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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1991)
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The first is in creating a film that so perfectly combines comedy and tragic drama. Without the come dy relief, the movie's emotionally intense plot would make for a most depressing and cynical movie. Without the benefit of the drama, the movie would lose most of its power and un derlying meaning. The second miracle is that Gilliam and Robin Williams, kings of excess and improvisa tion, can actually work on the same film and have something coherent come out of the expe rience. "The Fisher King" is much more than just coherent. The film allows both Gilliam and Williams their moments of eccentricity, but the movie remains tight. Running about 140 min utes , "The Fisher King" never slows its pace, keeping the film emotionally charged and moving through its entire length. Jeff Bridges portrays Jack Lucas, a New York shock radio host on the verge of super stardom. The arrogant Lucas is about to em bark on a profitable film and television career when a flippant on-air remark leads a dis turbed listener to gun down several customers at a local trendy restaurant. As he listens to the news report, Lucas realizes his career is over. The film then fast-forwards three years. Jack is now working for a chintzy video store owned by his new girlfriend, Anne (Mercedes Ruehl). Despite her constant affection, Lucas teels as if his life is going nowhere. In a drunk en stupor one night, he is mistaken as home less by two young men who douse him with gasoline and attempt to set him on fire. Jack is saved from this scene by the myste rious Parry (Robin Williams), a Robin Hood type figure who leads a vigilante group of homeless men. Parry lives in a medieval fanta sy land, imagining himself and his compan ions as knights, righting wrongs in the inner city. Parry tells Jack of his two quests. The first is for the Holy Grail, which he be lieves to be kept in a billionaire's castle-like mansion. The second is his romantic obsession with the reclusive Lydia (Amanda Plummer), a woman that Parry sees as his romantic destiny. Taking pity on his rescuer. Jack agrees to help him win the affections of Lydia, if not the Grail. The true story of Parry gradually comes to light. He was at one time a medieval history professor, until his wife suffered an extremely violent death. This caused Parry to retreat into his own world of medieval history and mythology. In this mental fantasy land. Parry personifies his pain in the form of the satanic Red Knight who terrorizes him constantly. Through the help of Jack, Parry meets Ly dia and begins to fear less the visitations of the Red Knight. Helping Parry, Jack finds the self confidence to allow him to repair his career. Events progress happily until the evening that the vision of the Red Knight is accompa nied by two men that beat Parry into a coma. In the meantime. Jack regains his old job and returns to his former elitist, uncaring attitude. Though trying to distance himself from his for mer street life, which he now finds repulsive, it's now Lucas' moral decision whether to at tempt to find the supposed Grail, the only way that Parry might be helped. Though in the past,Terry Gilliam has been associated with directing extravagant special effects epics ( "Time Bandits," "Brazil" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen"), his directing is remarkably subdued in this pic ture. It's still definitely a Gilliam picture, though, with weird, distorted angles, a demon- Tuesda A ic Red Knight, and the bizarre visual hum.; that Gilliam picked up from his daysw British comedy legends, Monty Python. Hi ever, the fabulous script of Richard LaGrai nese keeps the entire picture downtoeai and concentrates on character developmi not visual spectacle. LaGravenese's script also keeps tight n on the manic Williams. Gilliam Williams a few moments that were obvious,; improvised, including an incredible scent- which Anne first meets the eccentric Patu Williams is a master of improvising, butwisd T?n-hir) keeps it to a minimum in this film, breakir * out into his comedy routine only at the rip moment. In movies such as "Dead Poet Society"a^ "Awakenings," Williams has proved thathe a very capable actor without his trademai mania. With "The Fisher King," Williamsc; add one more success to his record. In actuality, the entire main castisvenl good. Jeff Bridges has rarely been better,])®] traying a character that realistically revei back to his selfish personality when opportut] ty strikes. In an era of movies such as" Doctor," it's refreshing to see a charactertlii doesn't change his personality as oftenaslt does his clothes. Ruehl as Anne and Plummer as Lydiaals* Dro .- ec t e( deserve much credit. Ruehl is great astk P n f n( streetwise yet sensitive working woman , Plummer is perfect as the klutzy Lydia,octi manc mt sionally even stealing the scene fromRoki; Williams. Both women are given backin: roles, but they remain just as dominant astfi two male stars in every scene they're in. "The Fisher King" isn't just a fantasy exoii sion, nor is it another male buddy film. It's movie about the way four people deal will guilt and pain in their lives. There is comedi and some scenes are hilarious, but thosees- pecting a light escapist picture will be over whelmed. In "The Fisher King," the audienu , encounters a brutal world of violence andcym > P 1 , 0 u '~ cism, and if the picture also makes themlaugt it's because they need the medieval esca much as Parry does. The Doors' focuses on Morrison, not on band By Timm Doolen The Battalion "The Doors" Directed by Oliver Stone Rated R Oliver Stone's "The Doors" is an interest ing but occasionally flawed case study of a rock icon, Jim Morrison, the creative force be hind The Doors. In the late '60s, The Doors laid down some of the most poetic and driving songs to come out of the '60s psychedelic era. While Stone captures the mystique that surrounded The Doors (helped by a wonderful performance by Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison), he almost cap tures too much of it. Don't get me wrong — I enjoyed this film quite a bit, especially the music, but I don't think the topic of the troubled soul of Jim Mor rison could be properly treated in two hours and 20 minutes. Also, the conversion from the big screen to video hurts the illusion of some of the psychedelic effects. In the film Morrison is turned into a mysti cal demi-god, not a rock and roll hero. Instead of seeing the roots of The Doors' music or his inner drives, we see the glorified Morrison. Stone shows us how crazy this guy was and how he was so obsessed by death, but we never really find out why he is like this; we never get inside Morrison's head. We see him drink his own blood from a chalice, but are never shown his deeper motivations for want ing to do this. The only explanation we get is a wreck Morrison witnessed as a child, which causes him see to see ghost Indians all the time. After about the 30th Indian, it got old. This film should not have been called "The Doors," but rather "Jim Morrison" because there is nothing about any of the band mem bers except the lead singer. Admittedly there could not have been The Doors without Morri son, but then again there probably could not have been The Doors without the other three musicians either. Virtually no time was given to Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek or John Dens- more. Those who have a personal affection for the work of The Doors will enjoy the movie. But I doubt this would have any meaning to anyone who was not a Doors fans except as to show one man's slow destruction. 'Lenny' tells story of slow self-destruction which he Consequ look at tl modifiec To th< we wisel body is t sire." Dare your bac ers." "No: commar Even the reached around 1 our way does hai cide rate world. Thou God con They are Sure somethi "Lenny" Directed by Bob Fosse Rated R A man with troubles similar to those of Jim Morrison was Lenny Bruce, who is wonderfully depicted in Bob Fosse's "Lermy" (1974). Dustin Hoffman becomes Bruce, a man who, like Morrison, was his own worst en emy, and this eventually led to a young death. In Lenny's monologues, he jokes about the problems in his life, including his mar riage, drug and alcohol and five arrests for obscenity while on stage. But whereas Morrison let life take hold of him, Bruce met it head on. After being arrested for obscenity charges, he took it upon himself to learn the laws regarding the First Amendment. Bob Fosse has a striking visual style (the movie is shot in black-and-white), but the whole movie is carried by Hoffman's acting and a good supporting role by Va lerie Perrine as Bruce's wife. -T. D. Previewed indeos courtesy of 2-Day Video. all, this i shiped. So w God tha closer to gives ins tion — a | right he) I This | Money, ey cult i: spreadii world. The ( meht at ing "fals also has fied. We wrong \ As a us lie re us belie own int As ft this is c< Their not going to get any easier! R.I.P. CHEM Test 1 R.I.P. MEEN Test 1 r\ R.I.P. ELEN Test 1 R.I.P. CVEN Test 1 some life back into your grade a Calculator from Hewlett-Packard "Numerical intergration can be a difficult topic for students to understand. With the HP 48SX, you can graph the intergral and understand the problem by seeing it Interpreted geometrically." 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