Film

Gerald Early discusses the film "Glass Sheild," and how it doesn't capture the reality of black police in South Philadelphia.

World music critic Milo Miles samples film music from India.

Film critic Stephen Schiff picks the best movies of 1989.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone examines the role of women in two current offerings, the T-V sit-com "Anything But Love" starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and the movie, "sex, lies, and videotape."

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

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

Robert Kaplow and the Punsters return to Fresh Air with a satirical radio play about the Oscar-nominated film Dangerous Liaisons.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg reflects on how changing modes of speech in motion pictures signify a character's personal transformation. The 1938 version of Pygmalion is a great example -- but the trope can be found in several other films.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg wonders about the demand for authentic regional and national accents in motion pictures -- even when its not essential to the plot.

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.