ARTS The Michigan Daily Tuesday, September 29, 1992 Page5 II' WHA Horror comedy without the sentimental crap The plays, the zing! There's certainly a plethora (if you'll forgive the word) of fascinating things to do in Ann Arbor, but when we really want to get away, we bend our tracks toward the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. It's most popular in the summer, of course, but it runs all the way through November 15th (and we so prefer to avoid the sweating masses). Highlights of this year's reper- tory include "The Tempest" and Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" with the volcanic Alan Scarfe. There's also "Romeo and Juliet" with Megan Follows of "Anne of Green Gables" fame, but the best production of the year is by far "Measure for Measure," with Brian Bedford as the Duke and Colm Feore as Angelo. This play never really made sense to us until we saw Bedford's hilarious performance. By the way, there are mid-week discounts if you'd like to skip out on a few classes - and damn it, this is more important anyway. Call 1-800-567-1600 for ticket information. Austen space Did you miss the Cinema Guild's presentation of "Pride and Prejudice" a while back? Well, you have a second chance. TNT (channel 30 on Columbia) is obliging us at 1 a.m. tonight. (OK, so you'll have to wait up a bit, but isn't Olivier worth it'?) We admit that it's not quite the same on the small screen, but Austen's dialogue is better than the cinematography anyway. In fact, chuck the movie, just go out and read the book - it'll do your soul good. by Michael Thompson Anne Parillaud is back, but this time she's not speaking French, and she's packing more than a gun. The star of "La Femme Nikita" is now a vampire struggling in New York in John Landis's new horror comedy "Innocent Blood." The movie begins with Parillaud lamenting over the death of her lover - she killed him so she could feed. Now she's got to find another way Innocent Blood Directed by John Landis; written by Michael Wolk; with Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia and Anthony LaPaglia. of getting blood without getting caught. While looking through the newspapers, she learns that two mafia families are having a gang war. This is her big chance to get some blood and blame it on some- body else. This works pretty well with the first mafia victim. She drains him and then blows his head off with a shotgun. Of course, undercover cop Joe Gennaro (Anthony LaPaglia) knows something is peculiar when the victim has lost too much blood. In no time he is hot on her trail. Parillaud has a bigger problem, however, when she fails to blow her second victim's brains out and he becomes a vampire. This guy just happens to be the boss of one of the mafia families. As soon as he dis- covers that he is practically inde- structible, he begins to make more of his men into vampires. Parillaud knows she's screwed up so she teams up with LaPaglia to rid New York of vampirous mobsters. Although the plot of this film leads us to expect a really bad movie, "Innocent Blood" is surpris- ingly good. Landis returns to the theme of horror comedy and actually manages to top "An American Werewolf in London." The secret here is that Landis is clever enough Femme fatale Anne Parrillaud takes a bite out of mafia kingpin Robert Loggia in "Innocent Blood." Hate to see that hickey, though. not try to scare his audience, but rather to show the humorous side of being a monster in today's trying times. Of course, this usually requires humanizing moments and other sen- timental crap, but Landis makes this so funny it doesn't matter. The re- quired sex scene between Parillaud and LaPaglia is hilarious enough that the convention almost slips by with- out being noticed. Landis also skips the garbage about stakes through the heart and not being seen in mirrors. The only truths here are that bullets and the sun kill -- but isn't that true of everyone these days'? Parillaud is great as a sweet, sin- cere woman whose only setback is that she is a vampire. Although LaPaglia is the typical male good guy, Robert Loggia steals the show by chewing up scenes and raw meat at the same time. Loggia's resurrec- tion and escape from the morgue is at least as good as David Naughton running around nude in London. OK, the film's not a masterpiece. It's a bit on the long side and every time a TV is on, some form of Dracula is playing. But-with cameos from Frank Oz, "Evil Dead" director Sam Raimi and the return of Don Rickles, how bad can it be? Don't answer that, just see the movie. INNOCENT BLOOD is playing at Showcase. Rhapsody in black and white 'by Jon Altshul "Manhattan" presents itself as a pulsating montage of "Rhapsody in Blue", 42nd Street, and idealized romance. What follows is perhaps ,the greatest love story since "Casablanca." Floating onto our palate with candor, style, and unbeatable thera- Manhattan Directed and written by Woody Allen; with Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway and Michael Murphy pist jokes, it is a light, yet mesmeriz- ing tribute to the virtues of the heart. Even though "Annie H all" is usually considered Woody Allen's measuri- ng stick, "Manhattan" is truly his masterpiece. "New York was his town, and it 4,lways would be," Isaac (Allen) says in a voice-over at the climax of the film's rousing introduction, a stun- ning visual tour of Manhattan, ac- companied by Gershwin's music. For Allen, New York is still a city that exists in black and white. He celebrates his town with a hodge- podge of distinctly New York im- ages, which serve to highlight its dynamic and almost irrational charm. It is a powerful cinematic device which reminds the audience that this is Woody's home, and that this film is from the heart. While "Manhattan" features an all-star cast that includes Allen, 17- year-old Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, Michael Murphy, and Diane Keaton, only Allen and Hemingway really shine. The shortcomings of the peripheral actors, however, hardly detract from the emotional poignan- cy evoked by the touchingly in- nocent relationship between Isaac and Tracy (Hemingway). When they're together the movie is at its best - Tracy's naivete provides the perfect foil for Isaac's neurotic anxi- eties. And though the recent unfoldings of the not-so-romantic fantasies in Allen's personal life may skew Hemingway's depth and sincerity, the coy sexuality with which she says to Isaac, "Let's fool around, it'll take your mind off the noise" and the unaffected simplicity with which she concludes the film, are undeni- ably appealing. Released in 1979, the picture is as grandiose as the city it extols. It moves with the graceful complexity of a Gershwin ballad, celebrating the irrationality of romance in New York City with the informal grace of a Whitman poem. Allen's message is anti-cerebral, wryly espousing the somewhat banal facets of our lives which give us lit- eral happiness. "Why is life worth living?" Isaac asks himself, "Groucho Marx ... Swedish movies, Brando, Sinatra." The script is per- fectly suited for Allen, whose casual, unrehearsed style adds a unique real- ism to such profundities as "nothing worth knowing can be understood with the brain." If this is not his finest starring role, then it is cer- tainly one of them. "Manhattan" is unquestionably the director's most introspective and autobiographical project to date (sorry "Husbands and Wives") - complete with every "Woody-ism" from Bergman to pedophilia. It is a bold, even awkward film which at times seems held together by only elbow grease and dumb luck. In the end, however, "Manhattan" is a cross between "Lolita" and "On the Town," with just enough vintage Woody Allen humor and free-form dialogue to make it a classic. MANHATTAN is playing tonight at 7 p.m. and tomorrow at 9 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. VICTORINOX ORIGINAL SWISS ARMY KNIVES ASSwiss ARMYSws $ BRAND . ut Hunts Class Explo GUID WAN PATIH A EL-PI MORE THEF EXPE PACK THORO FJOR WAL TENN . WVENV HlKINI Camp 1 BlV( (~Ij $1 HAF $1 S) Cham man ic rer E DEREF WAY NE AINE MOST EDITIO KER ID KING IS VG BIVOUAC p $88.00 $42.00 $20.00 $48.00 LESS 10% BIVOUAC $9.00 $6.50 $6.50 $7.75 $7.75 AT $6.00 N $6.25 $9.00 $7.50 BIVOUAC $8.00 $7.50 $8.50 HARRY'S $88.00 $4.4 $42.00 $2.14 $20.00 $1.0( $48.00 $2.4 LESS 15% ON ALL STYLES 0 HARRY'S $7.98 $5.98 $5.98 $6.98 $6.98 $5.49 $5.49 $7.98 $6.98 HARRY'S $6.98 $6.98 $6.98 SAVE $1.02 $.52 $.52 $.77 $.77 $.51 $.76 $1.02 $.52 SAVE $1.02 $.52 $1.52 BIVOUAC $54.00 HARRY'S $39.98 SAVE $15.02 SAVE Keaton Do you write fiction or poetry? 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