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Show I Wednesday, December 2E, V 1974 FagelE Villi CUV1 in a good theater is very similar to hearing music on a poor stereo or a good stereo, and I havent even mentioned commercials. Speaking of commercials, there seem to be a growing number of theaters which are turning off their films for a dramatically impromptu intermission. The purpose of this seems to be to boost candy sales. It seems to me that those theater owners are lasing a Mg advantage they have over commercial TV the ability to show a film if this nrartirw amwads. the theater owners mnM start to doom their own businesses. At present, one can only watch to see if the film publics viewing habits will change instead. Pauline Kael, the film critic for The New Yorker and one of the most respected critics in the industry, has leveled a broadside at the film distribution industry for discriminating against certain types of films. Kael contends that the public does not have the choice of films truly supplied by the dsitributian companies, but instead is usually fed what the industry feels will be popular. While her article seems to have little impact on the distribution industry, it is interesting that Kad is talking about a subject which seems to have been passed over far same time. May be some people will think about the films which have been shown in their area lately and will wonder who is deciding to show them. Finally, this past year has shown that a good direc- tortperhaps that should read great director) still can make an an extremely successful commercial film. In several cases, a director who has been consistently praised for his work, but who hasnt been able to capture the masses, has been able to delight the crowds this year. Every one of the directors who had a successful film wu able to make the film without lowering his high cinematic standards. I cant imderstand how an audience could go bad to so much of the garbage that is projected in front of them after they have seen films of such high quality. Perhaps Im Just an idealist. tsnn-tommi- With the end of another year rushing towards us, critics and reviewers across the nation are compiling their best five, ten, 15, or 20 films of the year. The Academy of Motion Picture Science is readying the Oscar machinery, while the studios await the possibility of reaping all the newfound publicity of being an Oscar winner. Its generally a good time to look at the past year and make a few general observations on what we saw during that time. The more things change, the more filings remain the same. After the success of The Poseidon Adventure, a spate of adAlan Crooks by venture fihns has appeared. All of the films feature seasoned, actors and actresses in the leading roles, and all of outlines of the file films use the same formula of disaster and ning Good and Evil than does our shaping the lives of the characters. The success of these films real world. C.S. Lewiss should make the critics, who feel that the present generation of trilogy, Out of the SUeui filmgoers is the best educated generation to ever exist, Planet, Pereiaadra, and Ihat reevaluate their views. It seems that special effects and potHideous Strength, is an obboiling suspense are still viewed as art(or at least as envious example, and is among tertaining) by a great number of people. Who are these people the most popular titles. They who are going to these flicks, and what sort of gratification are are also fine works of fiction. . they getting from them? . i ; Lewiss Chronicles of Narnia explore the same archetvoal Good films are still becoming mediocre films when they are thanMn in an serif reading shown on television. No matter whet film you have seen on TV, format, and though they are the chances are good that you have a lower opinion of the film advertised as juveniles, they than you should hive. The technology which might remedy the are celling to adult readers. situation has already been developed, but for the average TV Lloyd Alexanders five-volu- viewer, the small tube and poor sound fidelity that are series of fantasy is inherent in most TV sets do not dp Justice to the film. When I among the best for utilization used to play my Rolling Stones albums through tiny, three-inc- h of the quest motif. While speakers, my parents used to complain that they couldnt unthey, like Lewiss Chronicles derstand the words. Now that I hav4 a good speaker system, of Narnia, are published as my parents can understand the words. Now they dont want to. Juveniles, their use of The difference between seeing a film on TV and seeing a film TARAN as is wanderer well-know- Christmastime ia a time of fantasy, so it has occurred to me that I ought to say a tew things about the fantastic popularity . of what else adult fantasy. It all began nearly ten . years ago with the appearance of the paperback edition of Tolkiens The Lard of the Rings. Within mnnHw it sold better than 250,000 copies, and became the . criterion for the vogue of adult fantasy. Before its appearance, though, me publishers wouldnt touch fantasy titles. But as L0TR(as it is called by its fans) continued to sell and sell and sell(it has now been through more than 90 printings), the to change adult definitely material Among the first to see the fantasy vogue coming was Ballantine Books. They went after the'success of LOTR with a book on Tolkiens sources by Lin Carter, a science fiction writer, which showed that The Lard of the Rings was not the first work of its kind. They then hired Carter to act as consultant for a whole fantasy series. And while there may. be little reason to define fantasy, in the book world, according to Carter, it means that the works have settings that are either completely enchanted,' er - These and other books are available at DOLLY'S. holiday journal that publishes many critics just fuscate the issues. Some of them seem to be lost in their own brown study or ivory towerCtake your pick of colors), their own little world of language which only they can interpret. Its sometimes necessary to read with a Websters Dictionary in hand, and then, even then, its tough to decipher the meaning of what these critics are trying to say. But there have been many enlightening articles, as well as entertaining articles (particularly those by Peter Plagens, the painter and critic from Los Angeles) that give one the feeling of knowing more going out than when who ob- GROG 1 1 tsp. sugar or molasses tbsp. lemon juice 1 BLUE BLAZER 4 os. bourbon os. boiling water 1 tsp. honey Lemon twist oi. rum water or tea Place sweetener, lemon 2 2 14 juice, and rum in an z. mug. Fill with hot water or tea and serve. Dissolve honey in boiling lemon. MULLED WINE 1 K c. water sugar ,lc. 12 whole cloves 3 sticks 1 1 bottles red wine( or a Port may be used) 2 whole cloves small stick cinnamon 1 tsp. sugar 2 oi. rumUlght or dark) 1 tspi butter Boiling water Nutmeg 2 1 Heat to just simmering. Strain into mugs or tempered wine glasses. .' you and his right arm raised with his hand displaying youd better get a profane gesture. Its 9 feet tall and even the hold of copies, . ly; ARTFORUM, the picture conveys a brutal, violent feeling. 'A Bible of contemporary art. manifestation of todays society? You bet! keep up with whats hai , ARTS magazine features articles on VIDEO, a medium right up there presently. Catch the title- s-- Video Poems, ..The Grammar of the Video Image, Abstract Time, Two rvwierinnBn Projections, ElectronOrganism, etc. David Ross, in his article on the artist Douglas Davis, Video Against Video states, The Time has come to stop viewing video art as merely something new, and to start seeing the work of those who perform with the medium for what it is. Video art simply describes a set of activities in- volving a specific technology directed primarily towards the manipulation of ideas. I saw a video piece this summer that I liked very much. A tn tha ralifnmia artiat haH gon 1tp his camera, sat on a stool holing a large mirror parallel to the water line. The mirror reflected to the camera lens the rolling surf and horizon line. Now, he sat there and the camera rolled for several hours, but the final tape was compressed into only five minutes. The time of day was just before sunset and immediately after. It was beautiful. The artist had captured the forces of nature and manipulated them into his own time frame with this medium.Oh, the accelerated pace of our world! ARTFORUM bills itself as Todays most in- fluential and innovative art magazine. Thats true, certainly in the world of con-temporary art. I laugh when I remember a piece at the Pasadena Museum a couple of years ago. A Max Kozloff, one of my favorite critics, reviews a show of Eight Contemporary Artists at the Museum of Modern Art, which is the largest show featuring new art that MOMA has done in four years. He decries the exhibiting artists omission of grace and pictorial elements which he feels, and with which I agree, are elements necessary to guarantee these pieces a place in future favor, The pieces, he feels, are treated more as objects rather than things that are pleasing to look at and stimulating to think about. Kozloff s articles are examples of enlightening, constructive criticism, He describes, analyzes, fits the art into historical perspective and offers his opinions. I only wish I had time to get the magazines permission to reprint a quote from one of this months articles, a quote that clearly shows what Ive spoken about earlier; i.e., obfuscation. In an article about Video art, the author creates a sentence that is magnificent in its own way completely incomprehensible. He strings together phrases such as metaphorical descendants with Newtonian infinitesimal with Original Sin with relativistic perceptions with atavistic fiction with classical mechanics with simian paradoxes of Zeno with calculus. My last sentence makes as much sense as his. And he goes on and on. Now, really! All one can do is say, Huh? Tins type of criticism in no way helps the discipline of art criticism or art self. It does a disservice to the artist as well as to the reader and the reader cant help but react with Why bother?. how I interpreted it. turns! jt Jj.. (801) See Us For 64961 . food vibes food spirits at Alpine Phaspectorlsdge J ArAQty. Wok A A can increase your fireplace heating efficiency by 500. This heating miracle provide circulating fireplace heat, reduce home heating cost and firewood consumption. Fully assembled; no instal-lotioportable fits oil fireplaces. mss MANY LISTINGS older homes, lots, new homes, condos n; RHomm 00jfEB0 QsmSBh '7&$!TZ)0'SS4 t&jSXfti (pfigsj tiQff am miwAct Gfomm 124 E.Culorado TELLURIDE of lodging some Christmas rentals remaining youre headed our way, bring In the Coalition and say Hello ex 1 i PARK CITY RESERVATIONS for a wide renge COLORADO If QH&iJh Strati 649-906- 6 for Information call 649 -9124 - In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, doves, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar and boil five minutes. Add lime, lemon, and wine. HOT BUTTERED RUM going in Many of the gallery ads in the magazine1 reproduce pictures of the work currently being exhibited. The first ad this month, on the inside Just received the December issues of ARTS cover, is a picture of a new William King piece shown in a New York City gallery. Its a magazine and ARTFORUM, two magazine of being Z tuning mow wanna Put cloves, cinnamon, and sugar into a mug or hot whiskey glass. Add rum, butter, and a little boiling water. Fill mug with boiling water and stir. Grate nutmeg on top and serve. Hot ts. QIUUTY SKISMITH BROCHURES in decorations, and friends stop in to wish good cheer. In exchange for their warm wishes, offer your friends some warm refreshments. Here are four surefire ways to dispel the winter chill. Art criticism today can be very stimulating and by pouring from one mug to hot provocative, written by certain art critics. On the another. Serve in a other hand, ARTFORUM seems to me to be a whiskey glass with a twist of . , dressed water in a silver or pewter mug. Put bourbon in a second mug. Ignite liquor and, while blaring, mix with the water ' of (titles: Three, High Kiag, Taras the Wanderer, Castle of Llyr, and Black Cauldron). Evangeline Walton, while not yet as popular as Tolkien or Lewis, is perhaps one of their kind, as she has based her series on the four branches of The MaMaoglen, the Druidic book of legends of the Welsh people. Her books, primarily concerned with die forces of Good and Evil, are steeped in mysticism, which, therefore, might explain a part of their popularitay, as mysticism is in vogue, also. Waltons books seem . to purely imaginary realms such as Atlantis, ..or .transcend the Druidic lore recognisable worlds with and spill over into sheer imaginary histories. I would magic. She presents an enadd that most are primarily chantress, Arianrhod, who is ' archetypal, concerned with not exactly evil, but who is so Good vain and ignorant that she the primary nature of and Evil, and often involving : brings evil to those she loves, thematic and is destroyed by her own archetypal vehicles, such as the heroic thoughtlessness. Gwydio-n(tb- e Good), desirous of an quest heir, brings on inadvertently Suddenly, then, fantasy became - popular, and has ; Arianrhods wrath "and remained so since 1965. Both consequently, brings on kids and adults are reading it tragedy. What is - more because there doesnt seem to interesting, however, is be a boundary between that Walton attempts to childrens fantasy and adult present an imaginary world fantasy. An interesting that we are to believe acexample of this vague tually existed: She predicts a boundary is Richard Bach's future we have already seen-t-he war years and makes Jonathan Llvlagstaa Seagull, which was rejected as a the prediction credible. childrens book, and wound Waltons titles? The Prince of list for Aaawa, Children ef. Llyr, up on the best-sellover a year as an adult title. flung if Rhlewnon, and Island Other wtamplea are Ursula ef the Mighty. Ill mention only one more, K. LeGuins Wisard of ' was a which comparative new title, Earthsea, which as a may be a forerunner of originally published juvenile, but which now has a new kind of fantasy. Russell been reissued as an adult Hobans The Lien ef Bens, Jachin and Jackin Bens is fantasy, and Paul Andersons The Day the Earth Stand Still, more- psychologically a Juvenile novel, which was a . oriented than magically and, selection for the adult Science therefore, may bring on new Fiction Book Club as well as dimensions of fantasy. One t last word about being used for a movie. Of course, as with anything fantasy. Good fantasy tells us that comes into vogue, there about human beings, whether are many explanations of they are disguised as hobbits why people are reading or druids. And, . maybe will allow us fantasy. Lin Carter has said reading fantasy beneath to want reality to that it is because people probe the better worlds that an archetypal reality that can fantasy provides. Certainly, a transform society. Lets part of it is because the world hope. id fantasy provides clearer Merry Christmas. Book Next week, Ill try to pound out the top ten films of 1974. This u not an easy (or endearing) task, as there are numerous films which deserve consideration. After I give my list, Ill even let you send in complaints about amission and inclusions, and might even find room in my heart to see if they cant be printed. No promises, however, as we film clitics have unbearably inflated EGOS. week The between Christmas end New Year's is often a time for entertaining. Homes look their best 6499596 |
