Thrillers (Motion pictures)
Wes Craven On Violence and Horror On-Screen.
Wes Craven discusses violence in motion pictures and his film "The Last House on the Left."
"Fatal Attraction's" Fatal Flaws.
Film Critic Stephen Schiff will review "Fatal Attraction," staring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. It's about a one-night stand that evolves into a fatal obsession.
"The Night of the Hunter" and Other Movies on Home Video.
Ken Tucker will review the home video release of the 1955 classic "The Night of the Hunter," starring Robert Mitchum as a creepy Appalachian preacher, and Shelly Winters as a gullible widow.
"Suspect" is Full of Entertaining Clichés.
Film Critic Stephen Schiff will review "Suspect," the courtroom thriller/love story starring Cher and Dennis Quaid.
Film Director Bob Swaim Returns to the United States.
Film Director Bob Swaim, best known for the 1982 thriller "La Balance." His new film, "Masquerade," stars Rob Lowe and Meg Tilly. It's the first film Swaim has made in America; it was shot in New York State for MGM. Swaim, who has spent the last 20 years in France, first moved to Paris in 1965 to study anthropology with Claude Levi-Strauss.
"The Manchurian Candidate" Gets a New Release.
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "The Manchurian Candidate," starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh. The film was originally produced in 1962 but was never distributed because of a squabble between Sinatra, who owned the rights to the film, and the producers.
Gambling on a New Instructional Video
Critic Ken Tucker's disappointment in a VHS guide to blackjack dashed his dreams of becoming a professional gambler. At least he can recommend some solid home video releases to watch this summer.
A New Film Features Falling Stars
Director Michael Crichton's latest, a cop thriller called Physical Evidence, stars Burt Reynolds and Theresa Russell, who fail to breathe life into the film's clumsy script. Critic Stephen Schiff wonders if Crichton was having an out-of-body experience when he directed the movie.
Another Trumped-Up Cold War Film.
Guest film critic Peter Rainer reviews The Package, the new suspense thriller starring Gene Hackman.
Regressive Assumptions about Japan are Seen in "Black Rain."
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Black Rain." It stars Michael Douglas as a New York City cop who goes to Japan to try to track down a killer. The movie's directed by Ridley Scott, who also made "Blade Runner" and "Alien."