ARTS
M
The Michigan Daily
Connery
Monday, March 12, 1990
full
Page 7
moves
speed
ahead
by Tony Silber
Damn the torpedoes! Full speed
ahead.
-Admiral David Farragut
As the first shot of The Hunt for
Red October closes in on the regal,
bearded and hard countenance of Sean
Connery as he looks out to sea atop
the mighty new Soviet submarine,
Red October, we realize that we are
in store for a magnum opus adven-
ture saga of suspense, intrigue and
* gripping drama. Aside from the ex-
citement and intensity which the
plot incites, there are some gen-
uinely interesting characters on hand
who make the entire project enjoy-
able and entertaining, if not great.
has an underwater jet propulsion sys-
tem causing it to be completely si-
lent in the water, making it impos-
sible for American subs to track
them. "God damn thing's meant to
start a war," remarks one of the Joint
Chiefs. The twist of the film is that
Ramius sabotages his planned mis-
sion and sails toward the American
east coast, sending the CIA, Armed
Forces and Soviets into panicked de-
fcon frenzy.
Hunt, aside from its adventure
element, paints a vivid portrait of
the two main characters, Ramius and
Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin), the intel-
lectual/naval/civilian type assigned
to find this invisible sub and prevent
it from igniting Armageddon. The
multi-dimentional nature of these
.4
Connery and Baldwin perform beyond the
letter of the screenplay and bring a believable
and provocative texture to their roles. They
lend visual realism to Clancy's fiction, making
this apparent fantasy of a film a living fact
before our eyes.
4~~
.4
For those who have read the Tom
Clancy thriller, the first question
will be if the film is as good as the
book. I'll hold off answering that for
the time being as my job is to
comment on the film for its own
merits - and there are some real
merits to this film.
Connery portrays Marko Ramius,
the Captain of the Red October, the
ultra-sleek, ultra-deadly new Ty-
phoon Class submarine that is the
pride of the Soviet navy. This sub is
much like other subs in the world -
it can destroy several major cities
with its huge payload of ICBMs, but
the difference is that the Red October
characters is as fascinating as the
obvious excitement of the plot.
Ramius' hidden motives and calm
disposition in the face of catastrophe
and Ryan's human weakness and
ability to get into the thoughts of
the "mad" Russian endear these char-
acters to us. They are as real as the
story is poppycock.
Director John McTiernan has cre-
ated fascinating characters within
unbelievable situations - this was
the guy who directed Die Hard. In
that film, ridiculous characters in
ridiculous situations created an at-
mosphere of good, clean fun, but
Hunt for Red October goes much
Sean Connery (right) assumes a stern countenance, in keeping with the serious duties he undertakes as captain of a Soviet nuclear submarine in
The Hunt for Red October. His cohorts include, from left, two officers (Michael Weldon and Boris Krutonog) and Captain Second Rank Vasily Borodin
(Sam Neill).
deeper under the surface, delivering
an engrossing sweaty-palmed, nail-
biting, gasping experience in film-
going.
Connery and Baldwin perform
beyond the letter of the screenplay
and bring a believable and provoca-
tive texture to their roles. They lend
visual realism to Clancy's fiction,
making this apparent fantasy of a
film a living fact before our eyes. As
for the Clancy Clan out there, the
answer is "no"; a film rarely is as
good as the book. The written word
carries so much more potential
power than a film's momentary im-
age.
The Hunt for Red October snow-
balls in suspence and surprise from
that first shot of Ramius at Mur-
mansk to the last shot in Maine
(yes, it's a happy ending), but along
the way, besides merely being ex-
cited and scared, we believe it's re-
ally happening. The complexities of
the plot only add to the sophisticated
feel of this picture, but it is the en-
dearment of these characters that is
the essential quality of success here.
"And the sea will grant each man
new hope," the ever-profound
Ramius tells Ryan as they sail out
of history and into our eager imagi-
nations.
THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is
playing at Briarwood and Show-
case.
I
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Rush flies by synth
Despite a steady move away from
their famous heavy music toward
more of the mushy M-word music
(dare I type it... M-word = melodic.
Acchh, sssss it burnss uss. Yupp,
the same word used in conjunction
with Jon Bongiovi should be applied
to post-'85 or so Rush), Rush still
packs 'em in when their tractor-trail-
ers of gear arrive.
If you missed Rush's appearances
at the Palace last Thursday and Fri-
day, have no fear, all you need is
plenty of technology and Presto! the
magic of Compact disc Digital Au-
dio will transport you there. One
multi-disc player, one VCR, one
color TV and one really loud quadro-
phonic stereo system should recreate
the experience nicely. What's that
you're saying? "Well then it
wouldn't be live, asshole." Yes, it
wouldn't. But I don't think you
would notice. No one at the Palace
did.
Maynard. Don't let us run amok.
GET IT!I
The Personal Column
MICHIGAN DAILY CLASSIFIED ADS
After watching the legendary
power trio I was left wondering,
"Gosh, how does Geddy Lee play
keyboards and bass at the same
time???" I still don't know. I tried
and tried to believe it was real. What
ruined it for me was seeing the
setlist from Thursday night before
the show on Friday. As far as I could
tell the. set was identical, right down
to the short bit of the surf nugget
"Wipeout" in the "encore" "jam."
Even this was a bit of a let-down as
Alex Lifeson preferred a silly dance
to actually playing the song's classic
guitar line. Ditto for "Xanadu,"
which may be the first time I've ever
heard a song get shorter in concert:
the trio haltingly went into "YYZ"
shortly before one of drummer Neil
Peart's more impressive drum rolls
toward the end of "Xanadu."
So did I like any of it? Well, you
can't (?) fake a drum solo. This year
Peart seemingly saved us from the
extravagances of years past, using
GOING PLACES
$118 ANYWHERE IN THE USA ON
NORTHWEST airlines! Bring your NWA
voucher and AMEX card. CalREGENCY
TRAVEL, 665-6122, ask for Ann or David.
1-WAY HONOLULU Flex. Departure, thru
May, $275. Call 668-7071. Lv. message.
EUROPE ' SPECIALS: Amsterdam fr.
$449;Frankfurt fr. $449; Glas ow fr. $469-
London fr. $379; Paris fr. $46T Intemational
Student/Faculty cards $10. Eurail Flexipass
fr. $198. REGENCY TRAVEL 665-6 22.
Ask for Dan or Deb.
FOR YOUR LOWEST OVERSEAS AIR-
FARES ask for Student Travel Network,
800-36- 1929.
ORIENT SPECIALS: Ban kok fr. $967"
Hon Kong fr. $887; Osaka fr. $919; Seoul
fr.$86- Sn a~xire r. 999 Tapeifr. $845.
REGE CY' VEL 66612 Ask for
Dan or Deb.'
RIDE IN STYLE & PAY LESS than the De-
troit Airport commuter van for groups of 3-7.
$40 ea. way - door to door limo. REGENCY
TRAVEL 665-6122. Ask for Vivian or
David.
STUDENT TRAVEL BREAKS at STAMOS
TRAVEL
For best European/Greece airfares. We're at
Kerrytown Mal. Call us *6634400.
X-SKI, SNOW-SHOE, OUTDOOR SPA!
"Colorado" atmosphere. Small log cabin re-
sort. $38-$58 nightly. 10 min. from Traverse
City. 616-276-9502. Call 9-5.
the quad system to good effect; by
the end Peart had an interesting bit
of a melody (hsss) going using the
synth triggers in his kit. The rear
speakers first made themselves heard
during Alex's critical background
vocal refrain during "Subdivisions."
And for a change, Palace security
gave up their no-smoking enforce-
ment, surrendering to the realities of
a Rush crowd.
Of course Rush tours are known
for their special effects and traditions
like the drum solo as much as any-
thing else. Bic stock went up a point
during "Closer to the Heart." Yet the
longtime Rush fans I went with in-
formed me that the F/X were off a
notch, as "Distant Early Warning,"
"Subdivisions" and "Big Money" all
had less video footage than on previ-
ous tours. Whereas previous Rush
tours easily competed with Pink
Floyd in stoner-light intensity, this
time the Canucks went up against
the Stones in the category of gratu-
BUSINESS SERVICES
ALL SEASON X-Country ski lessons/any
level/private, semi, group. Appt. 665-8774.
LOST & FOUND
FOUND- Ring found in the Michigan
League. Call Denise. 763-0648.
r
"c
a
itously stupid stage props. As av
friend of mine put it, "It's kindof
hard to take 'Tom Sawyer' seriously
when there are two giant inflatable .
rabbits bouncing along in the back-
ground." Yes, the dumb dumb dumb
graphic icons from the cover of
Presto were used extensively - at
least the red balls from Hold Your '
Fire were merely boring.
Actually, Rush did compete with
Floyd rather effectively. To beat the
Brit supergroup, all Rush will have w.
to do is play two more dates here
with their lame canned set, topping-
Gilmour & Friends' previous record
of having played three identical sets
in Detroit.
.CLASSIFIED
SUBLET
* INCREDIBLE ROOM IN LARGE
HOUSE!
2 baths, dishwasher, parking, porch. Sublet
May-Aug. $250/neg. Great location on
Church St. Call Scott 662-6202.
2;BDR. APT. Avail. May: pool A/C tennis,
garb. dis., laund, dw, gas/H26 ic. $685
4-8427.
2 BDRM, BI-LEVEL APT. 3 peopl.
GREAT LOCATION! Crnr State H
May-Aug. Air cond, fum, balcony, dishwshr,
dsposal, prkng. Rent neg. Call Jen 769-1890.
HUGE SINGLE in 2-bdrm apt! Cable, a/c,
close to Union! Avail. Sp/Su. Rent is nego-
tioble! Call Cheryl at 996-58961
L. 1 BDRM. APT. avail. immed. $290 incl.
util. 747-9690, weeknights 7-10pm.
PRIVATE ROOMS in large house close to
campus- hardwood floors washer/dryer,
dishwasher & parking- $250/NEG. May-
g. M/Fwelcome. CalliDave at 764-4810.
SCENIC LAKE APARTMENTS. 1 bdrm.
a. to sublet; 8 months left on lease.
$389/onth. No security dep. Avail. 3/1/90.
77-0929 or 422-8 141.
SNGLE ROOM for female in Baits. $250/
month. Call Beatriz 763-8374.
S/SUM SUBLET. Furnished house. Incl.
SUBLET
SUBLET MAY-AUG. 2 Bdrm., parking,
heat/water. Call Matt @ 994-6385.
SUMMER SUBLET Avail May 1, Lg 1
bdrm for 1-2 people in 2 bdrm apt,2 blocks
from Anell H all. Inc:microwave, fum., fire-
place, A Call Jackie 668-6504.
GREEK GAB
GREEK SOCIAL CHAIRS:
Take advantage of our spring specials!
Great Formal Ideas plus lots more!
The Cloz Co. Call Jon 994-4045.
PERSONAL
* * ATTENTION: Supreme Course Tran-
scripts, the LS&A lecture notetaking service,
has the following notes avail, at Alpha-
ranhics Pnintshops at 715 N. Univ.: Anthro
6 ,Bio 100, Bio 224, Bio 325, Class Arch
222, Comm 103, Econ 201, Econ 202, Econ
396, Econ 401, Geol 100, Geol 101, Geol
106, Geol 107, Geol 110 Geol 112, Geol
113, Geol 115, Geol 125, list 110, Hist 160,
Hist 161, Hist 333, Hist 366, Hist Art 272,
Physics 125, Physics 126, Physics 140,
Physics 240,9Physiol 101, Poli Scr 140, Poll
Scr 353, Poli Sci 396 Psych 170, Psych 171
Psych 331, Soc 467, oc468. Call 663-681g
for info.
ADS
ROOMMATES
FUN-LOVING FEMALE ROOMMATE
WANTED: Share one bdrm. in a 2 bdrm. bi-
level in newly remodeled Geddes Hill.
$273/mo. Jessica- 930-0406. Leave msg.
(Sept-Sept).
LOOKING FOR HOUSE & HOUSE-
MATES for Fall; Male or Female. Want sin-
gles and parking. 930-0486.
MALE ROOMMATE needed for winter
1991. Contact Steve: 769-4894.
SINGLE BDRM. in spacious 2 bdrm. apt. for
next Sept. Great loc. Mike 665-0983.
T-
THE EARLY BIRD
GETS
w
C
WANTED: FEMALE ROOMMATE to liv
Nith 3 other females in 2 bdrm. apt. GREAT
.OCATION - behind S. uad on Packard
:undry facilities in building. $262.50/inc
"all Sue or Kelly, 761-5074.
MUSICAL MDSE,
STEREOS, ETC.
re
.T
d.
TE WTh
SO DON T
BE LEFT OUT
HERB DAVID GUITAR STUDIO 302 E.
Libe rty. 665-8001. Lessons, voice, piano,
recorder, dulcimer, banjo, pop, folk, blues,
rock, & classical.
IN THECOD
a 4 O
V *
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