Arnold Schwarzenegger is special agent Harry Tasker, a top spy in the ultra-secret Omega Sector who also dances a mean tango- although to his neglected wife, Helen, (Jamie Lee Curtis) he's just a dull computer salesman. But while Harry's been busy fighting terrorists, Helen's been gathering secrets of her own. And when their two secret lives unexpectedly collide, Harry and Helen find themselves in the clutches of international terrorists, fighting to save not only their marriage but their lives as well. Packed with non-stop action, spectacular special effects and unprecedented stunts, this "domestic epic" from director James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) is a rollicking `90's twist on the super spy genre.

Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the end of the Cold War-much like a masterless samurai, a. k. a. "ronin. " With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone, and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job-going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable-there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business-but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds, The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centerpiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon), but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense, Ronin is almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film. [+]

This HBO docudrama depicts the notorious 1971 prison revolt at the Attica State Penitentiary in upstate New York. One can sense the mastery of veteran theatrical feature director John Frankenheimer in the movie's gripping suspense and gritty, hard-hitting realism. The semifictionalized narrative is told from the point of view of young Michael Smith (Kyle MacLachlan), a newly recruited prison guard. (The real Smith worked as a consultant on the film. ) When Smith arrives at Attica, the place is a revolt waiting to happen. When riots break out and the inmates take command of the prison, Smith and several other guards are held hostage. In this powder-keg climate, a relationship develops between Smith and the rebellion's wise, cool-headed leader, Jamaal (the superb Samuel L. Jackson), a political prisoner representing the African Liberation Movement. The insurrection at Attica became emblematic of protests taking place all over the United States at the time. "We've got a civil war going on in this country," says one prison guard, "This is where we hold the line. [+]

We know Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't take himself too seriously-just see Twins and Jingle All the Way-but let's face it, Ah-nold is at his best when he's kicking butt and dropping cynical smart-ass quips. This set collects five of his most testosterone-driven classics: all action, all the time. The beefiest he-man to flex a bicep in Hollywood was never one for words, and he proved just what a strong, silent type could do as the tough, terse killing machine in The Terminator, the taut little low-budget sci-fi adventure that made his name. When he returned to the part in the high-gloss, effects-laden sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day, he was too much a hero to go back to villain roles, but don't expect a kinder, gentler Arnold: the doomsday battle with his high-tech, quicksilver nemesis is a nonstop barrage of car wrecks, explosions, and knock-down, drag-out pummeling. In Predator he's the flesh-and-blood prey of an alien hunter, turning the tables with good-old-fashioned human ingenuity. Total Recall finds him a Joe Average worker of the future whose destiny brings him to the revolutionary struggle on Mars and unlocks a secret planted deep in his mind-after busting a few heads. In True Lies, Arnold's third film with action movie wunderkind James Cameron, he only pretends to be Joe Average, but under homebody attitude beats the heart of a superspy: James Bond with the physique of Mr. Universe. Together these films complete a portrait of the quintessential Schwarzenegger badass: tough, terse, take no prisoners. And just a hint of a self-effacing wink. [+]

Forget Steve Reeves and all those Italian strongmen who played stiff, humorless versions of the mythic demigod in 1960s Saturday matinee fodder. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (a cluster of 1990s television films followed by a syndicated series) re-imagines and re-introduces Hercules-son of Olympian chief Zeus and an earthbound, mortal mother-as a laidback but focused hero of ordinary folks with extraordinary problems. Played with casual grace and ironic wit by Kevin Sorbo, the new Hercules wanders through an equally entertaining, revisionist view of ancient Greece as, well, charming and accessible-not exactly Homeric. There are gods and monsters aplenty, but if this was the cradle of civilization, well. This eight-disc volume includes five movie-length adventures, thirteen one-hour episodes, and numerous bonus features. Narratively, the unfolding story finds Herc doing good deeds wherever he's needed, though his backstory is more interesting, including a dubious relationship with his all-powerful dad (a sweet performance by Anthony Quinn)and a tendency to feel the wrath of Zeus's wife, Hera, simply because Hercules is the philandering old man's illegitimate offspring. The movie cycle ends with Herc in a state of domestic bliss; the subsequent, regular series darkens him considerably but then thrusts him repeatedly into adventures with redemptive possibilities. [+]