The Film Yearbook - Volume 9

It was the year when Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner fought The War of the Roses, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became the latest movie sensation, The Dead Poet's Society held its last meeting, and Oscars were given out to a small, old-fashioned film about inter-racial friendships, Driving Miss Daisy. But some of the biggest surprises happened off- screen. Columbia Pictures, for so long a maker of the American Dream, was sold to Japan's Sony Corporation, and the studios' need for big hits sparked a bidding war so intense that some writers walked away with $1 million for their first script. In this latest edition of THE FILM YEARBOOK leading film writers cast a critical eye over the year's movies and present their own provocative views on the current state of British and American cinema. They praise the films they enjoyed most - from Australia, the US, Italy and elsewhere - analyze those that delivered less than they had hoped for, and lambast those they hated. Here are the credits and critiques of every significant feature film release on either side of the Atlantic. Plus obituaries of the late greats of the silver screen; reviews of the latest crop of film books; and a selection of the most outrageous quotes from the stars.