Film

Ken Tucker reviews home videocassettes with a Christmas flavor, starting with classics like "It's A Wonderful Life" and "White Christmas" and ending with "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians."

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Wall Street," the new film on ambition and greed in the world of high finance. The director is Oliver Stone, who won an Academy Award last year for "Platoon."

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Broadcast News," the romantic comedy that takes a satiric look television news. It stars William Hurt, Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks.

J.J. Johnson, a pioneer of the modern jazz trombone. In 1970, he moved to Hollywood to work as a composer and arranger for television. He's toured the country recently, and a new CD of sessions he recorded in the 60s has just been reissued.

Film director and actor John Sayles. His films include "The Return of the Secaucus Seven," "Baby It's You" and "Brother From Another Planet." His new film is "Matewan," about a coal miner's strike in West Virginia.

Actress Sally Kirkland. She's worked in theater and film for 25 years, playing small character roles. She now has a starring role in the film "Anna." (INTERVIEW BY LIANE HANSEN)

Guitarist Ry Cooder. His career consisted of one-night stands until he began writing the scores for films. His credits include "Paris, Texas" and "Crossroads." He's just come out with a solo album, his fist in six years. (INTERVIEW BY LIANE HANSEN)

Film Critic Stephen Schiff will review "The Last Emperor," the Bernardo Bertolucci epic set in 20th Century China.

Ken Tucker will review new home video releases, including the works of rock composer Frank Zappa.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid," the new film based on the screenplay by Hanif Kureishi, who also wrote the screenplay for 1985's surprise hit "My Beautiful Launderette."

Playwright, novelist and essayist Arthur Miller. His plays include "All My Sons," "The Crucible," "After the Fall" and "Death of a Salesman," for which he won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and lasting fame in American theater. He has written an autobiography titled Timebends.

Don Opper, writer of "Slam Dance," the new film directed by Wayne Wang. Opper, also an actor, appears in the film.

Ken Tucker reviews "OC and Stiggs," the latest Robert Altman film that bypassed theatrical release and went straight to video cassette distribution. Altman's best-known films include "M*A*S*H," "The Long Goodbye," and "California Split."

Film Critic Stephen Schiff review "Nuts" starring Barbara Streisand and Richard Dreyfus.

Television Critic David Bianculli previews "Poor Little Rich Girl," the NBC miniseries based on the life of heiress Barbara Hutton, who squandered a vast fortune and died nearly penniless. Farah Fawcett stars.

Architectural preservationist David Naylor, whose new book, Great American Movie Theaters, charts the past glory and current demise of a uniquely American architectural treasure, the downtown movie palace.

Terry Jones, a member of the comedy troupe Monty Python. Jones did much of the writing for the troupe. He directed most of their movies, often appearing as one of the Python women. Jones now writes children's books in England. He also directed the recent film "Personal Services."

John Boorman, British film director. His new film is titled "Hope and Glory" set in London during the Blitz in World War II. The film looks at war from the vantage point of a child, who saw in the chaos a non-stop party.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Cry Freedom," starring Kevin Kline as South African journalist Donald Woods, and Denzel Washington as anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko. The movie portrays the friendship that developed between Woods, a white reporter, and Biko, one of the leading foes of apartheid. "Cry Freedom" is directed by Richard Attenborough.

Henry Mancini, who's had a long career writing scores for movies and TV. He has composed some classic songs, such as "The Pink Panther," "Moon River," "The Days of Wine and Roses," and the themes for "Peter Gunn" and "Mr. Lucky." He had just done the music for the new film version of "The Glass Menagerie."