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page 6 Overview M a rch 2 0 , 1980 Entertainment Film losing its cult by Bill Judkins Seven people bobbed back and forth in front of the theater, waiting in the cold for the midnight performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. They unconsciously took turns peering into the door to see if the manager was coming. At about 11:55, the short grey haired man, who manages the Studio Theater, opened the front door and surveyed the situation. Without letting anyone in from the cold, he yelled back inside, \There's only seven people out here. It's almost not worth running it.\ I asked myself, \is this what's left of the once enormously popular social phenomenon called 'Rocky Horror madness'?\ After he opened the door, another nine people gradually showed up. None in costumes, only one had a bag of rice. Nine months ago the theater had to search each partron individually for such props as cards, toilet paper and squirt guns, to prevent people from getting carried away during the show. I personally had six water balloons taken from me one night. But it seems •the days when the audience dressed up in garters and threw toilet paper are over. The \madness\ has been reduced to a mild case of irritation. After everyone was seated, the pr- jectionist yelled, \It's twelve on the button\ into the lobby, and the man ager yeiied back, \roll it.\ The Studio proprietor told me that there's a good chance of tonight being the last performance. \It doesn't pay to run it for the crowd we have here to night.” He also admitted that recent audiences have \mellowed out quite a bit,\ compared to the crowds the film first brought in a year ago. Although the film was made in 1975, the first midnight show didn't take place until April 1, 1976 at New York's Waverly Theater. In less than two years' the fanatical cult following grew to epic proportions. Although The Rocky Horror Pic ture Show was not the first cult movie (Casablanca and Harold and Maude already had legions of dialogue-reciting fans), it was the first audience partici pation cult movie. The most incredible thing about the whole phenomenon was that it spread across the country by word of mouth. When it finally opened for its first steady engagement in Syracuse last February, local fans knew and used the same antics that fans in Chicago were using. My God, they almost had a new religion going! Sadly, the popularity seems to be fading. The film will probably run for a while longer in the big cities, but the initial widespread popularity is over. The Studio manager says he has no plans to replace Rocky Horror with another midnight cult film, although the idea seems to be catching on in otherr local theaters. Where the fad goes from here is any one's guess, but The Rocky Horror Picture Show will always be thought of as the grand-daddy of cult films, joining goldfish eating, telephone booth cramming, and streaking in the history books. Tim Curry as Rocky Horror's Dr. Frank N. Furter; Elvis Costello as him self. E l v i s c h e e r s u p by Bill Judkins Elvis Costello the man who brought you such contemporary hate anthems as \I'm Not Angry\ and \Waiting for the End of the World\ has released his fourth album and it's called Get Happy!! (??) • The eight exclamation points on the jacket of the new album should be enough to tip you off that Elvis is in better spirits lately. Long time fans and usually supportive critics have complained that the lyric quality of the new record is not as meaty as previous efforts. While this may be true, they are missing the point. Get Happy!! is obviously dance music — Costello style. He has taken the dominating organ sound of This Years Model, combined it with the pop qual ities of Armed Forces, and turned out twenty short, no-nonsense songs along the lines of the quickies on My Aim Is True. SUNY-BINGHAMTON WELCOMES ONONDAGA GRADUATES LIBERAL ACCEPTANCE POLICY FOR ASSOCIATE DEGREE HOLDERS •A.A. and A.S. graduates admitted to HARPUR COLLEGE arts and sciences programs—tvoical GPA, 2.7 or higher. •A.S. and A.A.S. graduates can continue studies in M E C H A N I C A L or E L E C T R I C A L TECH N OLOGY in the School of General Studies for a 4-year degree. •Associate degree graduates eligible for School of General Studies programs in LIBERAL STUDIES- SOCIETY AN D TE CH N O L O G Y; SOCIAL SCIENCES; and AMERICAN STUDIES. •A.S. graduates in COMPUTER SCIENCE can continue ‘Computer Science studies for a 4-year degree. CREDITS FULLY MOST DEGREE TRANSFERABLE . . . LOW STATE UNIVERSITY TUITION FINANCIAL AID PACKAGES AVAILABLE. . APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM YOUR TRANSFER OFFICE. CALL OR WRITE: Admissions-CC SUNY-Binghamton Binghamton, New York 13901 607-798-2171 Some lyrics are, to be frank, em- barassing. \New Amsterdam\ in par ticular has several dumb lines including \Shall I speak double-dutch to a real double dutchess.\ Most of the other words are inaudible. Hey! But this is great music! A strong Motown/Stax influence runs through out the album, giving it a neat soul flavor. Even the cover art looks like the kind of hokey, 60's, covers that Otis Redding used to get stuck with. Nick Lowe does another incredible job with the production, and the Attractions are sharp and punchy, pounding out swirling rhythms and snappy beats. \Man Called Uncle\ and \King Horse\ recall the pop sensibility of \Oliver's Army\ while \Love For Tender\ and \I Can't Stand Up for Fal ling Down\ (Costello's hit single in Britain) are the kind of rhythmic rockers that infested This Year'sModel. But don't get the wrong idea, these songs are not re-hashes of old ideas. Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe have com pressed familiar moments into a new sound. Each Costello album has its own distinct musical approach, and this record is no exception. Get Happy!/ is no less important than any of Costello's other albums, just because the emphasis has switched from lyrics to music. He continues to be one of the few musicians to rise from the ashes of the punk movement, and steadily forge ahead with new concepts in popular music. Joe and Jill Cultur Yanks (R) — John Schlesinger's nostalgic look at Wartorn England by focusing on English-American romances (William Devane and Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Gere and Lisa Eichhorn} is nice, pleasing escapism. Friday, March 21 at 7:00, 9:30 and 12 midnight in S.U.'s Gifford Auditorium. Admission $1.50. The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes Two classic Alfred Hitchcock mystery- comedies from his thrities British period. Steps is an early treatment of Hitch's theme concerning an innocent man hunted by police with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll; Lady features Michael Redgrave and Mar garet Lockwood searching for spies and kid napped victims during an eventful train ride. Friday, March 21 at 7:00 in S.U.'s Kittredge Auditorium. Admission $1.00. Lady Sings The Blues (R)— A heavily fic tionalized soap-opera version of torch-singer Billie Holiday with great performances by Diana Ross as Billie, Billy Dee Williams playing the boyfriend and Richard Pryor as a doomed drug-addict. Sunday, March 23 at 6:00, 8:30 and 11:00 in S.U.'s Kittredge Auditorium. Admission $1.50. The Hills Have Eyes and N ight o f the Living Dead (R) — An all-American family versus a clan of hungry cannibals in a neat gory horror flick and the 1968 low-budget classic wherein the dead arise from their graves and eat the flesh of the Jiving. Sunday, March 23 at 7:00 and 10:00 in Gifford Audi torium. Admission $1.50. The War o f the W orlds and The Day the Earth Stood S till— Great special effects highlight H.G. Wells tale of a Martian invasion while intelligence is the keynote of the latter film as alien Michael Rennie and an imposing robot named Gort attempt interplanetary harmony. Monday, March 24 at 8:00 in the Civic Center's Carrier Theatre. Admission $ 2 . 00 . King o f Hearts (PG)— Genevieve Bujold and Alan Bates star in Phillipe de Broca's charmer about gentle inmates taking over an asylum during wartime. Tuesday, March 25 through Thursday, March 27 at 7:00 and 9:00 in S.U.'s Gifford Auditorium. Admission $1.50. Bound fo r Glory (P G ) - David Carradine delivers an excellent performance as Woody Guthrie, a folksinger/unionizer during the Depression years. Sensitive direction by Hal Ashby and Haskell Wexler's visually splendid cinematography highlight this film, which deserved (but didn't receive) the Best Picture Oscar for 1976. But viewer beware: there are two versions with differing running-times, the original 150-minute release and an edited 120-minute re-release with many fine vignettes missing. Hopefully, the original will be avail able. Friday, March 21 at 7:00 and 9:30 in S.U.'s Grant Auditorium. Admission $1.50. Jesus Christ S u p e rs ta r - The Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice rock opera is given its third annual treatment by Salt City. Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 at 8 1 5 and Sunday, March 23 at 7:30 at Salt City Play house. Call 474-1122 for ticket information. Next Stop. Greenwich Village (R)— pau| Mazursky's underrated autobiographical film of a struggling comic in New York City circa 1953. Great period atmosphere and character- izations (Lenny Baker as the comedian and Ellen Greene playing his girl) highlight this poignant, funny movie. Saturday, March 22 at 7:00, 9:00 and 11:00 in S.U.'s Gifford Aud itorium. Admission $1.50. Jay and the Am ericans - Most o f the OCC student body was in diapers when this band was m vogue, but old gray-haired mothers like Joe Culture still remember the songs they made famous (This Magic Moment, Only in America). Sixties nostalgia buffs should en- '°y ' T £ I0W- Friday' March 21 and Saturday March 22 at the Stage East. Call the club fol more information. Who's Affraid of Virginia W o o lf? - Edward 4Jbees searing drama of a corrosine marriage between an alcoholic college professor and his slatternly wife. Friday, March 21 through 2 l l 4 ^ 7 5 ? ar,Ch 27 3* Syracuse Stage. Call 423-3275 for times and ticket information Ceramics exhibit - Andrew M. Schuster's creative skMIs in ceramics is currently on ^ f t h r o u g h March 30 on the second floor of UCC s Coulter Library. 3 fr n SmU S ° n t a W o r k s h o p - Thursday, April 3 from 8.30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in A-345. Five dollars buys information, coffee and lunch. Call and pay Liz Liddy or Dan Rizzo in the Library before March 24. Congresswom an Elizabeth H o ltz m a n - A question and answer session follows this 2?aMlt'm W°manxleCtUre- Monday' March atterid .'n 5- A\ are welcome to Lucy S. Dawidowi and author will lectun of Jewish History?\ I at 8:00 p.m. in S,U.! are welcome to atten Stanley H o ffm a n - Center for EuropeanS
