Film

The 1967 film Point Blank, directed by John Moorman, never found a wide audience in the U.S. Critic Ken Tucker says the crime thriller was a success nonetheless, with a brutal, fast-moving style and a directorial vision never recaptured in Moorman's later work.

True Believer, starring James Woods and Robert Downey, Jr., is a legal drama about the fall of 1960s idealism during the Reagan years. Film critic Stephen Schiff says it's voluptuous and honest.

Walas created the often bloody special effects for movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Scanners, and Gremlins. He recently directed The Fly 2 -- fulfilling his lifelong goal to make his own film. He joins Fresh Air to talk about some of his most memorable, macabre work.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new, gauzy picture by Joel Schumacher, and starring Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini. He says the movie, a remake of a French film, has all the tired trappings of other romances, but the acting is better than he expected.

Ruben's new movie is called True Believers, and stars James Woods and Robert Downey, Jr. He joins Fresh Air to talk about how he cast the film, and the logistics of using real prisoners as extras.

Dante started making trailers for B movies produced by Roger Corman. He has since become a mainstream Hollywood director. His films include The Howling, Innerspace, Gremlins, and his newest, The Burbs, starring Tom Hanks.

Critic Ken Tucker reviews the home video release The Sweet Smell of Success, which he says features gorgeous shots of 1950s New York City, and an unrelenting narrative intensity.

The actress had her big break in John Waters' movie Hairspray, as the teen star Tracy Turnblad. Lake is larger than many of her peers, but has successfully landed roles written for skinny women. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her early influences, her post-Hairspray work, and her relationship with the late drag queen Divine.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says that Cassavetes, who died this month at the age of 59, was just starting to live up to the promise of his jagged talent. The director's films were often indulgent and overwrought, but never without power.

Lawrence of Arabia has recently been remastered, and a new 70mm print has just been released theatrically. Film critic Stephen Schiff says watching the movie as a child inspired him to become a film critic; watching it again as an adult, he's impressed by its enduring, powerful themes.

Scholar and writer Thomas Schatz has a new book about the studio era of Hollywood. While efficient, the film industry during the first half of the century limited the roles available to actors and actresses, and tightly controlled the content and style of the movies it produced.

Michael Barson's new book, Lost, Lonely and Vicious, collects promotional postcards of B movies from the late 1940s through the early '60s. He says these films were all sizzle, and were tame compared to their lurid, sensationalistic descriptions.

The pop star has a new direct-to-video collection of short films featuring songs from throughout his career. Rock critic Ken Tucker says its artistic value is almost nil, but it's worth watching at least once to marvel at the spectacle of it all.

The British director and screenwriter's latest movie examines the life of London's working class in the age of Margaret Thatcher.

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.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says that the World War II-themed The Dressmaker masterfully follows in the European tradition of what he calls "intimate filmmaking" -- something no American director has yet been able to replicate.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says January isn't the best month for movies; screenwriter John Patrick Shanley's latest cop drama is no exception -- the January Man is so quirky that it's hard to take seriously.

Wayans wrote, directed, and starred in the new movie I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka, which is both a parody of and homage to the blaxploitation movies of the 1970s. He says those films were notable for creating more complex roles for African American men.

The Fresh Air critic reviews a new home video called Incredible Self-Confidence, which claims it can inspire viewers through hypnotism. Tucker says it doesn't quite succeed, but is relaxing nonetheless.

Lewitzky is based in Los Angeles where, early in her career, she danced in a number of motion pictures. Her choreography for the stage conveys simplicity of movement, divorced from any suggestion of narrative. Lewitzky performed until the age of 62.