William Wharton's autobiographical novel of World War II becomes a moving portrait of war's madness in the microcosm of a small intelligence patrol on the German front in 1944. The unit, composed of high IQ soldiers, is sent to scout ahead. They discover a small platoon of Germans hiding in the forest, but these soldiers would rather fight with snowballs than guns and exchange Christmas presents instead of mortar fire. The young, rather unsoldierly Americans are offered the opportunity to "capture" the Germans without a fight-until a fatal misunderstanding plunges their efforts into tragedy. Director Keith Gordon, who also penned the screenplay, creates an unusually eloquent, offbeat platoon drama shot amidst the tranquil beauty of a snow-covered forest. His excellent cast includes future stars Ethan Hawke and Gary Sinise, with Frank Whaley, Kevin Dillon, Arye Gross, and Peter Berg rounding out the platoon. Though little seen upon its 1992 release, this moving drama received high praise for its vivid characters and delicately wrought imagery and remains one of the most powerful pacifist dramas of the post-war era. -Sean Axmaker.

Author Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) wrote Lily Tomlin's narration for this superb documentary, based on a book by the late Vito Russo, about Hollywood's treatment of homosexual characters in the 20th century. Never pointing a finger at anyone in the film community, The Celluloid Closet presents clips from more than 100 mainstream features (including The Children's Hour, Advise and Consent, The Boys in the Band, and The Hunger) that speak loudly in their respective images of gays and lesbians. The film makes a persuasive case for patterns of sexual mythology in Hollywood, such as presenting homosexuals repeatedly as tragic, helpless figures redeemed only through death or as back-street monsters cavorting in the shadows. Things change, of course, and clips from more recent films by gay and lesbian filmmakers suggest a more vital, diverse, autobiographical approach. There are lots of great interviews with screenwriters (Gore Vidal), filmmakers (John Schlesinger), actors (Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg), and others to enunciate the major themes. -Tom Keogh.

Throughout Patricia Rozema’s third film, conservatives tangle with liberals, men with women, and heterosexuals with those of more fluid sexual persuasions. Surface tension aside, When Night Is Falling feels more personal than political. Camille (Pascale Bussières) teaches mythology at a Christian college in Toronto, while her fiancé, Martin (Henry Czerny, Clear and Present Danger), is a fellow theologian. Their superior, Reverend DeBoer (David Fox, The Saddest Music in the World), encourages them to marry. When Camille’s dog dies, she neglects to inform Martin, but instead confides in Petra (Rachael Crawford), a circus performer she meets at a laundromat. Petra leaves her card, so Camille seeks her out, but when she makes a pass, Camille flees. Later, she suggests they remain friends. until mutual attraction proves too strong to resist. [+]

Clint Eastwood (the Man with No Name) is good, Lee Van Cleef (Angel Eyes Sentenza) is bad, and Eli Wallach (Tuco Benedito Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez) is ugly in the final chapter of Sergio Leone's trilogy of spaghetti westerns (the first two were A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More). In this sweeping film, the characters form treacherous alliances in a ruthless quest for Confederate gold. Leone is sometimes underrated as a director, but the excellent resolution on this digital video disc should enhance appreciation of his considerable photographic talent and gorgeous widescreen compositions. Ennio Morricone's jokey score is justifiably famous.

Kiri Te Kanawa inspires a kind of affection that is accorded to few prima donnas, for the warmth and expressiveness of her singing, for her natural ease in operatic roles, and particularly for a sunny, outgoing personality that is clearly projected in her stage presence. Both the voice and the personality come through effectively in this presentation, which preserves the best moments from two concerts she gave in 1990 and 1991, with her own introductions and comments. The first, given outdoors during a homecoming tour of her native New Zealand, shows her achieving a remarkable feat of personality to match her excellent singing; she establishes a sense of intimate communication with an audience of 75,000. First, she sings an aria from an opera that was not otherwise part of her repertoire: the intense, anguished "Pace, pace" from Verdi's La forza del destino. This program is designed to show her versatility; besides arias by Verdi and Puccini, it includes My Fair Lady's "I Could Have Danced All Night," sung in a perfectly idiomatic style that would be out of reach for many opera stars, and a couple of songs in New Zealand's Maori language. A nice touch for a homecoming concert is her performance of "Home, Sweet Home" in Maori. The second half of the program is a selection of music by Handel and Mozart, given in a sharply contrasting environment: a snowy evening in the exquisite baroque chapel, designed by Christopher Wren, at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England. A highlight of this segment, and a rare experience, is Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate, sung in its entirety, rather than the familiar, brilliant "Alleluia" segment that other sopranos use by itself simply to show off their technique. -Joe McLellan.

The monster-about-town becomes doting dad when he adopts orphan lizard Minilla, the result of a radioactive storm caused by a scientific experiment gone wrong. This decidedly juvenile affair shows signs of the series' cost-cutting measures and Godzilla himself has been redesigned to reflect his new, younger audience, with an oversize head and big, doll-like eyes. This kindler, gentler lizard king proceeds to protect the happy-go-lucky kid from the newly mutated giant insects of the island and teaches him how to breathe fire. Much of the film is played for comedy-Minilla blowing smoke rings instead of flames, skipping rope with Dad's tail, skittering about like a mischievous little kid as put-upon Godzilla tries to keep the tyke focused-and is obviously aimed at Godzilla's enormous adolescent audience. But as always, the picture delivers great monster battles, notably with the mutant spider giant Kumonga. -Sean Axmaker.

Director Ray Muller's three-hour portrait of controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl grapples with the central controversy of her career: was she a "pure" filmmaker whose political naiveté allowed her stunning visions to be harnessed by Hitler, or was she the key mythmaker of the Nazi propaganda machine? The dancer turned actress turned director is well represented with generous clips from her work both in front of and behind the camera, from the ethereally beautiful The Blue Light through the romantic fantasy Teifland, with special focus on her two most famous works: the stunning propaganda piece The Triumph of the Will (a chillingly brilliant work of demagoguery which she helped design and stage as well as film) and the poetic, technically breathtaking documentary Olympia. After her exile from filmmaking, she became an acclaimed ethnographic photographer and more recently a scuba diver and underwater photographer. Though she was over 90 at the time of the interviews, Riefenstahl's energy and commanding presence dominate the film and overpower Muller. At one point she practically grabs the directorial reins from him. The film never really resolves her complicity as a Nazi propagandist; she maintains her innocence while Muller questions her assertions with contrary evidence, but he appears too awed to really push the issue. Whatever your feelings, it's hard not to come away from this film just a little awed by the talented and tenacious Ms. Riefenstahl yourself. -Sean Axmaker.

The Bells of St. Mary's works much better for its battle of wills between a parish priest and a head nun than the dopey musical interludes that pepper it, but Bells is still a winning, emotionally satisfying film. This sequel to Going My Way has Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby) taking over the St. Mary's parochial school and finding himself at loggerheads with Sister Benedict (Ingrid Bergman, looking gorgeous even in a habit). There's a wonderful balance to all of this: O'Malley takes a more worldly approach to administration and is wrong just as many times as the nun is when she insists on a more biblical approach. About four subplots suffuse the film, including the story of a young charge from the wrong side of the tracks, and the deteriorating state of St. Mary's in the shadow of a brand-new building (the owner is played by the avuncular Henry Travers). A dear film. -Keith Simanton.

Shenandoah, a film well-liked in its day, recalls Friendly Persuasion and foreshadows The Patriot as it tells of an American clan traumatized by war on native soil. Virginia farmer James Stewart has never owned slaves, owes allegiance to no one beyond his own kin, and adamantly disregards the North-South strife rumbling just over the hill: "This war is not mine and I take no note of it. " That changes when youngest son Philip Alford (To Kill a Mockingbird's Jem) is carried off by Yankees, and the family must ride out to reclaim him. Shenandoah has several affecting moments-notably a homefront atrocity-but much of it is lit and played like a television show. Script and direction are formulaic, Stewart falls back on cozy shtick, and the supporting cast is a collection of bland studio contract players. As the closing credit says: "filmed entirely at Universal City. " -Richard T. Jameson.