Klute (Alan J. Pakula, 1971)

Klute looks better than ever in its new Criterion. It blew me away in undergrad and remains one of the precious few New Hollywood films I'd judge a masterpiece. And it's one of the first films to acknowledge how sound subjugates women as much as image. Everyone is working at such a high pitch here. Fonda earned her Oscar but understated performances like Donald Sutherland's rarely get the recognition they deserve.

The Chapman Report (George Cukor, 1962)

The Chapman Report would have been a mess even if the Legion of Decency and the Production Code Administration hadn't disapproved. One major character's death is treated so blithely I wasn't sure if s/he was dead! Still, it's lots of intermittent fun, especially the scenes with Glynis Johns as a tape recorder-wielding faux-nympho who lusts after beach hunk Ty Hardin. Great porny dialogue too: "There's a lot of pepper in this tomato!"