Film

Director Tobe Hooper sought to earn a PG rating for his groundbreaking horror film. The film got an R, but the attempt resulted in a movie that relied more on Hitchcock-like suggestion than explicit gore to inspire fear and disgust. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was recently included in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection.

The former teen model later pursued an acting career on stage and screen. Despite her efforts to distance herself from her early days in fashion, Twiggy says it would be untenable for her to give up her distinctive moniker. She costars in the new movie Madame Sousatzka, in which she plays an aspiring pop star.

Hanks made his name in Hollywood in films like Splash, The Money Pit, and Big. He stars opposite Sally Field in the new movie Punchline, in which he plays a standup comedian. To master the role, he developed and performed a routine, which he performed for months before shooting began.

The British director's first movie in the United States was the Academy Award-winning Midnight Cowboy. His forthcoming feature, Madame Sousatzka, stars Shirley McLaine. Schlesinger joins Fresh Air to talk about some of his early work, including Sunday Bloody Sunday and Marathon Man.

Critic Ken Tucker reviews the home video release of Quartet, which features four adaptations of Somerset Maugham's works by four different directors. Maugham himself introduces the film. Tucker appreciates the movie's older, romantic style. He also recommends Broadcast News, Frantic, and A Roman Holiday.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says the new biopic about the late zoologist, Gorillas in the Mist, is malarkey, with a script that shies away from the most compelling parts of Fossey's story. But star Sigourney Weaver shines.

Rather than features songs from the 1970s in the recent Patty Hearst biopic, the filmmakers recruited composer Scott Johnson to write the soundtrack. His dense score combines synthesizers with heavy percussion, but retains the accessibility of pop music.

Tom Waits' music is changing, incorporating new styles like tango and Tin Pan Alley. He has a new performance film called Big Time, which features Waits singing different personas, and an album of the same name.

Oscar-winning actress Sally Field stars opposite Tom Hanks in the new movie Punchline. Field's character Lilah is an aspiring stand-up comic who still has a lot to learn. Field also produced the film. She talks about her early career in television, and the risks she took to pursue her dream of acting.

A new slew of previously unreleased Alfred Hitchcock films are now out on video. Critic Ken Tucker reviews his favorite, Shadow of a Doubt. Also available for home viewing are John Water's Hairspray and the comedy Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says some viewers can't get past the graphic violence in David Cronenberg's movies to see the craft beneath. Now they have a chance with Dead Ringers, about twin gynecologists, both played by Jeremy Irons. The film may be less explicit, but it still features Cronenberg's signature psychological dread.

Miles stars as a modern day Yenta in the new film Crossing Delancey. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Midnight Cowboy, and appears in the new movie Spike of Bensonhurst. A native New Yorker, Miles often chooses eccentric roles firmly rooted in the culture of her hometown.

Beard lives in London, and still hasn't seen The Last Temptation of Christ, which he worked on with director Martin Scorsese. He join Fresh Air to talk about his decision to shoot the film in Morocco, and the history and traditions informing his design choices. His previous films include Brazil and Life of Brian.

McInerney's first novel -- Bright Lights, Big City -- delved deep into the drug-fueled world of the New York City club scene. His revisits Manhattan's nightlife in his new book, Story of My Life, about an aspiring actress. A movie version of Bright Lights, Big City, starring Michael J. Fox, was released this year.

Cronenberg's films explore the tumultuous and often frightening relationship between the mind and the body. His newest movie, called Dead Ringers, is about twin gynecologists who fall in love with the same woman.

Joan Micklin Silver's film, set in New York City, is about a single woman in the publishing industry who recruits a matchmaker to find love. Film critic Stephen Schiff says it reminds him of the TV show Moonstruck, but without the motivational message.

Ken Tucker reviews the home video of "Gates of Heaven," the documentary on pet cemeteries by Erroll Morris.

Part 2 of the Fresh Air interview with screenwriter and director Paul Scrader. Schrader grew up in a Calvinist home and was forbidden from seeing movies as a child; he learned about cinema watching art films in college. He wanted to be a minister, and later channeled his preoccupation with morality and guilt into his screenplays.

Film critic Stephen Schiff wonders if he's the only reviewer who laughed at Paul Mazursky's new comedy, about an actor impersonating the late dictator of a fictional Caribbean country. Schiff asks Fresh Air listeners to send their own reviews to the radio station.

Part 1 of Terry Gross's interview. Schrader's newest movie is Patty Hearst, about the magazine heiress's kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. He recently collaborated with Martin Scorsese on the film The Last Temptation of Christ.