
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 31, 1994                   TAG: 9501060031
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

THESE WERE THE BEST OF THE BUNCH IN 1994

1994 was a fine year in video - not a great year, but it certainly had its moments. So here's a glance back at some of the high spots. And since home video is so much more free-wheeling (and fun) than the theatrical marketplace, the categories aren't nearly as strict.

BEST REDISCOVERY

"Nothing But a Man" (New Video Group). This straightforward look at institutionalized racism in the early 1960s was not a commercial hit when it was released in 1964. On video, it can finally find the wide audience it deserves. A real triumph for writer Robert Young and director Michael Roemer.

BEST AUSTRALIAN IMPORT

"Romper Stomper" (Academy). Writer-director Geoffrey Wright takes Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" for his model in his exploration of the world of skinheads. Though he doesn't want you to sympathize with these guys in any way, he does want you to see the world as they do. This is strong stuff, exceptionally well handled.

BEST BRITISH IMPORT

"The Hawk" (Academy). On one level, this is a simple mystery set in a working class family. But star Helen Mirren is up to her usual high standard as a woman who comes to suspect that her husband might be a serial killer. Or is her own troubled past betraying her? A terrific exercise in psychological suspense.

BEST MEXICAN IMPORT

"Cronos" (Vidmark). Guillermo Del Toro's elegant horror film is unlike any that have been produced in this country for years. The Cronos Device is a bejewelled gizmo that confers immortality on its owner - immortality with a price. The film's quirky humor has a strong Felliniesque edge and overtones of early Cronenberg. Particularly recommended for those who don't normally enjoy the genre.

BEST SPANISH IMPORT

"Jamon, Jamon" (Academy). Here's an earthy, bawdy realistic story about two young lovers in a grim industrial wasteland. It also has a satiric streak and an ending so unexpected and surprising that it's almost a comic tragedy.

CHILDREN'S COMEDY

"Ernest Goes to School" (Monarch). Jim Varney's finest and funniest outing as Ernest P. Worrell. Everything that a fan could ask for.

BEST TITLE

"Vampire Vixens from Venus" (Shenachie). Yes, it's every bit as cheesy as it claims to be.

HORROR (feature length)

"Body Snatchers" (Warner Bros.). Abel Ferrara's take on this tale won't make anyone forget Don Siegel's original, but it sure is fun. The effects that involve soft, gently probing little tendrils are as icky and revolting as any you'll see.

HORROR (short form)

"Orson Welles' Ghost Story" (MPI). This eerie little black and white Irish ghost story from 1953 is reminiscent of a really good episode of the original "Twilight Zone."

GUILTIEST GUILTY PLEASURE

"Killer Looks" (Imperial). Couple's kinky games get out of hand.

MOST PLEASURABLE GUILTY PLEASURE

"Dead On" (Orion) Updated variation of Hitchcock's "Stranger on a Train."

BEST LASERDISC

"Peeping Tom" (Voyager). Michael Powell's 1959 film is still shocking and watchable, though its subject matter (voyeurism) has been overworked. It's an underappreciated masterpiece from the director best known for "The Red Shoes."

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Visions of Light (FoxVideo). These interviews with living cinematographers provide real insights into the filmmaking process. If you love movies, or even like movies, you have to see this one. Fiction or non-fiction, it's one of the finest tapes of the year. Highest recommendations.

(First runner-up, Ross McElwee's "Time Indefinite" (First Run Features), his "sequel" to "Sherman's March.")

BEST CRIME FILM

"Red Rock West" (Columbia TriStar). This quirky little independent production about a down-and-outer (Nicholas Cage) mistaken for a hitman has become a true cult hit. The same happened to the Dahl brothers' previous effort, "Kill Me Again," and their newest, "The Last Seduction."

BEST WESTERN

"Hondo" (MPI). This 1953 film has aged well, and it showcases stars John Wayne and Geraldine Page (and Lassie!) at their finest.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

"Snow White" (Buena Vista). The carefully restored classic looks great, and it's still really scary.

BEST RESTORATION

"A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Director's Version" (Warner). Three minutes have been returned to Elia Kazan's film, including Kim Hunter's slow, smoldering stroll down those stairs.

BEST FILM

A Tie between:

"Hard Boiled" (FoxLorber). This is Hong Kong director John Woo's best film to date. Like Peckinpah, Woo is interested in elaborately choreographed action sequences and the moral effects of violence. Such recent American efforts as "Die Hard," "Under Siege" and "Speed" pale by comparison. I can't wait for this one to come out on a widescreen laserdisc.

And:

"King of the Hill" (MCA/Universal). Steven Soderbergh's screen version of A.E. Hotchner's memoir of growing up in St. Louis in the 1930s is a wonderful story. Though it received only a limited theatrical release, it loses nothing on the more intimate medium of home video. Young Jesse Bradford does masterful work in the lead.

As for 1995, the immediate future looks bright with the rerelease of a quintessential 1960s film, a new series about the history of Hollywood movies and a bumper crop of guilty pleasures that you absolutely will not believe. Keep watching this space!

New releases:

Airheads **

Starring Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler, Joe Mantegna. Directed by Michael Lehmann. FoxVideo. 96 min. Rated PG-13 for rough language, mild sexual content and violence.

Following in the shallow footprints of Bill and Ted and Wayne and Garth, this rock 'n roll comedy is occasionally as rude and irreverent as its subject matter. At most other times it's a slow parody that revolves around three sub-genius white boys who inadvertently take a radio station hostage.

Renaissance Man **1/2

Starring Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines. Directed by Penny Marshall. Buena Vista. 124 min. Rated PG-13 for strong language, some violence.

Once again, Penny Marshall has taken a standard Hollywood formula, applied her own odd spin to it and come up with a pleasing bit of entertainment. This retooled service comedy is deeply flawed but the second half settles down and comes to a rousingly manipulative patriotic finish. DeVito is fine as an adman turned teacher.

Bad Girls 1/2*

Starring Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterton, Andie MacDowell, Drew Barrymore. Directed by Jonathan Kaplan. FoxVideo. 110 min. Rated R for strong language, violence, some sexual material.

This feminist Western is a "Wild Bunch" wannabe. The stars play prostitutes turned gunwomen trapped in a truly ludicrous story. Co-star Robert Loggia spends the entire film trying to hide his face behind a huge hat, and who can blame him? A huge mistake for all concerned.

Keywords:
YEAR 1994

by CNB