Throughout the program, Ms. Cook, whose lyric soprano has developed some autumnal shadings, brought fresh perspectives to familiar material.

Too often, with the camera prowling restlessly as Stamphill draws Young out of his catatonia, the actors bring passionate conviction to material that seems pat.

"Moore brings a fresh impact to familiar material by the way he marshals his images", says Ebert.

The Physics Chanteuse doesn't hesitate to bring science to more recent material.

They used a chart that I frequently use in speeches, but their new interpretation brought an additional layer of knowledge to material I thought 1 knew quite well.

Moore lacks the undercurrent of sensuality Britney Spears brings to such material, but then she seems to be aiming at a younger demographic.

That's its trick: to bring an unconventional sensibility to conventional material.

Ms. Midler's musical numbers help a lot, as does the star quality she and Barbara Hershey bring to material that doesn't often deserve them.

Her distinctive, sure-footed command of the short-story form brings to fictional material a quality that must be called poetry.

Both documentaries are by directors who bring foreign perspectives to material we're accustomed to hearing in the voices of Dan or Peter or Tom.