ft - -4 _.-X. - LL Arts desk: 763-0379 ww w. michigandaily. com 4 t i i ," i , } IyH t Si 4 1. SECTION D PYLE HENRETTY Love the nightlife? It's alive and well in A2 k r( Give me liberty &nd give me death (and lots o gore) 1e there are many rewarding reasons to pay the toll and spend four years at the University, it may be the impressive and eclectic list of celebrities that rol hugh town that will most impress you relatives. In my time hee, both Al Gore and Weird Al have offered their absurdities to students, James Brown sweat all over Hill Auditorium, and Jessie Jackson keeps popping up every few months to rhyme and talk about Affirmative Action. Yet the visitor who has most impressed me, someone whose visit I shall never forget, is the incomparable actor/writer/director Lloyd Kaufman. If you figure into the upwards of 11 people who know and love Kaufman's work, then you realize what a entertaining, informative lecture/commercial he gave at Borders Books on a crisp winter night my freshman year. If not, allow me to identi fy the man by his most famous achievement: He is the father of troxic Avenger, the most popular tutu-wearing super hero ever to be spawned by falling out of a window into a vat of (open) toxic waste sitting on the back of an (uncovered) truck. Some people feel that "The Toxic Avenger" is a cheapie exploitation T&A horror flick that finds humor mocking child murderers and the blind, with special effects that would have made Ed Wood stop and say "Oh, that looks silly." These peo- ple would be one hundred percent correct. Kaufman, and his "Troma" studios have been producing schlock for twenty years, "The Toxic Avenger" films and Toxie (as he is affectionately wn) is their cash cow. e reason Kaufman's amusing appearance was so important was that he pointed me in the direction of Liberty Street Video, the only place on campus where needy students can find not only the entire Troma collection (on video and more and more on DVD), but also such classics as "Girls in Cages," Peter Jack- son's "Meet the Feebles" (like the Muppet Show, only with sex and drugs), and, of course, "A Necropheliac's Love Story." The good people at LSV have placed a little post it note on that last title, promising (or warning?) that there is no actual sex with the dead on the video. No where on campus can the discerning taste (or sick-o) find so n* cult films, which range from obscurity to rel- atively mainstream ("Reser- voir Dogs" and "Raising Arizona" both appear under the "Cult Film" umbrella)., Hopefully those of you that are not so keen on ooz- ing blood and pointless T&A are still with me. My A of cinema is not p onholed by gore. U of M may be the only Univer- sity in the country that offers a class showcasing 80's teen comedies and another one forcing you to write a paper on Louis Malle's "Atlantic City." Lucky for us, LSV has every movie that even the most sadistic professor c d throw at you. Imagine w ing into a Blockbuster and asking where their Pol- ish films were kept? There are more foreign films kept Courtesy of Tromcom in Ann Arbor than in all for- The Toxic Avenger eign countries combined. Movies are fun to watch on a Saturday night, but they can also teach you about society, how pop culture influences life in the world, and how the world has influenced pop culture. If the r preachers in the Diag don't make you afraid of God, try v4hing Bergman's "Seventh Seal" (in the Swedish Film see- tion). Have a Charlie Chaplin film festival and see how funny and sad are only a hair (and a wiggle of the mustache) away. Then have a Roberto Benigni and see how influential Chaplin still is. The joy of independent cinema is its range from cheap fun to extreme beauty to terror and back to grotesque (and the synthe- sis of all these elements, if you are lucky enough to find it). A "cult" film is simply a film that has a small group of people devoted to it, one that never hit in the mainstream market. Don't let the word frighten you, as it could be applied both to " idnight Cowboy" and "Silent Night, Deadly Night 5" (star- i vickey Rooney as Joe Petto). You are lucky enough to be on a campus that holds all these films and more, both for their educational and entertainment value. Get a card, and once you have fully digested "The Toxic Avenger 4: Citizen Toxie," we can debate its educational merit. By Use Rait Daily Arts Editor It certainly does not boast the hip clubs and ultra- chic nightlife of Chicago, New York or L.A. Nor does it have the rich tradition of cow-tipping on Saturday night or county fairs and 4-H pageants, as so many other Midwestern towns are reputed to. Somewhere in between these recreational extremes lies Ann Arbor, Michigan affectionately known as "A- squared" to its residents. And although it's not a mecca of all that is happenin' in the urban world, it has, at the very least, ten times more to do on an average night than East Lansing. There are many ways to spend that much-needed and well-deserved break from academia (besides the requi- site trips to Pizza House, dorm-room debauchery and horrifying community bathroom experience that every Freshperson must at some point become acquainted with). A few ideas: Frat Parties: Each fall, thousands of bewildered yet enthusiastic Freshpeople venture en masse to Hill Street, the magnificent mile of the Greek system. Pay an occasional cover charge to fund the alcohol you are consuming; Drink lukewarm, low-quality, beer from kegs that need desperately to be pumped; get groped by obnoxious, still-maturing upperclassmen; dance to the finest booty music our country has to offer. You too can be a part of this time-honored tradition. And don't forget your khakis/black booty pants! The Cultural Scene: Ann Arbor offers an incredible number of affordable, quality fine-arts performances each year, and the performing arts programs at the U of M are widely recognized as being terrific. See a musical; attend a dance show; visit the Museum of Art. Being cultured is actually considered sort of cool when you are in college - and most events end early.-enough to permit a visit to a frat party. See Bands Play: A lot of great musicians, from well-known locals like Donkey Punch to giants-such as Beck, perform each week in Ann Arbor. The Blind -Pig (usually 19 and over), Rick's Caf6, The Cavern Club and The Ark are popular spots for area artists to play, while Hill Auditorium and the Michigan Theater gen- erally host bigger names. See NIGHTLIFE ,Page-2D MAN IRA N/ai Bored in Ann Arbor? There are plenty of cultural shows, such as the annual "Generation APA" show. _' Y Theater has plenty to off'er to students By Lyle Henretty Daily Arts Editor Many people now reaching college age have never been inside a movie palace and have virtually no con- ception of the grandiose place they hold in the history of entertainment in America. The Michigan Theater, which isolated at 603 East Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor is a throw-back to another time. While the wide screen and sound are state-of-the-art, and Goobers and Twizzlers can be found in the recently refurnished lobby, the Michigan Theater reminds its guests what an event going to the movies once was. A sweeping staircase with an ornate railing leads to the epic grandeur of the 17,000 seat theater. Even today, the old Barton organ will rise from the orchestra pit, stage right, and those that arrive early are treated to a few songs by the in-house organist. Those that nearly filled the house for the Ann Arbor debut of "Crouch- ing Tiger, Hidden Dragon," earlier this year felt the same magic that may have touched their grandparents who sat in the same theater to watch "Frankenstein" more than sixty years ago. The original theater was commissioned in the 1920s by immigrant businessman Angelo Poulos, and designed by Maurice Finkel. Throughout the 20s, the theater showcased vaudeville acts and showed silent films accompanied by the organ or a live in-house orchestra. When film became wildly popular in the 1930s and 40s, it became the number one draw for the theater as well, though live shows were still a staple. With the advent of the multiplex, most movie palaces began to close down, or converted into some- thing new to stay with what was popular at the time. Michigan Theater Board President Henry Aldridge and philanthropist Margaret D. Towsley formed a not- for-profit organization so that the theater could con- tinue to be operated as it had for years, and is still operated to this day. The main theater is big enough to hold a concert, yet retains the intimate feel of a small venue. In the past few years everyone from Lyle Lovett to John Popper to Dr. Ruth Westheimer have performed/spoke at the theater. Other Michigan The- FIE PHO)TO The Michigan Theater has been a cultural center in Ann Arbor for decades. In addition to showingnationally-released features, it also hosts student films and the Ann Arbor Film Festival. ater events include the Ann Arbor Symphony Orches- tra's concert season and the annual Ann Arbor Film Festival, the oldest festival to showcase 35 mm films exclusively. The biggest draw, though, remains the films. Often, in conjunction with a local group or club, the theater will offer a classic film viewing at reduced or no charge. In the past year such films have included Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" and Akira Kurosawa's "Kumonosu-jo" ("Throne of Blood") shown at no cost. Also, lucky film classes will commandeer the Michigan Theater (the public almost always welcome) to screen films as they were meant to be seen, and not on the wall of some classroom. The past few years have brought many positive changes to the theater. A second screening room has been added that is able to accommodate 200 people. Also, the Michigan now chooses and promotes the films shown at the State Theater, located on the corner of State Street and East Liberty. This way, more than one film can be shown at once, and an especially pop- ular film can be held over at either theater, allowing for a continual stream of diverse and important films to flow through Ann Arbor. The films themselves range from classics to independents to mainstream fair. Both cinephiles and the average student just looking for a fun time should be pleased with the Michigan Theater's ever-changing line-up. The Michigan Theater caters to the University stu- dents, and attempts to show them the art of film in the environment originally designed to showcase it. Whether it's for fun on a Saturday night or a grade in a film class, the Michigan Theater is ideally and sim- ply suited to watching movies. Class o f200S: What is in your stereo? midst a sea of checks coming in for your summer money launder- ~ng scam (graduation + open house) you will face some serious choices as to what to spend all that dough on, because FAFSA didn't squeeze your upper-middle class ass too tight, and mom and dad are gonna front the cash for your education so you have the cheese to spend. And where better to spend it than the $11.88 section at Target. I mean, people won't like you if they don't like your music. It all starts on freshmen U move in day, you don't want to S be walking into your 6x8 room in East Quad with an armload A of luggage and your roommate is moved in and cranking his favorite song from the latest Matchbox Twenty CD. More so, you don't want to be that moved in room- mate sitting at a teeny desk blaring Life of Saturdays, when your roommate walk in and von start tn o