Film

Ken Tucker pokes fun at the notion that the video cassette revolution would spawn legions of avid movie collectors. Increasingly, he argues, the movies available for home rental are either teen comedies or movies you can see on late-night TV.

Novelist and theater and film director Elia Kazan. He directed Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront," and James Dean in "East of Eden." He was a member of the Group Theater and co-founded the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Babette's Feast," a Danish film based on a story by Isaak Dennison. The film won the Oscar this year for Best Foreign Film.

Actor Daniel J. Travanti. Travanti is best-known for his role as Captain Frank Furrillo in the long-running TV cop series "Hill Street Blues." Travanti co-stars with Faye Dunaway in the new film "Midnight Crossing."

Actor John Lithgow. He's currently starring in the Broadway play "M Butterfly." His film roles include "Terms of Endearment" and "The World According to Garp."

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "White Mischief." It's the true story of high life and murder in British Colonial Kenya. It stars Greta Scacchi, Charles Dance ("The Jewel and the Crown") and Joss Ackland.

Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar. He compares his films, like "Law of Desire" and "What Have I Done To Deserve This?," to the films of the American film director John Waters. Like Waters, Almodovar's films take a humorous view of popular culture's cliches.

Television writer Gerald Gardner. His new book, The Censorship Papers, is a collection of memos from the Hays Commission, which was the censorship arm of Hollywood's production studios from 1930 to 1968. The dossiers were released last year and Gardner covers those concerning 70 of Hollywood's best known films, including "The Maltese Falcon," "Pal Joey" and "Notorious."

Ken Tucker reviews the new Pee Wee Herman video that's culled from three episodes from his Saturday morning TV show. Herman is the twitty host of the popular show, and the star of the hit film "Pee Wee's Big Adventure."

Film director Wim Wender. His films include "The American Friend," "Alice in the Cities" "Kings of the Road," and "Paris, Texas." Though his subject matter seems mundane, - a cross-country trip by two men in a van, a day in the life of a disgruntled soccer goalie - Wender shapes his stories into something much more deliberate and affecting. Wender's new film, set in his native Germany, is titled "Wings of Desire."

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.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Alan Freed, one of the most famous, and most notorious, disc jockeys of the 50s and 60s. Freed was one of the first disc jockeys on a mainstream station (WJW in Cleveland) to play the black rhythm and blues that was the foundation of early rock and roll.

Film director Alan Rudolph. His films include "Choose Me," "Trouble in Mind," "Welcome to L.A." and "Made in Heaven." His latest film, "The Moderns," which took ten years to make, is set in the ex-patriot community in Paris in the 1920s and features many actors and actresses who have appeared in his earlier films, such as Keith Carradine and Genevieve Bujold and Geraldine Chaplin.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Beetle Juice," the supernatural comedy about a couple that moves into a Victorian home hoping to remodel it only to find it's inhabited by ghosts who abhor their chic urban tastes. It stars Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara and Alec Baldwin.

Film director Fran Rubel Kuzui. She's just completed her first film, "Tokyo Pop," about a young American punk singer who moves to Japan in the hopes of reviving her stalled career. (Interview by Faith Middleton)

Ken Tucker reviews a home video documentary about Fairport Convention, one of the most eclectic folk bands of the 60s and early 70s.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Bright Lights, Big City," the long-awaited adaptation of the best-selling novel by Jay McInerney about life in the fast lane in New York City. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland and Dianne Wiest.

Robert Parrish has at various times been an actor, film editor, director and writer. As a child, he appeared in the "Our Gang" comedies and in Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights." He worked with film director John Ford and won an Academy Award for editing in the film "Body and Soul." He's written two books of memoirs about his Hollywood experiences. (Interview by Faith Middleton)

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Biloxi Blues," the new film based on Neil Simon's Broadway play of the same name. The film stars Matthew Broderick and was directed and produced by Mike Nichols.