Patrick Swayze combined sensitivity and brawn, Southern charm and frat-boy menace, Eastern wisdom and Western aggression, deadly punches and killer dance moves. He is a force of nature, a walking contradiction, and one of the most underrated screen personalities to emerge in the Reagan era. The actor died of cancer in 2009 but his screen persona lives on. This weekend, get a glimpse of what made Swayze so great with AMC's Crazy About Swayze, which kicks off with Road House on Sun., Jan. 29 at 8/7c. In the meantime, here are your favorite Swayze movies.

1. Dirty Dancing (1987)
Swayze started off as a dancer, and he shows his considerable skills in the rug-cutting realm in this quintessential '80s movie. He plays a resort dance instructor whose after-hours sashaying with Jennifer Grey seems designed to incense John Travolta. With great chemistry, classic lines ("Nobody puts Baby in the corner!") and even a song sung by his Swayze-ness ("She's Like the Wind"), this movie charmed itself to number one.

2. Ghost (1990)
Swayze gives ghosts a good name as a murdered man whose spirit still has some unfinished business. Like Dirty Dancing, Ghost was a sleeper hit. Coincidence? Ha! Underestimated by studio execs, Swayze's sincerity has long endeared him to the masses. His hilarious psychological warfare with Whoopie Goldberg, and his erotic clay-sculpting with Demi Moore floated Ghost up to number two.

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Director Ridley Scott has brought stylistic virtuosity to pics dealing in sci-fi (Alien), war (Black Hawk Down), crime (American Gangster), and fantasy (Legend). This man is so much more than Blade Runner! But which of his cinematic visions rises above the rest? Clearly, these.

1. Alien (1979)
Yucky things happen in outer space when an extraterrestrial parasite latches onto astronauts and, in the process, gives tapeworms a good name. More about claustrophobia than gun power, this chest-bursting classic features one of the scariest monsters in movie history. Most importantly, the flick introduces Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the greatest big-screen heroine ever. (Sorry, Angelina.)

2. Blade Runner (1982)
No one imagines dismal futures as richly as Ridley Scott does. If Alien showed his knack, Blade Runner showed his genius. His nightmarish take on 2015 Los Angeles is as mind-blowing as it is meticulously rendered -- from fire-spewing skylines to neon-washed cityscapes. And what a plot: private eye Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) hunts down androids while wondering if he's one himself.

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Charlie Sheen has lived a thousand lives, with a career that has included a leading role in a Best Picture winner (Platoon), a starring role in his own sitcom (Two and a Half Men), and bringing the words "tiger blood" into the vernacular. Whatever you think of him, Sheen is one of a kind. It remains to be seen what the future holds for him. (Sheen is set to star in a new sitcom on Fox.) In the meantime, here's a look back at his finest moments on the big screen. Winning!

1. Platoon (1986)
Sheen makes the transition from green grunt to grizzled vet in this Vietnam War pic. His young soldier serves as the audience's entryway into the conflict -- struggling to survive jungle firefights, bloody ambushes, and napalm bombings. Sheen also supplies the movie's conscience -- courtesy of a heartrending final speech.

2. Young Guns (1988)
In this eighties Western, Sheen plays a longtime wrangler battling for control over the Regulatory posse with newcomer Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez). Sheen's performance has just the right bristle, maybe in part because of the sibling rivalry: brother Emilio gets top billing and ends up the leader of his fellow gunslingers.

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Director Robert Zemeckis first made his mark in 1985, with the blockbuster Back to the Future, combining dazzling special effects with good old-fashioned storytelling. Since then, the ability to expertly weave the latest technology into a heartfelt tale has become the director's trademark. (Not surprising, considering he's Spielberg's BFF.) In Zemeckis's recent Beowulf and Christmas Carol, the line between live action and animation continues to blur. So without further ado, let's take a look back at Robert Zemeckis's best movies.

1. Back to the Future (1985)
Zemeckis's tale of time travel is refreshingly tongue-in-cheek as it explores how history repeats itself and why your parents turned out the way they did. For introducing Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), and the flux capacitor to the world, Back to Future clinches first place, hitting the finish line at a winning 88 miles per hour.

2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
It's Chinatown meets Looney Toons with hand-drawn cartoons and human actors. Gumshoe Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) has to tail the voluptuously animated Jessica Rabbit (hands down the sexiest femme fatale ever), who may be two-timing her celebrity hubby, Roger. The movie's alternate Hollywood universe mixes classic noir with cartoon mayhem and is one of Zemeckis's finest achievements.

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Natalie Wood started as a child star in movies like Miracle on 34th Street before earning acclaim as America's preeminent girl next-door. The brunette beauty's talent kept growing and evolving until her untimely death off the coast of California, in 1981 (a case recently reopened). But scandal aside, the actress's enchanting onscreen presence still endures in these, Natalie Wood's best movies.

1. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
While James Dean's role as a brooding teenager has become the stuff of legend (the film was released shortly after his death), Wood makes a mark here, too. As Daddy's girl gone bad, Wood simmers as Dean crackles. Why not? Her character's parents are tearing her apart. Rebel was Wood's coming-out party, scoring her the first of many Oscar nominations.

2. Splendor in the Grass (1961)
Apparently, abstinence does not make the heart grow fonder. Sexual tensions build between Dean (Natalie Wood) and boyfriend Bud (Warren Beatty) in twenties Kansas, until pent-up desires lead to Wood's mental collapse -- devastating to watch. Splendor is the first movie to showcase Wood as a mature actress; her subtle performance as an American Ophelia effectively upstages Beatty.

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Christmas means stockings hung by the chimney with care, presents tucked under the tree, and a bounty of Christmas movies on the tube. Which movies epitomize the holiday spirit? Your votes separated naughty from nice, and these are the flicks that will be getting a little something extra in their stockings this year: a place on your favorite-Christmas-movies list.

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Could it be that what makes this holiday classic endure is its backward take on another favorite tale, A Christmas Carol? While Scrooge lived a horrid life and mended his ways, George Bailey (James Stewart) is a kind man who comes to think his life is worthless. With a little help from his guardian angel, he sees what the world would be like without him. As inspirational parables go, It's a Wonderful Life makes the top of your Yuletide list.

2. White Christmas (1954)
Brimming with Irving Berlin tunes, this Bing Crosby musical is a staple for this who love some caroling with their Christmas. Crosby and Danny Kaye show their holiday can-do-ism by helping an old Army chum out of a tight spot. Meanwhile, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney (i.e., George Clooney's aunt) add a little romance. Even if your Christmas isn't white, Crosby and gang seem to have made it a whole lot merrier at No. 2.

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For Bill Murray, doing the unexpected is the norm. His anarchic comic spirit leaves lesser comedians dizzy and audiences glued to the screen. Everybody loves the idiosyncratic funnyman, including AMC viewers. Need proof? How about this list of your favorite Bill Murray movies?

1. Groundhog Day (1993)
Is it a romantic comedy for Buddhists? Or the myth of Sisyphus for the more lighthearted existentialists? There are plenty of interpretations for this absurdist masterpiece, but it wouldn't be anything without Murray. He may live the same day over and over, but the actor is hardly predictable as an egocentric weatherman who knows a little too well what tomorrow will bring. No surprise: it earned your top vote for being a movie you can watch over and over again.

2. Ghostbusters (1984)
Dr. Peter Venkman (Murray) isn't scared of ghosts. On the contrary, they provide him with an inexhaustible supply of comic material. What's not to like? When not leveling sarcastic comebacks at the undead, the paranormal expert puts the moves on his sexy neighbor (Sigourney Weaver). For its mix of horror and hilarity, you summoned Ghostbusters to the runner-up slot.

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He's played every conceivable role, from a pimp (Street Smart) to the president (Deep Impact) to a cop (Se7en) to God (Bruce Almighty). He's worked with everyone, and, according to PBS, he has a hidden passion for theoretical physics and he's even set to get a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 Golden Globes. It's clear that Morgan Freeman is -- dare we say it? -- a Renaissance man. But where is Freeman at his best onscreen? We asked you, and you answered. Here are your favorite Morgan Freeman movies.

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
How could cold-blooded murder and brutality lead to one of the most inspiring movies ever? Easy: Morgan Freeman. His comforting baritone is slathered over this prison drama like warm butter over mess-hall rations. As Red, a behind-the-bars concierge for black-market practices, his sympathetic voice is the equivalent of a toasty fire.

2. Se7en (1995)
Freeman's role as on-the-verge-of-retiring Detective Somerset might seem like a page ripped out of the buddy-cop manual. But don't expect any Lethal Weapon-style one-liners from this actor. Unlike Danny Glover, Freeman is never "too old for this shit." Freeman plays a cop who's looked into the dark side of human nature, and you can read it in every line of his face.

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Welcome to the series that made hockey masks creepy and summer camps synonymous with violent death. Like Jason Voorhees himself, the Friday the 13th franchise is nearly impossible to kill -- and its innumerable sequels continue to put the lives of sexually liberated teens in jeopardy. But which of Jason's killing sprees ranks highest among horror aficionados? You voted, and the results are in for your favorite Friday the 13th flicks.

1. Friday the 13th (1980)
With gross-out effects that continue to churn stomachs, this opening slice in the slasher series set the tone for future installments. We learned that "Cha, cha, cha. Ha, ha, ha" is the sound of imminent death, that the greatest danger for sexually active teens is a machete, and that Kevin Bacon's been in a lot of movies. But what really makes the original special? A final twist worthy of Psycho.

2. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Before the hockey mask, Jason wore a burlap sack on his head. That may not be as cool, but this fashion faux pas doesn't bother Jason as he follows in the murderous footsteps of his demented mama. The first sequel got the franchise in full swing by fleshing out its mythology. But face facts: the killing-the-dude-in-a-wheelchair scene took this sequel to the runner-up spot.

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In honor of Veterans Day, AMCtv.com presents your choices for the best war movie ever made (as determined by AMC's War Movies You'll Never Forget online poll). And while the action-driven Tora! Tora! Tora! may seem worlds -- as well as years -- apart from the character-based Saving Private Ryan, every film that made this list reflects the drama of human beings pushed to the limit.

1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The carnage of war is brought home with grisly realism in the opening scene of this WWII drama. As the machine guns are ratcheted up and the bodies start dropping, the sacrifice of a generation of veterans becomes palpable. Throw in a stellar cast led by Tom Hanks on a seemingly impossible mission and Spielberg's visceral depiction of heroism against all odds, and you've got a war flick that's tough to beat.

2. Patton (1970)
George C. Scott delivers an unforgettable performance as one of America's greatest and most complex personalities. General Patton's opening monologue, set before the Stars and Stripes, is a cinematic classic -- addressing soldiers with blunt precision about what to expect in battle. The movie remains a fascinating study of a man driven by war, and, at No. 2, it stands above the rank and file.

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