@@@@@ @ @ @@@@@ @ @ @@@@@@@ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
@ @@@@@ @@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
@ @ @ @@@@@ @ @ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 11/09/90 -- Vol. 9, No. 19
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
11/14/90 LZ: WAR WITH THE NEWTS by Karel Capek (Foreign SF)
12/05/90 LZ: EQUAL RITES or THE LIGHT FANTASTIC by Terry Pratchett
(Humorous SF)
12/26/90 LZ: TOM SWIFT by Victor Appleton II (Juvenile SF)
01/09/91 LZ: BRAIN WAVE by Poul Anderson
01/30/91 LZ: RITE OF PASSAGE by Alexei Panshin
02/20/91 LZ: MARTIANS, GO HOME! by Frederic Brown
_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.
11/10/90 SFABC: Science Fiction Association of Bergen County:
Constance Ash (author)
(phone 201-933-2724 for details) (Saturday)
11/17/90 NJSFS: New Jersey Science Fiction Society: Barry Malzberg
(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. Karel Capek's classic _W_a_r _w_i_t_h _t_h_e _N_e_w_t_s will be discussed in
Lincroft Wednesday, November 14. Nick Sauer offers these comments:
_W_a_r _w_i_t_h _t_h_e _N_e_w_t_s is Karel Capek's story of humanity's discovery
and exploitation of a race of sentient salamanders. The
salamanders (the newts) are discovered on a South Pacific island by
a ship captain in 1926. Not having any children of his own, the
captain immediately takes the newts under his wing. This action
leads him to set up a partnership company that allows him to spread
THE MT VOID Page 2
the newts to other islands and give them tools to protect
themselves in exchange for pearls, which the newts provide to the
captain. The story finally shifts into high gear upon the death of
the captain. The partner of the company immediately begins selling
the newts themselves as the ultimate undersea engineers. At this
relatively early point in the book the ending became painfully
obvious to me. Normally, I would have been upset for the
conclusion being so transparent, but Capek did such an excellent
job cataloging humanity's inane behaviour that the book remained a
pleasure to read. Even after the inevitable conclusion was reached
I found that I had no sympathy for the human race. The human
beings collective stupidity made the bed that they now must lie in.
Overall, this is one of the strongest novels I have read in a long
time. The reason for this was the realism with which the
individual characters, the societies, and even the national
governments behave. Capek obviously understood the human race very
well when he wrote this novel. The actions of all the characters
and governments follow an all too believable sequence. Also, the
newts themselves were well thought out by Capek. Their physical
characteristics, social structure, and behaviour are very
reasonable and consistent. This made their actions very easy to
predict. I am just glad that the newts were a fiction created by
Capek.
2. I have good news for you and bad news for you. Don't worry--I
am not telling you anything you didn't already know, but I am going
to make it official. The good news is that America won in Vietnam.
Now I know that is what Richard Nixon was telling us. But if
memory serves me, Nixon shot his credibility over certain other
things that were going on in his life at the time. In fact, when
Nixon said we won Vietnam he was really lying--one of the things he
did best--because he didn't know it at the time. (I guess there
always was that dual question with Nixon of what did he know and
_w_h_e_n _d_i_d _h_e _k_n_o_w _i_t? But in this case I think we can be certain he
thought we had lost because he said we had won. Do you follow me?)
Now I know what you are going to ask. Didn't the government of
South Vietnam have to grab up all the gold and stuff they could
carry and fly out in helicopters and try to start new lives as
television evangelists? The answer is, "Yup!" That one particular
government lost. It was America that won? But didn't Ho Chi
Minh's minions take over the whole country? Yup again. Didn't all
of Vietnam go Communist? Yup again. And I will tell you something
else. The Domino Theory was also proven true. What we didn't
realize at the time is that capitalists can afford bigger dominoes.
Day by day, Communist ideology is crumbling in Hanoi. You can rent
government vehicles for weddings and hire government photographers
to photograph the wedding. The July 23 _U. _S. _N_e_w_s & _W_o_r_l_d _R_e_p_o_r_t
talked about this and had a photo from the Miss Hanoi beauty
pageant. They have picked up some of our worst habits! They want
THE MT VOID Page 3
to get into international markets and they want their old war
buddies, the Americans, to help them. I suppose they can always
put some force behind their request by threatening to go Communist.
But in a lot of ways they are economically where Japan was in 1947
and are asking for much the same sort of assistance as we gave the
Japanese. Now tell me again we you think won the Vietnam War.
Now the bad news. The economic giants of the world in another
couple of years are going to be the United States, Japan, and a
single economic unit in Europe which many people believe is going
to be led by Germany. Not East Germany or West Germany, but
Germany. Grab somebody from 1940, bring him forward in time some
fifty years, tell him that, then ask him who he thinks must have
won World War II.
3. Donald Wollheim, founder and publisher of DAW books, has died
after a long illness. He was 76, and is survived by his wife,
Betsy and their daughter, Elsie, both involved with DAW books. A
leader of the Futurians in the 30's, he was founder of FAPA, the
Fantasy Amateur Press Association. He edited Stirring Science
Stories and Cosmic Stories, edited the SF line at Ace for 20 years,
(during which time he brought out the uncopyrighted (but legal due
to a technicality) version of Lord of the Rings; he later
legitimized it and paid the Tolkien estate royalties; he was also
responsible for the Ace Doubles and Terry Carr's Ace Specials
series). He started his own imprint in 1972 and published, among
other things, his "Best SF of the Year" anthology until this year.
He was also a wonderful, friendly and open person who was never too
busy to sit and talk. He loved SF, he loved his family and he
loved Fandom, which was his extended family.
Don Wollheim, along with the Ballantines, were instrumental in
making the field of Science Fiction a viable part of publishing.
Don did his part to also make it good with the Ace Science Fiction
series and his commitment to publishing what was different and
good. About two years ago he suffered a stroke and never really
recovered, doing what he could from his bed with the help of his
family. He's been relieved of the suffering, but we've lost one of
the important people who made SF and fandom good and special.
[The preceding was provided by Chuq Von Rospach.]
Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 957-5619
...mtgzy!leeper
The defense of morals is the battle-cry which best
rallies stupidity against change.
-- Alfred North Whitehead
AVALON
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: A loving portrait of a Jewish
family in post-World-War-II Baltimore makes _A_v_a_l_o_n one of
Barry Levinson's best films to date. Levinson has a real
talent for dialogue and for creating memorable
characters. This is a film to be enjoyed more than once.
Rating: +3.
Barry Levinson has made such diverse films as _T_h_e _N_a_t_u_r_a_l; _G_o_o_d
_M_o_r_n_i_n_g, _V_i_e_t_n_a_m; and _R_a_i_n _M_a_n. But he chronically returns to his
native Baltimore to tell the stories of the people he knew when he was
growing up. His first film was the excellent _D_i_n_e_r. _T_i_n _M_e_n was set in
part in the same Baltimore diner, though the story was a cut below his
first film. _A_v_a_l_o_n is a very different Baltimore story and rivals _T_h_e
_N_a_t_u_r_a_l as Levinson's best work. _A_v_a_l_o_n follows the fortunes of an
immigrant Jewish family in the years following World War II. Central to
the story is a grandfather-grandson relationship, very probably based on
Levinson's relationship with his own grandfather. The portrait of the
family is at once realistic and endearing. This is not so much a story
with a single conflict that is resolved in the end, but more a chronicle
told in episodes.
As the film opens, we are in the mind and memory of Sam Krichinsky
as he is remembering and relating to his grandchildren how he came to
the United States in 1914 and settled in the beautiful city of
Baltimore. He arrived on July 4th and he is telling the story before
dinner on Thanksgiving. As the family history progresses, it returns
again and again to what the family was doing on those two holidays. The
story is seen very much through the eyes of young Michael Kaye, Sam's
grandson. Levinson's Baltimore films all have excellent dialogue which
is at the same time believable and surprisingly entertaining. Just
simple family chit-chat in Levinson's hands becomes both revealing and
endearing. Michael's father Jules is a salesman who is mugged in front
of Michael. To keep Jules entertained as he is recovering his cousin
buys the family's first television set. This leads to a whole new
career of selling first televisions, then appliances at discount. The
success brings tragedy--at least as far as Michael is concerned: the
family moves to the suburbs. Soon conflicts arise that seem serious to
the family, but which clearly seem petty and minor to the viewer.
Armin Mueller-Stahl (who played a suspected Nazi in _T_h_e _M_u_s_i_c _B_o_x)
plays the patriarchal Sam Krichinsky. His son Jules is played by Aidan
Quinn. And Jules's son Michael is played by Elijah Wood. Elizabeth
Perkins and Joan Plowright help to round out the cast in this loving
scrapbook of the life of a family. This is certainly one of the most
moving and best films this year. I give it a +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.
JACOB'S LADDER
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Eerie Gordian knot of a horror film
requires a lot of thought, but finally pays off in the
car on the way home from the theater. Give it a chance
to sink in. Murky photography used to even better
advantage than in _F_l_a_t_l_i_n_e_r_s. (Do not read the spoiler
note at the end of this review if you have not seen the
film.) Rating: +2 (-4 to +4).
Within the space of a few short months Bruce Joel Rubin has had two
films he has written released. Each deals with death. _G_h_o_s_t had a few
heavy horror moments but they were counter-acted by a lot of lighter and
more pleasant moments. "Pleasant," however, is not a term applicable to
any single sequence in _J_a_c_o_b'_s _L_a_d_d_e_r. While it probably has the more
intelligent and demanding story, _J_a_c_o_b'_s _L_a_d_d_e_r is a Gordian knot of
unpleasant concepts. It is a story of disturbing horror requiring some
effort and detective work to come to any consistent interpretation and
then open to multiple interpretations. This is one weird movie.
It is October 6, 1971, and a company of American soldiers in
Vietnam is getting ready to move into battle. Suddenly something is
going very wrong. Some of the men are convulsing; others are running
around fighting as if an enemy, whom we do not see, is right there on
top of them. One of the soldiers, Jacob (played by Tim Robbins), is
bayonetted in the stomach and left for dead. Flash forward several
years and Jacob is a postman living in a surrealistically squalid New
York City. Sights that the audience finds ugly or even terrifying seem
commonplace in Jacob's everyday existence. But things are happening
that are not commonplace for Jacob. Something is stalking Jacob, or
perhaps someone who can call up faceless demons. And, as if that were
not enough, the world seems to be deteriorating and people are mutating
in some mysterious ways that only Jacob sees. Jacob is even a little
unstuck in time as images from the past flood on him as if they are the
present.
This is an unpleasant and uncomfortable horror film to sit through,
be warned. It improves a great deal on thinking about it afterward.
Just as is true with many of the individual scenes of this film, so too
when the entire film is over we are tantalizingly unsure of exactly what
we have seen and how it is to be interpreted. Adrian Lyne, who directed
_F_l_a_s_h_d_a_n_c_e, _F_a_t_a_l _A_t_t_r_a_c_t_i_o_n, and _9-1/2 _W_e_e_k_s, photographed this film in
murky, muted colors, much as _F_l_a_t_l_i_n_e_r_s was photographer, but his visual
style picks out the squalid and the disturbing. Murky colors are an
intelligent ploy to get around audience insistence on color photography
but still have mood effects that one usually can get only with
monochrome. I rated this film a low +1 leaving the theater, but it
improves greatly on reflection and at this point I would rate it a +2 on
the -4 to +4 scale. [SPOILER ON NEXT PAGE]
Jacobs Ladder November 3, 1990 Page 2
*****HEAVY SPOILER WARNING****
*****ONLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN THE FILM****
As early as when Jacob is dropped off at the locked subway station,
I started thinking this was a re-working of Ambrose Bierce's "Occurence
at Owl Creek Bridge." I left the theater assuming that was correct.
However, that would imply that the entire future is fictional. But
Jacob's entire knowledge of The Ladder is from the future. Yet Jacob
has already seen the convulsions that are explained only by The Ladder.
If the convulsions are real, we must interpret The Ladder as real. If
The Ladder is real then some of the future is really happening also.
Suddenly the story is less like the Bierce and much more like _C_a_r_n_v_a_l _o_f
_S_o_u_l_s, where the soul survives and assumes it is still alive and the
living take it for a living soul. The faceless demons could even be a
direct borrowing of the carnival dead in _C_a_r_n_i_v_a_l _o_f _S_o_u_l_s. Well, if
you're going to borrow, borrow from the best.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Famous lawyer Alan Dershowitz
defends Claus von Bulow in this adaptation of
Dershowitz's book. While none of the characters is
anyone you would really want to know or even deal with,
some of the re-assessment of what appears initially to be
an "open and shut" case is reminiscent of _T_w_e_l_v_e _A_n_g_r_y
_M_e_n. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4).
There is an old exchange where one person says, "The rich are
different from us." And the other person responds, "Yes, they have more
money." _R_e_v_e_r_s_a_l _o_f _F_o_r_t_u_n_e gives us glimpses into quite a few things
but one is the lifestyles of the very rich. What we see is less than
totally inviting. In _R_e_v_e_r_s_a_l _o_f _F_o_r_t_u_n_e our first impressions of Claus
von Bulow play off all our prejudices against the European aristocracy.
He is cultured, cold, emotionless, and calculating. He seems a marble
statue that has been granted the power of speech. In a sense he is the
damsel-in-distress of this piece. As the film begins he has already
been found guilty of the attempted murder of his wife Sunny. To avoid
going to prison he gets trial lawyer and professor of law Alan
Dershowitz to defend him. Of course, as a matter of record Dershowitz
did successfully appeal the conviction and in a retrial had von Bulow
acquitted of the charges. _R_e_v_e_r_s_a_l _o_f _F_o_r_t_u_n_e, based on Dershowitz's
own book, is the story of how Alan Dershowitz defended the impassive
Claus von Bulow.
The film also gives us a view into Dershowitz's unorthodox defense
procedures. He turns his house into a workshop with teams in each room
researching the legal ramifications of a different piece of evidence
against von Bulow. The teams even have sweatshirts labeled with the
piece of evidence they are working on. Dershowitz may be bragging about
the completeness of his approach but, in fact, one may wonder at the
fairness of expending this magnitude of resource in a legal action.
Dershowitz moralizes why he should take the case even if von Bulow is so
likely guilty, but the audience never works up the respect for him and
his methods that it has for the dramatized Clarence Darrow in _I_n_h_e_r_i_t
_t_h_e _W_i_n_d or the dramatized Louis Nizer in _A _C_a_s_e _o_f _L_i_b_e_l. His causes
are not so noble and his fees are higher. As unflattering as this film
was to Claus, whose only moments of humanity seem to be when he is
having fun with his own ghoulish image in the press, _R_e_v_e_r_s_a_l _o_f _F_o_r_t_u_n_e
is far less flattering to Sunny. This daughter of the idle rich is
shown to have been mostly dead already by his own actions. She is
totally idle and self-indulgent. Her hours out of bed, which number
only six a day, are a constant struggle to pass through he system every
drug she can lay her shaking hands on. Regardless of anything Claus
did, we are led to believe that death or near-death was the expected and
Reversal of Fortune November 4, 1990 Page 2
logical result of an incredibly self-destructive lifestyle. If she was
really as portrayed, one wonders how she survived as long as she did.
In addition to Dershowitz's moralizing, there is one more piece of
moralizing that is irritating in the film. The film pokes fun at von
Bulow's patronizing, if well-intentioned, attitude toward Dershowitz
being Jewish. Yet several times the camera takes opportunities to
remind us that Dershowitz is not just a lawyer, he is a _J_e_w_i_s_h lawyer.
Camera angles are chosen to show a painting on a Jewish theme in
Dershowitz's office or to show a menorah in his home. The camera is
just as hung up on religion as is von Bulow.
Of the three stars, Glenn Close as Sunny von Bulow has top billing
and got the least screen time. She does, however, narrate the story in
spite of the fact that it makes little sense to have a narrator who is
speaking from a coma and who was less than a clear thinker even before
her coma. Some attention has been paid to Jeremy Irons's performance as
Claus, though I have always thought it is easier to be convincingly
weird than to be convincingly normal.
On the whole, _R_e_v_e_r_s_a_l _o_f _F_o_r_t_u_n_e panders a bit too much to the
fans of crime "docudramas." But it is told with wit and subtlety. I
would give it a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.