Packaged adventure in an instant age

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33155, 20 February 1973, Page 4

Packaged adventure in an instant age

The age of the girat mick has extended even i to the realm of advens ture. “Flight of the 3 Arctic 7.” screened > early on Sunday even--1 ing, was packaged ad- ’ venture in an instant r age. 5 1 The programme purports -ito be a documentary about: (seven Canadians who buy a'

DC3 and fly around South America. Even the start of i the film was phoney—their first aircraft was damaged so 'some-one sang a foiksey lament about it. and they purchased another. It was as (easy as that. For two months the group (flew around South America, living it up here and there, and looking for instant adventure. The camerawork was slick i'and stylised, and the soft-

! drink - type commentary superficial and over-coloured. “Since 1553, men have been coming here looking for a reason to smile.” they said. The group had all the hallmarks of a party of rich tourists in search of a cheap thrill, and only-too-ready to I sound off about how unlike 'home everything is. They throw up their hands at the political system, moralize about the rich and the poor, and tell us how disappointed they are at the native |tribes they find in the jungle. 'Most impressive thing about the whole of South America, they said, was the jungle, i There was a shot or two of American aid left rotting in the villages and they make ■ their big contribution by ■ showing the natives how to ■ work a Polaroid camera—-no doubt a valuable aid in help;ing them to raise their standard of living. Our intrepid .adventurers tire of their sport and can take no more of the hardship lof travelling down rivers in [outboard • motor - powered [canoes. They radio up for a helicopter and all but croon! farewell Fitzpatrick style to' the pathetic group gazing [skywards as they pull away! for more wonderful adven-; Itures. There is much heavy; pontificating—ll countries in itwo months qualifies them to; [make the startling observa-; Ition that South American has! 'been raped by the wealthy! ■ and teeters on the brink of I [communism. A brief interview with an: ■ editor of an English-speaking, [newspaper, an argument over' a person-to-person telephone; call charge and much fun! with the bull-fighting fraternity: it was all mediocre! television. Even the so-called adven-j 'tures are rather dubious —a! feathered engine over the) Andes and a landing on ai jungle airstrip when nothing: [much happens. There is talk; of poison darts and killer) natives, but we never get to see them. With the wealth of docu ■ mentaries on the market, the N.Z.B.C. should really be! more selective. £< ❖

“Somerset Maugham Theatre” returned with another of those impeccable English dramas, “Footprints in the Jungle.” The story was simple enough and the film relied for its impact in faithfully reproducing that incredibly controlled web of human relationships so typical of the time and the place. It might have seemed that Reggie, who proved to be impotent, was overdoing the hospitality act by letting the younger man stay with the couple for over a year. But after all, old boy, he went to the same school and Reggie knew the right form. * ak

With more fairy stories about the police and some psychiatric carryings - on, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” made its final appearance in the current series on Sunday evening. Its return will be awaited with interest. Winning entries in the drama-art award section of the Feltex contest were rescreened on Sunday in the late slot. These were “An Awful Silence" and ‘‘Gone Up North for a While.” — PANDORA’S GUEST.