—The Daily Collegian Friday, Jan. 5, 1979 Bakshi's animation suits trilogy Middle Earth fantasy on screen By .10111 N WARD Daily Collegian Staff Writer Somewhere between Disneyland and reality lies the world of Ralph Bakshi. It's a world full of fantasy, wonder, love and violence. And never before have any of these themes been brought together so graphically as in Bakshi's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy "The Lord of the Rings." • Tolkien's epic tale of hobbits, elves and sorcery has been Bakshi's pet project for several years. It has taken him that long to create the intricate animation effects necessary for such a project. Bakshi, is famous for his X-rated "Fritz the Cat" and "Heavy Traffic': cartoons. Fewer people, however, are aware of "Wizards," a small fantasy cartoon that, in hindsight, seems like prep work for "The Lord of the Rings." "Wizards" came out two years ago to a lukewarni critic and public reception. Undaunted,Bakspi dove into the "Rings" project, and his resulting film is currently filling the screen locally at the Movies. In its scope and length two hours, 15 minutes "The Lord of the Rings" is definitely the most ambitious animated film. since Walt Disney's "Fantasia."' The film's length is both a help and a hindrance. Bakshi has taken great pains to detail the escapades in Tolkien's hooks. But so much time is taken toward this goal that it becomes impossible to cram the complete trilogy into one film. Hence, the film stops dead at the end of "The Two Towers," the second book in the trilogy. Purists will no. doubt go home unhappy at this. ' 7 532,500 in Awards & Prizes! Enter to Win! Have • your essays .:' judged by ...Roger Ebert • Molly Haskell Arthur Knight -• Gene Siskel • Bruce Williamson • Scholarships • Grants . • Internships • Hollywood Premiere ...and more FOCUS: Films of College & University Students F *CUS '79 COMPETITION WIN! FILM STUDY SCHOLARSHIPS From Playboy Magazine —Total of $4500 Ili Awards —4-Week Internship at Playboy for Ist Place Winner WIN! $2500 SPORTS FILM GRANT From U.S. Tobacco The third annual FOCUS Competition will be presenting the above awards to students exhibiting exceptional talent in the areas of filmmaking, film study, sports film proposal and film production Ask for information at your Film, English or other appropriate Department, or write directly to. Entry Deadline—February 1, 1979 All winners will be flown to Los Angeles for the FOCUS Premiere and Award Ceremony conducted in association with Filmex. The Los Angeles International Film Exposition Datsun Presents RED BY NISSAN MOTOR CORPORATION IN USA In cooperation with ' Playboy Magazine Universal Studios U.S. Tobacco FILMMAKING SCHOLARSHIPS From Universal Studios —Total of $4500 in Awards $lOOO PRODUCERS AWARD Made Possible by Allan Can Producer of GREASE WIN! DATSUN VEHICLES First Place Winners of Filmmaking & Film Study Scholarships each receive Datsun's new front-wheel drive 310 and a Datsun pick-up truck for their respective schools FOCUS '79 1140 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10036 Illustration by Della Hoko WIN! WIN! That's the wrong attitude to take. While the film loses some of its impact by ending so abruptly, it's still a richly entertaining piece of animation. The backgrounds are beautifully painted, and Bakshi achieves a fluidity with his animated characters that only the Disney studio — s could hope to match. "The Lord of the Rings" is at once both simple in characterization and complex in plot. Tolkien's hero is Frodo Baggins, a hobbit who is entrusted with the mystical One Ring. Among other things, the ring can turn its wearer in visible. But it can also corrupt whoever wears it continuously. The ring is also coveted by Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor, the embodiment of evil in Middle Earth. To keep the ring from Sauron, a conclave of hobbits, elves, dwarves and men decide to destroy it by casting it into the fire from which it was forged. The catch is that the forge, a volcano named Mount Doom, lies on the very doorstep of Sauron's lair. A fellowship is formed to take the ring" to Mordor and destroy it. Heading the quest are Frodo, his best friend Sam Gamgee and Aragorn, an enigmatic adventurer-type. Their travels make up the latter part of the film and provide an interesting backdrop to Bakshi's ar tistry. It will be interesting to see'how Bakshi wraps up the trilogy because, rest assured, a sequel is planned. It would be a major crime to leave audiences hanging on the last image, that of the good wizard Gandalf with his sword held high. "The Lord of the Rings" deserves to be told in full, with its magic and entertainment intact. BUD jaw. „ ;541111916146"°4''' t /he (7111/119? fVfilhell Winter Jackets • Blazers • Cords • Pleated Pants • Sweaters • Rugby Shirts • Chamois Shirts • Vintage Clothing • Shirts • Tops • Select Jeans • Hats • Scarves • Gloves • Belts & More ... in Calder Sq. Store Hours: M & F 10-9 T, W, Th, S 10-5:30 h/ Meet' SUPER-SALE all Winter clothing for men & women .... 20% DON'T MISS IT . Cat's not making it even with old style By PATRICK J. KIGER Daily Collegian Staff Writer Back in the days when Barry Manilow was grinding out ditties for deodorant commercials and current soft-rock fave raves like Dan Hill and Olivia Newton-John were but fan tasies in the mind of some record company vice-president, Cat Stevens was big time. And I mean really big time. "Moonshadow" was a virtual anthem for a generation of demure, "serious" girls-academy, kneesocks and cold cream . types. But the Cat, unsatisfied by mere fame, had to be artistic as well; he proceeded to kiss off his notoriety by putting out a series of jazzy, avant-garde albums which alienated many of his following. However, with his latest offering, Back To Earth (A & M Records) the Cat shows evidence of returning to his sof ttouch, folkish style of old. Ap parently, he's aiming for another shot at the featherweight crown of rock music. But unfortunately for him, this album is unlikely to further any such ambitions. Other than "Bad Brakes," a bouncy, medium-hard rocker, the grating over-orchestration . and pseudo-poetic lyrics (". . my heart would never lie down/'cause that's the way my arrow flies," he sings on "Randy," one of the album's real gobblers) are enough to turn even the knee-sox set nauseous. Maybe it's that the Cat has simply lost it, but I cekAwngceo. Now Reduced 50% off tend to suspect the explanation is that what seemed touching in 1972 is just plain tacky in 1979. The Grateful Dead, on the other hand, have no such problems, even though Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Co. have been around for so long that they probably can remember when smoking dope was supposed to be a mystical experience, not just an adolescent vice. In any case, Shakedown Street (Warner Bros. Records) is ample proof that old Dead never really die, they just . . . forget it, it's a stupid joke any Way. Like last year's ' , Terrapin • Station," the latest Dead offering is .. produced by Lowell George of Little Feat, and his jazzrock fusion in fluence is particularly apparent on the title cut, a tasty bit of be-bop funk, and on "From the Heart of Me," , which includes a standout vocal by , Donna Godchaux. Bob Weir gets into the act with a good job on "I Need a - i Miracle" and the Dead's cover of "Good Lovin.' " - Of course, the best thing about the album is Jerry Garcia. That's right, he of the motheaten beard and shoulder length hair, the one who looks like he should be a poster child for the Save Our Vanishing Hippies Foundation. Garcia's subtly in novative guitar work and sense of , humor (dig the words to "Shaker , Lee," to see what I mean) are what has kept the Dead in the limelight and , out of the bargain bin all these years. The Baptism of Our Lord Sunday, January 7, 1979 10 a.m. - Eisenhower Chapel 11:45 a.m. - Grace Lutheran Church 5:30 p.m. - Eisenhower Chapel Lutheran Student Parish ceiothingceoo • .•,- --,:,--,:-.7.7.7-7,1 VISA'• - • •• - ,;=•:'..K.,;•:.:-„,,,,•,.:,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers