D:James Gray; with Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian
Schell, Moira Kelly.
VHS Home Video
Live Entertainment Set in the Russian �migr� community of Brighton Beach, Little
Odessa tells the story of a prodigal hit man, Joshua Shapira (Roth), whose
mother (Redgrave) is dying of a brain tumor and brother (Furlong) skips school
to get high. Previously estranged from his family because of ties with the
Russian mob, Joshua finds it especially hard to get along with his father
(Schell), whom he forces into a humiliating mid-winter de-pantsing and nearly
kills. First-time director James Gray excels behind the lens, providing a
fascinating but desperate look at the small-time crime scene within a tightly
bound culture.
— Taylor Holland
Clerks
D: Kevin Smith; with Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti,
Lisa Spoonauer, Jason Mewes.
Laserdisc
Miramax Home Entertainment While Kevin Smith’s commentary track on this special edition laserdisc of his
own Clerks doesn’t provide as eye-opening a view of no-budget filmmaking
as Robert Rodriguez did on the disc for El Mariachi, it does serve as an
entertaining enough accompaniment to an already fun, if flawed, movie. Smith,
along with several of his Clerks cronies (including a deliriously drunk,
passed out Jay Bob), may be amusing, but it’s the gallery of deleted scenes
following the movie that really make this disc worth looking at — including a
very different ending that you’ll have to see to believe. — Joey
O’Bryan
Blue Sky
D:Tony Richardson; with Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones, Powers Boothe, Chris
O’Donnell, Carrie Snodgress.
VHS Home Video
Orion Take one tolerant, quirky, and loving husband who hunts military isotopes and
searches for integrity in an army that has none. Add one sultry, seductive, and
manic-depressive wife who uses Monroesque techniques and Blanche DuBois
deportment to get the attention she craves from sources better left alone. Toss
in children to reflect and deflect parental conflict, an arrogant major to
serve as a foil, and nuclear testing to illustrate government irresponsibility.
Mix well and place in a 1960s army base and out comes a lesson about love,
sacrifice, and essential character enhanced by Jessica Lange’s Oscar-winning
performance. — Sarah Hamlin
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Interactive
CD-ROM for Windows or Mac*
Graphix Zone Indexed as a mosaic of artifacts and memorabilia, Highway 61
Interactive is a nutty warehouse of Zimmermania. Peruse the archive of
songs and albums, snoop the Columbia recording studio of the 1960s, or take a
three-dimensional stroll through a surreal version of Greenwich Village where
plates and jukeboxes magically come to life as visages of Bob. After you’ve
cleaned your plate, accept the free tickets to an interactive Dylan club gig or
hear an electrified version of “House of the Rising Sun” when you play the CD
on your old-fashioned audio player. — Taylor Holland
Legend of Dolomite
D: Foster Corder;
with Rudy Ray Moore, Lady Reed, Ice-T, Eddie Griffin,
Mike D, Paul Mooney, Easy E.
VHS Home Video
Xenon Entertainment Group Although comedian Rudy Ray Moore’s outrageous brand of blue humor is
certainly not for everyone, his fans won’t want to miss this hilarious
documentary which chronicles the rhymin’ comedy king’s rise to stardom. Little
else is explored in The Legend of Dolomite — this is simply a
celebration of Moore and his work. Described by Ice-T as “the king of
exploitation,” Moore is portrayed here as the baddest, funkiest, and most
original comic around, and there’s little doubt his act influenced greats like
Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, as well as plenty of contemporary rap
musicians. — Joey O’Bryan
Exotic Pets
CD-ROM for Windows
Inroads Interactive Although the content of this CD is interesting, its low-tech presentation
prevents an enjoyable interactive experience. Inhibitingly linear, the
navigation has no “go back” buttons and no web of related pieces. Pick-a-Pet
criteria match exotic pets (bugs, rodents, equines, fish) to your needs, and
each pet panel shows a picture of and information about the pet. Non-intuitive
icons access a full-screen picture, the movie, a graph of pet facts, etc. The
video clips are jerky and slow. Although the big, black scorpion and the
tarantula crawling around a guy’s arm were neat, the pet rock getting licked by
the dog was not. — Sarah Hamlin
In reviews of CD-ROMs available in both Windows and Mac formats, an asterisk
(*) indicates the format reviewed.
This article appears in November 17 • 1995 and November 17 • 1995 (Cover).