In a bleak winter forest in the year 180 A.D., Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridias reviews his battle-weary troops before they launch their final campaign to conquer Germania. Maximus is greatly admired by his men, alongside whom he fights during the battle and leads them to victory. Commodus and his sister Lucilla, the scions of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, travel to Maximus’ army camp, having been summoned by their father. On their arrival they learn that the soldiers have been gone for nineteen days. Commodus rides to the front to honor his father but is affronted when Marcus Aurelius pays homage to Maximus. The emperor, who loves Maximus as a son, believes that he is slowly dying and sends for Maximus that night to ask him to succeed him after his death and give the control of Rome to the Senate. Maximus, longing only to return to his native Spain and his family, rejects the idea, but Marcus Aurelius is adamant as he believes that Commodus is morally corrupt. While Maximus prays alone to devotional figures of his family for guidance, Marcus Aurelius tells Commodus his decision. Commodus feels betrayed and, sobbing, murders his father. The murder is covered up and Commodus immediately seizes power. When Maximus refuses to vow his loyalty, Commodus orders his immediate execution. In a remote forest location, Maximus overwhelms his would-be assassins and, injured, rides for home, but arrives to find that his wife and son have been hanged and burned to death by Commodus’ Praetorian guards. Maximus collapses and while unconscious is taken prisoner by a slave trader. A fellow captive named Juba befriends Maximus and treats his wound, after which they are both sold to fight promoter Proximo to be trained as gladiators. Proximo assumes that Maximus is a deserter from the Roman army and he is dubbed “Spaniard.” While a reluctant Maximus is being trained as a gladiator, Commodus returns to Rome as emperor but is uninterested in the actual work of ruling. Lucilla acts as a mediator between Commodus and the hostile Senate, while Commodus focuses on his plans to hold 150 days of games to honor his father. In time, Maximus gains the respect of his fellow gladiators as well as the crowds who cheer him on as he repeatedly defeats his foes, but Maximus remains disgusted by the blood sport. Proximo meets privately with Maximus and admits that he was once a gladiator who was granted his freedom by Marcus Aurelius. Proximo informs him that they will be fighting in Commodus’ games at the Roman coliseum and advises him that if he wins that crowd, he, too, might win his own freedom. Meanwhile, Lucilla, a widow who was once in love with Maximus, tries to keep her brother from dissolving the Senate, resorting even to sleeping tonics to keep him at bay. Proximo and his gladiators arrive in Rome and are assigned to fight a re-creation of the Battle of Carthage. The gladiators are awed by the size of the coliseum but once inside the arena, they battle for their lives. Maximus uses his skills as a general and urges his fellow gladiators to work together, and they succeed in killing the opposition. The audience cheers them on and, when Commodus goes down to meet the gladiators, he demands that Maximus remove the helmet that hides his face. Maximus then reveals his true identity and vows vengeance, but when the frightened Commodus calls forth his Praetorian guards, the crowds boo him until he gives Maximus the thumbs-up symbol of approval. Commodus later confides to Lucilla that his guards lied to him that Maximus was dead and that this must mean he does not have their respect. Lucilla advises him to force them to respect him, but later secretly meets with Maximus to seek his help against Commodus, whom she fears. Maximus is too embittered to offer his support. In an attempt to kill Maximus, Commodus next pits him against several vicious tigers and a top gladiator; although Maximus again survives, he refuses to kill the gladiator. Maximus’ former assistant, Cicero, makes contact with him and Maximus sends him to Lucilla to tell her he has changed his mind and will help her. When Lucilla arranges for Maximus to meet with Gracchus, a Roman senator who opposes Commodus, Maximus relates to Gracchus that it was Marcus Aurelius’ final wish that power be returned to the Senate. Maximus then asks for his freedom, in return for which he will gather his troops and kill Commodus and his guards. When Gracchus is arrested soon after, Lucilla arranges with Proximo to free Maximus that night. At the palace, Commodus is stunned when Lucilla’s son Lucius innocently reveals that his mother believes that Maximus is the savior of Rome. Lucilla returns as Commodus is telling Lucius a story about ancestral betrayal, and she realizes that her disloyalty has been discovered. As a result, Commodus’ spies slip a poisonous snake into the bed of senator Gaius, who is sympathetic to Lucilla’s cause. Before Maximus can be freed, Commodus’ Praetorian guards arrive at Proximo’s encampment. After giving Maximus the keys to free all the slaves, Proximo fights the Praetorians to his death. The slaves rally to combat the guards while Maximus escapes to meet Cicero. Maximus finds Cicero at the appointed place seated on his horse, but Cicero cries out a warning and is hanged by a noose around his neck, while Maximus is captured Commodus’ forces. Commodus now demands that Lucilla live estranged from her son, and implies that he hopes that he and she will produce their own heir. He then decides to fight Maximus himself as part of the games, but to ensure his own victory, stabs the former general in the back, and then has his man, Quintus, cover the wound with armor. Commodus and Maximus face off in the arena, but when Commodus loses his sword, Quintus refuses to give him another. Commodus then pulls a knife from his sleeve and they fight hand-to-hand, but Maximus overpowers him and finally gains his revenge, killing Commodus. As Maximus slowly dies from the knife wound, he tells Quintus to free his men, reinstate Gracchus and restore the dream of Rome as Marcus Aurelius had wished. After Lucilla runs to his side and assures him that Lucius is safe, Maximus dies with visions of his family walking through fields to greet him. Lucilla weeps over his body, then demands that the people of Rome honor him. Gracchus and the slaves carry Maximus’ body from the arena, leaving Commodus in the dirt. Later, Juba buries the carved devotional figures of Maximus’ family, and having earned his own freedom, pledges to see his friend again in time.

Andrew "Andy" Beckett is an attorney at the firm of Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One night, while working late at the office, Andy’s mentor, Charles Wheeler, assigns him to represent Highline, a new corporate client, in a high-profile lawsuit. Andy is told there are ten days to file Highline’s complaint before the statute of limitations runs out. When Walter Kenton, one of the partners, points out a mark on his forehead, Andy lies that he was hit in the head with a racquetball. In truth, the mark is a Karposi sarcoma (KS) lesion caused by acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) – a deadly disease with no cure that prompts fear and disgust in people who associate the condition with a reckless, homosexual lifestyle. In fear of discrimination, Andy conceals the fact that he is homosexual and has AIDS. With more lesions cropping up on his face, he works from home to avoid being seen. The night before the Highline complaint is due, he delivers the paperwork to his office with instructions for filing. The next day, Andy experiments with makeup, hoping to disguise his lesions enough to return to the office. He falls ill and is taken to the emergency room, where he is met by his live-in partner, Miguel Alvarez, who advocates for him when the doctor recommends a painful colonoscopy. They are interrupted by an urgent phone call from Andy’s co-worker, Jamey Collins, who informs him the Highline complaint has gone missing. Andy panics, aware that the statute of limitations runs out in seventy-five minutes. One month later, visibly deteriorated, Andy goes to the office of personal injury attorney Joe Miller, seeking representation in a wrongful termination lawsuit against Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown. Although they have met in the past, Miller does not recognize Andy at first. Andy believes that, after noticing his lesions, the partners realized he had AIDS and purposely misplaced the Highline complaint in order to fire him. Miller, who harbors homophobic feelings, rejects the lawsuit, claiming Andy does not have a viable case, and makes haste to his doctor’s office, worried he might have contracted AIDS by shaking Andy’s hand. The doctor assures him that AIDS is only transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids such as blood or semen. Miller goes home to his wife, Lisa, and baby daughter. He tells Lisa about Andy, and she accuses him of being homophobic. Two weeks later, Miller spots Andy at a law library. While the patrons around him squirm at the sight of his lesions, a librarian suggests Andy conduct his research in a private room. Miller interrupts, prompting the librarian to leave. Andy has decided to represent himself in his case against the firm, but Miller changes his mind and offers to represent him. Andy points out a Supreme Court ruling which resulted in the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, barring discrimination against handicapped workers. He also notes that AIDS has been legally classified as a handicap due to the physical limitations it imposes and the prejudice surrounding the disease. Later, Charles Wheeler is incensed when Miller delivers him a court summons. Attorney Bob Seidman suggests they make a settlement offer, but his colleagues reject the idea. Wheeler wants to highlight Andy’s “deviant” lifestyle in court. He insists Andy was fired for incompetence, and no one knew about his disease. However, Seidman hints that he might have suspected it. Seven months later, Joe Miller gives his opening statement in the civil suit. He vows to prove Andy is a brilliant lawyer whose decision to conceal his AIDS was legal. He claims the firm panicked upon discovering Andy had AIDS, and illegally fired him. The firm’s defense attorney, Belinda Conine, tells the jury that Andy was a duplicitous, mediocre lawyer who is angry about dying and wants revenge. At a bar, Miller is teased for representing a homosexual. He answers that homosexuality makes him sick, but that does not negate the law. In court, paralegal Melissa Benedict testifies that Walter Kenton, who noticed the lesion on Andy’s forehead, worked with her at a different firm when she contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. She disclosed her disease, and had visible lesions that caused Walter Kenyon to recoil anytime he saw her. African American paralegal Anthea Burton testifies that she suspected Andy had AIDS and believes the partners must have, too. She was discriminated against by Wheeler, who complained that her earrings were too “ethnic.” At a drugstore, a University of Pennsylvania law student approaches Miller, recognizing him from television news reports. The student commends him, and asks him on a date. Offended, Miller attacks the young man. The next day in court, Miller questions attorney Jamey Collins on the witness stand. He abruptly demands to know if Collins is a homosexual, using several homophobic slurs. The judge calls for order, and Miller explains that he is simply pointing out what the lawsuit is really about: the general public’s hatred and fear of homosexuals, and how it played a part in Andy’s firing. At home, while Andy works on the case, Miguel administers his AIDS medication through an intravenous drip feed (IV). When Miguel complains that Andy is not giving him any time, Andy decides to boost morale by hosting a costume party. The Millers attend, and Joe Miller stays after to prepare Andy for the witness stand. Opera plays in the background. Miller admits he knows nothing about opera music, and Andy, attached to the IV drip, turns up his favorite aria, explaining its meaning as he walks around the room, trailing the IV stand behind him. Both Miller and Andy are moved to tears as Andy translates the lyrics about love overcoming tragedy. When Andy is called to the witness stand, he is extremely weak. Defense attorney Belinda Conine questions him about the gay pornographic theater where he contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. To characterize his behavior as reckless and immoral, she points out that Andy was living with Miguel at the time. Andy clarifies that Miguel never contracted AIDS, himself. She asks Andy to point out any lesions on his face. He has only one small lesion by his ear. She uses a mirror to prove the point that his colleagues could not have noticed such a lesion from three feet away. In his redirect, Miller borrows the mirror and asks Andy if he has any lesions that resemble the ones he had on his face when working for the firm. Andy removes his shirt, and Joe holds a mirror up to prove that the lesions are highly visible. Shortly after, Andy collapses and is rushed to the hospital. In his absence, attorney Bob Seidman testifies that he suspected Andy had AIDS. Three days later, the jury finds Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown guilty. Andy is awarded over $4 million in punitive damages, in addition to back pay, and compensation for mental anguish and humiliation. Miller visits Andy in the hospital. Barely able to speak, Andy removes his oxygen mask and tells Miller a lawyer joke. He thanks him for his excellent work, and Miller lovingly readjusts Andy’s oxygen mask. Miller and Andy’s family bid him good night. Miguel stays at Andy’s side, kissing his hand. Andy says he is ready to die. Soon after, Miller and his family attend Andy’s memorial service, where guests watch home videos of Andy as a happy child.

Sarah Connor explains that a nuclear blast killed more than three billion people in 1997. In present-day 2029, survivors wage war against machines controlled by a computer named Skynet. Sarah recounts that Skynet sent two machines, called Terminators, back in time to destroy the human resistance leader, her son, John Connor. The first Terminator attempted to kill Sarah in 1984, before John was born, but failed. The second Terminator was sent to kill John as a young boy; however, the human resistance sent their own Terminator to protect him. In 1995, in Los Angeles, California, a Terminator, resembling a naked man, is transported to a parking lot outside a bar. The Terminator walks inside and is met with laughter and hostility. After stabbing one of the patrons with his own knife, the Terminator takes another patron’s clothing, a motorcycle, and a shotgun. The same night, a second Terminator, the T-1000, arrives, kills a police officer, and steals his patrol car and uniform. In the morning, John Connor works on his motorbike. Though his foster parents, Todd and Janelle Voight, order John to clean his room, he speeds away with his friend, Tim. At Pescadero State Hospital, a "Criminally Disordered Retention Facility," Sarah Connor exercises in her cell while Dr. Silberman leads a group of medical professionals on a tour of the facility. Approaching Sarah’s cell, Silberman describes her condition as “acute schizoaffective disorder,” saying she believes a machine was sent back in time to kill her while the father of her child, a soldier, was sent back simultaneously to protect her. The T-1000, dressed as a policeman, arrives at the Voight residence to question John's foster parents and obtains a picture of the boy. Meanwhile, John hacks into an automated teller machine to steal cash, telling Tim that Sarah taught him the trick. In an office building, Miles Dyson, a leading scientist with Cyberdyne Systems, examines a robotic arm and central processing unit in glass cases; unbeknownst to him, the items are relics of the 1984 Terminator. At an arcade in a shopping mall, John and Tim play games, while the Terminators close in on the boy. The T-1000 appears in the arcade, and John escapes to a hallway where he sees the Terminator brandishing a shotgun. As the Terminator and the T-1000 exchange fire, the Terminator pushes John to safety and shoots the other machine multiple times; however, the T-1000 quickly recovers. John runs to his motorbike and rides away, pursued by the Terminator on a motorcycle and the T-1000 in a stolen tow-truck. Riding onto an overflow channel, the Terminator pulls John onto the motorcycle while shooting at the tow-truck. The T-1000 crashes into an overpass and the truck explodes, allowing the Terminator to ride away with John. Moments later, the T-1000 emerges from the flames unharmed, re-forming into human shape. At the side of the road, John confirms that the Terminator has come to protect him, realizing that his mother’s beliefs about the future were true. He learns that the Terminator’s body is “living tissue over metal endoskeleton” and the T-1000 is a newer prototype, made of liquid metal. That evening, John calls the Voights to warn them about the T-1000, but when Janelle answers the phone, he senses that she seems different. In fact, the T-1000 has killed Janelle and assumed her form, and proceeds to kill Todd while talking on the phone. The Terminator deduces that John is speaking to the T-1000 and hangs up, explaining to the boy that Terminators can imitate any living thing of approximately the same size. At the hospital, police show Sarah pictures of the Terminator in 1984 and at the mall earlier that day, identifying the Terminator as her son’s kidnapper. She says nothing, but steals a paper clip. Realizing that the T-1000 will go after his mother next, John insists that he and the Terminator save Sarah. The Terminator rejects the idea and they argue. John discovers that the machine must obey his orders without question after he screams for the Terminator to let him go and the machine immediately drops him. Hearing the screams, two men in an adjacent parking lot offer to help the boy, but John rudely dismisses them and they insult him in return. When he orders it to take care of them, the Terminator wields a gun but John shoves it away. After the men run to safety, John informs the Terminator that killing people is unacceptable. That night, Sarah uses the paper clip to escape from her room. The T-1000 arrives at the hospital and assumes the identity of a policeman who patrols the building and then kills him. Fighting off nurses and guards, Sarah attacks Silberman and fills a syringe with Liquid Rooter. Moments later, John and the Terminator gain access to the hospital after the Terminator shoots a guard in the knees, careful not to kill him. Plunging the syringe into his neck, Sarah takes Silberman hostage and makes her way through the hospital. A guard grabs the syringe and frees the doctor, and Sarah runs away. At the end of a hallway, the Terminator emerges and Sarah runs in the other direction. Guards subdue her, but the Terminator fights them off and John arrives, assuring his mother that the Terminator will help them. The T-1000 appears and chases Sarah, John, and the Terminator to a parking garage where they steal a police car. Pursuing them on foot, the T-1000 climbs aboard the car, but the Terminator shoots it off. Sarah scolds her son for risking his life to save her. John cries and the Terminator asks what is wrong with his eyes. At a closed auto repair shop, the Terminator stitches a cut for Sarah and she removes the bullets from the Terminator’s back. When John suggests the Terminator behave more like a human, he learns that the machine is in “read-only” mode. To reverse the “read-only” mode, Sarah unscrews a port built into the Terminator’s skull and removes a central processing unit. Though she wants to destroy the computer altogether, John stops her, insisting he needs the Terminator. The next morning, John teaches the Terminator colloquialisms such as “no problemo” and “hasta la vista, baby.” The Terminator informs Sarah that Miles Dyson will soon invent a microprocessor that allows stealth bombers to fly unmanned. Dyson’s employer, Cyberdyne Systems, will use the microprocessor to innovate military technology, resulting in the creation of the machines ultimately controlled by Skynet. The Terminator states that the machines become “self-aware,” and when humans attempt to shut them down, Skynet will bomb Russia in retaliation. Russia will respond by attacking with a nuclear bomb on August 29, 1997. In Mexico, Sarah, John, and the Terminator arrive at a camp and meet Sarah’s militant friend, Enrique Salceda. They obtain an arsenal of weapons, clothes, and a new vehicle. John bonds with the Terminator and talks about his nomadic childhood and the rogue military training to which Sarah subjected him. After a nightmare about the nuclear blast, Sarah awakens, determined to kill Dyson before he invents the microprocessor. She leaves John and the Terminator behind, but they soon follow. Outside Dyson’s home, Sarah shoots through the window and pursues the scientist inside, shooting him in the shoulder; however, when she takes aim at the fallen Dyson, she cannot bring herself to execute him. The Terminator and John arrive, and the Terminator explains to Dyson the catastrophic consequences of his invention. Convinced, Dyson agrees to help them destroy Cyberdyne Systems in order to save humanity. Fully armed, they arrive at Cyberdyne’s offices, subdue the night watchman, and break into the lab. A security guard sounds a silent alarm, and police swarm the building. Dyson and John retrieve the previous Terminator's arm and central processing unit from their glass cases. The group disperses explosives throughout the lab, and Dyson grabs the detonator as they leave. At that moment, police arrive and open fire, hitting Dyson multiple times. Sarah, John and the Terminator escape, but Dyson remains behind. As he dies, he strikes the detonator, causing the lab to explode. John and Sarah take cover in an elevator as the Terminator shoots through the lobby, steals a police van, and crashes into the building to retrieve them. The T-1000 arrives on a police motorcycle and drives up the stairs, spotting his targets from above as they leave in the van. When a helicopter passes, the T-1000 drives out the window, grabs onto the aircraft, and commandeers it. He pursues the van and exchanges gunfire with Sarah, who is shot in the leg. The T-1000 rams the helicopter into the van, and both vehicles crash. Continuing the chase, John, Sarah, and the Terminator hop into a pickup truck, while the T-1000 obtains a large tanker truck filled with liquid nitrogen. John takes the steering wheel as the Terminator climbs aboard the tanker and blasts the T-1000 with bullets. The tanker rolls on its side, and the Terminator jumps off. Sarah and John drive inside a steel mill and crash; nearby, the tanker also skids to a stop. The T-1000 exits and steps into spilled liquid nitrogen which causes it to freeze and break apart. The Terminator opens fire, and the T-1000 shatters into frozen shards. The Terminator and John help Sarah, incapacitated by her bullet wound, move through the mill. Extreme heat liquefies the T-1000's frozen shards, and the machine re-forms. In hand-to-hand combat against the T-1000, the Terminator’s arm is trapped under a gear. While the T-1000 pursues John and Sarah, the Terminator breaks free, leaving an arm behind. Sarah lowers John down a shaft before the T-1000 extends its finger into a sharp point and pierces her shoulder. The Terminator appears and beats the T-1000 with a steel bar. In retaliation, the T-1000 rams the bar through the Terminator’s body, causing the Terminator’s system to shut down. However, shortly after the T-1000 leaves, the Terminator regains power. As the T-1000 approaches John, disguised as Sarah, the real Sarah appears and opens fire. Just as she runs out of ammunition, the Terminator arrives, shooting the T-1000 with a grenade launcher. The T-1000 explodes and falls into a vat of molten metal which destroys the machine. After they dispose of the robotic arm and central processing unit, John becomes upset at the suggestion that the Terminator must now be destroyed. The Terminator expresses a newfound understanding of why people cry. Sarah presses a button to lower the Terminator into the molten metal, and the Terminator signals them with a “thumbs up.”

Karen Silkwood and coworkers Drew Stephens and Dolly Pelliker arrive for work at the Kerr McGee Cimarron nuclear facility near Cimarron City, Oklahoma. Karen works in Dry Processing, processing plutonium and uranium oxide into nuclear fuel pellets. The plant manager conducts new trainees through the plant, and when asked about the effects of radiation exposure, answers that radiation is like sunburn, the kind of thing that cannot hurt you unless you are careless with it. When the lunch bell rings, Karen removes her protective gloves and attempts to rush out of her work area, but is called back by her fellow workers for not monitoring herself. She passes her bare hands across a radiation detector before leaving. In the lunchroom, Karen hears about a truck that became contaminated with radiation as the result of a container leak. She learns that her boyfriend, Drew, will have to work an hour late, and she cannot find Mace Hurley to ask permission to have Saturday and Sunday off to see her children. She notices Winston, a new worker in X-Ray Metalography. Drew asks if she likes him, but Karen responds, “As a matter of fact, he’s the type I hate.” When she catches up with Hurley, Karen is told that the plant operates twenty-four hours a day, and it is not possible to give her time off. As Karen tries to get one of her reluctant coworkers to take her weekend shifts, an alarm sounds. They believe it to be a test, but remark that, although test alarms are sounded regularly, they never actually evacuate the building, probably because it would shut down production. Gilda Schultz finally agrees to take Karen’s weekend shifts. That night, as Karen goes to her car, she hears a noise and goes to investigate. She sees a truck being cut apart, but when she asks what is going on, she is told to leave. Saturday morning, Karen, Drew and Dolly drive to Texas to take her kids to the beach. However, her ex-husband, Pete Dawson, has the weekend off himself, and tells Karen she should have talked to him as he has made his own weekend plans. He does allow Karen to take the children to a restaurant for a brief visit. On the way back to Oklahoma, Dolly asks how long Karen was married to Pete. Karen confesses that although they went to Louisiana, where they believed they could be married underage, they could not, and never actually were legally married. They were formally divorced, however, because their union was recognized as a common law marriage. Karen laments that she had the children in the car, and could have driven them to Oklahoma, but did not. Arriving at work on Monday, Karen is approached by a friend named Joe, who mentions he helped bury a contaminated truck Friday night. As she gets ready in the changing room, Karen learns that Gilda did not work her shifts, but Gilda informs her that the plant was shut down because of a contamination in their section right after Karen left. Gilda also mentions that the company believes Karen was responsible for the contamination in order to get the weekend off. She enters her work area wearing a full hazmat suit, and finds her coworkers similarly clad as the walls of the room are being scrubbed down by a cleanup crew. She complains about being unfairly blamed for the contamination, but Quincy Bissell, the union shop steward tells her the company has to blame somebody or risk accountability. Back in the plant, Thelma Rice, an older worker and friend of Karen’s, is “cooked” in a radiation accident. Thelma is taken to the decontamination room where she is showered down. Afraid that Thelma will get cancer as a result of her exposure, Karen urges the woman to listen to the doctor, who informs her that she only had surface exposure, and is in no danger after being scrubbed clean. Later, at home, Karen learns from Drew that Thelma only received twenty-four dpm’s [disintegrations per minute] of radiation, which he dismisses as "not super bad." He asks if Karen is just waking up to the potential danger of working with nuclear materials after almost two years. The next day, as she talks with her coworkers, Karen realizes that the doctor never gave Thelma a nasal smear, so he does not really know if she suffered any internal contamination. She urges Thelma to get the procedure. Later, Mace Hurley interrupts a birthday celebration for Gilda Schultz, and tells the Dry Processing employees to get back on the job. If they do not meet their contract goals, they will all be out of work. Karen attempts to pick up some birthday cake that has fallen onto the floor, but Hurley tells her to clean it up after her shift. As Karen leaves the Dry Processing room after vacuuming up the cake, she sets off the contamination alarm. She is scrubbed down, and told by the plant doctor to bring in urine samples every week. Later, Karen looks through a book supplied by the union, but which she is only now reading. She tells Dolly that all the information about “acceptable levels” of radiation is false, and that exposure to plutonium gives you cancer. Still later, Drew brings home news that Karen has been transferred out of Dry Processing into the Metalography department. She is upset, because the transfer means she will have to work three months before she can again qualify for overtime work. On her new assignment, Winston explains her duties, which include making photographic records of fuel rod samples. Karen catches Winston doctoring the photographic negatives to cover up imperfections in the fuel rods. At a union meeting, shop steward Quincy informs the workers that Kerr McGee has obtained enough signatures to hold a decertification vote. When he seeks volunteers to help him reach out to union members, Karen volunteers. Drew does not believe Karen has the political skills to be an effective negotiator, but she believes she can sit across the table from Mace Hurley as an equal. In time, Dolly begins dating a beautician named Angela. Drew becomes upset when Angela moves in to the house Dolly and Karen share, and Karen spends all her time on the phone with union matters. Karen suggests to Quincy that they involve the national union in their cause, and they land a meeting in Washington, D.C. with the national union and the Atomic Energy Commission [AEC]. The president of the national union informs Quincy and Karen that they can only win the decertification election based on health and safety issues, and promises to send doctors to talk with the Cimarron workers. The union president leaves to catch a plane, but Karen follows and tells him about the doctoring of the cross-section photographs of fuel rods intended for the Hanford, Washington, Breeder Reactor. The president asks for proof of her claims. Back in Oklahoma, Drew is upset when Quincy shows slides of the Washington, D.C. trip, and in the photos Karen appears to be flirting with attorney Paul Stone. On their way home, Drew asks if the company was aware of Karen’s trip to Washington, and that she is spying for the union. He informs Karen that he quit working for Kerr McGee, and moves out of the house. In the Metalography department, Karen goes through Winston’s desk drawer looking for doctored photographic negatives. Winston catches her, but she convinces him she was only using the drawer to store allergy medications not allowed in the plant. After doctors talk to the Kerr McGee workers, Winston confronts union lawyer Paul Stone, questioning why the union has only come in now that there is a pending decertification vote. He believes the company is looking out for its employees, and that if issues are raised, Kerr McGee will shut down the plant, putting the locals out of work while Stone will return to his job in Washington, D.C. Paul Stone does return to Washington, and he falls out of communication with Karen. She calls to tell him the union won the election, 80 to 61, but only reaches his answering machine. In time, Angela returns to her husband, leaving Dolly feeling rejected, just as Karen feels rejected by Paul Stone. At the plant, Gilda Schultz mentions that her husband has been working late flushing out pipes because the plant has come up more than a kilo short on plutonium. When Karen takes notes, her coworkers leave the room, concerned that her union activities will threaten their jobs. Karen finally speaks with Paul about several incidents at the plant, but he is more concerned with evidence of the doctored photographic negatives. Karen is shunned by management as well as her fellow employees. When she goes to Dry Processing in an attempt to speak with Gilda, she is rebuffed, and as she leaves the area and flashes her hand in front of the radiation monitor, she again sets off the alarm. Although the plant doctor informs her that the exposure level was acceptable, he orders her to start bringing in her urine samples on a daily basis. In declining health, Karen hits a deer as she drives home, and asks a passerby to call Drew. Soon, when she comes into work, she sets off a radiation alarm as she enters the plant. A team is sent to her house with a Geiger counter, finds the building contaminated, and takes everything out of the house. Mace Hurley suggests that Karen contaminated her own house, believing she would do anything to hurt the company. In turn, Karen believes her urine samples have been tampered with. She is told her latest nasal smear has a reading of 45,000 dpm. Hurley offers to get Karen a place to stay and help her with money, but first she must make a statement in her own words about what happened. She refuses, and drives away. Drew returns to the stripped house to reminisce about his days there with Karen, and takes the spare key left above the doorframe as a souvenir. Winston drives up and asks what Drew is doing there. Unable to contain his rage, Drew hits Winston, knocking him to the ground. He returns to his new home and finds Karen there. She tells him the company has contaminated her and is trying to kill her. Drew makes plans to take Karen to Los Alamos, New Mexico, where doctors are well versed in the effects of radiation. There, doctors inform Drew and Dolly that, although they have been exposed through contact with Karen, their radiation is within safe levels. Karen, however, is told that they have discovered americium, an element released when plutonium disintegrates. Based on the level of americium, they have determined that she has a level of six nanocuries in her body. The maximum body burden for occupational exposure is forty nano curies; however, the tests she has undergone may be off by as much as 300 percent. Afterward, Karen telephones Paul Stone, asking him to come to Oklahoma City with a New York Times reporter. Back home, Drew suggests they move to New Mexico and have babies, but Karen fears they would have developmental defects. The next morning Karen sets out for a union meeting and asks Drew to pick up Paul Stone and the New York Times reporter at the airport. At night, after she leaves a cafe, a car follows Karen as she drives home. The glare of headlights in her rearview mirror blinds her. Later, her car is found crashed by the side of the road. Her tombstone reads: Karen Gay Silkwood; Feb. 19, 1946; Nov. 13, 1974; Rest In Peace.”

Batman, the caped crusader, operates as a vigilante in crime-ridden Gotham City. Although police do not acknowledge his existence, journalist Alexander Knox publishes a story about him in the Gotham Globe, enduring the ridicule of his fellow newspapermen, who believe Batman is a myth. However, a beautiful photographer named Vicki Vale approaches Knox at his desk, reveals that she shares his enthusiasm for the Batman story and presents her latest work, photographs of a foreign war that recently made the cover of Time magazine. Knox eagerly agrees to work with Vicki, who suggests they start by attending a benefit held by local businessman, Bruce Wayne. Meanwhile, Carl Grissom, head of Gotham’s crime syndicate, worries that newly elected district attorney, Harvey Dent, plans to investigate Axis Chemical Co. Since Grissom’s syndicate has ties to Axis, Grissom sends his underling, Jack Napier, to raid company files before police get to them. Napier, who is secretly having an affair with Grissom’s mistress, grudgingly follows orders. That evening, at Bruce Wayne’s mansion, Knox attempts to glean information about Batman from Police Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent, while Vicki seeks out the party’s host, who eventually reveals himself and confesses he is a fan of her photography. Grissom betrays Napier by calling in an anonymous tip to the police, and Gordon gets word that Axis Chemical is being raided. The commissioner rushes to the scene with Police Lieutenant Eckhardt and a team of policemen. As they arrive, a shootout ensues, and Napier releases toxic chemicals to stave off his pursuers. Batman appears and captures Napier, but Napier’s man, Bob the Goon, holds Gordon at gunpoint, forcing the caped crusader to release his captive. Napier shoots Lt. Eckhardt, then fires at Batman, who deflects the bullet back to his attacker’s face. Napier falls into a vat of chemicals and the police leave him for dead. Later, as Knox attempts to cover the story, police claim Batman was never there, but Knox is unconvinced. Vicki accepts an invitation to dine with Bruce Wayne, and the two forgo his formal dining room to eat in the kitchen with Albert, Bruce’s butler and trusted confidant. That night, in a makeshift operating room, a doctor performs surgery on Napier’s mangled face, and the gangster laughs hysterically when he sees his reflection in the mirror. Aware that he was set up, Napier surprises Grissom at his office and reveals his new look: green-tinted hair, a chalky, white face, and a permanent, grotesque grin painted red. Still laughing, Napier instructs Grissom to call him “Joker,” then shoots the man dead. After waking up in Bruce Wayne’s bed, Vicki tries to arrange a second date, but Bruce claims he must leave town. Meanwhile, Napier’s new alter ego, the Joker, leads a crime syndicate meeting and announces Grissom has gone away and left him in charge. He kills Tony, one of the syndicate men, and his henchmen usher the others away at gunpoint. Suspicious that Bruce lied to her, Vicki follows him into town and observes as he leaves two red roses on the sidewalk in front of a shuttered hotel. At the Gotham City courthouse, Vinny, one of the syndicate members, files an affidavit for control of Grissom’s holdings, and a crowd forms outside as Knox questions him. Bruce gets there just before the Joker and his henchmen arrive. Marching up the courthouse steps, the Joker kills Vinny with a poisoned pen, then escapes in a car. Later, Bruce informs Albert that Napier is still alive and has taken control of Grissom’s operation. He requests police files on Napier, and learns that the gangster has a history of violence and psychological problems, as well as an interest in chemistry. At the Axis plant, the Joker oversees production of new chemicals, and soon, women begin dying with wide grins on their faces from poisoned cosmetics. Despite the rash of deaths, Gotham’s mayor insists that a 200th anniversary celebration for the city will go on as scheduled. Meanwhile, after seeing a photograph of Vicki in the courthouse crowd, the Joker decides to make her his next girl friend and lures her to a museum, where she believes she is meeting Bruce. As she waits at a table, Vicki receives a box containing a gas mask and a note instructing her to wear it. Suddenly, toxic gas spills into the museum, incapacitating everyone but Vicki. The gas clears and the Joker marches in with his goons, who deface paintings and sculptures at his instruction. He asks Vicki about Batman, but she claims to know nothing. Batman crashes in through the ceiling, rescues her, and drives her away in his heavily armored Batmobile. However, they are forced to proceed on foot when the vehicle crashes. The Joker’s henchmen catch up to Batman, but when they shoot, they discover he is protected by body armor. As Batman fights off his attackers, Vicki secretly snaps photographs. Afterward, he retrieves the Batmobile and leads her to his headquarters in a cave outside the city. Batman shares his findings that the Joker has poisoned hundreds of cosmetics, but the poisoning effects only take hold when certain components are mixed, like hairspray with lipstick and perfume, and provides her with a report to be printed in the Gotham Globe. The next morning, Vicki discovers that Batman stole the film from her camera, but, with the help of Knox, she gets Batman’s story printed on the front page. Unaware that he is Batman, Vicki reprimands Bruce for not returning her calls when he comes to her apartment later that day. He attempts to explain his dual identity, but they are interrupted by the Joker, who aims his gun at Bruce and asks if he “ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight.” Bruce recognizes the phrase, but crumples to the ground when the Joker shoots him. Vicki rushes to Bruce’s aid but finds him gone, realizing that he used her silver tray to stop the bullet. At the Gotham Globe offices, Knox shows Vicki a newspaper clipping about the murder of Bruce’s parents, which he witnessed as a child, and she deduces that the scene of the crime was the spot where Bruce left the roses. In a televised announcement, the Joker tells Gotham’s citizens that he will drop twenty million dollars on the streets at midnight as part of the 200th anniversary celebration, and challenges Batman to a duel. Meanwhile, Bruce looks at the newspaper clipping of his parents’ killing and recalls the shooter asking, “You ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?” Bruce suits up as Batman and drives the Batmobile into Axis Chemical Co., where he drops a bomb that destroys the plant. At midnight, the Joker enters Gotham City on a parade float and throws money on the crowd as promised. However, several large balloons tethered to the float release poisoned gas, causing revelers to drop to the ground, lifeless. There to cover the story, Knox orders Vicki inside his car and dons a medical mask as he attempts to fight off the Joker’s goons. Batman flies over the city in his airplane, the Batwing, collecting the poison-filled balloons and sending them into the upper atmosphere. Angry over the stolen balloons, the Joker shoots Bob the Goon dead, then fires at the Batwing, causing it to crash into a church. Vicki rushes to the Batwing, but the Joker kidnaps her and leads her inside the church. Batman emerges from the crash and follows them into a stairwell leading to the belfry. Joker releases one of the bells, which crashes to the first floor and blocks police from entering. However, Batman continues his pursuit and faces off with several of Joker’s henchmen before tussling with the Joker himself. Although Batman knocks him over the side, the Joker lands on a ledge and pulls Batman and Vicki over. As they dangle from the ledge, a helicopter arrives to rescue the Joker, who takes hold of a rope ladder dangling from the aircraft. Batman uses his grapple gun to shoot wire around Joker’s ankle. The other end of the wire is tied to a gargoyle that breaks off the belfry as the Joker is pulled away, but the weight of the gargoyle causes the archvillain to lose his grip, and he plummets to his death. Later, Harvey Dent holds a press conference and reads a letter from Batman, who promises to fight the forces of evil if they return to Gotham City. Dent also reveals a bat-shaped spotlight Batman provided for police to call on him. Viewing the spotlight with a smile, Vicki greets Albert, who awaits her with a car and informs her that Bruce will be a little late for their date.

In the early 1800s, when Diego Vega, one of the best swordsmen in all of Spain, is unexpectedly summoned home to California by his father, Don Alejandro, he returns to find that his father has been deposed as alcalde and the peasants crushed beneath the yoke of tyranny under Don Luis Quintero and his soldiers, who are led by the sword brandishing Captain Esteban Pasquale. With the odds against an uprising because of the sheer number of soldiers under Pasquale's command, Diego becomes the scourge of the oppressors by acting as the masked bandit Zorro by night while impersonating a foppish dilettante by day. As Zorro, he falls in love with Quintero's beautiful niece Lolita, while as Don Diego, he flirts with Quintero's conceited wife Inez, thus earning the ire of Pasquale, her other suitor. When Zorro orders that Quintero return to Spain and appoint Don Alejandro as his successor, Pasquale cleverly proposes an alliance between the Vega and Quintero families through a marriage between Diego and Lolita. At first repulsed, Lolita embraces Diego after she discovers that he is the dashing Zorro. However, Diego's masquerade is exposed when his accomplice, Fray Felipe, is arrested by Pasquale and Diego challanges the smug captain to a duel. When Diego kills his opponent, he attracts the suspicion of Quintero, who arrests him and sentences him to death. As Fray Felipe and Diego await the firing squad, Diego outwits the guard, breaks out of jail and leads the peasants and caballeros in a rebellion against the soldiers. With Quintero and his men defeated, Don Alejandro takes over as alcalde, and peace is restored to the village of Los Angeles.

From his home in Marseilles, millionaire Alain Charnier runs the largest heroin-smuggling syndicate in the world, employing ruthless Pierre Nicoli to assassinate his adversaries. While they refine their plan to smuggle $32 million worth of heroin into the United States by hiding it in the car of their new accomplice, French television personality Henri Devereaux, in New York City two police detectives continue their dogged pursuit of drug dealers. Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and his partner, Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, use intimidation and psychological tactics to taunt and trap their targets, sometimes skirting the boundaries of ethical behavior. One night after a typically grueling day of chasing down suspects, Popeye convinces Cloudy to go to the local club with him for a drink. There, Popeye, who thinks of little else besides his job, grows suspicious of the patrons at one table who are celebrating boisterously. “Just for fun,” he and Cloudy tail the main carouser, Sal Boca, all night until he returns to the diner he runs with his wife Angie. Days later, they are still watching Sal, who has a record of petty crimes, as does his brother Lou. Cloudy, posing as a patron, is able to observe the steady traffic of local businessmen who hold clandestine meetings in the back room with Sal. One day, the detectives tail Sal to the apartment building of drug financier Joel Weinstock, and exult that they have finally connected him to a known criminal. To obtain insider information, Popeye storms into a gritty bar frequented by drug users and small-time dealers. Shoving the customers against the wall and humiliating them, Popeye picks their pockets for drugs and makes a few arrests. His real aim, however, is to meet in private with one of the dealers, Hector, who is his secret informant, without arousing the others’ suspicions. To that end, Popeye roughs up Hector and pulls him into the back room, and after Hector reveals that a shipment of heroin is due into the New York harbor soon, Popeye punches him to make their “confrontation” appear real. The detectives bring their case to their captain, Walter Simonson, who derides the circumstantial evidence and berates them for failing to break a big case. Together, the partners manage to convince Simonson to allow them two wiretaps, one on Sal’s diner and the other on his house. Days later, at the same time as Charnier and Nicoli, newly arrived in New York, watch Devereaux’s car being transported onto the wharf, federal agents Bill Mulderig and Klein are brought onto the case. Mulderig dislikes Popeye because, on a previous case, the detective’s rough tactics resulted in the death of a policeman. Cloudy, who attempts to defend his partner, later visits Popeye’s apartment and finds him handcuffed to the bed by a young sexual partner. Over the next few days, Popeye and Cloudy follow Sal’s conversations on the wiretap, and one day they rejoice to hear a Frenchman call and make an appointment to meet. In the car on the way to the planned rendezvous, as Mulderig razzes Popeye from the backseat, they are caught in a traffic jam that endangers their ability to follow Sal. Popeye races out onto the street to catch sight of Sal’s car, and soon the police are back on his trail as he enters the Roosevelt hotel. There, they spot Sal with Charnier and Nicoli, then follow them to a restaurant, standing on the freezing street while the Frenchmen enjoy a leisurely gourmet meal. Charnier leads Popeye to his hotel, where the detective is able to learn the Frenchmen’s names from the clerk. Soon after, Sal brings the heroin to Weinstock, whose drug expert tests it and reports that it is high-grade, valuable dope. However, Weinstock, knowing the police are after Sal, insists on taking more time before agreeing to Charnier’s price. Meanwhile, Charnier slips away from the federal agents posted around his hotel and walks along the street, where Popeye is shocked to spot him. Popeye follows him into the subway, but as he attempts to trail him, the wily Charnier manages to evade him, waving as his subway car speeds away from the detective. Klein follows Sal to Washington, D.C, where Sal meets with Charnier to ask for a few more days. Charnier insists on having the money by the end of the week, then tells Nicoli to kill Popeye, as he poses the biggest threat to their deal. At the same time, Simonson informs Popeye that, with no movement on the case, he must close it down. The furious Popeye, unable to convince Simonson to give him more time, fights with Mulderig. Soon after, Popeye is walking near his apartment when Nicoli, hiding on a rooftop, shoots at him. Popeye tries to secure the area, then crawls along the building's side until he can climb to the roof. There, he is able to spot Nicoli and races to follow him into an elevated subway platform. As Nicoli steps onto a car, a transit guard hears Popeye yell a warning, causing him to follow Nicoli suspiciously as he travels from car to car. On the ground, Popeye commandeers a passerby’s car and speeds to the next subway station, hoping to reach it before the train. On the el, Nicoli shoots and kills the policeman, then holds the driver at gunpoint and commands him not to stop at the station. Popeye arrives at the stop and runs to platform, but when the train does not slow down, he jumps back into his car and careens wildly through the city streets, narrowly avoiding other cars and pedestrians, to reach the next station. Nicoli has confronted the conductor and passengers with his gun drawn, and now shoots the conductor as the driver suffers a heart attack. The train, rushing out of control, slams directly into a parked train. Below, Popeye sees the wreck and, stopping his car, walks disoriented to the bottom of the el stairs. Nicoli climbs through a door to the outside of the cars, crawling between them in order to escape the wrecked train, but as he reaches the top of the station stairs, Popeye gets him in his gun sights. Nicoli, now unarmed, turns to run, but Popeye shoots him in the back, killing him. Soon after, Popeye and Cloudy are following Sal when as he picks up Devereaux’s car. They pursue the car to the street where Sal parks it, and watch for days as it sits untouched. When some men approach the car, Popeye arrests them, and although they are soon revealed to be petty car thieves, he orders the car torn apart. The police mechanic rips apart the entire car but finds nothing. Popeye, insisting the heroin is in the car, urges him to try again, and this time, they uncover 120 pounds of dope in the front grille. Hours later, they have replaced the heroin and rebuilt the car, which they return to Devereaux in order to trail him. Devereaux, spooked by the police interest, informs Charnier that he no longer wants to be involved. Charnier and Nicoli then drive the car to meet with Weinstock and his men at an abandoned warehouse, where they swap the drugs for cash. Sal, exulting in his new wealth, drives off with Charnier, only to find the bridge closed off by Popeye and his men. They return to the warehouse, where all of the criminals scatter, followed by the police. Popeye, obsessed with catching Charnier, stalks through the dilapidated building. When he hears footsteps, he turns and shoots, accidentally killing Mulderig. Although Cloudy is horrified, Popeye single-mindedly continues his pursuit, wandering off into the shadows, where a lone shot rings out.

During the rule of Rameses I in Ancient Egypt, the pharaoh is informed that the Hebrew slaves believe that a recently seen star portends the arrival of a deliverer who will free them. Wanting to subvert the deliverer, yet unwilling to kill all the Hebrew slaves, Rameses I theorizes that the deliverer must be newly born and so orders the death of every male, Hebrew infant. Jewish slave Yochabel, along with her young daughter Miriam, prepares an ark of bulrushes and places her infant son in it. Pushing the ark into the Nile, Yochabel instructs Miriam to follow it, and the girl watches as it is found by Bithiah, the pharaoh’s daughter. The recently widowed Bithiah believes that the baby was sent by her deceased husband and, naming him Moses, dismisses the concern of her servant Memnet, who warns her that the child’s swaddling cloth was made by Levite Hebrews. Declaring that her son will be a prince of Egypt, Bithiah makes Memnet vow never to reveal his origins, although the servant secretly keeps the cloth. Thirty years later, Bithiah’s brother Sethi is pharaoh, and Moses is much loved by the Egyptians, even more than Sethi’s own son, Rameses II. Rameses is deeply jealous of Moses, who has returned from Ethiopia after conquering it in Sethi’s name. Sethi chides Rameses for not completing the treasure city for his upcoming jubilee, and Rameses blames his failure on the stubbornness of the Hebrew slaves. At Rameses’ urging, Sethi sends Moses to oversee the new city’s construction, much to the chagrin of Nefretiri, the princess who must marry Sethi’s heir. Nefretiri is in love with Moses, who shares her passion, even though Sethi has not announced whether Moses or Rameses will succeed him. In Goshen, where the new city is being built, Moses supervises Baka, the cold-hearted master builder. Also driving the slaves is Dathan, a ruthless Hebrew who has become an overseer. Dathan and Baka both desire Lilia, a Hebrew slave who is in love with the stone cutter Joshua. One day, Yochabel, now an old woman, is almost crushed by the enormous stones being used to build the city. Joshua is condemned to death for attempting to save her, and Lilia then races through the crowd to find Moses and plead for his mercy. Upon examining the scene, Moses frees Yochabel and Joshua, then decrees that not only should the exhausted, starving slaves have a day of rest, they should be fed from the temple granaries. Soon the city is almost completed, and although Rameses and the greedy priests attempt to prejudice Sethi against Moses, Sethi is pleased by Moses’s progress. Sethi announces his intention to name Moses his successor, but Memnet, determined not to let a Hebrew sit on Egypt’s throne, reveals the truth of his birth to Nefretiri. Desperate to protect her beloved, Nefretiri kills Memnet, then tries to cover her actions. She confesses all to Moses, however, when he finds the swaddling cloth. Astonished by the news, Moses seeks out Yochabel, whom Nefretiri reveals is his mother. Moses finds Yochabel just as Bithiah is pleading with her to leave Egypt before Moses learns the truth, but when Yochabel cannot deny that he is her son, Moses accepts his heritage. After being welcomed by Miriam and his brother Aaron, Moses begins working in the mud pits making bricks alongside the slaves he once commanded. Although Yochabel is convinced that Moses is the deliverer, he remains doubtful about the god of the Hebrews. Later, Nefretiri pleads with Moses to return to the palace before Sethi learns of his situation. Nefretiri’s argument that he can better help his people after he is pharaoh seems to sway Moses, but he states that first he must see Baka, who has taken Lilia to be his house slave. Moses arrives as Baka is about to whip Joshua, who had come to rescue Lilia. Infuriated by Baka’s callousness, Moses kills him, then reveals his heritage to Joshua. The amazed stone cutter declares that Moses is the deliverer, and his words are overheard by Dathan, who informs Rameses. On the day of Sethi’s jubilee, Rameses announces that he has captured the Hebrew deliverer, and the courtiers are stunned when Moses, bound in chains, is led in. Shaken, Sethi asks Moses if he would lead the slaves in revolt against him, and Moses confesses that he would free them if he could. The heartbroken Sethi then announces that Rameses will succeed him and marry Nefretiri, and leaves Moses’s fate for Rameses to determine. Rameses then escorts Moses to the edge of the vast desert and, giving him the pole to which he was bound as a staff, tells him to go forth into his kingdom. Despite his lack of water and food, Moses crosses the desert to reach Midian, where he collapses at a well tended by the daughters of Bedouin shepherd Jethro. As time passes, Moses is accepted by the Bedouins and marries Jethro’s oldest daughter, Sephora, although he confesses that he is still tormented by the thought of Nefretiri. Several years later, Moses and Sephora have a son, Gershom, and happily tend their flocks, while in Egypt, Rameses, made pharaoh after Sethi’s death, has a son with Nefretiri. One day, Moses sees a burning bush on Mt. Sinai, the holy mountain of God. Climbing up the mountain, upon which no mortal man has set foot before, Moses finds the burning bush and hears the voice of God, who orders him to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites to Sinai, where they will receive God’s laws. Although he still doubts his ability to serve God, Moses is touched by the “light of the eternal mind,” and Joshua, who escaped from Egypt, swears to accompany him, as does Sephora. [An Intermission divides the story at this point.] Upon reaching Egypt, Moses confronts Rameses, demanding that his people be freed. Rameses laughs at Moses’s proclamation that he brings the word of God, although Nefretiri is thrilled to see that Moses is alive. When Moses turns his staff into a serpent that swallows up the serpents produced by the Egyptian priests, Rameses dismisses his actions as a magician’s tricks, then continues to ignore Moses’s pleas to free his people, even though God sets loose nine plagues upon Egypt. Finally, after Moses turns the Nile into blood for seven days, Rameses’ advisors urge him to acquiesce, but the pharaoh insists that there must be a natural explanation for the phenomenon. When Rameses again denies Moses, Moses asserts that one final, terrible plague will be brought upon the Egyptians by Rameses’ own words. Scornful, Rameses declares that the next day, his soldiers will kill all the firstborn Hebrew children. Rameses’ words are turned back upon him, however, when the Hebrews protect their children by painting their doors with lambs’ blood, and a spreading pestilence kills every other firstborn child, including Rameses’ own son. Grief-stricken, Rameses grants the slaves their freedom, but after the exodus has begun, the vengeful Nefretiri taunts Rameses until he orders his charioteers to chase the freed slaves. Soon the Egyptian forces find the Hebrews by the Red Sea, and Dathan foments a call for Moses’s death for leading them to certain doom. To demonstrate the power of the Lord, Moses uses his staff to part the Red Sea and clear a path for the Hebrews, while God’s pillar of fire holds back the chariots. When the fire dissipates, Rameses orders his soldiers to cross the Red Sea, but before they can reach the Hebrews, Moses restores the sea and the Egyptians are drowned. Defeated, Rameses returns to the palace and there declares to Nefretiri that the god of Moses cannot be defied. Soon after, Moses leads his people to the base of Mt. Sinai and ascends the mountain to receive God’s laws. As forty days pass, the people grow anxious, with Dathan proclaiming that because Moses must be dead, the people should return to Egypt, where at least they can find food. Dathan assures the people that if they follow an Egyptian idol, they will be safe from the pharaoh’s wrath, and Aaron is ordered to craft a large, golden calf. Meanwhile, on the mountain, Moses witnesses God’s finger carve His ten commandments on two stone tablets. When Moses comes down from the mountain to share the laws, he is horrified to see the people worshipping the calf. Dathan attempts to defy Moses, but Moses throws the tablets on the ground, causing an immense earthquake that swallows the nonbelievers. Although they are forced by God’s anger to wander the wilderness for forty years, Moses and his people remain strong in their faith, until one day, they come to the River Jordan, across which lays their promised land. Moses informs his family that God has told him that he shall not pass the river, however, and gives his staff and robe to Joshua, thereby anointing him the new leader. With the restored tablets in the ark of the covenant, Moses urges his people to proclaim liberty throughout the land, then waves farewell as he ascends Mt. Nebo.

As Dan Farrow prepares to go to the electric chair, he indicts society for its part in his crimes. As he tells Father Edward Flanagan, "If I had only had one friend at twelve, I wouldn't be here." Dan's words haunt Flanagan and when he returns to Omaha he decides that he will open a home for boys in trouble. With a small stake from kindhearted pawnbroker Dave Morris, Flanagan starts the home but constantly must sway people who think that his philosophy "there's no such thing as a bad boy" is naive. He wins the reluctant support of newspaper publisher John Hargraves and donations start to mount. With Dave's help, he builds a city for wayward boys, called Boys Town, which operates on the honor system. One day, he is summoned to the penitentiary where he receives money from convict Joe Marsh who wants Flanagan to help his kid brother Whitey. Whitey is a cocky kid who wants no part of Boys Town. He stays, though, and runs for mayor of Boys Town, determined to win with his "don't be a sucker" campaign slogan. When the boys instead elect handicapped Tony Ponessa and reject Whitey's shoddy campaigning, Whitey decides to leave. Only little Pee Wee, the Boys Town mascot, begs him to stay. When Pee Wee is hit by a car, Whitey leaves, feeling guilty and hurt. He accidentally comes upon a bank robbery in Omaha and runs into Joe, who mistakenly shoots him in the leg. Joe takes Whitey to a church and calls Flanagan anonymously, after which Whitey is taken back to Boys Town. The sheriff comes to get Whitey, but Flanagan offers to take full responsibility for the boy. Whitey refuses to tell Flanagan about the robbery, because he has promised not to inform on Joe, but when he realizes that his silence could result in the end of Boys Town, he goes to Joe's hideout. Joe, realizing with Whitey that Boys Town is more important than themselves, releases his brother from his promise. His cohorts want to kill Whitey, but Joe protects him until Flanagan and the boys arrive at their hideout. The criminals are recaptured and Boys Town's reward is a flood of donations. A now committed Whitey is elected the new mayor of Boys Town by acclamation and Dave resigns himself to go into more debt as Flanagan tells him of his new ideas for expanding the facility.

In 1870, Mr. Charles Chipping, an unsophisticated, dour young man, embarks on a teaching career at Brookfield, an English boys school steeped in tradition. Chipping is a kindhearted man who takes pity on a homesick young boy he meets on the train to Brookfield. His initial lack of authority in the classroom, however, results in a chaotic outburst from the boys and a severe reprimand from his headmaster. Determined to stay at Brookfield, Chipping soon becomes a strict disciplinarian, disdained by the boys and looked upon condescendingly by his fellow instructors. As the years pass, Chipping enters middle age with a sad longing to be liked by the boys for whom he has such affection, but he is unable to put aside his stern facade. His lack of rapport with his students has also prevented him from becoming a headmaster, a position for which Chipping has always yearned. One summer, Max Staefel, a German master who is Chipping's only friend, suggests that they take a walking tour of Austria together. During a dense fog, Chipping encounters Katherine Ellis, a modern young Englishwoman who is enchanted by his kindness and old-fashioned manners. Although Chipping falls in love with Kathy, he thinks that their different personalities and ages would make marriage impossible, and she leaves the inn at which they are staying uncertain of his true feelings. When they meet again in Vienna, their love deepens, and just as Kathy is leaving to return to England with her friend Flora, Chipping proposes. At the beginning of the new term at Brookfield, the students and staff are amused by the thought of Chipping's marriage and are shocked to see how attractive and charming Kathy is. With her gentle guidance, "Chips," as she calls him, allows his kind nature to emerge and thereby gains the respect and affection of students and faculty. Although Kathy dies in childbirth, Chips's enduring love for her helps him to maintain his blossomed personality and advance his career. Years later, when an elderly Chips is given notice by a new headmaster who wants to "modernize" the school, the boys, along with their parents, many of whom as students had also grown to love Chips, demand that the headmaster ask Chips to stay on. Several years later, when Chips does retire, he maintains a cottage near the school and continues his closeness with the boys, entertaining them after school and listening to their troubles. When World War I begins and many of the masters enlist in the army, Chips is asked to return to the school and serve as its headmaster, the position for which he and Kathy had wished years before. After the war, Chips returns to retirement, but still stays in close contact with the boys. He dies dreaming of all his past students not long after young Peter Colley III, the youngest of a family of boys whom Chips had taught through the years, waves to him and says "Goodbye, Mr. Chips."

In New York City, police officer Frank Serpico, who has been shot in the face, is rushed the hospital, where Capt. Sidney Green places a twenty-four-hour-a-day guard at his door. While the doctors work to revive him, Frank, whose friends call him "Paco," thinks back to his first days on the force in the early 1960s: Upon his graduation from the police academy, Frank and his Italian-American family are thrilled. He joins a Bronx division and immediately makes waves with his brash demands and iconoclastic manner. When a rape in progress is called in, Frank hurries to respond, despite his partner’s objection that the call is not in their jurisdiction. At the scene, three men are assaulting a woman, and one warns the officers to put down their guns or he will slash her with a knife. When they flee, Frank chases one and makes the arrest. At the station, the girl recounts her ordeal quietly, after which the boy is badly beaten during his interrogation. Frank, who declines to hit the boy, later takes him out of chains and into a coffee shop to persuade him gently to confess the names of his cohorts. Frank then tracks down the other two men at a park, but because the case is officially under the supervision of a superior officer, he cannot obtain backup. Undeterred, he manages to arrest the two by himself and brings them in for booking, but is informed that the “collar” will be credited to the superior officer, as Frank is merely a patrolman. Soon, he applies to join the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, having learned that it is a handy route to earning a detective’s shield. After two years in the department, however, Frank remains an outsider, working harder than the other officers and affecting the look of the street hippies amongst whom he works in plainclothes. Despite his close family ties, he prefers his Greenwich Village apartment to their traditional life in Little Italy, where his father and brother Pasquale run a shoe repair shop. In his new neighborhood, he buys a sheepdog puppy and takes literature classes in Spanish, the language of many of the local criminals. In class he spots Leslie, who identifies herself as a dancer-singer-actress-Buddhist, and soon they are dating. Despite their growing attraction and his inclusion in her world of upscale artists, at work Frank is increasingly alienated, and when he reads the autobiography of ballet dancer Isabella Duncan, he is accused of being a homosexual by Lt. Steiger. Furious, Frank complains to the captain, and is consequently transferred to the Bronx, where his long hair and beard set him apart immediately, but his new captain, Tolkin, concurs that his appearance allows him more cover on the streets. His fellow officers, however, consider him an enigma, and during one shootout, almost kill Frank, not recognizing him as an officer. When the uniformed policeman then asks Frank if he can claim the arrest as his own, Frank agrees with great reluctance, frustrated with the incompetence and negligence all around him. At home, when Leslie threatens to marry her ex-boyfriend, Frank allows her to go. Soon after, he becomes friends with a charismatic fellow officer named Bob Blair, who has managed to move up in record time thanks to his political acumen. Frank is continually passed over for promotions, however, and one day is transferred to the 9th district. On his first day there, he receives an envelope full of cash, and not wanting to be part of the division-wide extortion, calls Blair for advice. Together they visit Blair’s friend, Inspector Kellogg, who counsels Frank over lunch that if he values his job, he will take the money quietly. Months later, Frank is dating his neighbor, a nurse named Laurie who shares his love of classical music, and struggling to gain a transfer out of the division, where he is assumed to be “on the take,” although he is donating the extorted monies to charity. At his urging, McClain moves him to the 7th division, which the captain, Palmer, vows is ethical. Working undercover there, he meets his old friend, Tom Keough, but is disappointed to learn that Keough is instrumental in the division’s extortion ring. Frank is partnered with Don Rubello, the “bagman” who collects bribe money from bookies. Despite Keough’s warning that Frank is considered by the officers to be untrustworthy because he does not take bribes, Frank refuses the monthly payout, allowing Rubello to hold his portion secretly. Although even Laurie suggests that Frank might be better off going along with the corruption, he remains steadfast and informs McClain of the goings-on. McClain passes the information on to Commissioner Delaney, but although the commissioner claims to be delighted with Frank’s integrity, nothing comes of the interaction, and Frank worries that the other officers will turn against him. He is paired with a new bagman, Alonso, a weary old-timer who once tried to quit but was threatened into staying. When Frank admits that he does not accept bribes, Alonso informs the others, and realizing the danger he is in, Frank demands that McClain introduce him to Delaney. When McClain refuses, Frank agrees to Blair’s suggestion that they go to Jerry Berman, an aide of the mayor. Although Berman is impressed and excited, he soon informs them that the mayor has declined to investigate, afraid of alienating the police force. At home, Frank rages to Laurie that the system is crooked from the top down, and fights with Blair, whom he blames for putting Frank in more danger. Soon after, his fellow officers call him to a meeting in the park, where they are furious to learn that Rubello pocketed all of Frank’s portion of the bribe money. Though Keough urges him to accept at least a token payment to prove his collusion, Frank refuses, earning their enmity. When he complains again to Laurie, paranoid and angry, she breaks down in tears, stating that she loves him but he has grown impossible to live with. One day, Frank arrests a loan shark who has been paying off the department. When he brings the man in for arrest, the loan shark scoffs at his earnestness, considering himself well protected. Despite the attempted intervention of Keough and the others, Frank throws the loan shark in jail, then in a rage brandishes the man’s record, which states that he once killed a policeman. Meeting McClain in secret, he demands to be moved and admits he spoke to the mayor’s officer. A furious McClain demands that he keep quiet, but soon the Deputy Chief Inspector calls him in to Capt. Palmer’s office to discuss his allegations. Although they are more concerned about the possible stain on the department than on fighting the corruption, they bring his complaints to the Commissioner, who agrees only to an internal investigation. Frank, who realizes that the department cannot investigate itself objectively and that only a few low-level policemen will bear the brunt of the inquiry, wants to stay uninvolved with the proceedings, so remains vague until Capt. Green takes over the case. Frank is finally won over by Green’s insistence that Frank testify and his reputation as an honest cop who has remained scrupulous despite intense pressure. At home, meanwhile, Laurie grows exhausted by his depression and fear, and leaves him, in spite of his last-minute avowal of love. During shooting practice one day, Keough warns Frank that his life is in danger. The grand jury hearing begins, during which Frank grows frustrated that the district attorney, Tauber, is not digging hard enough to convict the top players, such as Delaney and the mayor. Although Tauber insists that Frank will earn his detective’s shield for his actions, Frank declares that it is not worth his life. Soon, he is transferred to Manhattan, but refused a promotion. In the new division, he works with Lombardo, an undercover officer who admires Frank’s honesty. When they try to arrest a bookie, however, they learn that the bookies are paying off the police, and bring their discovery of the city-wide corruption to their chief, who refuses to get involved. Incensed, Frank calls Blair and, with Lombardo, they contact The New York Times , which then launches an investigation into the corruption. Frank is transferred to the Brooklyn narcotics division, where the plainclothesmen inform him that they regularly pocket tens of thousands of dollars in drug money, and warn him that if he objects, he will be killed. Soon after, he is with three other officers, tracking a drug pusher. When they finally locate the criminal, the others send Frank in first, and when Frank tries to force his way into the man’s apartment, the officers hang back, leaving him stranded. Trapped in the door, he is shot in the face. Back in the present, while Frank recovers in the hospital, the surgeon informs his parents that, although he will suffer long-term pain and hearing loss, he is stable. When Green visits, Frank requests that the guards at his door be sent home, as they distrust him, and shows Green the hate mail he receives daily. Green hands Frank his new detective’s shield, but Frank refuses it, breaking down in tears. Later, Frank testifies before the 1971 Knapp Commission, called in response to The New York Times series, stating that he hopes that his action will save future officers from banishment and reprisals, and urges the formation of an independent investigative body dealing with police corruption. After resigning from the police force, Frank moves out of his apartment and sits on the dock with his dog, waiting for a boat to take him away from New York.

Unaware that his poor, unemployed father Sam has been forced to sell his beloved collie Lassie to the Duke of Rudling, young Joe Carraclough, of Yorkshire, England, is immediately concerned when the dog fails to meet him, as usual, after school. When Sam and his wife Helen finally break the news, Joe is inconsolable. Lassie, meanwhile, is taken to the duke's kennels, where she is locked in a pen by Hynes, the cruel, Cockney dogkeeper. The next day, however, Lassie digs her way out of her pen and shows up at Joe's school at the usual time, four o'clock. Although Joe is overjoyed to see Lassie, his parents know that they must return her to the duke and reluctantly hand her over to Hynes. Lassie soon escapes a second time by jumping over the pen's fence. This time Joe runs off and hides with Lassie, but the two are quickly found by Sam, who insists that Joe return Lassie to the duke in person. At the duke's estate, Joe is somewhat cheered by the presence of Priscilla, the duke's sympathetic young granddaughter, who promises to give Lassie special care. That evening, Sam lectures Joe on the importance of honesty and informs his son that the duke is taking Lassie hundreds of miles away to Scotland for a dog show and will be staying there indefinitely. Later, in Scotland, Priscilla notices that Hynes has chained Lassie inside her pen and complains to her grandfather. The duke soundly chastises Hynes and orders him to walk Lassie around the estate's grounds. Hynes is so rough with Lassie, however, that the dog breaks away from him and dashes to the front gate, where Priscilla and the duke are standing. Priscilla opens the gate and allows Lassie to escape, then comments to her astounded grandfather that the collie is headed south, toward England. Lassie runs and runs until a rain storm forces her to take shelter. The next day, she resumes her journey and is almost killed by two shepherds, who suspect her of killing their sheep. After traversing a swampy area, Lassie then swims a river into England. Once in England, an exhausted, hungry Lassie collapses outside a cottage owned by Dally and Dan'l Fadden. Although the elderly couple eagerly adopt the dog, Dally soon realizes that Lassie, who whines to be let outside every afternoon at four, is not happy. Sensing that Lassie is anxious to continue her trek but is too "polite" just to go, Dally orders Lassie to leave the next day at four. Lassie takes off and eventually meets up with Rowlie Palmer, a tinker who travels with his little dog Toots. Lassie is cautious around Rowlie, but accepts his food and follows his wagon. Later, as Rowlie is selling his wares in a village, Lassie performs with Toots, doing tricks that Rowlie has taught her. That night at his camp, Rowlie is attacked by two roving thieves, Buckles and Snickers. Both Toots and Lassie help Rowlie in the fight, and when Buckles mortally wounds Toots, Lassie unleashes all her fury on him. Although the crooks scamper away, Rowlie is crushed by Toots's death. Soon after, Rowlie parts with Lassie, sensing as the Faddens did, that she is on a special journey. Lassie then makes her way through a city and is pursued by two dog-catchers. To avoid capture, Lassie jumps from a warehouse window, injuring her leg. Despite exhaustion, hunger and lameness, Lassie perseveres until she arrives at the Carracloughs' cottage. Helen and the still out-of-work Sam are stunned to see Lassie, filthy and thin, but gladly welcome her home. Soon after, the duke and Priscilla drive up to the cottage, and Sam and Helen, now determined to keep Lassie, hide her. To their surprise, the duke offers Sam a job as his new dogkeeper, and Sam gratefully accepts. Lassie soon gives her presence away, but the duke and Priscilla pretend not to recognize her. Then, just before four o'clock, Lassie limps over to Joe's school for her long-awaited reunion. Upon seeing Lassie, Joe, who has never stopped yearning for his dog, runs to her side and gives her a joyous, tearful embrace. Sometime later, Joe and Priscilla enjoy a bike ride together, accompanied by Lassie and her sprawling litter of collie puppies.

At an outdoor dedication ceremony, a tramp is discovered sleeping in the arms of a statue as it is being unveiled before a crowd. He is chased into the city, where he meets a beautiful, blind flower girl, and buys a flower with his last coin. That night, he stops a drunken man from drowning himself. Gratefully, the man invites him to his mansion, which is presided over by a snobby butler named James and they begin to drink. The millionaire and the tramp continue their revels at a nightclub. Early the next morning, when they return home, the millionaire drunkenly offers the tramp money and the use of his Rolls Royce. The tramp uses his windfalls to help the flower girl. Because she cannot see his shabby clothes, the girl thinks her benefactor is a wealthy young man. Determined to help her, the tramp returns to the mansion, but the millionaire has sobered up and does not recognize him, so the tramp takes a job cleaning streets and gives the girl and her grandmother what money he can. By accident the tramp finds out they are behind in their rent and that there is a doctor in Vienna who can cure blindness by an expensive operation. Needing money in a hurry to help his friends, the tramp agrees to participate in a crooked boxing match for a cut of the winning purse, but his crooked partner is replaced by a legitmate fighter, who knocks him cold. Out on the streets, the tramp runs into the millionaire, who is back from Europe. Drunk again, he gladly gives the tramp $1,000 for the operation, but two crooks see the transaction and rob them. The tramp calls the police, but by the time they arrive, the crooks have vanished and the police arrest the tramp. He runs away and manages to give the money to the girl before he is taken off to jail. The girl gets her operation and opens up a successful flower shop, imagining her benefactor in every rich young man who comes into the shop. When the tramp gets out of jail, he wanders into the shop by accident. Naturally, she does not recognize him, and laughingly offers him a flower and a coin. He refuses the money, but when she presses it into his hand, she recognizes him by the feel of his skin and is moved.

During an interstellar civil war, rebels battle against an evil empire, led by Darth Vader and a villainous governor named Grand Moff Tarkin. The imperial stronghold is a planet-sized, armored space station called the Death Star, and insurgent Princess Leia Organa leads a mission to seize the battleship’s blueprints, hoping to reveal its vulnerability. During the ensuing battle, Darth Vader and his military force of stormtroopers capture Leia’s spaceship, but she secretly hides the Death Star plans in a robot “droid” named R2-D2, who flees the spaceship with his companion, C-3PO. Unable to recover the plans, Darth Vader discovers that an escape pod was launched during the attack, and orders the droids detained. Meanwhile, R2-D2 and C-3PO crash land on the desert planet Tatooine. Ornery C-3PO is displeased by his companion’s claim that they are on an important mission, and the two droids part ways. However, they are captured by cloaked scavengers called Jawas and sold to young Luke Skywalker and his Uncle Owen. As the boy refurbishes the droids, he complains that Uncle Owen has thwarted his dream of becoming a pilot and following in the footsteps of his deceased father. Fiddling with R2-D2, Luke unwittingly activates a three dimensional projection of Princess Leia, uttering the plea: “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.” Smitten and intrigued, Luke wonders if the message is addressed to a hermit known as “Ben” Kenobi. At dinner, Luke tells Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru about Leia’s message, but Owen orders the boy to erase R2-D2’s memory, and insists that Obi-Wan died alongside Luke’s father. Storming away, Luke discovers that R2-D2 has escaped. The next morning, Luke and C-3PO recover the wayward droid, but are attacked by the hostile, nomadic Sand People. However, “Ben” Kenobi comes to the rescue, and admits that “Obi-Wan” is his real name. Seeking shelter at Obi-Wan’s home, Luke learns that his father was a Jedi knight during the Clone Wars, and was known as the galaxy’s best starfighter. Obi-Wan explains that he mentored Luke’s father and makes good on an old promise, giving Luke his father’s lightsaber. Since Jedis were guided by “the Force,” a mystical energy that unites all living creatures in peace, the neon light sword once upheld universal justice. However, Luke’s father was killed by a colleague, Darth Vader, who used his knowledge of “the Force” to betray the Jedis. As Obi-Wan activates R2-D2’s message from Leia, she explains that she was on a mission to bring Obi-Wan back to her home planet of Alderaan, and adds that vital information has been hidden in R2-D2’s memory system. The only person equipped to retrieve the data is her Jedi father, so the droid must be escorted to Alderaan immediately. Obi-Wan announces he will teach Luke to use “the Force,” so he can be of service on the mission, but Luke insists on returning home. Meanwhile, on the Death Star, Grand Moff Tarkin announces that the galaxy’s government council has been dissolved, and the Empire is one step closer to ultimate power. Back on Tatooine, Luke discovers his family murdered by stormtroopers and vows to become a Jedi. He joins Obi-Wan and the droids in their search for a pilot at the spaceport town of Mos Eisley. In a seamy tavern, they hire rugged outlaw smuggler Han Solo and his first mate, a tall, hairy Wookiee named Chewbacca. The men narrowly escape a stormtrooper attack in Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon. Meanwhile, Vader tortures Leia to discover the whereabouts of the rebel base, but she remains resolute. Tarkin navigates the Death Star toward Alderaan, then orders Leia’s execution and threatens to destroy her home planet unless she confesses. Although Leia claims the rebel base is on planet Dantoonine, Tarkin incinerates Alderaan. At the same moment, on the Millennium Falcon, Obi-Wan feels pain in his heart. He acknowledges a terrible tragedy, but continues Luke’s lightsaber training, teaching the boy to trust his instincts and to use “the Force.” When the Millennium Falcon reaches Alderaan, the planet is gone and the ship is forcibly sucked into the Death Star by its “tractor beam.” Darth Vader learns that the Millennium Falcon began its journey in Tatooine and realizes it is transporting the coveted Death Star plans. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan uses “the Force” to ensure that no humans or droids are detected aboard the spaceship, but Darth Vader perceives the presence of his former Jedi master. Upon their arrival aboard the Death Star, Han Solo and Luke kill several stormtroopers, don their armor, and capture a nearby outpost. There, R2-D2 plugs into the Death Star’s computer network and discovers seven locations that secure the battleship’s “tractor beam.” Once the locks are disabled, the Millennium Falcon can escape. Obi-Wan declares that he alone must immobilize the locks and leaves after promising Luke, “the Force will be with you… always.” Just then, R2-D2 locates Princess Leia and reports that her execution is pending. Luke convinces Han Solo to join him on a rescue mission with assurances of a bountiful reward. As they release the princess, a gunfight ensues, and Leia orders her rescuers into a garbage chute to escape. There, Luke is pulled underwater by a tentacled monster, but the creature suddenly disappears when the dump walls begin to compact. Radioing C-3PO for help, Luke orders R2-D2 to shut down the “garbage mashers,” and the comrades are saved. As they return to the Millennium Falcon and battle stormtroopers, Obi-Wan disables the “tractor beam” and reunites with Darth Vader, who is intent on killing his former Jedi master. However, Obi-Wan warns that the prospect for peace will become infinitely more powerful if Darth Vader succeeds. When Obi-Wan is confident that Luke can see him, and that Leia has safely boarded the Millennium Falcon, he permits Darth Vader to strike him dead, but his voice remains fixed in Luke’s consciousness. The friends escape a firefight, and Leia warns that the Millennium Falcon has been fitted with a tracking device. The Death Star follows as they proceed to the rebel base on the planet Yavin. There, R2-D2’s data is analyzed and soldiers are briefed that the Death Star’s weak point can only be accessed by a one-man fighter jet. The pilots must navigate down a narrow trench and fire into a two-meter-wide thermal exhaust port, causing a chain reaction. As Luke mans his ship, with R2-D2 as his navigator, Han Solo ducks away with his reward money, claiming the battle is a suicide mission. Meanwhile, the Death Star comes within firing range of Yavin and the Imperial leaders anticipate their decisive victory. Rebels race toward the battleship and attempt to dodge their pursuers, including Darth Vader, who pilots a deadly imperial fighter. With many of Luke’s senior comrades defeated, the boy is ordered to the front, but his rear guard is killed. The Death Star takes aim at Yavin just as Luke speeds toward its vulnerable portal. Although he uses a device to guide him, he subconsciously hears Obi-Wan’s refrain, “use the Force,” and turns off the computer to follow his instinct. Just then, Darth Vader directs his guns on Luke’s starfighter and prepares to fire, but Han Solo suddenly appears in the Millenium Falcon and interferes, sending the villain spiraling into space. Luke’s missiles successfully destroy the Death Star an instant before the battle station fires at Yavin, and peace is finally restored to the universe.

One winter around 1878, strong-willed, fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross of Yell County travels to Fort Smith, AR to retrieve the corpse of her father who was killed by his hired hand, Tom Chaney, during a horse-buying trip. Although Chaney has fled into Choctaw territory beyond the jurisdiction of Fort Smith’s sheriff, Mattie is intent that the murderer receives retribution for her father’s death. After shrewd negotiations with horse trader, Col. Stonehill, Mattie obtains compensation for her family’s two horses that were stolen by Chaney from Stonehill’s stables and she sells back all the Mustang ponies bought by her father, except one, which she keeps for herself and names “Little Blackie.” She then inquires about hiring a deputy marshal to track down Chaney. Although three marshals are suggested to her, Mattie determines that the middle-aged, one-eyed, alcohol-sodden Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn is the best person for her purpose because of his reputation for an unrelenting lack of pity toward his quarry. Offering money from the sale of the ponies, she tells Rooster that he has “true grit,” and asks him to help her bring Chaney to justice. At first Rooster brushes her aside, but she stubbornly persists until he agrees. Meanwhile, La Boeuf, a Texas Ranger who has been pursuing Chaney for the killing of a Texas senator, has tracked the fugitive as far as Fort Smith and asks to partner with Rooster. La Boeuf offers his knowledge of Chaney, who he has pursued for several months, in exchange for Rooster’s knowledge of Indian Territory. Mattie is obstinately against La Boeuf ‘s participation in their search, because she wants to see Chaney hanged in Arkansas for her father’s murder and he wants Chaney tried in Texas where bounty money is offered. Mattie also insists that she accompany Rooster and Le Boeuf on the chase, but when she shows up at the appointed time to meet them, she discovers they have left without her. She follows them and, when refused a ride on a ferry, stubbornly fords the river on horseback. When she catches up, La Boeuf is annoyed by her feistiness and whips her until Rooster forces him at gunpoint to stop. As they travel, Rooster and La Boeuf constantly bicker and compete with each other, prompting La Boeuf to terminate their partnership and ride off alone. Mattie and Rooster continue riding to Bagby’s, a remote trading post, where they learn that someone, possibly one of Lucky Ned Pepper’s outlaw gang, recently bought supplies there and paid with a rare California gold piece that Mattie recognizes was stolen by Chaney from her father. Rooster points out that it is unclear whether Chaney has joined the gang or if the gang robbed and killed him. Guessing that the gang went north and that Chaney may be with them, Rooster and Mattie follow. Along the way, they encounter a rustic healer wearing a bearskin who directs them to a dugout cabin where they can spend the night. At the cabin they find Emmett Quincy and young Moon, who is suffering from an untreated gunshot wound. When asked about Chaney and Pepper, Quincy feigns ignorance, but Moon, who wants medical attention promised by Rooster, confirms that the gang was at Bagby’s two days earlier. To stop Moon from talking, Quincy chops off his fingers then throws a knife, mortally wounding him, and Rooster shoots Quincy dead. Before dying, Moon relates that Pepper’s gang is expected at the dugout that night. Rooster and Mattie lie in wait for the outlaws, but it is La Boeuf who arrives first. Before La Boeuf can be warned, the gang captures him with a lasso and drags him behind a horse. Rooster shoots several of the outlaws, and in the exchange of gunfire during which at least one outlaw escapes, La Boeuf bites his tongue and is shot in the shoulder, possibly by one of Rooster’s bullets. The next day, Rooster, Mattie and La Boeuf ride to a mine where they expect Pepper may take refuge, but instead find it deserted. Rooster’s drinking and his quarreling with La Boeuf cause the lawmen to again part ways. As La Boeuf prepares to leave them, Mattie asks to go with him, as she now believes she chose the wrong man for her mission. The dejected La Boeuf, however, says that the trail is cold and he is returning to Texas. The next morning, Mattie goes to the river for water and unexpectedly encounters Chaney. Armed with her father’s old gun, she tries singlehandedly to arrest him, but Chaney refuses to cooperate. She shoots, superficially wounding him, and the sound of the report alerts Rooster, as well as Pepper and other members of his gang. Pepper abducts Mattie and, threatening to kill her, calls out to Rooster to leave the area. After they are certain that Rooster is far away, the gang prepares to move on, but because they are short on horses, Chaney is left with Mattie until a horse can be sent to him. Pepper threatens to withhold Chaney’s pay if Mattie is harmed, but Chaney tries to kill her after the gang leaves. Responding to the sound of Mattie’s gunshot, La Boeuf arrives and knocks Chaney unconscious. From their location on a rock ledge, La Boeuf and Mattie can see Rooster in a clearing far in the distance. On horseback, Rooster faces off with Pepper and three gang members. Charging at them with his reins in his mouth and shooting guns with both hands, Rooster kills three of the men, but his horse is shot out from under him, pinning him to the ground. Although Pepper is wounded and possibly dying, he takes advantage of Rooster’s inability to move and aims to shoot him. However, from the rock ledge, La Boeuf shoots his high-powered Carbine rifle, killing Pepper before he can harm Rooster. Meanwhile, Chaney regains consciousness while Mattie’s and La Boeuf’s attentions are diverted and temporarily knocks out La Boeuf. Grabbing La Boeuf’s rifle, Mattie shoots Chaney, but the recoil knocks her backward into a snake pit, where she is bitten in the arm by a rattlesnake. Arriving soon after, Rooster climbs into the pit to get Mattie and La Boeuf pulls them out. La Beouf remains with Chaney’s body until Rooster can send help to him, but Rooster, aware that Mattie’s condition is critical, carries her in his arms and, on Little Blackie, races off for a doctor. After passing the outlaw’s corpses strewn along the meadow, Rooster and Mattie ride for hours, into the wintery night. As snow falls and Mattie turns delirious, Rooster pushes the pony beyond its endurance until the animal dies from exhaustion. Rooster then walks the remainder of the distance, carrying her. Breathing hard by the time they get near Bagby’s, Rooster shoots his gun in the air as a call for help and admits to himself that he has grown old. Mattie remains unconscious and, to save her life, her arm must be amputated by the doctor. When Mattie awakens, Rooster is gone, but she learns that he remained with her until he was certain she would survive. For a long time, Mattie does not hear from Rooster, who ignores her offer to pay him the money she owes for his services. Twenty-five years later, Mattie, a spinster and as strong-willed as ever, receives a brief message from Rooster that includes an announcement of his appearance in Cole Younger and Frank James’s Wild West Show. Mattie travels to Memphis where the show is playing, but learns from Younger that Rooster died three days earlier. She takes Rooster’s body home to bury in the Ross family plot. Although she would have welcomed hearing from La Boeuf, she never again sees him.

The Valley of the 3 Forks of the Wolf, located in the Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee, is the home of the Yorks, a family of poor mountain farmers. In the spring of 1916, a drunken Alvin C. York, the oldest son, interrupts a church service attended by his mother, sister Rosie and brother George, when he and two friends take potshots at a nearby tree. Later, at Mother York's request, Pastor Rossier Pile speaks to Alvin, but has little influence on the hell-raising young man. One day, while hunting, Alvin encounters Gracie Williams and instantly decides to marry her. When he tells this plan to Gracie, however, she turns him down cold. Convinced that Gracie's objections would be overcome if he had more money, Alvin determines to buy a rich piece of bottomland to farm. He works day and night to earn the money, collecting the final amount after winning a shooting contest, but when he brings the money to Nate Tompkins, the owner, he learns that Nate sold the land a few minutes earlier to Zeb Andrews, his rival for Gracie's hand. Alvin proceeds to get very drunk and then, on his way to kill Zeb, is hit by lightning. Taking this as a sign from God, Alvin starts to attend church and makes his peace with Zeb and Nate. Soon, a surprized Zeb offers to let Alvin sharecrop the land he just bought. When the United States enters World War I, Alvin refuses to register for the draft, believing that killing, even as a patriotic duty, is against the Bible. Pile convinces him to register as a consc