The great Paul Newman passed away on Friday, and as anyone who regularly reads this blog will know, we at Texperts are massive fans of his work. As our our little tribute, we have put together 11 reasons why he was amazing.

There are usually rules. This week the only rule we have is that we are only looking at his contributions to cinema. He was awesome in hundreds of other ways that we can’t really cover in a film blog. We won’t be able to cover his political activism, or the fact that he was number 19 on Richard Nixon’s enemies list. Or the fact that he was a tail gunner during the battle for Okinawa during World War II. Or the fact that he set up Newman’s Own food company, which gave all profit to charity. Or the fact that he was an incredible racing driver, finishing second in the 1979 Le Mans 24 Hour Race and being part of the team which won the Daytona 24 hour in 1995 (aged 70). Or the fact that he was married to the same woman for 50 years. Or the money he gave to set up camps for ill children, aid for Kosovan refugees, scholarship schemes and awards for literature that protects the first amendment. No, we won’t mention these things. We’ll just look at the films, in chronological order.

Somebody Up There Likes Me - 1956 - Robert Wise

The film that started it all for Paul Newman (and Steve McQueen. And Robert Loggia). Newman plays Rocky Graziano, a small time criminal who turned his life around and became a championship boxer. Graziano was originally to have been played by James Dean, but he died before shooting started. Newman’s performance (and indeed, his makeup) was first rate, to the point that the entire film got the seal of approval from the man the film was based on.

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof - 1958 - Richard Brooks

Newman was paired with the biggest star in the world - Elizabeth Taylor - for the film version of Tennessee Williams’ classic tale of family tensions. Williams himself hated the film, as the homoerotic nature of Brick’s (Newman) relationship with his best friend Skipper was deemed too sensitive for the Hollywood Production Code. Indeed, legendary director George Cukor was originally attached to direct the film, but refused because of the selective editing, and Newman only signed on to the film on the condition it was an unaltered version of the play. Regardless of his own objections, Newman’s performance earned him his first Oscar nomination, as Brick Pollitt, the man who is so haunted by his former glories that he cannot live in the now with his wife. How different the film would have been had the producers convinced a certain Colonel Parker, to let Elvis Presley take the part.

The Hustler - 1961 - Robert Rossen

Newman’s first film starring “Fast” Eddie Felson is arguably the finest sports film ever made. The story of what it means to win and lose, and what you learn about yourself in between, may have been repeated a hundred times since, but rarely with as much gravitas as in Rossen’s version. Newman was required to do all but one of the trick shots in the film, and as a result became an exceptional pool player himself.

Hud - 1963 - Martin Ritt

Hud is a very strange film in the Paul Newman oeuvre, in that the main protagonist - Hud Bannon - is both immensely dislikable and yet strangely appealing. Hud takes what he wants, and doesn’t care who gets in his way. Newman intentionally played the part to be as dislikable as possible, yet found to his surprise that Hud was to become a poster boy for “the teenager” of the 1960s.

Cool Hand Luke - 1967 - Stuart Rosenberg

If you haven’t seen it yet… Quite possibly the defining role for (and of) Paul Newman. Playing a kind hearted rebel, who isn’t afraid to challenge authority might not have been too much of a stretch, but who else could have made Luke that likable? Indeed, considering the audience for a film like Cool Hand Luke in 1967, who could have made the film more of a success than the noble rebel himself?

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - 1969 - George Roy Hill

Another defining moment for Newman, and a career high for both George Roy Hill and Robert Redford. Hill’s (almost) musical Western is as much about friendship as it is about gunfighting. What isn’t to like about this film? Great dialogue between the main characters, a fantastic Oscar winning soundtrack by Burt Bacharach, that iconic ending. Most importantly (take note film-makers), it was fun. Newman also managed to achieve the highest accolade possible for his role; praise from the real sister of Butch Cassidy for his portrayal of the gunslinger. Newman also gets man points for being one of few cast members to avoid diarrhoea on the shoot in Mexico- he refused to drink the local water because he was happy with beer and soda.

The Sting - 1973 - George Roy Hill

The second pairing of Newman and George Roy Hill, and one that would give the director a second place in the top ten grossing films of all time. The Sting also paired Newman with Robert Redford again, as the pair played con men with the intention of ripping off gangster, Doyle Lonnegan. Newman played Henry Gondorff, the elder conman, on the run from the FBI. The final twist in the film is one of the greatest ever staged, setting up a Sting, not just on Lonnegan, but on the audience themselves.

The Towering Inferno - 1974 - John Guillermin

If, in 1974, you were willing to pay $14 million to produce a disaster movie, you need to make sure that your money was safe. Recruiting Steve McQueen and Paul Newman was as good a banker as any (the film grossed $114m). The biggest problem the producers faced was trying to appease both stars- who would get top billing? McQueen was notoriosly defensive of his position as The Star of his films (just watch how often he tries to steal scenes from Yul Brynner in The Magnificent Seven), while Newman had just come off the seven time Oscar winner and $140m grossing, The Sting. The solution was that both would receive equal billing, with McQueen in the “top left” of the promotional posters and Newman “above him” to the right. If someone read the billing left to right, McQueen was top, if they read top to bottom it was Newman. Newman plays Doug Roberts, the architect of the eponymous Towering Inferno, with McQueen as firefighter, Michael O’Hallorhan. The film perfectly displayed the differences between the two actors- McQueen was a mans man, who could make any character rugged and worked hard at being cool. Newman was the thinking man’s action hero, who was effortlessly cool on his own.

The Color of Money - 1986 - Martin Scorsese

Newman’s only Oscar win, reprising his 1961 role from The Hustler as Fast Eddie Felson. Although the film isn’t held in the same regard as other Scorsese works (he did this film to fund The Last Temptation of Christ), Newman’s performance is exceptional, especially in his comedic scenes.

The Hudsucker Proxy - 1994 - Joel and Ethan Coen

Newman gives a darkly comic performance in the most underrated of Coen brothers films. The Coen brothers’ films rarely have shades of grey in their antagonists, and this is no exception- Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men, Charlie Meadows in Barton Fink, Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo, Sheriff Cooley in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. Sidney J. Mussberger is (perhaps literally?) Satan in a pinstripe suit, and a director of Hudsucker Industries. Tim Robbins gives a great performance as the wide eyed country boy, but Newman steals the show, and even manages to look cool whilst hanging out of a skyscraper window by his trousers.

Cars - 2006 - John Lasseter

Although Newman officially retired from appearing On Screen some years earlier, he came out of retirement to give Doc Hudson a voice, in Pixar’s Cars. It is quite apt that Newman’s film career ended with him playing a retired racing champ, even if he was only voicing the part. Newman would only be credited with one more role, as narrator to the documentary on Nascar legend Dale Earnhardt, finishing his career doing what he loved.

Any Newman films we have missed? Let us know.

Musicals. They are a bit rubbish, aren’t they? They are certainly the most divisive of film genres, with people split into factions of love and hate. Those who love them, really love them. Everyone else is… lets just say “suspicious” at best.

But alas! There are plenty of examples of film musicals that even the most hard headed hater could raise a smile at. As ever, we first need the rules of the game.

1. I’ve ignored cartoons. The animated musical is a genre all on its own, and Disney probably produced all of them. We could easily fill a list with The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Fantasia, The Lion King, The Lady and the Tramp… So I have left them out completely.

2. Films that have a musical element don’t count either. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert has as much music as your average musical, and it is sung by the cast. Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet has cast members singing, and the music is as important to the story as anything else. Again, The Blues Brothers has characters bursting into song at every turn, just like a musical. See also, 8 Mile. In all four examples the music is vital, but in all three examples the music highlights the story, rather than tells it. A good rule of thumb is that if the music isn’t diegetic, it can’t be a musical.

3. This list obviously isn’t for anyone who is a massive fan of the genre. This was compiled by someone who loves films, and loves music, and loves theatre, but for whatever reason gets worried when the three are mixed. This isn’t a list of the greatest musicals of all time. I accept that Grease, The Sound of Music or Carousel are better musicals than some of the ones featured here- but that is missing the point. These are films which your average musical-hating film fan could watch and enjoy without thinking they were actually, you know, A Musical.

Bugsy Malone - Alan Parker (1976)

Fans of the classics can rest easily, knowing that there is no way that this film will ever be allowed to be remade. In theory this should have been unwatchable- an all singing, all dancing, all child cast? Urgh. In actual fact, it works fantastically well. So well infact, that you believe you are watching a cast of actors rather than a cast of kids. The undoubted star of the show is Jodie Foster, as Tallulah, who had appeared in Taxi Driver six months earlier.

The Wizard of Oz- Victor Fleming (1939)

It would take a very hard hearted individual to dislike this classic. Yes, you might have seen it every Christmas since you were born. Yes it is saccharine. But in terms of storytelling and visual impact, it is as good an example as you will ever find. With that in mind it is also worth remembering that this film was released in 1939, the same year as Gone With The Wind, and only 12 years after the very first full length motion picture with sound.

Little Shop of Horrors - Frank Oz (1986)

If, like me, you are wary of the musical, then this is as good a place to start as any. Featuring all the great Saturday Night Live comedians of the day; Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, John Candy, Christopher Guest and…eh… James Belushi, LSoH was like a musical version of Ghostbusters. Bill Murray ad-libbed all his parts, the puppeteers were veterans of the Jim Henson Workshop -indeed one of whom was Brian Henson, Jim’s son- and the Greek chorus are all named after great Motown girl bands. What other boxes do you need ticked?

Sweeney Todd - Tim Burton (2007)

Burton had already dabbled with the musical genre in The Nightmare Before Christmas (excluded from the list on account of rule 1). He revisited the genre in 2007 with Johnny Depp in as the eponymous demon barber. The film is everything you would expect from Burton- dark, violent, funny, gothic and featuring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Burton’s style is perfect for adapting Sondheim’s musical, especially if you aren’t a fan of musicals. There is more blood in this film than your average Tarantino film, so any images of twee musical numbers are killed off with the first victim.

Moulin Rouge - Baz Luhrmann (2001)

Baz Luhrmann knows his pop music. I have to admit that it took the somewhat restrictive choice of films offered on a long haul flight to get me to watch this one, but it was well worth it. The dialogue, and songs used in the film are taken from classic love songs from the past 50 years, which is great. What really raises this film above the level of most musicals is the way the music and the visuals work together. There can be few film-makers in the world who have as distinctive a style as Luhrmann, and who can mix tragedy and comedy so readily.

Dancer In The Dark - Lars Von Trier (2000)

Nothing could be more at odds with the ethos of Dogme 95 than a musical, yet Von Trier manages to make this as “real” as either of the other films in his Golden Heart Trilogy. Bjork plays Selma, a Czech immigrant to the USA, who is slowly going blind and does all she can to stop the same fate befalling her son. Bjork won the best actress award at the Cannes film festival for her performance, and more than any other film on this list, it represents a true collaboration between the filmmaker and his star, as it could easily have become an over long music video. The voice of the film is Bjork’s, while the look is all Von Trier.

Rock ‘N’ Roll High School - Allan Arkush (1979)

It’s a musical featuring The Ramones taking over a high school. Do you need any more reasons?

The Producers- Mel Brooks (1968)

Although Mel Brooks’ masterpiece has now become a bona fide Broadway play, and has been remade (a remake of a play about a film about a play?), the original will always be the best. Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel play men with an elaborate plan to make money by creating a musical that is sure to lose money. The real joke of the film is that Brooks managed to get around being labelled a musical, by making a film about making a musical. Could any other director but Mel Brooks have made a film with a song like “Springtime for Hitler” in 1968? Just as important as A Star Is Born or The Player, The Producers is as good as comedy musicals get.

Jailhouse Rock - Richard Thorpe (1957)

Although music videos weren’t popularised for another 25 years, Jailhouse Rock was effectively just that. Lots of shots of Elvis looking effortlessly cool. Lots of opportunity for the hips to get swinging. Lots of opportunities for him to corrupt another Youth of America with a curl of the lip. Is it a great film? Not especially. But if you want an example of why Elvis was The King…

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Howard Hawkes (1953)

Howard Hawkes was one of the great auteur’s of the classic Hollywood period, and could turn his hand to any genre he wanted to make a classic film in. He was as able in Film Noir (The Big Sleep) as he was in the gangster film (the original Scarface), and as capable of delivering a classic Western (Rio Bravo) or a war film (To Have or Have Not) as he was delivering a classic comedy (His Girl Friday). With Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Hawkes was ably assisted by two of the most iconic actresses of the comedy musical- Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe. Not only is this film fun, it is funny, and is a great example of the comedy timing of the two leads.

Tommy - Ken Russell (1975)

It is a musical (boo), set to the music of The Who (yay!). And it features Oliver Reed (YAY!!!!). And Jack Nicholson. And Keith Moon. And one of the best soundtracks (and theme songs) ever. Another one that is almost too good to be considered a musical.

Anything we have missed? Let us know…

How often have you seen some gadget or piece of technology in a film, that you really wish existed in real life? Think of the endless possibilities of teleportation, or time travel. What were the gadgets that allowed these possibilities on the silver screen?

As with all of the lists. There has to be rules.

The first rule of this list, is don’t talk about this list. No, sorry it’s…

1. These have to be imaginary gadgets that we really want, but don’t actually exist. We are talking about the realms of fantasy here.

2. Cool points are awarded for how much you want these gadgets. There are loads of cool gadgets in films, but people would far rather have a lightsabre than a Batarang. The Batarang would be cool, but it is basically a boomerang in the shape of a bat. I don’t want one that badly.

3. Cool “people” gadgets don’t count. R2 D2 was great, but he was a character, more than a gadgets. A Terminator/Bishop in Alien/ED-209 is technically a gadget, but it is also a character.

The Hoverboard in Back to the Future II

Back to the Future II was full of great gadgets- personalised, self lacing Nike basketball shoes, self drying clothes, TV’s that you can watch several channels at once (wait, that one exists) and incredible growing pizzas. Undoubtably the best of all was the Hoverboard, the futuristic take on the skateboard. I tortured my brother by convincing him that these existed, partly because I wanted to believe it myself.

eXistenZ in eXistenZ

Although the actual version of the eXistenZ game is flawed to the point it is dangerous (we will over look this small problem), the idea of a completely immersive computer game where players create and take part in immersive new realities, through their subconscious, is hugely appealing. And probably not that far off.

The Lightsabre in Star Wars

A weapon from a more elegant time. Not only is the lightsabre the greatest weapon in the history of cinema, it is one of the most versatile; able to cope with attack or defence, able to cut through doors, boomerang around a room and light a room with a creepy ambience. For extra gadget points, it sounds amazing, looks amazing, and each Jedi customises their own.

ESPER Enhancer in Blade Runner

Imagine that you could scan a photo, and not just zoom in and out of it (photoshop didn’t exist in 1982), but rotate it to find a different view from a different angle. Your holiday photos would certainly be more interesting.

Information Upload in The Matrix

How good would it be if you could upload skills to use in real life? Forget about spending decades learning martial arts, or how to fly a helicopter, you could just load it up into your head and be an expert. Think of the fun you could have? I could learn to skateboard without having to waste time hurting myself, or looking like a fool.

The Telephone Box in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Arguably even cooler than the Delorean in Back to the Future. Not only can you travel back through time and space to any point in history to round up the great minds for your history project, you can retrospectively go back in time to leave yourself the keys to the local jail, to use now (if that makes sense). You can even go forward in time to a futuristic Utopia where the air is cleaner, mini golf scores are way down, and the world is ruled by Clarence from the E Street Band…

The Proton Pack in Ghostbusters

Just don’t cross the streams. The result? In Egon’s words, “Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light”. However, crossing the streams is useful if you have to close a portal to Gozer’s dimension. Useful to know. Extra gadget points for making a great power up noise.

The Transporter in Star Trek

Not only is the Transporter a very cool gadget, but it is the ultimate in transport. Several people can go from A to B in seconds, without adverse effects (unless you do so wearing a red jumper).

The Babelfish in The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy

Although not actually a gadget, but a live fish who feeds on brainwaves, the Babelfish must be amongst the most useful items to have on your travels around the galaxy (arguably second only to a towel). When inserted into the ear, the Babelfish can transform unconscious brain frequencies and allow the host to understand any language. It was also responsible (in the book) for proving, and thus disproving, the existence of God. The film version of HHGTTG might not have been quite as good as the book was, but it retained enough of it’s quirky qualities to make it a worthwhile attempt.

Kaneda’s Bike in Akira

Kaneda’s bike (a Honda in the comics, a BMW in the film) not only looks amazing, but it has built in obstacle radars, and the ability to navigate without human interference. But the main reason it is on this list is because it looks soooooooo cool.

Lacuna Memory Erasing in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Although one of the morals of the story is that Joel is better with his memories of Clementine than without them, there would definitely be a use for selective memory loss, so I am going to deliberately miss the point. Similar to the Rekall “imaginary holidays” in Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall, the Lacuna Memory Erasing allows people to forget their painful memories and move on. Maybe not a great gadget to play around with on a Friday night, but it could be an amazing tool for helping people if it was real.

Anything we have missed out? Let us know.

The film fight is a staple of all the great action movies. It can be subtle, like a dance, artistic or just contain two characters knocking seven bells out of each other. All of the good ones get our adrenaline pumping. But what are our favourite fight scenes?

Rules is rules.

1.Gunfights don’t count. In film-land they are entirely different to “The Fight Scene”.

2. It has to be a fair fight. No Arnie vs Army here. No One Man vs The World. No Army vs Army (although honourable mention to the hospital scene in Hard Boiled).

Warning:- Some of these fight clips have some violence in them. Ok, all of them have some violence in them. So if you don’t like fightin’, best miss this one out. There are a few instances of bad language as well.

Yoda vs Count Dooko (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - 2002)

We had heard that Yoda was pretty much the greatest Jedi ever, but we hadn’t seen any evidence to back this up until this. This is probably the best part of any of the prequels.

Ting vs Illegal Boxing Champ 1 and 2 (Ong Bak - 2003)

Tony Jaa’s breakthrough film has the works, and there are any number of good fight scenes to choose from. These two, back to back, have just the right mix of action and humour, and some perfect slow motion shots. The fact that there was no special effects, and no wire work in this film make the stunts all the more amazing.

Yu Shu Lien vs Jen Yu (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 2000)

Yuen Woo Ping has been the master of fight choreography for over 30 years, and it was in Crouching Tiger… that he showed his finest work. Yes, even better than The Matrix, which he had done fight choreography for a year earlier. Ang Lee’s “Eastern”, was basically a retelling of the cowboy myth, but set in the far east, and was the first foreign language film to take $100m at the US box office. For the shooting of this scene Michelle Yeoh’s background in martial is obvious, but Ziyi Zhang (Jen) had no previous martial arts training, and relied on her background as a dancer.

Nada vs Frank (They Live - 1988)

The fight that was famously parodied on South Park. There are brawls, big brawls, and then this one, from John Carpenter’s underrated classic They Live. For those of you who haven’t seen this (and I recommend that you do) this fight is over a pair of sunglasses…

Wong Fei Hung vs Hwang Jang Lee (Drunken Master - 1978)

Jackie Chan plays a man who can only tap into his inner strength when he is drunk. I’m sure many can relate. Drunken Master was one of the first films to showcase Chan’s talents as the Buster Keaton of Kung Fu Movies, mixing comedy, slapstick and amazing martial arts to create a genre all on his own.

Dragon vs Colt (Way of the Dragon - 1972)

It is Bruce Lee against Chuck Norris. In fighting terms that is like having the 1958 Real Madrid Team play the 1990 AC Milan team.

Optimus Prime vs Megatron (Transformers: The Movie - 1986)

“One shall stand, one shall fall”. Indeed. And one film shall traumatise millions of kids by killing their hero. Michael Bay should take note, as this is how you get an audience to actually care whether your robot characters live or die. I still blame Hot Rod.

Martin Blank vs Felix La PuBelle (Grosse Point Blank - 1997)

If you can assasinate the president of Paraguay with a fork, then you can definitely take out a rival with a ball point pen.

Hin Hung vs Iron Monkey and Kei Ying (Iron Monkey - 1993)

Another Yuen Woo Ping film, and why not. So, we have a final battle, fought on top of poles, which are on fire. The film took eight years (and pressure from Quentin Tarantino) to see a US release, but in the wake of Crouching Tiger…’s success, studio execs were more willing to take a chance. Yuen Woo Ping is the man responsible for wirework in fight scenes, and revolutionised the Kung Fu film with his work on Snake and the Eagle’s Shadow and Born Invincible. His work has been seen recently in both Kill Bill films and Danny the Dog with Jet Li and Bob Hoskins.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs Jake LaMotta (Raging Bull 1980)

Raging Bull is arguably Martin Scorsese’s finest work, and it is never more artistic than in his depictions of the battles between Robinson and La Motta. The fights are both beautiful and horrific, and aren’t short of religious imagery. They are also hugely claustrophobic, and as perfectly shot and soundtracked as you will find in any other film. About as close to a real fight as you will ever feel from watching a film.

Luke vs Dragline (Cool Hand Luke - 1967)

One of the few included here where our hero gets the beating. Luke refuses to lie down, despite being repeatedly knocked about by Dragline. By refusing to stay down, Luke wins the respect of his fellow inmates.

The seductress is one of the great roles in cinema. Who wouldn’t want to play the girl that all the guys want, and can manipulate any situation in her favour? We’ve found our 11 favourites.

As a great man said, “this is not ‘Nam Smokey, this is bowling. There are rules”. So what are the rules here?

1. We are looking for the Seductresses. We are not looking for “The Sexiest Actresses Ever!!!” or “Hot Babes of Cinema!!!!!!!!!”. This ain’t no tabloid sleaze. We are looking for seductresses, they have to seduce the other characters in their film, and us as an audience. They might be classic femme fatale’s, they might be manipulative leading ladies, but they all have a charm. This is all about allure, and nothing to do with sex appeal. The rule with horror films is that it is sometimes what you don’t see that scares you. With seductresses, it is often what you don’t see that lures the audience in.

2. The character has to be sympathetic. The audience might well be pleased when they get their just desserts, but a part of you has to want them to get away with whatever they are trying to get away with.

3. Your seductress has to have an evil streak in her. She doesn’t have to be a villain, but you just don’t get good girl seductresses.

Our top 11 are…

Elsa Bannister - The Lady From Shangai (1947)

Rita Hayworth had a number of fantastic seductress roles in her time, and arguably the most famous was as Gilda, in the film of the same name. So why haven’t we picked that one? How do you make an actress renowned for her femme fatale roles, even more alluring? Cast her opposite her husband- Orson Welles. Welles directed the film, and cast his wife in the role of Elsa- the eponymous Lady- in late 1946. Throughout the shooting of the film, the couple were arguing and showing signs that their marriage was not a happy one. By the time of the US release in 1948 they were estranged. Welles is a likable everyman, but Hayworth’s portrayal of Bannister is feisty, vulnerable and manipulative all at the same time. As a side note, this film is cited by conspiracy theorists as proof that Welles knew (or was) the killer of Elizabeth Short (aka the Black Dahlia), as there are several scenes alleged to have been cut from this film, which mirrored real events in the infamous 1947 killing.

Brigid O’Shaughnessy - The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Mary Astor’s portrayal of the desperate woman in need has been the template for Hollywood Femme Fatale’s for the last seven decades. Her performance mixes a desperate need for guidance (from Bogard’s Sam Spade) and a ruthless calculation perfectly. She gives the role the sass that would become the staple of the 1940’s and 50’s leading lady. How many actresses in the last 50 years could genuinely be described as being “sassy”?

Bridget Gregory - The Last Seduction (1994)

John Dahl’s The Last Seduction is arguably the first Feminist Film Noir to make the mainstream, but that is not to say that Linda Fiorentino’s performance is any less seductive. Fiorentino plays the wife of a drug dealer, who decides to steal his money and have some fun. The character of Bridget Gregory is so completely in control of her situation, and the men around her (notably Mike Gregory) that it is difficult to dislike her, even when she is involved in murder and blackmail. Unlike many of the other characters on this list, Gregory never relies on a facade of sweetness or innocence. She takes what she wants (including Mike Gregory, memorably) and manipulates every situation to her advantage.

Catherine - Jules et Jim (1962)

Jeanne Moreau’s Catherine is the free spirited woman who comes between lifelong friends, Jules and Jim. Catherine is far from the typical femme fatale, and is initially as likable (if not more so) as either of her two suitors. This doesn’t stop her from being manipulative, and if there is anything we can learn from this list, “hell hath no fury like…”

Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton - Vertigo (1958)

Despite the dark subject matter of the majority of Hitchcock’s films, it is remarkable how many of them have an autobiographical angle to them. Vertigo is just one of such films, as it is suggested that Hitchcock, just like Jimmy Stewart’s character, was obsessed with his leading ladies and with defining their look. Some have even gone as far as to suggest that Hitchcock only ever wrote one part for his female characters, and worked it into each of his films. Kim Novak played the part of Madeleine Elster - who is the object of “Scottie” Ferguson’s obsession - and Judy Barton - the woman who Ferguson tries desperately to transform into his lost love. Novak is not the traditional seductress in either role, as she is first the object of affection and then obsession. What makes her so alluring is we are never sure just how much she is aware of what she is doing to Ferguson.

Matty Walker - Body Heat (1981)

Despite the fact that the “erotic thriller” has become synonymous with seedy, sub standard films (see Body of Evidence, In The Cut, Poison Ivy), there was a time when the genre was genuinely new. Body Heat was one of the first films to inhabit the post-modern “cinema world” that directors like Quentin Tarantino love so much, as it is set in both modern 1981, and the classic 1940’s and 50’s era of film noir. Kathleen Turner plays the role of Matty Walker, who seduces Ned Racine (played by William Hurt), and convinces him to kill her rich husband. Lawrence Kasdan (credited with co-writing Empire Strikes Back handles Turner’s femme fatale perfectly, and portrays her as an even more forthright, sexually aggresive version of…

Phyllis Dietrichson - Double Indemnity (1944)

Double Indemnity is arguably the archetypal Film Noir, and it is hardly surprising considering the three writers involved were Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain. Phyllis Dietrichson was portrayed by Barbara Stanwyck, herself no stranger to tangled relationships - she was alleged to have had lesbian affairs with Patsy Kelly and Tallullah Bankhead, while her husband Robert Taylor romanced Ava Gardner and Lana Turner. Her Dietrichson is beautiful, dangerous, calculating and completely seductive.

Kathryn Merteuil - Cruel Intentions (1999)

Cruel Intentions might not be the best film on this list, but Sarah Michelle Geller’s modern version of the Marquise de Merteuil is as delightfully wicked as anyone else we have mentioned. She even manages to out-evil Glen Close, who played the Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liasons a decade earlier.

Cora Smith - The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

We have seen the plot to this film several times on this list - woman seduces man into killing her husband - the ending of this film is entirely different. Cora Smith was portrayed by Jessica Lange 35 years later, and while both versions have their own merits, Lana Turner’s Cora is more vulnerable, seductive and completely evil. Lana Turner was never better.

Jessica Rabbit - Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

And why not. One part Veronica Lake, one part Kathleen Turner.

Sylvia - Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)

Monica Bellucci plays the role of Sylvia in Christophe Gans’ Horror-Mystery. Sylvia is an Italian prostitute who is far more involved than she appears. The film itself tells the (true) story of suspicious killings in 18th century France, by what appeared to be a wolf. The role of Syvia introduced Bellucci to Hollywood as a leading lady, and she has never been as seductive as here.