Topping the list is James Stewart as attorney Paul Biegler. The actor’s familiar, easygoing persona is certainly on display, but Biegler’s no pushover; he’s relentless, manipulative and ruthless — and he needs to be, if he’s to successfully defend young Lt.

The teaming of writer Dennis Potter and director Nicolas Roeg promised something far beyond the mainstream, and this lively and loony grab-bag of psychological thriller, surreal satire and black comedy certainly delivered. That it baffled audiences and many critics back in 1988 is no surprise.

Columbia Pictures decided at the last minute to bypass a general release (even after screenings had been held in many cities — including Greensboro) and unveil the film on a limited basis. Bad move, as the film flopped. It’s no masterpiece — and it’s not Shakespeare in Love (1998) either, but Anonymous deserved better.

Directed by David Frankel and inspired by Mark Obmascik’s book, the film follows three men as they embark on a “Big Year� — an ornithological excursion in which each must spot as many different birds over a yearlong span, each one motivated by different reasons.

War-torn Africa is the setting for this grim, ghoulish outing in which the living dead have overrun the continent.

Everything goes right in producer Alan J. Pakula and director Robert Mulligan’s esteemed 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s beloved (only) novel, newly released in a 50th anniversary edition, available as a DVD/Blu-ray combo ($26.98 retail) or a Blu-ray book/ DVD combo ($39.

Director Ishiro Honda’s original 1954 version is a somber, tragic treatise on the consequences of atomic power — a subject painfully familiar to Japan, it being less than 10 years since the end of World War II — with the title terror aroused from prehistoric slumber by atomic testing in the Pacific.

History’s most notorious grave robbers are the subject of this ghoulish black comedy that marks director John Landis’ first feature in more than a decade. An opening title card sets the tone for the story: “This is a true story. Except the parts that are not.

Laurence Fishburne recreates his Tony-nominated role — scoring an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie — as Thurgood Marshall (1908-’93) in this filmed version of his one-man show, filmed at the Eisenhower Theatre at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

The star-studded lineup of contestants and interested onlookers includes ever-reliable Ray Winstone, Jason Statham, Alexander Skarsgard, Ben Gazzara, Curtis “50 Cent� Jackson, Emmanuelle Chriqui (in a tiny role) and Mickey Rourke, who did the movie no favors by bad-mouthing it in print.

Dirk Bogarde stars as Nicholas Whistler, a jobless writer who is hired on as a courier, unaware that his new employer is British Intelligence, which promptly sends him on a job behind the Iron Curtain. Whistler’s a decoy, but he doesn’t know it… yet..

Writer/director Cody Jarrett knows well the trappings, and incorporates them with an appropriately sleazy flair, augmented by a hilarious score by Michael Cudahy and Aeriel Stiles and David E. Diano’s intentionally cheesy cinematography (even the film stock looks cheap!).

Using bits and pieces of footage culled from over 80,000 YouTube submissions worldwide, director Kevin Macdonald and editor Joe Walker have fashioned a kaleidoscopic tour of the planet as seen through the eyes (and cameras) of its people, across different continents and different cultures over a 24-hour period.

This sleek and stylish crime series, which ran 1986-’88 on NBC, never achieved the ratings success of executive producer Michael Mann’s “Miami Vice� but nevertheless had a fervent fan base.

The story shifts back and forth through time, as Oliver reflects back on Hal’s life. Once widowed, Hal came out of the closet and spent his last years content in his identity, even after being stricken with terminal cancer.

Terrence Malick’s latest film — only the fifth in his almost 40-year career as a director — is a visually stunning, emotionally absorbing, almost indescribable conglomeration of imagery and ideas.

What makes this 1957 courtroom drama an enduring classic? Simple: Perfect story. Perfect cast. Perfect execution. The result? Perfect movie. On a sweltering day in New York City, 12 jurors sit in deliberation of a young man on trial for killing his own father.

Hackman’s Harry Caul is the best surveillance expert in the business. For the right price, he’ll eavesdrop on anyone, yet he’s fiercely and obsessively protective of his own privacy. When he thinks he’s listened in on a murder being plotted, his whole world falls apart.

Hosted by Brian Peck, who played “Scuz� in the original film and appeared in two of the follow-ups, this thorough and enjoyable — to say nothing of thoroughly enjoyable — chronicle examines the film’s origins, its often-tumultuous production, and subsequent status as a cult classic.

The first, best screen adaptation of HG Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau retains the power to shock nearly 80 years since its 1932 release.