MOVIES - March 12, 1991

Plea for ‘Ju Dou’: Top Hollywood names have signed a letter to the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television in the People’s Republic of China, urging the ministry to allow “Ju Dou” to be shown throughout that country and let the film’s director, Zhang Yimou, attend the Academy Awards here March 25. “Ju Dou” is the first Chinese language film ever nominated for an Oscar, but the Chinese government attempted to withdraw it and also drastically has curtailed its release in China. The letter is being sent by the film’s American distributor, Miramax Films, and among the signatures are those of Woody Allen, Robert De Niro, Marvin Hamlisch, Sidney Lumet, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone and Joanne Woodward.