HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE (2001)

Our film odyssey continues with the first film in a new kind of movie franchise, based on a wildly popular book series about wizard school.

SCROOGE (1951)

Alastair Sim plays the title character in what was considered for decades to be maybe the definitive version of the Dickens story, though I was a little thrown by the way the movie makes up a bunch of extra bits of Scrooge’s origin story for no discernible reason.

HENRY V (1989)

The debut film for actor/director Kenneth Branagh, whose new, autobiographical movie “Belfast” is in theaters this weekend, ushered in a new era of Shakespeare on screen.

THE HAUNTING (1963)

Horrorfest ’21 begins with this classic haunted house story that steadfastly refuses to show us any ghosts or really tell us what’s going on.

THE DUELLISTS (1977)

The first film from director Ridley Scott was also about some very American actors fighting duels while dressed up as historical French guys.

DR. NO (1962)

With the 25th James Bond movie releasing today, we revisit the very first, which is much slower but does find the character himself fully formed.

BARRY LYNDON (1975)

Stanley Kubrick’s period epic tells the life story of a 1700s rogue with spectacular visuals and a maximum of emotional detachment.

THE THIRD MAN (1949)

A movie of black and white paranoia that to me is one of the all-time classics, perfectly capturing a very specific time and place.

EXCALIBUR (1981)

With King Arthur back in theaters, we revisit this tonally wild epic 1980s masterpiece (??) for the Arthurian completist.