MEDIA LIST

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SUNDAY 27

o Casque D'0r( i952t ((‘hanncl 4) 10.50-12.31) am. The tribute to Simone Signoret continues vvith this flavourful French melodrama of low-lifers in the 1890s.

MONDAY 28

0 Hollywood Wives ( s"l‘\' ) 9— lots ll).3ll-l: midnight. First dollop ol~ another glossy mini-series set in 'I‘inseltovvn in vvhich a powerful movie mogul sets professional antennae buzzing vvith the accouncement of his latest production. l-‘inal Reunion. llas- beens and aspiring stars tear dovvn the door to his casting couch.

TUESDAY 29

0 Hollywood Wives (S'l'v) s)- In ts 1030-12 midnight. (‘oncludmg lump oftheJackie (‘ollinsjunk l.a (‘ollins describes the imni-series as ‘lust and sin very vulgar. very funny” so its

cBAT'ON'U"

Soap-operas come and go but Coronation Street, it appears, goes on forever. As the show prepares to commemorate its silver jubilee. Eastenders is growing fiercely competitive in the ratings tussle, bloodied but unbowed the Street is celebrated in a handsome new book entitled Coronation Street 25 Years (Ward Lock, £7.95).

Essentially a treasure trove of trivia tor Street addicts and TV butts, the volume includes potted biographies ol the main characters, the script of episode one, a scrapbook ol dramatic highlights lrom a quarter of a century of births, deaths and marriages and a series at 25 things you never knew about the programme including the lact

obviously a faithful translation of the airport bookstall bestseller. A staggering cast includes Rod Steiger. (‘andice Bergen. Anthony l lopkins. Robert Stack. Stefanie l’ovvers and Angie Dickinson. A nation vvill no doubt sit hooked to its goggle-box.

WEDNESDAY 30

o The March of Time : 0n the March ((‘hannel 4) 8-8.3“ pin. 'l‘hird part of the series tracing the history of'l‘ime life's pioneering cinema nevvs magazine launched fifty years ago this month in Britain.

THURSDAY 31

o Tenderisthe Nightilslit‘z)

lil. ill-l 1 pm. For anyone foolish enough to have been tempted avvay by the da/xle of l lollyvvood \Viv es or those already suffering vvithdravval symptoms here's a second chance to see the concluding episode ol- Dennis l’otter's v ersion of the F. Scott l"it/gc‘r;iltl nov el.

that it was originally to be entitled Florizel Street.

Although produced in conjunction with Granda Television the book is magnanimous enough to include some of the jibes hurled against the Street but inevitably tinds space to quote two reviews lrom TV critic Ken Irwin. In 1960 he wrote, ‘The programme is doomed from the outset with its signature tune and grim scene at a row of terraced houses and smoking chimneys.‘ Twenty years later the programme remained and Irwin ottered his congratulations and apologies tor such an inaccurate prophecy. The book is a well-produced tribute to a national institution.

(Allan Hunter)

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Jessica Lange voicing a protest in Country.

VIDEO

0 Blackout ( Douglas l lickov. l 'S. l‘)S~i) Richard Widmark. Keith (’arradine. Kathleen ()uinlan. Michael Beck ( Poly ( iram) Dogged veteran detective \Vidmark spends seven years tracking dovv n the man responsible for the vicious slay ing ot a vvoman and her three children. An anonymous tip-off leads him to amnesiac car crash victim ('arradine vvho novv leads a life of middle—class respectability. ()thcr suspects appear vvith equally perverse motivations.

()riginally made for American cable television lilac/soul is an efficient policier lcaturing a capable east.

. Country ( Richard l’earcc. l8. 1‘)34l.lessica Lange. Sam Shepard. Wilford Brimley ( Rank) Best of the trio of rural dramas released earlier this year. lange and Shepard are the lovva couple threatened with foreclosure vv hen gov ernment policies and general economics dictate that they should abandon their farm. 'l he problems they lace sap Shepard‘s vvill to tight as he turns to drink and tails his lov ed ones but Lange digs in her heels and struggles to maintain vv hat blood and svs eat have vvon for her family.

A deeply moving tilm that can stand alongside Hie (int/it's of if rat/i as a contemporary portrait of the spirit of the American heartland. Lange gives a terrific perloi mance that should have vvon this year‘s ()scar.

0 Draw! (Steven l ltlltard Stern. 1S. 1984) Kirk Douglas. James ( ‘oburn. Alexandra Bastedo ( l’oly(iram) Legendary gunslinger and reformed bank robber ‘l landsome' llarry llolland (Kirk Douglas) rides into Bell(‘ity and stirs up a hornct's nest of commotion among the awestruck citizens. They send for the equally veteran. alcoholic ( ‘oburn to do battle in their name and the stage is set for a clash ofold adv ersaries in reduced circumstances.

Sluggish. inconsequential comedy—western once planned as a reunion for Douglas and Burt

lancaster and an inauspicious contribution to the western revival.

0 Mrs Sottel ((iillian Armstrong. (TS. 1984) Diane Keaton. Mel (iibson. Matthevv MondinelMUM l'A) Keaton is the respectable. unhappily married vv ite ol a prison vv arden in turnot'the century Pittsburgh. A kindly vvoman dispensing (‘hristian comfort to the inmates she is repeatedly dravvn to the engaging and boyish (iibson. a condemned murderer. (‘arried avvay by her infatuation and chilled by the coolness in her ovvn marriage she helps him to escape and joins in the flight to ( ~anada.

A persuasively sober recounting of a true story .llrs' sum! suffers from the good taste and breeding that repressed the desires of the central character and Whilst absorbing. never captures the unbridled passion that provoked an ordinary middle-class vvoman into acts that scandalised society.

0 Places in the Heart ( Robert Benton. LS. 1984) Sally Field. Lindsay (rouse. John Malkovich ((‘BS Fox) ln Depression-era 'l‘exas recently vvidovv ed l’ield fights prejudice. cataclysmic tornados and poverty to keep her family together and her farm on an even keel.

(iiven all the inherent dramatic potential of the subject tttaterial this is a slovv-moving. nostalgia-hired slice of Americana vv ith Field ott'ering a calculatedly dovvdy. carefully modulatedperformance vvhich is more than can be said for her arresting exhibition at this year‘s ()sear ceremony.

0 Starman (John (’arpenter. l'S. 198-1) Jeff Bridges. Karen Allen. (‘harles Martin Smith

(R('A ('olumbia) In 1977 the Voyager ll space probe was hurtled into the heavens bearing messages of goodvvill to vv hom it may concern and inviting them to come on dovvn. 'l‘he gentle-natured Bridges decides to accept the invite. llovvever, when his craft is shot down over Wisconsin he suddenly finds himself the object ol~ pursuit by government agents and scientists.

Mild-mannered science-fiction fantasy pitched at a refreshingly human angle. Bridges received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his bevvildered e.t.

The List 18—31 October 37

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