As you browse through our Movies section, you will discover essays addressing films of all genres, from film's earliest days to the present. If you are writing about a movie, turn to this section to locate writing samples to help you generate ideas for your own essay and to serve as a frame of reference.

Find writing that analyzes classics like "Casablanca." Did "Casablanca" make Humphrey Bogart's career, or did Humphrey Bogart make "Casablanca" the classic that it is? Read examinations of troubling and psychologically complex films, such as "American Beauty." What kinds of societal statements is it making? What is it about the film "Braveheart" that struck a cord in the American psyche, prompting it to still be quoted widely today?

In this section, you will encounter essays that dissect the themes of popular films like "Fight Club" and "Pulp Fiction." What made "Pulp Fiction" so novel for its time? How did it, in many ways, influence films that came after it? Discover writing that explores the films of a particular actor or actress. Is Julia Roberts better suited to more intellectual, understated roles like that in "Mona Lisa Smile," or to grittier, tougher roles like her part in "Erin Brockovich?" Is Anthony Hopkins best as a serious, literary actor, or are his best roles those in "Hannibal" and "The Silence of the Lambs?"

Read analyses of various film versions of the same story. What was ingenious about Baz Luhrmann's modern take on "Romeo and Juliet?" How did his version compare with earlier, more traditional films based on the same play? How is "The Hunger Games" film reminiscent of "Lord of the Flies?" Uncover expositions on why "Saving Private Ryan" either should or shouldn't be showed to public high school students. Is its realism a reason to share it with young people or a reason to censor it? Whatever the film and the angle you mean to take, you will find essays here to inspire you and to help you organize and craft your own paper on the subject of "Movies."