Book critic John Leonard reviews the new book by Milorad Pavic, a novel in dictionary form about an ancient tribe thought by some to be the lost Tribe of Israel. The book has an inventive structure, and comments on organized religion, history, and the current state of Yugoslavia.
Randy Quaid's brother Dennis often gets leading-man roles; Randy frequently plays what he calls "country bumpkins." He says he enjoys his career as a character actor, but is glad to branch out to directing. His debut in that role will be the upcoming Power of the Dog, which will costar his brother.
Ron Haver spent several years searching for the missing half-hour from "A Star is Born," starring Judy Garland and James Mason. He found most of the lost footage and has written a book recounting his search for the lost scenes, the restoration, and the making of the 1954 motion picture classic. Haver is director of the film deaprtment at the Los Angeles County Museum.
Hackford produced the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba. He recently produced and directed Everybody's All American, about the life a college football hero. Hackford joins Fresh Air to talk about his early successes and failures, and the role songs play in his films.
25 years after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, several networks are rebroadcasting the original news coverage of that event, or airing new specials. TV critic David Bianculli shares his thoughts on a few of these upcoming programs.
John Hubner, co-author with Lindsey Gruson of the book Monkey on a Stick, talks to Fresh Air about Krishna Consciousness in the 1960s. Led by Indian guru Swami Prabhupada and disciples like Kirtananda Swami Bhaktipada -- nee Keith Ham -- the movement's growth was accompanied by scandal, crime, and murder.
Jane Ira Bloom recorded her first album when she was still a student at Yale; she later was invited to compose music for NASA. Critic Kevin Whitehead says her latest album features tasteful electronics and a sensitive, spare accompaniment.
New Yorker art writer Calvin Tompkins looks at the state of the art world. He says there has been a rise in corporate-owned collections, which often exclude more provocative or sexually-themed works.
Accordionist and composer Guy Klucevsek joins Fresh Air to perform a solo arrangement of a new work, and to play a recording of a recent musical collaboration. He's slated to perform at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival.
John Cheever's son Benjamin collected the author's letters in a new book. He joins Fresh Air to talk about John Cheever's sexuality, relationship with their family, and the impact of his death.
Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews the documentary Hotel Terminus, about Nazi officer Klaus Barbie, who fled to South America after the end of World War II. Despite the dark subject material, Stone says the movie is a pleasure, and praises director Marcel Orphuls unblinking camerawork.
Sondheim briefly wrote for the television show Topper before becoming the lyricist for the Broadway hits West Side Story and Gypsy. A trained composer, he later began writing his own musicals which, Sondheim says, continued in the Rogers and Hammerstein tradition. They include Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Into the Woods.
The new film Cry in the Dark dramatizes the true story of Lindy Chamberlain, who was wrongfully convicted of infanticide while camping in Australia. Film critic Stephen Schiff says the movie proves Schepisi is a great director.
The Traveling Wilburys comprises Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Jeff Lynn, and Tom Petty. Rock critic Ken Tucker says their first album, Volume 1, is a true collaboration. Unlike the self-indulgent supergroups of the 1960s and 1970s, he says the Wilburys' music is an unexpected pleasure.
Critic Lloyd Schwartz says recordings of Gyorgy Kurtag's music are few, but he was able to track down a recent LP of some of the composer's song cycles -- several of which are full of humor.
MIT professor of political economy Bennett Harrison co-wrote The Great U-Turn with Barry Bluestone. The book explores how and why the United States is creating fewer full-time, well-paying jobs. He points to the deregulation of industry and the financial system as the primary culprit.
