7 Star Films

Dunkirk (1958) is a sombre, character-driven war film depicting the British Army’s retreat and evacuation from Dunkirk, France, in 1940. Released nearly two decades after the actual events, it is one of the first major cinematic attempts to portray Operation Dynamo—the massive, hastily-organized evacuation effort that saved over 330,000 Allied troops and became a defining moment of British WWII history.

Beetlejuice is a madcap gothic comedy that marked a defining moment in the early career of director Tim Burton. Surreal, anarchic, and bursting with visual invention, it’s both a darkly comedic tale of the afterlife and a clever satire of suburban life and modernity.

9 to 5 is a landmark feminist workplace comedy that remains surprisingly relevant more than four decades after its release. Directed by Colin Higgins and starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton (in her first film role), the movie is a sharp, funny, and ultimately empowering satire of corporate America, gender inequality, and female solidarity.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) is the second instalment in the legendary Indiana Jones series, though chronologically a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

When RoboCop was released in 1987, it was marketed as a straightforward action movie about a robot policeman in a dystopian future. What audiences got instead was a brutal, hyper-stylized, and scathingly satirical masterpiece that remains one of the most intellectually subversive and culturally resonant science fiction films ever made.

Escape from New York (1981) is a gritty, atmospheric, and wholly original dystopian action film that helped define the punk-tinged aesthetic of early 1980s science fiction. Directed by genre master John Carpenter and led by an iconic performance from Kurt Russell, the film blends B-movie sensibilities with post-Vietnam/post-Watergate cynicism, imagining a future where the U.S. has responded to its societal collapse not with reform, but with barbed wire and fascism.

Wait Until Dark (1967) is a tense, tightly constructed psychological thriller that transforms a small Greenwich Village apartment into a claustrophobic battleground between vulnerability and menace. Adapted from Frederick Knott’s stage play and directed by Terence Young (best known for early James Bond films), the film is a masterclass in suspense that weaponizes darkness, silence, and perception in ways that were ground-breaking at the time—and remain effective today.

The Haunting (1963), directed by Robert Wise and adapted from Shirley Jackson’s seminal 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House, is one of the most acclaimed and enduring psychological horror films ever made. It is a masterclass in atmosphere, suggestion, and psychological tension, relying not on gore or special effects, but on mood, sound design, and character psychology to terrify.

Strait-Jacket (1964) is a campy, lurid, and gloriously melodramatic slice of psychological horror that exemplifies the "psycho-biddy" subgenre—a niche corner of horror and thriller cinema that places aging actresses, often former screen sirens, in grotesque or mentally unstable roles.

Adam’s Rib is a whip-smart romantic comedy that doubles as a battle-of-the-sexes courtroom drama. Directed by George Cukor and written by married screenwriters Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, the film cleverly dissects gender roles, double standards, and marriage dynamics — all while delivering rapid-fire wit and sizzling chemistry between its leads, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

Following the enormous success of Halloween (1978), director John Carpenter and producer/co-writer Debra Hill returned with a more atmospheric and stylistic horror tale: The Fog. This 1980 film, drenched in gothic imagery and old-fashioned ghost story sensibilities, marked a shift from slasher horror to supernatural suspense. Though modestly received upon its release, The Fog has since garnered cult status and is now appreciated for its mood, music, and craftsmanship.

The Fall of the Roman Empire is one of the grandest historical epics ever put to film—an ambitious, lavish, and intellectually inclined spectacle from director Anthony Mann. With sprawling sets, an ensemble of major stars, and a philosophical underpinning, the film sought to combine the grandeur of Ben-Hur with the gravitas of a Shakespearean tragedy.

Murder by Death is a genre-savvy spoof that brings together caricatures of the world’s most famous fictional detectives — thinly veiled versions of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Sam Spade, and Charlie Chan, among others — and places them in a haunted mansion for a mysterious dinner party. The film was penned by the legendary playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon, known for his sharp wit and theatrical flair.

After a decade away from the role, The Return of the Pink Panther marked the triumphant comeback of Peter Sellers as the bumbling, absurdly self-confident Inspector Jacques Clouseau. It was also a revival for the franchise itself, which had faltered slightly after the 1964 hit A Shot in the Dark and the Sellers-less 1968 film Inspector Clouseau.

Tommy is a surreal, audacious rock musical directed by the flamboyant British auteur Ken Russell, based on The Who’s 1969 concept album of the same name. The film is a psychedelic fever dream, built entirely around music and image rather than traditional dialogue or narrative structure. With its star-studded cast and genre-defying ambition, Tommy is both a product of its time and a lasting artifact of cinematic and musical experimentation.

Death Wish is a gritty and provocative film that became one of the most controversial movies of the 1970s. Directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson in his career-defining role, the film explores the psychological and moral transformation of a peaceful man into a lethal vigilante in response to personal tragedy and the unchecked crime in his city.

Magnum Force is the second instalment in the Dirty Harry film series and represents a significant tonal and thematic pivot from its controversial predecessor. While Dirty Harry (1971) presented a no-nonsense cop who bends the rules to catch criminals, Magnum Force questions the cost of crossing the line — by pitting Harry Callahan against a group of vigilante cops who go even further than he does.

The Getaway is a sleek, violent, and deeply cynical crime thriller that helped redefine the modern action film. Directed by Sam Peckinpah—known for his slow-motion shootouts and unflinching portrayals of brutality—and led by a laconic, magnetic Steve McQueen, The Getaway blends pulp fiction with existential cool.

Bananas is one of the early films that established Woody Allen’s voice as a filmmaker—neurotic, erudite, chaotic, and absurdist. Before Allen's transition to more introspective, narrative-driven comedies like Annie Hall or Manhattan, Bananas represents his Marx Brothers-inspired period, where anarchic comedy and slapstick reigned supreme.

Often viewed as a spiritual cousin (and sometimes understudy) to Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a 1971 musical fantasy that combines whimsy, wartime grit, and good old-fashioned Disney spectacle. With a stellar performance from Angela Lansbury and the visual innovation of combining live action with animation, the film is a nostalgic oddity that hasn’t always received the attention it deserves.