Thrillers & Suspense
Thriller and Suspense Films promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension.
A genuine thriller is a film that relentlessly pursues a single-minded goal, to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging on the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax. Plots of thrillers often involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces - the menace is sometimes abstract or shadowy.
Below is a grand line-up of the best in contemporary Thrillers & Suspense made since 1965. Following a similar theme, with generally a darker look is the "Film Noir" feature, well worth checking out. The exploits of "James Bond 007" may also be accessed stage left.
Right: Frances McDormand makes an arrest in the Coen Bros "Fargo".
Moonraker ( Blu-ray ) (1979)
6.3/10
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Roger Moore, Corinne Clery, Richard Kiel
The sky's no longer the limit for 007 when Roger Moore, as James Bond, blasts into orbit to bring down an obsessed tycoon with his own space station a... Read more
Jaguar Lives! (1979)
4.3/10
Director: Ernest Pintoff
Starring: Barbara Bach, Capucine, Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence, Joe Lewis, John Hust...
The 1970's was the decade of massive international films shot in exotic locations with amazing all-star casts. The "James Bond" films set the tone for... Read more
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (1979)
5.8/10
Director: Ralph Thomas
Starring: Richard Jordan, David Niven, Oliver Tobias, Elke Sommer, Gloria Grahame, Hugh Gr...
A.k.a. "The Big Scam". In this British caper film David Niven does his suave 'n' blase bit as a criminal mastermind planning a giant bank heist. Richa... Read more
The Riddle of the Sands (1979)
6.5/10
Director: Tony Maylam
Starring: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Simon MacCorkindale, Alan Badel
This adaptation of Erskine Childer's novel is set in the early years of the 20th Century, with two British yachtsmen (Michael York and Simon MacCorkin... Read more
The Lady Vanishes (1979)
5.9/10
Director: Anthony Page
Starring: Elliott Gould, Cybill Shepherd, Angela Lansbury, Herbert Lom, Arthur Lowe, Ian C...
Screenwriter George Axelrod turns Alfred Hitchcock's classic comedy-thriller into a capering screwball comedy showcase for Cybill Shepherd and Elliot... Read more
Winter Kills (1979)
6.3/10
Director: William Richert
Starring: Richard Boone, Jeff Bridges, Sterling Hayden, John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Eliz...
A rare example of a film so wild, so utterly rambunctious and so bursting with invention that it defies description. Based on the novel by Richard Con... Read more
Resurrection of Golden Wolf (1979)
Director: Toru Murakawa
Starring: Jun Fubuki, Kei Sato, Yusaku Matsuda, Sonny Chiba
This thrill-packed Japanese noir follows the exploits of misleadingly mild-mannered Asakura (Yusaku Matsuda), an accountant by day and a ruthless kill... Read more
The China Syndrome (1979)
7.4/10
Director: James Bridges
Starring: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas
The title infers a total atomic meltdown that would bore a hole through the Earth all the way to China. Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas and Jack Lemmon st... Read more
Moonraker (1979)
6.3/10
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Roger Moore, Richard Kiel
The sky's no longer the limit for 007 when Roger Moore, as James Bond, blasts into orbit to bring down an obsessed tycoon with his own space station a... Read more
The Onion Field (1979)
6.9/10
Director: Harold Becker
Starring: John Savage, James Woods, Ted Danson, Ronny Cox
Powerful film version of Joseph Wambaugh's fact-based novel about the killing of a policeman and his partner's eventual breakdown. James Wood's electr... Read more