Videofile [Short reviews]

This delightful and entertaining program is really four shorter pieces combined. The first is a live-action explanatory introduction to the animated film work of celebrated artist Rose Bond, and the remaining three are examples of her work. Bond creates her films using a camera-less technique of animation wherein she draws and paints directly on the surface of clear 35mm film. Of the three short films, Deirdre's choice, based on a pre-Christian Irish tragic epic, tells the tale of the headstrong heroine Deirdre pitted against the emerging patriarchal power of the king in the context of a society struggling with profound systemic change; Macha's curse, based on a traditional tale from early Irish literature, tells of how the pregnant goddess Macha is unwittingly betrayed by her husband and forced into an ill-fated foot race against the king's horses; and Cerridwen's gift tells of how the Welsh people received the gifts of poetry and prophecy when Gwion is reborn through Cerridwen as the fable Celtic bard Taliesin. Young readers of Alexander's The Prydain chronicles will be familiar with the settings of these stories. However, these are not cartoons for children; the story lines and subject matter are a bit mature for elementary-aged viewers. This overall program could work well in a variety of applications, among them English literature classes, women's studies and animation/filmmaking workshops. This is a lavish production of Daniel Defoe's 1722 novel of the same title. It stars Alex Kingston as Moll and features Daniel Craig, Diana Rigg and Ronald Fraser. Kingston (known to many as Dr. Elizabeth Corday on NBC's ER television show) lacks the striking beauty which the character would seem to require, but her breezily bawdy devil-may-care performance fits the role to perfection. The spirited program comprises elaborate costumes, convincing locations, and overall excellent production values in presenting its sweeping tale of social impropriety and criminal misconduct. Even at almost twice the length, it is a much more engaging production -- and infinitely closer to the Defoe text -- than Densham's theatrical film version starring Robin Wright which was released the same year as this Granada/WGBH version. Each of the two videocassettes making up this entertaining, closed-captioned package begins with a brief explanatory introduction by Russell Baker. Due to adult situations and nudity, this is not a program for children. Defoe himself described the story as th