The Michigan Doily - Monday, January 16, 1989-- Page 15 Radio broadcasts bleak view BY TONY SILBER There is danger in your neighborhood, at your local movie theater. I fear for all of you as this danger prowls the silver screens in search of victims to depress, anger, and disgust. It's called Talk Radio, and it's the latest film from Oliver Stone (Platoon, Wall Street). Sounds pretty innocent - certainly the 'R' Rating won't keep anyone away - but 'R' isn't strong enough. Talk Radio is an intensely disturbing motion picture that bombards the audience with the dregs of society and plays on our fear of the people next door. Eric Bogosian stars in Talk Radio , his first major film project. He wrote the film's script and performed Through the forum of a radio show, Talk Radio creeps up into our hearts and places there a grisly fear of the neighbor who could be the crackpot who just called Champlain. This is not for those with weak stomachs. in its off-Broadway production. The story is based on the life of the controversial Denver radio talk show host, Alan Berg. The only difference between the film and the Berg story is that the setting is Dallas and the* * talk show host is named Barry Champlain. Bogosian is the entire film; his energy and emotion give the film the power it feeds on and the power which can damage and overwhelm an unsuspecting audience. As Champlain, Bogosian hosts the most popular radio show in Dallas. His personality belongs to Morton Downey: rude, obnoxious, insensitive, manipulative, and offensive. That's what makes him so popular. People call to be mimicked and belittled, and then Champlain hangs up on them. The listening audience is filled with people who love to hate him. They send him dead rats, bomb threats, and tons of hate mail. Talk Radio is more, though - it's a harsh look at all of the hatred and violence in society as a whole. Through the forum of a radio show, Talk Radio creeps up into our hearts and places there a grisly fear of the neighbor who could be the crackpot who just calledChamplain. This is not for those with weak stomachs. Much of Talk Radio flashes back on Champlain's early career and marriage. He starts off as a clothing salesman and ends up as the hottest thing on the radio. The formula for his success is no secret: the more people he offends and pisses off, the higher his ratings become. His callers represent the fear and outcast in the world, and each has another gut-wrenching story to tell. In this respect, Talk Radio is graphic and intense. It punishes the audience as Champlain's callers punish him. He becomes our social crusader and as society brings him down, we are brought down. The film contains a couple of side stories to the central focus of the talk show, but they are clearly overshadowed and somewhat insignificant. As Talk Radio progresses, the calls and paranoia start to get to Champlain. He starts to break - and we start to break. A female caller asks him in a gripping moment, "Why are you so angry?" He is unable to answer the question and lashes out instead at the listeners in a flurry of hatred and pain, shouting at his audience, "I despise each and every one of you." Talk Radio is numbing and exhausting, an emotionally trying film that will anger you for having seen it; it angered the hell out of me. Bogosian is excellent, turning out a memorable and fine-tuned portrayal. His experience with the role is obvious and it significantly allows the film to affect the way it does. His "off-radio" scenes are slightly weaker and more awkward, but his "on air" time more than compensates. The radio is his forum and in it, he can do no wrong. Stone's calculated direction is sharp and brutal, and the photography is simply unbelievable, mixing unbalanced close-ups with an abundance of circular camera work. Stone is an expert at bringing his audience to a new world and building character development to a climax. Champlain's character is built up throughout the film to his predictable destiny, and we are not suprised, but liberated from the grip of hatred that just enveloped us of society for an eternity. Talk Radio is not a pleasant movie-going experience. It is, in fact, most unpleasant and most unnecessary. Yet, it is a brilliant film in Bogosian's performance alone, but in this case, the ugliness of the film is bigger than its brilliance. All of the calls are filled with sorrow and anger and become uncomfortably overwhelming after a while. Talk Radio appeals to no one, yet it is about all of us. It's an angry film with no message or moral and it terrifies more effectively than any horror film because it is so real. Don't see this film. You'll get nothing in return except visions of the rotten world we already know we live in, and no one deserves this punishment. TALK RADIO is now showing at the State Theater and at Showcase Cinemas in Ann Arbor. Vincent paints backdrop of Van Gogh's passions ft Michigan Alumni work here: The Wall Street Journal The New York Times The Washington Post The Detroit Free Press The Detroit News NBC Sports Associated Press United Press International Scientific American Time Newsweek Sports Illustrated Because they worked here: G~b SiIwu flaiI BY GREG FERLAND The life of Vincent Van Gogh has an important element that makes an interesting movie: a hero who leads a passionate life filled with angst as well as pleasure. The movie indus- try has twice addressed Van Gogh's amazing life. First there was Lust For Life , starring Kirk Douglas in a tour-de-force performance as Van Gogh; it dealt mainly with his torrid friendship with'Gaugin. This year's release ofVincent takes a very different view of Van Gogh's life by showing the 19th century world through his own eyes. Actor John Hurt (1984, The Elephant Man ) narrates Van Gogh's letters written to his younger brother, Theo, against the backdrop of the landscapes that inspired Van Gogh's art. Although this technique of narration is somewhat problem- atic, it succeeds nonetheless, mainly due to Hurt's evocative language and raspy tone of voice which reflect Van Gogh's inner turmoil. Van Gogh was alienated from his family, and was distressed by his inability to sell any paintings to support his work. His letters to his brother are eloquent and expressive - much like his paintings. On an informa- tive level, his letters also provide fascinating insight into his love of color and other artistic decisions. The narration throughout the film proves a little overbearing after a while. There is a constant flow of great thoughts which the viewer must ponder while being bombarded by beautiful scenery and paintings. It is nearly impossible to fully appre- ciate both the narration and images. The images prove to be positively dizzying because of director Paul Cox's use of montage. For example, in order to show that Van Gogh traveled between many countries, Cox shoots the landscape from a fast moving train and shows about two seconds of each landscape. There are also many montages of Van Gogh's paintings that Cox uses to show decades of work. About three quarters into the movie, I had the same feel- ing I get after being in a museum too long. One can digest and appre- ciate only so many stimuli in one sitting, and overall, Vincent suffers from too much of a good thing. There is so much good stuff in Vincent, however, that it seems silly to criticize it for being "too good." Despite the film's stylistic flaws, you begin to empathize with Vincent's loneliness, and Cox effec- tively shows how this emotion was transferred to canvas through the use of color and texture. You do get the feeling of being inside the artist's head, feeling the urgency of his need to paint. These are difficult emotions to evoke, and Cox executes this successfully. In recent years, Van Gogh's work has set auction records. His "Sunflowers" sold for something like $30 million. This fact shows how ironic Van Gogh's life was. He bemoans his poverty and in fact sold only one painting during his life. At one point Van Gogh writes, "A can- vas I have covered is worth more than a blank canvas - this much I know." Though Vincent never mentions Van Gogh's posthumous success, part of the power of the film is the knowledge of the present value of his work. Cox shows the life of a tortured artist whose poverty was caused by his art - and there- fore, in turn, by his own passion. 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C You'll also find valuable n tips on how to effectively use c the library for research. t So avoid getting lost in Good for one freeI LIBRARY SURVIVAL KIT! RAd -Pm t the Reference Thpsk_ he stacks! Hunt down hose books and periodi- cals you so desperately need! Locate those resour- ces for that all-important erm paper! Just clip the cou- * pon shown here and present it to the UGL I Reference Desk. I Pick up a Library [ A book describing the Alex. Brown & Sons Analyst Program can be found in the library of the Office of Career Services. ,!L I !