Atonement (2007)
James McAvoy, Keira Knightly
This luminous movie captures the beauty, irony and tragedy of its progenitor (see LitPicks Jan. 07). It haunts you. Read more

Cold Mountain (2003)
Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger
This movie is a beautiful rendering of Charles Frazier's mythical vision. Read more

Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth
The 3 P's-Perfect Pride and Prejudice! Why would anyone ever think of making another version? Read more 

Persuasion (1994)
Ciaran Hinds, Amanda Root
Truly, the most beautiful of all the Jane Austen films. It’s dazzling— elegiac in tone and sumptuous. Read more  

Fight Club (1999)
Helena Bonham-Carter, Ed Norton, Brad Pitt
Why such a dark, violent film?  Well, if you're of the male persuasion -or parent of one-this is an important movie. Read more

Henry V (1989)
Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Emma Thompson
Shakespeare?  Runaway, runaway.... But wait!  This is good, so good you'll insist it's not really Shakespeare. Couldn't be. Read more

Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Daniel Day Lews, Madeleine Stowe
Loincloths. Daniel Day-Lewis. Combine them, and the result is glorious. I get palpitations just writing about it. Read more

Gone With The Wind (1939)
Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh
The grandmommy of all blockbusters-no movie, not even Star Wars, has surpassed its earnings. And for good reason. Read more

The Godfather (1972)
Marlon Brando, James Caan, Al Pacino
Go the mattresses but only to curl up and watch this movie, one of those rare film’s that’s a lot better than the book. Read more

Far From the Madding Crowd (1998)
This is a film version worthy of Thomas Hardy. It's magnificent and faithful to his book, my favorite Hardy novel. Read more