-Ali Davis, Amazon. com.

Robert Armstrong stars as famed adventurer Carl Denham, who is leading a "crazy voyage" to a mysterious, uncharted island to photograph "something monstrous. neither beast nor man". Also aboard is waif Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and Bruce Cabot as big lug John Driscoll, the ship's first mate. King Kong's first half-hour is steady going, with engagingly corny dialogue ("Some big, hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy") and ominous portent that sets the stage for the horror to come. Once our heroes reach Skull Island, the movie comes to roaring, chest-thumping, T-rex-slamming, snake-throttling, pterodactyl-tearing, native-stomping life. King Kong was ranked by the American Film Institute as among the 50 best films of the century. Kong making his last stand atop the Empire State Building is one of the film's most indelible and iconic images. -Donald Liebenson, Amazon. comOn the DVD: Although a little light on extras, this is happily the Director's Cut, restoring scenes that were censored after the film's original 1933 run, including Kong peeling off Fay Wray's clothes like a banana, and our hirsute hero using unfortunate natives as dental floss. The ratio of 4:3 is correct for a film of this age; the picture and (mono) sound are perfectly acceptable without being revelatory. The 25-minute "making of" documentary from 1992 is a 60th anniversary tribute to the film, which details all of Kong's many ground-breaking contributions to cinema, from Willis O'Brien's use of stop-motion and rear projection effects to Max Steiner's music score. There are contributions from film historians, modern admirers of the film including composer Jerry Goldsmith-who admits that Steiner created a template that Hollywood composers are still following-and a few surviving participants such as sound effects man Murray Spivak. Apparently, director Merian C. Cooper's original idea was to capture live gorillas, transport them to the island of Komodo and film them fighting the giant lizards! Thanks to Willis O'Brien's pioneering effects work good sense prevailed and a cinema classic was born. -Mark Walker.

Hot on his heels is the relentless, wise-cracking Sam Gerard, a marshal with a mission. The two stars, Harrison Ford (Kimble, kooky beard and 47 shades of anguish) and Tommy Lee Jones (Gerard, for which he deservedly won an Oscar) not surprisingly steal the show with their battle of wits and muscle. It's a rapport that develops as the film progresses, and is both complex and fascinating-no facile goodie versus baddie scenario here. And the essential slime factor comes from Kimble's sinisterly suave friend, Dr Nichols (Joroen Krabbé superb). Great story, brilliantly done; altogether, a breathlessly enthralling two hours. On the DVD: The Fugitive special edition features a commentary from director Andrew Davis, introducing characters and offering background insight, plus a three-way phone conversation between Davis, Ford and Jones on their experiences of the movie. There's also detailed commentary on how the spectacular train crash was set up and the endless saga of perfecting the script. Also, the usual scene selections, theatrical trailer, choice of languages (English, French and Italian) and a broad choice of subtitles. A pretty impressive package overall. -Harriet Smith.

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Only in a few scenes, specifically when she tracks her wily husband to his new identity in New Orleans, does Judd get to strut her stuff, stealing an evening gown and crashing his charity auction. Most of the time, though, this thriller offers only a smattering of suspense. Well at least, like Libby, the filmmakers can't be condemned twice for the same crime. With Tommy Lee Jones duplicating his Fugitive role, as Libby's conscientious parole officer. -Mark Englehart, Amazon. com.