4 ARTS gThe Michigan Daily Saturday, January 9, 1982 Page 5 Nominations for Golden Globe are announced Timothy Hutton in Taps. 'Ordinary People ' meet s Patton' in uneven Taps' By James Clinton T IT DIFFICULT to understand the motivation behind Taps. Stanley Jaf- fe, the films producer, has spent an inordinate amount of time on this *roject (his first since Kramer vs. Kramer) and the result is an uneven production wherein the slick exterior attempts to hide the fact that there is little substance underlying it all. All of the dynamics of the film occur in its first few minutes and are supplied by Geroge C. Scott who gives another variation on his anacronistic "old general" theme. On screen for about 15 minutes Scott is so outstanding in the eolethat the residue of his performance carries the film for another hour. In a stirring speech at the commencement of a small military school he announces the plan, by the regents, to close the academy the following year. In his gruffy articulate fashion he explains how the present military hierarchy is composed of dinosaurs. Scott is in every way the per- sonification of what he describes; festooned with medals, his ravaged face suggesting the horror and necessity of war, his gestures are pun- ctuated by an awareness of his own imminent extinction and a rage that precludes gentle capitulation. It's a riveting few moments that result in another great Scott performance. Not surprising since over the past twenty years no other American actor has achieved the extraordinarily high level of consistency in performance as Scott. I've always felt a more successful criterion in measuring the strength of an actor is not how he responds in the handfull of meaty roles he develops over the years, but how he fares in lesser material. Scott has frequently been good in mediocre films, here he is very good in a poor film. Within minutes of Scott's disap- pearance, Timothy Hutton, as the cadet leader, proposes the occupation of the school to demonstrate their displeasure at it's closing. As the leader, Hutton's motives are ex- plained in a key scene that illustrates the transferance of Scott's persona onto his own. The quickness of such a metamorphosis is not as far fetched as it sounds. One can easily imagine someone of Hutton's age and military bearing responding to Scott's character in just such a fashion. On these terms we understand his motivation, but what's highly implausible is the blind following he inspires in the other students. In short order they occupy the buildings, confiscate the ammunition and take over the entire complex. Director Harold Becker brings a new definition to the meaning of uneven directing. The pacing of this film is poor; the first half hour is developed with the rapidity of a television comedy and the rest of the film then lanquishes for the next hour, virtually sedentary, awaiting it's very predictable last few minutes. Instead of rushing into the plot, Becker would have been better advised to flesh out some more detailed characterizations. One of the more glaring deficiencies of Taps is in it's somber tone-this is a film that takes itself far too seriously. A much lighter touch would've gone a great deal further. Another difficulty rests at the center of this film's plot. Would children (some as young as 8) risk their lives to take over a school merely because it's closing? Probably not. This goes a long way in diminishing the very foundation on which Taps is supposed to stand. In 1968, the great English director Lindsay Anderson made a brilliant film on a similar theme called If. The setting was a British boarding school where the discipline is carried out with Victorian tenacity. Eventually disident students led by Malcolm MacDowwel machine gun all the authority figures. The dif- ference between the two films (in ad- dition to talent) is that the suggestion implicit in If is that violence and repression breed violence on a wider scale. In Taps no such implication is evident and the result is that we are left asking, "Why"? BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Ragtime, Reds and On Golden Pond scored high in the Golden Globe nominations for movie achievements Thursday, indicating a close race for the Oscars in March. The awards of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association often presage the Academy Awards, and no runaway contender has appeared. Ragtime and Reds collected seven Golden Globe nominations each, and On Golden Pond got six. Arthur followed with five. For television, the association nominated NBC's big Emmy-winner "Hill Street Blues" as the top dramatic series along with CBS' "Dallas" and "Lou Grant" and ABC's "Dynasty" and "Hart to Hart." In all, CBS cap- tured 15 nominations, ABC 13 and NBC eight. The 39th annual Golden Globes will be presented Jan. 30 in ceremonies to be televised by CBS. Some of the major film nominations were: Motion picture drama-The French Lieutenant's Woman, On Golden Pond, Prince of the City, Ragtime, Reds. Motion picture, comedy or musical-Arthur, Four Seasons, Pen- nies from Heaven, S.O.B., Zoot Zuit. Actress, drama-Sally Field, Absen- ce of Malice; Katherine Hepburn, On Golden Pond; Diane Keaton, Reds; Sissy Spacek, Raggedy Man; Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman. Actor, drama-Warren Beatty, Reds; Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond; Timothy Hutton Taps; Burt Lancaster, Atlantic City; Teat Williams, Prince of the City. Actress, comedy or musical-Blair Brown, Continental Divide; Carol Bur- nett, Four Seasons; Jill Clayburgh, First Monday in October; Liza Min- nelli, Arthur; Bernadette Peters, Pen- nies from Heaven. Actor, comedy or musical-Alan Alda, Four Seasons; George Hamilton, Zorro the Gay Blade; Steve Martin, Pennies from Heaven; Walter Matthau, First Monday in October; Dudley Moore, Arthur. New star of the year-Elizabeth McGovern and Howard E. Rollins 'for Ragtime; Kathleen Turner, Body Heat; Rachel Ward, Sharkey's Machine; Craig Wasson, Four Friends; Pia Zadora, Butterfly. Director-Warren Beatty, Reds; Milos Forman, Ragtime; Sidney Lumet, Prince of the City; Louis Malle, Atlantic City;. Mark Rydell, On Golden Pond; Steven Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Screenplay-Alan Alda, Four Seasons; Warren Beatty and Trevor Griffith, Reds; Kurt Luedtke, Absence of Malice; Harold Pinter, The Lieutenant's Woman; Ernest pson, On Golden Pond. 1% . WOPF French Thom- 4 J , j I5 ' WED, SAT, SUN F2 INDIVIDUAL THEATRES1$1.50 TIL 6:00 PM c$- s..-.iND rIV 7U1A11700 Except "REDS") Daily Classifieds Bring Results 44... a flawlessly balanced duo - San Francisco Chronicle "PHENOMENAL. part burlesque, part satire, part Folies-Bergeres and all cinema. -Vincent Canby, The New York Times Andr DWatts, Pianist Charles TreqerViolinist Beethoven: Sonata, Op. 30, No. 3 Prokofiev: Sonata No. 1 Debussy: Sonata Franck: Sonata Sundaqq Jan.0 at4:00