A stirring example of courage and the indomitable human spirit, for many John Sturges's The Great Escape is both the definitive World War II drama and the nonpareil prison escape movie. Featuring an unequalled ensemble cast in a rivetingly authentic true-life scenario set to Elmer Bernstein's admirable music, this picture is both a template for subsequent action-adventure movies and one of the last glories of Golden Age Hollywood. Reunited with the director who made him a star in The Magnificent Seven, Steve McQueen gives a career-defining performance as the laconic Hilts, the baseball-loving, motorbike-riding "Cooler King. " The rest of the all-male Anglo-American cast-Dickie Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James Garner, Charles Bronson, David McCallum, James Coburn, and Gordon Jackson-make the most of their meaty roles (though you have to forgive Coburn his Australian accent). Closely based on Paul Brickhill's book, the various escape attempts, scrounging, forging, and ferreting activities are authentically realized thanks also to technical advisor Wally Flood, one of the original tunnel-digging POWs. Sturges orchestrates the climax with total conviction, giving us both high action and very poignant human drama. Without trivializing the grim reality, The Great Escape thrillingly celebrates the heroism of men who never gave up the fight. -Mark Walker.

Disney loved to mix live action with animation (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks), but this 1977 effort falls on its face. The turn-of-the-century story concerns an orphaned boy whose only friend is a cartoon monster. While the latter is entertainingly rendered, the rest of the film strains to be enchanting and the cast overreaches in a big way. Not for anybody over the age of ten. -Tom Keogh.

Loosely based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu's classic novella, this updated tale focuses on a young lady who arrives at an isolated town searching for answers to the mysterious death of her estranged sister, Monique. After discovering Moniques diary she soon learns of her sisters dark affair with Carmilla, a mysterious beauty who seduces her to the life of the vampire.

Six hours of monosyllabic John Rambo high jinks, best savored in surround sound (for the bone-rattling explosions) and with your brain on pause (for everything else). Sylvester Stallone's second signature character, after Rocky, a seething ex-Green Beret killing machine, went from Viet-vet victim in the original picture, First Blood, flipping out over the ingratitude of his beloved homeland, to a muscle-bound terminator in Rambo III, mowing down Commies in the deserts of Afghanistan. You should consider bypassing the boxed set in favor of just the middle chapter, Rambo: First Blood Part 2, written by James Cameron and directed by George Pan Cosmotos. It's the most balanced and satisfying of the three films: Rambo is dropped back into 'Nam to rescue some POWs, and the action builds steadily in scale and ferocity. Each fireball seems to be bigger than the last. Of all the recent headbanger action movies, only the first Die Hard offers more bang for the buck. The underrated character actor Richard Crenna (a standout sleazebag in Body Heat), as Rambo's military mentor and staunch defender, is the series' secret weapon, providing some welcome human ballast. -David Chute.

Chuck Norris fans will find Lone Wolf McQuade to be one of his best. Playing a rebellious Texas Ranger, Norris single-handedly wipes out an entire gang of horse thieves-and that's just the opening scene. From there the plot involves arms smuggling, McQuade's daughter being kidnapped, and a dwarf in an electric wheelchair. But the movie's real trump card is a face-off between Norris and David Carradine of the TV show Kung Fu, who plays a badass villain with a penchant for argyle sweaters (though truth be told, Norris's wardrobe is very 1980s as well). Barbara Carrera makes a suitable bad girl/love interest and science fiction fans will enjoy some familiar faces (Robert Beltran, who would later be part of Star Trek: Voyager, and William Sanderson, a supporting actor from Blade Runner). All in all, an action-packed romp with a reverent, almost mythological view of the Texas Rangers. -Bret Fetzer.