D: Gregg Araki; with James Duval, Rose McGowan, Jonathan Schaech, Cress
Williams, Skinny Puppy, Christopher Knight, Perry Farrell, Parker Posey, Heidi
Fleiss, Lauren Tewes, Amanda Bearse, Dustin Nguyen.
VHS Home Video
Waterloo Video, 1016 W. Sixth
A self-proclaimed “pioneer of queer new wave cinema,” director Araki informs
us right away of this movie’s heterosexual status, a tag that becomes an
activist’s weapon in the face of a shocking, detached ending that almost takes
all the fun out of the satire. And just what makes regurgitating blown-off
heads of convenience store clerks so funny, you ask? Probably the accompanying
Gen-X (or should I say Doom Generation) commentary, now practically a
clich�. Gruesome details of their inadvertent, NBK-like homicide
spree roll right off these pretty valley-teens, who nevertheless manage to
maintain their delightful na�vet�, even while experiencing the
pleasures of the flesh. The movie inspires everything from giggles to
gross-outs, and sports some really cool set design in the form of theme motel
rooms. The Doom Generation‘s clubby, downer soundtrack is as
notable as its cameo cast list, but sadly, on video it comes off as barely
noticeable. — Jen Scoville
1941
D: Steven Spielberg; with Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, LorraineGary, Murray Hamilton, Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, Toshiro Mifune, Robert
Stack, Slim Pickens.
MCA Universal Home Video
Laserdisc
Encore Movies and Music, 8820 Burnet
When 1941, a sprawling comedy set shortly after Pearl Harbor, was
released over a decade ago, it was immediately branded a colossal
disappointment. Critics gleefully savaged the movie for its undeniable excesses
and declared Spielberg’s reign as Hollywood’s boy wonder to be over. Which it
was. To be sure, any film in which almost every character screams for an
extended period of time is not high art, but 1941 certainly has its
moments, some of which are truly hilarious. This handsomely produced and
exorbitantly priced box set presents 1941 in its original aspect ratio
and in CAV format. It also incorporates a number of previously deleted scenes
into the film and includes an extensive bonus section with interviews,
outtakes, storyboards, and trailers. — Bud Simons
Fox Hunt
PC CD-ROMCapcom
Fox Hunt is a full-length interactive movie version of Get Smart with better production values but no Buck Henry watching the script. Liner
notes call it a Comedy Spy Thriller: a rogue KGB spy demands $100 million not
to fire a missile at L.A. — the same sleeper agent struck Hollywood once
before during the Seventies, attempting to engineer the moral collapse of
America through such TV fare as Fantasy Isthmus. Yes, that’s the
premise, but it looks better than it reads. George Lazenby (one of the few
big-screen James Bonds) plays senior spy Chauncey, Timothy Bottoms is
over-the-top hit man Frank, and even Rob Lowe puts in a cameo. Newcomer Andrew
Bowen as ne’er-do-well Jack Fremont maintains an appealing presence in the
QuickTime window. The interface is robust, too: a press of the tab key skips
stale expository scenes. You can choose Action or Strategy playing style,
favoring simple real-time fighting sequences or the classic anal-retentive
adventure-game imperative of grabbing and/or remembering everything you see (on
three CDs!) along the way. The soundtrack includes Greg Kihn, Violent Femmes,
and Faith No More. If only the fox head in the logo didn’t look so much like a
rat. — Jim Cooper
A Hungarian Fairy Tale
D: Gyula Gazdag; with David Vermes, Ma’ria Varga, Frantisek Husak, EszterCsa’ka’nyi, Szilvia To’th.
VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th
Once upon a time a lovely young woman gave birth to a beautiful boy who had no
father and no name… so begins this modern fairy tale. As the boy’s quest to
find his father progresses, the film feels increasingly more like a dream or
myth — luminous imagery outweighs story and dialogue. This film looks like a
Vermeer canvas in motion, but the black-and-white palette anchors your focus on
the boy’s sad and fruitless search. As the dream progresses into a nightmare of
pursuer and pursued, an interesting twist enables the boy to find guardians in
the most unlikely of sources. — Kayte VanScoy
AH-64D Longbow
PC CD-ROMOrigin Systems/Electronic Arts
Longbow is a superb simulation, incredible in the depth to which it
portrays the combat environment of today’s most advanced helicopter gunship.
Origin’s first entry into EA’s new line of Jane’s military sims is a
spectacular success. The flight model and avionics are precisely accurate, even
painfully so to those who haven’t flown realistic aircraft simulations before.
Thankfully Longbow includes an extensive set of well-designed tutorials
that cover everything from where the door on the bird is located to how to
utilize the gunship’s advanced weapons-control systems while in the heat of
battle. The battles are what make Longbow addictive; while you play your
part in the action, the rest of the battle continues to unfold around you. Your
performance impacts the final results significantly, but things may not always
turn out as well (or as badly) for your side as they do for you specifically.
— Kurt Dillard
This article appears in September 6 • 1996 and September 6 • 1996 (Cover).