Conference noted::sf

STARLOG magazine is a good source for this type of information.

I understand that if you get the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" video
tape or disks, they include "previews" of the next film...

		bob wyman

By the way, I have a friend who bought the Raiders tape - the preview
trailer for "Temple of Doom" is apparently very uniformative, and does
not include any footage from the new movie (or at least, nothing which
is significantly distinct from Raiders).

	/dave

The "preview" on the tape includes no information beyond the title,
a list of exotic (Hong Kong, Maccow(sp),Sri Lanka,London(exotic?))
and that Ford and Spelberg are involved. I just saw Raiders for the 
first time last week. Raiders in and of itself seems to be a good
reason to go see the sequel.


Alfred

That should be exotic locations  up on line two. One of these days
I'll remember to type REPLY/EDIT.

Well, the preview DOES include Indy speaking one line, but hardly
anything that is informative.  By the way, the Raiders tape in
Beta Hi-Fi is a delight to listen to.
				Steve

I saw a "normal-length" preview for IJatTOD yesterday. It featured all the
expected action shots (Indy swinging on a vine across a chasm, Indy about to
be impaled in a closing room, Indy being threatened by a witch-doctor-like
character, Indy riding a horse, etc).

This looks like another winner for Spielberg/Lucas (did we ever doubt it?).

BTW, the preview includes a scene that is a very cute takeoff on a famous
scene for RotLA. I won't describe it for those of you who don't want the
scene spoiled, but it is quite funny!

When do the lines form?

-- Bill

Another thing: As expected, John Williams is doing the music for this film
also, thus continuing his very successful collaboration with Spielberg and
Lucas.

Have you ever considered just how important Mr Williams' music has been to
these gentlemen's films? Consider any of their recent blockbusters without
Williams' score...I think they would be considerably less impressive.

-- Bill (clearly a John Williams fan)

Wandering somewhat far afield, I hear that Williams was a student of
Korngold, whose scores helped make the Sea Hawk, Robin Hood, Capt. Blood
etc what they were in a similar manner. I only wish his sound tracks were
as often published/recorded as Williams.

/s/ Brons

   Actually I think Williams was a thief-- er--ah student of Holst's work.

Listen to the theme for the empirial ships on the Original Star Wars album.
Now go listen to Holst's The Planets, in particular the Mars theme.  I'm really
knocking his works.  (I enjoy a few of those albums myself.)  But it seems
a lot of his most impressive and popular themes were lifted from the Masters.
(Even the theme from Jaws has a predecessor in one of the movements from 
Dvorak's "New World Symphony".)  (this is not just my opinion either.  When
the band at my college played the Dvorak movement inevitably a bunch a kids 
would make "dorsal fins" with their hands and play shark.)

tlh

I disagree with your basic premise that Williams "steals" from the masters,
but not being a musical expert I really can't marshal any arguments.

All I know is that Williams' music is stirring, beautiful, and adds 
immeasurably to my enjoyment of the films he has scored.

Interesting that you should mention Holst. The previews of "Greystoke..."
use the "Mars, the Bringer of War" music. It certainly is magnificent music!
Anyone who enjoys SF should have a copy of "The Planets".

BTW: Isao Tomita did a *very* interesting adaptation of "The Planets" for
synthesizer. But before you listen to that, immerse yourself in the orches-
tral version. You'll appreciate Tomita more that way.

-- Bill

When I saw E.T., especially the bicycle scenes, the music
reminded me strongly of the music from "Flight of the Phoenix".
And when I saw "Lawrence of Arabia" on TV a couple weeks ago,
THAT theme was similar too.  Maybe all those desert movies
were stealing on purpose.

If you looked at the scores of these movies, they are probably
different, but they sure REMIND me of each other.

But it makes sense that all "desert" themes would sound similar, and
so will all "battle" themes, and all "love" themes... It's because
we've built up a set of musical "words" or "statements" that establish
a correspondence between certain emotions and or situations and basic
characteristics of a musical theme. ie: good battle music will have
brass in it somewhere... Music is a language, culturally defined. 
Lawrence of Arabia introduced a whole generation to the desert, just
as Rudy Valentino introduced a different generation. Each generation
has a slightly different "sound" for desert.

Something odd I've noticed lately is "residual helicopter" sounds in
modern war themes lately... I think it's the result of "Apocolypse Now".
The sound of those helicopters run in your ears for days after that 
movie... Now you hear more and more deep, low, rythmic rumblings in
music for battles -- the brass is beginning to fade -- it's being replaced
by helicopters.

		bob wyman

OK, so it's not science fiction (or is it?) - but the use of music in
"Apocalypse Now", with the choppers and automatic weapon fire as percussion,
simply blew my feeble mind. And the Doors - every time I hear "The End"
on the radio, a chill washes over me.

			I love the smell of napalm in the morning -

					it smells like victory.

Update on upcoming films (not all SF):


Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Path: decwrl!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!KIESCHE@RU-BLUE.ARPA
Subject: MOVIE RELEASE SCHEDULE
Posted: Mon Mar 19 08:35:51 1984


Dear All:

The latest STARLOG features a schedule for this summer's films--both SF and
non-SF.  Here then, is your chance to plan your summer schedule:

March 9--SPLASH

March 16--THE ICE PIRATES

March 23--MUTANT

MARCH 30--GREYSTOKE:  THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES
          ROMANCING THE STONE

SPRING RELEASE DATES--TENTATIVE:

HEARTS IN ARMOR
SLAPSTICK*
THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET*

April 13--ICEMAN

May 11--FIRESTARTER

May 18--FRIDAY THE 13TH, PART IV*

May 23--INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (!!!!!!!!!!!)

June 1--STAR TREK III--THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (!!!!!!!!!!)

June 8--GREMLINS
        STREETS OF FIRE

June 15--GHOSTBUSTERS

June 22--BUCKAROO BANZAI
	 THE LAST STARFIGHTER

July--sometime--THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT

July 6--SUPERGIRL

July 13--THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTEN

July 29--RETURN OF THE DEAD*

August 17--SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE
	   CLOAK AND DAGGER

Fall--sometime--CREEPSHOW II*
		CONAN II*

October--sometime--THE NEVERENDING STORY*

December 7--DUNE
	    2010:  ODYSSEY TWO/2010:  THE ODYSSEY CONTINUES*

Christmas--STARMAN*
	   ANNIE II*
	   BABY*
	   LADYHAWKE*

*Tentative release date....

See you all in line!

Frederick Paul Kiesche III

-------

The following is some mail I received a few months ago.  It's interesting that
Greystoke is listed as debuting in November/December...


From:	Hackers across the networks
To:	ELSIE::PENGUIN
Subj:	SF-LOVERS Digest

	SPECIAL ISSUE - Upcoming Films for 1984 (2 msgs)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

      The L.A. Times entertainment section (Calendar) for Sunday, January 8th,
published a list of all of the films that major studios are willing to admit
that they plan to release in 1984.  The original list was compiled by Julie
Richard.  Thanks to the people whose comments are in square brackets for
supplying information to SF-LOVERS. 

January

THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY
      Comedy about nomadic African tribesman who discover a strange object has
fallen from a plane and believe it's a magical gift from the Gods. (Fox Inter.
Classics). 

February

PLEIN SUD ("Heat of Desire")
      A fantasy about an intellectual who becomes a man of action under the
tutelage of a beautiful adventuress.  Starring Patrick Dewaere, Clio
Goldsmith, and Jeanne Moreau. [A French film, if you haven't already guessed,
and not too recent, since Dewaere killed himself early last year - reiher].
(Triumph/Columbia) 

March / April

CHILDREN OF THE CORN
      Based on the Stephen King story about a young couple traveling across 
the United States who stumble onto a religious cult in Nebraska. (New World). 

ICEMAN
      The story of a Neanderthal man who is found frozen alive in glacial ice.
Timothy Hutton and Lindsay Crouse star.  Fred Schepisi ("The Chant of Jimmie
Blacksmith") directs.  [Probably a good deal more serious than it sounds at
first hearing.  Schepisi is an Australian with a very good critical
reputation, and Hutton is still hot enough to avoid trash.  Some stills I've
seen of the makeup look very good. - reiher] (Universal) 

ICE PIRATES
      Pirates-in-outer-space story with Robert Urich and Mary Crosby.  (MGM/UA)

LE DERNIER COMBAT
      Four survivors of a planetary catastrophe band together to make a last
stand for the human race.  (Triumph/Columbia) 

SPLASH
      Ron Howard directs a comedy about a man's love affair with a mermaid. 
John Candy and Daryl Hannah star. [Looks like Disney strikes out again -
reiher] (Disney Pictures) 

May / June

FIRESTARTER
      Adaptation of Stephen King's novel about a little girl (Drew Barrymore)
who turns her fear into a weapon.  WIth George C. Scott, Martin Sheen, and
David Keith. (Universal) 

NATIONAL LAMPOON'S JOY OF SEX
      High school students' sexual problems come to the fore in this film
directed by Martha Coolidge (Valley Girl). 

GHOSTBUSTERS
      Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, and Harold Ramis as parapsychologists in New
York.  [The previews looked outrageous - penguin].

GREMLINS
      Joe Dante ["It's a Good Life" segment of "The Twilight Zone: The Movie"
- reiher] directs a Steven Spielberg production about a cute but malevolent
creature.  With Phoebe Cates [That brilliant actress who distinguished herself
by not showing her breasts in "Private School" - reiher] (Warner Bros.) 

INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
      Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw have cliff hanging adventures in this
"prequel" to "Raiders of the Lost Ark".  Steven Spielberg directs.  [The
trailer for this looks good, but not as good as Raiders'.  It seems to be set
mostly in the far east, and apparently features a kid side kick, which could
be a mistake.  I'm suspicious of prequels. - reiher] (Paramount) 

    This prequel occurs 10 years before Raiders.  It is for this reason, as
well as several others, that there is another (from all reports blonde, buxom,
and beautiful) "love" interest in the film instead of Karen Allen.  This
reason also explains why there are no other repeats (though who knows, maybe
we'll get to see Professor Ravenwood and his at-that-time probably teen-age
daughter).  While film clips were shown at Worldcon, they ARE trying to be
secretive (from the people who brought you Blue Harvest) and I remember
nothing outstanding or interesting in them. 

THE LAST STARFIGHTER
      Story of an 18-year-old with a talent for video games. Robert Preston
and Lance Guest star. (Universal). 

THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT
      A top-secret World War II military experiment is brought to life in this
time travel adventure.  With Michael Pare and Nancy Allen.  (New World) [For
those not up on movie studios, New World was Roger Corman's old stomping
grounds, and specialized in cheap exploitation films, from beach blanket stuff
to Poe ripoffs, with stopoffs at motorcycle films and topless nurse and
student teacher films, and, of course, the ever popular fifties alien invasion
films.  Many of them were fairly amusing. - reiher] 

RED DAWN
      John Milius, who directed "Conan the Barbarian" and "The Wind and the
Lion", directs a story of a group of innocents forced into armed resistance
against an invasion of the U.S.  With Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell and
Powers Booth.  [Milius would have preferred living in the Middle Ages, when he
would have had more chances to kill people in hand-to-hand combat.  His films
reflect this sensibility, for better or worse. -reiher] (MGM/UA) 

STAR TREK III:  THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK
      The continuing adventures of the Starship Enterprise and the search for
Mr. Spock.  With William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, and Dame
Judith Anderson. [And Christopher Lloyd, of "Taxi", as the villain. -reiher]
Directed by Leonard Nimoy.  (Paramount) [Looks like a big summer for Paramount
-reiher]. [Can a film be about a search for a director? - ssmith] 

STREETS OF FIRE
      Diane Lane and Michael Pare in a rock and roll fantasy about a soldier
of fortune.  Walter Hill ("48 HRS.") directs.  [Coming attractions look really
good, provided you don't mind a lot of violence. -reiher] (Universal) 

July/August

ALL OF ME
      One of the world's richest women, who is dying, arranges to have her
soul transformed into the body of a younger, healthier woman.  Steve Martin,
Lily Tomlin, and Victoria Tennant star.  Carl Reiner directs.  [A comedy, if
you haven't already guessed, which sounds like it owes something to
Spielberg's segment of the "Night Gallery" pilot. -reiher] (Universal) 

CONAN, PRINCE OF THIEVES
      Sequel to "Conan the Barbarian", again starring Arnold Schwarzeneger. 
With Wilt Chamberlain and Grace Jones.  Richard Fleischer directs the Dino de
Laurentiis production.  [Fleischer has a reputation as a hack director of
limited talents. -reiher] [But what a cast!  Wilt the Stilt and Ms. Flat Top 
herself!] (Universal) 

THE NEVERENDING STORY
      A boy's odyssey into a timeless world of fantastic beings. Wolfgang
Petersen ("Das Boot") directs.  [Based on a current best seller which has
already cleaned up in Europe and Japan, this German film has the largest
budget in German film history. -reiher]. [My award for worst film title, does
it relect how boring the film is? -ssmith] (Warner Bros.) 

NIGHT OF THE COMET
      A science fiction comedy about two sisters and the coming of a fabulous
comet.  (Atlantic) 

WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM
      Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo) directs this film set in Australia. (Orion
Classics). [Okay, probably not a SF film, but knowing Herzog you will have to
classify it as a fantasy -ssmith] 

SHEENA OF THE JUNGLE
      Tanya Roberts ("Charlie's Angels") in a feminine twist on Tarzan. 
(Columbia) 

November/December

BABY
      A professor [Fred MacMurray?] and his wife discover a baby dinosaur in
Africa.  [Sounds like Disney's going to take a bath this year. -reiher]
(Disney) 

O.C. AND STIGGS
      Robert Altman directs a comedy about two teenage boys on summer
vacation.  [Hmm, I wonder how much like the National Lampoon stories this can
be. -bakin] 

DUNE
      Based on Frank Herbert's science fiction novel about mile-long monsters
that devour manlike insects.  Max von Sydow and Sting star.  David Lynch
directs.  [Hey, I'm just copying this stuff, not making it up.  As I
recollect, Sydow is playing Liet Kynes and Sting is Baron Harkonnen's beloved
nephew.  Lynch is a brilliant stylist and the stills look great. -reiher].
[LONG AWAITED!! But who came up with this terrible press release? Milelong
monsters = sandworms, ok, but manlike insects??? what book did this people
read? -ssmith] (Universal) 

    Also, as far as I know, Dune is due out next December (i.e. I believe the
date given in the last digest is erroneous).  Film clips of this were also
shown at Worldcon but were, in contrast to IJatToD's, very impressive despite
the fact that they refused to show the sandworms, the guild navigator, or the
massive exodus scene (which involved an incredible number of models). 

GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES
      Is about Tarzan's boyhood, his repatriation to British aristocracy, and
his return to the jungle.  Ralph Richardson, Christopher Lambert, and Ian Holm
star.  Hugh Hudson ("Chariots of Fire") directs.  [This is a real labor of
love for Hudson, whose been trying to film it for a very long time.  The actor
playing Tarzan is French, which makes a lot of sense for those who've read the
original book.  The trailer looks impressive and faithful. - reiher] (Warner
Bros.) 

LADYHAWKE
      Richard Donner ("Superman") directs a tale of romance and magic in the
Middle Ages.  With Rutger Hauer[chief android in "Blade Runner" -reiher],
Matthew Broderick [from "War Games" -reiher], and Michelle Pfeiffer.  [Also,
John Wood, the scientist in "War Games", as an evil bishop.  Donner has been
trying to down play the sword and sorcery elements, figuring it will be bad
for business what with the entries in that genre of the last couple years, but
it's obviously fantasy.  There's a lengthy and interesting article on this $16
million film in the same issue of The L.A. Times Calendar that has this
information. -reiher] (Warner Bros.) 

OH GOD III
      George Burns in his first dual role, God and Devil.

STARMAN
      Love story with a science fiction background produced by Michael
Douglas.  (Columbia) 

2010
      Sequel to "2001: A Space Odyssey".  Peter Hyams directs this return to
Jupitor's moons to learn the fate of astronaut David Bowman and HAL the
computer.  [Hyams ("Capricorn One") is no great shakes as a director.  Keir
Dullea has signed, and I think they got hold of the actor who dubbed HAL's
lines, as well. -reiher] [Stop Dave my mind is going...We'll see what happen
without Kubrick directing...Anybody know who Peter Hyams is and what he has
directed before?? -ssmith] (MGM/UA) 


No release date

DREAM ONE

      A ten-year-old boy is magically transported to a strange dream world. 
With Nipsey Russell and Harvey Keitel. [Talk about your odd couples. -reiher]
(Columbia) 

HEAVEN SENT
      Herbert Ross ("The Turning Point") directs a story of a youth who
time-trips himself backwards until he and his parents are the same age. 
(Embassy) 

THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
      They can keep it.

SUPERGIRL
      Superman's cousin, Kara (Helen Slater), clashes with a sorceress.  Also
starring Peter O'Toole, Faye Dunaway, and Mia Farrow.  Jeannot Szwarc
("Somewhere in Time") directs.  [Szwarc was the director who sank "Jaws II". 
Another hack. -reiher] (Warner Bros.) 

VISIONQUEST
      A youth searches for adulthood.  Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentinno
star.  [Might not be sf/fantasy, but the title sure sounds like it. -reiher]
(Warner Bros.) 


Further comments
   The chances are good that a few of these films will never be released, or
perhaps even made.  The list the Times published last year contained at least
a dozen films which didn't come out.  Some were delayed, and some cancelled. 
The same might happen with a few of these.  It's also my painful duty to point
out the possibility that "Santa Claus", from the Salskynd brothers who brought
you Supermans I-III, may be out by next Christmas.  They have an unpleasant
habit of following through on their threats, so we may yet see Dudley Moore as
one of Santa's elves.

Mon 16-Jan-1984 18:50

The Ice Pirates has opened.......

Well, it will be something to go on a double bill with "Attack of the
Killer Tomatoes" at cons next year.

Having seen the Ice Pirates...I wish it had *never* opened.

   I went to see the "Ice Pirates"  this weekend.  (Hey, even us heavy sf 
people enjoy a little parody now and then.)  
   I didn't think it was that bad.  The biggest problem was they couldn't
make up their minds if they were a parody or a straight movie.  Some of the 
scenes with the robots were funny and there was a takeoff of Alien involved
that was not too shabby.  Some of it was just stupid.  I went to the cheapy show
i.e. $2.00 in the afternoon so I wasn't disappointed.  I wouldn't spend 4 bucks
on it though.  

    Definately not one to take the kids to!  One (moderatley) heavy sex scene, 
lots of innuendos, and not a little gore.

tlh

Do NOT go to see "Deathstalker". An exploitation flick if there ever
was one, it contains a fair amount of poorly-filmed semi-nude women,
none of whom seem happy, and lots of uncouth barbarians with no
redeeming qualities whatsoever, including the hero. There is no
plot, no humor, no character development - in short, a typical
rip-off. Be warned ...

-B

I also saw Ice Pirates - I would agree with the comments in .19 for the
most part. It wasn't too strong on sf (particularly the basic premise,
which is that the entire galaxy has somehow dried up so that a single
planet can have absolute control by selectively distributing water -
to the entire galaxy - from their planet).  It did a fine job (for the
most part) of parodying Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Alien
(in particular - you could probably come up with a lot of other titles
if you tried).  Robert Urich did a great job as the pirate captain -
he had the right humorous swashbuckler attitude for the type of movie it
was.

Definately worth seeing - once - at $2.00 or even $2.50.

	/dave