In 2011, Fern loses her job after the closure of the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada; she had worked there for years along with her husband, who recently died. Fern sells most of her belongings for a van to live in and travels the country searching for work. She takes a seasonal job at an Amazon fulfillment center through the winter. Linda, a friend and co-worker, invites Fern to visit a desert rendezvous in Arizona organized by Bob Wells, which provides a support system and community for fellow nomads. Fern initially declines, but changes her mind as the weather turns cold and she struggles to find work in the area. There, she meets fellow nomads and learns basic survival and self-sufficiency skills for the road. When Fern's van blows a tire, she visits the van of a nearby nomad, Swankie, to ask for a ride into town to buy a spare. Swankie chastises Fern for not being prepared and invites her to learn road survival skills; they become friends. Swankie tells Fern about her cancer diagnosis and shortened life expectancy and her plan to make good memories on the road rather than waste away in a hospital. They eventually part ways. Fern takes a job as a camp host at the Cedar Pass Campgrounds in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Also working there is Dave, another nomad she met and danced with at the desert community. When he falls ill with diverticulitis, she visits him at the hospital where he has had emergency surgery. They take restaurant jobs at Wall Drug in South Dakota. One night, Dave's son visits the restaurant looking for him, telling him that his wife is pregnant and asking him to meet his grandchild. He is hesitant, but Fern encourages him to go. Dave suggests that she come with him, but she declines. Fern takes a new job at a sugar beet processing plant, but her van breaks down, and she cannot afford the repairs. Unable to borrow money, she visits her sister's family at their home in California. Fern's sister lends her the money to get the van fixed. She questions why Fern was never around in their lives and why she stayed in Empire after her husband died, but she tells Fern that she is brave to be so independent. Fern later visits Dave and his son's family in Point Arena, California, learning that Dave has decided to stay with them long-term. He admits to having feelings for her and invites her to stay with him permanently in a guest house, but she decides to leave after only a few days, heading to the ocean. Fern resumes her seasonal job at Amazon and later returns to the Arizona gathering. There, she learns that Swankie has died, and she and the other nomads pay tribute to her life by tossing stones into the campfire. Fern opens up to Bob about her loving relationship with her late husband, and he shares the story of his son's suicide. Bob espouses the view that goodbyes are not final in the nomad community as its members always promise to see each other again "down the road". Fern returns to the nearly abandoned town of Empire to dispose of the belongings she has been keeping in a storage unit. She visits the factory and the home she shared with her husband before returning to the road.

In a sleepy village in Italy, Jiminy Cricket arrives at the shop of a woodworker and toymaker named Geppetto, who lives with his pet cat Figaro and fish Cleo creates a puppet he names Pinocchio. As he falls asleep, Geppetto wishes upon a star for Pinocchio to be a real boy. Late that night, the Blue Fairy visits the workshop and brings Pinocchio to life, although he remains a puppet. She informs him that if he proves himself to be brave, truthful, and unselfish, he will become a real boy. When Jiminy reveals himself, the Blue Fairy assigns him to be Pinocchio's conscience. Geppetto awakens upon hearing the commotion from Pinocchio falling, and is overjoyed to discover that he is alive and will become a real boy. The next morning, while walking to school, Pinocchio is led astray by con artist fox Honest John and his sidekick Gideon the Cat. Honest John convinces him to join Stromboli 's puppet show, despite Jiminy's protestations. Pinocchio becomes Stromboli's star attraction, but when he tries to go home, Stromboli locks him in a bird cage and leaves to tour the world with Pinocchio. After Jiminy unsuccessfully tries to free his friend, the Blue Fairy appears, and an anxious Pinocchio lies about what happened, causing his nose to grow and become a tree branch with a bird's nest. The Blue Fairy restores his nose and frees Pinocchio when he promises to make amends, but warns him that she can offer no further help. Meanwhile, a mysterious Coachman hires Honest John to find disobedient and naughty boys for him to take to Pleasure Island, a notorious and infamous place. Honest John, despite the legal risks and the Coachman's implication of what happens to the boys, accepts the job out of fear, and finds Pinocchio, persuading him to take a vacation on Pleasure Island. On the way to the island, Pinocchio befriends Lampwick, a delinquent boy. At Pleasure Island, without rules or authority to enforce their activity, Pinocchio, Lampwick, and many other boys soon engage in vices such as vandalism, fighting, smoking and drinking. Jiminy eventually finds Pinocchio in a bar smoking and playing pool with Lampwick, and the two have a falling out after Pinocchio defends Lampwick for his actions. As Jiminy tries leaving Pleasure Island, he discovers that the island hides a horrible curse that transforms the boys into donkeys after making "jackasses" of themselves, and they are sold by the Coachman into slave labor. Pinocchio witnesses Lampwick transform into a donkey, and with Jiminy's help, he flees before he can be fully transformed himself, though he still has a donkey's ears and tail. Upon returning home, Pinocchio and Jiminy find Geppetto's workshop deserted, and obtain a letter from the Blue Fairy in the form of a dove, stating that Geppetto had set out to sea in search for Pinocchio on Pleasure Island, but got swallowed by a gigantic and vicious sperm whale called Monstro and is now trapped in its belly. Determined to rescue his father, Pinocchio jumps into the Mediterranean Sea with Jiminy and is soon swallowed by Monstro, where he reunites with Geppetto. Pinocchio devises a scheme to make Monstro sneeze and allow them to escape, but the whale chases them and destroys their raft with his tail. Pinocchio selflessly pulls Geppetto to safety in a cove just as Monstro crashes into it and he and Pinocchio are killed in the process. Back at home, Geppetto, Jiminy, Figaro, and Cleo mourn Pinocchio. Having succeeded in proving himself brave, truthful, and unselfish, Pinocchio is revived and turned into a real human boy by the Blue Fairy, much to everyone's joy. As the group celebrates, Jiminy steps outside to thank the Fairy and is rewarded with a solid gold badge that certifies him as an official conscience.

In Heian-era Kyoto, a woodcutter and a Buddhist monk, taking shelter from a downpour under the Rashōmon gate, have just returned from giving evidence in a trial about the murder of a samurai, and are baffled at the conflicting stories they have heard. They are joined by a commoner, who asks to hear what happened. The film intercuts the discussions of the three men at the gate with flashbacks of witness testimonies and reconstructions of the events described. The woodcutter gives evidence that he had found the body of the samurai three days earlier, alongside the man's cap, his wife's hat, pieces of rope, and an amulet. He had been killed with a sword. The monk states that he had seen the samurai on the day of the murder traveling on foot, accompanying his wife on horseback. A policeman presents the main suspect, a captured bandit named Tajōmaru. In Tajōmaru's version of events, he follows the couple after seeing them in the woods, and lures the samurai away with the prospect of buried treasure. Tying the man up, he returns to rape his wife, who tries to defend herself with a dagger, but ultimately submits. Ashamed of her dishonor, the wife asks Tajōmaru to fight with her husband, saying she will belong to the man who wins. Tajōmaru agrees and kills the samurai (supposedly in an honorable way), only to find that the wife has fled. The wife, having been found by the police, tells a different story. In her version, Tajōmaru leaves immediately after raping her. She frees her husband from his bonds, but he stares at her with contempt and loathing. The wife approaches him with her dagger, and then faints. She awakens to find her husband dead, with the dagger in his chest. In shock, she wanders through the forest until coming upon a pond in which she unsuccessfully tries to drown herself. The dead samurai's testimony is heard through a Shinto medium. In his version, after raping the wife, Tajōmaru asks her to marry him. She accepts, but asks Tajōmaru to kill her husband first. Shocked at her fickleness, Tajōmaru gives the samurai the choice to let her go or have her killed. The wife breaks free and flees, with Tajōmaru unsuccessfully giving chase. Some hours later, Tajōmaru returns and releases the samurai, who then kills himself with his wife's dagger. Later, he feels someone remove the dagger from his chest, but cannot tell who. Back at the Rashōmon gate, the woodcutter proclaims all three stories to be false, and repeats that the samurai was killed with a sword, not a dagger. Pressed by the commoner, the woodcutter admits that he had actually seen the murder but says that he lied to avoid getting into trouble. In the woodcutter's telling, Tajōmaru promises to marry the wife after raping her. She breaks free and releases her husband, expecting him to kill the assailant. However, the samurai refuses to fight, unwilling to risk his life for a ruined woman. Tajōmaru retracts his promise. The wife taunts them both, demanding that they fight for her. They fight unwillingly and clumsily. When the samurai is disarmed and begs for his life, Tajōmaru kills him. The wife flees, and Tajōmaru steals the samurai's sword and limps away. The woodcutter, the monk, and the commoner are interrupted by the sound of a crying baby. They find a child abandoned at the gate along with a kimono and an amulet. The commoner attempts to steal the items, and the woodcutter rebukes him. The commoner deduces that the woodcutter had lied not because he feared getting into trouble, but because he had stolen the wife's dagger and needed to avoid it appearing in his evidence. The commoner leaves, mocking the others. The monk attempts to soothe the baby. Having lost his faith in humanity after the events of the trial, when the woodcutter attempts to take the child, he recoils. The woodcutter explains that he intends to raise the child along with his own children, and the monk softens, his faith restored. As the woodcutter leaves with the child in his arms, the rain stops.

In Phoenix, Arizona in late 1959, real estate secretary Marion Crane steals $40,000 in cash from her employer after hearing her boyfriend, Sam Loomis, complain that his debts are delaying their marriage. She sets off to drive to Sam's home in the town of Fairvale, California, switching cars in Bakersfield after an encounter with a suspicious policeman. A rainstorm forces Marion to stop at the secluded Bates Motel a few miles from Fairvale. Norman Bates, the proprietor, whose Second Empire style house overlooks the motel, registers Marion (who uses an alias) and invites her to dinner with him in the motel's office. When Norman returns to his house to retrieve the food, Marion overhears him arguing with his mother about his desire to dine with Marion. After returning, he discusses his hobby as a taxidermist, his mother's "illness" and how people have a "private trap" they want to escape. When Marion suggests that Norman should have his mother institutionalized, he becomes offended and insists that she is harmless. Marion decides to drive back to Phoenix in the morning to return the stolen money. As she showers, a shadowy figure enters the bathroom with a kitchen knife and stabs her to death. Shortly afterward, Norman is heard horrified at his mother's actions and rushes back to find Marion dead. He hurriedly cleans up the murder scene and places Marion's body, her belongings, and, unbeknownst to him, the hidden cash in her car, before sinking the vehicle in a swamp. Marion's sister, Lila, arrives in Fairvale a week later, tells Sam about the theft and demands information about Marion's whereabouts. He denies knowing anything about Marion's disappearance. Arbogast, a private investigator, approaches them, stating that he has been hired to retrieve the money. He stops in at the Bates Motel and questions Norman, whose nervous conduct, stuttering, and inconsistent answers arouse his suspicion. Arbogast examines the guest register and discovers from some handwriting in it that Marion spent a night in the motel. When Arbogast infers from things Norman says that Marion had spoken to his mother, Arbogast asks to speak to her, but Norman refuses to allow it. Arbogast leaves and calls Lila to tell her of his suspicions and that he will return to the motel, speak to Norman's mother, and rejoin Lila in town later. When Arbogast returns and enters the Bates' house to search for Norman's mother, a shadowy figure at the top of the stairs stabs him to death. When Sam and Lila do not hear back from Arbogast, Sam goes to the motel to look for him. Sam spots a silhouette in the house who he assumes is Norman's mother, who is unresponsive to Sam's calls. Lila and Sam alert the local sheriff, Al Chambers, who tells them Norman's mother died in a murder–suicide by strychnine poisoning ten years before. Chambers suggests that Arbogast lied to Sam and Lila so he could pursue Marion and the money. Convinced that something happened to Arbogast, Lila and Sam drive to the motel and check in. Sam distracts Norman in the office while Lila sneaks into the Bates' house. Suspicious, Norman knocks Sam out. As Norman heads to the house, Lila hides in the fruit cellar and discovers the mummified body of Norman's mother. Lila screams in horror, and Norman, wearing women's clothes and a wig, enters the cellar and attempts to attack her, only to be subdued by a recovered Sam. At the police station, a psychiatrist explains to Lila, Sam, and Chambers that Norman killed his mother and her lover out of jealousy. Unable to bear the guilt, he stole his mother's corpse and treated it as if she were still alive, then re-created his mother as an alternate personality, as jealous and possessive toward Norman as he felt about his mother. Whenever Norman was attracted to a woman, "Mother" would take over. Under the "Mother" personality, Norman killed two women before he killed Marion and Arbogast. The psychiatrist concludes that "Mother" has now completely submerged Norman's personality. Norman sits in a jail cell and hears his mother's voice stating the murders were his doing. Marion's car is towed from the swamp.

Luis "Mountain" Rivera is an aging heavyweight boxer. He is managed by Maish Rennick, and Army serves as his cutman. During his latest bout, against young up-and-comer Cassius Clay, Mountain takes a serious beating and the doctor refuses to certify Mountain for future fights. Afterward, Maish is confronted by Ma Greeny and her thugs. They threaten Maish's life if he fails to repay them for the losses they incurred after betting that Mountain would go down in the fourth round of the match - a fix that Maish had guaranteed. Maish's deal with them had been that they should deduct from their winnings the vast sums of money that Maish's betting losses had run up with them. Meanwhile, Mountain struggles to find a job and visits an employment agency, where he meets Grace Miller. Grace is initially standoffish but quickly becomes sympathetic to Mountain, and says she'll be in touch. Later, Grace meets with Mountain to tell him of an opening for a counselor position at a children's camp, which interests Mountain. The two bond over a drink and Mountain shares stories of his time in the ring. Mountain returns to his apartment - shared with Maish and Army - where Maish proposes the three get into professional wrestling. Mountain is reluctant, not liking the staged nature of wrestling. Maish, hoping that Mountain will forget about the job interview, takes him to a bar, where they both get drunk. Army arrives at the bar to remind Mountain about the appointment. However, Rivera embarrasses himself at the hotel where the interview is to take place by behaving drunkenly in plain sight of the camp owners. After this episode, Grace confronts Maish in tears, condemning him for controlling Mountain and ruining his chance to make a new life for himself. Maish responds forcefully and eloquently to Grace's accusation that he has been over-controlling of Mountain, disputing the notion that he cares nothing for the boxer, his best interests, and his future. He tells Grace that she must stop daydreaming and recognize that her idealized conception of Luis Rivera is as false and damaging to the fighter as is Maish's alleged mediocre management of the boxer's career. Further, he tells her that her so-called "vision" for Rivera's post-boxing future as a counselor at a children's summer camp is as naïve and pathetic as it is improbable. To pay off Maish's gambling debts, Mountain agrees to perform as Native American wrestling persona "Big Chief Mountain Rivera." Just prior to entering the ring for his first match, an overwhelming tide of humiliation sweeps over Mountain, causing him to change his mind. Maish blurts out that he bet against Mountain in the fight against Clay, and as Rivera attempts to leave the locker room, Ma Greeny and her thugs enter, threatening Maish. This causes Mountain to change his mind and agree to wrestle, thereby allowing Ma to be paid and saving Maish's life. In the final scene of the film, Mountain enters the ring amidst jeering ridicule to face Haystacks Calhoun, a wrestler from Arkansas billed at 601 pounds (273 kg).

Workers building an extension to the London Underground at Hobbs End dig up a skull. Palaeontologist Dr. Matthew Roney identifies it as a five-million-year-old apeman, more ancient than previous finds. Part of a metallic object is uncovered nearby. Believing it to be an unexploded bomb from the London blitz, they call in an army bomb disposal team. Meanwhile, Professor Bernard Quatermass learns that his plans for the colonisation of the Moon are to be taken over by the military, who want to establish missile bases in space. Colonel Breen is assigned to Quatermass's British Experimental Rocket Group. When the bomb disposal team call for Breen's assistance, Quatermass accompanies him to the site. When another skull is found within a chamber of the "bomb", they realise that the object itself must also be five million years old. Noting the ship's imperviousness to heat, Quatermass suspects it is of alien origin. Roney's assistant, Barbara Judd, goes to the site with Quatermass. She becomes intrigued by the name of the area, recalling that "Hob" is an old name for the Devil. A policeman mentions a legend that the bombed-out house opposite the station is haunted. All three go there to investigate. Quatermass and Barbara later find historical accounts of hauntings and other spectral appearances going back centuries, coinciding with disturbances of the ground around Hobbs End. A member of the bomb disposal team witnesses a spectral apparition of Roney's apeman appearing through the object's wall. An attempt to open a sealed chamber in the object using a Borazon drill fails. Later, however, a small hole is seen. The hole widens to reveal the corpses of insectoid creatures with horned heads. An examination of their physiology suggests that they came from Mars. They resemble images of the Devil; Quatermass believes that the spaceship is the source of the spectral images and disturbances. They reveal their findings to the press. Quatermass theorises that the occupants of the spaceship came from a dying Mars. Unable to survive on Earth, they sought to preserve part of their race by creating a colony by proxy, by enhancing the intelligence of and imparting Martian faculties to the indigenous primitive hominids. Quatermass theorises that the insectoids used medical and surgical techniques that were more advanced than those on present-day Earth. These apemen's descendants evolved into humans, retaining the vestiges of Martian influence buried in their subconscious. Breen thinks that the "alien craft" is Nazi propaganda designed to sow fear among Londoners. A government minister believes Breen and decides to unveil the spaceship at a press conference. The drill operator, Sladden, is later overcome by a psychic force and flees. His mind unleashes telekinetic energy displays, disrupting people and property. He comes to rest in a church. Before recuperating, Sladden has a vision of insect creatures under an alien sky. Sladden sees himself as one of them and feels that he has to flee to save his life. At Hobbs End, Quatermass brings a machine which taps into the primeval psyche. While trying to replicate the circumstances under which Sladden was affected, he notices that Barbara has fallen under the spaceship's influence. Using the machine, he records her thoughts. Quatermass presents the recording to the minister and other officials. It shows Martians engaged in what he interprets as a genocidal race purge, to cleanse the Martian hives of all mutations. The minister and Breen dismiss the recording. A power line later is dropped within the craft, giving it a jolt of electrical energy. The effect and range of the spaceship's influence on Londoners increases; they go on a rampage, attacking all those perceived as different, with deadly telekinetic displays of energy. Breen is drawn towards the spaceship and killed by the energy emanating from it. Quatermass falls under the alien control too, but is snapped out of it by Roney, who is unaffected. A small portion of the population turns out to be immune. The psychic energy intensifies, ripping up streets and buildings, while a spectral image of a Martian resembling the image of the Devil of legend towers above London. Recalling stories about how the Devil could be defeated with iron and water, Roney theorises that the Martian energy can be discharged into the earth. Roney climbs a building crane and swings it into the image. The crane bursts into flames as it discharges the energy, killing Roney. The image and its effects on London disappear.

The Ulam are a tribe of cavemen who carefully guard a small flame, which they use to start larger fires for cooking and protection. After being forced out of their cave during a raid by the ape -like Wagabu, the Ulam become despondent for their future when the seed flame is accidentally extinguished while seeking refuge in a marsh. Since the tribe does not know how to create fire themselves, the tribal elder decides to send three men, Naoh, Amoukar, and Gaw, on a quest to find fire. During their journey, the trio encounters several dangers, including the Kzamm, a tribe of more primitive-looking cannibals who have a roaring cooking fire. Gaw and Amoukar lure most of the Kzamm away from their encampment, while Naoh kills the remaining warriors, though not before being bitten on the genitals, causing him agony. The trio discovers a man and women, their bodies painted with ash, bound to a tree by the Kzamm. They free the captives, but one succumbs to his injuries. The lone survivor, a woman named Ika, begins to follow the men. The three Ulam take a burning stick and prepare to return home. Ika makes a plant-based poultice to help Naoh recover from his genital injury. Later that night, the group makes a large bonfire, unaware that a Kzamm has spotted it from a distance. In the morning, the group wakes up to an ambush by a large group of Kzamm. Just as the Kzamm are about to attack, they suddenly back down as a herd of woolly mammoth appear. Naoh approaches the herd, offering a tuft of grass to the patriarch. The mammoth accepts the offering and allows Naoh and his companions to approach the herd. The herd then stampede towards the cowering Kzamm, driving them away. Later that night, Amoukar attempts to mount Ika, but she hides near Naoh, who then asserts his claim by raping her in front of the other two males. Ika realizes they are passing near her home village and tries to persuade the Ulam to go back with her. When they refuse, it appears that Ika and the Ulam will be going their separate ways, until Naoh, looking depressed, turns around — followed by the somewhat more reluctant Gaw and Amoukar — and the group reunites. After Naoh leaves the others to scout a village, he becomes trapped in quicksand, nearly sinking to his death. He is discovered and captured by the Ivaka, Ika's tribe. In the village, Naoh is physically inspected by the chief and deemed a good specimen, after which he is made to understand that he is required to mate with certain fat women of the tribe. The petite Ika is excluded, and when she attempts to lie near him later that night, she is chased away. The Ivaka demonstrate for Naoh their advanced knowledge of fire-making with a hand drill, causing him to weep with joy. Gaw and Amoukar eventually find Naoh among the Ivaka and make a rescue attempt, but Naoh appears unwilling to leave. At night, they knock Naoh unconscious and with Ika's guidance escape the camp. The next day, Naoh washes off the Ivaka body paint he had been wearing. He tries to mount Ika again, but she teaches him the more intimate missionary position. Not long before they reach the marsh where they started the journey, the three are ambushed by rivals from within the Ulam, who want to steal the fire and claim the prize themselves. However, Naoh and his group defeat them using the Ivakan atlatls, which are superior to Ulam weapons. Upon rejoining the Ulam, the group presents the fire to the delight of all. But during the ensuing celebration, the fire is accidentally extinguished again when the firekeeper falls into the marsh. Naoh attempts to create a new fire as he had seen in the Ivaka camp, but after several failed attempts, Ika takes over. Once the spark is lit, the tribe rejoices. Months later, Naoh and Ika prepare to have an interspecies child.

In 1954, each boy in a group of Florida Angel Beach High School students plans to lose his virginity. They go to Porky's, a strip club in the Everglades, believing that they can hire a prostitute to satisfy their sexual desires. The club's proprietor, Porky Wallace, takes their money but humiliates the boys by dumping them into the swamp. When the group demands their money back, Sheriff Wallace, Porky's brother, drives them away but not before he extorts them for the rest of their money, further embarrassing them. After Mickey Jarvis, who returned to Porky's for revenge, is beaten so badly he has to be hospitalized, the gang becomes hellbent on exacting revenge on Porky and Sheriff Wallace, eventually sinking Porky's establishment into the swamp. Porky and his men, joined by Sheriff Wallace, chase the group, but the boys make it across the county line, out of Sheriff Wallace's jurisdiction, where local police officers and the high school band meet them. One of the officers, Mickey's older brother, Ted, repeatedly damages Porky's Hudson Hornet, promising to drop all charges against Porky for driving an unsafe vehicle if the night's events are forgiven. Because the boys are too young to have been allowed into Porky's legally, Porky and Sheriff Wallace agree. In a subplot, the boys peep on female students in the girl's locker room shower, and Tommy Turner, Billy McCarty, and Pee Wee Morris see several girls showering. Pee Wee gives them away when he shouts at an obese girl, who has been blocking his view, to move so that he can see. While a few girls run out, most stay, finding the situation funny. To test their attitude, Tommy sticks his tongue out through his peephole but gets it smeared with soap. Infuriated, he drops his pants and sticks his penis through the opening just before female coach Beulah Balbricker, who has a running feud with Tommy, walks into the shower area. Spotting the protruding member, she sneaks up on Tommy, grabs his penis, and pulls with all her might. Tommy pulls free and escapes, but Beulah is determined to prove that the offending member, which has a mole on it, belongs to Tommy, going so far as to request that Principal Carter hold a police-type line-up of the boys in the nude so she can identify it. However, Carter balks at her request. As the other basketball coaches laugh, Coach Roy Brackett suggests asking the police to send a sketch artist and hang wanted posters around the school. When that suggestion gets even Carter laughing, Balbricker leaves in a huff. At the end of the film, she sneaks out of the bushes to ambush Tommy and actually drags his pants down, but she is pulled off him by police and dragged away screaming that she saw "it" and that she can identify its owner. Tommy breaks the fourth wall, saying, "Jeez!" to the camera. Another subplot involves Coach Brackett taking an interest in the attractive coach, Lynn Honeywell. Coach Fred Warren repeatedly refers to Honeywell as "Lassie" while pointing to the equipment room, much to Coach Brackett's confusion. He quickly finds out why when he and Honeywell hide out in the equipment room after an argument with Balbricker, and Honeywell becomes turned on by the scent of the room. This leads to the pair having quickie sex in the room, as Honeywell begins loudly howling like a dog, thus revealing why she is called Lassie. Her orgasmic howls are heard throughout the entire school, much to the students' and Coach Warren's amusement, but not to Balbricker and head coach Goodenough. Brackett and Honeywell are eventually fired as a result.

One year after Han Solo 's capture and imprisonment in carbonite, C-3PO and R2-D2 enter the palace of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. They were sent as a goodwill gift by Luke Skywalker, who hopes to negotiate with Jabba for Han's release. Disguised as a bounty hunter, Princess Leia infiltrates the palace under the pretense of having captured Chewbacca. She releases Han from the carbonite but is caught by Jabba and enslaved. Luke arrives to bargain for the release of his friends, but Jabba drops him through a trapdoor to be eaten by a rancor. After Luke kills the beast, Jabba decrees that he, Han, and Chewbacca will be fed to a Sarlacc, a deadly ground-dwelling creature. However, Luke retrieves his new green lightsaber from R2-D2, and the group of friends battle Jabba's thugs aboard his sail barge. During the chaos, Boba Fett falls into the Sarlacc's pit, and Leia strangles Jabba to death with her chains. The group escapes as Jabba's sail barge is destroyed. As the others rendezvous with the Rebel Alliance, Luke returns to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training with Yoda, who is dying when he arrives. Before Yoda dies, he confirms that Darth Vader is Luke's father, the former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, and that there is another Skywalker. Obi-Wan Kenobi 's Force spirit tells Luke that Leia is his twin sister, and that he must face Vader again to finish his training and defeat the Empire. The Alliance learns that the Empire has been constructing a second Death Star under the supervision of the Emperor. The station is protected by an energy shield on the forest moon of Endor. Han leads a strike team, including Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca, to destroy its generator. Once on the moon, the team gains the trust of a tribe of Ewoks. Luke tells Leia she is his sister, and that Vader is their father. Luke surrenders to Imperial troops and is brought before Vader, but fails to convince him to reject the dark side of the Force. Luke is brought to the Emperor, who intends to turn him to the dark side. He reveals that Luke's friends on Endor and the rebel fleet are heading into a trap. On the forest moon, Han's team is captured by Imperial forces, but the Ewoks counterattack, allowing the Rebels to infiltrate the shield generator. Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian and Admiral Ackbar lead the rebel assault on the Death Star, but find its shield still active and the Imperial fleet waiting for them. The Emperor reveals to Luke that the Death Star is fully operational and orders the firing of its massive laser, which destroys a rebel starship. He tempts Luke to give in to his anger and embrace the dark side of the Force. Luke attacks him, but Vader intervenes, and the two engage in a lightsaber duel. During the battle, Vader realizes Luke has a sister, and he threatens to turn her to the dark side. Luke becomes enraged and severs Vader's prosthetic hand. The Emperor orders Luke to kill his father, but Luke refuses. The Emperor then tortures Luke with Force lightning. Unwilling to let his son die, Vader throws the Emperor down a shaft to his demise, but is fatally wounded in the process. Before dying, Vader asks Luke to remove his mask in a moment of reconciliation. After the rebel strike team destroys the shield generator, Lando leads fighter ships into the Death Star's core. Lando and the X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles destroy the station's main reactor and escape before it explodes. Later, Luke cremates Vader's body on Endor before reuniting with his friends. As the Rebels celebrate their victory, Luke sees the Force spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker standing nearby.

Hidetora Ichimonji, a powerful but elderly warlord, decides to divide his kingdom among his three sons. Taro, the eldest, will receive the prestigious First Castle and become leader of the Ichimonji clan, though Hidetora will retain the title of Great Lord. Second and third sons Jiro and Saburo are to support Taro and will be given the Second and Third Castles. However, Saburo is exiled after criticizing his father's lecture about unity. Hidetora's retainer Tango is also exiled for defending Saburo. Taro's wife Lady Kaede urges him to take full control of the clan. When Taro demands Hidetora renounce his title, a furious Hidetora leaves and travels to Jiro's castle, only to discover that Jiro is only interested in using him as a pawn. As Hidetora and his retinue wander, he decides to take over the Third Castle, which had become deserted after Saburo's exile. Later, the Third Castle is attacked by Taro and Jiro's combined forces, and all of Hidetora's retinue are either killed or commit ritual suicide. Jiro's general Kurogane takes advantage of the confusion and shoots Taro dead with an arquebus. Hidetora succumbs to madness and is allowed to leave. Tango and court fool Kyoami, still loyal to Hidetora, accompany him as he wanders across the land, haunted by visions of the people he killed in the past. They take refuge in a peasant's home only to discover that the occupant is Tsurumaru, the brother of Lady Sue, Jiro's wife. Hidetora had blinded Tsurumaru after massacring his family and left him impoverished. With Taro dead, Jiro becomes the Great Lord of the Ichimonji clan, and moves into the First Castle. Lady Kaede seduces Jiro, and demands that he kill Lady Sue and marry her instead. Jiro orders Kurogane to do the deed, but he refuses, seeing through Kaede's perfidy. Kurogane then warns Sue and Tsurumaru to flee. Tango, learning that Jiro is considering sending assassins after Hidetora, rides off to alert Saburo. Saburo's army enters Jiro's territory to find Hidetora, forcing Jiro to hastily mobilize his army. A brief truce is reached and Saburo rides off after learning of Hidetora's whereabouts. Jiro breaks the truce and attacks Saburo's remaining forces, suffering significant losses, and is forced to retreat when informed that the armies of the neighbouring lords are marching on the First Castle. Saburo tracks down Hidetora, who has partially recovered his sanity, and the two reconcile. However, Saburo is shot and killed by one of Jiro's assassins. Overcome with grief, Hidetora dies on his son's body. Tsurumaru and Sue arrive at the ruins of the family castle. Sue leaves to retrieve the flute Tsurumaru has inadvertently left behind, giving him a picture of Amida Buddha for protection before she departs. She never returns. As the First Castle is besieged, Kurogane learns of Sue's death, and confronts Kaede. After confessing that her plot was revenge against the entire Ichimonji clan for massacring her family, Kaede is beheaded by Kurogane. Jiro, Kurogane and all Jiro's men subsequently die in battle. A funeral procession is held for Saburo and Hidetora. Meanwhile, left alone in the castle ruins, Tsurumaru trips, dropping the Amida Buddha image that Sue had given to him.

Rožat "Rusty" Sabich is the right-hand man of Kindle County prosecutor Raymond Horgan and is known as an effective and ruthless prosecutor. In his most recent case, Rusty oversees the prosecution of a mother who tortured her son by placing his head in a vise in their basement, delivering a damning closing argument where he uses the boy's own words - "mommy hurt my head" - to convict her. Shortly thereafter, Rusty's colleague Carolyn Polhemus is found raped and murdered in her apartment. Horgan insists that Rusty take charge of the investigation, as he faces a fierce re-election challenge from Nico Della Guardia and Tommy Molto, both disgruntled former members of his office. Rusty faces a conflict of interest since he had a brief sexual affair with Carolyn; despite having since reconciled with his wife Barbara, he remains obsessed with Carolyn. Det. Harold Greer is initially in charge of the murder investigation, but Rusty has him replaced with his friend Dan "Lip" Lipranzer, whom he asks to limit the scope of the murder investigation. Horgan loses patience with Rusty's handling of the case, particularly after admitting he also had a brief relationship with Carolyn. When Della Guardia wins the election, he and Molto (who replaces Rusty as chief deputy) reappoint Greer to take over the case. Greer learns about the affair, and Rusty is arrested and indicted for Carolyn's murder. Rusty hires Sandy Stern as his lawyer, while the case is assigned to Judge Larren Lyttle. As the trial begins, an important piece of evidence - a beer glass with Rusty's fingerprints - goes missing and Lyttle refuses to delay until it is found. Horgan perjures himself on the stand, claiming Rusty insisted on handling the investigation and was deliberately slow in pursuing leads. However, Stern forces Raymond to admit that Rusty never confessed to having an affair with Carolyn, and Raymond's own affair with her caused him to show improper favoritism. Lip uncovers that Carolyn had stolen a file for a bribery case involving a criminal named Leon Wells, one of Carolyn's old clients from her days as a probation officer. Wells confesses that Carolyn helped him solicit and deliver bribe money to Judge Lyttle to escape prosecution. The thrust of Stern's defense is that Della Guardia and Molto have framed Rusty to exploit the case's public notoriety, repeatedly referencing the missing file to unsettle Lyttle. During cross-examination of the coroner, it is revealed that Carolyn underwent a tubal ligation, thus having no reason to use the spermicidal contraceptive which was found on her. Stern then proves the fluid sample was not actually taken from Carolyn's body, implying the coroner is complicit in framing Rusty. Based on the disappearance of the beer glass, the lack of motive, and the fluid sample's validity nullified, Judge Lyttle promptly dismisses the charges against Rusty. Rusty confronts Stern about the bribery file, believing that he blackmailed Lyttle into dismissing. Stern reveals that Lyttle also had a sexual relationship with Carolyn and that both he and Raymond knew that Lyttle was taking bribes. Though Lyttle had offered his resignation, Raymond felt that he was a brilliant judge and deserved another chance. Despite this, Stern believes Lyttle tried the case with integrity. He then pointedly asks Rusty if justice really was served, implying he has doubts. Lip meets with Rusty and reveals the missing beer glass, explaining he didn't bother returning it to evidence when he was taken off the case. He admits he also doubts Rusty's innocence. Disillusioned, Rusty throws the glass into a river. While repairing a fence on his property, Rusty discovers a small hatchet coated with blood and hair and realizes it is the murder weapon. Barbara discovers him cleaning it and, in a detached monologue, admits she murdered Carolyn because of the affair, which drove her into a near-suicidal depression. She explains she had left enough evidence for Rusty to know it was her but did not anticipate him being charged. In a voice-over, Rusty explains that Carolyn's murder remains unsolved as trying two people for the same crime is impossible and he could never bring himself to take Barbara away from their son. Rusty accepts his role in bringing about Carolyn's death, stating that as with most cases there is "a crime, a victim, and punishment".

Former Ohio State quarterback and rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah assists senior agent Angelo Pappas in investigating a string of bank robberies by the "Ex-Presidents": robbers who wear rubber masks of former presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Rather than robbing the vault, they demand only the cash the tellers have in their drawers and are gone within ninety seconds. Pursuing Pappas's theory that the criminals are surfers, Utah infiltrates the surfing community. He fabricates a family tragedy to persuade orphaned surfer and restaurant waitress Tyler to teach him to surf after she saves him from drowning during his first attempt. Through her, he meets Bodhi, Tyler's ex-boyfriend and the leader of a gang of surfers consisting of Roach, Grommet, and Nathaniel. The group is wary of Utah, but they accept him when Bodhi recalls how a knee injury derailed Utah's football prospects. As he masters surfing, Utah finds himself drawn to the surfers' adrenaline-charged lifestyle, Bodhi's philosophies, and Tyler. Following a clue retrieved by analyzing toxins found in the hair of one of the bank robbers, Utah and Pappas lead an FBI raid on another gang of surfers, resulting in the deaths of two of them, as well as one of the agents. The raid inadvertently ruins a DEA undercover operation, as those surfers were wanted for separate charges regarding drug dealing, and they are determined not to be the Ex-Presidents. Watching Bodhi's group surfing, Utah begins to suspect that they are the Ex-Presidents, noting how close a group they are and the way one of them moons other surfers in the same manner one of the robbers does. Utah and Pappas stake out a bank, and the Ex-Presidents appear. While wearing a Reagan mask, Bodhi leads Utah on a foot chase through the neighborhood, which ends when Utah's old injury flares up after he jumps into a flood control channel. Despite having a clear shot, the injured Utah allows Bodhi to escape. At a campfire that night, it is confirmed that Bodhi and his gang are the Ex-Presidents. Tyler discovers Utah's FBI badge and angrily terminates their relationship. Shortly afterward, Bodhi coerces Utah into skydiving with the group. After the jump, Bodhi reveals that he knows Utah is an FBI agent and has arranged for his friend Rosie, a non-surfing thug, to hold Tyler hostage to blackmail him into assisting the Ex-Presidents with their last bank robbery of the summer. During the robbery, they decide to infiltrate the vault, causing them to take longer than normal. Grommet is killed when an off-duty police officer and one of the bank security guards attempt to foil the robbery. The robbers kill the officer and security guard, then abandon Utah. Utah is arrested for the robbery and castigated by FBI director Ben Harp for the murders, but Pappas punches Harp out after an angry altercation and vows to bring in Bodhi himself. Pappas and Utah head to the airport where Bodhi, Roach, and Nathaniel are about to leave for Mexico. During a shootout, Pappas and Nathaniel are killed, and Roach is seriously wounded. With Roach aboard, Bodhi forces Utah onto the plane at gunpoint. Once airborne and over their intended drop zone, Bodhi and Roach put on their parachutes and jump from the plane, leaving Utah to take the blame. With no other parachutes available, Utah jumps from the plane with Bodhi's gun and intercepts him in mid-air. Despite landing safely, Utah's knee gives out again, allowing Bodhi to escape. Bodhi meets with Rosie, who frees Tyler; with Roach dead from his wounds, the two men flee the country and go their separate ways. Nine months later, Utah tracks Bodhi to Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, where a record-breaking storm is producing lethal waves. This is an event Bodhi had talked about experiencing, calling it the "50-year storm." Bodhi begs Utah to release him so he can ride the once-in-a-lifetime wave, and Utah, knowing Bodhi will not come back alive, agrees and bids him farewell. As Bodhi surfs to his death, Utah walks away, throwing his FBI badge into the ocean.