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Body Double Suspenseful But...
by Thad Wawro
Collegian News Editor
Ever since his debut as a direc
tor, Brian DePalma has been
compared to master director
Alfred Hitchcock. Some of these
comparisons have been very
favorable, others well, nobody’s
perfect. Even though the respec
tive styles of the directors differ
somewhat, Hitch’s being more
stylish and suave while DePalma’s
leans toward the fast paced and
reckless, comparisons between the
two are inevitable.
In his better films, such as
Obsession, Blowout, and Dress
ed to Kill, DePalma has used a
number of elements taken from
Hitchcock’s techniques very suc
cessfully. His style is marked by
incorporating plot and film mak
ing techniques and then using
them in unexpected and unique
ways.
Until the recent Scarface,
DePalma’s films, even though
Trivia Mania: New Craze
Sweeping the Country
by Jill Bedford
Collegian Staff Writer
Who was the second person
to walk on the moon? Who co
starred opposite Burt Lan
caster in From Here to'Eterni
ty? What is the substance in
leaves that makes them green?
What was the name of the
manager who shot the Beatles
to stardom? If you answered
these questions Edwin “Buzz”
Aldrin, Deborah Kerr,
chlorophyll and Brian Eps
tein, chances are you’ve been
exposed to the latest craze
sweeping colleges nationwide -
Triviamania.
The original Trivial Pursuit,
the Genus Edition, is still a big
seller at stores everywhere. It
consists of six different topics:
Arts and Literature,
Geography, Sports and
Leisure, Science and Nature,
History, and Entertainment.
The same company that makes
the Genus Edition also has
specialized versions of trivia
you can purchase separately,
such as the Silver Screen Edi
tion for the movie buff, the
All-Star Sports Edition for the
sport fan, the Baby Boomers
Edition containing various
questions from the 1950’s to
the 1980’s, and for the
younger trivia fans, the Young
Players Edition.
Other companies, caught up
FEATURE
violent, have had their emphasis
on plot rather than violence. The
extremely bloody Scarface was a
departure from the norm. In his
latest work, Body Double,
DePalma heads back toward the
norm but, unfortunately, misses
the target ever so slightly.
Just as in his preceeding films,
DePalma has included a number
of classic Hitchcock elements that
do both Hitchcock and DePalma
justice. However, even with the
many allusions to Hitchcock,
what starts out to be a promising
suspense yarn, soon falls into
mediocrity.
The story takes place in the
weird and wonderful world of the
movie makers. The title of the
movie, Body Double, is taken
from the term given to the stand
ins who take the place of a star in
a scene that they may not want to
do, such as a nude scene.
The hero of the film, Jake,
played by newcomer Craig
in the trivia craze, have pro
duced their own versions of
Trivial Pursuit: the MASH
Game of Trivia, the Solid
Gold Game of Trivia, TV
Guide’s Trivia Game, and the
People’s Magazine Game.
Even if you feel your
knowledge of trivia is not ex
actly at the competition level,
you can still have fun just lear
ning new and interesting facts.
Even the best Trivial Pursuit
player can learn something
new every time he plays. The
RUB desk now has Trivial
Pursuit, so get a group of
friends together one night and
play. At least Trivial Pursuit is
one way to blow off studying
without feeling guilty.
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Wasson, is a would-be actor film
ing a porno vampire movie. Jake
is claustrophobic (reminiscent of
Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo)' which
makes his role as a coffin
sleeping vampire just a little dif
ficult.
Jake meets Sam (Greg Henry)
who offers Jiis house to Jake while
the filming is taking place. The
two men living alone together is
reminiscent of Hitch’s obsession
with twos. While living with Sam,
Jake discovers that with the aid of
a telescope he can watch his
beautiful neighbor undress
through her window, just as Jim
my Stewart did in Rear Window.
As he watches, Jake discovers that
he is not the only one who is in
terested in the young woman;
there is someone following her.
Well, so far so good. DePalma
has all of the makings of a super
suspense thriller. Unfortunately, a
few major mistakes on the part of
DePalma causes the film to end
Behrend Library Offers More Than Books
by Julie Potochny
Collegian Staff Writer
The Behrend library has a lot to
offer and what it doesn’t have is
available from any of Penn
State’s 22 campuses. The com
puter system makes it a snap to
find out what is available and at
which campus. With inter-library
loans you can have the material in
seven to ten days.
Mary Sellen, head librarian at
Behrend, is on the advisory board
of libraries in Erie County. The
board, N.1.C.0.P., Northwest
Interlocking Cooperation Group,
has 50 members and meets twice a
year. Various industrial and col
lege libraries are involved.
This is a working type of group
dealing with issues such as lending
policies and inter-library loans.
Cooperation between libraries is
up as just an okay thriller.
DePalma’s biggest mistake is
that instead of building suspense
through the plot and his filming
techniques, he reverts to using
unnecessary gore and sensa
tionalism (as best seen in the in
famous power drill scene).
Another one of DePalma’s
goofs is his use of parallel real and
unreal scenes interposed at the
end of the film. His attempt at art
does little more than confuse the
movie-goer and muddle the final
moments of he film.
Body Double, however, is not
a bomb. A number of the scenes
in the film are innovative and uni
que. The element of suspense is
always present. The problem
comes at the end of the film when,
instead of ending with the type of
explosive climax that marks
DePalma’s film production, it
just fizzles out. What at first
glance seems to be a masterfull
satire of the suspense genre,
Mary Sellen
Head Librarian
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2648 Buffalo Road Eric, Pa.
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degenerates into a broad spoof,
which at certain points is
downright silly. During the film
the audience laughed a number of
times; the problem was it was dif
ficult to tell if they were laughing
with the film or at the film.
Compared to some of the recent
thrillers released, Body Double
is a masterpiece; however, com
pared to some of DePalma’s
previous films, it seems to be a
half-hearted attempt.
Body Double is rated R due to
excessive gore, nudity, strong sex
ual content, and adult language.
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the main objective of the
organization. This cooperative ef
fort gives us easier access to
material from different libraries.
Sellen has been at Behrend for
two years. Previously she worked
as a reference librarian at Nor
thern State College in South
Dakota. While in South Dakota
she had the opportunity to help
set up a library at a Sioux Indian
reservation.
Sellen has a masters degree in
Library Science and Music which
she earned at the University of Il
linois. She did her undergraduate
work at Sherwood Music School
in Chicago. She became interested
in Library Sience while working
as a student library assistant at the
University of Illinois.