![]() Se7en came from the mind of a record store employee. But with audience fatigue setting in, few expected that 1995’s Se7en-from a first-time screenwriter and an as-yet-unproven director-would turn out to be a modern genre classic. 19.While the 1980s were all about the cinematic mass murderer as a mute, emotionless entity, the 1990s were a good time to peddle screenplays about high-IQ serial killers: The Silence of the Lambs started the decade by becoming one of the few thrillers to ever receive a Best Picture Oscar. 24 issue of Video Business magazine, compiled from a national sample of video stores for the week ending Aug. Go Guide Editor Jodi are the most popular videocassette rentals listed in the Aug. Despite a teleplay by Carrie Fisher (Reynolds’ daughter), “Broads” lacks the wit we’ve come to expect from these screen queens.Īmy Longsdorf is a Palmerton-based free-lance writer who once sat through six full-length feature films in one day - and had a good time doing it. Problem is, the three divas and their manager (Elizabeth Taylor) can’t stand each other. When the flick is re-released and proves to be a hit, they reunite for one more show. “Those Old Broads” (2001, Sony, Unrated, $20): Shirley MacLaine, Joan Collins and Debbie Reynolds play three actresses who once starred together in a lavish musical in the 1960s. ![]() ![]() For a straight-to-video thriller, it’s surprisingly engaging stuff. Soon, she is receiving cryptic warnings about her own death. “7 Days To Live” (2001, Studio, R, $102): Amanda Plummer and Sean Pertwee play a couple who attempt to get over the death of their young son by relocating to an old country house. Sally Field co-stars in a seriously unfunny comedy produced by “There’s Something About Mary” masterminds, the Farrelly Brothers. “Say It Isn’t So” (2001, Fox, R, $102): A young man (Chris Klein) meets the girl of his dreams (Heather Graham) only to discover she could be his long-lost sister. Martin Scorsese liked the romantic comedy so much, he helped it get a distributor, and lent his name to the final credits, as an executive producer. “Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire” (2000, Studio, R, $90): Forget the silly title - an allusion to main characters’ distant Native American ties - this film festival fave is a delightful offering about two brothers who each fall for women who are complete opposites of themselves. MGM is releasing special edition DVDs of both “Hannibal” and “Silence of the Lambs,” and when you watch the movies in sucession, the differences are overwhelming. Where Demme and screenwriter Ted Tally grounded “The Silence of the Lambs” in reality and gave it a streamlined plot, Scott and screenwriters David Mamet and Steven Zaillian tackle the same characters in a much more theatrical, baroque way. You probably couldn’t find two more different directors than “Hannibal” helmer Ridley Scott and Jonathan Demme, who steered the first film. She winds up being used as bait by Mason Verger (Gary Oldman, unrecognizable beneath disfiguring makeup), one of Lecter’s victims who is out for revenge. ![]() Back in Washington, D.C., Hannibal’s old nemesis, FBI agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore), is not faring as well. Set eight years after the conclusion of “The Silence of the Lambs,” the sequel finds escaped serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) living in Italy, where he’s masquerading as an expert on Renaissance art. Sure, the new-to-video “Hannibal” (2001, MGM, R, $102) lacks the bite of “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991, MGM, R, $20) but, taken on its own terms, it’s a dark, sumptuous thriller that offers up a full banquet of visual delights, twisted characters and nail-biting suspense.
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