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The Red and Black. Tuesday. January 24. I97H
Speilberg’s spacy success
By BEN FUGITT
"When you wish upon a star,
your dreams come true
Jiminy Cricket sang it in
Pinochio. and little Stevie
Speilberg out there in the 22nd
row swallowed every bit of it.
As it has turned out. Mr.
Cricket's sappy advice has
never failed him
Speilberg's whole career has
been tinged with a sense of
Disney-like fantasy Nine years
ago. Speilberg donned the garb
of a studio executive, and
bluffed his way through the
gates of Universal Studios
Once inside, he hung around
the various movie sets, absorb
ing all he could, until, as he
later put it. "1 got thrown off
Hitchcock. Franklin Schaffer. 1
was bounced by the best
Universal had to offer ”
It was a mistake Universal
would learn to forget
As fate would have it.
Speilberg matured into a very
special and talented film
maker About six years after
the gate-crashing incident, on
the strength of Duel and The
Sugarlanri Express. Universal
swallowed its pride, and signed
Speilberg to direct Jaws. The
rest, as the cliche goes, is
Matorj
Despite the fact that Jaws is
probably the worst book ever
written. Speilberg was able to
coax a film out of it that
thrilled audiences, pleased
critics, and phenomenally
broke every record in the book
And then some
As of today, Jaws has
grossed a knee-weakening $400
million (that's almost a
half-billion) world wide
And not so surprisingly.
Speilberg can throw a left-hook
to the collective unconscious
Movie
review
that even a Hitchcock could
envy.
While he's hardly in the
ranks of the corpulent Master
himself yet. his latest. Close
Encounters of the Third Kind,
is another quantum leap in
that direction. But. this time.
Speilberg is after more than
just jangled nervous systems;
he's after our hearts, too
Encounters is a film with a
rare, buoyant, surging optim
ism, presenting a warm
welcome look at the universe.
A sort of inlergallactic Seasons
Greetings A cosmic Frank
Capra touch
In case you've just recovered
from a coma, or have been
locked up somewhere lately.
Close Encounters is the story
of a group of earthlings'
attempts in trying to meet the
pilots of those elusive UFO's
Now, this immediately poses
some perplexing questions.
What do they look like, these
extraterrestials* > What kind of
craft do they hop-scotch the
galaxies with? Obviously
we’ve come a long way from
the Bugs Bunny version;
beeping green midgets with
their literal cup-and-saucer
flying contraptions
If. for a second, a spaceship
looks five inches long, or an
alien looks rubbery, this $20
million film is going down the
toilet, taking everyone involv
ed with it...Columbia Pictures
will make pinball machines
But. if Close Encounters has
flaws, it’s certainly not in the
movie magic department. The
man behind the mouth-opening
special effects is Dougias
Trumbull, of 2001 fame While
Speilberg’s film may not have
all the genius of Kubrick, of all
the fun-loving spirit of George
mm
■ ~wjtiLMH!5®SIlirT'il 1 Wl'i'i'tMWIII 11
and 200i's best special effects
sequences
Simply put, Speilberg’s got
the best flying saucers in the
business
Among the other top-flight
movie people involved is John
Williams, whose Star Wars
soundstrack still holds a celes
tial position on the charts.
While his work here seldom
matches the magnificence of
some of the optics, it is a noble
attempt anyway. Heading the
cast are Richard Dreyfuss.
Melinda Dillon, and Teri Garr.
and as you'd expect, they're all
quite exceptional
Speilberg even hired one of
the world's best directors.
Francois Truffaut, to. of all
things, act. Truffaut will never
threaten his ingenious direct
ing style with his histrionic
endeavors here, but he is
rather good
The specific happenings in
Close Encounters are best
avoided, not because of any
major flaws, but because I
wouldn’t want to spoil the fun.
Occasionally, Speilberg bogs
himself down in some prolong
ed middle-class sit com se
quences. but this is the
exception and not the rule
Except the same slick
cinematic slights of hand, and
twists of plot that made Jaws
so enjoyable. Remember all the
false alarms? How he always
kept us guessing? Well, he
hasn't changed a bit.
Inevitably, the comparisons
to 2001 and Star Wars will be
run into the ground Before
they are, though, let’s just say
that rather than being closer to
one approach to sci-fi than the
other. Close Encounters is an
odd sort of synthesis of the
two. using the out-right-ha-ha-
fun-thrills approach of Lucas'
film to explore the frosty
intellectual themes Kubrick
rhapsodized in 2001.
Close Encounters is a
folksly, populist approach to
UFO’s, unique not only for its
irresistable undercurrent of
gosh-gee-whiz optimism, but
for its positive treatment of
everything in general How
long has it been since we’ve
heard that mankind isn't really
that bad. and that we can work
it all out down here after all?
Figuring out your X-mas presem
By CHRIS W ILLS
Are you still trying to
figure out how to use and
enjoy the new stereo you
received this past Christ
inas? Are you utterly
confused by the mass array
of dials, switches and
assorted paraphernalia found
on your recent acquisition?
The following are some
useful guidelines to use as
an aide to end your
bewilderment.
Usually all high fidelity
audio equipment consists of
three basic components a
pair of speakers, a receiver
and a turntable. The equip
ment also includes an
instruction manual; how
ever. many are confusing
and sometimes too technical
for the average high fidelity
fan Here is some simplified
advice, hopefully, designed
to enhance your knowledge
The speakers are perhaps
the most important piece of
equipment in the system. A
good audio arrangement is
usually judged by the sound
and fidelity of the speakers.
One type, called air
suspension, consists com
monly of one small horn
enclosed in a slim cabinet
These speakers are referred
to as "bookshelf” speakers,
and are included in most
component audio systems.
Perhaps the best speaker
with greater range of sound
is a two-or three-way
speaker
A two-way speaker con
sists of a woofer and a
tweeter. The woofer con
trols the bass sounds while
a tweeter emits the higher
treble sound A three-way
speaker usually consists of
a woofer, tweeter and a
mid-range for medium level
sound.
One suggestion for the
enjoyment and fidelity of
the music you hear is in the
positioning and mainten
ance of the speakers. If the
speakers are the small
air-suspension type, it is
advisable to position them
as highly as possible.
Air-suspension speakers
are not meant to be
positioned on a floor. A
height of three to four feet
off the floor is sufficient to
maintain a good sound.
Two- and three-way speak
ers are usually large
enough to be placed on the
floor
The receiver is the control
center of the system and is
measured in terms of total
power by a wattage num
ber. expressed in watts per
channel If the total watts of
a receiver are high, usually
the receiver will produce a
cleaner sound at a higher
volume than one of lower
wattage.
An important considera
tion concerning watts of the
receiver and the speakers
must be expressed. To be
efficient and produce good
musical quality, a minimum
of 10 to 15 watts between
receiver and speakers must
be followed in order to
lessen the degree of speaker
damage and enhanced mu
sical quality.
Another consideration in
choosing a receiver is its
distortion level The distor
tion. measured in percen
tages. becomes important
when high fidelity enjoy
ment is in question Simply,
a lower distortion level
(from 0.05 percent to 0.2
percent> makes possible the
Dest signal from records,
tapes and FM-AM recep
tion. A distortion level
between 0.5 and 1 percent,
although inaudible to the
human ear. will block clear
reception and cause "fuzzy”
sound at high volume.
The turntable is usually
calibrated at the dealer,
with proper weight on the
Illustration by GARY WEE;
stylus and tonearm.
If however, the weight of
the tonearm on the stylus is
somehow changed, a good
rule to pursue to regain
proper pressure follows: if
the stylus depresses more
than halfway when playing
a record, the weight is too
great and will result in
stylus and record damage.
If* the stylus skips the
record groove frequently,
the pressure is too light and
can be adjusted by decreas
ing the tracking weight
These tips are only
suggestions for the effi
ciency of an audio system.
As the user increases in
knowledge concerning audio
components, the desire will
be great to purchase better
equipment. If you are
considering stepping up
your system, it is advisable
to shop around, but remem
ber quality and excellence
in audio equipment will
return many years of
high-fidelity enjoyment.
Tall Dogs: obscure yet refreshing
By TOBY MOORE
Often, perhaps too often, a
band comes along that is so
very talented and immensely
refreshing you could listen to
them for hours on end—yet
they remain obscure and
relatively unnoticed, like a
minor ingredient in a pot of
stew.
Tall Dogs is such a group
They played the Last Resort
last week, the way many
unknown musicians have been
prone to do over the years.
More than likely you missed
them After all. who’s reallv
heard of them 0
Well, here’s what you
missed:
-Earl Ford, a trombonist
recently selected to the Top
Ten of "Downbeat’s” Critics
Poll as an Artist Deserving of
More Recognition
—A band that’s the bastard
grandchild of the Allman
Brothers.
—A band that spawned Paul
McCartney’s drummer.
—Three hours of superb
music by six superb musicians.
They seem to have the right
combination, as evidenced by
Concert
review
Thursday night's performance
The audience was sparse if not
almost nonexistent at the
"South's Finest Listening
Room ” Nonetheless, at least
eight people were treated to an
almost personalized concert.
At first, the Dogs seemed to
flounder in their own medio
crity, saved only by the
subdued brilliance of Ford's
trombone work. Suddenly, J
a balloon filled to capacity, a
burst into some truly insp.**
playing It began with Jr
Sorn. Without warning,!
stepped forward, hunket
down over his Stratocaster a
began firing in rapid sues
sion The ceiling began
smoke.
Then it was Vaughan's t:-r
He made the big red Gib* 1
speak in tongues, like
Jehovah’s Witness filled r.
the Holy Spirit in Kingctt
Hall They traded licks. So
ught and sharp; Vaughx
fluid and loose Only when)
song ended did relief cor*
and then only for a momen
Steve Kent, the drummer:
optimistic about the bar:
chances at success "We'vep
some people interested in i
he said, "but nothing concm
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