In Custody
In Custody 1993, PG, 126 min. Directed by Ismail Merchant, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Sushma Seth, Neena Gupta, Tinnu Anand, Prayag Raj, Ajay Sahni. The longtime producer/co-conspirator of James Ivory’s films (Howards End, Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, Remains of the Day) takes the helm and directs…
Angels in the Outfield
Angels in the Outfield 1994. Directed by William Dear, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Danny Glover, Brenda Fricker, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Johnson. Disney, what hast thou wrought? It is baseball season, sure, but this new entry from the kings of kiddie cinema is a family-oriented heartstring-yanker so syrupy-sweet in…
Dragons Forever
Dragons Forever 1988. Directed by Samo Hung, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Samo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Deanie Yip. Jackie Chan and company, circa 1986. Chan, Hung, and Biao, who all started out together as children in the tough-as-nails Peking Opera School (beautifully documented in the film Painted Faces), team up this…
The Short Films of Jane Campion
The Short Films of Jane Campion Directed by Jane Campion, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . These four 16mm short films were made by Campion in the early to mid-Eighties, before her feature-length success with Sweetie, An Angel at My Table, and The Piano.They include “Peel,” a 9-minute film about a red-haired family;…
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Often cited as the first true horror movie and one of the first films to tell its story through the eyes of a delirious madman, the techniques of this film milestone are rarely imitated. Eschewing naturalism, the movie’s sets are all painted in hallucinatory black-and-white designs and the acting, as well, follows Expressionistic techniques popular…
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump 1994, PG-13, 142 min. D: Robert Zemeckis; with Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field. Like the chocolates that its titular hero generously offers strangers at a bus stop, this story of a simple man’s journey through life and the turbulent events of post-war America is both dark and sweet, with a…
Go Fish
Go Fish 1994, R, 87 min. Directed by Rose Troche, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Guinevere Turner, V.S. Brodie, T. Wendy McMillan, Migdalia Melendez, Anastasia Sharp. Love at first sight — fact or fantasy? Few deny that it occurs, but love’s path is rarely that direct and immediate. Falling in love is generally…
