THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 24, 1994 TAG: 9408240039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Craig Shapiro
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
YOU'D HAVE to be really picky if there wasn't something to your liking among today's releases.
``Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994, PolyGram). A witty British comedy that takes its lead from ``When Harry Met Sally'' and ``Sleepless in Seattle.'' Only thing is, the story idles when it turns to the Hugh Grant-Andie MacDowell romance. He's a charmer, but she's a dud. It's much snappier, and laugh-out-loud fun, when the camera is on Grant and his endearing circle of friends, all waiting to be struck by that thunderbolt called love. Rent it.
(CAST: Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell. RATED: R for language, situations)
``Like Water for Chocolate'' (1993, Touchstone). ``One doesn't think about love, one feels it.'' The popular adaptation of the Laura Esquivel novel has a similar effect. The pure love of Tita and Pedro cannot be denied, not by propriety, not by her unspeakably cruel mother. A sumptuous mix of folklore and passion, it's truly intoxicating, like Quail in Rose Petal Sauce. (In Spanish with English subtitles.)
(CAST: Lumi Cavazo, Marco Leonardi. RATED: R for nudity, situations)
``A Man Escaped'' (1956, New Yorker). Robert Bresson's true-life account of a Resistance fighter's escape from a German prison is a rediscovered gem. As the meticulous plan unfolds, the tension builds - not from derring-do but long silences and stark B&W cinematography. You'll be swept right along. (In French with English subtitles.)
(CAST: Francois Leterrier. UNRATED, but it's for adults)
``Blue'' (1993, Touchstone). Juliette Binoche's mesmerizing performance as a young widow propels this delicately paced psychological study, chapter one of Krzysztof Kieslowski's ``Three Colors'' trilogy, symbolic of the tricolor French flag. She tries to withdraw, only to be pulled back in by her composer-husband's past. The look is stylish. (In French with English subtitles.)
(CAST: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Regent. RATED: R for situations, adult themes)
``Blue Chips'' (1994, Paramount). Purists will nit-pick William Friedkin's film, but it raises real issues. Nick Nolte is a college hoops coach being pressed to win. How far will he go to sign three recruits? Nolte is excellent, the game sequences are crisply edited, and just try scoring all the cameos.
(CAST: Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, Bob Cousy, Shaquille O'Neal. RATED: PG-13 for language)
``D2: The Mighty Ducks'' (1994, Walt Disney). Problem: Recasting the Ducks as underdogs. Solution: Make the team more PC, have everyone remember they play for fun and put some ruffians between them and the gold. The ice action is smooth; Disney's marketeers are smoother. (NOTE: Due Friday.)
(CAST: Emilio Estevez, Michael Tucker, Jan Rubes. RATED: PG for saucy language)
``Night of the Demons 2'' (1994, Republic). Its cast of nubile unknowns - Videomatic's First Rule of Renting - qualifies this sequel, which returns unsuspecting students to a haunted mortuary. Decent FX and flashes of wicked humor place it above the usual starlets-in-distress fare.
(CAST: Bobby Jacoby, Amelia Kinkade, Zoe Trilling. RATED: R for gore, nudity and language)
``Cheyenne Warrior'' (1994, New Horizons). Cross-cultural love. Buffalo roaming the plains. This cheapo spin on ``Dances With Wolves'' would have played better on cable's Lifetime. Maybe.
(CAST: Kelly Preston, Pato Hoffman, Dan Haggerty. RATED: PG-13 for violence, innuendo)
Also: Hugh O'Brian in ``Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone'' (unrated); ``Raw Justice,'' with David Keith and Pamela Anderson hot and bothered (R), and ``Animal Instincts 2,'' an erotic thriller that asks, ``Wouldn't you like to watch . . . again?'' (unrated)
Next Wednesday: ``Serial Mom,'' ``8 Seconds,'' ``Greedy,'' ``PCU,'' ``Silk Degrees,'' ``Dark Angel: The Ascent''
SUCH DEALS: If you're looking to fatten your collection, variety is today's secret word, too.
Cybermen, Krotons and Quarks, oh my. CBS/Fox gives ``Doctor Who'' fans a fix with ``The Dominators,'' ``The Krotons,'' ``The Web Planet,'' ``Silver Nemesis: The Extended Version,'' ``Enlightenment'' and a look at the sixth man to play the time traveler, ``The Colin Baker Years.'' $19.98 each.
Paramount adds a half-dozen titles to its ``Great Movies, Great Prices'' series, led by ``Indecent Proposal'' at a decent $19.95. Also, ``Monty Python: Live at the Hollywood Bowl,'' ``Monty Python's Life of Brian,'' ``Frankie & Johnny,'' ``Soapdish'' and ``The Efficiency Expert'' ($14.95 each).
Republic's markdowns are a scream: ``The Wicker Man,'' ``Scars of Dracula,'' ``Theatre of Death,'' ``To the Devil . . . a Daughter,'' ``Demons of the Mind'' ($9.98 each) and ``Link'' ($14.98).
Republic has something for little kids, too - three ``Cro'' tapes. ``It's a Woolly, Wooly World,'' ``Adventures in Woollyville'' and ``Have Mammoths, Will Travel'' feature two episodes each, run $9.98 and come with trading cards.
Here's a handful for all kids. New titles in Orion's Storyteller's Classics are ``Peter and the Wolf,'' ``The Nutcracker,'' ``Swan Lake,'' ``The Toy Symphony'' and ``Sleeping Beauty.'' $12.98 each, and that includes a cassette soundtrack.
ON BROADWAY: Walt Disney Home Video hits the boards Friday with ``The Best of Broadway Musicals,'' classic performances featuring the original cast members from ``Camelot,'' ``My Fair Lady,'' ``West Side Story,'' ``Sweet Charity,'' ``Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,'' ``Oklahoma!'' and more.
The tape ($19.99) was put together from nearly 1,000 hours of footage from ``The Ed Sullivan Show.'' Back then, Ethel Merman, Richard Kiley, Julie Andrews and Richard Burton would zip over to 1697 Broadway and sing for Sullivan's Sunday-night national audience.
TOP TAPES (in this week's Billboard):
Sales: ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,'' ``Thumbelina,'' ``The Return of Jafar,'' ``Playboy: 1994 Playmate of the Year,'' ``Mrs. Doubtfire''
Rentals: ``Philadelphia,'' ``The Pelican Brief,'' ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,'' ``On Deadly Ground,'' ``Grumpy Old Men'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by NEW YORKER FILMS
``A Man Escaped,'' the true story of a Resistance fighter's escape
from a German prison, stars Charles LeClainche, left, and Francois
Leterrier.
by CNB