Pierson, Frank

Conspiracy

On January 20, 1942, with the tide of war turning in favor of the Allies, a small group of SS officers, government ministers, and Nazi officials met near Berlin to decide the fate of Europe's Jews. Based on the only surviving record of that meeting, Conspiracy is a powerful combination of historical reconstruction and speculation that attempts to offer new insights into a pivotal moment in history.

The cast does a marvelous job of fleshing out the documentary evidence to create convincing characters. Kenneth Branagh is especially chilling as SS Chief of Security Reinhard Heydrich, who uses a combination of charm and ruthless power-mongering to gain support for his plans. Colin Firth is fascinating as Wilhelm Stuckart, a lawyer who sees the brutal tactics of the SS as a threat to his own intellectualized anti-Semitism, and Stanley Tucci gives a wonderfully understated performance as Adolf Eichmann.

Conspiracy is a carefully crafted, completely unsensational film that offers ample proof of the banality of evil. There are no histrionics and no comic-book Nazi villains, just a small group of politicians and war-weary soldiers arguing about the meaning of words and the logistics of extermination, calmly preparing to unleash an unimaginable horror on the world. --Simon Leake

A Star Is Born

This film actually began with the idea of remaking A Star Is Born with the then-hot couple James Taylor and Carly Simon. Eventually, it evolved into this vanity production for Barbra Streisand, with Kris Kristofferson as the designated stud muffin. The story remains the same: A superstar on the decline meets a young singer on the way up. They marry as their career trajectories intersect, and his eventual demise is meant as a sacrifice to further boost her career by ridding her of the burden of him. Kristofferson's rock & roll numbers are decidedly lousy--Hollywood's idea of rock music--and Streisand looks good and always sounds fine (she won an Oscar for cowriting the song "Evergreen"). But you can feel her heavy hand guiding every shot; she seems to serve as puppet master for director Frank Pierson, framing every image of herself for maximum glow. The ultimate date flick (if the guy can sit still through it). --Marshall Fine

The fire of Barbra Streisand. The magnetism of Kris Kristofferson. The reckless world of big-time rock 'n' roll. All three bring a new passion and timeliness to A Star Is Born one of the screen's classic love stories (previously filmed in 1937 and 1954) and winner of five Golden GlobeO Awards including Best Picture Actress and Actor (Musical/Comedy). Paul Williams Kenny Loggins Leon Russell and others worked with Streisand on one of the most popular song scores ever topped by the Streisand/Williams Evergreen winning the Academy AwardO and Golden GlobeO Award as 1976's Best Original Song. Their teamwork resulted in a box-office triumph as well as "a considerable achievement" (Clive Hirschhorn The Hollywood Musical).Running Time: 140 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085393353629 Manufacturer No: 33536

Soldier's Girl

Cable networks like Showtime are diving into risky material that mainstream movie-makers shy away from--and Soldier's Girl demonstrates the payoff of such risks. Barry Winchell (Troy Garity, Barbershop), new to an infantry base in Tennessee, gets taken to a nightclub for drag performers by an obnoxious fellow soldier, Fisher (Shawn Hatosy, Outside Providence). There he meets Calpernia (Lee Pace), a transgendered performer, and feels an immediate attraction. But as Winchell's relationship with Calpernia develops, his relationship with the repressed Fisher grows dangerous to his career in the military--and possibly to his life. Based on a true story, Soldier's Girl tackles its delicate subject matter directly but respectfully, with compassion and intelligence. Garity, Pace, and Hatosy all turn in compelling, complex performances, steering clear of stereotypes. Director Frank Pierson (screenwriter of Dog Day Afternoon) skillfully avoids easy answers or obvious solutions and was deservedly nominated for an Emmy as a result. --Bret Fetzer

The true story of Soldier's Girl, which takes place in Fort Campbell, KY, tells the heart-wrenching story of the life and tragic death of soldier Barry Winchell. His love for Calpernia Addams, a beautiful transgendered nightclub performer was misunderstood by fellow soldiers and eventually leads to his brutal death. The outstanding performances by Lee Pace and Troy Garity will draw you into this emotional and powerful film.

Truman

Harry S. Truman had a hard row to hoe as the 33rd president and he never enjoyed popularity while in office. Think about what occurred on Truman's watch: the bombing of Hiroshima, a nationwide railroad strike, the rise of the Southern States' Rights Party, integration of the armed forces, the ascendancy of McCarthyism, the early cold war, and finally the Korean Conflict and Truman's decision to fire General MacArthur. Few American presidents have been faced with more difficult and dangerous times than Truman. It wasn't until some 50 years later that Harry Truman, a farmer from Missouri, got his due appreciation in the history books. Truman follows the man from his beginnings as an artillery officer in WWI through his connections with Missouri's Pendergast political machine and onward to Washington. The always-excellent Gary Sinise is a perfect fit for the Truman character, having obviously studied the President's plainspoken Missouri twang and ramrod-straight bearing at great length. Diana Scarwid is also very good as Truman's long-suffering wife Bess; the film studies the relationship between the two in some depth, and also sheds light on the men who surrounded Truman in Washington. Truman's chief failing is that in its effort to detail 40 years of the man's life, certain historical events are given short shrift in order to fit them all in. Nonetheless, Sinise inhabits the character well; the scene where the President ruminates on dining alone in the White House (while Bess is back in Missouri) is a great, understated comment on the loneliness, isolation, and stress of the job. --Jerry Renshaw

King Of The Gypsies

Susan Sarandon and Brooke Shields head up an all-star ensemble that explores the real world of gypsies in America. Eric Roberts plays David, a typical New Yorker with a not so typical family history. When his grandfather dies, he bequeaths to him the title King of their gypsy tribe, outraging his passed over father (Judd Hirsch). The intriguing web of song, dance, treachery and superstition that makes up Gypsy culture proves too alluring for David to resist, and the audience is along for the ride.

Citizen Cohn

A dramatized account of Roy Cohn, a ruthless lawyer who prosecuted the Rosenbergs, worked as McCarthy's right-hand man and joined forces with the Kennedy's in their fight for civil rights.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 3-MAY-2005
Media Type: DVD

James Woods seems to find his most adventurous roles in television movies, particularly this made-for-HBO biography of the late lawyer and powerbroker Roy Cohn. A hallucinatory, impressionistic look at his career and life, the film is comprised of flashbacks by Cohn, who is seen dying of AIDS in 1988 in his New York hospital bed. Woods sinks his teeth deeply into the role of the shark-like Cohn, capturing his arrogance and his insecurity, both at his own Jewishness and his deeply closeted homosexuality, even as he rides Sen. Joe McCarthy's anti-Communism campaign for all it's worth. Woods even manages to make the deeply detestable Cohn vulnerable, if not sympathetic. A strong supporting cast includes Joe Don Baker as an amused and calculating McCarthy, but the film lives and breathes in Woods's flamboyantly nuanced embodiment of the whiny, manipulative Cohn. --Marshall Fine

Dirty Pictures

Following vaguely in the footsteps of The People vs. Larry Flint, Dirty Pictures is a provocative retelling of an all-too-true story about the 1990 attempts to censor the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center's controversial Robert Mapplethorpe photography exhibit. The film gets directly at a quintessential, core principle that continues to fascinate Americans: Who gets to decide what forms of expression are valid? Does the constitutional right to freedom of expression apply to forms of expression you don't like? This film blends stock footage of both sides of the Cincinnati debate with actors' reenactments. James Woods's performance as the art museum's director Dennis Barrie is particularly impressive. The juxtaposition of real and fictional footage is extremely effective, and the result is a compellingly intelligent and emotionally gripping look at the issues of right-wing censorship in the arts.

The film contains images of Mapplethorpe's work and interpretations of its contexts and histories as well as insightful interviews with some of the subjects whose photos appeared in the original exhibit. But the art takes a back seat to the true hero of the film--the U.S. Constitution and its defenders. --Tara Chace

Shocking. Stunning. Brilliant. These are some of the words that described artist Robert Mapplethorpe's controversial 1990 photo exhibit and this "gripping provocative and alarming" (The Washington Post) film about the show's censorship is equally as captivating. Starring Oscar nominees James Woods (The General's Daughter) and Diana Scarwid (Inside Moves) Dirty Pictures delves into the uproar over right-wing censorship of the arts in a true-to-life tale that is "chilling" (Los Angeles Times)!When the director of the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center Dennis Barrie (Woods) books a touring photo exhibit of the late Robert Mapplethorpe he knows he's brought a major-league event to town. But when the Cincinnati Sheriff (Craig T. Nelson) sees the sexually explicit photos he shuts down the show...charging Barrie with peddling obscenity! Determined to stand his ground Barrie faces trial and risks losing his job -- and his family -- to protect the right promised to every American by the Constitution...the freedom of expression!System Requirements:Starring: James Woods Craig T. Nelson and Diana Scarwid. Directed By: Frank Pierson. Running Time: 104 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Standard" format. Copyright 2002 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616851130 Manufacturer No: 1000792

The Looking Glass War

Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture

Paradise

Enter the world of Bobby Paradise, a former astronaut who discovered God during a crisis in space and upon his return became a prominent minister. His power and success are jeopardized when he finds his family at the center of sexual scandal, government investigation and a murderous secret.