Film

Film critic Leonard Maltin has two new releases. The first is an updated and revised edition of his "T.V. Movies," an index of films shown on television. The second is about silent cartoons and animations and is titled "Of Mice and Magic." He joins the show to discuss both.

Terry Robinson was a physical trainer to the stars, working at MGM. He was Mario Lanza's trainer and close friend. He has recently written a biography of the tenor "Lanza, His Tragic Life."

Al Malmfelt is the current head of the Theatre of the Living Arts (TLA} cinema on South Street in Philadelphia. The theater was recently threatened with closure in order for Steven Starr to build a nightclub. The TLA has escaped that fate for now. Malmfelt discusses the cinema's founding and current situation, as well as doing business on South Street.

Film critic Amos Vogel is a journalist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of "Film as a Subversive Art." His new television series "Reel Philadelphia: An Unusual Film Series" will highlight Philadelphian filmmakers.

Film critic Bill Van Wert joins the show with a review of the film "Rockers."

Wes Craven discusses violence in motion pictures and his film "The Last House on the Left."

George T. Nierenberg made the documentary No Maps on My Taps, which captures the history of jazz and tap dancing. One of Nierenberg's subjects, Sandman Sims, tells Terry Gross about his career as a dancer.

Film critic Bill Van Wert tells Terry Gross about his opinions on the Jodie Foster film The Foxes and the politics of the Academy Awards.

Documentary filmmaker Robert Drew has revolutionized the genre by dispensing with narrators and adopting a more dramatic, theatrical approach. His best known movie, Primary, follows the presidential run of John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey.

Scott Tucker of the Lavender Left, director of the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force Rita Addessa, and Women Against Violence Against Women Member Peggy O'Donnell address the controversy behind William Friedkin's film Cruising, which stars Al Pacino as an undercover cop infiltrating the gay S&M scene in New York. The guests take a close look at the film's exaggerated and dehumanizing portrayal of gay people and discuss their planned protests. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions and comments.