1. Birdman of Alcatraz (United Artists, 1962)

Burt Lancaster winningly plays convicted murderer Robert Stroud (1890-1963) -- aka "The Birdman" -- who resided at Alcatraz from 1942-59. Filmed primarily at United Artists Studios, Birdman of Alcatraz also utilized exterior shots of the actual island prison in San Francisco Bay.

This fictionalized account centers on Stroud and his stormy relationship with Warden Harvey Shoemaker (Karl Malden). Also explored is Stroud's remarkable rise from prison thug to one of the world's foremost ornithologists.

Birdman of Alcatraz garnered four Oscar nominations: Best Actor (Lancaster), Best Supporting Actor (Telly Savalas), Best Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter), Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey).

2. Escape from Alcatraz (Paramount, 1979)

Clint Eastwood is Frank Morris, who with the Anglin brothers, John and Clarence (Fred Ward, Jack Thibeau), bust out of Alcatraz on June 11, 1962. Patrick McGoohan plays the Warden, who tells budding accordion player Morris: "That's one of the benefits of Alcatraz...lots of time to practice."

Escape from Alcatraz was filmed on "The Rock" by producer/director Don Siegel. The production company had to lay 15 miles of cable from the mainland in order to provide the former island prison with electricity.

3. The Rock (Buena Vista, 1996)

Brigadier General Frank Hummel (Ed Harris) and his renegade Marines take over Alcatraz, threatening to kill their tourist hostages and level San Francisco with stolen rockets laden with chemical weapons. When a covert Navy Seal team is ambushed and killed, ex-Alcatraz con John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) and FBI biochemist Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) are slipped into the island fortress.

4. Seven Miles from Alcatraz (RKO, 1942)

Convict Champ Larkin (James Craig) and his pal Jimbo (Frank Jenks) take unofficial leave of Alcatraz, winding up at a lighthouse in San Francisco Bay. Here they encounter the lighthouse owner (George Cleveland) and his daughter (Bonita Granville), along with a nest of Nazi spies.

Film critic Thomas M. Pryor of The New York Times found this picture lacking, remarking that the vital chemicals used to make this patriotic World War II thriller could have been better used in the manufacture of explosives.

5. Experiment Alcatraz (RKO, 1950)

Alcatraz physician Dr. Ross Williams (John Howard) is busy on the "The Rock," using volunteer convicts for his medical experiments into blood diseases. Co-starring Joan Dixon and Walter Kingsford, Experiment Alcatraz is right out of the Atomic/Red Scare era, with the murdered Doc's radioactive potion taking front and center.

6. Alcatraz Island (Warner Bros., 1937)

Racketeer "Gat" Brady (John Litel) winds up in Alcatraz on an income tax rap -- the same beef that landed Al Capone in federal prison. Inside, Brady is framed for the murder of another convict. "It's just the same in here as being in your grave," Tough Tony Burke (George E. Stone) says of Alcatraz, "only you miss the fun of being dead."

7. Murder in the First (Warner Bros., 1995)

Kevin Bacon plays Henri Young, a petty thief who is sent to Alcatraz in 1938. Following an unsuccessful escape attempt, Young is placed in solitary confinement for three years. Emerging from his hellish ordeal, Young later faces a murder charge, where he is defended by novice public defender James Stamphill (Christian Slater).

The production company experienced their own hell in making this picture. While filming the courtroom scenes, the Northridge (California) earthquake struck, delivering a 6.7 magnitude wakeup call.

Other Noteworthy Alcatraz Films:

• King of Alcatraz (Paramount, 1938)
• Train to Alcatraz (Republic, 1948)
• Al Capone (Allied Artists, 1959)
• The Alcatraz Express (Desilu, 1960)
• Curse of Alcatraz (Grindstone, 2007)

We bust out at midnight...

Well that's why I'm here!

First things first; you will need a good video camera, any good cam will do the trick, but obviously the better the camera the better exposure and quality of the video.

Step1: Make sure you have enough memory on your device to hold at least 2 hours of video, that's about how much time it takes to make a nice movie, two hours should give you enough space to mess up a bit and don't have to worry about it. (make funny bloopers for the end).

Step2: Have your "actors" ready for the shoot.

Step3: I suggest getting a nice tripod for long scenes because it'll be kinda tough to hold a camera really still for even 2 minutes. A decent tripod would cost about 10$ but then again its completely up to you!

Step4: After you've gotten a great idea for a movie and shot the movie, it's time for editing! Editing is by far one of the hardest aspects in making a professional grade movie. It is vital to have the best editing software in order to achieve that quality look you'd like.

Step5: The best cheapish video editor I know is called CyberLink PowerDirector. I use it for all my home movies, it adds excellent transitions, a wide variety of output video formats; like MPG, MPEG-4, AVI, WMA, and even PSP and iPod formats. It is a really fast, easy to use interface that require not-much experience to deal with. Also if you're using a MAC you could also use it's stock video editor, as it is much more easier to use, and FREE!

Step6: Upload your video to your computer using a cable or dock or whatever you use. Turn the FPS a bit higer to 32fps which will give it fluent movement and movie-like action!

That's all I'll say today maybe I'll make another revised version of this same guide. So stay alert for more from me!

Bye-Bye!

In a similar vein but from a lesser known movie we have Liam Neeson delivering a civil unrest inducing speech from the movie about the Irish revolutionary, Michael Collins.

Next up, a little more cynical but never the less an inspiring talk for the sleazy salesmen as delivered by Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross

Keeping in the business arena, we have Ben Affleck delivering a sobering speech to the new trainee brokers in Boiler Room.

The opening speech from Patton is a piss and vinegar talk to the troops.

Continuing the war theme but from the Shakespearean, Here is Kenneth Brannagh delivering the Henry V speech to the troops.

Sports movies are knee deep in motivational speeches, Lets start with Al Pacinos' locker room speech to his team in need of healin'

Denzel Washington delivers call to unite to his team in Remember the Titans

On a lighter note Bluto (John Belushi) from Animal House had to motivate his frat house ... here is how he did it with an important history lesson too.

But if you want to watch a demonstration of filmmaking with FINESSE, this is the best movie for you to watch. I mean, c'mon, No Country For Old Men won the Oscar for best picture this year. The movie communicates on a spine chilling level. It's a combination of Wild Wild West, Money Train, and Hannibal (if you haven't watched those movies yet, pick up a copy, shame on you!! lol). There's so much going on even without dialogue, and every word that the characters say has a significance to the overall impression that the movie wants to leave in your head at the end of the film.

I think No Country For Old Men presents a distinct message to American society. There's so much to discuss, and there's so many overlapping themes that I wouldn't dare go into all of them. But aside from that, the cinematography was awesome. The only film comparable to this level of cinematography is "There Will Be Blood".

Yours truly, I give this film 5 STARS out of 5...something I haven't done since the movie "Departed".

Ah, Swayze and Moore! Although this film has long since been discarded by most as a prime example of mid eighties uber-schmalz, I firmly believe it is time to get retro wallow in this film's sheer mass appeal to our lowest cuddly instincts. The particular tongue-tonselling extravaganza has Ms Moore (playing Molly) spinning her pottery wheel to the tune of “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers. Sam (Patrick Swayze) comes up behind her and they create a distinctly phallic looking object while canoodling.

Toe curling, irritating, pop video love between to people as shallow as their pottery? I don't care and I don't apologize. I love it!

This kiss really blew me away when I first saw it. “A Room With A View” was one of Merchant Ivory's adaptations of an E M Forster novel and as such is about unfettered love conquering buttoned-up Edwardian ideas of morality and sexuality. The two leads, Bonham Carter at her prettiest and Sands in his prime, bleed sexuality longing to be free throughout the film. This is the moment when in an unexpected and impetuous moment, George Emerson (Sands) kisses Lucy Honeychurch (Bonham-Carter) and her inner feelings are awakened. This leads to, well, you will have to watch the film. The whole sequence, in a wheat field, is beautifully shot and breathtaking!

For most people, the kiss they remember from this film is the one between Eliot and a school mate while the former is under the influence of an inebriate alien, due to their telepathic link. That particular kiss is then linked to John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara embrace from “The Quiet Man” (which does not make this list - sorry. Although memorable, the one that does it for me is the kiss between Gertie and ET right at the end when ET is about to go back home. Lovely, brings a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye each time. Hush now, you cynics, hush!

The moment when the viewer realized - with some relief - that this was an outer space epic not a film about incest. Han Solo finally gets the girl and Luke has to do with his hand that is now missing. We all though that Han was not going to get there when Leia announced that she “would rather kiss a wookie” but good old animal magnetism won out in the end, I guess. One shudders at the thought of an ageing Han Solo kissing. One hopes that Harrison Ford does not make the “Connery mistake” when considering the plotlines for the new Indiana Jones film!

The kiss of death! You may not have been expecting to see this in this list, but this is one of the best Hollywood kisses ever, despite the fact that it is not sexual, funny or schmaltzy. It is a kiss to send a shiver down the spine. Here Don Michael (Pacino) has worked out that it is Fredo, his own brother, who is the traitor he has been seeking. He walks up to Fredo and clasps him firmly around the neck, then kisses him hard on the mouth. “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart, you broke my heart.” Cue one of the quickest fishing trips of the twentieth century.

This makes my list because it is a double whammy! It's a gay kiss which is also a kiss of infidelity. Ouch! A double forbidden kiss, this is the moment where Jack Twist and Ennis Delmar are reunited after their time on the mountain, and the pent up longing that has built up over the years just bursts through with violent passion. Some people do not like gay kissing on the screen (hey! Get with the century!) but even they must admit that this is one hell of a kiss! The extra “oh my god” factor is that the two men are seen by Delmar's wife when they assume they are well hidden. Michelle Williams (who played the wife, Alma) should have got a Best Supporting Actress for her brilliant, dumfounded then angry woman scorned.

This is a favourite and one that has been spoofed many times on TV and on film. The Tramp takes The Lady (who he calls Pidge - short for Pigeon) to a little Italian place that he knows for a spot of light supper. They eat the same strand of spaghetti and their heads are drawn inexorably closer as they blithely chew their pasta. Finally, when their heads meet, they have this lovely little kiss. It's not a big moment and it quite understated for Disney, which is what make sit special. Plus I dare you not to go “aaaw” when it happens!

The aggressive, snarly, taken kiss! Ladies, don't you just love it? In this scene Scarlett has just given Rhett Butler the cold shoulder, the shallow little minx that she is. Rhett grabs her, holds her so she can't get away and gives her a kiss of such ferocity that you think her face may cave in at any moment. Then he picks her up and carries her upstairs as she screams at the top of her lungs for him to stop. Upstairs, very daring for a film made at this time! Although most women may not want something like this to happen to them, it must be noted that they too can be the sexual aggressor. Remember Marilyn Monroe in “Some Like It Hot”? On the yacht with Tony Curtis it is she who will not take no for an answer!

I am a sucker for this one every time! In Hollywood films it is sometimes the location for which the kiss is remembered. Again, an adulterous kiss (Deborah Kerr's character is married) this is made all the more memorable because of the setting on a lush and beautiful Hawaiian beach. The fact that the actors were possibly two of the most beautiful people on the planet at the time, also adds to the effect. This sequence takes the breath away even now, so many decades later. Unlike many of the films in this list, however, most people would be at a loss to name the film, let alone recount the plot, but most recognize this most iconic of smoochy moments.

Hitchcock put a huge amount of effort in to getting his films right and even more so when it came to the clinch - the scene where the mains characters finally kiss. He even managed to break the film censorship rules of the day, in “Notorious”. Here he takes the beautiful pre-princess Grace Kelly and the recumbent James Stewart. Kelly makes her first appearance in the film and moves slowly towards the sleeping Stewart. You see a close up of his face and a shadow moving over it which turns in to a close up of Kelly as she leans to kiss him. Stewart wakes up and sees (as we do) this drop dead gorgous woman in front of him. As far as framing and execution goes, the best film kiss ever committed to celluloid.

Naturally, there are so many to choose from, but only a few truly stand out. Here's a short list of five all-time favorites that, to many, are considered the best of the best and are needed to be seen every year, no matter what.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

If there was ever an animated short that's on par with It's a Wonderful Life, this is it. Charles Schultz's famous characters celebrate the holidays, and of course, poor Charlie Brown is depressed. All the commercialization of the holiday has got to him, and no one seems to get the true meaning of Christmas anymore. Not even directing the school Christmas pageant seems to help. It'll take a little help from best pal Linus (giving one of the best holiday monologues ever written) and giving a sad little tree some love to lift Charlie Brown's spirits and get everyone on the right page. A wonderful little tale showing the Peanuts gang at their finest.

A Garfield Christmas

Everyone's favorite fat cat joins (okay, more like is dragged along) Jon and Odie to the family farm for Christmas. Garfield would rather lay about as usual than join in on the holiday cheer, but thankfully Jon's sassy Grandma is there to make things bearable. This little yarn is truly a holiday favorite, featuring one of the best scenes ever animated as Grandma shares a tender memory with Garfield. Add in Odie showing a rare sneaky side and Garfield, of all people, explaining his version of the true meaning of Christmas, and you get a funny and clever story all can enjoy.

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

This old HBO special from Jim Henson may not be seen on TV anymore (least not that I can see), but it remains a classic. It's Christmas time in Frogtown Hollow, and young Emmet Otter and his Ma would love to buy each other their dream Christmas gifts but lack the money to do so. A talent contest with a cash prize seems to be answer, but would require big sacrifices for both of them. To join his pals' jug-band, Emmet would have to put a hole in his Ma's washtub to make a bass. To do her solo singing performance, Ma would have to hock the tool chest Emmet uses for odd jobs to buy material for a costume. Narrated by Kermit the Frog and based on the book by Russell and Lillian Hoban, this is a wonderful story showing what it means to take risks to do something for those we love.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Forget that goofy movie that starred Jim Carrey and its unnecessary background story. This simple little short, based on the classic Dr. Seuss tale, is the true version of the story of the Grinch, who, sick of the all the holiday cheer in Whoville, decides to steal every tree, present and ornament he can get his hands on to “stop this Christmas from coming”, all while dressed up as Santa Claus. And who can beat that scene with Cindy Lou Who, who innocently wonders what “Santa” is up to when she catches him stealing the tree? Narrated by the late Boris Karloff, this little tale shows that even the most despicable of characters can learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Mickey's Christmas Carol

The best way to get the kids to enjoy classic literature? Trick "em into learning! And the best way to do that is to take a story and use Disney characters to act out the story. That"s what you get with this adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel, where the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (played by namesake Scrooge McDuck) must learn to change his ways with the help of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Also featured are Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit, Goofy as Jacob Marley and Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past, who all fit the roles rather well. The special doesn't quite capture the full story at only 24 minutes, but you get enough to grasp the overall general plot and still enjoy it.

If you haven't seen any of these timeless tales, you need to hurry up and correct that. Check the TV listings or head out to the video store to grab the DVD. Then gather the family to sit back and enjoy the holidays.

Not exactly the best movie ever made, but the ending was in a category of its own. The hunt for the final dragon is nicely suspenseful and the running scenes of the group splitting up are beautifully shot. With Denton Van Zan's final leap off the tower, axe in hand, head first into the dragon, and Quinn Abercromby's arrow shot that explodes the beast, throwing Quinn backwards, comes an ending that left audiences saying “holy [insert explicit here]!”

V for Vendetta

The buildup with the domino scene, the rallying of the people and the final fight just screamed “epic ending.” The musical score is excellent the entire way and builds up the scene with plenty of emotion and excitement. The explosion of the Big Ben to the 1812 overture by Tchaikovsky made jaws drop around the theater, and is only topped with the unmasking of the people along with Evey's final words describing V as the man in “all of us.”

Scarface

Who can forget one of the most quoted lines in all of movie history? With his end coming closer and closer, Tony Montana tries to defend the empire he worked so hard to get. Everyone knows he will die, but there's no doubt that it will be one crazy fight. With enough drugs in his body to fill the pool he falls into so tragically, Tony has a shoot-out of the ages, and left movie goers saying “Say hello to my little friend!” for over two decades.

Gladiator

This winner of Best Picture had one of the most epic endings ever, and this is partway due to the fantastic soundtrack. Maximus and Commodus's final fight is incredibly intense and gripping, and Commodus's last breaths (or, should I say, gurgles) are bittersweet as Maximus falls alongside him. But the last scene - Juba's final lines, filled with grief and hope, along with Hans Zimmer's “Now We Are Free” soundtrack - fills the viewer with plenty of goose bumps, and is one of the most inspiring, touching, and epic endings in a movie.

The Matrix

There comes a movie every now and then with an incredible story and revolutionary special effects, and The Matrix is one of those movies. Whether you liked the sequels or not, the ending to this movie is perfectly epic in that it concludes the movie with perfect execution (resulting in satisfaction) yet it leaves the viewer excited and wondering what could happen in a future installment. From the building shootout, to the helicopter rampage, to Neo and Smith's final fight, the action never lets down and only gets increasingly better. The final act, with the rebirth of Neo as “The One,” the death of Agent Smith, and the take off of Neo into the sky with “Wake Up” by Rage Against the Machine playing in the background is legendary, and arguably the most EPIC conclusion to a movie ever made.

The Shawshank Redemption

There is only one word for this movie....AWESOME....I have never been impressed by the kind of depth shown in the story with so many details. This movie shows the pursuit for freedom of a person convicted wrongly and the hope he holds in his heart. The climax leaves everybody stunned with the precision and twist in it.

Usual Suspects

Featuring Kevin Spacey, this movie is the best of the suspense thrillers I have watched. The story that Kevin Spacey invents using the characters in his environment to save himself from being convicted is awesome and the best I have ever seen.

The Lord of Rings

What can be said about it? All the sequels were great and this movie got better and better progressing towards the climax. None of the sequels have ever been able to maintain the beauty of the original movie other than for this series and Star Wars. Just watch it, how a fiction can come to life as you go on watching this movie.

Star Wars

Making the series of a movie in the backwards manner is almost impossible but the makers of Star Wars have proved it wrong by making the 4,5,6,7 parts first and then adding a story before that in 1,2,3 parts with the same grace. No holes were left in the movie and it felt complete in each and every sense. Just watch it.

Fight Club

There have been so many psycho movies but this one stood completely different from others. The kind of suspicion and thrill with fear was classic in its sense. You may be left terrified at a moment watching this movie. It may happen that you may not even understand the movie in the first time but don’t be discouraged and watch it again. Yeah, it can be watched as many times as you want with a lot to offer everytime.