The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 07, 1977, Page Page 8, Image 8
entertains
'Wizards' a
brilliant
visual parabi
By TEKRY DUGAS
(ianiocock Staff Writer
"Wizards," written, produced, and
directed by Ralph Bakshi, is a vision of
the future in which technology is aligned
with the forces of evil, and magic and
nature support the forces of good.
THOUSANDS OF years ago, the world
was destroyed by an atomic holocaust,
and out of that inferno, life evolved into
two groups: the offspring of war, hideous
mutants, creatures of a radioactive hell,
goblins, wraiths, and demons set free by
science; and the children of nature:
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^4?v;o, tames, anu magicians. Life
progresses until twin wizards are born,
Avitar, focus for all good inherent in
nature, and Blackwolf, mutant lord of
science and decay.
To conquer a world at peace, Blackwolf
unearths ruins of Nazi Germany and uses
these weapons of war and ideology to
unite the forces of darkness. Avitar,
leading a band of an elf, a fairy, and a
robot named "Peace," seeks to destroy
the source of Blackwolf's power.
Although flawed in tone, "Wizards"
has a consistency of theme and a
brilliance of visuals not seen since the
Disney features of the Thirties. To
convey his theme, Bakshi portrays
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the Nazi war machine. Combining
military might and psychological terror,
Blackwolf's armies overrun the helpless
creatures of nature. The masses of
Goblins and demons are transformed
into SS troups, complete with Panzer
hordes and ranting speeches by Hitler.
TO IMPRESS ON the viewer the
horrors of science, parallels are drawn
for all aspects of the Nazi reign. Race
hatred, torture, sexual decadence and
mass extermination are all elements of
the forces of darkness.
Avitar and his small band are supported
only by faith in their quest and the
determination that holocaust must not
happen again. The forces of good are
often frivolous and childish but are
awesome in the defense of their way of
life. Avitar does not represent a
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storybook magician. He is lazy, profane,
and has an attraction for ladies. In short,
he and his followers are the true
descendants of manlrinc a ?1
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untainted by technology.
Bakshi helps convey this theme
through his incredible visual concepts.
He combines several different types of
animation to achieve his effect.
Characters are animated against an
intricately detailed, drawn background
to provide a depth of action unsurpassed
except by the best of Disney's early
work.
KAKS11I ALSO TAKES footage from
such other films as "Alexander Nevsky"
and "Triumph of the Will" and prints the
images in negative with surrealistic
colors, imposing them on his animated
characters. This gives evil an aura of
power that could not be achieved through
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The attacks by the followers of Black
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sckwolf and soothsayers in "Wizards"
wolf are terrifying, and the climatic
battle between the allied powers of good
and the army of Blackwolf is nvor
whelming.
Bakshi's interpretations of individual
characters are also highly imaginative.
His designs for the creatures of good,
elves and fairies, is fairly standard. His
conception of evil, however, visually
represents the primal fears of mankind,
creatures of nightmare and hell. Greatly
influenced by the art of Frank Frazetta,
Bakshi visually reinforces his thematic
content through his monsters.
THE FLAWS in Bakshi's film come
from an inconsistant handling nf inno
O " VVI,v* 111
any social commentary there is a place
for comedy when the theme is either
reinforced, as with his representation of
the priests, or at least not hindered, as
with a king patterned after Winston
Churchill.
"Wizards," however, is full of inBy
CHUCK <
Kntertainme
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Connelly, Jo
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discriminate comedy. Consequently, the
laughter created often interferes with the
point trying to be made. When Bakshi
uses outrageous dialects or ludicrous
visuals for his characters, he makes
humor for its own sake. Had the comedy
been more controlled, "Wizards" would
have been one of the greatest animated
features ever made.
Perhaps the most important influence
on Bakshi in the filming of "Wizards" is
his proposed three film adaptation of
Tolkein's "Lord of the Kings." Every evil
character in "Wizards" has a parallel
with the Ores, goblins, and trolls created
by Tolkein. Plot devices, battle
sequences, even the home of Blackwolf,
can all be adapted to the world of Middleearth.
Even a hobbit is reproduced in the
person of Avitar. It is possible that
"Wizards" was inct ? \ifo?*nr?-iir? ?"?
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for Bakshi to try out new concepts and
devices intended for future use.
? \
CROMER
nt Editor
he Thirties" interpreted as history will be
fall semester as a history department
>ry 494 will be taught by Professors Tom
hn^Scott Wilson and Edward Gregg on
x inursday afternoons at 2 p.m. in the
ditorium.
iSK is based on cinematic themes of the
ra, 193(V 1939, and 12 feature films from
"Golden Age" will be shown.
;mes, which dominated Hollywood's of
J 30's, include escapist comedy, escapist
ial protest, Depression protest, Southern
organized crimo u:?*?; ~ ~ <
a?a?V| UUVI I11DIU1
Connelly said.
films to be shown and discussed are, "All
Western Front," "Public Enemy," "It
le Night," "I Am A Fugitive From A
' "42nd Street," "Dinner at Eight," "The
1," "San Francisco," "A Night at the
agecoach," and "Mr. Smith Goes to
THE FIKST week of the course," 1
See FILMS, page 9