THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995) C widescreen 105m dir: Bryan Singer

w/Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwait, Suzy Amis, Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Hedaya

From Variety's contemporary review of the film: "Like a contemporary The Asphalt Jungle, The Usual Suspects is an ironic, bang-up thriller about the wages of crime. A terrific cast of exciting actors socks over this absorbingly complicated yarn that's been spun in a seductively slick fashion by director Bryan Singer.

"Singer was the controversial co-winner of the grand prize at Sundance in 1993 for his Public Access, an intriguing but muddled account of a stranger who comes to stir up trouble in a small town. What he's done with The Usual Suspects represents one of the most impressive qualitative jumps in memory from a first to a second film.

"The pleasures begin from the opening moments, as John Ottman's resplendant classical score backdrops some eye-popping Panavision images of an unseen man shooting Gabriel Byrne and starting a huge fire dockside in San Pedro. Pic then jumps back in time six weeks.

"A blown hijacking of a gun-running truck in New York results in a police roundup of suspects who include corrupt cop-turned-thief Keaton (Byrne), the hot-headed McManus (Stephen Baldwin), the impudent Hockney (Kevin Pollak), the unpredictable Latin Fenster (Benicio Del Toro) and a crippled squealer appropriately named Verbal (Kevin Spacey). Christopher McQuarrie's ingeniously structured script then begins cutting back and forth between Gotham and the events leading up to the shipboard inferno. Singer provides what are sometimes called real movie-movie moments, scenes filled with live-wire acting, dramatic confrontations, startling action and surprising twists. His widescreen compositions are bold and muscular, and pic moves along at just the right pace. Every one of the thesps playing gang members makes a strong impression."

THE USUAL SUSPECTS won two Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (Spacey) and Original Screenplay (McQuarrie).