这被认为是大卫•林奇拍得最混乱的一部电影。爵士乐手（比尔•普尔曼 Bill Pullman 饰）和他的妻子（帕特丽夏•阿奎特 Patricia Arquette 饰）一天早上收到了一盒录影带，他们发现里面的内容竟然是他们日常生活的点点滴滴。从此，他们每天早上都会收到这样的录影带。这天，乐手发现录影带里的内容竟然是他杀死了妻子！当他冲进卧室时，发现妻子果然死在了床上。
警察将他带走了。一晚过后，原本在监房里坐着的乐手变成一个年轻的维修工，莫明其妙的警察只好将他放了。维修工因一手出色的修车技术深得黑社会老大器重，这时，他发现老大的女人竟然和他的妻子长得一摸一样，只是头发颜色不一样。老大的女人主动勾引了维修工，两人携款潜逃。当他们来到荒漠公路时，维修工与女子疯狂做爱，之后他又变回了乐手……

根据美国作家楚曼卡波堤著名的报告文学拍摄而成。导演采取黑白纪录片式的纪实手法，忠实地观察可以说是一个极其详尽和细腻的犯罪个案纪录。两名冷血罪犯如何在一个堪萨斯州的农家犯下冷血的灭门血案，直到两人被警方逮捕直至处刑。

弗雷德（亨弗莱·鲍嘉 Humphrey Bogart 饰）和鲍勃（提姆·霍尔特 Tim Holt 饰）是两名穷困潦倒的流浪汉，一日，在酒吧中，他们从精明智慧的霍华德（沃尔特·休斯顿 Walter Huston 饰）口中听闻了有关金矿的消息，走投无路的两人打起了淘金的主意，他们谎称是猎人，驻扎在了山上。经历了种种苦难的挫折，幸运的三人找到了金矿。然而，随着金砂数量的增加，原本相互信任的三人之间出现了裂痕。
在一次下山采购的过程中，名叫科迪（布鲁斯·班尼特 Bruce Bennett 饰）的年轻人发现了他们秘密，跟随而来的科迪表示想要从中分一杯羹，三人决定杀之而后快。就在这个节骨眼上，一群土匪开始向山上进发，他们想要的是这三个“猎人”狩猎得到的“兽皮”。在种种阴谋和贪婪本性的趋势下，本来有着美好前景的三人走向的破灭的结局。

朝鲜战争后期的1953年7月，当战争各方在进行和平停战谈判时，美军为了在谈判桌上增加筹码，命令克莱门斯中尉率领美军一个连进攻没有军事价值的255高地。他们知道板门店停战谈判可能随时会达成和平协议，所以一些士兵不太愿意做无谓牺牲。美军在猪排山阵地上与中朝军队进行争夺战，甚至进行残酷的肉搏战,等到增援部队到达时，135人的连队打的就剩下25个人。
本片通过一个黑人士兵的口，再次对美国参加朝鲜战争“为自由而战“提出了质疑。

John Wintergreen (played by Blake) is a motorcycle cop who patrols the rural Arizona highways with his partner "Zipper" (Billy (Green) Bush). Wintergreen is a rookie looking to be transferred to homicide. When he is informed by Crazy Willie (Elisha Cook) of an apparent suicide, Wintergreen believes the case is actually a murder. Detective Harve Poole (Mitchell Ryan) agrees, and arranges for Wintergreen to be transferred to homicide to help with the case.
Wintergreen has gotten his wish, but his joy is short-lived. He begins increasingly to identify with the hippies whom the other officers, including Detective Poole, are endlessly harassing. Workplace politics cause him to be quickly demoted back to Traffic Enforcement. The final straw comes when Poole discovers that Wintergreen has been sleeping with his girlfriend Jolene (Jeannine Riley).
Despite being demoted, Wintergreen is able to solve the murder. Nonetheless, a second tragedy strikes when Wintergreen is forced to shoot Zipper in self-defense. As the film ends, Wintergreen is alone and back on his old beat, when he runs into a hippie that Zipper was needlessly harassing near the beginning of the film. A misunderstanding over a forgotten driver’s license sets up the film’s tragic conclusion.

两名洛杉矶副警长违抗撤案命令，追捕当地一名暴徒，并使用非正统方法取得成果。

The pious John List regularly goes to church and is respected by his neighbours. But one day the police finds his wife Helen and their three children slayed in their house - obviously by John, who left two letters for the police and his priest and disappeared. Chief Richland is disgusted by the murder and starts an intensive investigation. In flashbacks we learn about the history of the disaster.