Summer term at Dartmouth evokes images of laid-back classes and floating in the river, accompanied by a general sense of relaxation. Keeping this in mind, the Dartmouth Film Society is going against the grain with its summer film series titled "Speed" -- "a collection of films about velocity in all its forms." Serving as a chronicle of "The Age of Impatience," this term's series promises to get your adrenaline pumping.
The Dartmouth Film Society, whose members include professors, students and cine-enthusiasts from the Dartmouth community, gets together at the end of each term to decide which films for the series to be screened in the term after next. "Speed" was voted upon in the Winter term. Members are asked to submit suggestions that follow specific guidelines: each series must include a documentary, a silent film and several foreign films, and it should be united by a common theme.
This term, if you're seeking the answer to life, the universe, and everything in between, then DFS has you covered: head to Spaulding auditorium on July 13 to catch "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Based on Douglas Adam's series of books of the same title, the film details the adventures of Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman), an ordinary Englishman who escapes the annihilation of Earth with the help of alien friend, Ford Prefect (Mos Def) and hitches a ride on a colossal constructor vehicle. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a breezy affair with great special effects, memorable characters and a hilariously suicidal robot. Described as an "intergalactic misadventure," this frothy sci-fi space comedy is sure to entertain fans of the book and possibly win over the uninitiated.
Highly stylized martial arts epics, popularized by Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and Zhang Yimou's "Hero," have acquired a pop-culture moniker all their own: wire-fu. Due to the stateside popularity of the genre, two new films from the region, "Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior" and "Oldboy," may be erroneously included in this categorization. Both are Asian action films, but are cast from very different molds.
"Ong Bak" tells the tale of a young martial artist who journeys to Bangkok to retrieve a stolen Buddha statue. Winner of the 2003 Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, "Oldboy" is a neo-noir about a kidnapped man who is suddenly released after being imprisoned for 15 years and has five days to locate his former captor. Doing away with wires and much of the CGI, both films opt for a more realistic, visceral and brutal approach to the kinetic intensity that is expected of such films. Action fans will not be disappointed. Check out "Ong Bak" on July 10th and "Oldboy" on July 27.
Screenwriter Paul Haggis -- who wrote last year's Oscar-winning knockout "Million Dollar Baby" -- takes up the director's mantle in "Crash," a forceful commentary on race relations in America that will play in Spaulding on July 17. In the aftermath of two car accidents and the suspicious murder of a police officer, the film explores the intertwining lives of a black police detective, a TV director, a racist white police officer, a District Attorney, the DA's wife and two young thieves who wax philosophical on race and society. An ensemble piece set in Los Angeles with a multi-ethnic cast, this is relevant, hard-hitting cinema at its finest.
A spoof of the "Airport" series of disaster movies that were popular in the 1970s, "Airplane!" details the misadventures of the crew and passengers of an aircraft after many on board become ill due to a bad fish meal. The plot is entirely inconsequential, which the filmmakers clearly understand as they pepper every frame with an exhaustive assortment of visual, sound and dialogue gags. Leslie Nielsen stands out as a bumbling doctor who keeps getting called "Shirley." "Airplane's" brand of comedy can be found in some measure in films from the "Austin Powers" and "Scary Movie" series to modern Pixar classics such as "Toy Story 2" and "Finding Nemo." Enjoy it on the big screen on August 21 in Spaulding.
Two classic films by Alfred Hitchcock, "Saboteur" and "North by Northwest," will be screened as a double feature at Spaulding this summer. Somewhat of a forerunner to "North by Northwest," "Saboteur" is the story of aircraft plant worker Barry Kane who stands falsely accused of starting a fire and killing his best friend. Pursued by the authorities, Kane chases a mysterious Mr. Fry, whom he believes to be responsible for his friend's death, across the country, finally confronting him in a spectacular climax on the Statue of Liberty.
Returning to the framed-innocent-man-on-the-run theme, "North by Northwest" features Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive mistaken for a government intelligence agent and set up as a murderer. Desperate to prove his innocence, Thornhill goes on the run while being pursued by the police, the FBI and a group of spies (sound familiar?). In true Hitchcock fashion, he meets a mysterious blonde (Eva Marie Saint) in his adventure, who, as he puts it, uses "sex like some people use a flyswatter." The iconic sequence with the crop-dusting plane in the cornfield remains just as exhilarating 50 years later. In addition, the film one-ups "Saboteur" with an even more incredible climax at another American landmark: Mt. Rushmore. The style of the film, with its improbable action sequences, double entendres and cross-country mayhem, was later adopted by the James Bond franchise. If you have a pulse, you will not be bored.
But if you're only searching for inspiration to do work this summer (an admittedly difficult endeavour), look no further than "Chariots of Fire." Winner of the 1982 Academy Award for Best Picture, "Chariots of Fire" is the remarkable true story about two British sprinters "chasing dreams of glory" during the 1924 Summer Olympics. Such a mature treatment of the subject matter -- what it is that drives men to excel in the face of adversity -- is rarely found in today's cinema, where melodrama and scene music have become hallmarks of any inspirational film. "Chariots of Fire" is playing in Spaulding on July 20.
Other notable films being screened in the series include Jean-Luc Godard's visually arresting " bout de souffl" (July 31) about a young thug and his girlfriend who evade the police while stealing cars; "The Quick & the Dead" (August 7), a tribute to Sergio Leone's old west except with female gunslinger Sharon Stone; "Only Angels Have Wings" (August 10), an action-adventure/romance with Cary Grant as a macho pilot in Peru who is romanced by Brooklyn showgirl Jean Arthur; and the rip-roaringly hilarious "Seven Chances" (August 14), starring Buster Keaton as an out-of-luck broker who is informed that he can inherit seven million dollars if he marries before 7 p.m.
