PAgE Eleven PLANET OF THE ARTS APEIL, 198 THE BACK ROW Ian Verchére Some important events in cinema coming up in April, May and June at the Ridge and the Vancouver East, includ- ing the Peace Film Festival, and the Sth Annual Vancouver International Film Festival, May 23 to June 26, which has expanded to include the Broadway Cinemas, The Dunbar Theatre, the Hollywood, and the Varsity as well. The Peace Film Festival is co-ordinated by the Van- couver International Film Festival in association with the Vancouver Centennial Commission, consists of 23 films. running evenings from Friday the 18th of April to Thursday ' the 24th. All showings are at the Ridge, 16th and Arbutus. A festival pass costs $12.00 for students and $4.00 for a double bill. About half of the films shown are feature films, running over 90 minutes or so, and the others consist of an eclectic assortment of films from the U.S. and Canada with running lengths of 3 minutes to just under an hour. Don’t miss ‘Dr. Strangelove’ — a 1963 Kubrick film with Peter Sellers, George.C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden. (Worth watching just for the scene when Slim Pickens frees a hydrogen bomb swck in the bomb bay of his B-52 by swat- ting the fried circuit board with his cowboy hat and riding the bomb down rodeo:style). ‘Failsafe’ , directed by Sidney Lumet, is a 1964 film with Henry Fonda and Walter Matthaudeals with an American: plane accidentally ordered to bomb Moscow; ‘The Atomic Café’ , a compilation of hilarious and horrifying American nuclear propaganda of the ’40’s and ’50’s. This film will have you singing “Run, Duck, and Cover!” for weeks after- wards; “Koyaanisquatsi’, directed by Godfrey Reggio, in which time-lapse photography is used to depict the insanity and pace of modern life; and ‘If You Love This Planet’ , an Oscar winning Canadian film of a lecture by Dr. Helen Cal- dicott. Accordinng to the Ridge notes on this film, it was banned by the U.S. Department of Justice as “political propaganda”. Other films include ‘For The Next 60 Sec- onds’ , ‘Eleven Steps to Survival’ ,‘The China Syndrome’ , ‘War Games’, ‘Gallipoli’ , ‘M*A*S*H’ , ‘King of Hearts’, ‘Silkwood’ , Front’, Coming to the Vancouver East Cinema towards the end of ‘April is ‘The Time Bandits’, a Terry (‘Brazil’) Gilliam film from 1981, in which a young English boy is swept up by some dwarves who have stolen a map depicting the “holes” in the universe, and are committing robberies and escaping into the past or future. May 7th and 8th, ‘Birdy’, a very original film about two friends who are suffering the after-effects of Vietnam, one physically, the other men- tally. In 1957 Kurosawa made ‘Throne of Blood’, which like the parallels between ‘Ran’ and Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’, is a version of ‘MacBeth’ set in 16th century Japan during the Sengoki Civil wars. A very textural, visual film. It’s showing at the Van East May 19th, 20th. All in all, it’s shaping up to be an exciting next few months in film — Vive la two fifty Tuesday! A Night at the Commodore So here I am at the Commodore, a recipient of a free tick- et to see Long John Baldry. Yah sure, I’ll go, can’t beat the price. Arrived in the middle of some band playing a medley of tunes. I’m very suspicious of any group that tries to cram 20 songs into one melodic stream of consciousness. Off toa bad start. Maybe I can retreat to Mall Books where this steady boom, shacka lacka drum beat is muffled by a col- lection of the latest best sellers. Things could improve. They might take a break. Who are these guys anyway? I don’t care and neither should you. Their music is not quite passe“enough to warrant a revival, just embarrasingly out- of-date. “Everybody put your hands together. . . ” Well the back of this Chargex bill is just about covered. Time to look for empty cigarette packages to write on and perhaps check out the scene. The ladies across from us look to be in their fifties — the ladies who dare to wear pink chiffon. Even stranger to see them playing air guitar to Meatloaf. I never touch the stuff. ‘The second set has started. Is that Long John Baldry wearing a variation of the “white suit”? Here Iam waiting for those old favourites that don’t quite sound the same. They’ve changed. He’s changed. I’ve changed. Fading tunes, fading hairlines. I guess that explains the hat. On to Katherine Macdonald. I found her voice shrill, too shrill. Stick to those slow mellow ballads. Save your voice, pro- tect my ears. The ladies across the table want to know how I rate the band on a scale of 1 to 10. I tell them I go to art school and can’t count. I tell them I’m writing about them. They don’t speak to me again. I really should talk about Long John again. He has a deep rich voice. I’d like to hear him do Hamlet. No, he’s a little old for that. Perhaps King Lear. Too bad the P.A. system sounds like a hollow tin can. So they finally get into a little slide guitar and harp. Well, its about time, drop the hype and just sing the white man’s blues. Take your hands apart. Virginia and the classic ‘All Quiet on the Western - y, Niteclubs on other yer “0. eo =~ TK orcs Ss! Bi | by as V a ran yes My. © Bae NO as ‘ ee LOOk AT WHO THEY RE). _LEAVI Neé wrth! The scene iS a aunts br on Rigel ca: AND Look AT Le ee ney . (we Go BACK = a Ca a $ i EAN a OEP Aye ) Bil |i: of. ay: ae eX-THESE GUYS Pa wee DRESSED Like Jiake ut YoU PORG RANCHE Lo 4 NHAN ng ce AM BRIEFLY BOOKS by Daniel Jans Who Runs Washington? M. Killian, A. Sawislak; 19822, St. Martin’s Press, N.Y. At times amusing and often irreverent, the authors serve up an insiders look at the capital of the world’s most power- ful nation; the people, the institutions, and the playgrounds. Following brief descriptions of the workings of the various players and their machinations; diplomats (Dips), repor- ters, think tanks, and Who’s Who women, are lists of the best and most pWwerful movers and shakers, finest eateries and hangouts and toneiest of neighbourhoods. The book was written at a time when it was unclear whether Reagan would be running for a second term in 1984 so some of the information is out of date; Watt, Deaver and Kirkpatrick are gone. . . more or less . . . but it gives a clear look at the workings of the power structure of a city of a majority of poor, black citizens (only recently enfranchised) and an in- dustrial base of government lobbying. The Image Empire: A History of Broadcasting in the United States. Erik Barnouw This is the third volume (A Tower of Babel, and The Golden Web being numbers I and II) in Barnouw’s history of American Broadcasting and follows the period from 1953 to 1970. ‘The Image Empire’ is a clear, well written history, covering the important technological and social events — 16mm to video, McCarthy to the Kennedy’s to Vietnam — and of course advertising. While at times a bit thin — driving one on to seek further information elsewhere — the author chooses what he sees as important aspects in the growth of broadcasting and puts them in historical con- text. The chapters on Radio Liberty and The Voice of America in themselves are chilling food for thought. The Morass Richard Allan White; Harper & Row, 1984 A timely book for those interested in the tragically un- folding U.S. adventures in Central America. White’s game is counter-insurgency here, and he traces it from the Ken- nedy administration, through the Vietnam “Hearts and Minds” campaign to its waning influence in the Carter era and resurgence in Reagan’s hamfisted foreign affairs poli- cies. Attempting to walk a tightrope — being neither hys- terical apologist nor rabid liberal critic — White’s basic fear is that America is being drawn into an ugly repeat of the South East Asia debacle due to its unenlighterfd foreign so- cial policies and the inevitable failure of counter-in- surgency tactics because of greed, corruption and in- adequate training of native troops. : Guatemala, Honduros, El Salvadore, and Costa Rica— the examples the author uses to demonstrate his case in de- tail, but in writing of the various elements in counter in- surgency — land and political reform, propaganda, etc. the role of the CIA is brought under examination and other countries notably Nicaragua and Chile are brought to bear as well. While White attempts to maintain an objective stance the inscription at the beginning tellingly tips his hand. The book is dedicated to Sister Ita Ford, one of the American nuns brutally raped and murdered by Salvadoran government troops. Notes on Frank Tofino’s Theatre Workshop Status exercises deal with the relative importance of characters. A character can show higher status by phys- ically taking up more area. Conversely, a low status charac- ter will generally take up less space and be more closed off. One extemely low status characteristic is being unable to make é€ye-contact. In addition to controlling their own status, characters can influence the status of other people. One exercise for this is to put two characters on stage, both with average status, and both slightly in awe of the other. In an improvised sketch they must attempt to raise the status of the other character and lower their own. Some really subtle interplay begins to happen as they shift positions. (Provided that they don’t de- generate into a pair of blathering idiots firing compliments back and forth.) The opposite of this exercise can also be done with the characters seeking higher status. These status relationships occur continually off the stage as well as on. The way you act with other people is partly a product of your feelings about yourself compared to them, ‘their confidence in themselves, and your feelings towards them. You are going to be very high status when with some- one you think is lowlife shit, even if they themselves are very high status, simply because you are confident that they are lowlife shit. "THE BACK ROW Tan Verchére ‘Some important events in cinema coming up in April, May and June at the Ridge and the Vancouver East, includ! ing the Peace Film Festival, and the Sth Annual Vancouver Intemational Film Festival, May 23 to June 26, which has ‘expanded to include the Broadway Cinemas, The Dunbar ‘Theatre, the Hollywood, and the Varsity as well ‘The Peace Film Festival is co-ordinated by the Van- couver International Film Festival in association with the ‘Vancouver Centennial Commission, consists of 23 films running evenings from Friday the 18th of April to Thursday, the 24th, All showings are atthe Ridge, 16th and Arbutus A festival pass costs $12.00 for students and $4.00 for a double bill. About half ofthe films shown are feature films, running over 90 minutes or so, and the others consist of an eclectic assortment of films from the U.S. and Canada with running lengths of 3 minutes to just under an hour. Don’t miss ‘Dr. Strangelove’ — a 1963 Kubrick film with Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden, (Worth watching just forthe scene when Slim Pickens frees ‘hydrogen bomb suckin the bomb bay of his B-S2 by swat- ting the fried cireuit board with his cowboy hat and riding the bomb down rodeostyle). ‘Failsafe’, directed by Sidney Lumet, isa 1964 film with Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau,deals with an American plane accidentally ordered to bomb Moscow; ‘The Atomic Café’. a compilation of hilarious and horrifying American nuclear propaganda of the "40's and °$0"s. This film will have you singing "Run, Duck, and Cover!” for weeks after- wards; ‘Koyaanisquats’, directed by Godfrey Reggio, in Which timeapse photography is used to depict the insanity and pace of modern life; and ‘If You Love This Planer’, an ‘Oscar winning Canadian film ofa lecture by Dr. Helen Cal- dicott. Accordinng to the Ridge notes on this film, it was banned by the U.S. Department of Justice as “political propaganda”. Other films include ‘For The Next 60 Sec ‘onds’, ‘Eleven Steps to Survival',"The China Syndrome’, ‘War Games', ‘Gallipoli’, “M*A*S*H , “King of Hearts’, ‘Silkwood’, and the classic ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, ‘Coming to the Vancouver East Cinema towards the end ‘of April is ‘The Time Bandits’, a Terry (‘Brazil’) Gilliam film from 1981, in which a young English boy is swept up by some dwarves who have stolen a map depicting the “holes” in the universe, and are committing robberies and escaping into the past or future. May 7th and 8th, "Birdy", a very original film about two friends who are suffering the after-effects of Vietnam, one physically, the other men tally. In 1957 Kurosawa made ‘Throne of Blood! , which like the parallels between ‘Ran’ and Shakespeare's ‘King Lear’, isa version of ‘MacBeth’ set in 16th century Japan