The Movies

In the Eighties, stars like Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Eddie Murphy explode on the screen. Aliens, time travelers, ghosts and road warriors share the cineplex with troubled teens, battered boxers, classical composers and career girls.

As America falls for stars like Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington and Will Smith, masters like Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Jane Campion and the Coen Brothers direct some of their best-loved work. A robust independent film movement introduces directors like Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, John Singleton and David Fincher.

As the new century begins, beloved books and comic-book crusaders become box-office gold, musicals and cartoons win audiences and Oscars, coarse comedies and epic dramas showcase Hollywood’s biggest stars, and a new generation of filmmakers from diverse backgrounds finds its voice.

Vroom or bust: It took a sweet ride and a rising star — or two — to build a blockbuster from a half-baked idea and the ashes of multiple flops.

Turning an unknown into a superstar and revamping the rom-com rules amid many rewrites, this megahit's success still leaves insiders pretty shocked.

Crunch the numbers, then make way for a chubby T. rex and visual effects bad boys. This box office heavyweight disrupted the way movies are made.

It took a young team's blood, sweat and tears — and a triple-threat visionary — to make this bloodless yet scarily influential horror masterpiece.

What began as a bald rip-off made a bloody splash as a splatter classic. Now the unlikely crew spills its guts about the highs, lows and gory effects.

With a studio on the line, an imaginative director in the pocket and an actorly demon in tow, this supernatural slasher hit raked in a surreal profit.