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Salient. Official Newspaper of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Vol 40 No. 23. September 12 1977

Previews

Previews

Five Easy Pieces

The brilliant satire on American decadence starring Jack Nicholson as an oil worker with a good home and family behind him, but who runs away, finds a mistress, seduces his brother's finance and generally shows disgust for the pointlessness of the society around him. "Keep on telling me about the good life, Elton, because it makes me puke".

It is strangely structured film: Open ended like many modern American novels and films, but with a kind of pointlessness which perhaps is intended to allow the audience to experience something of the feelings of many disaffected American people.

The photography, by Laslo Kovacs, is excellent. The scenes with oilrigs, trains and trucks are particularly powerful.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Voted by critics as one of the ten best films ever made. The technical brilliance of this film is largely due to Stanley Kubrick's perfectionism and far-reaching understanding of the technical possibilities of film.

The people in the film are servants to computers and are characterless and helpless amidst the marvels of space age technology. "Man stands bewildered before the machines of his own creation". This extremely realistic science fiction film leaves you spellbound with plenty to contemplate as the absolutely amazing images are revealed in front of your very eyes!

I think the maximum effect of the film can be gained through reading the book by Arthur C. Clark first, otherwise you'll have to see the film several times before you're satisfied that you understand it. Mind you I'm sure we're not supposed to understand it, but rather to go away contemplating the mysteries of the universe.

OPERATOR-I'VE BEEN CUT OFF