But the most impressive recent movie opening involves sums of money that seem, on the Hollywood blockbuster scale, laughably small. Five weekends ago, ''The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat),'' a three-hour-long Canadian picture playing in two Manhattan theaters, earned more than $37,000 in its first three days of release. What film-industry types call the ''per screen average''—the amount of money earned at each venue—was the highest of any movie in the country, even though the film's length meant that it could be shown fewer times each day than its competitors. Zacharias Kunuk's adaptation of an Inuit folk epic, the first feature ever made in the Inuktitut language, has excited unusual critical fervor and almost fanatical word of mouth. Dinner-party discussions all over greater New York revolve around what everyone seems to call ''the Inuit movie.'' (Since there is, for now, no other Inuit movie, there is little risk of confusion.)

Reel Change. When a culture discovers filmmaking, neither the place nor the medium is ever the same again. By A.O. Scott. [New York Times: Movies]

El Gato Software has released EyeTV DVR (Digital Video Recording) software for Macintosh computers.

Digital Video Recording (DVR) allows you to record TV programs directly onto your Mac’s hard drive instead of videotape. It is just like a VCR without the clutter and hassle of bulky VHS tapes. You can watch recorded shows whenever you like, and use Pause, Reverse, Fast Forward, Skip Ahead, and Instant Replay.

Requires

• Mac OS X 10.1.5 or greater
• Built-in USB port
• 20 MB Disk Space for the application
• 650 MB Disk Space for each hour of recorded video
• An internet connection for the program listings guide

Price about US$200.

[See also: previous Story.]

Chekhov removed the plot. Pinter, elaborating, removed the history, the narration; Beckett, the characterization. We hear it anyway.

Hearing the Notes That Aren't Played. How much can one remove from a script, and still have the composition be intelligible? By David Mamet. [New York Times: Arts]