Terry Gross

Film historian Kevin Brownlow is best known as the man who reconstructed the silent movie masterpiece Napoleon. His new book, Behind the Mask of Innocence, is an examination of how pre-World War I filmmakers, contrary to popular belief, addressed social issues of the day.

British actress Joan Plowright. She's one of her nation's leading actresses, having appeared on the London stage since the mid 50s. She's also been on Broadway, had numerous role on British television, and appeared in the films "The Dressmaker," "I Love You To Death," and "Avalon." She was also married to the late actor Sir Lawrence Oliver.

Krauss is still a teenager, but she's already a veteran in the bluegrass scene, with three albums and a decade on the road to her credit. Her new album is called "I've Got That Old Feeling," on Rounder Records.

Barney Rosset published such controversial works as "Tropic of Cancer" and "Last Exit to Brooklyn," as well as Victorian literature considered by some to be pornographic Several years ago he was forced out of Grove and started his own publishing house, Blue Moon.

The actor started his career during the era of the Hollywood studio system. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his decades-long career in cinema.

The Polish documentarian chronicled the fall of Communism and rise of democracy in Poland, an activity that caused him repeated trouble with the Polish authorities.

The director's new movie is a trio of vignettes, each of which explore some aspect of sexuality. It won the top prize at Sundance, but has been called pornographic by many conservative groups.

We speak with two reporters about the aftermath of the Gulf War:

Film critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the recent video release of "The Last Picture Show," which was first released at the beginning of a new renaissance in American filmmaking. He describes it as Peyton Place directed by Ingmar Bergman.

Galeano wrote the trilogy, "Memory of Fire," a surrealistic history of the Americas. Galeano comes from Urugua; he fled to Argentina when the dictatorship took over, and later fled Spain. His new book is "The Book of Embraces," and draw from his own life.