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Not every actor can be one of the greats, but they make a memorable impression based on how filmmakers play to their strengths. Charles Bronson is one of those actors. He didn't exactly break the mold as an expressive actor, but there's a flexibility in his stoicism that could present a two-way mirror depending on the kind of character he was playing. Legends like Sergio Leone ("Once Upon a Time in the West") and John Sturges ("The Great Escape") knew as much.

If there's one film that defines the definitive Bronson look and feel, it's Michael Winnerman's revenge fantasy "Death Wish." Paul Kersey is an architect turned nighttime vigilante who vows to clean up the streets after his wife is murdered and his daughter is sexually assaulted during a home invasion. Not much changes when it comes to Bronson's performance across the increasingly ridiculous five film series, as the character's quiet bloodthirst remains fairly consistent.

The 1960s were a great time for stylish heist movies, with many classics which are still loved by fans decades later. The heist genre initially sprung out of film noir, but it gradually developed its own identity, and it came to encompass romantic comedies, action thrillers and even spy movies. The 1960s marked a boom for the genre, after films like Rififi and The Killing brought about a new wave of enthusiasm in the 1950s.

Heist movies in the 1970s got much grittier and darker, in line with the trends of New Hollywood. By contrast, the 1960s delivered some more stylish and lighthearted capers, such as Ocean's 11 and How to Steal a Million. This era was defined by suave thieves pulling off intricately plotted heists, and there wasn't much of the violence and bloodshed that's usually associated with crime movies.

Related 20 Best Heist Movies Of All Time, Ranked

The...

Hollywood finally decided to get serious about the Korean War debacle with a pro-Army, anti-politics battle epic that blames our own negotiators as much as the enemy. Director Lewis Milestone and star Gregory Peck lead a full company of favorite actors in a gritty story of ugly combat in absurd conditions: die taking territory today, give it back to the enemy later.

Pork Chop Hill

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 196

1959 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date December 28, 2022 / Available from [Imprint] / au 34.95

Starring: Gregory Peck, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn, George Peppard, Carl Benton Reid, James Edwards, Bob Steele, Woody Strode, George Shibata, Norman Fell, Robert Blake, Lew Gallo, Biff Elliot, Charles Aidman, Barry Atwater, Leonard Graves, Martin Landau, Ken Lynch, Chuck Hayward, Gavin MacLeod, Bert Remsen, Buzz Martin, William Wellman Jr., Titus Moede, Harry Dean Stanton, Clarence Williams III..

Cinematography: Sam Leavitt

Production Designer: Nicolai Remisoff

Art Director: Edward G. Boyle

Production Illustrator:...

“Racial Tolerance: It’s Good for America And good for Criminals!” Harry Belafonte’s second production is a noir keeper, thanks to a top-flight cast and sharp direction by Robert Wise. The big heist is on, but Robert Ryan’s anger management problem all but assures doom and disaster. It’s Wise’s last gritty action picture before moving up to big-scale audience pleasers; he pulls off some slick images with film sensitive to infra-red light.

Odds Against Tomorrow

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1959 / B&W / 1:77 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date May 29, 2018 / available through the Olive Films website / 24.95

Starring: Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley, Gloria Grahame, Will Kuluva, Kim Hamilton, Mae Barnes, Richard Bright, Carmen De Lavallade, Lew Gallo, Lois Thorne, Wayne Rogers, Zohra Lampert, Mel Stewart, Cicely Tyson.

Cinematography: Joseph C. Brun

Film Editor: Dede Allen

Original Music: John Lewis

Written by John O. Killens (fronting for Abraham Polonsky), Nelson Gidding,...

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #60): “The Rip Van Winkle Caper” (airdate 4/21/61) The Plot: Thieves in the future use suspended animation to elude capture. Their plan goes about as well as could be expected. The Goods: A large semi truck and a sedan pull up to a remote, mountainous area in the desert, and four men exit. They’ve pulled off a fantastic train heist and gotten away with millions in gold bricks. Farwell (Oscar Beregi), the man behind the plan, knows that the theft was the easy part compared to getting away with it, but his plan to avoid capture is simple. The four of them will lock themselves in a cave with the gold and a truck, and...

Adam Sandler and Kevin James are in negotiations to play firefighters who pretend to be a gay couple in Universal Pictures I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Wedding Crashers helmer David Dobkin is attached to direct the long-gestating comedy, which is being produced by Shady Acres' Tom Shadyac and Michael Bostick and Happy Madison's Jack Giarraputo. The firefighters in Chuck and Larry pose as a married gay couple in order to receive domestic partner benefits. Alexander Payne and James Taylor, the Oscar-winning team behind Sideways and About Schmidt, have written the current draft of the screenplay based on a treatment by Lew Gallo.