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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 06/28/91 -- Vol. 9, No. 52

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

07/17 LZ: THE VOR GAME by Lois McMaster Bujold (Hugo nominee)
08/07 LZ: EARTH by David Brin (Hugo nominee)
08/28 LZ: QUEEN OF ANGELS by Greg Bear (Hugo nominee)
09/18 LZ: THE FALL OF HYPERION by Dan Simmons (Hugo nominee)
10/09 LZ: THE QUIET POOLS by Michael Kube-McDowell (Hugo nominee)
10/30 LZ: MINDBRIDGE by Joe Haldeman
11/20 LZ: EON by Greg Bear
12/11 LZ: MIRKHEIM by Poul Anderson

_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.

07/13 SFABC: Science Fiction Association of Bergen County: TBA
(phone 201-933-2724 for details) (Saturday)
07/22 NJSFS: New Jersey Science Fiction Society: TBA
(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: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 957-5619 mtgzy!leeper
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.

1. In a recent discussion of Barry Malzberg I mentioned that I did
not like his novelization of the film _P_h_a_s_e _I_V. As it happens,
there are only a handful of science fiction films I give a full
rating of +4 on the -4 to +4 scale, and of the list _P_h_a_s_e _I_V is
certainly the most controversial. (The films are _K_i_n_g _K_o_n_g [1933],
_F_o_r_b_i_d_d_e_n _P_l_a_n_e_t [1956], _T_h_e _W_a_r _G_a_m_e [1967], _Q_u_a_t_e_r_m_a_s_s _a_n_d _t_h_e
_P_i_t [1968], _P_h_a_s_e _I_V [1974], _S_t_a_r _W_a_r_s [1977], and _B_r_a_i_n_s_t_o_r_m
[1983].) Why do I rate this little known and less liked film above
such popular favorites as _B_l_a_d_e_r_u_n_n_e_r and _2_0_0_1: _A _S_p_a_c_e _O_d_y_s_s_e_y?

THE MT VOID Page 2

One of the staples of the science fiction film is conflict between
alien species from _W_a_r _o_f _t_h_e _W_o_r_l_d_s, _E_a_r_t_h _v_s. _t_h_e _F_l_y_i_n_g _S_a_u_c_e_r_s,
_T_h_i_s _I_s_l_a_n_d _E_a_r_t_h, up through _E_n_e_m_y _M_i_n_e, and probably well beyond.
Invariably the enemy is a minor variation on humanity and their
tactics as depicted concentrate on how similar they are to humans.
In _W_a_r _o_f _t_h_e _W_o_r_l_d_s you have beasties who look _v_e_r_y different from
human. But they attack us in what are essentially floating Sherman
tanks. So do the aliens from _E_a_r_t_h _v_s. _t_h_e _F_l_y_i_n_g _S_a_u_c_e_r_s. _E_n_e_m_y
_M_i_n_e's conflict is more like a dogfight-war, like from the Battle
of Britain.

In general, the concept of fighting aliens is handled very
unimaginativey, as often as it has been portrayed. Then there is
_P_h_a_s_e _I_V. It is humans against ants. That sounds unpromising at
first, and in lesser hands it would be. The ants do not behave
like ants and they do not behave like humans. They behave like
reasoning ants, and that is as alien an enemy as humans have ever
been portrayed as fighting in film.

It starts with one scientist, an entomologist, noticing that ant
behavior was changing in one spot in Arizona. He writes a dry
paper on the subject and gets the services of a mathematician and
together they set up a laboratory out where they can study the ant
behavior. They soon come to realize that a war has already started
and is going in favor of the ants before humans ever realized it.
The first task of each side is to try to understand the enemy.
Some attempts are made to communicate, but mostly each side uses
its physical advantages over the other species to collect
information and eventually to fight. The humans often know what
the ants have done but have to wait tensely to find out why. The
ants too have to work hard to figure out the humans.

The insect photography is impressive and in many cases pretty
amazing in what they were able to get the ants to do for the
camera. There are places where the film is overly mystical, but in
general this is an amazingly intelligent science fiction film.

Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 957-5619
...mtgzy!leeper

Banish me from Eden when you will, but first let me eat
of the tree of Knowledge.
-- Robert G. Ingersoll

Capsule review: The 1981 graphic novel comes to the
screen as what may be the best film ever made based on a
comic book. This is a wonderful tying together of
historic detail in the story of a man who becomes a
super-hero with the help of a rocket pack. Expect this
one to run (or fly) for much of the summer. Rating: high
+2 (-4 to +4).

I recognize that there are some films that it is hard for me to be
objective about and all I can do is state my prejudices at the beginning
of my review. I think I was about five years old when Saturday morning
television ran _C_o_m_m_a_n_d_o _C_o_d_y, _S_k_y _M_a_r_s_h_a_l_l _o_f _t_h_e _U_n_i_v_e_r_s_e. At five
years of age I decided that I really liked something I later learned to
call "science fiction" and everything I have ever really been interested
in since has been an out-branching from that root. For years, I dreamed
of somehow getting a rocket suit like Commando Cody's. Not being a
graphic novel fan, I never heard of _T_h_e _R_o_c_k_e_t_e_e_r, released ten years
ago. However, seeing the stand-up poster for _T_h_e _R_o_c_k_e_t_e_e_r several
months ago brought a flood of memories and I knew even then this was a
film that I would have a hard time being objective about. And the film
turned out to be much better than I expected even then.

The setting is 1938 Los Angeles. The title character is Cliff
Secord, played a bit too callow and pure by Bill Campbell. Secord is a
flying ace who, through rather contrived circumstances, comes into
possession of a stolen rocket suit designed by Howard Hughes (played by
Terry O'Quinn). Lots of people want this suit for lots of different
reasons, but it is Secord who has the suit and who reluctantly lets it
make him into a superhero. The main villain who wants to get his slimey
hands on the suit is handsome film star Neville Sinclair, a character
based on allegations that have been made about Errol Flynn. Sinclair is
played by Timothy Dalton. The basic plot is very basic and is a
negative aspect of the film.

But while the plot is pretty humdrum, much of the writing is not.
Like David Mamet's "Water Engine," _T_h_e _R_o_c_k_e_t_e_e_r ties together many
pieces of 1930s and 1940s popular culture into a single story. For
little details to throw into the story, _T_h_e _R_o_c_k_e_t_e_e_r draws heavily on
Hollywood icons, on then-contemporary world events, and on details of
aviation history. Through Rick Baker's make-up we get one final film in
which Rondo Hatton plays the heavy. There is a witty reference to the
famous Hollywood sign over Hollywood. There are allusions to the
Hindenburg, here called the Luxembourg. As a rather canny inside joke,
a small piece of animation is done in the style used in Frank Capra's
"Why We Fight" films. The joke is that Capra's animation, like the film

Rocketeer June 26, 1991 Page 2

_T_h_e _R_o_c_k_e_t_e_e_r, was a product of Disney Studios. And of course there are
the classic planes of the period, provided in part by the heavy
involvement of Howard Hughes as a major character. Also we see the
classic art deco and just plain weird Los Angeles architecture. For
example, the Bulldog Diner is shaped like a giant bulldog. The flying
suit itself is art deco. All these elements combine to make a
fascinatingly detailed film that constantly challenges the viewer with
more than meets the eye.

Special effects are charmingly provided by Industrial Light and
Magic. They are generally fairly good with the ironic exception of the
flying suit sequences, which are not quite visually believable and which
would in real life rip our rocket man apart with whiplash. The script's
weak points are the occasional lapses into self-satire, the overly
complex interrelations of the villains, and a sequence in a nightclub
that drags on much too long. With those exceptions, one has to say that
_T_h_e _R_o_c_k_e_t_e_e_r is a very nicely crafted film offering entertainment on
many levels. This is one of those rare films you can truly say the
whole family should enjoy. I give it a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.