THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 28, 1994 TAG: 9412280039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Craig Shapiro
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
TWO WEEKS, two days and six hours. That's how much time I've spent in front of the VCR since Videomatic signed on March 2. And that - in the spirit of '94 - is being conservative.
Here's the formula: 260 videos x 90 minutes (a guesstimate - most ran much longer, but the kids' titles were shorter) (EQ) 23,400 minutes. Divide by 1,440, the number of minutes in 24 hours, and bingo! Bet you can think of other ways to spend 16.25 days. Like go on vacation.
Don't take that as a gripe. In coming up with my 10 favorite videos of the year, that was the easy part. It really made me appreciate what Mal Vincent, our film critic, goes through when he lists his 10 best movies. At least I didn't have to drive anywhere, then take out a loan at the concession stand.
It wasn't too tough watching 12 videos in one week, because they included titles like ``Test Tube Teens in the Year 2000,'' ``Lust for a Vampire'' and ``Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.'' Watching a documentary about Ed Wood and four films by the late B-movie king was kinda fun, too.
The hard part was:
a) whittling those tapes down
b) defining what made them faves
I skipped going with a best-of list because it would've been too obvious. ``The Remains of the Day,'' ``Four Weddings and a Funeral, ``Like Water for Chocolate,'' ``The Age of Innocence,'' ``Schindler's List,'' ``Searching for Bobby Fischer,'' ``Shadowlands,'' ``Jurassic Park,'' ``The Fugitive'' - even ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective' - couldn't miss on video.
Instead, the titles that made the cut were those that delivered the unexpected. With that in mind, and for what it's worth, here's the Videomatic Fave 10 for 1994.
1. ``Into the West'' (Touchstone). A lyrical tale that weaves contemporary Irish life with Celtic lore. Written by Jim Sheridan (``My Left Foot''), it's theme of reconciliation appeals to adults; children can enjoy the action as two brothers, riding a magical white horse, flee the authorities.
2. ``Fearless'' (Warner). Rosie Perez got the Oscar nomination but Jeff Bridges is outstanding as an architect whose brush with death forces him to reconnect with life. A complex, demanding film from Peter Weir that challenges viewers at every turn.
3. ``What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' (Paramount). Again, Leonardo DiCaprio had the showy, Oscar-nominated role, but it's Johnny Depp's thoughtful, low-key performance that anchors this quirky comedy/drama.
4. ``Hard Boiled'' (Fox Lorber). Sam Peckinpah would love John Woo. His movie, about two rogue cops vs. the mob, is a balletic sweep of gunfire and explosions. If you can't find the subtitled version, rent the dubbed one anyway. There isn't a better action flick out there.
5. ``The Joy Luck Club'' (Hollywood Pictures). Wayne Wang's adaptation of the Amy Tan novel is about four Chinese women and their hopes for their first-generation American daughters. What it says, though, is universal and moving.
6. ``Spanking the Monkey'' (New Line). Move over Oedipus. If you take your comedy black, this one - ``The Graduate'' with a dysfunctional '90s twist - is it. Audacious? Outrageous? You bet. And a hoot, too.
7. ``The Ballad of Little Jo'' (New Line). Suzy Amis is memorable as a woman who escapes her past by masquerading as a man in the rugged Old West. A daring little film that says a lot about how we define ourselves today.
8. ``Farewell My Concubine'' (Touchstone). Why it didn't win the foreign film Oscar is a mystery. Director Chen Kaige manages an impressive balancing act in setting the tragedy of two lifelong friends, members of the Peking Opera, against 50 turbulent years of Chinese history.
9. ``Body Snatchers'' (Warner). It's the third go-round for ``Invasion of the Body Snatchers,'' but in shifting the action to a remote Army base, Abel Ferrara creates a story that is just as menacing as those in 1956 and 1978.
10. ``Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' (Warner). The movie Tim Burton wanted to make. Based on the weekday animated series, this dark morality play is the closest yet to Bob Kane's creation. Plus, the look and sound are cool.
Now, since those videos are sure to be flying off the shelves, here are 10 more that would have made the list if it had been a Fave 20: ``BackBeat,'' ``Children of Nature,'' ``Crooklyn,'' ``Dazed and Confused,'' ``Jacquot,'' ``Little Buddah,'' ``The Ref,'' ``Sirens,'' ``Where the River Flows North,'' ``Widow's Peak.''
SUCH A DEAL: Orion Home Video has repriced ``Breathless,'' ``Force 10 From Navarone,'' ``The Falcon and the Snowman'' and ``F/X'' at $14.98 each.
The Couch Report
``The Endless Summer II'' (1994, New Line). It's been nearly 30 years since Bruce Brown followed two surfers around the world. A lot has changed, so it's a given his sequel would be technically superior. That's clear from the opening montage as the director trains his cameras on Robert ``Wingnut'' Weaver and Patrick O'Connell. The surprise is the film retains much of that same innocent charm; with politics and attitudes what they are, that's no small feat. Brown's wry narration and a killer soundtrack get part of the credit.
(CAST: Robert ``Wingnut'' Weaver, Patrick O'Connell. RATED: PG for brief nudity)
``The Last Butterfly'' (1994, New Line). Tom Courtenay gives a wonderful performance as a Parisian mime forced by the Gestapo to perform for the residents of a ``model'' Jewish city. It's a front to fool the Red Cross, and Courtenay's change of heart as he realizes the horrible truth is totally convincing. This moving, haunting little film touches on ``Schindler's List,'' ``The Last Metro,'' ``Mephisto'' and ``Au Revoir Les Enfants.''
(CAST: Tom Courtenay, Bridgette Fossey. UNRATED, brief nudity, adult themes)
Also: Sam Elliott, Linda Fiorentino and Craig Sheffer in ``The Desperate Trail,'' a direct-to-video Western from Turner Home Entertainment (R). MEMO: Next Wednesday: ``Airheads,'' ``Fear of a Black Hat,'' ``Renaissance
Man,'' ``North''
Jan. 10: ``White,'' ``Ciao, Professore!'' ``A Troll in Central
Park'' by CNB