Film

Television Critic David Bianculli previews "Dream Season," a production of NFL Films that creates dream teams that compete in dream Super Bowls. Through computer generation and sophisticated editing, the producers take film from the last 20 years of televised football and extract key sequences featuring players from from top teams of their times and match them with other top opposing teams from different times. The effect is the video equivalent of the `what-if-the-'85-Raiders-played the-'87-Redskins' questions typical of radio call-in shows.

Cinematographer Stephen Burum. His latest film is Brian De Palma's "Casualties of War." This is his third film for De Palma; his first was "Body Double." He also shot "The Untouchables," which was nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers Award. Burum got his start as an assistant to Francis Ford Coppola on "Apocalypse Now." His other films include "St. Elmo's Fire," "The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish."

Sound Designer Randy Thom. He began his career in community radio (WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio) producing live music and dramas. He then moved into producing sound for films, although he still produces some independent radio dramas.

Actress and director Lee Grant. As an actress, Grant won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Shampoo," Emmys for her work on "Peyton Place" and "Electra," and an Obie for "The Maids." As a director, she won an Academy Award for her documentary "Down and Out in America." This month, HBO is showing Grant's latest production, "Battered." It's a documentary about the victims, and perpetrators, of domestic violence. "Battered" airs as part of HBO's "America Undercover" series.

Film director Herk Harvey and script writer John Clifford. Their 1962 low-budget horror film, "Carnival of Souls," has just been re-released. The film was shown only sporadically at the time of its completion, mostly to drive-ins and as half of a double feature throughout the Southeast. But in the years since, it has attracted a steady and loyal following, largely because of its occasional appearance on late-night TV.

Guest Film Critic Peter Rainer, in attendance at this week's Montreal Film Festival, talks with host Terry Gross about some of the films previewed there. Rainer is the film critic for The Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Actor Raul Julia. His films include "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Moon Over Parador," "Tango Bar" and the recent "Tequila Sunrise." His latest film, "Romero," is based on the life, and assassination, of the Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Guest film critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the home video release of "Naked Gun," the police farce produced and directed by the makers of "Airplane." "Naked Gun," which premiered on movie screens early last spring, was based on the six-episode TV program "Police Squad," which recently aired on cable TV.

Guest film critic Peter Rainer reviews The Package, the new suspense thriller starring Gene Hackman.

Writer Pico Iyer. His book Video Night in Kathmandu explores the subtle and often humorous Westernization of the Far East. Iyer, who reported for Time Magazine for four years, found the West's influence in mohawk haircuts in Bali, six Filipino girls doing a perfect rendition of a Madonna hit, Japan's baseball mania and a Chinese cafeteria that served dishes like "Yes, Sir, Cheese My Baby," and "Ike and Tuna Tuner." Video Night in Kathmandu has just been published in paperback. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Shelley Winters. With two Oscars and well over 100 films to her credit, Winters is a star in the classic Hollywood mode. But she is almost as well known for her off-screen adventures and irrepressible life style that made her a staple in the gossip columns.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff review "Casualties of War," the new film by director Brian De Palma and starring Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox.

Screenwriter and producer Lowell Ganz. He co-wrote the script to "Parenthood," the new comedy starring Steve Martin. He also co-wrote the script for "Splash," which introduced Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. Both films were directed by friend and collaborator Ron Howard. Ganz also was the supervising producer of the popular TV series "Happy Days," starring Henry Winkler as The Fonz.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "sex, lies, and videotape," the first feature film by 26-year-old director and writer Stephen Soderbergh. The film, made on a budget of $1.2 million, won the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Writer and critic Patricia McLaughlin looks at the wave of "Batmania" now at full force throughout the country.

Director James Cameron. Though his career is relatively young, Cameron has established himself as one of the best directors and writers of intense dramas that jump between exhilaration and terror. His best-known work is "Aliens," the sequel to the 1979 sci-fi classic in which Lt. Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, stalks a vicious alien that's invaded her spacecraft and is slaughtering the crew. The film was nominated for seven Oscars and won two.

Actress Martha Plimpton. She appears in the new Ron Howard movie "Parenthood" as an independent, rebellious teenager. Although only 17, this is already Plimpton's 6th feature film. Her other film credits include "The Mosquito Coast," "The Goonies," "Another Woman," and "Running On Empty."

Myra Lewis. In 1958, when she was only 13 years old, Myra married rock star Jerry Lee Lewis, who was also her second cousin. The public controversy over that marriage ruined Lewis' career for over a decade. In 1982, Myra Lewis wrote a memoir of her life with Jerry Lee Lewis, titled Great Balls Of Fire. That book is the basis of the new movie starring Jerry Lee Lewis and Winona Ryder.

Critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the vintage James Bond movies available on home video cassette.

Film writer Aljean Harmetz. She covers the movie industry for The New York Times, reporting on the business side of Hollywood. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of "The Wizard of Oz," Harmetz has just re-released her first book, The Making of the Wizard of Oz. In it, she details the behind-the-scenes intrigue that almost scuttled what it is probably the most popular movie ever made.