Fresh from his triumph in Cyrano de Bergerac, Gallic wonder Gérard Depardieu takes on Hollywood and the English language in this captivating romantic bonbon filmed in New York by writer-director Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society). Depardieu plays an out-of-work French composer who enters into an arranged marriage with an American horticulturist, played by Andie MacDowell. She gets an apartment that only accepts married tenants, and he gets a green card, i.e., a U.S. work permit. Don't look for the originality and grit that distinguished Weir's Australian films Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli, Green Card has all the heft of a potato chip. But Depardieu's charm recognizes no language barriers, and MacDowell, the revelation of sex, lies, and videotape, proves a fine, sexy foil.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.