In 1918, four of Hollywood's biggest stars, weary of working for The Man, decided to gamble their careers and fortunes on a independent venture, and the rest is history.

Charlie "The Tramp" Chaplin, Mary "America's Sweetheart" Pickford, Douglas "Swashbuckler" Fairbanks and the great early filmmaker D.W. Griffith created what would become a magical combo. On that day, United Artists was born.

Now, Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville is offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to catch sparkling, new 35 mm prints of, quite simply, some of the greatest and most entertaining films ever made.

In the next few weeks, Railroad Square presents:

"Goldfinger:" Although several James Bond films preceded it, mostly notably the best, "Dr. No," "Goldfinger" is the film that made Bond what he was to become. Gert Froebe roared as the villain obsessed with gold and a nasty scheme to contaminate Fort Knox. Honor Blackman sizzled as "Pussy Galore" in a role that would be tame today, and Sean Connery, sporting several expensive toupees throughout the many versions, became the top spy icon for all time until Daniel Craig captured the crown.

"Annie Hall:" In the beginning there was darkness on the face of Hollywood and then Burns and Allen begat Hope and Crosby, who begat Tracy and Hepburn, Margaret Dumont and Groucho, George and Laura and Bragelina. But the real McCoy began with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in "Annie Hall." It's a movie that changed young women's wardrobes for a decade. "Annie" won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Actress, Director and Screenplay. See it again if only for the lobster scene.

"West Side Story:" Hot city boys in tight jeans, gangsters as ballet dancers, Puerto Rican chicks in hot dresses, all the bad boys were white, the good boys Latino. It all happened in 1961. Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer (Richard Beymer?) are star-crossed lovers. (Aren't they always?) A 10-Oscar winner. It's the groundbreaking combination of sneaker-tapping tunes and wailing pathos. Don't step on my blue suede dance shoes.

"Some Like It Hot:" Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as you've never seen them in cute dresses and wigs and George Raft and gang toting violin cases full of death music. Add Marilyn Monroe to Billy Wilder's outrageous script -- about two jazz musicians posing as women to escape the mob -- and you get one of the funniest films ever made. And with the best last line in cinema history.

"Raging Bull:" Best buddies Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro teamed for this classic. De Niro gained 40 pounds for the role and took home an Oscar for his performance as boxer Jake La Motta, whose ring prowess seems to mirror the self-destructiveness of his life outside the ring. Get there early and don't miss the stunning operatic opening.

"The Magnificent Seven:" A wild west remake of Kurosawa's classic "Seven Samurai" in which a poor town hires a motley crew of gunmen. For your money you get the best cast ever: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, (as the snarling Mexican bandido), James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Brad Dexter and Robert Vaughn -- all riding in the first "surge" to protect the villagers from marauding bandits. Vivan muchachos grandes.

Come celebrate with us, the founding of one of the greatest film companies of all time. You probably saw these films for the first time on your tiny TV. Wait until you see them on the big screen.

J.P. Devine is a former stage and screen actor.