Film

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the new three-DVD set More Treasures from American Film Archives. Distributed by The National Film Preservation Foundation, it's a collection of 50 American films made between 1894 and 1931.

Filmmaker Robert Stone's new documentary tells the story of the Symbionese Liberation Army, the radical group that kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in 1974. We speak with Stone and with reporter Tim Findley, who covered the kidnapping for the Hearst newspaper The San Francisco Chronicle.

Film critic David Edelstein lists his top movies of 2004, and recommends current holiday releases. Edelstein says 2004 saw some high-profile winners — and losers hit the nation's big screens. Edelstein says there were some great performances in some not-so-great movies. This was a year of documentaries, some of which proved politically divisive.

Director John Waters, known for making art from sleaze, has a new CD for the season, A John Waters Christmas. It includes such songs as "Here Comes Fatty Claus," "Little Mary Christmas," and "Santa Claus is a Black Man." Waters was once crowned the "Pope of Trash" by William Burroughs.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews A Very Long Engagement and House of Flying Daggers.

David Johansen was a member of the early 1970s glam-punk band the New York Dolls. They often wore both makeup and leather as they played a raw, aggressive style of rock. The group's influence spread far beyond its two studio albums, as it paved the way for rough-riding bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. This year, the singer Morrissey asked the New York Dolls to reunite for his UK Meltdown festival. A CD and DVD came out of the performance, called The Return of the New York Dolls: Live from Royal Festival Hall 2004.

Suketu Mehta's new book is Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. It's an exploration of Mehta's hometown, where he returned after a 21-year absence. Born in Bombay, one of the world's most populous areas, Mehta still believes it's the city of the future.

Mehta now lives in New York. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Conde Nast Traveler and The Village Voice. He co-wrote a Bollywood movie called Mission Kashmir.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Closer, starring Jude Law and Natalie Portman, and directed by Mike Nichols.

A new documentary from filmmakers Calvin Skaggs and David Van Taylor describes the emergence of evangelical Christianity as a powerful political force. With God on Our Side: George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right is being broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Van Taylor and Skaggs run the documentary company Lumiere Productions.

The new biopic Kinsey takes on the story of scientist Alfred Kinsey, who pioneered research in human sexuality in the 1940s and 1950s. For the project, director Bill Condon — who also wrote the script — interviewed many of the scientist's colleagues.

The film stars Liam Neeson and Laura Linney as Alfred Kinsey and his wife, Clara McMillen, along with Peter Sarsgaard and John Lithgow. The researcher's life — and American society — were forever changed by his 1948 book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male.

Some of classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz's favorite movie themes just happen to belong to films just released on DVD. He reviews four of them: Gone with the Wind, Freaks, I Vitelloni, and The Golden Coach.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Alexander, starring Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie.

Critic David Edelstein reviews The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, now in theaters. He calls the TV cartoon that spawned the animated film "a joyful spasm of whacked-out surrealism," but says the film has a much more straightforward plot and some pedestrian characters.

Caouette made his filmmaking debut with the autobiographical documentary Tarnation. He made it on his home computer for only $218. It includes snapshots, super-8 home movies, answering machine messages and dramatic reenactments from his chaotic upbringing in a dysfunctional Texas family.

Pickett's novel Sideways has been made into a critically acclaimed film starring Thomas Paul Giamatti and Haden Church (left). It's about two ex-college roommates, now middle-aged, who set off on a week's trip through California wine country.

Critic John Powers reviews a new DVD of John Cassavetes films. It includes Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Opening Night.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Kinsey, the film starring Liam Neeson as the famous Dr. Alfred Kinsey who conducted the first scientific studies on human sexual behavior.

Leigh's social-realist comedies depict British working class life. He begins work on his films without a script, piecing them together from improvisations with his cast. His latest film is Vera Drake about a working class woman in Britain in the 1950s who secretly performs abortions.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews new collections of Bollywood film music: Bollywood for Beginners, The Best of Bollywood, 15 Classic Hits from the Indian Cinema, and The Very Best of Bollywood Songs II.