Film

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the latest album from avant-garde saxophonist and composer John Zorn, in which Zorn plays homage to the detective writer Mickey Spillane.

Ken Tucker on new Sherlock Holmes movies, now available on home video.

Jean-Claude Lauzon. This French Canadian filmmaker talks about his journey from the reform schools of Montreal to becoming an award winning filmmaker. His first feature film "Night Zoo" recently won 13 Genie awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Oscar.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "The Milagro Beanfield War," based on the popular New Mexico novel by John Nichols and directed by Robert Redford.

Actress Annie Potts. She's becoming familiar to audiences for her role in TV's "Designing Women." But before that, she was cast often as quirky, off-the-wall characters in films like "Ghostbusters" and "Pretty in Pink."

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "D.O.A.," the new movie starring Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. Quaid plays a college professor who is poisoned and has 24 hours before his imminent death to find his murderer.

Ken Tucker reviews "Penn and Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends," an interactive home video cassette that features some of the magic duo's favorite scams.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Hairspray," the latest film by director and writer John Waters. "Hairspray," a satire of the teen dance shows of the early 60s, follows a long line of wildly eccentric films like "Polyester," "Pink Flamingos," and "Female Trouble." The cast includes Divine, Debbie Harry, Pia Zadora and Sonny Bono.

Actor Zakes Mokae. He now appears in the film "The Serpent and the Rainbow." He began his acting career in his native South Africa where he and playwright Athol Fugard founded the Serpent Theater. They shocked audiences by becoming the first black and white actors to appear on stage together. Mokae continues to appear in Fugard's plays, in addition to his film career.

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.

Jazz composer and conductor Bill Lee. He composed the scores for the films "She's Gotta Have It" and "School Daze," both written and directed by his son, Spike Lee. "School Daze," Spike Lee's most recent film, is loosely based on his experiences at Moorehead College in Atlanta, the same college Bill Lee and his father attended.

Ken Tucker reviews "TV's Best Adventures of Superman," the home video cassette of the popular "Adventures of Superman" series that starred George Reeves. The release coincides with the 50th anniversary of Superman's creation as a comic-strip character by two Ohio teenagers.

Tony Huston, son of the late director John Huston. Tony Huston wrote the screenplay for the film "The Dead," based on the celebrated short story by James Joyce. "The Dead" was John Huston's last film.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Frantic," the new movie by director Roman Polanski and starring Harrison Ford. Ford plays an American cardiologist whose wife is kidnapped by Middle Eastern terrorists in Paris. Polanski's other films include "Chinatown," "Tess," "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby."

Edward James Olmos. He plays Lt. Castillo in the popular television series "Miami Vice" and is now starring in a soon-to-be released film "Stand and Deliver." Olmos also starred in the films "Zoot Suit" and "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" and "Blade Runner."

The actor Divine. He's now starring in John Waters' new film "Hairspray." Divine is known for his roles as freaky, obese, gaudy women. He's become a pop star in Europe.

Film Director Louis Malle. He made his mark in French New Wave Cinema with such films as "Murmur of the Heart" and "Lacombe Lucien." More recently he has been working in the U.S. making films such as "Atlantic City" and "My Dinner with Andre." His latest film, "Au Revoir Les Enfants," is a reflection on his childhood.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Shoot To Kill," the thriller that stars Sidney Poitier and Tom Berenger. The plot has Poitier, an urban FBI agent, forced into an alliance with an embittered trail guide played by Tom Berenger as they track a killer in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

Television Critic David Bianculli previews the HBO spoof of political campaigns, "Tanner 88: The Dark Horse." Unlike earlier fabricated campaigns like "Pat Paulsen for President," "Tanner 88" takes its politics seriously. The script is written by "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau, and the direction is by Robert Altman.

Computer animator Steven Segal. Segal does his programming on his home computer, unlike most computer animation which is composed on complex processors. His entry in a national computer animation festival is titled "Dance of the Stumblers."