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DeNiro
Awakenings
b Christi Luden
The Collegian
We often take our lives for
granted. Whether it's family or
friends or just the ability to take
a walk when we want to, we all
need to be reminded that life and
everything in it is precious.
Robert DeNiro presents that
reminder through his character,
Leonard Lowe, in the film
Awakenings. The character of
Leonard touches our hearts, as
well as our minds, and makes us
all take a good look at the
priveleges we have that many
others don't.
Leonard Lowe is one of many
encephalitic patients in a mental
hospital. They seem to have been
forgotten by the staff until Dr.
Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams)
gets hired and takes an interest in
this group of special patients.
The symptoms are few, but
significant. Sleep-like, comatose
state. No communication. The
only life these individuals have is
DeNiro's performance is a reminder that
life and everything in it is precious.
reflex actions and shuffling
around a room until a barrier gets
in the way. Dr. Sayer, however,
has hopes and starts to study all
the patients.
As usual, the "higher-ups" of
an organization try to stop
anything productive from going
on if there is a slight risk
involved. However, Dr. Sayer is
extremely thorough and
persuasive in his arguments and
finally gets permission to try a
drug on these patients.
The results are miraculous.
Leonard, the first
experimental patient, wakes up
from his state. He becomes
extremely normal and touches the
lives and hearts of many people.
The most heart-warming
scene is between a dedicated Mrs.
Lowe (Ruth Nelson) and her son.
She had cared for him since he
lapsed into his state thirty years
before. Now, she has a son who
could love her back.
After Leonard's success, the
drug is used on all the other
patients also. The same things
shines
take place and many lives are
changed and brightened.
However, the happiness lasts
only a short while. The miracle
drug produces side effects.
Leonard starts twitching and
cannot control his movements.
Sadness and disappointment flood
Mrs. Lowe, her son, and all who
saw what the drug had done.
Slowly, Leonard is taken off the
drug only to return to his
previous state.
Awakenings has everything.
Moving scenes, people falling in
love, and, most importantly, a
theme that all of us have to be
reminded about. We are very
lucky to have happy, normal
lives.
Robert DeNiro plays Leonard
to perfection. One minute he has
to be totally unresponsive and
stone-like and the next, after the
drug takes effect, he has to show
the qualities of a curious child.
Finally, DeNiro must twitch and
constantly move to depict
Leonard's deteriorating state.
Robin Williams also does a
great job in a serious role. His
own shyness is changed by
Leonard and he learns how to
love.
There are many people in the
world like Leonard is at the end
of the film. Their minds are
totally intact, but their bodies are
deteriorating right before their
eyes. They can't do simple things
like walk or write.
A lot of times it's better to
have your mind go first. Then,
you can't see what's happening to
you.
Leonard, in a scene with other
patients, makes quite a speech
about the "normal" people in the
world.
"They think we're crazy and
they're the ones that are crazy.
They don't know what they have.
Work, play, friends, family. They
take everything for granted. I
can't even take a walk by
myself."
We are crazy if we don't
cherish our lives and everything
in them!
The Collegian
Entertainment
Compilation honors Erickson
Lesser-known bands add soulful depth
Brad Kane
The Collegian
It's been said before, and it
will be stated here once more
-1990 will go down in musical
history as the year of the
compilation.
With the major label releases
of Rubaiyat: Elektra Records'
20th Anniversary Album, the
AIDS-benefit, Cole Porter-tribute
collection Red, Hot and Blue,
Nobody's Child: Romanian
Angel Appeal and The Last
Temptation of Elvis, what else
could 1990 go down in musical
history as-another year of pop
music infestation?
But as the above titles are all
worthy of merit, the best of
1990's compilations is probably
the least known. It's Where the
Pyramid Meets the Eye: A tribute
to Roky Erickson.
The former lead singer of the
13th Floor Elevators, a late 60's
psychedelic four-man ensemble
from Texas, Erickson easily
stood out among the number of
musically-inclined souls
associated with his era due to the
emotionally wrenching on-stage
performances of his songs. These
performances made enough of an
impact on the music world that a
large amount of groups today
have some spots of Erickson's
influence in their material.
On Where the Pyramid Meets
the Eye (a phrase that sums up
Erickson's feelings about what
psychedelic music is), these
musicians pay homage to
Erickson in an outstanding
fashion, using differing styles and
techniques to convey the
messages of Erickson's music.
The album is primarily
composed of lesser known acts,
but some bigger names do appear
on the record. Most prominent
are R.E.M., ZZ Top and Jesus
and Mary Chain. The latter two
groups perform the same song,
"Reverberation (Doubt)," as ZZ
Top begins the album with the
track and the Chain finishes the
record off.
The Chain's rendition is
slightly better as the Reid
Thursday, January 31, 1991
brothers, Jim and William, use
their deep vocals, heavy bass
drum arrangements, and grungy
guitar style to their benefit,
turning out a fine track. ZZ Top's
version works well too, but the
bass line is flatter and Billy
Gibbons' vocals seem slightly
higher pitched for a song attuned
to lower pitched arrangements.
R.E.M's "I Walked With a
Zombie" may be one of the
simplest songs ever written (the
words to the song are simply "I
walked with a zombie"), but the
song brought a tear to this
reviewer's eye.
The tune harkens back to the
days of the quartet's 1983 effort
Reckoning due to the song's
slight country influences. It's a
technique that adds up to much
more success than does the band's
current formula, which leans
toward a more popularized style.
But it's the less-popular
groups that give Eye its soul.
The first side features John
Wesley Harding and Good Liars,
who turn out a well-crafted track
on "If You Have Ghosts," which
maintains the flavor of the
original tune; an emotional
rendition on "I Had To Tell You"
by Poi Dog Pondering; and the
rich organ and staunch bass of
Julian Cope's "I Have Always
Been Hat Before."
The album's two true gems
also appear on the first side- The
Judybats' "She Lives (In a Time
of Her Own)," and Bongwater's
"You Don't Love Me Yet." The
former is a driving, rhythm
guitar-dominated song featuring
excellent vocals from singer Jeff
Heiskell while the latter also uses
a good vocal effort (from Ann
Magnuson) as well as a
preservation of Erickson's
psychedelic style to create an
excellent song.
The second side may not be as
strong, but there are highlights.
Aside fromR.E.M. and Jesus and
Mary Chain, cult favorites the
Butthole Surfers do a raucous
rendition of "Earthquake," Chris
Thomas sings the danceable
"Postures (Leave Your Body
Behind) " and T-Bone Burnett
does a delicate version of
"Nothing in Return," a tune that
focuses on the feeling of being
unwanted.
The finest song on the latter
side, however, may well be
Lyres' "We Sell Soul," which
comes across sounding like an
early Rolling Stones track.
The second side is balanced,
however, by the record's
lowlights, namely "Red Temple
Prayer (Two Headed Dog)," by
Sister Double Happiness due to
boring, repetitive vocals and
"White Faces," by the Angry
Samoans, which is not nearly as
fierce as the material the
Samoans are famous for.
A true disappointment is the
downright dull "Splash 1" by
Mighty Lemon Drops. Better
should be expected from a group
that usually does solid work.
But keep in mind that these
shortcomings are few here. Like
all complication albums, there
will be a chunk of material to
skip through to get to the good
stuff. And while not all of the 22
songs on Eye are masterpieces,
the gems shine brightly enough
to white out the stones.