THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 22, 1995 TAG: 9502220035
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CRAIG SHAPIRO
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
THE NOMINATIONS are in. The videos? Not yet.
Make that mostly not yet.
Oscar-watchers will have to make do with ``Four Weddings and a Funeral,'' a nominee for best picture, and ``The Client,'' starring best-actress candidate Susan Sarandon. Both have been on video a while now.
Woody Allen's ``Bullets Over Broadway'' comes out March 21, but the other nominees aren't due until after March 27's dog-and-pony show. Paramount has set April 27 for ``Forrest Gump,'' which raked in 13 nominations. ``Pulp Fiction'' was No. 9 at the box office last weekend, so don't expect it soon.
That could change. Last year, Warner bumped up the release of ``The Fugitive'' to take advantage of the Oscar hype. Here's how the schedule stands:
March 21: ``Bullets Over Broadway,'' director (Woody Allen), supporting actor (Chazz Palminteri), supporting actress (Jennifer Tilly, Dianne Wiest)
April 11: ``The Shawshank Redemption,'' best picture, actor (Morgan Freeman)
April 18: ``Quiz Show,'' best picture, director (Robert Redford), supporting actor (Paul Scofield); ``Blue Sky,'' actress (Jessica Lange); ``Ed Wood,'' supporting actor (Martin Landau)
April 27: ``Forrest Gump,'' best picture, actor (Tom Hanks), supporting actor (Gary Sinise), director (Robert Zemeckis)
No date: ``Pulp Fiction,'' best picture, actor (John Travolta), supporting actor (Samuel L. Jackson), supporting actress (Uma Thurman), director (Quentin Tarantino)
``Pulp Fiction,'' however, is still playing locally, as are most of the other nominees. Check the listings for ``Nobody's Fool,'' actor (Paul Newman); ``Nell,'' actress (Jodie Foster); ``Little Women,'' actress (Winona Ryder), and ``Red,'' director (Krzysztof Kieslowski).
``The Madness of King George,'' starring best actor and supporting actress nominees Nigel Hawthorne and Helen Mirren, opens March 3 at the Naro. The Norfolk theater expects to show ``Tom & Viv,'' with best actress and supporting actress hopefuls Miranda Richardson and Rosemary Harris, in late March.
ODDS & ENDS: Sony Music Video and MTV have kicked off their video line with two sets of ``Beavis and Butt-Head'' cartoons - sans the videos ($14.98), plus ``The Best of Liquid TV'' and ``The Year in Rock: 1994'' ($12.98)
Hoop junkies can get a fix with CBS Video's ``March Madness: Greatest Games of the NCAA Championships'' ($14.98) and ``Top Cats! The University of Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Basketball Championships'' ($19.98). ABC Video has ``The Basketball Hall of Shame'' ($14.95).
TOP TAPES (in Billboard):
Sales: ``The Mask,'' ``Speed,'' ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,'' ``The Land Before Time II,'' ``Penthouse: Swimsuit 2''
Rentals: ``True Lies,'' ``The Mask,'' ``The Client,'' ``Wolf,'' ``Blown Away'' THE COUCH REPORT
``Fresh'' (Miramax, 1994). An astonishing performance by young Sean Nelson anchors this powerful drama about the high cost of growing up hard. Fresh plays by the rules of the street until a playground tragedy forces a change of heart. Then, he plays by his rules, putting into motion a complex plan to clean up the scum. Like ``Boyz N the Hood,'' it leaves you wasted, yet hopeful. How the folks who make Oscar nominations ignored it is a mystery. If you rent nothing else this week, see this one.
(CAST: Sean Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito. RATED: R for language, violence, brief nudity)
``Mi Vida Loca'' (HBO, 1994). Another look at life on the street, here through the eyes of two female gang members in East L.A.'s Echo Park. Her film doesn't have ``Fresh's'' emotional punch, but Allison Anders creates a real sense of place. In a quiet way, her rich characters and insightful story make the same impression.
(CAST: Seidy Lopez, Angel Aviles. RATED: R for language, violence)
``A La Mode'' (Miramax, 1994). Fausto, orphaned as a teenager, is taken under the wing of Jewish tailor. As the boy comes of age, and follows his sense for high fashion, his relationships with his adoptive father, lover and friends flower. The understanding he reaches is rock-solid. So is this thoughtful and touching comedy. (French with English subtitles)
(CAST: Ken Higelin, Jean Yanne, Florence Danel. RATED: R for mild language, nudity, themes)
``Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer'' (Fox Lorber, 1994). File under, Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction. Wuornos, a lesbian prostitute, was convicted of murdering seven men in Florida. This documentary, though, is less about her than the freak show her case created. Bizarre as it is compelling.
(UNRATED, language)
``8 Man'' (Mondo Pop, 1994). This Japanese superhero - RoboCop with the footwork of The Flash - busts out of the gate. But stylish lighting and clever camera techniques are small compensation for an uneven storyline. Too bad all that angst had to mess up a good hoot.
(CAST: Kai Shishido, Etsushi Takahashi. UNRATED, cartoonish violence, language)
``Dangerous Indiscretion'' (Summa, 1994). As erotic thrillers go, this one isn't half bad. A cocky ad guy heats it up with a beautiful woman, not knowing she's married to a nutso, high-rolling developer. C. Thomas Howell and old droogie Malcolm McDowell keep it moving.
(CAST: C. Thomas Howell, Malcolm McDowell, Joan Severance. UNRATED, language, violence, nudity)
Also: ``Timecop,'' the Jean-Claude Van Damme actioner (R); the Coreys - Feldman and Haim - in ``Dream a Little Dream 2'' (PG-13); ``There Goes My Baby,'' a drama starring Dermot Mulroney; ``Blue Tiger,'' with Virginia Madsen seeing red (R); Gary Busey and Michael Pare as ``Warriors'' (R); ``Sleep With Me,'' an Eric Stoltz-Meg Tilly comedy (R); the Turner project ``Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee'' (unrated), and ``Carnosaur 2,'' which might have a giggle left in its twisted story (unrated).
Tuesday: ``Princess Caraboo,'' ``Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould''
March 3: ``The Lion King'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Above: ``Quiz Show,'' which was nominated for best picture, will be
released on video on April 18.
Left: Susan Sarandon, best actress nominee, in ``The Client.''
by CNB