John Powers

Since the fall of communism, there have been few Eastern European directors who have become as internationally known as Roman Polanksi and Milos Forman. But now from Romania comes Cristi Puiu, whose film The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, premiered at Cannes in 2005 and has been winning awards ever since. Now it's out on DVD. Our critic-at-large says the film does something few movies ever do.

Film critic John Powers reviews the DVD release of Billy Wilder's classic Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck.

Alan Furst has a new historical spy novel called The Foreign Correspondent. His first one, Night Soldiers, came out in 1988, and he's written eight more since then. Critic at large John Powers, who says he always snaps up a new one, explains Furst's appeal.

Critic at large John Powers has just returned from the Cannes film festival. The top prize winner at Cannes was director Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a film about the Irish rebellion against British rule and the country's subsequent civil war.

One of the most acclaimed films of the 1970s was Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger, starring Jack Nicholson. On a new DVD release, home viewers can now see it in the original wide screen and with six additional minutes not shown in the American theatrical release. It's a personal favorite of critic John Powers, who says that it's not an easy film, but a good one.

Four films by French director Louis Malle, who died in 1995, have been released on DVD by Criterion. They include Elevator to the Gallows, his first feature, and a new boxed set with Murmur of the Heart, Lacombe, Lucien and Au Revoir Les Enfants. Our critic at large says that watching these films years after their release made him see Malle in a different way.

Two new documentaries probe the effects of outside influences on third-world countries. In Our Brand is Crisis, the arrival of U.S. campaign consultants threatens the outcome of a Bolivian presidential election. And Darwin's Nightmare is about the devastation of Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

Several recent DVD releases feature great black entertainers of the 20th century. For classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz, his favorites feature the great tap dance team of Harold and Fayard Nicholas.

Critic at large John Powers reviews the two-DVD edition of the 1939 classic film Young Mr. Lincoln, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda.

This year's Sundance Film Festival has been a haven for stars -- and those who would like to be stars. Critic-at-large John Powers discusses the festival's scene -- and its movies. Among the standouts: Wrist Cutters: A Love Story and Old Joy.