While based on an inaccurate source novel by Thomas E. Gaddis, this account of the lifelong prisoner and ornithologist Robert Stroud is an inspired piece of filmmaking from director John Frankenheimer, featuring one of Burt Lancaster's best performances and lots of scene-stealing birds.

Kinji Fukasaku's distinctively deglamourised Jitsuroku eiga Yakuza flick makes heavy use of shaky cinéma vérité camerawork and Dutch angles. It has a certain raw energy about it but fails to generate much sympathy for its central protagonist.

This controversial look at the complex issues surrounding an abusive/controlling relationship between a grown woman and an adolescent girl will upset many viewers. However, it is well-acted, frank and non-exploitative - if somewhat rough around the edges.

James Bridges' account of a nuclear plant incident has some truly chilling real-life precedents. This 1970s mixture of ambitious reporter movie, paranoia thriller and disaster movie is highlighted by excellent performances courtesy of Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas.

Paul Schrader's multi-stranded examination of one of Japan's most memorable and controversial cultural figures is a beautiful and hugely ambitious piece of cinema. This 4K restoration is stunning and features a wealth of extras which add up to an almost perfect package.

Clio Barnard's loose adaptation of Rose Tremain's novel Trespass, transplanted to the Yorkshire Dales, features a gorily authentic depiction of the struggles of tenancy farming and some real depths hinted at in Ruth Wilson and Mark Stanley's performances. In the end, however, it's little more than artistically-mounted gloom porn.

Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis play a pair of escaped prisoners chained together in this grittily realistic but entertaining look at racism. The two leads perform most of their own stunts, creating a sense of immersion in the film's natural dangers.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s film noir message movie helped to pave the way for African-American leading men in Hollywood cinema. Aside from Poitier's subtly engaging performance, we get Richard Widmark's supremely loathsome racist villain and Linda Darnell as a hard-bitten wild card.

Stanley Kramer’s depiction of religious fundamentalism and group dynamics in a Bible Belt town remains all-too-relevant today. Its success centres on the powerhouse performances of Spencer Tracy and Fredric March, along with a cynically witty turn by Gene Kelly.

This New Zealand-made drama, chronicling the emotional car crash of a marital breakup, holds its oddball genre mix together thanks to Bruno Lawrence's superb performance and Roger Donaldson's exhilarating direction.