Oliver Stone had never made a movie of such clarity and unpretentiousness. Everything here is straight-forward, almost black and white: the good (humane) sergeant versus the bad (fascistic) sergeant; the horrible, unjust war; the frustrated, inexperienced grunt; ad infinitum. But this relative simplicity is more virtue than vice: it does not suffer from any of the director's later excesses, it's just a well crafted war story with a message. Some poignant details, such as Sheen's correspondence with his grandmother, surprisingly do not seem forced. "Platoon" is also the only mainstream Vietnam picture with a sizable Afro-American cast that plays an important, albeit supporting role. Aside from the main character, Stone does not attempt to delve into soldiers' minds, avoiding the kinds of false histrionics other opuses would indulge in.

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A superb portrayal of Mozart that reaches far beyond mere biography. A recurrent theme with Forman, the individual (in this case, a genius) against society (authority), is explored with great detail and subtlety. The director's first period movie, it does not resemble most other costume vehicles up to its time (except, perhaps, "A Man for all Seasons"). "Amadeus" does not discuss philosophical issues openly, it shows rather than tells, a cinematic achievement few are capable of. Tom Hulce excells as the composer, as versatile as actors come. The film also taps into the popular belief that Salieri (Abraham) was tormented by jealousy, unable to understand how such a seemingly lighthearted, even immature man as Mozart could produce works of such greatness. This widely believed legend has been much explored in international literature, so Forman cannot be blamed if his screen adaptation may not be historically accurate: it makes for exciting cinema.

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A slightly above-average "gender change" comedy that does not top earlier landmarks of the genre. Hoffman, a usually amazing actor, delivers a silly, over-the-top performance as a member of his own profession, disguised as a soap-opera queen. Unfortunately, he hasn't got much to work with. The script is not particularly strong: the story tends to drag, especially in its romantic aspects. Besides, the subject of television soaps can not sustain a near two hours of satirical comment, no matter how clever. The film is little more than a flashy crowd-pleaser which sacrifices talent for bankability.

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E . T. the Extra-Terrestrial
YEAR = 1982
GENRE=Sci-Fi, Family
LENGTH=115m
MPAA=PG
DIR. =Steven Spielberg
STAR = Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore
ACADEMY AWARDS= Original Score, Sound, Visual Effects
Nominations= Picture, Director, Cinematography, Editing
AFI RANK = 25
WORTHY OF PLACEMENT= PERHAPS
GRADE = 8

Spielberg at his very best, or at least in the rightful place where his techniques are fully justified. His heroes were usually awestruck, happy-go-lucky, well-to-do, slightly awkward men with overdeveloped inner children. Here, he finally introduces an actual child as a central character, in yet another typical, albeit divorced suburban family, that every homeowning American will supposedly recognize. This message-ridden tale of a small boy discovering a cutesy alien in his backyard is, essentially, a perfectly crafted film for the "PG." age group. Everyone under 10 in this country, or around the world for that matter, will inevitably watch it, and rightly so. But does that make "E.T." truly great ? Probably not. As for the older viewers' total and unequivocal enjoyment of its "magic" moments, I cannot show much optimism.

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Another crowd-pleaser from Spielberg, a goofy, pseudo-historical adventure romp through thirties' Egypt (complete with ethnic stereotypes and Nazi villains) that only grade-scholars can really get excited about. But you have to hand it to the master: this is about as good as such films usually get. The presence of Harrison Ford makes all the difference: the same charisma that made him enormously popular as Han Solo is evident here. Karen Allen, by far the best female companion of all the Indiana Jones series, also helps redeem the movie. Aside from an expertly staged and delightful escape sequence culminating in a truck chase, it's all cheap thrills, fake corpses, whips, snakes and a preposterous religious subtext to top it all off.

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RAGING BULL
YEAR = 1980
GENRE= Drama, Sports, Biography
LENGTH=128m
MPAA=R
DIR. =Martin Scorsese
STAR = Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty
ACADEMY AWARDS= Actor (De Niro), Editing
Nominations= Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Pesci), Supporting Actress (Moriarty), Cinematography, Sound
AFI RANK = 24
WORTHY OF PLACEMENT= YES
GRADE = 10

Considered to be Scorsese greatest accomplishment, "Raging Bull" covers significantly more ground than his previous masterpieces, which, no matter how excellently made they were, concerned themselves with specific locales and a relatively short time period. Short of "Citizen Kane", this just might be the most fully realized, and best filmed biography ever, of a caliber so high it had to be shot in black and white. De Niro 's performance as middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta is so extraordinary not simply due to his literal transformation into the character by gaining 50 pounds (portraying the later stage of LaMotta's career). He displays a wider range of emotions than in any of his films, before or after, by projecting genuine pain. Near the end, in a harrowing scene, he bursts into hysteria that feels so justified and real, that the audience, no matter how tough, can barely hold its own tears. Scorcese directs flawlessly, once again relying on episodic structure, and staging the fights with mind-blowing intensity. The whole picture is a veritable powerhouse of acting, cinematography and anything that makes cinema an art form.

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