The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 12, Ed. 1, Friday, October 7, 1983 Page: 3 of 11
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
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'Big Chill' a sensitive adult movie
F
Those of tM who art sick of bavin our
(tiligonce insulted by the continual eauaucht of
Yehtapk juvenik roovks owe a debt of gratitude
to Lawrence Kaadan. His newly-released film
"The Big ChiU"te a Mwitlve and inteUlfent film
3 "The Bit Chill" k rated "R" for kneuage and
t nudity ana k now showing at the UA Cinema Six
((Vn the Mall of Abilene.
The plot concenm seven oW friends who meet
pfor the first time since their college days in the
fts to bury a friend who has committed stikide.
Stumed and in need of support they spend the
weekend together discussing their college days
? of peace marches and charred draft cards before
departing for their separate worlds again.
' ' The story's not nearly as bkak as it sounds;
Although the film has its obligatory discussions
"'of death and the meaning of life the wry and
particulate screenplay by Kasden and Barbara
alBenedek contains abundant humor although
smuch of it to tow key.
v; The real strength of the film lies in its fresh
;and infinitely abk cast. Kasden's no fool; he's
chosen an array of young talent that would make
any director's mouth water and make almost
any script took wonderful. Individually the
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fYlfAVWlicairtfi Other items that help the film are an excellent
A11AI IXUSBlUIl score taken entirely from musk of the tee the
organist plays the Rolling Stones at the funeral
and a title sequence that turns out to be a
shockingly witty piece of work a short but
devastating moment.
The film's biggest weakness is a tendency
toward talklness. Occasionally the dialogue
begins to sound like so much group therapy but
perhaps it's appropriate for a generation who
asked for answers to the hardest questions. The
post-collegiate repartee hits its thickest moment
in a charged discussion on existentialism with
Hurt and Berenger ending up in a heated
hollower-than-thou debate interesting but
perhaps a bit dry for the average audience.
The film earns its "R" rating not especially
for sex even though two brief scenes are shown
actors are all quite good; in ensembk they
transform a Rood script into a thing of beauty.
Kevin Kline and Glenn Close turn in ex-
celknt performances as the groups' host and
hostess tor the weekend. Mary Kay Place does a
lovely tab as Meg the lawyer who's decided she
wants to have a baby she just hasn't decided
which of her old friends will be the father.
William Hurt does justice to a tough rote as a
brilliant but bitter Vietnam veteran who's now
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Meg Tilly hot off an excellent performance in brief nudity occurs as well and some knguage Sn moKlrafnoA
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Kasdan's theme of lost nope is loucmng ana
Berenger and Jobcth Williams play old college sometimes depressing but his affirmation of tlie
Music:
slightly bizarre girlfriend of the deceased. Tom
Baranffar and Jobcth Williams nlav old collece
fkmes about to rekindk their passion and Jeff value of friendship is a message well spoken.
Fixx Kajagoogoo Duran Duran Dolby Eurythmics
good examples of "new wave funk" music style
A new trend born out of the New Wave
Movement has edged its way into the music
scene over the oast year or so.
tot I hesitate to name this new styk because it tea
combination of so many musical styles. It
- 'Combines the synthesized sounds of New W.ave
.. melodic lines of rock some elements of more
- '..progressive musk and most importantly the
'' feel and beat of funk. Funk progressed out of jazz
swing and disco simplified it for dance pur-
poses.
.' This "new wave funk" is really good music.
'It's llstenabk and catchy has a good beat and
' it's doing very well on the charts.
. A good exampk of thte "new wave funk" is
gifrhe Fixx's singk "One Thing Leads To
Another." The vocals are really catchy and the
bass line te funky with a heavy drum backbeat
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"Hungry Like the Wolf" "Girls On Film" and
"Please Please Tell Me Now." Also a new band
called Kajagoogoo recently hit the charts with
their singles "Too Shy" and "Hang On Now"
Duran Duran and Kajagoogoo's music is very
progressive but still commercial. The chord
nrocressions are innovative but the sons are
and short bright quarter-note accents on guitar orchestrated and flow so the average person can
-- - Several Duran Duran "new wave funk" songs still enjoy. Take "Too Shy" to a music major
have received lots of airplay including "Rio" sometime and let him listen to the chords built on
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quartal harmonies or the smooth barmonk
modulations in "Please. Please Tell Me Now."
Thcmas Dolby's "Blinded By Science" and
"Europa and the Pirate Twins" are good
examples of new wave funk along with the
Eurythmics' recordings Human Leagues'
"Fascination" and even Culture Club's Boy
George himself herself or itself.
An interesting sidelight to this music style is
the physical appearance of the bands. All of
Kajagoogoo's band members have exotic
haircuts and they even gave credit to their
hairdressers on their album "White Feathers."
HOUSTON (AP) The video game boom in
Houston has gone bust almost as fast as Pac-Man
can gobble up ghost monsters
More than one third of the city's video arcades
are dark and the number of machines down by
more than 6000 from a year ago. In Harris
County the number of machines licensed to
operate has slipped from 38033 in April 1912 te
31723 in April of this year.
"The fantasy is gone' says Jodie Moore a
Houston-based licensing inspector for the Texas
Amusement Machine Commission.
"They're (the players) just burned out on the
games and the interest isn't there anymore"
Moore says.
Saturation of the market lack of new
technology and the slowdown in the economy put
a damper on the video game trade industry
experts say.
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The Fixx's members have eye-catching hair. fit biggest oil well in town" says Hoddy
and Duran Duran members are into very styled jy president of H.A. Franz one of two major
haircuts with highlights in the front and long Mmes Sstributors in Houston. "There were a lot
bangs parted on the sides.
Most of these bands are from England or
Australia where most new trends seem to
develop and they are adding some variety to the
music scene.
m
Disney
Success of Walt's animated characters unrivaled
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i i Aafdatad Prats Writer
JwttLOS ANGELES (AP) There's little life left
nih the production of animated feature movies
?f"Whkh have had a troubled history since Walt
Disney invented the art form in 1937.
' " "It's dead" Ralph Bakshi proclaimed
n recently as he announced he was switching to
h Jive-action movies.
Bakshi is the filmmaker who brought vigor
and controversy to the field of animation with
such films as "Fritz the Cat" "Heavy Traffic"
knd "Lord of the Rings."
r "I tried to create an adult animation market
and it proved too difficult" said Bakshi whd is
planning a film with real actors for Paramount
Pictures. No producer of animation the trade
doesn't like to call them cartoons can compete
with Disney he added citing (he recent failures
of "The Secret of NIMH" "Heidi's Song"
"Twice Upon a Time" and his own "American
Pop."
Warner Bros has also released compilations
of old Bugs Bunny and Daffy D"nk cartoons to
scant return. Bakshi spoke jusi Vefore the
release of his latest feature "Fire k. Ice"
Whkh has failed to catch on in a limited rtl-ase
by 20th Century-Fox.
Ever since Walt Disney made "Snow White
and tlie Seven Dwarfs" in 137 rival producers
have tried to match Ms success. It has never
happened. Film makers claim they can make
969 Lynwpod Blvd.
features of equal quality but they lack the power
of the Disney name and the company's
marketing skill.
"None of the major studios knows how to sell
animated features said Don Bluth the Disney
defector who produced "The Secret of NIMH
"If you give your film to a major you're certain
to fail.
"I have believed for the past five years thatthe
animated art form was dying." Bluth said.
"Except for Disney there hasn't been a com-
mercial success in the field."
He added that he believed "NIMH" would
eventually turn a profit "After all Tinoc-
chio' 'Bambi and 'Fantasia' lost money on their
first releases."
Although his company has two feature in story
development Bluth has turned his energies to a
new area: video games featuring animated
displays. He created the hit "Dragon's Lair"
which he described as a $3-million Investment
that has already grossed $40 million. He plans to
make four or five games a year 22-minute
films at $100000 per minute.
"Animated features have a place especially
with the coming of cassettes and other
markets" said Joe Barbara of the Hanna-
Barbera studio which produced "Huckleberry
Hound" "Yogi Bear" and "The Flintstones."
"The main problem is that they take too long
(to make) and cost too much. When you're in
production for five-sbr-seven years the interest
i piling up" Barbara said.
lit Disney Productions maintains its con-
keeps
Wal
f idence in the animated feature and has trained a
new generation of animators to replace retired
veterans and those who left with Bluth three
years ago.
"We're half-way through the rough animation
of 'The Black Cauldron"' said Ed Hansen bead
of the Disney animation department "and we're
aiming for release in the summer of 1965."
The sword-and-sorcery adventure lias been in
production since May 1981 and is expected to cost
$20 million.
Why has the animated feature fallen on bad
times except for Disney?
"The biggest problem is that the animation
makers no longer know bow to tell a story." said
Charles Solomon an animation historian.
"Compare the new features to 'Snow White' and
you'll see how much they lack in good clear
moving stories. There are plenty of good
animators nowadays. What's missing are
directors who can sustain a story through an
entire film."
The development of special effects technology
may also have contributed to the decline of the
animated feature.
Now with the marvels of computer graphics
and special-effect wizardry visual images in
"Return of the Jedi" and "E.T. The Extra-
Terrestrial" can match almost any tiling the
animator can conjure up. -
of games sold and a lot of quarters played but all
that glitters is not gold as far as the operators
go."
Franz reports business- off more than 35 per-
cent this year as does Bally Southwest
Distributing the other major games firm in
Houston.
Big State Vending a game operator says its
business is down 50 percent.
The Houston trend is mirroring the video game
industry's troubles nationwide says Amusement
Machine Commission district supervisor Patrick
G.O'Neil.
According to the trade publkation Vending
Times video games brought in $4.8 billion in
1961 up from $2.8 billion the previous year. But
in 19S2 the gross slipped to $4.3 billion and is
predicted to be $3.5 billion this year.
One-third of the arcades are silent now and
countless other storefront operators have backed
off some taking bankruptcy local industry
officials say. Once popular games like Asteroids
which sold for $2800 two years ago now bring
$250.
969 Lynwood Blvd.
A new cartoon strip "999 Lynwood Blvd." will
appear on the Kaleidoscope page each Friday in
the Optimist. The strip's creator is Mark Cullum
junior radio-television major from Nashvilk
Tenn.
"939 Lynwood Blvd." is the story of a 7-year-old
Henry and his struggles in growing up.
Henry's parents are Howard a high school coach
and P.E. teacher and Gladys a V an-
chorwoman and Henry has an ll-year-d.u sister
April who Cullum describes as a brat. Henry's
longtime friend and companion is an aardvark
named Aristotk who attempts to do everything
a dog does but fails.
"I tried to think of a good idea for a strip"
Cullum said. "The day-to-day life in families
seemed to present a lot of humorous situations"
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 12, Ed. 1, Friday, October 7, 1983, newspaper, October 7, 1983; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth96082/m1/3/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.