Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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entertalh Brooks adds fun to fright BY TERRY DUGAS Of The Gamecock staff One of the major contemporary trends in film is comedy. Perhaps because of the unstable social conditions, more people are looking for escapism in en tertainment. The unprecedented success of Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" pointed the direction for comedy to take. However, many people did not like "Blazing Saddles." Terms like vulgar and crude were used to describe the comedy in the film. Fortunately, in "Young Frankenstein," Brooks' outrageous sense of the comic has been tempered by Gene Wilder's story-oriented humor. The result is that "Young Frankenstein," now playing at the Miracle Theatre, is a combination of incredible plot twists, verbal wit, preposterous jokes and countless film Illusions which tell an interesting and funny story. "Young Frankenstein" is a complex film existing on several levels. First, it can be seen as an excellent spoof on the horror genre. When viewing the film from this perspective, it helps to have seen the three Boris Karloff "Frankenstein" films. One can then better appreciate some of the plot twists but this is not necessary for a general appreciation of the satire. From the opening scene of a floor clock striking thirteen to the final scene of a shadowy bedroom confrontation, "Young Frankenstein" maintains an at mosphere of mystery. The film is shot in black and white, the only appropriate medium for horror, and is used with gi'eat effect. Vast mist-shrouded forests and dimly-lit passageways combine with a haunting refrain to leave a lasting image In the viewers mind. A coach ride to the forest at the beginning of the film coupled with a long shot of a beautiful, yet terrifying, castle ,is adapted directly from "Dracula." The castle itself, vast, mysterious and brooding, becomes a character in the film. Its passageways and rooms exert a will of their own. The film contains all conventions of the horror film: a hunchback, a beautiful assistant, a one-armed inspector, children in danger, blind men in cottages, haunting music. It transforms them into comedy. The coach ride,. to the castle becomes comic when Igor's ex plains where the werewolves were. Standard horror devices are subtly changed to provide humor. Throughout the film, Brooks and Wilder use motifs from the original iment Ho Karloff films but change certain details to create comedy. The result is a delight for any one who is familiar with the original films, yet still funny to the general audience. On a second level, the film contains a wealth of allusions from other films. Streets of the Tran sylvania town are patterned after the city in "Cabinet of -Dr. Caligari " Verbal wit is adapted in places from "Start the Revolution Without Me." The sexual style of the monster is adapted from both "Dark Victory," a Bette Davis film, and "Blazing Saddles." One of the funniest scenes in the film comes from a Karloff movie, "The Body Snatchers." Films that rely heavily on allusions are often boring because those allusions slow the progress of the story. This Is not the case in "Young Frankenstein." Its asides are strictly for the enjoyment of those who recognize them. The* pace is not changed by their in clusion and they do not obstruct the plot. On its simplest level, "Young Frankenstein" is one of the best comedies of the 70's. The film relies heavily on incongruous situations. The auQlience is con stantly battered by the unexpected and the Improbable. The actors in rror the film play their roles well. Marty Feldman gives perhaps the best supporting comic per formance I have ever seen. Feldman plays Igor in the tradition of the court jester. The physical oddity of the jester, in combination,. with his position, allows him considerable liberty. The jester in drama is often the only intelligent character on stage and this holds true for "Young Frankenstein." Feldman's style' depends on physical motion. He is a master of comic movement and a sense of the ridiculous. Playing Igor gave him a perfect op-. portunity to display his talent. As Frederick Frankenstein, Gene Wilder brings his form of frenzied emotion to the film.Wilder has an excellent gras p of the use of frenzy in comedy. Hift conti-olled speech, followed by violent physical action, is well suited to the character of Freddy, a brilliant brain surgeon reluctantly following in the footsteps of his grandfather. Wilder's style drags in places, but the physical action on screen always saves the film from low points. "Young Frankenstein" is not a perfect film but it has some of the highest points of comedy ever reached on screen. Terror movies win enthusiastic support BY SAM L. IRVIN, JR. Of The Gamecock staff There is only one genre of film with a very organized following: the horror film. But the horror film, to a real enthusiast, includes not only monster movies but also "whodunit" mysteries, suspense:shockers, science fiction thrillers and bizarre fantasies. There are societies of these enthusiasts all over the world, the most notable being The Count Dracula Society. Based in Los Angeles, the society's membership includes celebrities such as Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. Several publications devoted entirely to the study of the horror film come out regularly, and film festivals are held each year exclusively for terror films. Recently, the horror movie has spread its wings and become ac ceptable among film enthusiasts in general. Rarely without quality, horror movies have lacked general acceptance and mass success until now. The quality remains, and the genre is being accepted. Since "The Exorcist" opened people's eyes to the horror film again, some of the greatest talent in the business has poured into horror films. Francis Ford Coppola, director of "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II," producer- of "American Graffiti" and script writer of "The Great Gatsby," made a horror film which was released last spring. It was called "The Conversation" and he wrote, produced and directed it. Gene Hackman starred in what many Consider to be his greatest performance, and the film won the Grand Prix at The Cannes Film Festival among other honors. Coppola is a real horror film enthusiast. In fact, he started out making horror films at American International Pictures in the 1960s. So, "The Conversation" is really a return to the genre for him. John Boorman, who received incredible honors for his film "Deliverance," was one of, the most sought after directors in Hollywood. He chose for hi& next film "Zo oz," a bizarre science fiction horror. He wrote, produced, and directed it with a marvelous capt including Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling. Although not received well by all critics, it definitely was popular and very high class. Andy Warhol financed two films for director Paul Morrissey "Frankenstein" and "Dracula". Both films were very well received by the critics and were incredible financial successes. Mel Brooks really hit the big time with his hugely popular "Blazing Saddles." All the studios were at his feet, willing to take anything he felt like doin&. He came up with "Young Frankenstein" starring Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn and even Gene Hackman! It is a better film than "Blazing Saddles," it is being hailed by all critics and it is doing more business than its predecessor. Sidney Lumet is a horror enthusiast at heart. Two years ago, he made an excellent horror film "Child's Play,"-but it did nothing at the box office. To make it big, Lumet had to direct something he knew little about. The film -was "Serpico", and it got his name on the map. But when he was getting really big offers from the studios, he waited for just the right horror film. That film was "Murder on the Orient Express" starring such superstars as Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman and many more. The critics and, even more, the audiences loved it, and to date, it has broken many attendence records. It is now the most financially successful British-financed film of all time! A recent Issue of Esquire Magazine draws attention to young director Brian De Palma as one of the most promising directors of the 1970s. Last year, before "The Exorcist", he directed a superb horror thriller about Siamese twins entitled "Sisters." It did some business, but nothing to match the rave reviews from all the top critics. His new film which was released recently, not only received those same great reviews, but also the business to match. Called "Phantom of the Paradise," it is a satire poking fun at the classic horror cliches, famed directors, glitter rock and society. It Is superb, updated, musical "Phantom of tne Opera." Already, De Palma is hard at work doing his next horror film, "Deja Vu" starring Genevieve Bujold and Cliff Robertson among others. That brings the horror film up to date, but the quality Is not stopping here. Norman Jewison recently finished a horror film to be released late this spring. Famed for such films as "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Jesus Christ, Superstar," Jewison calls his new film "Rollerball." It stars James Caan, Sir Ralph Richardson and Academy Award winner John "Paper Chase" Houseman. Another distinguished, star-studded cast can be found in another terror film coming this spring, "Journey into Fear." It stars Vincent Price, Shelley Winters, Zero Mostel, Sam "Great.Gatsby" Waterston, Trevor Howard, Ian McShane, Donald Pleasence, Stanley Holloway and Yvette Mimieux. More and more, the horror film seems to be coming Into vogue. Big money Is being Invested, and the cream of the crop are being hired to make them. It Is highly unlikely that the "disaster" film trend will continue. People seem to have had enough of airplane crashes, fires, earthquakes, tidal waves and hurricanes. I find it Is very ipossible!, even probable , that the horror film is going to be the next rend in films.