Daughter Of Darkness (1993) ***

This just might be the most demented film of all time, shocking even by Hong Kong's outlandish standards. Lily Chung plays an abused teenage girl suspected of killing her tormentors. But apparently because ''Daughter of Darkness'' is set in mainland China, the cops investigating the crime (led by Anthony Wong) show absolutely no compassion for the poor girl. And neither does the film, playing everything for laughs and succeeding brilliantly. It features the most unbelievable sex torture scene ever filmed. Directed by Ivan Lai, this violent story of sex abuse and murder is one of the best sexploatation films ever made: perverse, gory, kinky and very shocking. To quote a reviewer, M.C.Thomason, ''if you have a strong stomach and are open-minded enough to comprehend another culture's attitudes towards screen violence, then "Daughter Of Darkness" is definitely one of the unsung gems of Hong Kong's adult-horror industry. Just don't blame me if it offends you in the extreme!''. 

The Untold Story (1993) ***

Love To Kill (1993) ***

Stalin's Testament (1993) ***

Cronos (1993) ***

Fatal Love (1993) ***

Naked Killer 2: Raped By An Angel (1993) ***

Legal Innocence (1993) ***

Green Snake (1993) ***

The Bride With White Hair (1993) ***

The Bride With White Hair 2 (1993) ***

Il Grande cocomero (1993) **

Italian drama about an epileptic girl.

Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla II (1993) *

Directed by Takao Okawara. Here, Godzilla and Rodan are bad guys, while Mechagodzilla (build by humans) is the hero.

The Olympic Summer (1993) *

Modernist film about a German gigolo arrested by the Nazis.

Szwadron (1993) *

Nieciekawy film o powstaniu styczniowym.

The Three Best Things (1993) *

Boring Dutch comedy about a young woman's adventures in Amsterdam.

The Assassin (1993) **

"Nikita", Hong Kong-style. Very stylized, but incredibly gory and violent.

The Bare-Footed Kid (1993) *

A typical martial arts film from Hong Kong, directed by Johnny To.

Blade Of Fury (1993) *

Stylish, but dull historical epic set in the turn-of-the-century China. The plot concerns a plot against the Empress Dowager. There are a few exciting swordfight scenes, but it's mostly talk and talk. Director Samo Hung has a bit part as a prison warden. 

Down The Drain (1993) **

A black comedy about two unlucky schoolgirls in Japan.

Executioners (1993) **

Directed by Johnny To and Ching Siu-Tung, it's a action movie about three women who defend an embattled government from a military coup d'etat backed by a corrupt corporation. The film is set in a future ravaged by radioactivity and shortages of fresh water.

Farewell, My Concubine (1993) **

Visually impressive Chinese film about two opera singers. Too much melodrama, not enough subtlety.

Flirting Scholar (1993) **

Stephen Chow will do anything for a gag in this stupid, but funny comedy, co-starring Gong Li.

The Kung Fu Cult Master (1993) **

A "wu xia pian" pic starring Jet Li.

Island Of The Dead (1993) **

Poetic documentary about a famous star of the silent Russian cinema, Vera Kholodnaya.

The Last Hero In China (1993) **

Directed by Wong Jing, it's an entertaining martial arts film from Hong Kong. Particularly memorable are two fights involving a giant insect.

Magic Crane (1993) *

Hong Kong martial arts film in a fairy-tale setting. A princess, her kung-fu master, his estranged daughter, two martial arts experts ...

Run And Kill (1993) *

A man unwittingly hires a killer to murder his wife. This film contains one of the most shocking scenes ever put on film: a demented killer (Simon Yam) burns a little girl alive, then takes her charred corpse and shows it to her father, mockingly imitating her voice: "Daddy, I'm dark. Don't you recognize me ?". The rest of the movie is equally repulsive, but at least there is some dark humor to relieve the tension. But the murder scene is played straight, making it completely unbearable even for the most jaded and tolerant viewers. There is no sex or nudity, only extreme violence. This is not a gory-but-fun exploitation flick, but a truly monstruous film that begs for censor's scissors. Only recommanded for those truly sick viewers who have lost all sense of decency and moral values. Box office: 6 million HK.

Schramm (1993) *

Directed by Jorg Buttgereit. The hero is a serial killer-slash-sex degenerate. The film has shocking, gory and sexually explicit imagery. A little too pretentious for an "honest" sexploitation flick, but not good enough to trascend its sleazy themes. 63'

Battle Angel (1993) *

A Japanimation feature about a female cyborg. Directed by Hiroshi Fukutomi.

Erotic Ghost Story 3 (1993) ***

Darkness In Tallinn (1993) *

Mediocre film about Russian gangsters organizing a robbery in Estonia.

Faraway, So Close (1993) *

Wim Wenders' most self-indulgent and least successful film, a pointless sequel to "Wings Of Desire" (1987).

For Fun (1993) *

Boring film about Chinese seniors organizing an Opera fan club.

Dwa ksiezyce (1993) ***

Belle Epoque (1993) ***

Fong Sai Yuk 2 (1993) **

Wide Sargasso Sea (1993) ***

Zero Patience (1993) ***

The Last Harvest (1993) *

Directed by Linda Ohama. Documentary about the persecution of the Japanese-Canadians during World War II. Length: 48 minutes.

The Secret Garden (1993) *

Laborious adaptation of the children classic. Director Agnieszka Holland fails to find the right tone for the film.

Dust Devil (1993) *

Richard Stanley's stylish horror movie set in the Namibian desert.

In The Name Of The Father (1993) **

Interesting political drama about a bunch of Irish misfits falsely convicted for being IRA terrorists.

Into The West (1993) **

Bizarre film, set in Ireland, about two young boys running away with their prize horse, with grotesquely ruthless policemen in hot pursuit.

I Love A Man In Uniform (1993) *

Canadian drama about an actor who plays a cop on a TV show and slowly looses his grip on reality.

Baby Of Mâcon (1993) ***

Cap Tourmente (1993) **

Psychological drama about complex relationships.

Le Sexe des étoiles (1993) *

A 12-year old girl, obsessed by astronomy, discovers that her father underwent a sex change operation.

Kanehsatake: 270 ans de résistance (1993) **

Powerful, manipulative and one-sided documentary about the Oka standoff in 1990.

La Florida (1993) *

Une famille québécoise achète un hôtel en Floride.

Rebirth Of Slick Cool Like Dat (1993) ***

A Digable Planets music video directed by Morgan Lawley.

Victor (1993) ***

Something Happened (1993) ***

A Swedish short film about AIDS. Directed by Roy Andersson.

Livin' On The Edge (1993) ***

Aerosmith video directed by Marty Callner.

Ave Verum Corpus (1993) ***

Directed by Alain Desrochers.

The Showdown (1993) ***

Come Undone (1993) ***

Excellent music video by Duran Duran, directed by Julien Temple.

Week-end à Cannes (1993) **

Directed by Bruno Podalydes. A man makes a reservation for a train trip to Cannes.

Je vous salue Sarajevo (1993) **

Salut ma fille (1993) **

Directed by Bruno Podalydes. A man examines a sonogram and tries to pick a name for his child.

Me Mom And Mona (1993) **

Directed by Mina Shum. A mother and her two daughters conspire to keep certain things from the father. An interesting film about Chinese family. Talky. Length: 20 min.

Valse-hesitation (1993) *

A man hesitates. Directed by Bruno Podalydes.

The Wrong Trousers (1993) ****

Wallace is an naive old gentleman, Gromit his faitful dog, their lodger a thief and "The Wrong Trousers" a terrific, Oscar-winning cartoon with an exciting finale.

The First Political Speech (1993) ***

Hilarious satire on political rhetoric. Computer animation.

Oink (1993) ***

Directed by Alain Dion. An amusing tale about two pigs: a greedy one and a fat one.

Fleuve aux grands eaux (1993) ***

The history of Eastern Canada presented from an ecological point of view - the St.Lawrence River's slow transformation from an underwater paradise of marine life into a highway of industrial developpment.

Attente (1993) ***

Directed by S. Gervais. A pregnant woman is taking photographs of various places. Nice little film about waiting for a child.

The Village (1993) ***

Blindscape (1993) ***

Small Talk (1993) *

Directed by B.Godfrey. Two chaps in a London are telling tall tales. The film was nominated for an Academy Award.

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Tok szol (1993) ***

Piosenki:

"Ca ira, ca ira, o kant" **

"Pozlacana rybka" **

"Zdzich" **

"Pani S." ("...zza krzaka") **

"Widmo pornografii" **

"Chodzil pan" **

"Polskie pieklo" **

"Ciemnawka" **

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Ryba, brzana, kielbik (1993) ****

Piosenki:

"Wiosna" *** 

"Troska serce gniecie" **

"Jajko" **

"Piosenka o trzech ministrach" **

"Obalimy rzad" ("Cala w gwizdek") **

"Polska wielbladzica" **

"Buty szewca Szymona" **

"Hej radoscia oczy blysna" ***

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Dajmy sie zwariowac (1993) ***

Piosenki:

"Amen i okej" *

"Gramy w kolory" ***

"Neron" **

"Sarajewo" **

"Zjezdzanie endekow" **

"Pon Bocek" *

"W imieniu całego narodu" **

Sensual Exposure (1993) ***

Seinfeld: Junior Mint (1993) ***

Seinfeld: The Pilot (1993) ***

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Cos wesolego (1993) *

Wywiad Hanny Sleszynskiej z Markiem Kondratem. Wszystkie piosenki to powtorki z poprzednich kabaretow Olgi Lipinskiej:

"Idziemy do Europy" ("Kandydat") **

"Ludwik XV i pani Pompadour" ("uma uma um") **

"Pucu pucu raczki" ("Bekarty") **

"Olimp" ("Dyrekcja") *

"La Noisette" ("Revue") **

"Polska glupota" ("...zza krzaka") *

"Gibamy sie!" ("Skumbrie w tomacie") *

Armistead Maupin's Tales Of The City (1993) ****

NYPD Blues: Pilot (1993) ***

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Wszystko juz bylo (1993) *

Wywiad Hanny Sleszynskiej z Piotrem Fronczewskim. Wszystkie piosenki to powtorki z poprzednich kabaretow Olgi Lipinskiej:

"Daj se luz!" ("...zza krzaka") **

"A zoladki jednakowe" ("Nasi i elektorscy") ***

"Bar Honolulu" ("Polskie danie") **

"Perypatetycy" ("...zza krzaka") **

"List noworoczny do ludzi z wiosek i malych miast" ("uma uma um") **

"Cenzura" ("...zza krzaka") **

"Profesorski krakowiaczek" ("Bekarty") **

"Samokrytyka" ("Bekarty") **

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Nasza chata z kraja (1993) ***

Piosenki:

"Ostrzezenie" **

"Lilie albo kwiatki prohibicyjne" *

"Anastazja P." **

"Dzieki Ci Panie Boze" *

"Zuk antysemita" **

"Europejski blues" **

"Moja nowa silo przewodnia" **

Arizona Dream (1993) **

Occassionally brilliant, but often dull film by Emir Kusturica.

Benny & Joon (1993) **

Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson star in this film about mental illness.

A Bronx Tale (1993) **

A cross between "GoodFellas" (1990) and "Jungle Fever" (1991), but without the gritty cynicism of the first and the realistic pessimism of the second.

Cliffhanger (1993) **

Spectacular scenery and impressive stunts are the only assets of this rather humorless, predictable and ultimately disappointing action-adventure film set among the cliffs, precipices and mountain slopes of Colorado's Rocky Mountains.

Fearless (1993) **

Serious drama about plane crash survivors, starring Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez.

Mrs Doubtfire (1993) **

Robin Williams is terrific, but the comic material is frequently interrupted by gushy sentimentality.

Reality Bites (1993) **

Winona Ryder stars in this involving drama about the so-called Generation X.

Shadowlands (1993) **

Average drama starring Debra Winger and Anthony Hopkins. Well acted, but not very interesting.

Indecent Proposal (1993) *

Billionaire Robert Redford offers Demi Moore one million dollars for one night with her. Pretentious and boring.

Super Mario Brothers (1993) *

Bob Hoskins and Samantha Mathis star in this lame big-screen adaptation of the popular Nintendo game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) *

"Seven Samurai Meet Four Ninja Turtles" in the third (and weakest) part of the popular series.

This Boy's Life (1993) *

Very manipulative film about an abusive stepfather (Robert de Niro). Interesting subject, wrong treatement.

The Three Musketeers (1993) *

An adaptation of Dumas' classic. Very predictable.

Three Of Hearts (1993) *

A film about a lesbian girl (Kelly Lynch) hiring a male escort (William Baldwin) to win back her lover (Sherilyn Fenn).

Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (1993) *

One of the worst movies ever made, and probably the worst film ever made by a major film director.

The Pelican Brief (1993) *

Mediocre adaptation of John Grisham's bestselling novel. Julia Roberts is badly miscast, but there is an exciting chase scene in an underground parking lot.

Public Access (1993) *

Bryan Singer's first film is only an appetizing hint of the glories to come. It won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival (sharing it with a superior picture, "Ruby In Paradise").

Serial Mom (1993) *

Black comedy starring Kathleen Turner as a perfect suburban mother and ... a serial killer.

Hard Target (1993) *

Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in this action flick from Hong Kong's director John Woo. Unfortunately, unlike Woo's celebrated earlier efforts, (like 1989's "The Killer" and 1992's "Hard-Boiled"), this film lacks both substance and style.