Email Author Michael Sragow

1997 Stories by Michael Sragow

• The Albanian Candidate

  published December 31, 1997

  Wag the Dog Directed by Barry Levinson. Written by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet, from the novel American Hero by Larry Beinhart. Starring... More >>

• Movie of the Weak

  published December 24, 1997

  As Good As It Gets Directed by James L. Brooks. Written by Brooks and Mark Andrus. Starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear.... More >>

• Out of Africa

  published December 10, 1997

  Amistad Directed by Steven Spielberg. Written by David Franzoni. Starring Djimon Hounsou, Morgan Freeman, Stellan Skarsgard, Matthew... More >>

• State of Siege

  published November 26, 1997

  Welcome to Sarajevo Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, based on Natasha's Story by Michael Nicholson.... More >>

• Building the Perfect Beast

  published November 19, 1997

  1. "I'm Extinct" Movie special-effects maestro Phil Tippett has won billowing praise for the jaw-dropping digital transformations that... More >>

• Gearing Up for the New Star Wars

  published November 19, 1997

  There's something karmically correct about San Francisco carrying the creative heartbeat for the new age of digital special effects. In 1967, the... More >>

• Court, No Spark

  published November 19, 1997

  John Grisham's The Rainmaker Directed and written by Francis Ford Coppola, from John Grisham's novel. Starring Matt Damon, Claire Danes,... More >>

• Charley's Angel

  published November 12, 1997

  One Night Stand Directed and written by Mike Figgis. Starring Wesley Snipes, Nastassja Kinski, Robert Downey Jr., and Kyle MacLachlan.... More >>

• Second Time Around

  published November 5, 1997

  Crossroads Two grins compete for the comic face of popular culture: the idiot smile of those who refuse to see bad news, and the steady... More >>

• For Love and Money

  published November 5, 1997

  The Wings of the Dove Directed by Iain Softley. Written by Hossein Amini, from the novel by Henry James. Starring Helena Bonham Carter,... More >>

• Peking Soap Opera

  published October 29, 1997

  Red Corner Directed by Jon Avnet. Written by Robert King. Starring Richard Gere and Bai Ling. Opens Friday, Oct. 31, at the Alexandria and... More >>

• Tribute

  published October 8, 1997

  Little Big Moviemaker Barry Levinson's Diner won plaudits like "minor miracle" when it opened in 1982. The qualifier "minor" turned up... More >>

• Valley Ho!

  published October 8, 1997

  Bad Manners This is a wonderfully funny, brittle update of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Director Jonathan Kaufer, adapting David... More >>

• Tribute

  published October 1, 1997

  Wise Blood Oscar-oriented fans of Robert Wise might think that he's led a secret life. Best-known for producing and co-directing West Side... More >>

• Identity Crisis

  published September 24, 1997

  Americans are the western pilgrims, who are carrying along with them that great mass of arts, sciences, vigour, and industry which began long... More >>

• Second Time Around

  published September 17, 1997

  The Phantom of the Opera Alone among the old horror standbys, the Phantom of the Opera is a man among monsters -- a disfigured musical... More >>

• City of Angles

  published September 10, 1997

  Suckling at the Big Nipple Bernardo Bertolucci once dubbed Los Angeles the Big Nipple. Writer/director Curtis Hanson has been suckling at... More >>

• Open Your Mouth and Say "AH"

  published August 20, 1997

  Mimic Directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Written by Del Toro and Matthew Robbins, from a story by Donald A. Wolheim. Starring Mira Sorvino and... More >>

• A Couple of Clowns

  published August 13, 1997

  Box of Moonlight Directed and written by Tom DiCillo. Starring John Turturro, Sam Rockwell, Catherine Keener, Lisa Blount, Annie Corely,... More >>

• Flunking Out

  published August 13, 1997

  187 Directed by Kevin Reynolds. Written by Scott Yagemann. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan, Clifton Gonzalez, and... More >>

• Soap Espanol

  published August 6, 1997

  Star Maps Directed and written by Miguel Arteta. Starring Douglas Spain, Efrain Figueroa, Kandeyce Jorden, and Lysa Flores. Opens Friday,... More >>

• The Truth, and the Consequences, Are Out There

  published August 6, 1997

  Conspiracy Theory Directed by Richard Donner. Screenplay by Brian Helgeland. Starring Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, and Patrick Stewart. Opens... More >>

• Highland Fling

  published July 30, 1997

  Mrs. Brown Directed by John Madden. Screenplay by Jeremy Brock. Starring Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, and Antony Sher. At the Embarcadero... More >>

• Air Force One -- Audience Nothing

  published July 23, 1997

  Air Force One Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Written by Andrew W. Marlowe. Starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close, and Gary Oldman. Opens... More >>

• Tense Alliance

  published July 16, 1997

  Blacks and Jews -- the title suggests a blunt attack on the tensions between two groups that once joined hands and now butt heads. But this... More >>