Walt Disney's Fantasia, the first feature-length film to offer visual images of classical music, has just been re-released in a new box set. Music critic Lloyd Schwartz says the film is a delightful introduction to classical music -- but doesn't always convey it convincingly on screen.
Fresh Air's David Edelstein couldn't limit himself to 10 movies for his Top 10 list -- he put 12 titles on this year's crop -- and explains why he parted ways with colleagues when it came time to hand out the annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards.
Fresh Air's pop music critic, Ken Tucker, picks the best music of 2010, including albums by Tracey Thorn, Kanye West and Arcade Fire. He also pays tribute to Kate McGarrigle, the Canadian singer who died of cancer last January.
Joel and Ethan Coen's new take on the novel that inspired the 1969 film classic True Grit takes the story back out of John Wayne territory, setting it in a more brutal frontier and rendering it darker, colder, and more grotesque.
Fresh Air's TV critic rounds up the hottest and the hottest of the year that was. Worth watching? A BBC America import about a choir director teaching people to sing. Jersey Shore? Makes Bianculli want to shower.
Hendrix spent years recording with whomever he could before being discovered and whisked off to London. A new Legacy box set, West Coast Seattle Boy, showcases Jimi Hendrix as sideman to a number of musicians. Rock historian Ed Ward takes a look at it today.
Even recycling your old TVs and computers doesn't mean you're doing the right thing -- trashing certain items may mean major heath and environmental problems. Jim Puckett of the Basal Action Network talks about the best ways to ensure your electronics are being recycled correctly.
Filmmaker Sofia Coppola's latest movie, Somewhere, is about an aimless Hollywood actor, played by Stephen Dorff, who re-examanes his superficial life after a visit from his 11-year-old daughter. Coppola discusses the film -- and her relationship with her own father, Francis Ford Coppola.
In Sofia Coppola's new film, the actor plays an aimless, lonely young movie star who is forced to re-examine his life when his 11-year-old daughter unexpectedly moves in. Dora explains how the role required a delicate balance between acting and real life.
Actress Melissa Leo won the Best Supporting Actress Award this week from the New York Film Critics' Circle for her performance in the new film "The Fighter," which opens wide tomorrow. That performance also received a Golden Globe nomination this week.
More and more state and local governments have approved casino gambling in order to generate new jobs and tax revenue. But does it work? Economist Richard McGowan outlines why states are turning to gambling to solve their fiscal crises -- and now upping the ante even more.
The actor stars opposite Michelle Williams in a new drama about a couple whose relationship has soured. He tells Terry Gross it wasn't the average film shoot: Among other things, he moved in for a month with Williams and their onscreen child.
Well, no, we're not going to tell you. No, no, no. Not even if you ask politely. But here's a hint: It's a "primordial one-word response" that perfectly encapsulates the aura -- no, make that the prevailing zeitgeist -- of 2010.
Every holiday season brings a new batch of seasonal pop music, some of it from unlikely or obscure sources. Rock critic Ken Tucker has listened to most of the new holiday collections released this year, and has chosen three albums that ought to make your season a bit more festive.
After a routine mammogram, brest cancer specialist Dr. Marisa Weiss was diagnosed with a breast tumor. The founder of breastcancer.org discusses her diagnosis and treatment -- and how she feels about new mammography guidelines.
When property taxes go unpaid, the debt gets sold -- sometimes resulting in a bidding frenzy between America's largest banks and hedge funds. Investigative reporter Fred Schulte says unpaid tax bills as low as $300 have resulted in homeowners losing their properties.
Richard Holbrooke, an American diplomat who engineered the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the war in the Balkans, died on Monday. He was 69. In 1998, Holbrook spoke to Terry Gross about his 13-hour negotiation with two indicted war criminals who led the Bosnian Serbs.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz recently attended the 2010 Musikfest Berlin's two-week long tribute to 85-year-old French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez. Schwartz says the musical tribute was "sonically ravishing, with endlessly inventive combinations of sound and texture."
Ballet's history is not just about choreography and technique -- it's also a history of nationalization, the changing ways we view the body, shifting gender norms and class struggles. Historian Jennifer Homans chronicles the art form in a new cultural history, Apollo's Angels.
The fading junior welterweight boxer Micky Ward was working in construction in the early '90s when he decided to give the ring one more try. That's the story of The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg. David Edelstein says the boxing film is a mess -- which he means as a term of endearment.
