page four
Movie R
Past to present to future to Oscars
By Douglas Hasty
Columnist
CODE: 1-forgettable, 2-silly,
3-fell asleep, 4-likeable, 5-ob
ject d'art
Three movies have appeared
recently which deserve recogni
tion. The long-awaited Star
Trek: The Motion Picture pre
miered on December 7. Veteran
actor Dustin Hoffman and the
new Meryl Streep appeared in
Kramer Vs. Kramer. And Bette
Midler, in her first film, gave a
near-perfect performance as a
Janice Joplin-type in The Rose.
All three pictures deserve a
rating of 5.
Star Trek:
The
Motion
Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
is without a doubt the best
achievement of special effects
for science fiction to date. Over
Introducing 'Fantasia/ Italian style
By Tom Abrams
Allegro Non Troppo: Friday,
Jan. 25, 8:15 p.m., Sternberger.
There comes a time in every
one's life when the illusions of
youth crumble, when one must
say good-bye to the heroes of
the past. Well, friends, here it
is Walt Disney is not the last
work in animations. There is a
film coming to Guiford that
makes Fantasia look like the
Saturday morning cartoons.
Allegro Non Troppo, from
Italy is something of a cross
between Fantasia, Yellow Sub
marine, and Fantastic Planet,
but is in my estimation better
than all three. Based humour
ously on the Fantasia motif
creating animation to classical
music Allegro Non Troppo is
an astonishing collection of
beautiful and comical anima
tion.
The film is structured around
the antics of a production
$2 million was spent on the
effects, along with a crew of
over four hundred.
However, other than the
special effects and the theme of
the film, the movie was sim-lar
to a long television show. The
characters have grown during
our ten year absence; however,
the script writers deemed it
unnecessary to fill us in more
adequately than was done. We
learned only few bits of infor
mation about Kirk, Spock,
Bones, and Randle.
This film will not win Oscars
for acting or script writing; it
might win an Oscar for direct
ing, however, Star Trek's best
chances comewith the Oscars for
Special Effects and Set Design.
The producers of the film even
bought computers. (The color
computers on the bridge) from
NASA.
This should tell you how far
and fast our own technology is
advancing, as NASA would
never sell any instrument which
was not obsolete. Think about
it.
ensemble (a group of unanimat
ed zanies)who are attempting to
create a work of art which
combines music with cartoons.
" a film. . . that makes
FANTASIA
look like the Saturday
morning cartoons."
The ensemble consists of a
conductor (a junk-dealer in a
"monkey suit"), a geriatric
orchestra (made of 70-year old
women), and a captive cartoon
ist. Once the performance
begins, however, the comedy
ceases as the orchestra plays
beautifully, and the viewer is
taken to a startlingly visual
world of incredible landscapes
and creatures.
The musical score for the film
Guilfordian
Kramer vs.
Kramer
Kramer Vs. Kramer is a gold
mine of acting skills. Dustin
Hoffman brilliantly plays a
single parent trying to raise his
son. The little boy is played by
Justin Henry, a young actor
with a promising future. Meryl
Streep is the abandoning
mother.
To tell the solution of the
picture would be cruel; it is well
worth waiting for, though. The
story delivers an interesting
message: divorce results in the
tearing up of the family struc
ture. Usually, the children are
given to their mother.
In Kramer, the mother leaves
both the child and the father.
The father, Hoffman, then
assumes full responsibilities of
the child. The question is: does
the father have the right to
receive custody of the children?
Can the father do as good of a
job as the mother can?
This movie is the first major
consists of Debussy's "Prelude
to an Afternoon of a Faun,"
Dvorak's "Slavic Dance No. 7,"
Ravel's "Bolero," Sibelius'
"Sad Waltz," Vivaldi's "Con
certo in C Minor," and Stravin
sky's "Firebird Suite." The
animation associated with each
piece is itself lyrical, as it fluidly
forms and transforms musical
and pictural ideas.
To cite one example, the
visual story line behind De
bussy's. Afternoon of a Faun"
concerns literally that: the an
tics of an old balding satyr who
lustily but unsuccessfully
attempts to regain his lost
youth. Unfortunately for him,
the young fillies don't seem to
go for toothless old goats.
The humourous yet poignant
aspectsofthepieceare represen
tee of all sequences in Allegro
Non Troppo. The film is music
ally and visually beautiful,com
ical and often touching at the
same time. It is created for
those who like classical music
those who like Tom and Jerry,
and all those in between.
'High Noon' in the evening
By Cornelia Lauf (Grace Kelly). His ultimate
High Noon: Tuesday, Jan. 22, triumph brands him an Ameri
-8:15 p.m., Sternberger. can hero -- upholding law,
As westerns go, High Noon order, and justice, Truly an
will always remain a classic. inspirational figure for our
Suspense and intense dramatics troubled times!
mesh in the tightly woven stroy
of Marshall Kane who, in the The fine performances in the
face of all odds, decimates the movie make it especially worth
mean and ugly Frank Miller viewing. Gary Cooper stands
band. like the Rock of Gibralter; Grace
Kelly, not yet the Queen of
Kane (Gary Cooper) refuses Monaco, attempts to sway him
to capitulate to the menacing in vain; and Lon Chaney aban
band, hypocritical townfolk, dons the fuzzier role of Wolf
and his demanding new wife man to portray the part of an old
stab at that question. Both the
writers of the script and the
actors of Kramer do excellent
jobs in obtaining the answer.
I fully expect Dustin Hoff
man to be nominated for Best
Actor, Meryl Streep for Best
Actress, Justin Henry for Best
Supporting Actor, and the film
for Best Director, Best Script,
and Best Picture. If Kramer
does not walk away with a least
three Oscars, Hollywood will
have totaljy missed the point,
impact, and importance of the
film.
The Rose
Bette Midler is dynamite in
The Rose. It is an unparallelled
first performance in any picture
this year. She can make you cry,
laugh, rowdy during her con
certs, and love her. This year,
truly, a star was born. We will
be seeing her again and again.
Although the movie is excel
lent, one should not take it as a
life story of Janice Joplin. It was
only intended to be a similarity.
p i o t ? x T T T* t r y i yj'' "'TJ" II %
[ UNIONCO^I
! Beginning this semester, film admission will be ▼ J
Tuesdays and Fridays for Guilford students, I
faculty, and staff. For students, faculty, and staff of j
other schools, admission will be 50*1 and I
respectively. Admission for anyone not affiliated pfl \
with a school will be 75i Tuesdays, and SI.OO fc ~ J
r Fridays. Those people holding series tickets will not ("ff \
be affected by these changes. ,
Plaques for service presented
Plaques expressing appreci
ation to seven Guilford College
employees for their fifteen or
more years of service to the
school were presented by Presi
dent Crimsley Hobbs at the
annual staff banquet Dec. 9 in
Founders Hall.
Christel Lee, administrative
assistant in the development
office, has been with the college
seventeen years, and Venera
Hodgin has been here sixteen
years.
lanuary 22, 1980
The year is 1969. Hippies and
flower children are back. So is
the Vietnam War and draft
dodgers. In the middle of all of
this is Rose.
For her amazing perform
ance, Bette Midler will no doubt
be nominated for Best Actress
(and will probably win). The
movie will hopefully be nomin
ated for Best Picture, Best
Musical Score, and Best Direc
tion.
END NOTES -- There is an
excellent chance (90%) that
Star Trek will be returning to
television in the future due to
increased and overwhelming
demand. There is a new comedy
in the makings: Caveman. Its
producer has made the Jaws
movies, the last two Mel Brooks
films, and Steve Martin's The
Jerk.
Watch out for Wholly Moses,
another Life of Brian-type film
staring Dudley Moore of 10.
Kgod is also a new religious
film. Hollywood seems to be on
the verge of a comical-religious
theme.
Fifteen-year employees
honored were Dr. Martha
Cooley, associate professor and
chairman of the history depart
ment; Assistant Professor Jack
Jensen, head coach in basket
ball and golf; Dr. Donald Mill
holland, associate professor of
philosophy and acting chairman
of the art department; James
Newlin, business manager; and
Dr. Norton Robbins, associate
professor of economics.
broken-spirited lawman- exiled
forever to his rocking chair.
All dangers are overcome in
a final shoot-out with the Miller
band -- a finale possible only
with the quick aid of Wifey
making for a speedy reconcilia
tion between she and the Mar
shall. High Noon will sweep the
viewer back to a time when the
peace could be upheld by one
courageous man. For this
reason and for its suspense and
psychological characterization
High Noon is a film well worth
seeing.