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ARTS

Monday
July 19, 1999

'Eyes' on Kubrick's erotic goodbye

By Ed Sholinsky
Daily Arts Editor
In his films Stanley Kubrick has
taken us from the dawn of man to
ancient Rome to
World War I to
K the Vietnam War
through the end
Eyes Wide of the world. But
S in his final film,
one of the great-
est directors
At Briarwood, who ever lived
rich and Showcase focuses his
exacting, often
time chilly, eye
on contempo-
rary New York
City.
Despite the
return to modern
times, though, "Eyes Wide Shut" is
obviously a Kubrick film. Less flashy
than his other films - particularly "A

Clockwork Orange" and "The Shining"
- Kubrick takes a more subdued
approach to "EWS" that more fits the
mood of the piece he's trying to create.
Still, Kubrick's skill, his obsession with
details, long silent moments and the
grainy film single this as the work of
the master.
And like any Kubrick film, it's
almost impossible to break "EWS"
down into a three paragraph summary.
Instead, it's easier to say that the film is
very thematically Kubrick. In all of his
films man finds himself isolated from
his humanity by some outside force -
one reason that Kubrick's work has
been thought of as cold. In "2001: A
Space Odyssey" man is isolated from
his humanity by technology; in "A
Clockwork Orange" by violence; and in
"EWS" by sex.
Tom Cruise plays Dr. Bill Harford
and Nicole Kidman is his wife Alice.
After finding themselves with different

lust objects at victor Ziegler's (Sydney
Pollack) Christmas party, the two find
themselves in romantic dire straits.
Alice confesses to an erotic dream she
had about another man, which sets the
good doctor off and running into the
under belly of NYC sex.
The story itself is a deeply complex
examination of the sex and how it
effects Bill. This is largely a film
about Cruise's character and his jour-
ney, leaving Kidman by the wayside
for most of the movie - there's a
stretch of about an hour where she's
not in the film.
But Cruise manages to handle the
immense weight of the film nobly.
Cruise has never been thought of as a
great actor - he's not - but here he
proves he's got talent. Even when he's
worked in exceptional films, like "Born
on the Forth of July" or "Rain Man,"
with top notch, like Oliver Stone or
Barry Levinson, he's always been over-

matched by the film. But Kubrick real- without blowing a chunk of the plot,
ly shaped Cruise into this role of a nor- so I won't. There are two scenes
mal guy out of his league, for a change though that needed work and one that
spotlighting Cruise as a person and not begged to be chopped out. The par
a star. scene is boring when Kidman is o
It's never happened that Kubrick screen and the mirror scene from the
has been overshadowed by one of his trailers and commercials should have
actors, but "EWS" really belongs to been longer.
Kidman. She's perfect as Alice. It's Those going into the film simply
been a good three or four years since for the chance to see Cruise and
a film actress has been this good; if Kidman getting it on will be sorely
she doesn't finally win an Oscar it disappointed, bored and $8 poorer.
will be a travesty. As it stands, "EWS" is a film that
All of this is complemented by an demands multiple viewings, but is still
incredible score that gets under your a minor work in a major body.
skin and creates atmosphere almost as Compared with his other films, "EW "
well as the scenes themselves. This is ranks with "The Killing" and 'Lolit
nothing new for a Kubrick film - - better than "Barry Lyndon" but
one of the most memorable features nowhere near as good as his last film,
of "2001" is the music - but "Full Metal Jacket." "EWS" isn't so
"EWS"'s score amongst the most much a disappointment for it's content,
memorable in his films. but for the fact that Kubrick is dead and
But overall, "EWS" has some will never light up the screen with one
problems. It's hard to get into them of his films again.
'Lake' Ranlcidc

Lithographic adventure at Museum

By Neshe Sarkozy
Daily Arts Writer
"Touchstone: 200 Years of Artists'
Lithographs" has just arrived at the
University's Museum of Art. 85 spec-
tacular pieces of art from this collec-
tion are on loan from Harvard Art
Museums and Cambridge and offer a
wide range of both versatility and a
uniqueness of style.
Some of the more well known of the
sixty artists that are represented in the
exhibit include Pablo Picasso, Paul
Klee, Henri Matisse, Claes Oldenburg
and Eugene Delacroix.
The basic notion of lithography, as
we know it today is essentially in the
common usage of both water and
grease as they forcibly detract from
each other.
Artists used to use limestone in the
printing process but now the common
matrix is a metal plate. The artist will
then use a greasy ink and cover the
'metal plate inthe. specific areas
wherein a pattern is desired.

Once that is completed the whole
area will be submersed in both water
and ink. The lithographic ink then
adheres to the grease, thus producing
the print on a paper. The range of
artists and the various usages of litho-
graphs, both old and new is what
makes this exhibit exceptional.
We see more modern usages of
transfer lithography that was used
more in the 19th century and is still
used today. Transfer lithography is a
unique processes wherein the artist
uses a special type of treated paper to
transmit the image, similar to that of
photography.
Touchstone provides a way to
embrace a sample of some of the last
200 years of famous as well as rare lith-
ographic prints. For those of us that
continue to adore and appreciated art,
the beautiful lithographs on display will
entice you.
The exhibit runs from July 17 to
September 12, 1999 in the, West
Gallery of the Art Museum.

"Royal Tiger" on display at Touchstone.
Focus Talks:
Drawings on Stone: Highlights
of Touchstone
July 22 and 29,6:30 p.m.
Free Admission.
Art Museum's curator, Dan Reich, will
talk about the art of lithography.
Are Prints Drawings?
September 9, 7:30p.m. Free Admission.
Fogg Art Museum's print curator, Majorie
B. Con wit talk about graphic tech-
niques to simulate drawings.


By Erin Podolsky
Daily Arts Writer
If last year
was the summer
of the rock
(meaning the
Lake big bad burning
Placid rocks of "Deep
* Impact" and
"Armageddon"),
At Briarwood, Good this must be the
Me tn s __ summer of the
... the summer
of the ... the
summer of the
anti-rock! Those
creative little
weasels over in
Hollywood have had an entire year to
plot for this summer's blockbuster
tandem. So far all we've seen are a
bunch of crafty little,,uh, little peo-
ple ("South Park," "Big Daddy,"

"Austin Powers 2"). What gives?
La la land has been holding out
and holding their big blockbuster
plan hostage. It is indeed the anti-
rock: Water. In a few short weeks,
mad killer ;mart sharks will make us
all run for cover in "Deep Blue Sea."
But this week, to whet our appetitO
for the fluid carnage to come, we've
got something even better: Killer
giant crocodiles.
Yes, you read that right. No, I'm
not making this up.
"Lake Placid," the first big screen
script written by television golden
boy David E. Kelley since he hit the
big time with "Ally McBeal," is the
heartwarming horror comedy tale
a girl and her croc. Bridget Fond
Kelley's first choice for the role of
Ally that went to Calista Flockhart,
plays inexplicably named paleonttol-
See PLACID,Page