FILM: "Puritans Go Hollywood"

[Mel Roseman <mel@LAFN.ORG>]

        Beginning with the above headline and with the sub-head
"Skinny-Dipping Free Spirits of 'Scarlet' Stray Far From Letter of Novel,"
Kenneth Turan s scathing review of The Scarlet Letter in the Los
Angeles Times (10/13) states this: "... When this film's opening titles
read, 'freely adapted from,' they are not being excessivly modest."

        Mr. Turan then mocks everything about the film and ends his
review thus:  "Though it's unclear what the audience would be for a
faithful rendition of the Hawthorne novel, the question of who would ever
want to see this one is murkier still."

        This is followed by the Times Recommendation:

*MPAA rating: R, for violence and sexuality.  Times guidelines: rape,
suicide, a scalping, male and female nudity, but no bad language.

                                                        - Mel Roseman

______________________________________________________________________________
Mel Roseman                                                       mel@lafn.org