abTHOmnibusThuiay.'March 30, 1989
'Dead Bang' a waste of time; 'Rescuers' a quiet classic
By RICHARD SMITH
Staff Writer
Had "Dead Bang" actually been
a movie about necrophilia, it
would have been more interesting
and less offensive. They don't
come much worse than this.
"Dead Bang" is the story of Jerry
Beck, a cop who doesnt play by
the rules. His marriage is in tatters
and he has no friends. It's easy to
see why: the man is arrogant,
loudmouthed, obnoxious and
uncouth. He is violent whenever
he gets the chance, and he usually
creates the chances. He drinks too
much. He vomits on suspects. One
poor guy confesses simply because
he doesnt want Beck to puke on
him again. It is revolting to watch.
But more unsavory is the plot
twist, if that's what it can be
called, in which Beck uncovers a
coven of white supremacists who
believe in "America's racial purity"
and gather beneath- swastikas
under the name of the Aryan
Unification Church of America.
Directors make 'New
By JAMES DEAN
Staff Writer
It's a wonder in this day and age
of movies when films can work up
a budget of $50 million that "New
York Stories" ever got made, it
contains three beautifully-made
short films, ail under the direction
of America's finest directors: Mar
tin Scorsese, Francis Coppola and
Woody Allen. These men are
responsible for some of the finest
American films ever to have
reached the screen: "Raging Bull,"
"The Godfather" and "Manhattan,"
to name one from each. Admit
tedly, only Scorsese has remained
in critical favor with his recent
film. "The Last Temptation of
Christ." Allen has been delving a bit
shakily into drama, and Coppola
has not had anything that even
compares to his masterpieces of
the 70s in the past 10 years since
"Apocalypse Now."
Nevertheless, the trilogy of
"New York stories" is an extremely
ambitious and risky project that
could easily have misfired in the
hands of the wrong filmmakers.
Luckily it doesnt. Certainly Allen
and Scorsese have risen to the
occasion and made best use of the
opportunity that the 40- minute
film format offers.
Scorsese's "Life Lessons," written
by Richard Price ("The Color of
Money"), stands out as the most
ambitious of the bunch and sits
very well at the beginning. The
story is simple. Famous New York
artist Lionel Dobie has three weeks
to come up with some paintings
for his new exhibition, as well as
to hold on to his girlfriend, who
wants to break up with him.
Because of the format of the
film, Scorsese races through the
story at a relentless pace, using
fast camera movements, quick
. edits, short .scenes and sharp
' dialoaue.'-The action of Dobie
frantically painting in reaction to.
" 'Dead Bang'
commits the
ultimate
cinematic sin
it is boring"
Only in this garbage-filled movie
could they turn out to be a group
of insane hippie types who, com
plete with an arsenal that would
wipe out half of Los Angeles, go
on the rampage for no apparent
reason. A convenience store
employee and a cop are blown
away before the opening credits
have even finished rolling.
When "Dead Bang" isnt repug
nant, it's stupid. The wife of the
dead police officer sleeps with
Beck because she wants him to
find her ex-husband's killer. "Find
him and kill him," she says, and
that's the last we see of her. A
"The three New York stories compliment
each other well, and the film does work
as a whole. Scorsese and Allen . . . are
among the very best"
the repressed pain of his relation
ship is captured masterfully. Scor
sese concentrates on the texture
of the paint as Dobie slaps it on
the canvas, and evokes a reaction
not only to what is being created
but also to the creator. The result
of Scorsese's techniques is a film
that explores the nature of art
and the role of the artist in an
intense and fascinating manner
without being pretentious.
Because of the frantic style of
the film, nothing is wasted, and it
is fascinating to watch. If it had
gone on for more than 40 minutes
it would have been exhausting;
instead, everything about it works
perfectly.
In the leads, Nick Nolte and
Rosanna Arquette complement
each other superbly. They jump
straight into their strange predic
ament and pull it off with ease.
They keep up with the extremely
quick pace of the film as the story
moves around New York from
Dobie's apartment to a trendy
nightclub to a reception and back
to the apartment. Different peo
ple come and go, including Debbie
Harry and Peter Gabriel, and yet
the story is still very much in Nolte
and Arquette's control, it's good
to see both of them perform so
well with such good material.
As with most Scorsese films -"Taxi
Driver and "The King of
Comedy" being the most approp
riate examples it is difficult to
anticipate the action of the char
acters because Scorsese's New
York is too much of a twistecj place
. to . expect any level of rational
fat FBI agent who assists Beck with
the case walks in and out of the
movie, usually entering with the
phrase, "I got your message. I
grabbed a helicopter and flew
right over." These people, if they
are anything, are cliches.
Even Beck, played by Don John
son (a genius stroke of creative
casting), has no character. The
most the script can give him is a.
ridiculous pair of reading glasses.
Johnson himself has little to offer
to the part.
"Dead Bang" could be happily
ignored were it not for the fact
that it was directed by John
Frankenheimer, the wizard behind
"The Manchurian Candidate," the
1963 thriller that was re-released
last summer and won deserved
acclaim. It is unfair to compare
films 26 years apart, but "Dead
Bang" has nothing. It commits the
ultimate cinematic sin it is
boring. It lacks the wit and pace
that successful tough-cop movies
require. It lacks the intelligence and
York Stories' a wonderful trilogy
thinking. And that is the secret to
the success of "Life Lessons." Even
though the ending is a bit easy,
the rest of the film is so vivid and
its characters so interesting that
it endures well after the whole
film is over.
Of Francis Coppola's "Life With
out zoe," the same cannot be said,
in fact, it is so clearly the weakest
of the three that you make a
concerted effort to forget it. The
main problem lies with the plot,
written by Coppola and his 18
. year-old daughter, Sofia, it is
basically about how a very rich girt
has lots of rich fun with her very
rich friends. Yes, there is a little
bit of intrigue involving an exotic
diamond, but it gets lost in the
repugnance of the rest of the
proceedings. Coppola's point is
that rich kids do not deserve such
a bad rap. Fair enough, maybe, but
not worth making a nasty little
movie about.
To give credit where it is due,
"Life Without Zoe" maintains the
high technical standards of Coppo
la's previous films. He uses his old
favorites, Vittorio Storaro ("The
Last Emperor") and Dean Tavoula
ris as cinematographer and art
director respectively, and both
make the film look beautiful. But
there's nothing you can do if the
story is boring and stupid. So, on
we go.
Being a big Woody Allen fan
(unlike the woman behind me who
went off in a tirade about how
he is still, making the same bad
jokes), l found "Oedipus Wrecks: to
integrity that its pathetic racial
message might need.
"Dead Bang" achieves the rare
feat of being impossible to enjoy
on any level; it is a waste of time
and money by its makers and for
those who choose to view it. It
is a must to avoid.
More enjoyable, more imagina
tive, more creative and ultimately
more interesting is the holiday re
release of Disney's "The Rescuers."
Made in 1 977, it is one of their best
animated features since Walt
himself died in 1966.
The story, as always, is relatively
simple, but beautifully con
structed. Penny, an orphan, has
been abducted and taken south to
the swamp lands by the maniacal
Madame Medusa and her bumbling
sidekick Snoops. They need her to
find a diamond, the Devil's Eye,
which is hidden down a large
pothole through which only a child
can fit. Penny writes a plea for help
and sends it in a bottle.
The message floats up the coast
be the most enjoyable of the
three. It is a standard Woody Allen
comedy with all the standard
neuroses that dominate his past
comedies: Semitism, baldness, clair
voyance and California all get an
honorable dose of cynicism.
As the title suggests, the main
neurosis is the mother-son rela-.
tionship on which the story is
based. Sheldon Mills is a successful
50-year-old lawyer who is com
pletely dominated by his mother.
She is a total nightmare, and
makes it her life's work to embar
rass him whenever she can. She
even carries around a batch of
childhood photos with her at all
times.
When Sheldon shows interest in
a divorcee with three children,
mom isnt thrilled, wantingas she
does, the best for Sheldon. In an
attempt to placate her, they take
her to a Chinese magic show,
where, much to Sheldon's delight,
she disappears in the Chinese box
trick.
When she is next seen, she hangs
high and huge over the Manhattan
skyline in the form of a mirage.
This does not however, stop her
from lecturing the whole city on
the weaknesses of her son. The
mirage soon becomes the talk of
the whole city, but after a few
weeks, of course, New Yorkers
have absolutely no problem
accepting this as part of normal
life. It is a grotesque and crude
sight gag, but in the context of
the film, Allen avoids any awk
wardness that such a surrealistic
image could engender, and makes
his brilliant "idea seem perfectly
natural.
"Oedipus Wrecks" bears closer
resemblace to Allen's short stories
and consequently it works better
in a short film format. Had he used
it for a full-length film, the impact
cwouid, not; have endured.asweii
for the duration of the, film.
to New York and lands in the paws
of the mice of The Rescue Aid
Society. And thus Bianca, the
Hungarian envoy, and Bernard, the
erstwhile janitor, start out on the
adventure of saving orphan
Penny.
There is one glorious scene
which is as funny as animation
gets: Bernard and Bianca are hiding
from Medusa's pet crocodiles,
Brutus and Nero, in the pipes of
an organ. Not yet to be outwitted,
Brutus starts playing the organ
while Nero waits for the unfortu
nate mice to. be blown into his
clutches. Medusa finally shows up
to stop the racket, becomes even
more hysterical when she sees the
mice and starts shooting at them
with her twelve-bore shotgun.
Featuring the voices of Eva
Gabor, Ceraldine Page and Bob
Newhart, "The Rescuers" is a quiet
Disney classic Dont be ashamed of
going: with the success of "Roger
Rabbit" last summer, animation is
fashionable again. Dont miss out
As usual, the cast is sprinkled
with familiar faces, all of whom
leave an impression, however
small their role. Mia Farrow (of
course) plays Sheldon's divorcee
girlfriend with unwavering cred
ibility. Julie Kavner also does a
great job as the clairvoyant to
whom Sheldon turns to alleviate
his problem. And most notable of
all is vaudeville performer Mae
Questel as Sheldon's insufferable
mother, who makes full use of the
comic opportunity that the role
offers her.
As a whole, "New York Stories"
is a great achievement in itself.
Part of the strength of Scorsese's
and Allen's contributions relies on
the fact that both directors are
so comfortable filming in New
York and can really capture its
essential vibrancy. Their segments
unashamedly flaunt the strange
nature of the city and draw a
considerable part of their struc
ture from it. Coppola, on the other
handis less concerned with New
York, and consequently his seg
ment is diminished in the presence
of the other two works, it just
does not seem right that the final
scene of "Life Without Zoe" takes
place at the Acropolis in Athens,
when the other films do not leave
the confines of New York. Coppola
just did not seem to get the point.
Luckily, because Coppola's seg
ment is sandwiched between two
superior works, the three New
York stories complement each
other well, and the film does work
as a whole. Scorsese and Allen have
both taken on projects that differ
considerably from their recent
works, showing that they are still
among the very best filmmakers
in the world. And the fact that
their two stories are, on their own.
better than almost anything else
that has been.released this, year
makes this ambitious and unique
film seem like a special, treat. ;: