Notable videos for the week of May 25, 1990
NEW ON TAPE
Behind Kremlin Walls ($1990, MPI, $19.98)
ABC's PrimeTime Live goes on a tour of the once-sealed seat of
Soviet power. Also includes a broad overview of Russian history. B
Coming Home to Friends (1989, Onyx, $29.95)
Gospel concert featuring Dionne Warwick, Thelma Houston, Howard
Hewitt, and Clifton Davis. A portion of the proceeds go to the
Minority AIDS Project. (Not viewed)
From Hollywood to Deadwood (1990, Media, $89.98)
Two West Coast detectives — one a hilarious slob, the other a
dreamy romantic, played by Jim Haynie and Scott Paulin — chase a
mysterious movie queen across the country. The first hour is
pungently witty; the second hour descends into sour, sophomoric
existentialism. A well-acted misfire. C+
The Last Days of Patton (1986, CBS/Fox, $89.98)
Resurrecting his Patton persona for this TV movie, George C. Scott
slides comfortably into the role of the imperious World War II
general as his postwar career fades and his life comes to a harsh,
ironic end. B
Lionheart (1987, Warner, $79.95, PG)
Disillusioned by feudal warfare, a French knight (Eric Stoltz)
goes off to the Crusades, and saves a passel of lost children from a
sinister slave trader (Gabriel Byrne). It might have worked as a
Disney-style adventure but fails as a sweeping epic. C-
Rendez-Vous (1985, Connoisseur, $79.95)
A carefree young actress in Paris becomes involved in obsessive
relationships with three men who change the course of her life.
Stars Juliette Binoche (The Unbearable Lightness of Being) and
Jean-Louou Trintignant. Directed by Andre Techine. In French with
subtitles. B-
When the Whales Came (1989, CBS/Fox, $89.98, PG)
A creepy hermit (Paul Scofield) befriends two tykes on a remote
island on the eve of World War I. The location (Great Britain's
beautiful Isles of Scilly) is the best thing about this unfocused
melange of coming-of-age drama and fairy tale. C
Worth Winning (1989, CBS/ Fox, $89.98, PG-13)
Mark Harmon is a gorgeous TV weatherman who becomes engaged to three
gorgeous women. With Madaleine Stowe, Maria Holvoe, and Lesley Ann
Warren. D
REISSUED ON TAPE
Brannigan (1975, MGM/UA, $19.95, PG)
Tracing a suspect to Britain, a tough Chicago cop is forced to
work with a stodgy official of Scotland Yard. John Wayne and Richard
Attenborough tar. C+
Kiss Me Kate (1953, MGM/ UA, $19.95)
Vivid adaptation of the Broadway musical that was based on
Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Memorable for a sharp score by
Cole Porter and a supporting cast that includes Ann Miller and Bob
Fosse. B
The Onion Field (1979, Nelson, $14.98, R)
Joseph Wambaugh's account of a 1963 cop killing and its bizarre
legal aftermath is fascinating and resolutely un-Hollywood. James
Woods' performance as the killer is not to be missed. A-
Patton (1970, CBS/Fox, $19.99, PG)
Here is George C. Scott's defining role, and one of Hollywood's
great war movies. tough, noisy, and harrowing. A
Since You Went Away (1944, CBS/Fox, $39.98)
David O. Selznick's loving portrait of the home front must have
struck a sensitive chord during World War II, but in retrospect it
seems little more than a pretty piece of propaganda. But with
Claudette Colbert and Joseph Cotten, it's not all bad. B-
NEW ON LASERDISC
Dad (1989, MCA, $34.98, PG)
A son grows up as his father grows old. Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson
star. B-
