VIDEO

Rip It Up, Issue 123, 1 October 1987, Page 41

VIDEO

Get Up and Go (Onset Offset) Onset Offset have released this 47 minute video, which is curiously dated 1985. All live videos of five Christchurch bands, plus Nichola Donovan. All rather lowkey, mostly front room, backyards and front yards and nothing very video techno-whizz. It’s quite charming, joined with a driving towards Lyttleton scene set to Scorched Earth Policy's ‘Calcutta Rail.’ Of note here is the Connoisseurs’ country stomp ‘Get Up and Go’ and the gloriously off-key ‘Just Out of Reach’ (originally Patsy Cline and Solomon Burke). Also the stylish Ritchie Venus and the Blue Beetles, doing ‘Rebel Blood’ and ‘Forbidden Planet,’ which is some psychedelic silliness. Ritchie is a name from Christchurch’s past and wasn't meant to be taken seriously then. He still has tongue firmly in cheek, but the two songs still come off sounding wildly good. Strangely, the Bats look pensive during ‘Earwig,’ but come alive for ‘Teen City’ and ‘Trouble in this Town’ — recorded at an outdoors festival. The McGoohans are a complete pisstake, they’re like a bad version of Flesh D-Vice. In fact, 'hey re so horrible I almost like them in a perverse sort of way. Scorched Earth Policy seem too earnest driving ‘Too Far Gone,’ until you see the drummer. The marvellous ‘Turn Your Eyes Away’ gives the viewer the chance to see the band better. Finally, Nichola Donovan deserves special mention for her strong and confident singing, and original song ‘Girl in a Print Dress. ’ I assume you can buy a copy of the video, although there’s no indication here of price. Inquiries to: Onset Offset, PO Box 2764, Christchurch 1. Fiona Rae True Stories David Byrne goes sightseeing in the fictional town of Virgil, Texas, where we meet the lying woman and — the lazy woman, and Louis with his “wife wanted” sign. We hang out at the mall for some culture and fashion hints and hit those dusty highways for a little bit of back projection. All very illuminating: we learn lots of lessons in life, the dangers of consumer culture (and its joys), and how —*• * not to drive with a huge stetson perched on your head. It’s quite fun, but the observations on existence I could do without, the dynamics of ordinary life and the interfacing of people and society is a strange and wonderful thing. A complexity that Byrne attempts to show, but doesn’t quite pull off. Still, sure is a nice looking film, lots of primary colours and shapes and wide open space, even the mall — just like a postcard from Texas. Kerry Buchanan The Hitcher(Cannon) In the 70s the road movie was a cinematic metaphor for the search for identity, which usually ended in some form of existential void. In the 80s, the road may be long but we know where we're going, and that’s absolutely nowhere. To take us there is a symbol of pure evil, Rutger Hauer as a living killing machine — hot and ready to trot. Nice boy C Thomas Howell picks up Mr Badman on a real mean night on that lost highway, and then really ' wishes he hadn't. This gets real intense, Hauer plays the evil force with such nasty power all logic goes out the window. Like Jason and Mike Meyers this guy eats lead for breakfast. Talk-

ing about food, this film will put you off french fries for ever. Wonderful performance from Jennifer Jason Leigh and taut direction from Robert Harman make this film more than just a rollercoaster. Kerry Buchanan Dario Argento’s World of Horror (Palace) He’s the king of Latin horror, the Italian Hitchcock, numero uno of spaghetti splatter. It goes without saying the man’s a genius, just ask the French cineastes, who revere him as much as Jerry Lewis. In this doco directed by former Argento assistant Michele Soavi, Dario reveals some of his cinematic secrets, the spectacular crane shots, use of unusual cameras, the theory of primary colours. With plenty of footage from Suspira, Inferno, Tenebrac and the rare Bird with the Crystal Plummage. For those of the medical persuasion, a behind-the-scenes look at the bloody special effects, including the charming scene from Creepers where the dwarf creature rips his face off to stop the maggots eating him; clothes by Giorgio Armani. Best bit is Dario in short bursts of Italian singing ‘I Want to be Loved,’ interspersed with a knife attack orchestrated as sexual intercourse. It comes as no surprise that his wife, actor Daria Nicoldi, divorced him last year. Kerry Buchanan Dio Special from the Spectrum (Polygram) The ex-Rainbow and Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio has done alright for himself since venturing out with his own band four years ago. His large following of fans in America have stuck with him all the way through his various stages of magical mystical metal. This video was recorded on the “Last in Line” tour, and features original guitarist Vivian Campbell, who is now with Whitesnake. His playing and solo spot in ‘Heaven and Hell’ is excellent, but it’s the voice of Dio that is the main point of attention. He controls his wide octave range with great feeling in ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers,’ and for others like ‘We Rock,’ puts it to full force. There are nine songs in total, starting with the speedy ‘Stand Up and Shout,’ with of course a drum solo in the middle. There are also plenty of visual effects, with lasers and explosions going off through the whole thing, and the stage set is of the Egyptian variety. Better, more recent rock videos are around at present but a Dio concert will suit just fine for any metal starved souls. GD Vamp (Roadshow) This is what you call a “red lightfilm,” where the director is obviously under the influence of some mind-altering drug, and puts the red light on everything. Now, this is okay, except in the dark scenes where you can’t see a damn thing, but maybe the director could. Deep down, a frat movie, where college boys go girl crazy and end up as vampire brunches. Grace Jones proves once again that she couldn't even act in a soap commercial, and the special effects might have been done by 10-year-olds. Terrible to the max. KB Harem (Palace) A very wet story. Ben Kingsley plays some rich guy from the Gulf states who has the world’s last harem, and kidnaps a young stockbroker (played by a sleep-walking Nastassja Kinski) to hang around the pool and talk to eunuchs. Terrible stuff indeed. In some perverse way this is like “Gandhi — the untold story.” The climactic sex scene is beyond boredom, but fans of Mills and Boon might find some excitement. KB