@@@@@ @ @ @@@@@ @ @ @@@@@@@ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @@@@@ @ @ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@ Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society Club Notice - 11/30/90 -- Vol. 9, No. 22 MEETINGS UPCOMING: Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are on Wednesdays at noon. LZ meetings are in LZ 2R-158. MT meetings are in the cafeteria. _D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C 12/05/90 LZ: EQUAL RITES or THE LIGHT FANTASTIC by Terry Pratchett (Humorous SF) 01/09/91 LZ: BRAIN WAVE by Poul Anderson (Intelligence) 01/30/91 LZ: RITE OF PASSAGE by Alexei Panshin (Adolescence) 02/20/91 LZ: MARTIANS, GO HOME! by Frederic Brown (Social Satire) 03/13/91 LZ: TOM SWIFT by Victor Appleton II (Juvenile SF) _D_A_T_E _E_X_T_E_R_N_A_L _M_E_E_T_I_N_G_S/_C_O_N_V_E_N_T_I_O_N_S/_E_T_C. 12/08/90 SFABC: Science Fiction Association of Bergen County: TBA (phone 201-933-2724 for details) (Saturday) 12/15/90 NJSFS: New Jersey Science Fiction Society: Jim Frenkel (phone 201-432-5965 for details) (Saturday) HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 834-1563 hocpa!jetzt LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 576-6106 mtuxo!jrrt MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 957-5619 mtgzy!leeper HO Librarian: Tim Schroeder HO 3B-301 949-4488 hotsc!tps LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 576-3346 mtunq!lfl MT Librarian: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted. 1. Our next film festival is a double feature I have wanted to show for a long time, but until recently the first film has been unavailable. Both films star Jimmy Stewart but as opposite characters. In the second film he completely distrusts the type of character he plays in the first film. On Thursday, December 6, at 7PM, we will be showing: Aircraft and Engineers NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY (1951), dir. by Henry Koster THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (1966), dir. by Robert Aldrich THE MT VOID Page 2 The theme of the first film is whether a scientist's responsibility is to science or society. Nevil Shute (author of _O_n _t_h_e _B_e_a_c_h) drew on his career as an aircraft engineer in writing the novel _N_o _H_i_g_h_w_a_y. (They made the film title a little more self- explanatory.) In NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY a mousey little scientist (Jimmy Stewart) at an aircraft plant is convinced a new sort of metal fatigue will cause his company's new plane to crash. When a suspicious crash does occur, he is sent to investigate on a plane that may be similarly flawed. A very good cast includes Jack Hawkins, Marlene Dietrich, and Glynis Johns. The good films become more timely with age and with disaster prediction becoming more of a possibility for events like earthquakes and architectural failures, this film is more relevant today than in 1951. THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX is not relevant at all, but it is a thumping good adventure film. An excellent cast led by Jimmy Stewart and Richard Attenborough tell thriller writer's Elleston Trveor's story of a plane crash in the Arabian desert. The survivors are miles off-course with little food, little water, and a map. Told with tension and suspense, this is a classic story of how you save yourself with just the materials at hand. The cast includes Peter Finch, Hardy Kruger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen (nominated for an Oscar), Dan Duryea, and George Kennedy. (Personal note: I first saw this film one night on television at my college Student Union. The film runs long and fifteen minutes before it was over they tried to close the building for the night. An audience of thirty people absolutely refused to let them even get near the television to turn it off. There was nearly a nasty incident. That night the Student Union stayed open until THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX got over.) Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 957-5619 ...mtgzy!leeper Democracy is the most difficult of all forms of government since it requires the widest spread of intelligence.... -- Will Durant DANCES WITH WOLVES A film review by Mark R. Leeper Copyright 1990 Mark R. Leeper Capsule review: Epic portrait of a Sioux tribal life as seen through the eyes of a Civil War officer. American Indians have rarely or never been portrayed so believably and sympathetically. Its biggest flaw is that the White Man does not seem as realistically portrayed. The films resembles _W_h_i_t_e _D_a_w_n and _F_a_r_e_w_e_l_l _t_o _t_h_e _K_i_n_g in plot and spirit. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4). I suspect that of all the films of 1989, the one that will be best remembered will be _G_l_o_r_y. It may not be the best film of 1989, but it has a sort of timeless quality that will hold up for many years. That was 1989. This year I think we have an even better film that has that same timeless quality. There have been films in the past that have tried to give sympathetic views of the American Indian. It is not hard to be more sympathetic than films like _F_o_r_t _A_p_a_c_h_e. _L_i_t_t_l_e _B_i_g _M_a_n, unaccountably popular, attempted to be sympathetic but gave the impression that the writers knew nothing about American Indians. (I do not know if the novel was as bad or not.) Other films such as _C_h_e_y_e_n_n_e _A_u_t_u_m_n tried to speak of injustices done to the Indians, but they too never got into the minds of native Americans. Perhaps _D_a_n_c_e_s _w_i_t_h _W_o_l_v_e_s, based on the novel by Michael Blake, is no more authentic than is _L_i_t_t_l_e _B_i_g _M_a_n, but it certainly feels like the most authentic film ever made about American Indian culture. Kevin Costner directs and stars as John Dunbar, who is to have his leg amputated due to wounds in a Civil War battle. Not having the courage to face his future, he attempts suicide and in doing so accidentally makes himself a hero. This not only wins him medical care sufficient to save his leg, he is also given his choice of posting. Wishing to see the Western frontier before it is overrun by the white man, he requests a posting to an isolated and deserted fort far out on the frontier. His thoughts about facing hostile animals and more hostile Sioux are overcome by his curiosity and his willingness to accept and appreciate that which is alien to him. The film picks up his enthusiasm to meet, understand, and befriend the very alien culture of the neighboring Sioux. He must first overcome their distrust. There the storyteller somewhat unrealistically contrives circumstances in Dunbar's favor. This is a long film and each stage of his acceptance by the Sioux is shown and not overly glossed over. In particular, language problems are quite believably difficult and eventually overcome by another contrivance. Eventually Dunbar is accepted into the Sioux society and Costner can show us how Sioux lived and thought. If the film has a major weakness it is that it exaggerates the stupidity and strangeness (even if not the cruelty) of the hordes of Dances with Wolves November 25, 1990 Page 2 invading white men. The positive view of the Sioux would be more believable if the view of the White Man had more credibility. There is a love story of Dunbar with a white woman who has been Sioux since she was captured as a child. This subplot could have been a distraction from showing us the Sioux lifestyle, but if so it was only a minor one. Mary McDonnell, familiar from _M_a_t_e_w_a_n, plays Dunbar's lover interest, Stands with a Fist. _D_a_n_c_e_s _w_i_t_h _W_o_l_v_e_s is told with a grace and humor that keeps the viewer constantly entertained through its nearly three-hour length. Costner is to be congratulated for creating such an unorthodox film (about a quarter us in Lakota, the Sioux language, and subtitled), and at the same time so enjoyable a film his first time directing. I give it a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.