If it bleeds it leads and if Andy Warhol's 15 minutes of fame is what drives sensationalist media, a fire department will get more funding if they get good time on television. Get those cameras close to the action!

But what if a pair of crazed killers decide to film their murders, gain celebrity, claim insanity and then sell the film and book rights? 15 Minutes starring Robert De Niro and Edward Burns flies madly with such an idea in a high energy film. Trouble is the idea seems plausible and if you' re so inclined that can be a tad depressing.

The killers, Emil and Oleg, played with great panache by Karel Roden and Oleg Tattarov have lobbed into New York from Prague ostensibly as tourists. Oleg is a fan of the old Jimmy Stewart film It's A Wonderful Life and afterstealing a video camera fancies himself as a great film director in the style of Frank Kapra.

And what better way to make a great film than to film Emil murdering people. And who better to murder than the famous detective who's chasing them. 15 Minutes works very well on many levels. Emil is particularly loony, but having Oleg swooping about with a video camera makes the events a little Loony Toonish. This is voyeurism on all sorts of levels.

De Niro plays Eddie Flemming. His relationship with fire man Jordy (Burns) and his girl friend move Eddie way beyond the normal action man model. Burns and De Niro manage to lighten their characters significantly. And there's a rather savage indictment of the cult of celebrity and of television culture.

Roseanne is shown during one of her more pithy, bare all, interview programs. A father is apologising to his son on live television for sleeping with his daughter in law! So why shouldn't Emil and Oleg make their pot of gold in good old America where everyone can realise their dreams?

And writer/director John Herzfeld shows a lot of the action, particularly the more graphically violent moments through Oleg's video camera. What's real? Who's insane? Do we have the right to watch Jerry Springer? Has American Culture Dipped This Low?

Oliver Stone with Natural Born Killers enjoyed similar success with similar material.

15 Minutes is unsettling, often brilliant.

4 And A Half John Herzfeld Flys