Volume 04, Number 08

Movies

Movie News
By Bill Hersey

Twentieth Century Fox brought Sylvester Stallone over to promote their film Rocky: The Final. Sly flew in from Thailand where he is shooting a new Rambo in the northern part of the country. His schedule was really tight—just one day here, and the press conference at the Imperial Hotel was at ten in the morning. The standing room only crowd and number of both TV and still cameras were proof positive that the actor still has a strong following. The conference opened with a brass band playing the Rocky theme song. Stallone wore jeans, a form fitting open shirt and had his hair long for his role in- Rambo. He looks bigger than I remember him from nights at the Lex on previous visits to Tokyo. It’s obvious he really works hard to stay in shape.

Much of his conversation focused on age. “Life gets harder as you get older. You have the knowledge, but where do you go?” he said, adding, “society says its time to go, but frankly I don’t feel like it.” Stallone feels that you get wiser as you get older. You have to have fire in your heart. “Don’t let the parade pass you by— be a part of it.” He told the audience his heart was not in Rocky 5, but his career has gone up and down, and that he is really happy with people’s reactions to Rocky: The Final, which is not just another film about fighting. In closing he emphasized that Hollywood is one of the cruelest places in the world when you get older—and adding on a brighter note—do what makes you happy. If you fail on Monday, then try Tuesday.

MOVIE REVIEW - The Queen
A Personal Look at a Public Family in Turmoil. By Danielle Tate-Stratton

Whether you are a supporter of the British Monarchy, think it’s a staid institution way past its prime, or have absolutely no opinion one way or the other, The Queen is a movie well worth your time. Starring Helen Mirren, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, the entire cast portrays their characters with depth and conviction.

The movie centers around the turmoil within the Royal Family following the death of Princess Diana in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997. The film is a blowby- blow account of the accident and days afterward, as chaos reigns behind the scenes at 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, and Balmoral Castle. Instead of trying to recreate the accident scene or cast someone in the roll of Princess Di, which I suspect would be a nearly impossible task to accomplish satisfactorily, the director made the decision to incorporate live action media footage into the movie. That decision, combined with a restrained feeling throughout the movie, means that at some stages this feels more like a documentary than a feature film. This technique is not to the detriment of the story—as I watched I was struck by the feeling that this was the most appropriate way to deal with this tricky subject.

It was good to see that the writers and directors did not shy away from portraying the Queen and her family realistically, even though it cast them in a rather old fashioned, stubborn, and reserved light. The phrase “stiff upper lip” comes to mind! Partially filmed on location at Balmoral Castle in Scotland (the Royal’s summer property), the movie provides a coveted inside look at the life of the British Royal Family. Much of the tension in the film revolves around the conflict between the Royal family and Tony Blair that arises after the death of Diana. The Royals, portrayed as harboring no soft spot for Princess Diana, felt that she shouldn’t get an official funeral (after all, the divorce from Prince Charles in 1996 officially removed Diana from the Royal Family). For his part, Tony Blair, largely saving the Queen from herself in the eyes of the public, bestowed Princess Diana with the moniker "the people’s Princess," and argued for her to receive an official funeral. While nearly everyone who sees this movie will remember what ultimately happened, it’s a fantastic portrait of the inner workings of an institution at which many of us will never get more than a cursory glance.

Strong acting, great sets and a detailed yet sensitive portrayal of those first few days following an accident that stunned the world make The Queen an entertaining and illuminating movie.