# Photographer Shimon Attie presents his work. Attie, whose exhibition includes slides taken of Berlin's Jewish Quarter before World War II, will give a free lecture on his photography. Join him at the School of Art (2000 Bonisteel) at 4 p.m., to explore his visual experience. Attie will give the same lecture at 7:30 tonight at Hillel, 1429 Hill St. Monday March 31,1997 .. . Codfather' hits theaters Coppola's classic returns to big screen after 25 years Dy Michael Zilberman Daily Arts Writer In the early '70s, two movies by two NYU film-school brats have ought upon a revolution in gangster molding it from pulp into a legitimate - and uniquely American - art form. Scorsese's "Mean Streets" turned wiseguys into fast- talking, hyperviolent eternal adoles- cents, equal parts childish bravado and guilt. Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" took a grandiose, operatic approach to the matter, pre- senting to us the R Mob royalty as a. mythical com- TI pound of Old World values in an unwelcoming Main. environment. It could be the acting - the still fresh-faced Al Pacino and the slight- ly inhuman Marlon Brando. It could be the cinematography, bathing everything in lush old-photograph browns and yellows. It could be that in their derision toward a new, remorseless, drug-dealing Mafia, the Corleones assumed tragic hero qual- ities because of their refusal to adapt. In some peculiar way, the audiences related to that. Related enough to make "The Godfather" the highest- grossing film of its time, to instigate ongoing debates on Mob glamoriza- tion and to warrant a 25th anniver- sary re-release. After what Coppola did with his creation in "The Godfather Saga" (re-cutting all three films in chrono- logical order, from Vito's childhood to Michael's lonely demise), audi- -Jt ,1 EVIEW he Godfather ***i Art Theatre in Royal Oak ences could expect the anniversary edi- tion of the origi- nal to have under- gone some drastic changes; "Star Wars" it isn't, thankfully, and the modifications are limited to a touched-up soundtrack. Since "The Godfather" was a peri- od piece to begin with, it fares better in the here and now than, say, "The Graduate" (also in current re-release). The film's themes and concerns are not locked into the decade that gave birth to it; Its mythic underpinnings contribute to its staying power - a stylish meditation on loyalty and honor, it has a decidedly timeless atmosphere. The first installment of what wasn't yet meant to become a trilogy, "The Godfather" is not without its share of rough spots. The Sicilian section is stylistically different from what pre- cedes and follows it - and not in a Marion Brando and Salvatore Corsitto in Coppola's classic, "The Godfather." good way: Coppola seems to momen- tarily transform into Sergio Leone, then jolt back. Seen through the prism of Diane Keaton's later performances, her turn as a meek American wife here is a bit bland and inexpressive compared to the raging, highly vocal passions swallowing up the rest of the characters. Several years and a masterpiece ("The Conversation") later, the director would revisit the Corleone clan, with triumphant results, in "The Godfather Part 2.' The original remains the original, however; in an age when the gang- ster film is fast dissipating into the fragmented trash from which Coppola helped it rise - now with an increasingly obnoxious self- reflective twist - for all the pomp and pathos, "The Godfather" looks better among its spawn than it ever did by itself. Pacino and Brando in "The Godfather." Mendelsohn to read from 'Amelia Earhart 'Carey Show' sparks up prime time :;&I y Elizabeth Lucas Daily Books Editor When aviator Amelia Earhart's plane went down in the Pacific in 1937, her disappearance became a puzzling enig- ma, complete with searches and con- spiracy theories. Sixty years later, first-time author e Mendelsohn has explored what ight have happened after the crash in her novel, "I was Amelia Earhart." P1 "I wanted to fin- Jan ish this unfinished mysteiy, but in a more kind of metaphorical way' Mendelsohn said an interview with The Michigan Daily. "The fact that she's kind of dead and not dead, because she disappeared, cre- ated a tension I wanted to talk about," Mendelsohn said. "(The novel) is really about the possibility of living more than one life." Mendelsohn said that she became interested in Earhart's story after read- ing an article about her. "It mentioned that she'd had a navi- *or, and I hadn't known about that," Mendelsohn said. "The idea of two peo- ple traveling around the world, getting lost, disappearing - it seemed like kind of a dramatic idea.' In researching the book, Mendelsohn said she drew on several biographies and Earhart's own writ- ings, in addition to looking at photos I of Earhart and listening to tapes of her voice. The resulting novel, however, only follows historical fact up to a point. Mendelsohn begins by describing Earhart's attempted flight around the world with her navigator Fred Noonan, filling in biographical details and facts about the flight. But after the plane crash, the novel illustrates the pos- sibility that REVIEW Earhart and 1e Mendelsohn Noonan survived, living on a desert Tonight at 7:30 island in the Borders Pacific. Though shorter than most novels, "I Was Amelia Earhart" is a polished debut. Besides its intriguing premise and attention to its characters' psychologies, it is written in elegant, impressionistic prose. Mendelsohn said her style was influ- enced by "everyone I've ever read," but primarily Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Marguerite Duras. As might be expected, though, Mendelsohn had difficulty finding a publisher for her non-mainstream first novel. "I tried to get an agent, but I could- n't;' Mendelsohn said. "I was told the book was too literary ... no one would be able to sell it." But through a strange twist of fate, the novel received more publicity than most best-sellers. Jane Mendelsohn, author of "I Was Amelia Earhart," will read from her work tonight at Borders. , A New York woman picked up the novel in a bookstore, read it, and passed it on to her husband - radio host Don Imus. Imus spent the next week prais- ing the novel on-air. Mendelsohn said she'd rarely listened to talk radio before this event. "My father called, and said that peo- ple had called him and told him Don Imus was promoting the book." In this way, "I Was Amelia Earhart" received the notice it deserved. Though it provides one fascinating answer to the puzzle of Earhart's death, it leaves the mystery open for other solutions. "(Earhart) is a great American hero- ine, maybe the great American hero- ine," Mendelsohn said. "I think the fact that we don't know what happened - that her story's open to be finished by anyone, not just me - makes her a mythic figure?' By Julia Shih Daily Arts Writer Everyone, jump for joy! There is yet another sitcom on television depicting the struggles of life in the '90s as seen through the eyes of an individual. No, it's not "Ellen" or "The Single Guy," or any of the other R1 shows that have basically the same premise. The ABC Network would like to present W1 "The Drew Carey Show" in its second season as the net- work's resident mediocre "life comedy." "The Drew Carey Show" is based on the humorous outlook of stand-up comedian Drew Carey. Having former- ly strutted his stuff on "Star Search" and "The Tonight Show," Carey is back to show the world how a nice, trusting and easy-going guy gets through life. Carey plays Drew, the "nice boy next door" who works as the Assistant Director of Personnel at the local department store in Cleveland. It's not the most glamorous job in the world, but he puts up with it with a light-heart- ed and optimistic attitude. Unfortunately, his work day requires that he deal with a meddling boss and an overly hostile and overly made-up co-worker named Mimi (Kathy Kinney). Drew and Mimi (who is best described by the words "circus freak"), seem to have been put on this Earth to get on each other's nerves. Fortunately, Drew has some good friends to help him get through the trials and tribulations of life. Always there for support are his three lifelong friends: ;E t Oswald (Diedrich Bader), a good-natured and often clueless delivery guy; Lewis (Ryan Stiles), a janitor obsessed with pop culture; and Kate (Christa Miller), a beau- tiful but tomboyish woman who is con- stantly trying to find love. When the gang gets together, life no longer seems as V I E W harsh as it first The Drew appears to be. "The Drew Carey Show Carey Show" is ABC carried by Carey's :nesdays at 9:30 p.m. presence. His ami- able approach to life and his likable personality are a wonderful contrast to a world full of bit- terness and anger. He never gets mad at anything. Drew Carey is a funny guy who has some great takes on the little things injife. Also extremely amusing on the show is Bader, who is best remembered as Jethro from the movie, "The Beverly Hillbillies." Bader's Oswald is like an innocent and naive little boy who never grew up - one who is always cracking hilarious and often outrageous com- ments at inappropriate times. Guest appearances by celebrities also run amuck on "The Drew Carey Show," with anyone from sports stars (Dave Winfield), to famous musicians (Little Richard) dropping by. The show does suffer from occasion- al weak plots and lackluster writing. The humor level in each episode varies from week to week, and the show often illustrates a lack of enthusiasm. Nevertheless, this sitcom shows plenty of sparks of life that prevent it from being easily dismissed. "The Drew Carey Show" isn't per- feet, but it is still entertaining to watch. It is ideal for people who think they have pretty crappy lives, allowing them to see that there is at least one person in the world who has it off worse than they do ... and can still smile and pleasantly joke about it. Drew Carey and Kathy Kinney star in the comedy "The Drew Carey Show." r---- 0 00 FIND THE 0o a 0 0 o 0 c M r Are You Interested in Going to Israel this Summer and Earning Six Credits from the 0 0 and hook a great catch! If you are fast enough to be one of the first 10,000 people to tell us where you found our new Phish Food. ic reram. we'll rush vou an official Phish Food. sticker. --4 i I .~.*.. .4.. .