Film

Film critic David Edelstein reviews the new German film Head-On about a marriage of convenience in Hamburg between two troubled Turks. It won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival

Critic-at-large John Powers gives his take on the offerings at this year's Sundance Film Festival, which wrapped up over the weekend.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Million Dollar Baby, a boxing tale directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the movie, alongside Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. The film has won critical acclaim and is now up for seven Oscars, including best picture.

Robert Redford is an actor, a director -- and the founder of the Sundance Institute. He discusses the Sundance Film Festival, which is under way this week.

Critic-at-large John Powers reviews Mikey & Nicky, a film first released in 1976 written and directed by Elaine May starring John Cassavetes and Peter Falk. It's now out on DVD.

In the new film, The Woodsman, Kevin Bacon plays a sex offender just released from prison. Bacon was first recognized in the 1982 film Diner, and went on to roles in Mystic River, A Few Good Men, Flatliners, and Footloose. He's made over 50 films and inspired the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game, in which players try to link another actor with Bacon in as few steps as possible. He is married to the actress Kyra Sedgwick, who also co-stars in The Woodsman.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews In Good Company, starring Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace.

Director Jean Pierre Jeunet's new film A Very Long Engagement is set during the end of World War I and is based on the novel by Sebastien Japrisot. It stars Audrey Tautou, who also played the title role in Jeunet's previous film, Amelie.

Anchorman, starring Will Ferrell, is now out on DVD. It's a spoof of local TV news shows. McKay was the head writer for Saturday Night Live from 1997 to 2001 and a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe. This interview was originally broadcast on July, 8, 2004.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Merchant of Venice starring Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino.

We look at the business of making movie blockbusters with Dade Hayes, special reports editor at Variety, and Jonathon Bing, Variety's deputy managing editor. The two co-authored the new book Open Wide: How Hollywood Box Office Became a National Obsession.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the new three-DVD set More Treasures from American Film Archives. Distributed by The National Film Preservation Foundation, it's a collection of 50 American films made between 1894 and 1931.

Filmmaker Robert Stone's new documentary tells the story of the Symbionese Liberation Army, the radical group that kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in 1974. We speak with Stone and with reporter Tim Findley, who covered the kidnapping for the Hearst newspaper The San Francisco Chronicle.

Film critic David Edelstein lists his top movies of 2004, and recommends current holiday releases. Edelstein says 2004 saw some high-profile winners — and losers hit the nation's big screens. Edelstein says there were some great performances in some not-so-great movies. This was a year of documentaries, some of which proved politically divisive.

Director John Waters, known for making art from sleaze, has a new CD for the season, A John Waters Christmas. It includes such songs as "Here Comes Fatty Claus," "Little Mary Christmas," and "Santa Claus is a Black Man." Waters was once crowned the "Pope of Trash" by William Burroughs.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews A Very Long Engagement and House of Flying Daggers.

David Johansen was a member of the early 1970s glam-punk band the New York Dolls. They often wore both makeup and leather as they played a raw, aggressive style of rock. The group's influence spread far beyond its two studio albums, as it paved the way for rough-riding bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. This year, the singer Morrissey asked the New York Dolls to reunite for his UK Meltdown festival. A CD and DVD came out of the performance, called The Return of the New York Dolls: Live from Royal Festival Hall 2004.

Suketu Mehta's new book is Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. It's an exploration of Mehta's hometown, where he returned after a 21-year absence. Born in Bombay, one of the world's most populous areas, Mehta still believes it's the city of the future.

Mehta now lives in New York. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Conde Nast Traveler and The Village Voice. He co-wrote a Bollywood movie called Mission Kashmir.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Closer, starring Jude Law and Natalie Portman, and directed by Mike Nichols.