The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 09, 1976, Page Page 10, Image 10
'Carrie' shocking,
but brillant
By SAM L. IRVIN JR.
Gamecock Staff Writer
Stephen King's best-selling novel "Carrie" has
been brilliantly adapted into a film by Director Brian
De Palma, closely following his successful "Obsession."
This shocker centers on an ugly-duckling teenager
Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) whose mother (Piper
Laurie) is a tyrannical religious fanatic. Carrie is the
laughing stock at school, her meekness lending itself
to continuous ridicule by her sadistic classmates.
There is an anger brewing inside her, yearning to
defy the tenacious grip of her repressive mother, and
show her friends that she will no longer take their
abuse.
However, there is more than anger waiting to be
unleashed; Carrie possesses telekinesis, which
enables her, in times of stress, to control things with
her mind. When she shows her anger, there is a
ferocious climax that delivers some spectacular
shocks.
The theme of female superiority is evident. When
thp Pvil fhri? (M nnnv Allan^ urantc hnvfrion^ KilUr
v.*v X/ V \tiMXVJ i lilVl / ?? UIIVO WVJ 1A iVilU UH1J'
(John Travolta) to help her ridicule Carrie at the
prom, she merely seduces him into agreement.
THE MALE English teacher (Sydney Lassick) is
presented as an eccentric weakling, while the female
gym teacher (Betty Buckley) is anything but a softy.
She gets sadistic thrills out of punishing the school
girls for harassing Carrie, and then balances any
personal guilt with motherly kindness toward Carrie.
The principal of the school (Stephen Gierash),
another male, is so dumb he cannot remember
Carrie's name, even after repeated corrections from
the gym teacher and Carrie.
Carrie's mother rejects men, thinking that any
association will lead to sexual sin. She says that she
was weak one time?the result was Carrie's birth?
but never again. She cqntrols Came.
Even the school jock Tommy Ross (William Katt)
is dominated by girlfriend Sue (Amy Irving) who,
out of pity for Carrie, makes Tommy take Carrie to
the prom. When the gym teacher asks, "Don't you
think you will look just a little ridiculous taking
Carrie to the prom?" it is obvious from Tommy's
face that he really does object. Ultimately, he aco.
i iin n - i*
ucpis ouc & in in uemaiiu. wntiii ^arne cornpiimenis
Tommy's poem that is read in class, he tells her that
lie did not write it; any spark of real strength in
Tbmmy is extinguished.
The film implies that there is a survival of the
fittest. It is clear in this film that the main power
struggle is not among the sexes (the males are quite
Fornography in Colui
alive, well, respectabl
By TERRY DUGAS number of p<
Gamecock Staff Writer high level of
they see.
Porno, that scourge of decency, that Quality p<
betrayer of American society, that threat to characterize
religion and democracy, is doing quite well photography
in Columbia. Somehow, in the nast vear. two nntrnapnne ?i
new hard-core theatres have slipped by creased, so hi
those dilligent guardians of Columbia's films. Now, la
purity and righteousness. and reasonab
Actually, the porno trade is slowly ex- rule.
panding its audience and establishing itself The image c
as legitimate entertainment. This does not deviate or frui
refer to the soft-core European product like the "Report ol
"Emmanuel" or "The Story of O", but hard- on Obscenity ?
core films in' which sex is shown in living finds that "pa
color, perfect focus, and often from a characterized
distance of two inches. middle class, i
The evolution of a cultured skin flick males ..."
audience has helped explode the cliches In a college
about product and patron. The growing patrons. . . w
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The terrified and enraged C
blood and calls forth her teleI
inferior), but among the ambitions
least likely candidate for supremacy
through her powers, she triumphs.
The juxtaposition of illusion and r
employed. Paintings of pigs introduce
where live pigs are slaughtered. Am
sequence is later revealed to be a
transformation of the uelv Carrip to th
"0 %/ v*
queen is startling contradiction.
THERE IS a neatly woven trail of blc
that begins with the first scene. At h
mother has a stutue of St. Sebastian
Woody knife wounds. At the prom, tl
literally takes form, and the flow does
the movie ends.
De Palma has created this film with
on rhythmic structure and technique,
with its complex symbols and themes,
De Palma's touch. Progressing throu
labia:
e
rno connoisseurs demand a
professionalism in the films
white, and c
priArt?*fn^hir io ^ 1 ^ -v ? ?ax ?
* iiugi c?|/ii,y jo nu lunger more mienc
i by black and white The conn
of unattractive people in primarily tc
uations. As profits have in- course, the
ive the budgets of hard core The discri
rish sets, opulent photography tertainment
y competent actors are the the scripts
Films lik<
f the porno patron as a sexual "Story of J<
itrated male was dispelled by opposed to p
the Presidential Commission comedy cai
nd Pornography." The report stick, as in '
rons of adult theatres may be in "Deep Tfc
as . . . predominantly white, "Misty Bee
niddle aged, happily married
Indeed, tl
town, such as Columbia, "the movies pro1
ere more likely to be younger, comedy bei
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vp 9R Bp* fl\ 11
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IgMr^ ^
arr/<? White stands drenched with
:inetic powers.
females. The "Phantom of the Pg
is Carrie, but "Carrie," De Palm;
recognizable style,
eality is well sequences of suspense.
De Palma's cast is 1
Th? lawless in the difficu
i dream. The 0 ,
e pretty prom ?Patc?k dlsP'
f j r Carrie, the first is a car
in Janis Ian's song 4'At
... r-i Carrie radiance and c
iod in this film , Cinderella A
ome, Carrie's ^ ; , aerella ^
with several mzy* she takes on a tN*
he blU bath 7"')lete with bulging h
: not ston until sutner.
The music by Pino ('
1 an emphasis is a perfect complemer
The material, choosing appropriate c
lends itself to score borrows the fam
igh "Sisters," late Bernard Herrman
f The Gar
Enferta
l.
asually dressed; there was also Many Ca
lance of male-female couples." source of
oisseur goes to adult theatres They are n
> be entertained, not aroused. Of or surrogai
two are not mutually exclusive. in experier
iminating viewer finds en- with a funi
either in the humor and wit of
or in the eroticism. ???
? "Behind the Green Door" and ?
aanna" offer erotic pleasure as V
>urely sexual arousal. Hard-core
i range from outlandish slap- Because
"High Rise," to social satire, as on Page 9
iroat," to sophisticated wit as in reversed. 1
thoven". have been<
should ha
be scripts of many hard-core Gamecock
vide the best examples of film
ng made today in America.
(*
'Carrie'
At the movie's climax,
I Carrie, played by Sissy
Spacek, calls forth her
supernatural powers to
? retaliate against her
classmates. The film,
"Carrie" is a good
adaptation of Stephen
King's novel.
I
I
iradise," "Obsession," and
a has refined an easily
He masterminds intense
ead by Sissy Spacek who is
It leading role. She evokes
ays three different images of
bon copy of the ugly-duckling 9
Seventeen." Then, she gives
harm when she goes to the
jid finally, when Carrie goes
risted snake-like appearance,
lypnotic eyes, and trance-like
'Don't Look Now") Donnagio
it; De Palma has a knack for
composers for his films. The
iliar slashing violins that the f
n used for "Psycho."
necock 1
inmenf
rolina students are seeing a valid
entertainment in pornography.
ot lookincf fnr saviiqI
-o ?. uvnuui OlllllUiailUIl
tion but for the enjoyment found
icing an erotic film or laughing
ly one.
Correction
of an editing error, the pictures
of the Dec. 6 Gamecock were
Ronald Reagan's picture should
>n top, and Gary Cooper's picture
ve been on the bottom. The
regrets the mistake.
#