The Daily Tar Heel Wednesday, January 9, 19855
'Dune 9 big with details,
short on plot, direction
Details, details. The much-awaited
Dune is full of them. Even so, its plot
the tried and true good-guys-versus-bad-guys
scenario is ostensibly
simple.
Paul Atreides and his army, a pious
group, battle the despicable Har
konnens on the faraway, arid planet of
Arrakis, a.k.a. Dune. Their struggle
involves the mining rights of a precious,
somehow magical mineral contained in
strata far below Dune's endless moun
tains of sand.
How despicable are Dune's villians?
The Baro.n, leader of the Harkonnens,
makes Darth Vader look like Mister
Rogers. A homely, bloated slob who
prefers flying in his hover-suit to
walking, the Baron delights in smearing
others blood on his face in between
watching Atreides's crusaders die.
Just as hateful ars the Baron's two
sidekicks. One of them thrusts his sword
at Paul with devilish fervor; the other
crushes heads at will, using only one
hand. Both, like the Baron, despise
defeat, however minor.
But so does the heroic, noble Paul.
He and his underground-dwelling
legion, equipped with special suits that
sustain them on the bone-dry terrain,
must avenge the earlier (and schizoph
renically shown) defeat of another
army, which was led by Paul's father.
Dune tries to cover far too much
ground in only 2'i hours. In fact, the
wealth of characters and events depicted
forms the framework of at least two
separate, self-contained films.
In making the movie Dune, director
David Lynch's main problem was how
to best edit the vivid elaborations that
fill the book Dune, a classic work
Workshop considers
educational needs
The Orange County Rainbow Coa
lition of Conscience will hold an
education workshop Saturday from 9
a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Joseph CME
Church at 510 W. Rosemary St.
The theme for the workshop is
"Examining our Educational Needs as
We Prepare To Move Into the Twenty
First Century."
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For a free brochure call Toil Free:
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3414 Peachtree Rd. NE Suits 526
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Ed Bracketf
Review
penned in 1965 by Frank Herbert.
Regrettably, the finished product
reveals an inadequate paring job by
Lynch, who also wrote the screenplay.
Despite occasional displays of hok
iness. Dune's special effects are worthy
of Hollywood's post-200 standards.
Similarly, Anthony Masters's set
design, an array of ornate palaces and
desolate hideaways, enhances the story
as it dazzles the eye.
Stage actor Kyle MacLachlan per
forms admirably as Paul Atreides in his
film debut, backed by such veterans as
Jose Ferrer as the emperor and Max
Von Sydow as an ecologist. The
remainder of the cast including the
oft-typecast Kenneth McMillan as the
Baron, Frencesca Annis as Paul's
mother and rock singer Sting as the evil
Feyd weather the script's sea of
superfluous information quite well.
Will sci-fi fans flock to Dunel Hard
to say. Will Herbert fans? Probably, if
for no other reason than to satisfy their
curiousity.
Dune will likely thrill some and
disappoint others, as if to demonstrate
the Doctor Who syndrome: either
you're completely enthralled by this
richly constructed fantasy world, or
you're completely indifferent to it.
Of course, Dune producers Dino De
Laurentiis et. al. hope the former holds
true. If it does, there's a good chance
the sequel will be filmed at De Lau
rentiis's Wilmington film studios
North Carolina's much-envied connec
tion to the major motion picture
industry.
'Starman' proves worth phoning home about
A peace-loving alien lands on earth and
befriends a lonely human, who helps him in his
effort to return home before he dies or before some
not-so-friendly feds nab him for experimentation.
Sound familiar?
It should, because the plot of Starman was
developed around the same time as that of E. 71
After the phenomenal success of Steven Spielberg's
film, Hollywood powers behind Starman were
understandably reluctant to offer their extrater
restrial for comparison.
Fortunately, several years, screenplays and
directors later, Starman finally has landed in the
theaters, and it turns out that the voyage was worth
the wait.
In a decided change for the better, director John
Carpenter of Halloween fame steers away from
the scary and toward sweetness in both subject
matter and visual style.
The strength of Starman, however, hinges on
a literally stellar performance by Jeff Bridges as
the alien who clones himself from a lock of hair
belonging to Jenny Hadden's dead husband.
For years Bridges has been turning in fine
performances in cult films like Thunderbolt and
Ivy Hilliard
Review
Lightfoot and Cutters Way, and in otherwise
unremarkable films like Kiss Me Goodbye and
Against All Odds, but Starman gives him the
chance to combine leading-man charisma with
quirky characterization. Complete with birdlike
mannerisms and halting speech, Bridges is utterly
convincing as an alien still uncomfortable in his
borrowed skin, and his performance deserves
attention come Oscar time.
As the widow, Karen Allen is at her best since
Raiders of the Lost Ark. Both frightened and
attracted by this alien in the familar form of her
beloved husband, Allen mixes her character's
reactions skillfully. When she undertakes the cross
country drive to rendezvous with a spaceship and
her reluctance eventually turns to love, the
transformation makes a touching romance story.
Some great character parts and more than one
amusing insight into human customs and contra
dictions liven up the journey that makes up most
of the film. There is even something for Tar Heels
in Starman, since UNC gets a brief plug during
the film.
Starman lags when the plot turns toward the
government meanies. Predictably, there is a
villainous army officer (Richard Jaeckel), who
wants the starman for dissection practice, and the
well-meaning government flunkie (Charles Martin
Smith) who switches sides due to his respect for
all life. The film nearly takes a nose dive when
this plot line takes screen time away from the
intriguing alien himself.
Starman has its share of special effects. Most
of these occur when the starman uses some
mysterious pocket-size marbles that give him
assorted superhuman powers. But the human story
eclipses the technical wizardry and makes Starman
more than an E. T. rip-off.
Although the film is almost totally predictable.
Bridges and Allen make Starman something to
phone home about.
UNC choral ensembles to hold auditions this week
Auditions for choral ensembles in the
UNC department of music will be held
during the first week of classes.
The department sponsors four choral
groups the Carolina Choir, the Uni
versity jpiamber Singers, the Women's
Glee Club, and the Men's Glee Club.
The' Carolina Choir, a 60-member
mixed-voice ensemble, rehearses from
1 to 1:50 p.m. Mondays and Wednes
days and from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The Chamber Singers, a small group
of advanced vocalists, rehearse from
3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thurs
days and from 3 to 3:50 p.m.
Wednesdays.
The Women's Glee Club rehearses
from 3 to 3:50 p.m. Mondays and
Wednesdays and from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The Men's Glee Club rehearses alone
from 5 to 5:50 p.m. Mondays and
Wednesdays and joins with the Wom
en's Glee Club on Tuesdays and
Thursdays.
The Choir and Chamber Singers
meet in Person Hall; the Glee Clubs
meet in 103 Hill Hall.
Undergraduate students may receive
one hour of credit for participating in
these ensembles. Graduate students
earn 1 ' hours of credit.
Larry Cook, director of choral
activities, conducts the Choir and
Chamber Singers. ' Students who wish
to audition for these groups should
contact Cook immediately at 962-1093.
Michael Tamte-Horan conducts the
Glee Clubs. Students who wish to
audition for these groups should contact
Tamte-Horan immediately at 962-5695.
'Vertigo' first of Student Union's free flicks
The Carolina Union film committee
will begin this semester's run of "Free
Flicks" tonight with screenings of
Vert, Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film,
starring James Stewart and Kim Novak,
will be shown at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
in the Union auditorium.
More people have survived
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