Singer Ian McCulloch of Echo & the Bunnymen

"As much as I wanna pass on this torch, no one's takin' it off me 'til I'm dead," belligerent singer Ian McCulloch once characteristically maintained.

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Now for Mr Nice Guy

GET SHORTY; Barry Sonnenfeld (15) THE MOST TERRIBLE TIME IN MY LIFE; Kaizo Hayashi (nc)

The gender transcenders

It was written for a man. Now a woman is playing the part. Does the recent trend for role-bending change the play? By Paul Taylor

The 20 million dollar man

In the Seventies, John Travolta was a phenomenon, a craze - then it all fell apart. Now he's back, bigger than before, and maybe even better. David Thomson looks on; Is it the Scientology? Or do those kind eyes show us a rare man?

Soundtrack albums: listen without prejudice

Once upon a time in the movies there were original cast recordings and spin-off albums of dubious merit. That was before the big boys moved in. By Andy Gill

Obituary: Don Simpson

Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer had a formula: high-tech flashy movies with loud bangs, louder music, car chases, car crashes and straight guys who dig other guys. The audiences responded. They didn't know a Simpson from a Goldwyn, but Hollywood did. Even so, Simpson admitted, "People didn't really like us." "In the Eighties it was cool at one point to be the ugliest, meanest, most selfish bastard in the world," said Christian Wagner, who edited Simpson's last film, Bad Boys.

obituaries: Arthur Mullard

The growling cockney Arthur Mullard took his 6ft 2in bulk and bashed-in nose from the professional boxing ring to television screens and found his greatest fame as he was approaching retirement. Acting success took him 30 years to achieve and, after several decades as an extra in films and a feed to television comics such as Tony Hancock and Arthur Askey, he found it playing a scrounger called Wally Briggs in the situation comedies Romany Jones and Yus My Dear.

Six of the best hipsters

1Joseph, pounds 89 The stretch suede-effect camel trousers are beautiful to the touch, and a good shape. Sure to be a winner with those currently obsessed with all things camel. From Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, London SW1, and Joseph branches at 77 Fulham Road, SW3, and 26 Sloane Street, London SW1

NFT memberships to be won

Celluloid Jukebox, the National Film Theatre's huge season celebrating popular music and the movies, continues throughout July with golden oldies like Frank Tashlin's The Girl Can't Help It (5 July 8.45), Louis Malle's Lift to the Scaffold (20 July 8.40 and 23 July 8.40), Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (19 July 7.30) and High School Confidential (30 July 8.40), and more recent work like Alan Parker's The Commitments, pictured above (2 July 8.40), Saturday Night Fever (20 July 6.15), Rock 'n' Roll High School (3 July 8.45) and Barry Levinson's Jimmy Hollywood (13 July 8.45).

FILM : An Academy of dunces

Who will walk away with the Oscars next week? In Hollywood, the bets are on. Phil Reeves considers the odds

Hard labour at the chalkface

Television

CINEMA : Margot: a royal in search of a roll

WITH delicious irony, the great dissection of British monarchy turns out to be French. La Reine Margot (18) is too stately and subtle to be taken as a broadside at our royals, but the House of Windsor must feel some rumbles from its mighty impact . The events are set in 16th-century France, and they show our current royal crop to be mere amateurs in matters of regal decline and decadence. The marriage of religious convenience between the Catholic Margot (Isabelle Adjani) and the Protestant Henri de Navarre (Daniel Auteuil) is, Prince Charles-style, loveless, but also avowedly sexless. When Margot fancies a fling with a commoner (Vincent Perez's La Mole), mere toe-sucking is not enough: she mounts him against the castle wall in full public view.

SLEAZY DOES IT

The general sense of anxiety is reflected in the Spring collections. Wi ll we look rich? Will we look poor? And what will we do to look shocking now?

FILM / Look who's acting: Staying Alive was dire. Perfect was anything but. Now, courtesy of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Travolta is back. By Jim White

Unexpectedly, the scene in Quentin Tarantino's astonishing film Pulp Fiction that astonishes more than any other is not decorated in torn body parts, dripping in ketchup or draped in a thick fog of expletives. It is the one where a low-rent LA gangster's moll has been taken out for the night by a heroin-sodden hit-man employee of her boyfriend's. The pair pitch up at a theme restaurant, where all the staff are lookalikes for dead stars: there, waiting tables, are a Marilyn, a Buddy Holly, a James Dean.

Heart Searching: Just blame it on the boogie: Struck by a bad case of Saturday night fever, Lyndsay Russell pulled on her cheesecloth blouse and platform shoes and tottered down to the Carwash

Let's get up and boogie,' said Suzy, tying her silk batik blouse high above her midriff. We were hanging out in London's West End, about to hit the Carwash - a 1970's theme night frequented by Soho's cognoscenti.
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'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'

Masculinity in crisis?

'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'
Have US shock jocks gone too far?

Have US shock jocks gone too far?

An incendiary remark from Rush Limbaugh may be the beginning of the end for outspoken right-wing US broadcasters
The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey pays more income tax than big cities of the North

The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey

Elmbridge pays more income tax than big cities of the North
Heavenly Bodies

Heavenly Bodies

Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell
'He will always be a friend': Jackie Stewart backs Polanski

'He will always be a friend'

Jackie Stewart backs Roman Polanski
The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in