Showgirls (1995)

Savaged in 1995, canonised since. Verhoeven's NC-17 Vegas fever dream is the great critical rehabilitation story of 90s cinema.

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The film

Nomi Malone arrives in Las Vegas with a suitcase and a temper, and claws her way from strip club to headline show in a film pitched at a level of intensity no one was prepared for. It won a record haul of Razzies; Elizabeth Berkley's career took the hit. Then, slowly, the reappraisal: critics and filmmakers arguing — persuasively — that the excess is the point, that Verhoeven made exactly the savage satire of American spectacle he intended.

Whichever side you land on, it's one of the most discussed films of its decade, and no shelf documenting this era is complete without it. Gina Gershon, a year before Bound, is magnificent.

Editions: what to look for

The film has had numerous releases, including anniversary editions with substantial extras and documentary material about its strange afterlife. Make sure any listing is the uncut NC-17 version — the edited R-rated television cut is a curiosity, not the film. Region and edition details vary, so read the listing carefully.