The Adventures of Prince Achmed
reviewed by Chris Cooke
With the resurgence of animated features in the past
few years, the time is right for a little history lesson. Made in
Germany in 1926, The Adventures of Prince Achmed was the
first full-length animated film. Recently restored, the film is
now available with an added bonus, a documentary about its creator, Lotte Reiniger: Homage to the Inventor of the Silhouette Film.
Based on tales from The Arabian Nights, the
film begins with an evil sorcerer tricking Achmed into mounting
his magical flying horse, showing the prince the controls to fly
up but not those to go back down. Achmed survives but finds himself
in a series of wild adventures in such remote locales as the Land
of the Spirits and China. His quest to return home leads him toward
the inevitable final confrontation with the sorcerer. Along the
way, he falls in love with the Princess Peri Banu, teams up with
Aladdin and encounters the Witch of Fire Mountain.
It’s not just the story, of course, that makes the
film worthwhile. It’s amazing what Reiniger can do with silhouette:
the renderings of the human form and the landscapes are meticulous.
And Wolfgang Zeller’s original score is excellent, evoking the masters
of Russian ballet, from Tchaikovsky,to Stravinsky. The Adventures
of Prince Achmed is a spellbinding film, a treat for all ages.
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Surfing for Life
reviewed by Chris Cooke
Ever wonder what happens to surfers when they grow
old? What they do with themselves when they hang up the surfboard
and retire to dry land? Well, it turns out they never leave the
beach at all. David L. Brown’s Surfing for Life features
male and female surfers from 60 to as old as 93 who still find the
time and energy to ride the waves. Granted, they no longer tackle
the 40-footers, but they still pack up the boards and head for the
beach whenever they hear those two magic words: "Surf’s up!"
Surfing for Life is a surf history lesson,
a series of mini-biographies and an essay on aging all in one. Brown
interviews an assortment of surfers, juxtaposing footage of them
now and then. The eldest, John "Doc" Ball (93), was a
pioneer in surfing photography. His buddy LeRoy "Granny"
Grannis (81) founded Surfing magazine and Woody Brown designed
and built the first catamaran. Rabbit Kekai (79) was the world’s
premiere hot-dog surfer, giving lessons to the rich and famous,
while Fred Van Dyke (70) was known for tackling the big waves. Anona
Napoleon (60) won the Makada International Surfing Championship
a year after being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down.
As these surfers have aged, their physical strength
and balance have faded, but their inner resolve is just as strong.
Together, they tell the story of the original surfers who haunted
the beaches of California and Hawaii back as early as the 1920s,
before it was a scene, uncorrupted by the hordes in seek of hip.
For the true surf-hounds, hanging 10 was never about the chicks.
It was a way of life, a challenge, a means of understanding nature.
And it still is. Surfing for Life is informative and inspirational,
and the surfing footage is a feast for the eyes. Retire to dry land?
Never. These folks will live life to the fullest, getting stoked
by waves till the day they die.
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Cipher in the Snow
reviewed by Chris Cooke
Cipher in the Snow grows more and more intriguing
during its opening minutes. An ostracized young teenage boy boards
a crowded school bus, begs to be let off, then collapses dead in
the snow. No one seems to know the boy. Even the math teacher who
comes to offer assistance can only say "I think he was in my
math class last year," when he had helped him with homework.
The boy was utterly forgettable, a zero, a cipher. With some prodding,
the teacher sets out to find out how this boy became such a nobody.
The film is masterfully shot, with director Keith
J. Atkinson’s camera catching the young boy’s alienation, even amongst
the shadows of a crowded bus. If anything falters, it’s the dialogue,
which becomes too expository and didactic for an adult sensibility
toward the end of the film. It’s a shame, since Atkinson and his
crew clearly have the talent to have evoked the film’s meaning without
resorting to flat-out explanation. Still, the film’s opening is
captivating, and for kids the ensuing investigation will stimulate
discussion and open some minds. Better than an after-school special
yet not quite up to the theaters Cipher in the Snow is nevertheless
a valuable educational tool, fitting for students and teachers alike.
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