World War II hero turned baby-faced Hollywood cowboy Audie Murphy hides behind a little (very little) stubble to play a hired gun who wanders into town looking for a would-be assassin and wanders out the owner of a troubled ranch. Approached by a prissy gambler to scare tough old man Paul Kelly off his spread, he winds up winning cagey Kelly's property in a game of chance and leads a cattle drive through the high country while a gang of the gambler's mercenaries try to stop him. With more twists than your average Hollywood oater, a curiously shady cast of characters on both sides of the law, and gorgeous outdoor scenery, it's better than most of Universal's factory-produced Westerns. Chalk it up to producer Aaron Rosenberg, who put together some of Anthony Mann's and Budd Boetticher's best films for the studio, and director Nathan Juran (The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad). Tough-talking Murphy carries little menace no matter how much he grimaces, and love interest Susan Cabot tries hard to be tough but tender, to little avail. It's the taut (if abbreviated) action and swift pacing that make this picture ride. -Sean Axmaker.

The largest computer gaming firm in the country, The Center, has just completed its latest and possibly greatest virtual reality game, "Pleasure. " A game that promises to push the limits of the player's mind to the extreme. Any thought, any experience, any sensation will be magnified into a surreal adventure beyond anything known to the public today. However, the original programmer has pushed the extremes past the breaking point by encrypting a deadly virus within the experience, causing the CEO of The Center to hire an assassin to "erase" all of the beta samples from existence. Being more specific, the CEO states that there is to be "no evidence. at all. " Unknown to Michael, an amateur computer hacker and gaming nut, he receives one of the samples and begins an adventure of a lifetime. Now, between the realms of reality and fantasy, he will explore passions beyond his wildest dreams, adventures far from reality and an ultimate experience that may just cost him ! his life. [+]

Gene Hackman is a fighter pilot in Vietnam. When he gets shot down behind enemy lines, he manages to hang on to his radio-and maintains contact with Danny Glover, back at the base. Hackman must rely on his own instincts-and the long-distance assistance of Glover-to work his way back to his own territory. The script, by Marc Norman and William Anderson, can't rise above war-movie clichés and Peter Markle's direction can't lift it. Neither can David Marshall Grant, as an overly passionate copter jockey whose rescue attempt proves more hindrance than help. But crafty veterans Hackman and Glover know a thing or two about transcending mediocre material with performances of depth and humanity. -Marshall Fine.

There's no getting around a simple, basic truth: watching Lawrence of Arabia in any home-video format represents a compromise. There's no better way to appreciate this epic biographical adventure than to see it projected in 70 millimeter onto a huge theater screen. That caveat aside, David Lean's masterful "desert classic" is still enjoyable on the small screen, especially if viewed in widescreen format. (If your only option is to view a "pan & scan" version, it's best not to bother; this is a film for which the widescreen format is utterly mandatory. ) Peter O'Toole gives a star-making performance as T. E. Lawrence, the eccentric British officer who united the desert tribes of Arabia against the Turks during World War I. Lean orchestrates sweeping battle sequences and breathtaking action, but the film is really about the adventures and trials that transform Lawrence into a legendary man of the desert. Lean traces this transformation on a vast canvas of awesome physicality; no other movie has captured the expanse of the desert with such scope and grandeur. Equally important is the psychology of Lawrence, who remains an enigma even as we grasp his identification with the desert. [+]

A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood predecessors, Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes moviemaking back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. While not as fluid as the computer work done for, say, Titanic, it's an impressive achievement that will leave you marveling at the glory that was Rome, when you're not marveling at the glory that is Russell Crowe. Starring as the heroic general Maximus, Crowe firmly cements his star status both in terms of screen presence and acting chops, carrying the film on his decidedly non-computer-generated shoulders as he goes from brave general to wounded fugitive to stoic slave to gladiator hero. Gladiator's plot is a whirlwind of faux-Shakespearean machinations of death, betrayal, power plays, and secret identities (with lots of faux-Shakespearean dialogue ladled on to keep the proceedings appropriately "classical"), but it's all briskly shot, edited, and paced with a contemporary sensibility. Even the action scenes, somewhat muted but graphic in terms of implied violence and liberal bloodletting, are shot with a veracity that brings to mind-believe it or not-Saving Private Ryan, even if everyone is wearing a toga. As Crowe's nemesis, the evil emperor Commodus, Joaquin Phoenix chews scenery with authority, whether he's damning Maximus's popularity with the Roman mobs or lusting after his sister Lucilla (beautiful but distant Connie Nielsen); Oliver Reed, in his last role, hits the perfect notes of camp and gravitas as the slave owner who rescues Maximus from death and turns him into a coliseum star. Director Scott's visual flair is abundantly in evidence, with breathtaking shots and beautiful (albeit digital) landscapes, but it's Crowe's star power that will keep you in thrall-he's a true gladiator, worthy of his legendary status. Hail the conquering hero! -Mark Englehart.

Bing Crosby's company produced the first Walking Tall feature, which was based loosely on Southern sheriff Buford Pusser, a former wrestler who took on organized crime in his hometown. Joe Don Baker's formidable appearance and downhome persona helped sell the filmmakers' depiction of Pusser as an average American who stood up for justice, and Baker's performance and plenty of action helped make Walking Tall a major moneymaker in 1973. Pusser's big stick was handed to Bo Svenson for Walking Tall, Part II (1975), which followed his search for his wife's killers (she died in the first film). Svenson wasn't the only change-director Phil Karlson's no-nonsense style was replaced by veteran TV helmer Earl Bellamy's colorless approach, and American International Pictures took over distribution from the bankrupt Cinemation. Pusser himself, who had served as technical advisor on the first film, had also died in an explosion. Though audiences turned out in droves, the drop in quality was obvious. The addition of action specialist Jack Starrett (Race with the Devil) as director on Final Chapter: Walking Tall (1977) was initially promising, but the result was a tired retread of Pusser's previous adventures and, amusingly enough, the making of the first film. A short-lived series starring Svenson followed in 1981, but by then, the story had exhausted itself. A new theatrical version is reportedly in production. This three-disc set compiles the Walking Tall trilogy in a no-frills package that's more convenient than collectible. [+]