ten greatest in history. Both cinematography and editing are the icing on the cake to reach for that certain oomph.

Full of powerful scenes set in Ireland, My Left Foot proves why Daniel Day-Lewis is such a gifted actor. However, not much of credit is given to the youth named Hugh O'Conor who's his equal as Christy Brown who was born with severe cerebral palsy that left him almost entirely paralyzed. Brenda Fricker is also special in an Oscar-winning performance.

Without doubt, Goodfellas is the hardest-hitting Mafia picture made. There's nothing like it. The first two minutes, complemented by Saul Bass' titles, is what sets the tone for the rest of the film. In order to get Goodfellas made, Martin Scorsese called Nicholas Pileggi, the author of Wiseguy, to say, "I've been waiting for this book my entire life," which was met with "I've been waiting for this phone call my entire life."

The book about the Onion Field murder case has been captured detail for detail, right down to the cars and locations, in this film, thanks to the author's insistence of keeping the truth intact. It's one of the, if not the, most accurate true crime movies ever shot. Yes, it's a slow-paced and can deviate a lot from time to time but is uniformly excellent and meticulously crafted.

Burt Lancaster achieves a remarkable transformation of himself into Robert Stroud, a world-famous ornithologist who's locked up in federal prisons most of his life. There's a lot to like about Birdman of Alcatraz: the direction, the black-and-white cinematography, the screenplay, and the supporting performances. Altogether, it's very difficult to stop the movie.

Dith Pran, the subject of the film, was the first to coin the term "killing fields" to describe the Cambodian genocide. Sydney Schanberg received the Pulitzer Prize for his wartime reporting there. A first-time nonprofessional actor, Dr. Haing S. Ngor lived through the experience. Therefore, The Killing Fields is a powerful film of what it's like to be in a war zone.

JFK is an incredible masterpiece, representing Oliver Stone's best. Outstanding are the acting, storytelling, and, most of all, editing. The best moment is when Jim Garrison, after learning the real plot from Donald Sutherland's character, summed up the startling discovery by saying, "The size of this is...beyond me."

One of the strangest things I've noticed in regard to Martin Luther King, Jr., is everybody knows who he was, but most don't have any idea of what he specifically did or the events he was involved with. Therefore, King does an outstanding job of summarizing them all in a five-hour biopic with an exceptional performance by Paul Winfield.

Any biographic sketch of an important yet flawed character is always interesting. And that's the case with General George S. Patton, the enigmatic gung-ho commander of the United States Seventh Army in the Mediterranean and European theaters of World War II. It's George C. Scott, winning and then refusing the Oscar for his performance, who shines the most and proves why he was a remarkable actor of his generation.

The Miracle Worker is a powerful, moving story about how Helen Keller was shown the light through language. The Oscar wins for Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft are deserving, and the former's performance is in the top ten of all time. It's impossible not to be moved by all of this.

Very few films have the distinction of being described as one of the most beautiful made, and Chariots of Fire, without doubt, is such that. The opening scene of runners on the beach is absolutely powerful and represents what the movie is all about: the celebration of human spirit. Honor and virtue are routinely stressed and backed by actions.

Ever heard of the word "overcharged"? Then, look no further than Indictment: The McMartin Trial. Over 300 charges were filed against the accused for child abuse at their family-run daycare. They were tried for seven years, and the state spent over $15 million on the case. Not one person was found guilty of a single charge, making it the longest and most expensive case in American history.

An epic of Ron Kovic's life with lots of highs and lows, Born on the Fourth of July is the one Tom Cruise will be remembered for eternity. It's to Oliver Stone's credit for making the film seamless and moving. He also takes advantage of Ron Kovic's autobiographical story to tell how one disabled Vietnam veteran went from an idealistic patriot to a cynical, jaded hater because of the lies that were spoon-fed to him.

James Caan and Billy Dee Williams...they're unforgettable in Brian's Song which is among the greatest, most powerful movies ever made. It's also one of the saddest, proving that a made-for-TV picture with a simple moving story is infinitely better than a pointless violent film with an overblown budget.

Based on a true and bizarre story, Dog Day Afternoon is everything you can possibly ask for in a human drama picture. For the final of his four straight Oscar nominations during the 70's, Al Pacino turns in one of the greatest performances of his career as Sonny Wortzik. Chris Sarandon is also outstanding, having been Oscar-nominated.

Some have said Amadeus is boring. Some have said Amadeus is too long. And some have said Amadeus is nothing more than the music. But they all miss out the masterpiece in Amadeus. It's unbelievable watching F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce perform at their absolute best, and they'll be remembered forever for this film. The writing is first-rate. So are the interior set decoration, costumes, and cinematography.

Buoyed by Hilary Swank's Oscar-winning performance, Boys Don't Cry is one of the most important films about hate crime. While watching her play Brandon, I actually believed she was a he. Thanks to the cast, most especially Chloë Sevigny, it's a well-played masterpiece from start to finish with a superbly handled direction by Kimberly Peirce.

Alive is a true story of human courage and the will to survive. It's the last ten minutes, from the trek to the helicopter rescue, that makes the film transcendental. In short, there's nothing like it. There are many other powerful scenes. As good as the cast is, Ethan Hawke gives a special performance as Nando Parrado.

Val Kilmer didn't play Jim Morrison; he became Jim Morrison. The Doors is a creative film because it's a psychedelic trip. Val Kilmer just floats in and out. The best scene is when Kyle MacLachlan had a vision of Val Kilmer onstage dancing around with a couple of American Indians.

Because of the full range of colors, Bonnie and Clyde is a beautifully photographed film with impeccable acting performances. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway have chemistry that's impossible to duplicate. Their violent ending is unforgettable as well.

The king of high school pictures, Lean on Me is a heartwarming tale that's based on a true story about how Joe Clark created a storm of controversy by using unconventional methods of discipline at Eastside High in Paterson, New Jersey, during the 80's. Thanks to Morgan Freeman's stirring performance, it's scene-by-scene brilliant in a moving way that captures the essence of the human spirit.

Vincent & Theo is a story about Vincent van Gogh and how he was helped by his brother Theo to devote his passion wholly to art. In fact, Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime, just few months before his death, and struggled during most of his existence, living in penury while pouring all money into his work.

For MacArthur, Gregory Peck does what George C. Scott did for Patton. In fact, it's handled by the same production team. A forgotten but very controversial military figure, General Douglas MacArthur was among a handful of famous generals during the 20th century. It was obvious from the outset only Gregory Peck could play him. Not only he gets the job done, but he is MacArthur. Peck can even carry a corncob pipe convincingly well.

Salvador is another great, albeit unknown, Oliver Stone picture with a fantastic James Woods performance. No person in his right mind would go to a war-torn country if he had another choice, but that's what Richard Boyle did during the early 80's by traveling to El Salvador on the cusp of a civil war, resulting in mass murder of the populace. Today, El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

Do you want to see one of the most unusual pictures about a serial killer couple? Then, check out The Honeymoon Killers. Its tagline reads: "Ray and Martha are in love. They're on a honeymoon. (The bride is in the trunk.)" Tony Lo Bianco and Shirley Stoler will be forever remembered as Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, aka "The Lonely Hearts Killers," who may have murdered at most twenty women during the late 40's before being executed in their 30's.

You won't see a better performance by Tommy Lee Jones in any other film. Exceptionally strong is Rosanna Arquette as his character's prurient girlfriend. Heightened by Waylon Jennings' music and Freddie Francis' cinematography, the stark realism is duly noted by the ending which is reminiscent of the hanging scene in In Cold Blood. But this time, it's done by a firing squad.

Shot on location in Hungary, Citizen X is the story of how an infamous serial killer was captured in the USSR which took many years due to bureaucrats and limitations in technology and manpower. What's not revealed is after investigating over 150,000 citizens, the authorities incidently solved more than 1,000 unrelated crimes including 95 murder and 245 rape cases. Now, that's what you call "looking at the bright side of a negative situation."

Al Pacino gives one of the finest performances of his career as Frank Serpico, a real-life NYPD cop who defied a corrupt system. Director Sidney Lumet shoots the film in docu-realism by going inside police precincts to see how things work on both sides. Serpico is broken down into three acts: the eponymous character's desire to be a cop, the moment he's awarded the gold shield, and the ending when he's all alone with his sheepdog.

The Daniel Day-Lewis of his time, Paul Muni is one of the greatest actors ever lived. He didn't do many films, starring in only 23 before retiring early due to health problems. When Paul Muni played a character, he became the character, doing exactly that for The Life of Emile Zola. Naturally so, the story is powerful.

Julia Roberts earned the Oscar for Best Actress. How much of what's shown in the film is true? It turns out to be nearly everything. Even the real Erin Brockovich called it "98% accurate." Simply put, the movie is better when Julia Roberts stops being a bitch with an attitude and starts gathering facts about what's happening to residents of the town. During this process, Ed Masry begins to see Erin's worth through how she works with them.

Based on the true story of Francine Hughes, The Burning Bed is a motion picture example of battered woman syndrome. With that being said, it's not an easy watch, even for 75 million people when it was first aired on television in 1984. If The Burning Bed was theatrically released instead, Farrah Fawcett should've gotten an Oscar, and it's the best performance of her career. I'm not going to see a better description of an abused wife.

This is British history at its finest with some of the best acting and most terrific battle scenes ever. Because of the thousands of extras and warlike atmosphere, it's reminiscent of Braveheart minus a love story. The British production deservingly won an Oscar for Best Costume Design with approximately 4,000 costumes, 16,000 historical props, and thousands of wigs which were ordered from all over Europe.

People are going to have to be very, very familiar with the history of stand-up comics the last 75 years, and to know who Lenny Bruce was and his importance among them, they need to go through Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Rodney Dangerfield. All of these guys shared one trait: they were outrageous. What makes Lenny Bruce a cut above the rest is he was far ahead of his time.

This is James Woods at his most arrogant. "You knew when you were in Cohn's presence you were in the presence of pure evil" is how Victor A. Kovner described Roy Cohn. A closeted Jewish homosexual, he hated gays, women, Communists, and Jews, and died broke in 1986 from complications of AIDS, shortly after being disbarred.

Sometimes, a bunch of all-stars get together to do an important film, and this one is among them which was based on Randy Shilts' seminal book of the AIDS coverage. The performances are excellent; my favorite is Richard Gere's which may feel two minutes long but is still powerful. The other great one is Jeffrey Nordling as the French-Canadian airline steward.

Apart from the Alien movies, it's Sigourney Weaver's most famous role, and she was rightly awarded an Academy Award nomination. The film is both beautiful and sad. Of course, the gorillas are the stars. Dian Fossey had a reputation of being emotionally unstable which is often glossed over. Instead, she's credited with reversing the downward trend of the world's gorilla population. There are over a thousand now, the highest ever recorded since the 60's.

Path to Paradise tells a chilling story of how the bombing happened at the World Trade Center in 1993. Even more chilling is the final line of the film: "Next time, we'll bring them both down." It was actually said by the mastermind bomber himself which did eventually happen...four years after the film was made.

Based on Paul Williams' eponymous biography, The General tells a true story about Martin Cahill, the leader of an Irish gang that pulled off two big-time heists with cunningness and intelligence. This is Brendan Gleeson's show. There are also good performances from his Irish co-stars such as Adrian Dunbar, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Angeline Ball, and Sean McGinley.

There's no question that A Cry in the Dark is an all-time great classic that shows the truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. In fact, it would've been good fodder for Arthur Conan Doyle while coming up with a new Sherlock Holmes story. Well, yeah...this is the film with the famous quote: "The dingo took my baby!"

Before Schindler's List hit the silver screens, there was Triumph of the Spirit. Calling it a Holocaust boxing picture will be a serious mistake because that's not what the movie is about. It's survival during the Holocaust, period. Based on Jewish Greek boxer Salamo Arouch's account, he had to go through over 200 fights to survive; the loser of each match was sent to the gas chamber.

"What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" That's the question Herb Stempel will have to live with forever. Often cited as his favorite movie, he feigned not knowing the answer to the question: Marty. That was the beginning of the end of Twenty-One, one of the many rigged game shows that occurred on television during the 50's.

If that's how it went down, then the U.S. government agents are guilty of two murders. I didn't see any provocation from the Weavers' side. They had guns and were on their land which is protected by the Second Amendment. The camouflaged recon team of six U.S. Marshals didn't make a fair signal to show why they're there or what their intentions were. To this day, the true version of the initial encounter remains unknown.

The final film for Cabaret's director Bob Fosse, Star 80 presents a compelling story of how a Playboy Playmate of the Year named Dorothy Stratten was raped and murdered by her husband Paul Snider. Because of his "personality of a pimp," Eric Roberts is captivating and gives the performance of his career.

If England has The Great Escape to boast of, then Germany's answer to it is: The One That Got Away. Surprisingly, the film was made six years earlier. Not only that, it was filmed by Pinewood Studios of Iver Heath, England. Well, it's a brilliant acting by Hardy Krüger, setting up for a two-hour one-man show. It's easy to root for him along the way despite being a Nazi. The story is incredible, and most of it did happen.

Lynn Whitfield gives a terrific performance as Josephine Baker and seems to have taken on a lot of tasks to fulfill the demands of her character. Although the biopic ranges across the spectrum from the beginning to the end of Josephine's life, it's been highly informative.

Breaker Morant is perhaps the best Australian film made. The reasons are two: excellent acting and striking cinematography. To this day, nobody knows the full story of what happened, but one thing is for sure: the soldiers were guilty. Like always, war blurs the line between right and wrong.

If you see the word "pasteurized" on milk cartons, then you know where that came from: Louis Pasteur. The subject matter is fascinating, and of course, it's an accepted fact by now there's such thing as a "microbe." It only takes a microscope to discover its existence, and soap and alcohol are among those that can kill them. Otherwise, the consequence is fatal by the failure of disinfection.

Featuring an electrifying performance by Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire! is a fun movie. His musical performances while lip-syncing Jerry Lee Lewis' songs are inspiring and rousing that will make anyone want to get into the action. There's one scene that's among the best ever when he set his piano ablaze with the audience going nuts.

Reportedly, That Hamilton Woman is Winston Churchill's favorite film, having seen it over eighty times. It's not hard to see why. This is an excellent film that's about overcoming adversity to rouse British (and possibly American) support to enter WWII and showcases the very best of Laurence Olivier's and Vivien Leigh's talents in their third and final collaboration.

Making their screen debuts, Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey are almost like James Stewart and Farley Granger in Rope. What's perfect, which is the point of Peter Jackson showing everybody that he got it, is Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme being so wrapped up in their fantasy world that they've become delusional, hence the exaggerated expressions and feelings of romanticism.

How do students prepare to defend themselves against accusations of academic cheating? Simple: they watch Stand and Deliver and take notes. It's the most perfect "aha" moment out of many in Cheaters. The movie is the best when it comes to academic fraud, and the strategies used to get ahead are pretty much spot-on.

I once drove through Alabama on a long-distance trip, and wanting to get out of there ASAP, I immediately said to myself, "Yep, this is George Wallace's country." That's how bad Alabama's legacy is which all starts with racism. Often ranked among the worst in many categories, its state motto should be: "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

The story is based on a British spy named Violette Szabo. She could speak both English and French fluently, shoot a rifle, and play sports. After being trained as a spy, she performed two missions but, because of her sprained ankle, got caught by the Germans and was tortured and executed at age 23. To this day, Tania, who's without family, is still alive, having sold her mother's medals a decade ago, and they're currently on display at the Imperial War Museum in London, England.

Jennifer Lopez can make as many movies as she wants, but nothing will top Selena. The first 98% is fun to watch, but the rug is instantly pulled in the last 2%. What a tragedy. An aspect to like is the heavy Tejano flavor with an all-Latino cast which is extremely rare for a Hollywood picture. Edward James Olmos may have been memorable in Miami Vice and Stand and Deliver, but playing Selena's father ranks number one of his career.

Son of the Morning Star is a dramatic improvement over Custer of the West by getting nearly everything correct. Not only that, the story is told from two points of view: Custer's wife and a Cheyenne woman named Kate Bighead aka Antelope. Dances With Wolves' Rodney E. Grant appears as Crazy Horse along with other authentic Indians which are 150 in all. The film was shot on location in Badlands National Park and Buffalo Gap, South Dakota.

It's the most famous case in U.S. history of education which started with Plessy v. Ferguson and concluded with Brown v. Board of Education. In between is a 58-year black struggle for equal rights. The final verdict was the beginning of the end for racial segregation that dominated race relations for so long in the United States. Hence, there's a lot to learn from this film.

Not exactly a comedy, The Pentagon Wars is an eye-opener of how the U.S. military wastes taxpayers' money. Based on United States Air Force Colonel James G. Burton's book The Pentagon Wars: Reformers Challenge the Old Guard, it's a description of what went on during the Bradley Fighting Vehicle project.