Films of the summer reflect mediocrity, escapism
By TOM MOORE
Summer and Christmas holidays mark the
major points for film distribution. More new
films premiere during these two periods be
cause distributors figure that people have
more leisure time then and perhaps are more
apt to go to the movies, judging by the profits
racked up this summer by the likes of
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman II, The Four
Seasons. For Your Eyes Only, Stripes, Arthur
and half a dozen others, the distributors pre
diction holds true.
People are heading to the movies in droves
and the always shakey movie business is
sound for the moment. But unfortunately
that doesn't hold true for the state of the art.
American film, which has always muddled
artistically, is on the verge of becoming
more rigid and mediocre than it has ever
been in the past. And this summer's films are
evidence of that.
The summer of 1981 was a summer of es
capist films, high in excitement and special
effects and low in content. In the past the
studio days which ended over 30 years ago
movies were divided into A, B and lower
levels according to the amount of money
pumped into a production. The breakdown
of the studio system brought a gradual blur
ring of the line between A and B movies. Now
you're getting very expensive, very polished
and technically-awesome version of what
used to be called a B movie. B movies are
now being made with A budgets.
These slick resurrections of low grade
movies are often very good like in Raiders of
the Lost Ark and Superman It and Blow Out
Raiders done by the celebrated LucasSpiel
berg team, and Superman II, directed by
Richard Lester who also did the first two
Beatles movies, are both superbly entertain
ing films. They don't have anything terribly
relevant to say to their audiences though
I do think that the myths they embody tell
much about our culture itself but that
isn't the point. They provide plenty of nail
biting excitement, chances to root for the
good guy against the bad guy and oppor
tunities to forget about the troubles of the
real world for only a couple of hours. The
characters in both Raiders and Superman II
are a few cuts above those usually found in
such action movies. Both make much of the'
comic possibilities of their characters. Harri
son Ford in Raiders and both Christopher
Reeves and Gene Hackman in the new Super
man, are among the best performances given
by. males in American films this year.
The parts for women in Raiders of the Lost
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Ark and Superman II were merely perfu no
tary. As is usually the case, in such thrillers
(and in American films of the past 15 years)
the women are just plot devices in a story
that revolves around men. But that is too
large a problem in American films to examine
in depth here.
Women fared better in Brian De Palma's
8ow Out. Well, I guess women fared worse
in Blow Out but they got bigger and more
realistic roles than in Raiders and Superman.
De Palma's film was another highly enter
taining and engrossing thriller, but it is one
of those rare films that has so much so say
tn this case American politics and the para
noia they inspire that it breaks free of the
confines of its genre. Blow Out is a great film
that can be enjoyed equally on many levels;
it can be seen as a mere action film or as a
sophosticated statement about American so
ciety. But there are few big budget films that
succeed at doing so much and this is the
trouble with American film. For every Blow
Out, Raiders of the Lost Ark of Superman II
you get dozens of films like Eye of the
Needle, Clash of the Titans, Cannonball Run,
Tarzan the Ape Man, Endless Love or For
Your Eyes Only (surely the worst Bond since
the misbegotten On Her Majesty's Secret Ser
vice). Distributors keep aiming for the big
films that will bring in a huge audience.
Though they miss most of the time, the small
margin of success provides such ample finan
cial rewards that the film companies are
bound to continue their slipshod ways.
To be a success nowadays a film really
has to be calculated to appeal to a wide au
dience. For this it needs something everyone
can enjoy: a thrilling plot super special ef
fects, a few big name stars. For such ingre-
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dients it needs a big budget. And to make
sure it succeeds it needs a huge advertising
campaign.
Anything that can't be so conveniently
packaged is doomed to failure in the movie
market Some of the best movies of the past
two years have slipped into obscurity be
cause they don't fit the mold the comedy
Used Cars, Raging Bull (a critical but not a
commercial success). Cutter's Way, Health
(which barely got released), Melvin and
Howard, Atlantic City U.S.A.
The sad list goes on and on because
movies like these are aren't easily market
able like Raiders' of the Lost Ark. Such
movies take time and care to find the au
dience they deserve. And even when they
find that audience they rarely bring in the
whopping profits that less risky ventures do.
A case can be made that the 16mm col
lege market and cable TV, video discs, video
tapes and. the eventual exposure on com
mercial TV will bring these movies to the au
dience they deserve, but I don't buy it. Films
like Melvin and Howard are bumped aside in
the alternative outlets too in favor of more
popular items such as Ordinary People.
American film has always been a business
first and an art form second. But the hori
zons are narrowing The summer of 1981
was good for American films. But this was
many due to chance. Maybe next season we
won't be so lucky. g
Tom Moore is Arts Editor of The Daily Tar
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