Action & Adventure

Top 25 Box-Office Films of 2008

Superheroes, robots, and an aging archaeologist starred in some of the biggest box-office hits of the year. See the top 25 films of 2008, and order them now on DVD or sign up to be notified when they're available to pre-order.

›See the top 25 films of 2008

Play the Game, Watch the Movie

Max Payne is the latest action-packed movie based on a video game, a new tradition that includes Hitman, Resident Evil, and more.

›See our list

Wayne and Eastwood: Icons of the Western

The mythology of the West has long transfixed both filmmakers and filmgoers, and few actors have embodied its spirit better than John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. Their movies not only are pinnacles of the genre, but also rank among the most important in cinematic history.

Editors' Picks: Save up to 30% on Best DVDs of the Month

Which caped crusader is going to break record sales? Which Earth-saving robot will delight your kids this Christmas? And which Amazon.com Customer Favorite is finally going Blu? For the answers to these questions and more, see what our DVD editors picked as the Best of the Month for November--all up to 30% off.

›See our Best of the Month

Essentials by Director: Robert Rodriguez

A maverick among film directors, Robert Rodriguez marches to the rhythm of his own maracas. Rather than working in Hollywood, Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios is based in Austin, Texas, where he directs, edits ("chops" is his term), and scores the films himself. His El Mariachi (1998) was made on a shoestring budget ($7,000), then remade as a major-studio film, Desperado. Rodriguez's films are known for both quirky humor and stylish, balletic violence, qualities also present in the work of his friend and sometimes collaborator Quentin Tarantino.

›Essentials by Director: Robert Rodriguez

Action & Adventure Essentials: Gangster Movies

Gangster pictures date back at least to 1912 and D.W. Griffith's amazing two-reeler The Musketeers of Pig Alley (complete with its own Jimmy Cagney type!), but the genre needed sound to serve the colorful underworld argot and, of course, the chatter of tommyguns. Depression-era audiences were thrilled to be watching Little Caesar and Scarface while their real-life counterparts were at the height of their dubious celebrity. The list of genre Essentials below is limited to the big-city, organized-crime breed. We follow them decade by decade as the business--of gangsterism and of filmmaking--evolves. Check out our essential gangster movies on DVD, including:

• Scarface
• Miller's Crossing
• Goodfellas

›Essential gangster movies on DVD

Essentials by Actor: Errol Flynn

A true Tasmanian devil, Errol Flynn drifted into acting, and his graduation from rookie to box-office star was rapid, landing his archetypal, cutlass-brandishing role as Captain Blood within his first year in Hollywood. Blood established an ebullient equation of raffish good looks, buoyant self-confidence, and natural athleticism, exploited during his late-'30s and early-'40s tenure at Warner Bros. through an impressive string of costume adventures built around Flynn's appeal.

›Essentials by Actor: Errol Flynn