Beneath these enduring images, however, was a dedicated, intelligent, kind woman who struggled to find peace under the microscope. And still, despite unrelenting attention and criticism, her performances exude a confidence and unpretentious grace that winks at the audience and makes complicated women feel seen. What is so particularly endearing, and perhaps part of the reason for her lasting popularity, is the humanity beneath the Hollywood glamour. As Monroe’s life story resurfaces time and time again, let’s get reacquainted with the woman behind the image.

Here are Marilyn Monroe’s three career-defining performances that cemented her pop culture legacy and allowed her to share her own voice.

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

1. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

This musical-comedy follows best friends and showgirls Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy (Jane Russell) as they board an ocean liner for France where Lorelei will marry her wealthy fiancé, Gus.

Early on in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the women are set up as binary opposites with Monroe’s Lorelei as the stereotypical “dumb blonde” chasing men with money while Dorothy, the sensible brunette, prefers men for their looks and for love. They face many obstacles along the way from being followed by a private detective named Ernie (who is hired by Gus’s father to spy on them), to getting mistakenly arrested for stealing a tiara belonging to the wife of a flirtatious diamond mine owner onboard the ship. In the end, however, both women get exactly what they want: Dorothy marries Ernie for love and Lorelei marries Gus for his money.

On the surface, the film promotes a conservative ideal where a woman’s happy ending is determined by holy matrimony. However, Monroe’s star-making performance as the gold-digging Lorelei upends this superficial reading as she reveals near the end of the film that her “dumb blonde” persona is itself a performance. In a clever scene between Lorelei and Gus’s father, she reveals that she can be “smart when it’s important, but most men don’t like it,” and that marrying for money is shrewd when women have so few options. Monroe is rumoured to have suggested the line herself.

Therein lies the true genius of her performance, since it is as though she is speaking directly to each of us through Lorelei, and that her “Marilyn Monroe” persona is also a performance that gives her some power, however limited. Therefore, when Lorelei/Monroe takes the stage in “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” to sing about women’s financial freedom, it is a striking moment of self-empowerment that has transformed her into a modern feminist icon.

2. The Seven Year Itch (1955)

With her sex symbol status solidified, Marilyn Monroe went on to star in her first film with director Billy Wilder as a doe-eyed commercial actress who moves into the New York apartment above a married book publisher, Richard (Tom Ewell). While Richard’s wife and son are in Maine for the summer, he learns of a phenomenon in which men lose interest in their wives after seven years of marriage and he begins to fantasize about his upstairs neighbour. After many gags and flirtatious misunderstandings – including the legendary scene where Monroe steps on a subway grate, sending her white skirt flying – Richard realizes his love for his wife and joins his family in Maine.

Unlike Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch provides Monroe few opportunities to express female empowerment and assert herself. Her character embodies Richard’s fantasies as an object of his desire and she is even denied a name, being credited as The Girl. Underneath the gags, however, viewers are invited to read camp in Monroe’s performance as she cheekily plays the naïve actress who genuinely believes in the good in everyone, even the Creature from the Black Lagoon. We are rewarded for being in the know about her “blonde bombshell” persona.

Wilder is clever when, in one minute, he depicts Richard’s femme fatale fantasy of The Girl in a tiger-print gown swooning over his musical talents and, in the next, has the real Girl enter his apartment in pink pyjamas. We end up laughing not only at his mistake, but also at Monroe’s self-awareness in her character. And like Lorelei, Monroe and The Girl merge into one as Richard sarcastically wonders if she really is Marilyn Monroe.

Though the film leaves us wanting more of Monroe’s wit and intelligence, it gives us an ironic portrait of her screen persona at its height, as well as the enduring image of her heels on the subway grate.

3. Some Like It Hot (1959)

In one of her final film roles, Marilyn Monroe starred as Sugar, a sassy singer who befriends Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon), male jazz musicians who disguise themselves as women and join her all-girls band to escape Chicago after witnessing a mob hit.

Both men are attracted to her but cannot act on their feelings without revealing their true identities, so Joe concocts a plan to win her affections by pretending to be a millionaire. However, their plan unravels when the mob tracks them down in Miami and they must once again flee for their lives. In the end, Sugar accepts Joe for who he really is and Jerry finds an unconventional match with a real millionaire who claims that “nobody’s perfect” when he learns of Jerry’s true gender, hinting at LGBTQ+ sub-themes that were unusual for the time.

Although Sugar does not seem to be a far cry from Monroe’s earlier roles as Lorelei and The Girl, this character carries a maturity and cynicism that the others did not.

We are first properly introduced to Sugar in the bathroom on the train to Miami where she sneaks a drink from a flask in her nylons. She describes how she is running away from past boyfriends who used her and then left, and she tells Joe and Jerry that she could stop drinking if she wanted to but she does not want to. This confession unfortunately hints at Monroe’s self-reflexivity as she struggled with failed relationships and substance abuse in reality. However, despite Sugar/Monroe’s candour in this scene, it far from overshadows her spunk, wit, and general joyfulness throughout the rest of the film.

After watching her chase millionaires and be used and discarded as a male fantasy in her previous roles, it is heartening to see her find happiness at the end of this film (even if Joe deceived her not once, but twice). More than in her previous roles, she is honest, messy, and relatable, and her performance has gone down in history in what is considered one of the best American films ever made.

Marilyn Monroe has often been dismissed as nothing more than her screen persona, an image of a sexualized blonde bombshell who died suddenly and tragically young.

In recent years, the public discourse around the star has changed as modern fans have interpreted her confidence and sexuality as feminist empowerment.

Yet, behind her image as either a glamorous star or a feminist icon, hid a complex woman, and these three career-defining roles in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, and Some Like It Hot contributed not only to her legacy, but to her ability to speak for herself.

From Elton John’s “Goodbye to Norma Jeane” to Netflix’s 2022 release Blonde, artistic reinterpretations of her life are aplenty. Hopefully, by revisiting her most significant films and her power beneath them, we can all attempt to better understand the woman beyond “Marilyn Monroe.”

Recommended for you: Audrey Hepburn: 3 Career-Defining Performances

Written by Emily Nighman

The goal of this Movie List is to celebrate a figure who has been maligned by society, to replace Perez Hiltonian discourse that aimed to degrade a child actor who didn’t have much choice in her own rise to fame. Lindsay Lohan deserves to be appreciated for the excellent work she did in what was surely a difficult environment. For her fans and supporters, these are the definitive and iconic Lindsay Lohan film performances for 90s/00s kids: the 10 Best Lindsay Lohan Performances.

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

10. Labor Pains (2009)

This one must be prefaced with the “not-a-good-movie” disclaimer. It’s like Fifty Shades without the sex…

Lindsay Lohan’s character Thea works at a book publisher, and she finds herself achieving some career mobility when she pretends she’s pregnant. There’s a lot of unfunny comedy throughout the film, and a surplus of superfluous characters, but no one is watching Labor Pains for any reason other than Lindsay Lohan.

Her performance becomes quite charming whenever she begins to buy into the film’s premise. She’s constantly having to act as if she’s pregnant, and eventually the fake pregnancy becomes her reality. Working with a pregnant author gives her perspective and an understanding of motherhood, womanhood, and humanity, and Lohan is able to communicate the struggle in an entertaining way.

Without Lindsay Lohan, this film would be just another lame comedy from the late 2000s with hardly anything worth remarking upon.

9. Just My Luck (2006)

Just My Luck is another mediocre comedy film that has its moments.

Lindsay Lohan stars opposite Chris Pine (Star Trek, Wonder Woman), and after a fiery meeting at a masquerade ball, the two swap luck – think Freaky Friday but with tarot and kissing instead of racial stereotypes.

Lohan’s performance is nothing spectacular, but she’s doing her schtick here: she’s the all-American girl making her way through a ridiculous comedy premise. The chemistry is there with Pine, and they each sell blunderous physical comedy scenes.

If you like Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Lohaning, Just My Luck is an enjoyable film.

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Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away tells the story of a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro who is whisked away to a fantasy land filled with magic and danger, and is forced to work at a mystical bathhouse for spirits. After her parents are captured by the witch, Yubaba, Chihiro must find a way to set them free so they can return home. It’s a moving story of identity and self-discovery, a film that broke down cultural barriers and inspired a generation of filmmakers.

20 years after its release, Spirited Away is as captivating as ever. In this Movie List from The Film Magazine, we’ll take a look back at some of the film’s most enduring, magical, and thought-provoking moments. These are the 10 Best Spirited Away Moments.

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

10. Chihiro and Her Parents Go Through the Tunnel

“I’m not going. It gives me the creeps.”

After getting lost and barrelling down a bumpy road, Chihiro’s dad stops in front of a seemingly old building. He wants to check it out, to see what’s on the other side, but Chihiro is hesitant – scared. It’s our first clue that something else is going on here – that maybe things are not what they appear to be. But her parents ignore Chihiro’s pleas to leave. Though it’s easy to read Chihiro as whiny and loud, this moment shows just how perceptive she is, the way most children usually are. In Spirited Away, it’s the adults who are ignorant and blind.

Inside, the building resembles a train station. The attention to detail is incredible: light pouring in through stained glass windows, water dripping from a dusty fountain. It’s fitting that the story starts here, in this liminal space. It’s a physical manifestation of where Chihiro is in her journey: almost beginning – not quite there yet. She’s at the threshold both emotionally and literally.

9. Chihiro’s Parents Turn Into Pigs

After Chihiro wanders off on her own, she returns to the seemingly abandoned village to find it alive with spirits. Night has fallen and the lights glow brightly. Lively music plays. Chihiro, scared and anxious, wants to leave, but when she finds her parents, they’ve turned into pigs. It’s a shocking moment that propels the story forward, forcing Chihiro out on her own, in search of a way to save her parents and return home.

This beat is important to the plot and is also a great representation of the larger themes present in Spirited Away. Her parents’ transformation is not only the catalyst for Chihiro’s journey but a very pointed critique of gluttony and Western Consumerism. In Spirited Away, very real things like laziness, cruelty, and opulence are often expressed in exaggerated, grotesque ways.

Recommended for you: Where to Start with Studio Ghibli

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

10. Eloyce Patrick King Gist

Eloyce Patrick King Gist has the distinction of being the first black woman filmmaker. Like her contemporary Oscar Michaux, Gist produced films for the largely underserved Black community. However, she made movies for spiritual uplift rather than for entertainment.

Born in 1892 in Hitchcock, Texas, Gist met and married her husband James Gist, an evangelical Christian who produced silent films for local churches. Though a Baha’i by faith, she joined her husband’s endeavors by rewriting and re-editing his films Hell Bound Train (1929-1930) and Verdict Not Guilty (1930-1933). However, Gist may have also reshot some scenes in a second version of Hell Bound.

Unlike many of the race films that were shot during this period, their movies were unpolished (many scenes were shot out of focus), relied on nonprofessional actors, and used unconventional narrative structures. Regardless, Eloyce Patrick King Gist was one of the first black independent filmmakers during the silent era.

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9. Margery Wilson

Sara Barker Strayer, who changed her name to Margery Wilson so she wouldn’t ruin her family’s reputation, began acting in Cincinnati along with her sister, appearing in one-woman shows and touring in acting companies around the country. After auditioning for her sister with D.W. Griffith, she got a part in his 1916 movie Intolerance. She acted in three dozen roles while under contract with Griffith.

After joining the New York Motion Picture Corp., she wrote, directed, and produced films between 1920 and 1923, including The Offenders (1922-1923), That Something (1920), Two of a Kind (1922), and Insinuation (1922). Her movies, however, are lost. Only photo stills exist.

Questions about whether she actually directed these films continue to keep film scholars up at night. Though Wilson credits herself in her autobiography for producing and directing The Offenders, The American Film Institute credits Fenwicke L. Holmes as director. However, both modern and contemporaneous accounts agree that she performed most of the behind the camera production for Insinuation. Regardless, Wilson is still indisputably a woman pioneer in early silent filmmaking.

Playing its part in establishing the careers of megastars such as Kate Winslet, whilst also cementing the legacies of legends like Judi Dench and Billy Connolly, the BBC has made itself a go-to destination for both experienced and up-and-coming filmmakers alike, creating a home for British heritage films and popular star-driven movies alongside genre-busting pictures and art-house fare.

In this Movie List from The Film Magazine, each of the BBC’s myriad of film releases has been analysed, evaluated, compared and contrasted by three of our very best writers – Katie Doyle (KD), Sam Sewell-Peterson (SSP) and Joseph Wade (JW) – to establish in release order which BBC Film releases are must-watch, in this list of 100 Unmissable BBC Films.

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

1. Truly Madly Deeply (1990)

Director: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson, Bill Paterson, Jenny Howe

Anthony Minghella’s magical realist tale of love, grief and afterlife starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman is frequently heartbreaking but also extremely warm and funny, particularly in the scenes where Rickman’s departed Jamie brings his ghost friends to hang out in Nina’s flat.

The film won Mighella a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay and Rickman and Stevenson won Best Actor and Actress respectively at both the Evening Standard British Film Awards and the London Film Critics’ Circle. (SSP)

2. Jude (1996)

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Kate Winslet, Christopher Eccleston, Rachel Griffiths, David Tennant, June Whitfield, James Nesbitt

Directed by Michael Winterbottom, the would-be director of classic football movie Goal! The Dream Begins and a slew of British comedies such as The Trip and Greed, 1996’s Jude has a stellar cast of young talent that would go on to dominate Hollywood.

Starring a 20-year-old Kate Winslet in a pre-Titanic lead performance that would hint at the powerhouse actress she would become, and one of British film’s most talented leading men Christopher Eccleston, this adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s “Jude the Obscure” is an anti-establishment albeit bleak depiction of classist Britain and the restrictions facing those born on the bottom rungs of the class ladder. (JW)

3. Small Faces (1996)

Director: Gillies MacKinnon
Starring: Joseph McFadden, Kevin McKidd, Iain Robertson, Laura Fraser, Steven Duffy

A tale of three brothers that looks back on the typical life of underprivileged teenage boys growing up in 1960s Glasgow and all of its harrowing realities, Gillies MacKinnon’s Small Faces follows mischievous thirteen-year-old Lex Maclean (Iain Robertson), who is pulled into a gang war after accidentally shooting the leader of his older brother’s rival gang with an air gun. Thus follows the frank depiction of the vicious circle of gang violence as the most innocent lives are warped by the most despicable acts.

There is no mistaking the film’s condemnation of gang culture, but MacKinnon’s work also illustrates the seductive powers of violence via brutal yet captivating action scenes including a spine-tingling showdown at a local ice-skating rink. Small Faces was awarded Best New British Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1995. (KD)

4. I Went Down (1997)

Director: Paddy Breathnach
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Peter McDonald, Antoine Byrne, Peter Caffrey, David Wilmot, Tony Doyle

Conceived by Colin McPherson (whose writing credits now include the Disney production Artemis Fowl), I Went Down is a proud and charmingly refreshing entry into the almost consistently dour Irish filmography.

After upsetting a local gangster, ex-con Git Haynes (Peter McDonald) becomes obligated to go on a bounty hunt with a fellow, yet much older and more bombastic ex-con played by Brendan Gleeson. What starts out as simple debt collection becomes a convoluted affair as Git grows a conscience at the realisation of the nefarious fate that awaits their annoyingly chatty hostage, Frank Grogan (Peter Caffrey).

Immensely popular back in its home country, the film swept over the Irish Film and Television Awards, winning Best Screenplay and Best Craft Contribution, as well as receiving nominations for Best Feature Film and Best Actor in a Male Role for Brendan Gleeson, who was well on his way to international stardom. (KD)

5. Billy Elliot (2000)

Director: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven, Stuart Wells, Jean Heywood

A young boy is caught in the crossfire of the violent 1984 clashes of the Miners’ Strike in County Durham in this unashamed kitchen sink drama which earned itself Best British Film at the 2001 BAFTA Film Awards. Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Reader, 2008), the film casts a scathing look at the Thatcher Years, readily depicting the brutal impacts of the Conservative government’s battle with the workers unions, which include the destruction of communities and livelihoods, and worst of all the crushing of the creativity and self-expression of a generation of children.

Jamie Bell’s powerful debut performance earned him a BAFTA for Actor in a Leading Role, while his co-star Julie Walters earned a BAFTA for Actress in a Supporting Role as Billy’s dance teacher. (KD)

Billy Elliot Review

6. Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Director: E. Elias Merhige
Starring: Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich, Cary Elwes, Udo Kier, Eddie Izzard, Catherine McCormack

The making of FW Murnau’s Nosferatu, stories about the inception of which is already fascinating to cinephiles, is used as the jumping off point for this thoroughly entertaining silent film-riffing horror movie that presupposes Max Schrek (played here by an Oscar-nominated Willem Dafoe) really was a vampire who had Murnau (John Malkovich) under his spell.

Shadow of the Vampire might have missed out on major awards success but was recognised at the Saturn Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards. (SSP)

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7. Wonder Boys (2000)

Director: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Michael Douglas, Robert Downey Jr., Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, Richard Knox, Michael Cavadias, Alan Tudyk, Rip Torn, Jane Adams

The cast of this turn of the century adaptation of Michael Chambon’s mid-90s novel of the same name have a combined 5 Oscar wins and a further 5 Oscar nominations to their name, with at-the-time rising star Tobey Maguire (the would-be Spider-Man) leading the cast alongside legend Michael Douglas.

Wonder Boys itself would be nominated for Best Screenplay at both the BAFTAs and Oscars, while Michael Douglas would receive a nomination at the BAFTAs for Actor in a Leading Role and Bob Dylan would win an Oscar for Original Song for “Things Have Changed”.

Dubbed by Roger Ebert as “the most accurate movie about campus life that I can remember”, this darkly tinted tale proved a funny and touching story that the stellar cast only enhanced at every opportunity. (JW)

8. Iris (2001)

Director: Richard Eyre
Starring: Jim Broadbent, Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville, Penelope Wilton

A true actor’s movie, 2001 BBC Films release Iris is an exceptional example of some career-high work from talented, generational talent. Judi Dench (as the titular Iris) is at arguably her very best in this Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning lead role, while Jim Broadbent (as her husband John) transforms for his only Oscar-winning performance.

Telling of the less-than-frequent experiences of old age, and in this case the often devastating battles people have with Alzheimer’s, this tale of love, grief and life long respect and passion is among the BBC’s most timeless and unmissable films; a deserving six-time BAFTA nominee and three-time Oscar nominee. (JW)

9. I Capture the Castle (2003)

Director: Tim Fywell
Starring: Ramola Garai, Henry Cavill, Rose Byrne, Bill Nighy, Henry Thomas, Tara Fitzgerald, Sinéad Moira Cusack

One of the BBC’s many examples of film releases filled to the brim with ensembles of rising stars, this 1930s-set romance about a young girl (Ramola Garai) navigating her eccentric castle-dwelling family, as well as love and flirtation with a young Henry Cavill, is the kind of empowering movie a teenage girl would attach themselves to in opposition to the Hollywood machine’s less-than-stellar stereotypes, a well-written if a little dreamy feature. (JW)

10. The Mother (2003)

Director: Roger Michell
Starring: Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Anna Wilson-Jones, Peter Vaughan, Steven Mackintosh, Cathryn Bradshaw

From My Beautiful Laundrette writer Hanif Kureishi and Notting Hill director Roger Michell, The Mother is an alluring and provocative drama about a widow’s sexual affair with a man half her age; one that explores issues of womanhood, motherhood, empowerment, and learning the difference between living and being alive.

Starring television veteran Anne Reid in one of her most powerful performances, and would-be James Bond Daniel Craig, this drama unfolds in at times shocking fashion, yet its wholehearted Britishness never ceases. (JW)

Despite what feels like a year of negativity, there have been some great films released in 2020 that deserve celebration. Here are Annice White’s Best Films of 2020. Note: these are 2020 films based on UK release dates.

Make sure to follow the author of this article, Annice White, on Twitter @annicewhite_.

10. The Climb

The opening of The Climb sets up beautifully for the rest of the feature – long shots of ‘best friends’ Mike (writer, director, and star Micheal Angelo) and Kyle (Kyle Marvin) cycling a leg of the Tour De France. Kyle is excited about his upcoming wedding, and his fiancée is amazing. Unfortunately, Mike is already very much aware of this. He is also in love with her, and they have been having an affair behind Kyle’s back. Mike is a terrible person and an even worse friend. The Climb is an anti-bromance film.

It is a beautiful film filled with slow and controlled shots. Many have criticised The Climb on the basis that ‘little happens’, but that is the beauty of this small budget independent. We are there to observe life as it happens. There may be moments of heartbreak, but The Climb has honesty and humour at its core.

9. The Boys in the Band

This Netflix Original, based on the play by Mart Crawley and previously adapted for the big screen in 1970, has flown under the radar in a noteworthy year for streaming giants. The film was released with some audience uncertainty as an ‘unnecessary remake’, however, the cast of the film are the stars of the 2018 Broadway revival, so this version comes from a place of respect for the source material. The film was also possibly overlooked due to its lead being played by the often typecast Jim Parsons, though in The Boys in the Band the former ‘Big Bang Theory’ actor shows that he can play much more than a geeky scientist.

The central narrative of how LGBTQ+ people have to hide a part of themselves is unfortunately still relevant. An old college friend of Michael’s (Parsons) is stopping by for a drink but he does not know that Micheal is gay, and Micheal would like his friends to act accordingly. This night throws up issues of internal and external homophobia, and expectations that are placed on a person based on their sexuality. The cast of The Boys in the Band is comprised of openly gay actors, which is something to be championed in 2020, but this not a gimmick and the performances are captivating. The Boys in the Band is a real treat to watch.

Here are the 10 brightest lights in a dark year.

Make sure to follow the author of this article, Jason Lithgo, on Twitter @CosmicJase.

10. Mangrove

Mangrove Review

To call Mangrove a protest film would be grossly reductionist, but ultimately it is the most succinct way to describe this powerhouse.

It was the first of five new Steve McQueen films to be shown on the BBC for its Small Axe anthology, and it debuted at the London Film Festival.

Based off the real events around the Mangrove restaurant and the arrest of the ‘Mangrove Nine’, Steve McQueen has crafted a film that deals with institutional racism in a furious and ardent way. It also manages to bring this place and time alive in a way that should hopefully inspire a wave of films that show British history from a different point of view.

9. Da 5 Bloods

Da 5 Bloods Review

When I first saw Da 5 Bloods I was taken back by how urgent and frenzied it is. If no one has called it Blackopalypse Now then can I please?

Spike Lee has crafted a crazy collage of a film that spans two points in time, and it’s another from this year which aims to show us historical events from the perspectives of people of colour. It’s a triumph of mixing scathing social critique with over the top B movie thrills – it’s particularly violent and gory when it wants to be.

The standout here is the amazing ensemble of performances by the tremendous cast, specifically Delroy Lindo and Chadwick Boseman. We didn’t know when we were watching it that it would be one of Boseman’s last films, and it really is a phenomenal and heartbreaking performance.

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Lists like these are created with the utmost passion and love, but they’re also created to engage your own thoughts on the subject. If you have any thoughts you’d like to voice, please make sure to leave them in the comments at the end of this article or tweet us!

List set by UK release dates.

100. The Avengers (2012)

Dir: Joss Whedon

The 2010s may not have spawned the era of superhero films, but it was certainly the decade they were risen to their current record-crushing heights, and arguably none of that would have been possible without the exciting first-ever team-up of Marvel’s mightiest heroes in the Joss Whedon directed The Avengers (also known as Avengers Assemble) in 2012.

Starring would-be A-Listers personifying iconic characters, fantastical elements and all-out action, The Avengers was an important moment in time both from an industry standpoint and an audience standpoint, the formula it worked to coming to define the entire decade.

Recommended for you: Every MCU Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked

99. Short Term 12 (2013)
Dir: Destin Daniel Cretton

98. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Dir: Kathryn Bigelow

97. Blue Valentine (2010)
Dir: Derek Cianfrance

96. Black Panther (2018)
Dir: Ryan Coogler

“Marvel’s boldest move yet in many ways. It’s one of the darkest and most violent of the studio’s offerings so far, but it’s also one of the most fun and full of life.” – Sam Sewell-Peterson’s review.

95. The Kids Are Alright (2010)
Dir: Lisa Cholodenko

94. Good Time (2017)
Dir: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie

93. Under the Shadow (2016)
Dir: Babak Anvari

92. The House That Jack Built (2018)
Dir: Lars von Trier

91. Bridesmaids (2011)
Dir: Paul Feig

90. Amy (2015)
Dir: Asif Kapadia

89. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Dir: David O. Russell

88. Booksmart (2019)
Dir: Olivia Wilde

“this picture’s strong and tasteful mix of characters [work] to compliment the progressive themes of this genuinely funny, hearty and at times downright emotional movie headlined by two superlative performances. Not since Superbad has the genre delivered such a bonafide classic.” – Joseph Wade’s review.

87. Snowpiercer (2013)
Dir: Bong Joon Ho

86. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Dir: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

“This is more than a superhero movie, it’s a defining moment in modern cinema.” – Joseph Wade’s review.

85. Gone Girl (2014)
Dir: David Fincher

84. Only God Forgives (2013)
Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn

83. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Dir: George Miller

Mad Max: Fury Road was so much of a surprise smash hit with audiences and critics that it became a meme. “From the director of Babe: Pig in the City” became the running joke, George Miller’s exhile into mediocre studio-driven fare well and truly ended by his return to the Mad Max franchise he’d built from the 70s onwards, Fury Road earning 10 Oscar nominations (including 6 wins), a moment that marked an important evolution for the Academy that had for over a decade refused to acknowledge most action films in any way, shape or form at their popular and prestigious awards.

82. Dogtooth (2010)
Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos

81. The Skin I Live In (2011)
Dir: Pedro Almodóvar

80. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Dir: Lee Unkrich

79. I Saw the Devil (2010)
Dir: Jee-woon Kim

78. Amour (2012)
Dir: Michael Haneke

77. Inception (2010)
Dir: Christopher Nolan

76. The Babadook (2014)
Dir: Jennifer Kent

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1. Roman Holiday (1953)

Audrey’s Hepburn first breakthrough role was as the young and rebellious princess Ann, a character who spends two days incognito in Rome in order to escape from the extremely rigid and oppressive royal etiquette. While there, she meets the American editor Joe Bradley (Peck) and the two fall in love. In Roman Holiday, the young Hepburn shows already remarkable acting skills and carries herself with the effortless grace that later became her signature – both when wearing the richly decorated royal dresses and the more casual yet sophisticated outfits that symbolise her more carefree attitude. This role established her as a top actress in Hollywood, earning her an Academy Award and BAFTA as best actress and thus paving the way for her later success, establishing a new beauty and fashion icon in the process.

2. Sabrina (1954)

Naive, immature and in a hopelessly one-sided romance with David Larrabee (William Holden), Hepburn’s titular Sabrina is in some ways very similar to the character that broke the actress through to the big time in Roman Holiday, only each character wants different things and, of course, their social statuses don’t align. In opposition to the previously mentioned film, the task of Hepburn’s character in Sabrina is to climb the social ladder as opposed to attempt to move down it and escape her privileged life, and though she is successful in achieving that goal, it doesn’t come about as she had expected.

In this film Sabrina changes and matures thanks largely to falling in love with David’s brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart). Hepburn’s iconic style – that was at its early stages in Roman Holiday – is completed in Sabrina; what we would come to know and love of Hepburn as an on-screen presence was well rounded from as early as this 1954 release. This is apparent not only in the way she is presented – the choice of the beautiful outfits she elegantly wears, making history in costume design and increasing her popularity among young actresses and female audiences – but also her portrayal of elegance, charm and grace, each of which were no more iconically packaged than in the third and final film on this list…

3. Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1963)

Holly, Audrey Hepburn’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, is a free spirit, a carefree girl in search for her place in society, but one who is also troubled and has a complicated past. Issues arise in her life when her attitude, perceived to be innocent and naive, gets her in troubles she doesn’t foresee coming; dating aggressive men and making friends with imprisoned gangsters, for example. But, everything begins to change when she meets the penniless writer Paul Varjak. Through him, and at times in spite of him, Hepburn’s Holly Golightly undergoes an inevitable reshaping that will eventually free her from the prison cell that she has created herself by living day after day in the swinging Manhattan without boundaries or real friends.

This is perhaps her most well-known performance, and one that seems to have had an impact on her subsequent roles. In later films, such as How to Steal a Million (1966) and Two for The Road (1967), her characters resemble Holly in a lot of ways: they appear to be lost, naive at times and looking only for fun and pleasure in life, at least on the surface; meanwhile deep down they are scarred by their past and looking for a refuge in which to hide.

As iconic as her work was in this 1963 release undoubtedly is, her evolution as a fashion icon can be said to reach its peak. Her grace and charm are apparent on the screen and emphasised by the choice of clothing that compliment Hepburn’s slim figure and iconic hairstyle, each of which have become synonymous with the Hepburn name in the decades since.

Permeating popular culture perhaps moreso than any other actress of her era, Audrey Hepburn became an icon more through Breakfast at Tiffany’s than any other film in her career, the early 60s picture becoming the vision of Hepburn most moviegoers and fashion followers go to when thinking of Hepburn’s name, the performance being equally as influential and enjoyable.

Did you know that Ouija boards are trademarked by Hasbro? It’s true. Intended as a parlour game, these boards were merely the 18th century’s equivalent to Mouse Trap. However, if someone were to challenge you to a game in this day and age, there are few people who would want to play.

The Exorcist did for Ouija what Jaws did for the seaside. We know the disastrous consequences of sweet, innocent Regan’s play time with Captain Howdy. Who knew that a game could go so awry?

The trope of Ouija in horror soon died out and audiences have put it back in the attic, but a creepy haunted ornament from a car boot is still a potent premise. The notion that an unsuspecting item in your house could cause you harm is terrifying – and getting help for it is nearly impossible.

People around the globe will actively avoid sinister-looking dolls, or refuse to read text from an ominous book aloud (especially if it’s in Latin, you can forget that). There is no denying that the scare factor of a haunted artefact is high on the list. Nobody wants to be possessed by their possessions.

So what are some of the scariest and most iconic cursed objects in horror history?

1. Annabelle – The Conjuring

You would have to be a simpleton to think this doll has your best intentions at heart. With one glassy, demonic eye looking at you and the other cracked pupil looking for you it’s hard to fathom why two nurses allowed Annabelle into their home.

This doll has been the stuff of nightmares since she opened James Wan’s scare fest The Conjuring. Starting as it meant to go on, it terrified audiences with the story of two student nurses who almost fell victim to Annabelle’s desire to possess a human.

As if her horrific aesthetic wasn’t deterrent enough, she soon became a formidable force, with the help of a red crayon. In the film, she torments the women to breaking point, simply by sitting motionless. Her black eyes, however, are ever watchful.

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2. Samara’s VHS – The Ring

Admittedly, Samara’s obsolete VHS wouldn’t get her very far these days but that doesn’t make an unmarked tape any less frightening. Embedded with a curse that will kill the viewer after seven days, the American remake The Ring terrified audiences around the globe. It’s Japanese predecessor Ringu sparked a Japanese horror boom and quickly undercut the then emerging found footage horror when it was remade for western audiences.

The terror of a cursed tape that kills any unwitting watchers has remained intact. Despite its format falling victim to the tragedy of time, its content is still one of the most disturbing sequences in horror history.

Disjointed, jarring and gruesome; Samara’s tape is one cursed object you wouldn’t want hanging about the house.