The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Thursday, March 30, 1995 - 9 Another tome from the mind of a mad King By Joshua Rich Daily Arts Writer The world of Stephen King is as diverse as it is terrifying. When we think of this modern American guru of the horror novel, most of us first remember movie images like that of a rabid dog terrorizing a trapped family or a little girl who has the power to set anything she sees afire. Best known for his many scary novels, King has also created a cache of suspense, ac- tion and drama stories which, through the years, have become just as popu- lar as his horror books. And in most cases, King's work has been trans- formed into major motion pictures or made-for-television movies. So what makes this author popu- lar enough to have consecutive best sellers and box office hits? How has he remained so prolific for almost 20 years? And why do readers and audi- ences keep buying his books and re- turning to his movies? Unlike current popular authors whose movies have found their way to the silver screen (John Grisham, for example), King has constantly produced stories that are both inter- esting and original. No two King books are alike - whereas one may argue that most of Grisham's novels are all the same basic plot with differ- ent characters - and they all explore different facets of the human psyche. While the plots of King's stories are generally complicated, they are usu- ally told in simple, linear manners which allow easy transformation into motion pictures. It is to these movies that we frequently turn when in need of an intellectual thrill or an engaging character study. The earliest King stories on film have usually gained him the greatest critical and popular acclaim. Directed by Brian de Palma, "Carrie" (1976) was his first major hit and it began what would become a long string of horror flicks. It starred Sissy Spacek as a repressed teenager who uses her unique mental skills to take revenge on her unruly classmates. Following that came "The Shining" (1980), which is perhaps one of the most famous King stories on screen, and arguably one of the best horror mov- ies of all time. Stanley Kubrick di- rected Jack Nicholson as an insane writer who, along with some bizarre apparitions, terrorizes his family in an old, snow-covered hotel. During the mid-'80s, King's addi- tions to the Hollywood roster were usually common horror films. Most memorable were "Cujo," (1983) in which a rabid dog terrorizes Dee Wallace and Danny Pintauro ("Who's the Boss") trapped in a car, "Firestarter," (1984) which show- cased a young Drew Barrymore as a girl who is capable of starting fires by pyrokinesis and "Pet Sematary" (1989) about a family who moves into a house where the dead may come back to life. Though none of these movies came close to being a cinematic triumph, they all succeeded in providing view- ers with thought-provoking, scary films - as opposed to more mindless horror flicks like "Friday the 13th" or "Nightmare on Elm Street." Recently, however, King's scope of material has broadened to include more powerful dramas which, though still morbid, touch both the minds and the hearts of his audience. Rob Reiner's direction of "Misery" (1990) painted a startling yet psychologi- cally fascinating portrait of the rela- tionship between a crippled James Caan and his loving but psychotic captor Kathy Bates. "The Stand" (1994) became one of the most suc- cessful made-for-TV movies by ex- amining the ramifications of the Ar- mageddon. And "Dolores Claiborne" (in current release) studies the awful effects of domestic violence on a mother and her daughter. Heading any list of King's contri- butions to motion pictures must be 1994's "The ShawshankRedemption" which has come to be one of the most acclaimed King films yet - it is his first effort to receive a Best Picture Academy Award nomination. Based on his short story, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," this movie chronicles the friendship forged between two prison inmates, the guilty Morgan Freeman and the innocent Tim Robbins. Like many of King's previous works, this film serves to enlighten its audience on the one hand and frighten us on the other. It best summarizes a career that has spanned two'decades and provided readers and moviegoers alike with images of horror and drama that tickle our nerves and capture our minds. Bates is moderately disturbing. Just because something wins lots of awards doesn't mean. Im--7-7 .Cut: C . 1'..cottPbagenhoef Criticism is never an exact art. Revisionism is as much apart of criti- cisn as one's initial reaction to a work. Contemporary criticism mea- sures the first reaction to a work, revisionism is assisted by time. It gauges a work's ability to withstand time and still be vital. Film revisionism continues con- stently for the most diverse of rea- ns. "Citizen Kane," long consid- ered the greatest American film of all-time, was not even well-received upon its opening. Some of the criti- cism can be traced to newspaper mo- gu William Randolph Hearst who felt the title character followed too closely his own life and so Hearst set out to bury the film in his media eipire. Yet the poor reception for (ane" may have had as much to do with its ground-breaking presentation. Orson Welles, only 25 when he pro- duced, directed and starred in "Kane," introduced to the film community such a vastly different type of product it could scarcely be compared to what had come before. The scale of a film also serves to bias its initial reception. Sprawling epics, with countless extras, postcard landscapes, and supposedly larger than life subject matter are nearly always overblown in their praise. "Ben-Hur," one of the most success- ful films at the box-office until the advent of the multiplex and the win- ner of a record 11 Academy Awards, is usually met with high praise. Its scope and subject demands it be taken as a classic, and oftentimes was. Nowadays "Ben-Hur" is little seen and less cared about. Consequently, just as the safe are often misjudged early, so is the daring or at least the borderline perverse. When the dismantling of the film codes in favor of a ratings system occurred, subject matter was allowed to become more lurid. Early work in this period, such as "A Clockwork Orange," "Last Tango in Paris" and the Roman Polanski pair "Repulsion" and "Cul-de-Sac," each met with as much critical backlash as praise. Each has gained much wider recognition as fine films because of the loosening of moral standards on art has allowed viewers to be challenged and pre- sented with the controversial rather than simply attempt to escape and ignore that which is off-center. Films early in a director's career are also often initially overlooked. Francis Coppola's "The Rain People," Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing," John Sayles' "The Return of the Secaucus Seven" and Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger than Paradise" each continue to carve a greater niche in a film canon as their respective directors have become more revered. Each film should have been regarded as vital and original works in their own time. Films which concern themselves with contemporary social problems run the risk of being little considered in the future. "Kramer vs. Kramer," released in 1979, was hailed as a brave portrait of the new breed of the bro- ken family. Audiences across the na- tion gasped at the disintegration of the Kramer marriage and the fate of their young son. A little over a decade later our society has become so com- fortable with the notion of divorce that the comedic escapades of an es- tranged father trying to communicate with his children by dressing up as an elderly British female housekeeper can become the second highest-gross- ing comedy ever. The fate of the Kramer boy and the entire film itself seems less important. Unfortunately, the most well- known measure for films is the Acad- emy Awards. The Oscars are really not susceptible to revisionism since those who do the criticism in retro- spect are film critics and those who vote for the awards are industry people. Revisionism may not as much reflect time in this case as it does a general rift in perception of what an award-winning film is. Critical awards generally are more daring, more celebratory of quality, whereas the Academy is only willing to award the feel-good, the movies which reflect good intentions and an often watered- down accessibility. In recent years the award process has gotten worse. Best Picture win- ners previously hailed as masterpieces or triumphs of the human spirit as recent as "Chariots of Fire," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Dances with Wolves" are already buried in the minds of audiences and virtually dis- regarded in the film canon. "Dances with Wolves," the ultra- PC tale of a white Civil War soldier mentally undone by the horrors the white man were inflicting upon each other yet moved by the harmony of the Native Americans is"RobinsonCrusoe" on the prairie. It defeated "Goodfellas" for the Best Picture Oscar that year, the second time a Hollywood golden boy had denied Martin Scorsese an Oscar for a much superior film. The first was in 1980, when Robert Redford's "Ordi- nary People" won over "Raging Bull." "Raging Bull," a harrowing character sketch of a man who can only express himself through violence, contains one of the greatest acting performances of all-time with Robert DeNiro as the title character, the raging bull, boxer Jake LaMotta. "Bull" went on to be named the best film of the '80s in virtually every such poll conducted. "Ordinary People" went on to be shownyours and it's good every other high school and college psychology class in the nation. This year, in a comparable selec- tion, "Forrest Gump" was named Best Picture over a superior film, "Pulp Fiction". Revisionism will prove that "Gump" will be relegated to holiday viewings on ABC, opposite "Home Alone," "E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial" or "The Sound of Music" on the other three networks. "Gump" will remain homespun, cozy, domestic fun. A playful wrapping to forget your woes and believe "stupid is as stupid does." Just as the von Trapp family sings and dances whilst Hitler ravages Austria on the other side of the mountain and we cuddle up next to the television with our pumpkin pie think- ing nothing of it, we'll ooh, aah and laugh at Forrest's misadventures val- iantly fighting a war he shouldn't, his failure to comprehend racism, sexism, human tragedy unless it afflicts him personally, or corruption of power. "Pulp Fiction" is already a perma- nently vital film, a potential landmark in the development of independent films, small budgets, narrative devel- opment and audience expectation. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-DEARBORN ;: SCIrt " : SRBO You Are Cordially Invited The University of Michigan-Dearborn cordially invites you to be a guest student for the Spring/Summer semester. We have three terms to accommodate students who are home for summer vacation. ththe The The Hanky Panky" Songs for the achin heart. Written by Hnk Williams Sr Expressed by The The. "hanky Panky" ' Th t 4 Q : Put your $$ on these... r N', mike Wdl} Korn "Korn" - Described by the L.A. press as shades of Rage Against The Machine meets Pantera meets Tool with a soul-shaking vengeance. "korn" rff :i Sponge "Rotting Pinata""...a pas sionate mix of alluring melodies and guitar rock. ..laced with adrenaline and pop invention.." - LA Times "rotting pinata" Spring half term Spring/Summer term Summer half term May 8 - June 30 May 8 -August 29 july 5 -August 29 Mike Watt "Ball-Hog Or Tugboat? The man behind fREHOSE and The Minutemen gets in the ring and wrestles with his friendson his debut solo album, "ball-og or tugboat?" -GoAmp . 3 Pick up a guest application at your Registrar's Office and call the Office of 9WD epic t, xY C o ..S(~ .1 1--l".11, Aim F' __ d.. i 1w*a r { r c.