'Titanic,' 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' and more of Newsday's archived movie reviews

'Titanic' (1997)

The sinking of the Titanic has been explored many times, many ways; in books and film, fiction and nonfiction, with and without the accompaniment of "Nearer My God to Thee." 'We've heard or read scores of survivors' accounts; we've toured the great ship through pre-launch photos and newsreel footage; we've even been to its grave to roam its carcass in documentaries made for the smallest (TV) and largest (IMAX) screens. Read the full review here. 

'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)

In "The Silence of the Lambs," Anthony Hopkins makes the most unforgettable anti-entrance of any screen villain in years. His character, Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist and serial killer with a taste for eating his victims, does not enter in the conventional sense, since the movie really comes to him. When it arrives, he is as still as a guillotine blade perched to drop. Read the full review here.

'The Princess Bride' (1987)

"The Princess Bride" is the first movie I've ever seen that evokes the intimacy and fun of reading aloud. And it uses the shared experience of a book read aloud to bring two people -- a sly, cantankerous, loving grandfather and his precocious grandson, in bed with the flu -- closer together. Read the full review here.

'Ferris Bueller’s Day Off' (1986)

John Hughes is clearly a traitor to his age. Thirty-six years old, going on 16, director-writer-producer Hughes has all but cornered the market on high-school movies with "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink" and now, this new teen-tailored fantasy, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off. " Read the full review here.

'Ghostbusters' (1984)

Summer movies are like amusement park rides. Let’s say you’ve already had your adrenaline fix with the latest Indiana Jones roller coaster ride, and what you’re looking for now is a good laugh. Where will you find it? At “Ghostbusters,” this season’s most enjoyable movie fun house. “Ghostbusters” is like romping through Disneyland’s haunted house with Bill Murray. Read the full review here.

'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981)

Pharmaceutically speaking, the most sensible way to deal with lush-budget B-movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is to call it the season's big upper. It makes you feel good without any upleaseant aftereffects. Read the full review here. 

'Grease' and 'Jaws 2' (1978)

"Grease," which opened today [June 16, 1978] at local theaters, is a triumph of packaging, if not filmmaking.

The Broadway show from which the movie is adapted is one of those tourist attractions -- like Neil Simon plays, the Circle Line boat trip around Manhattan and the observation deck of World Trade Tower No. 2. Read the full review here.

The sequel to "Jaws" feeds vacationing high school kids to its killer shark -- beach blanket shark bait. Effecive terror. Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton.

There was reason to believe that "Jaws 2" would be a mess. It isn't. It's better than most sequels. It's formula-ridden but slick, and the special effects work as intended. Read the full review here.

'Saturday Night Fever' (1977)

"Saturday Night Fever," the first major movie to exploit the disco craze, is surprisingly good. TV's John Travolta plays a street-tough character convincingly and dances with the authority of a narcissistic peacock dazzling the hens at mating time. Read the full review here.

'Star Wars' (1977)

"Star Wars” is one of the greatest adventure movies ever made. It’s a masterpiece of entertainment. 

I haven’t had as much fun at a movie in years. With its technical wizardry, high-velocity storytelling and spirited good humor, “Star Wars” dazzles the child in us. Read the full review here.

'All the President’s Men' (1976)

“All the President’s Men” is a terrific movie – the best film about newspaper reporters ever made, one of the most enjoyable action pictures you’ll see this year and a classic example of how to make an important social and political statement within the framework of an unpretentious detective story whose revelations speak for themselves. Read the full review here.

'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975)

If the word "adult" can stand the strain of being associated with such anarchic lunacy, then "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is an adult fairy tale. 

A/D/U/L/T . . . A-d-u-l-t . . . (A) (D) (U) (L) (T).

If the word "sophomoric" can stand the strain of being associated with...

Read the full review here.

'Jaws' (1975)

"Jaws" does for ocean bathing what "Psycho" did for taking a shower. 

It makes you want to stay dry. And safe, and wary.

Virtually naked and trapped, a swimmer is as vulnerable to a marauding killer shark as the defenseless Janet Leigh was in her motel shower to a homicidal maniac. That's the stuff of nightmares.

Read the full review here.

'Breakfast At Tiffany's' (1961)

Anybody who hasn't met at least one Holly Golightly in a lifetime hasn't lived. Each Holly Golightly is a female kook of the first order -- someone to be seen to be believed. And now everybody, those who've known Hollies and those who haven't, can catch a long, largely happy glimpse of just such a creature in Paramount's new "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Read the full review here. 

'Psycho' (1960)

In all the hullabaloo about what Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" contains in the way of violence and sadism, one extremely important point has been overlooked. And that is that "Psycho," taken by itself, is merely a second-rate motion picture. Read the full review here.