Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 29, 1994 TAG: 9411010031
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The seventh Virginia Festival of American Film here this weekend is the first not to include a major star or director in its lineup, and a spark is missing. That's not the only problem this year. Though the older films on the schedule are excellent, such new releases as David Mamet's ``Oleanna'' and the animated feature ``The Swan Princess'' are not so impressive, and the ``Opening Gala'' presentation of the restored ``My Fair Lady'' wasn't even announced until last Monday.
It's hard to build any excitement for a Stealth Festival.
Rumors had hinted that Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward would join the guest list that has included Robert Duvall, Charlton Heston, Robert Altman, Sidney Poitier and Ann-Margret. This year, scheduling conflicts worked against the festival, which began on Thursday and continues through Sunday.
Of course, organizers are making the best of their situation. Speakers at the opening ceremony stressed the festival's ties with the university and town, and this year tickets are being sold and distributed on campus, not in the Omni Hotel lobby, which has served as the box office before.
Thursday, the crowds were smaller than last year, but still respectable. The difference was most obvious at the opening night reception. In past years, the Bayly Art Museum has been filled to bursting with folks who ponied up $90 a head to nibble pate, beef fillet and Brie, and to rub elbows (literally) with the stars. On Thursday, there wasn't even a line at the bar. The only ``celebrity'' was critic Roger Ebert.
His shot-by-shot film analyses have become one of the festival's most popular events. This weekend, he's leading a three-day workshop on Alfred Hitchcock's ``Vertigo.'' He was also on hand Thursday afternoon for a screening of the film and to talk about it with its co-writer Samuel Taylor.
Their conversation provided the background information and chatty gossip that moviegoers love to pick up at a festival.
Taylor had fresh stories to tell about Hitchcock's working methods and his own contributions to the collaborative process. When Taylor came to work on ``Vertigo,'' Hitchcock already had his ``camera scenes'' worked out - those long, engrossing silent sequences in which the Jimmy Stewart character begins his eerie manipulative relationship with Kim Novak - but those scenes didn't work on their own. Taylor came up with Stewart's background and another key character that gave the story the realism it needed.
He and Ebert also revealed an alternative ending to the film, one that wraps everything up more conventionally and, according to Taylor, was actually shown in Finland.
``Vertigo'' was an appropriate companion piece for the evening's screening of ``My Fair Lady,'' and both of them are perfect examples of this year's theme, ``Love and Other Obsessions.'' George Cukor's 1964 musical is another story of one man's efforts to transform a woman. It has been restored to its original brilliance by preservationists Robert Harris and James Katz who discussed their work after the screening.
This multi-Oscar winner deserves the attention. It's a wonderful film, every bit as enjoyable today as it was 30 years ago. The near-sell-out crowd broke into spontaneous applause several times. And that's the real point.
Everyone enjoys seeing and meeting the stars. But another purpose of the festival (and maybe its most important) is to honor and discuss and revisit American films of proven worth. As Advisory Board member Phil Nowlen said more than once in his public remarks Thursday, ``Let's go to the movies!''
Highlights today are ``McCabe and Mrs. Miller,'' ``The Lady from Shanghai'' and ``Sabrina.'' Sunday's schedule includes ``The Wedding Banquet'' and ``Now Voyager.''
by CNB