0 0 M. Best Movies Best Business r Movies on campus were up to their usual tricks during the past school year. A few things could have been better, afew things were the best yet, and it all evened out in the end. Every week had at least twenty-five films to choose from, and a few weeks went over thirty-five. Unfortunately, the closing of Lorch Hall for renovations, combined with a decline in mid-week options, did take aboutfivefilms off the weekly average of the past few years. MOVIES ARE AN integral part of the college experience around here. You can go to football games, pig out at Crazy Jim's, drop acid and ex- plore the steam tunnels, go prowling through the cemetery over on Obser- vatory on Halloween night, hang out with the ugly beautiful people at Steve's, play Frisbee on the diag, and just around everything else and still have a yawning gap in your memories, if you never got around to seeing Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, 2001, or another dozen or so of the campus perenials. Movies are like vegging out on MTV, bar hopping, and party crashing. They're a fashion that just around every little campus subculture keeps an eye on, and it doesn't matter if you're the sort of person who wears a well weathered pea green parka with a little black beret over your ratty haircut or the ultraslickened dude in the Patagonia jacket and stylish shades, you probably loved Stop Making Sense as much as the next guy. It doesn't matter if you just bought the new Tears For Fears album, or the Sade album or the Laurie Anderson boxed set, you probably at one point in the year en- dured the long lines for Beverly Hills Cop and The Gods Must Be Crazy not long ago. Most of the films you've seen probably on campus were brought to you by a small group of hard working, unselfish film lovers in one of the cam- pus film groups like AAFC, or Cinema Guild. These people endure lots of hassles and get little credit or reward for their troubles, and the least I can do is acknowledge them here. These people are sort of like a religious order, passing down the classics from one generation to the next, so that certain classics and neglected classics endure through the years. Some of these people I talk to seem a bit disenchanted these days, especially the veterans, who in- sist that the newer, more affluent student body seems to be lacking any curiosity for film viewing, leading to a rather notable decline in the showing of foreign and more esoteric fare, these last couple of years. It seems the new kids want last years blockbusters and "feel good" movies and so will pass up My Dinner With Andre to take a date to The Big Chill or Diner. It also means next Fall's film schedule will probably have more films like Gremlins and Ghostbusters and fewer films like Bur- den of Dreams, but I'm not complaining because they don't even have film groups on campus at Ohio State. I'm also often amused/frustrated at how out of something like 19 screens for first run films in the city limits, the vast majority seem to be full of Friday the 13th sagas more frequently then they are films like Blood Simple. But there's still something about standing in line on opening night for a movie like Indiana Jones and The Tem- ple of Doom-which turned out to be a real disappointment-or just walking unexpectantly into a gem like Choose Me that makes the few genuinely en- chanting moments worth all the mediocrity. Even though everyone has cable now, and you can rent a VCR and a couple of films in the Union basement for about the same price as a pair of tickets, I don't think people will stop going to films around here any sooner than they will stop filing into the foot- ball stadium on Autumn Saturdays. We'll still smuggle our popcorn and beer into the theaters, probably talk too loud and watch the opening trailers roll with the same sort of excited expectan- cy as kids picking up and shaking the presents under a Christmas tree. Best Film Festival Ann Arbor's 8 Millimeter The definite highlight was the 8 Millimeter Film Festival, which has gotten better each of the three years I have seen it. The entries this year in- cluded very few real losers and a nice helping of highly entertaining works. There were more filmmakers and films from abroad than ever, and the programming was the most extensive. The 16 Millimeter Festival went in the opposite direction. A 40% drop in en- tries was not matched by a drop in the number of screenings. The result was lower attendance and lower quality. Too many films were clunkers. Hopefully, next year will see the festival get back on its feet. Best Theater Michigan Theater The best place to see a movie is definitely the Michigan Theater, which did its own programming this year, as opposed to renting the theater to Classic Film Theatre. Highlights were premiere showings of Streamers and Daniel, a mini Monty Python festival, and the overall eclecticism of the programming, from cult films to family classics. The best campus auditorium is Angell Hall's Auditorium A. Seeing Koyaanisqatsi there was a truly awesome experience. Best Campus Cinema In The World Ann Arbor! Mediatrics presented a lot of free ad- vance screenings of various first-run films, such as Cotton Club, in addition to a.good assortment of films. Alter- native Action presented no less than three different series on women and cinema over the past four months. Other series included films from Japan, Eastern Europe, and the Near East. Hill Street Cinema had its usual mix of crowd-pleasers and thought-inducers, while other groups came forth to show films from China and Germany. The variety was, indeed, staggering, and could have been better if so many films were not shown three times a term, term after term after term. A minor quibble, though, as Ann Arbor campus cinema is the best, and that is all that counts in the end. Best Improvement Another one of the best things was in- creased cooperation between Cinema Guild, Ann Arbor Film Coop, and Cinema 2. It started with a copresen- tation of Fassbinder's massive Berlin, Alexanderplatz, and went from there. This term saw the three groups get together to show a lot of important Ann Arbor premieres, lesser known films like Repo Man, and more popular items. With the handy three-way pass that lets you see any ten of their movies at a discount, who could ask for anything more? Best New Films Of The Year Toss up between Stop Making Sense, Witness, and Purple Rose of Cairo. Don't even ask me to narrow it down any more, I've left out too many already and already feel like changing my mind. Best Sound The Ann Arbor Theater, which is still working the bugs out of their new multi- track sound system but have managed any other theater system in town sound like a drive-in speaker by comparison. Best Used Records Wazoo Wazoo is a massive used record store with a selection bigger and wider than the people who attend weight watchers meetings. Wazoo has an obese load of classical LP's, a hefty supply of jazz albums, and an immense file of rock 'n' roll discs. There's a lot of rare stuff too: In a recent visit to the store, I could hardly have failed to notice that a lucky customer has happed upon an original raised-white pressing of The Beatles' white album, which he subsequently purchased for a mere $12. The store is operated by a group of men who seem to loathe the idea that they're working there and getting them to be overtly friendly is apparently quite a chore for a non-regular customer. But personalities behind the counter shouldn't influence one's decision of whether or not to buy a truly fine record for a truly low price. Best Record Store Schoolkid's Schoolkids' could raise its prices to 15 bucks an album and still not jeopar- dize its business. There's something about the store that causes it to be mentally (and for some people, physically) addictive. Maybe its the environment: There's always an in- teresting album on their overworked turntable or an equally interesting em- ployee behind the counter to amuse you (usually unintentionally) while you write your check. Schoolkids' has a staggering collection of jazz LP's which probably includes a number of albums that the artists themselves did not realize they made; and their collection of imports is impeccable--enough to make a wealthy midwesterner feel like -he's on Carnaby Street and not East Liberty when he's in the store.. Schoolkids' also stacks a hefty melange of cut-outs and records which sell for "The Nice Price," a veritable goldmine for a sharp-eyed shopper. At this point, there doesn't seem to be much danger of Schoolkids' losing its position as a deity in the eyes of religious record buyers in Ann Arbor. r r STEREO CENTER IS THE NEW HI FI STORE IN ANN ARBOR WE CARRY HIGH QUALITY EQUIPMENT INCLUDING - Shear Impact: Memories from their' Best Hairdresser Shear Impact If you're willing to take the time you could probably find every hair style imaginable on campus. Students use hair to increase sex appeal, exhibit their views on life and to make political statements. Where do our voters go for their styles? The preference is for Shear Impact, located on South U. They have a great reputation around campus! Best Travel Agent Conlin Travel is big business in Ann Arbor, not surprising considering the out-of- town students requiring transit to and from home. Add the hordes of vacation seekers at spring break time, and the big business gets bigger. Which travel agency best served the students this year? According to our voters it was Conlin Travel. Style Shc u~r -- YAMAHA JVC B&W TANDBERG KYOCERA JBL DBX SONY AR PROTON z ii *fj School Kids: More than a record store PARASOUND CARVER ...-om... A WE INVITE YOU TO STOP IN AND TALK OVER YOUR NEEDS WITH US. LSEREO CENEER 605 E. William Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (313) 663-3600 Hours Mon. & Fri. 11-9 Tues., Wed, Thurs. 11-6 Sot. 10-6 Other times by appointment GREAT EUROPEAN VACATIONS In 1985, American Express offers a fabulous selection ofp more than 100 yacations to Europe from 4 to 29 days - span- ning more than a dozen fas- cinating countries. For more information, come in or call: REGENCY TRAVEL, INC. 601 E. William St.V A a c io Corner of E. William & Maynard E Store 665-6122 __t __ EARN 8 CREDITS UM STUDIES ABROAD PROGRAM IN IS KIBBUTZ YIZRE'EL June 2 - August 2 HEBREW (Beginning, Intermediate or Advanced) 5 cre INTRODUCTION TO THE KUBBUTZ, 3 credits TOURS THROUGHOUT ISRAEL WITH THE SOCI PROTECTION OF NATURE Teaching Staff: UM Dept. of NES, Haifa U, Kibbutz Research Institute faculty FOR MORE DETAILS, CONTF Hank Peiter, Office of Studie 5208 Angell Hail, 764-448 n i Representative 24 Weekend/Friday, April 19, 1985 Weekend/F