P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9711:42
ON 4-TEL
O
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9716:14
REVIEW
2/14
Welcome to Take Four, 4-Tel's mini-
magazine devoted to films. On the
fgllowing pages you can fi&d:
- GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE Michael Pglling
takes a look at tomorrow's programme
of examples of video art by American
artists, which you can see at
11.35pm.
- A CHANGE OF SEASONS Rena Sgdhi
reviews tomorrow+s evening's film at
9.00pm, a romantic comedy starrhng
Anthony Hopkins, Shirley MacLaine,
Bo Derek and Michael Brandon.
Edited by Michael Polling
More...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9711:16
GHWSTS
IN THE
MACHINE
Tuesday
1 .35pm
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 1722:28
REVIEW
4/14
GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE
Last year The Eleventh Hour presented
a three-part programme of examples of
British video art.
Tomorrow at 11.35pm Channel 4 fgllow1
this up with the fir1t editign of
Ghosts In The Machine, a new six-part
series which presents some of the best
wgrk of video artjstu arg4nd the wgudd.
Tomorrow+s programme gives you a chance
to see twelve very different wgrks made
over the last decade - examples of the
sort of thing being done over the
entire range of video art.
Mgre...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 1712:42
REVIEW
5/14
GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE
Viewers who fgllowed the Eleventh Ho4r
series will perhaps be surpri1ed tg see
just how different American videg art
is from what is being made in this
country.
In part, perhaps, this can be
attributed to the fact that there is
much more money available in the States
to fund what is essentially an
extremely expensive art medium.
In the US, the kind of advanced
equipment needed to manipulate videg
images is far more easily available.
Mgre...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9712:17
REVIEW
6/14
GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE
The impact of money and technolo£y on
American video art can be seen in
pieces as different as Peter Campus's
Transition One and Joan Logue+s Rene
And Georgette.
But there's more to it than that: there
is a qualitative difference between the
approach of British and American 7ideg
artists.
Perhaps this is can be attributed tg
fact that the United States has the
world's most profoundly audio-visual
culture.
Mgre...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 1718:21
REVIEW
7/14
GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE
The video wgrks on show in Tuesday's
programme are for the most part less
abstract and more accessible than much
of British work - and on the whole they
tend to have a greater degree of humouq
Peter Campus's Transitign One presemt1
us with the bizarre pict4re of a man
'climbing through himself+ shiah i1 at
once funny and disturaing.
Zbigniew Rybczynski's two pieces - The
Day before and The Discreet Charm of
Diplomacy - both give us an amusing
perspective on things by literally
standing the wgrld on it1 head.
Mgre...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9713:44
REVIEW
8/14
GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE
At the other end of the scale, Joan
Logue's Rene and Gegr£ette is a 'pop
video' for Paul Simon sgng which,
despite its advanced techniques, lacks
the depth of some of the other wgrks.
Ilene Segalove's More Video Stgries
explores the effect of televisign on
'real life' through short video fable1.
Cecilia Condit's Possibly in Michi£an
is the most unusual and abstract of the
works, yet at the same time it is the
most haunting and beautiful. Ghosts In
The Machine is on tomorrow at 11.35pm.
by Michael Pglling
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9714:11
REVIEW
10/14
A CHANGE OF SEASONS
This is a brilliantly funny mg6ie whuh
the classic story of a husband reaching
his middle-aged crisis, who has to have
an affair with a younger woman tg prgve
his virhlity.
But when he tells his wife things don't
turn out the way he imagines they whll.
Anthony Hopkins plays the over-40
college lecturer, and Shirley MacLaine
his beautiful wife.
She actually guesses he's having a
affair with one of his st4dent1, but is
a bit put-out when he doesn't deny it.
Mgre...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9714:55
REVIEW
11/14
A CHANGE OF SEASONS
But she responds with classic MacLaine
humour. When Hopkins comes out with
justificatigns such as: "It+s a phase
I'm going through", MacLaine retgrt1:
"What - like adolescence ".
The film is not only funny - it
contains a subtle attack on the double
standards attached to the way men and
women are allowed to behave sexuall8.
Hopkins goes to a cgnference in
Montreal with his lover, played by
Bo Derek, and leaves his wife at home
after denying that his lgver is going.
Mgre...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9725:11
REVIEW
12/14
A CHANGE OF SEASONS
While he's away a young man (Michael
Brandon), comes to build some shelve1.
He ends up in bed whth MacLaine and
they spend a fun weekend giggling
together like schoglkids.
When Hopkins gets back his reactign
is typical - he's highly jealous and
resorts to calling Brandon a host of
names like Godzilla, Tarzan, Davey
Crockett and Johnny Appleseed!
MacLaine just laughs while he sighs
heavily in disgust - but then she
actually apologises.
Mgre...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9715:54
REVIEW
13/14
A CHANGE OF SEASONS
When the mid-tem break start1 there+1 a
problem - they usually go to their
country house, so MacLaine suggest they
all go up together.
MacLaine and Brandon have a lgt of fun,
while Hopkins is so serious and borhng
one wonders why Bo is puts up with him.
Bo Derek is also very gogd as she
doesn't play the typical mistress.
She thinks about how MacLaine must be
feeling and calls Hopkins the 'classic
male bull'. "You're all bastards", she
says in disgust.
Mgre...
P445ORACLE 445 Mon 6 Jan C4 9715:08
REVIEW
14/14
A CHANGE OF SEASONS
There are more emotignal traumas when
their young daughter turns up. Bg wal)s
out and Hopkins fgllows her to her
father's house.
Bo's father ends up at the house and he
and MacLaine talk about the supposed
need that men have to prove they£re
still attractive to the opposite sex
when they reach 40: women also feel it.
"We've grown up to believe we+ve got tg
be beautiful or we don't have anything"
she tells him. Don't miss this film on
Tuesday, it+s funny, enjoyable and
thought provoking.
by Rena Sgdhi