John Frankenheimer scored his first success with this, his third theatrical feature and his second collaboration with producer-star Burt Lancaster (they would make five films together all told). Lancaster delivers an angry, brooding performance as real-life criminal Robert Stroud, a violent killer who, while in solitary confinement, became an internationally recognized authority on birds and their diseases. Based on the book by Thomas E. Gaddis, Frankenheimer creates a portrait of a withdrawn, antisocial prisoner who discovers his own potential after reluctantly rescuing a wounded sparrow from a storm and nursing it back to health. Lancaster's quiet portrayal comes from his eyes and restrained body language, earning him his second Oscar nomination. Costars Telly Savalas (as the talkative "neighbor" from the cell next door) and Thelma Ritter (as his controlling mother) were also nominated, but Frankenheimer's sensitive direction draws equally fine performances from Neville Brand, playing against type as the prison guard who slowly befriends Stroud, and Karl Malden as the tough warden whose ideas of confinement and punishment prompted Stroud to follow-up his studies of birds with a treatise on prison reform. This somber, subdued tale offers no truly happy ending, but it does present a powerful portrait of one man's efforts to earn back his dignity and respect in the worst of conditions. -Sean Axmaker.

One of the high points of Woody Allen's career. Cecilia (Mia Farrow), a depression-era waitress married to a brutish husband (Danny Aiello), finds her only escape at the movies, her current favorite being a light comedy about an explorer among socialites, called The Purple Rose of Cairo. She sees it so many times that the main character, Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), falls in love with her and steps off the screen to woo her. When news of this gets back to the movie studio, the producers send the actor who played Baxter (also Daniels) to convince Baxter to get back on the screen. The script is one of Allen's funniest, but underlying the whole story is a current of sadness that gives the movie's ending a surprising impact. Allen himself considers The Purple Rose of Cairo to be his personal favorite of his own films. A gem. -Bret Fetzer.

The films of Werner Herzog are often marked by physically punishing circumstances that test the endurance of the characters. In Woyzeck, based on the classic German expressionist play by Georg Buchner, all the punishment is within. Klaus Kinski stars as Woyzeck, a disturbed soldier subjected to dubious scientific experiments and maltreatment from his superiors. His only solace is his lover, Marie (Eva Mattes)-so when he begins to suspect her of infidelity, his jealousy swiftly turns murderous. The movie is shot with unusual simplicity, often in long sustained shots that demand focused, disciplined performances. Both of the main actors rose to the task; Mattes was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and Kinski creates a harrowing portrait of fragile desperation. It's a reminder that, though best known for his volcanic frenzies, Kinski could vividly portray all sides of the human condition. -Bret Fetzer.