Godfather

Che Part One and Che Part Two are being presented together these days as a four-and-a-quarter-hour presentation about the rise and fall of the godfather of exportable revolution in the mid-20th century. The title and length suggest a biographical epic, but it's neither biographical nor epic. It's as if the director, Steven Soderbergh, wanted to take tissue samples of Ernesto "Che" Guevara's political life. Part One focuses on the Argentinian doctor joining Fidel Castro's Cuban revolutionary brigade in 1955 and rising to become Castro's right-hand man. Part Two centers on 1967, when he waged a futile and fatal attempt to stage a Marxist rebellion in Bolivia that would fan outward to all of Latin America.

Who's hot Jamie Moyer set a Mariners re cord with his 21st victory. Who's not The Rangers finished with a 5.66 ERA, worst in the AL and their second-worst since moving from Washington in 1972. Line of the day Jeff Bagwell, Astros 1B AB R H RBI HR 2 2 2 4 2 He said it When people ask, `What did you do in your last at-bat?' I can say I hit a grand slam, and I can say that for 4 1/2 months. It's kind of cool." Carlos Delgado, Blue Jays first baseman On deck Barry Bonds, who needs two homers to tie his godfather Willie Mays at 660, begins that chase in Houston in April.

HE'S LITTLE MORE than a foot tall and weighs about 8 pounds, but almost everyone in Hollywood wants to take him home.He's Oscar, the funny-looking fellow handed out every year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He'll be the most talked-about figure in the film industry until Monday night, when the awards are presented.Between now and then, the Academy Awards will be dissected from every conceivable angle. Can Oscar be "bought" with expensive advertising campaigns? Does winning him make an economic difference?

THE QUESTION OK, by law, they're criminals. But they're funny (Smokey and the Bandit) or they're sexy (Ocean's Eleven) or they might just have a point (John Q). Now, Fun With Dick and Jane (Dec. 23) and The Producers (Dec. 25) offer more chances to root for the "bad guys." But when was the last time you rooted for a real creep in a movie? Perhaps because the lead actors, the "heroes," were so terrible. Get it off your chest. WHAT YOU SAY It wasn't the most recent, but Under Siege stands out. I think I saw it on cable years ago, and Steven Segal is just awful in it (as he is in all of his movies)

Washington--HOLIDAYS are for families, so it is fitting that this season we revisit the Corleones. ''Godfather III'' is about family values. And because movies mirror American values, it is an occasion for taking stock, and a couple of aspirin.Director Francis Ford Coppola was reluctant to make ''Godfather III'' and he was right. Driven to do it under financial duress, he produced a dragging spectacle in which a pope gets poisoned and a helicopter gunship strafes an Atlantic City casino. It is an iron law of Hollywood: Preposterous events and special effects proliferate when ideas are depleted.

Experiencing trash openly doesn't mean embracing it indiscriminately but being ready to find personality, excitement and even artistry in unlikely places. At the time he wrote "The Godfather," Mario Puzo considered it hackwork. Like the rest of us, he was amazed at the focused intensity that Francis Coppola wound up with in "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II." The novel's reputation has risen inexplicably in recent years, but read it and you will be stunned at how padded it is with randy roman-a-clef material about the Rat Pack.

LOS ANGELES -- Are you ready for "Rodney King, the Musical"?How about "6 Minutes," featuring ace investigative reporter Ike Wallace?Or what about a remake of "The Godfather," with an African-American cast led by Bill Cosby playing the godfather?You'll see all of the above this fall on "Townsend Television," the new Fox variety show starring filmmaker Robert ('Hollywood Shuffle") Townsend.You'll also see Whitney Houston singing Aretha Franklin's "Call Me," Gladys Knight doing songs by Eric Clapton, and Sinbad as a space mutant in a parody of "Star Trek, the First Generation," Townsend said in an interview here yesterday."

WASHINGTON -- Let's be clear about this. Mario Puzo's sentimental Mafia novels are about as accurate in portraying that barony of organized crime as Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" is accurate in portraying the Middle Ages.However, much of the irresistible charm of both Scott's supposedly historical and Mr. Puzo's supposedly documentary novels is their exuberant emancipation from the deadening ballast of fact.Well, if America's cultural alchemy can turn "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" into a musical cartoon with a happy ending, why be surprised when Mr. Puzo turns Chianti-stained thugs of the Mafia into men both noble and clever?

Carmine Coppola, an Academy Award-winning composer and conductor who wrote the theme music for several Hollywood films, died Friday in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke. He was 80. Mr. Coppola, the father of director Francis Ford Coppola, shared an Academy Award with Nino Rota in 1974 for best original dramatic score for "Godfather II," the second of three "Godfather" movies made by the younger Mr. Coppola. He also wrote the theme music for the original "Godfather" and scored three other of his son's films, "Apocalypse Now," "The Outsiders" and "Gardens of Stone."

James Brown. The name conjures images of a man possessed by his own music - sweat dripping, conked hair fallen, feet shuffling to a relentless groove. Then there's the voice, a powerful instrument that can - in a heartbeat - go from a sensual, caramel-smooth whisper to a primal, cloud-moving scream. He's the Godfather of Soul, Mr. Dynamite, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Soul Brother No. 1 and on and on. In 40 years, Brown has amassed 116 R&B hits and 96 pop hits, placing him second behind Elvis with most charted singles.