FILM string of successful horror films. 97m
from naee 2 “Chinatown”(1974)-Thebrightest
, ^ ° film noir movie ever made, this Roman
Polanski-directed film stars Jack Nichol
son as Jake Giddes, a private investi
gator who gets in way over his head in a case involving the precious water sup
ply in the Los Angeles area.
Numerous plot twists lead the viewer guessing as Giddes unravels the mys
tery behind the murder of a prominent L.A. businessman. 131m
September 21
The Nickelodeon
7 pm
“I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang” (1932) - This early sound film stars the orig
inal Scarface, Paul Muni, as James Allen, an upstanding young man who ends up
in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Convicted for a crime he didn’t commit, he ends up on a chain gang in an
unnamed southern state (Georgia). After a breakout from prison, he heads
North, where he creates a new identity and becomes one of the elite of Chicago.
However, he is spotted and eventually brought back to prison. A surprisingly
brutal (and critical) depiction of life on a chain gang, this film was banned in much
of the South. 93m
9 pm.
“Raging Bull” (1980) - Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece about the life of boxer Me
LaMotta, a disturbingly violent man both in and out of the ring.
Shot in crisp black and white, the film follows the rise of LaMotta, from mid
dle card fighter to world champion. LaMotta, played masterfully by Robert DeNiro,
beats his way mercilessly through his opponents and his own family.
The staging of the fight scenes, in almost operatic fashion, will leave you shak
ing your head in amazement and clutching your queasy stomach.
Also starring Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty. 129m
September 22
Russell House Theater
8pm
“March of Time: Inside Nazi Germany” - Documentary from the March of Time
newsreel series of the 1940s.
It provides an inside look at Hitler’s Germany during WWII. Introduced by
Dr. Raymond Fielding, dean of the film school at Florida State University. 20m
“The Battle of San Pietro” - John Huston’s WWII documentary that was sup
pressed by the government for years.
Introduced by William Murphy of the National Archives. 33m
“Topaz” - The world premiere of a film that documents the inside of the Topaz
interment camp. This was a camp in Utah where Japanese-Americans were kept
during the latter years of WWII.
Shot by Dave Tatsuno, a prisoner in the camp.
Introduced by Karen Ishizuka of the Japanese American National Museum.
70m
September 23
Russell House Theater
8 pm
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) - Stanley Kubrick’s metaphysical masterpiece
about the evolution of man.
A technically brilliant and complex film, Kubrick broke all of the rules by cre
ating a film that leaves the viewer questioning not only what they’ve just seen
on the screen, but what they know about the human race.
Combine this with perhaps one of the most recognizable scores in motion pic
ture history and one of its most memorable characters, HAL, and you will have
what will truly be an incredible viewing experience. Terrific way to close out the
tour. 139m
NOW PLAYING: -
'Stigmata'
by Ted Anthony
Associated Press
A safe bet: The Roman Catholic Church will not like
“Stigmata.” Not by a lopg shot.
That’s understandable. The movie questions the very
validity of the church’s existence. This thought-provoking,
literate horror film—an odd mix of religious iconography
and techno imagery set against the backdrop of post-indus
trial Pittsburgh — is worth a look, even if you walk away
a bit offended by the viscera and blasphemy it depicts.
With echoes of “The Seventh Sign” and a bit of “The
Exorcist,” “Stigmata” follows a beautiful young hair
dresser, Hankie Paige, through an extraordinary sequence
of events. Through no fault of her own, she is mailed a rosary
that belonged to a Brazilian priest (Jack Donner) who
died while on the veige of uncovering information that could
shake the Vatican to its foundations.
Soon after, Frankie — played by Patricia Arquette as
one part ingenue, two parts street-sawy twentysomething
— is stricken in her bathtub, in a scene that blends trau
ma, religion and erotic energy in a truly unsettling way.
Rushed to the hospital, Frankie is found to have puncture
wounds that go all the way through her wrists —just like
Christ’s crucifixion. The doctors think she tried to kill her
self. Ridiculous, she says: “I love being me. Ask anyone.”
After another attack on a subway leaves her with phan
tom whip marks (and a diagnosis of possible epilepsy), Fa
ther Andrew Kieman, a Vatican paranormal-events inves
tigator who’s torn between his science and his faith, is
dispatched from Rome to investigate. Father Andrew (Gabriel
Byrne, in a muted, deliberate performance) scoffs at first;
it can t be stigmata, he tells Frankie, because she s an
atheist and stigmata only strikes the deeply faithful.
Butsoon, after he witnesses more attacks and sees her
scrawling on walls in Aramaic, the language of Galilee in
Jesus’ time, he begins to believe. His superiors back in Rome,
slowly realizing the importance of what’s happening to
Frankie, begin to get involved in various questionable ways.
Ultimately, a truth emerges: What’s happening to the
increasingly scuffed and bleeding Frankie could hold the
key to a new way of seeing God — one that could rever
berate through Christianity and undermine all that the Vat
ican espouses. Dangerous, powerful stuff, even for priests
confident of their faith in Christ.
“Wfe’re all blind in a cave, looking for a candle that was
lit 2,000 years ago,” Vatican linguist Father Gianni Del
monico (Dick Latessa) tells Father Andrew.
juiiauicui i ijvu to au&uiau vuij cuiu uiuuau*
ing as Cardinal Daniel Houseman, the Vatican higher-up
who keeps lightening Father Andrew’s leash. Competent
but a bit cliched is Nia Long, as Frankie’s supportive friend,
Donna, who’s trying to figure out what’s happening.
The talented Portia de Rossi (Nelle from “Ally McBeal”)
is underused as a beauty-shop colleague who favors black
eyeliner and multiple piercings. Thomas Copache has a nice
small role as Father Duming, a Pittsburgh priest.
An interesting ancillary player is the city itself, con
stantly under storm clouds, reflecting Frankie’s moods
and deeds. In “Stigmata,” 1990s service-industry Pittsburgh
becomes steel-mill solid once more—filled with belching
steam, dark stonework, wet cement and broken glass, show
ing off its roots as iconic industrial town. Rain-soaked and
dreary, it’s never looked more compelling.
Stylistically, “Stigmata” is fascinating. It alternates tra
ditional camerawork and editing techniques with MTV
style cutting and oblique angles. It works well because it’s
done sparingly and for contrast, not as a gimmick to carry
the film. Especially interesting is the decision to vary light
ing, contrast and filters within scenes, which adds to the
sense of unease.
Though slow at times, “Stigmata” ultimately succeeds
in its determination to be interesting and to explore the
meaning of Frankie’s injuries. And it really gets going at the
end.
“The real miracle is that anybody believes anything,”
Father Andrew laments. But despite its standoffishness about
the Vatican, “Stigmata” is indeed a film about belief — and
about the gray area that lies between religious faith and sci
entific truth.
“Stigmata,” an MGM release, is directed by Rupert
Wbinwright and shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Waldemar Kali
nowski did the production design. It is rated R.
Special to The Gamecock
Patricia Arquette (top) and Gabriel Byme star in
MGM’s “Stigmata.”