Sinister Sisters Halloween double feature: The Exorcist & Carrie – Fri 31 Oct 2008 – Dendy George Street Cinema

The Bear says:

This week's City News bore the sad tidings that Brisbane was to lose another indie cinema venue, this time the Dendy at George St. As part of the winding down, we were going to get a double-feature of classic 70s horror in the form of The Exorcist and Carrie, plus an "after party". This sounded way too good to miss, so off we went.

The Exorcist screened first, in its "Director's Cut" version. This is an old favourite, and I think that the film has stood the test of time and while maybe not as shocking today as it was thirty years ago, I think remains confronting, disturbing, and "wrong". This was the first time I've actually seen it on the big screen, and I was interested that the crowd's reaction to the more grotesque parts of the film was laughter, particularly to Regan's sexually-laced obscenities. The wrong crowd? Or are we just that jaded now? This is the version of the film with the "spider walk" sequence restored to it, and finally seeing it in its original context I agree with Friedkin's original decision to remove it; I think it does work to "confirm" the supernatural aspect of what's happening to Regan far too early in the piece. Anyway, I thought the film still worked and was glad to see it on the big screen.

On the other hand, I don't think Carrie has weathered nearly as well. But I don't think this is really the fault of the film-making (except for maybe the gratuitous nudie shots in the girls' locker room at the beginning of the film). Rather, Carrie looks dated largely because the fashions of the 1970s look so absolutely ludicrous to us now (case in point - Tommy Ross' hair and frilly prom shirt). On the upside, I found Sissy Spacek's wide-eyed, blood-soaked vengeful Carrie to be eerie and compelling even today.

I'm really glad that the Dendy did this. I used to enjoy the double-features of classic films that the Village Twin was doing a few years back, but I guess that with home cinema taking off more and more there's less and less demand to see old movies on the big screen. What a pity.

Thanks, Dendy. You'll be missed.

PS: Does anyone else find it amazing how much people smoke in 70s movies? Even doctors in hospital wards (The Exorcist) or teachers in principals' offices (Carrie)?

The Girl says:

When I saw this advertised in the City News, I was very excited - I love going to the movies and I especially love double features and themed specials at the movies.

I was probably in a minority of viewers in the cinema, in that I had never actually seen either The Exorcist or Carrie previously. Of course, I'd read the Stephen King novel, but so many years ago that I really can't compare them. With that in mind, it is somewhat difficult for me to comment on whether the audience had any effect on the films' impact - but I can say that The Exorcist was mostly laughable - creepy and yes, wrong, but not really horror by todays standards. The acting was great though and there was a real mood set in the film, so I did enjoy it, I just wasn't scared! Carrie was just offensive - all that gratuitous teenage nudity, horrid bullying by awful American cheerleader girls and a purely evil main character that you were somehow meant to feel sorry for. Nah, it just didn't work - even if I did jump when Carrie's hand came out of the grave!

Despite the somewhat questionable quality of the films, it was a terrific night. It was very nostalgic sitting in the uncomfortable Dendy chairs and admiring the garish faux balconies on the walls. Yet another great loss to Brisbane cinema - with only the Myer Centre cinemas remaining, this will probably be the last time I see a movie in the Brisbane CBD :-(

Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble – Twelfth Night – Sun 19 Oct 2008 – Roma Street Parklands

The Bear says:

Judging by how easy it was to get tickets at short notice, the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble has to be one of Brisbane's best-kept arts secrets: these guys are nothing short of amazing. We first saw them last year in Much Ado About Nothing, performing on the stage of the auditorium in the Roma Street Parklands and sharing it with the audience – this is Shakespeare intimate-style. Twelfth Night was performed in the same venue but with a slightly different stage arrangement. While Much Ado About Nothing had been played with the audience on tiered benches either side of the performance space, Twelfth Night had the audience seated on the stage in long rows facing outwards towards the auditorium proper, with a Japanese-style screen with a sliding door erected at the edge of the stage serving as a backdrop.

Everything here is minimalist: the set doesn't change, the ensemble is small requiring doubling of roles, and props and costumes are minimal and stylised. This is risky business; it reduces all the elements of theatre down to essentially just two: the text and the players. And with an established, more-or-less fixed text, that leaves a lot riding on the players. But it works! I think that a large part of the success lies in QSE's approach, summarised in the programme as:

QSE believes that theatre is at its most powerful when actors work with clarity, honesty, vulnerability, and generosity of self.

It seems to me that in this, they succeed.

The two QSE performances we've seen so far have been comedies, and I wonder how this intimate, almost casual approach to Shakespeare would work with tragedy? Anyway, we're already looking forward to seeing what they might give us in 2009.

The Girl says:

I think the QSE are by far my favourite Brisbane theatre group - I may have only seen two of their productions, but they have been amongst the best theatre I've ever seen. And, of course, they don't put on any modern rubbish :-) Oops, sorry, my bias is showing!

Like Much Ado About Nothing that we saw last year, this production was simply excellent. The performances, all bar one, were flawless and the actors are simply wonderful. I was struck again by the effectiveness of the use of physical comedy by QSE performers and the minimalist approach to sets and costumes simply allows the talent to shine through all the more. The other noteworthy thing about the QSE is their wonderful musical talent. The performances of both Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night were complemented by wonderful live folk-style music, both before, during and after the plays themselves. This music is an excellent addition to their plays and adds a whole new layer to the plays themselves.

Brilliant!

The Queensland Orchestra – Handel's Water Music – Sat 11 Oct 2008 – Conservatorium Theatre

The Bear says:

This was always going to be a highpoint of 2008; we've been consistently impressed by the Queensland Orchestra's "Intimate Classics" series, and this was no disappointment. Of course, it would have been hard to go wrong with a programme that included not only all three suites of the Water Music (played after the interval), but also "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba", which opened the concert.

A real and unexpected surprise, however, was the amazing voice of countertenor David Hansen who sang two arias from Giulio Cesare and one from Rodelinda. This was easily the most wonderful performance by a countertenor that I've head yet, and the response from the audience was enthusiastic to say the very least – some of the young ladies in the audience appearing to be on the verge of tossing their knickers on stage.

I clearly remember the first time I heard a countertenor, it was a Queensland Symphony Orchestra performance of Messiah sometime in the early 1990s singing parts that I'd always heard sung by an alto. I remember being shocked and even a little annoyed as my expectations were frustrated. But then, Queensland came late to the countertenor revival, and it took my ear some time to adjust. Hansen's performance tonight, however, finally shifted my appreciation for the countertenor voice from "accepting and tolerating" to pure admiration. Magic!

The Girl says:

What a wonderful performance this was.

I can't really add much more than The Bear already wrote. I had never heard a countertenor before and David Hansens voice was almost otherworldly in its beauty. Just awesome. And if you take a look at the link The Bear put in, you'll understand very quickly why the girls were ready to "toss their knickers" - angelic voice and gorgeous to boot :-)

From memory, this was our only Queensland Orchestra concert this year - again, a disappointing range of selections has limited our choice. I was also very sad to note that the Intimate Classics series has been dropped from the 2009 season. I can appreciate that with funding cuts, the arts producers are forced more and more to choose only the most popular selections, but it is sad all the same.

Australian Defence Forces Airshow – Sat 4 & Sun 5 Oct 2008 – RAAF Base Amberley

The Bear says:

The venue of the Australian Defence Forces Air Show rotates from year to year, and in 2008 it was RAAF Base Amberley's turn once again. This was our second of these shows together, the first being in 2004, and we'd been looking forward to its return to Queensland since the dates were announced around a year ago! Seeing as we enjoyed it so much last time around, we decided to go both days this time - and very glad we are of it too. There was definitely enough to see to make both days worthwhile; and the differences in the flying displays made us very glad not to have missed either of the day's displays. This was a massive event, with tens of thousands of people milling about and sunny, cloudless skies that were perfect for the flying displays but merciless to the spectators.

The displays fell into three categories: the modern, the aerobatic, and the vintage (and I group the 40-year-old F-111s in with the "modern").






Modern combat aircraft are inherently impressive: they're large, they're fast, and they're so loud that they make the ground shake. Therefore, the flying displays by the F-111s, the Hawk, and the group and solo performances by the F/A-18s were real show-stealers, especially with the F-111s putting on their famous "dump and burn". This will be a nostalgic event, as it was the last time the F-111s will be performing at an Amberley airshow before their retirement in 2010. But for me, the real star was the solo F/A-18 being put through its paces as the finale to the show. It was a real shame that so many people left after the F-111 display and didn't see some truly incredible flying. Unfortunately, the two USAF F-15s and the Singapore Air Force F-16 stayed on the ground as static displays and we didn't get to see them in their natural element.






The aerobatics included truly breathtaking, "no way!" flying by Pip Borman (Zivko Edge 540), Paul Bennet (Pitts Special), and Matt Hall (Giles G-202), as well as the RAAF's own Roulettes team with a brand-new display.







My own personal favourite displays, however, were the vintage warbirds. These included a CAC Mustang, Lockheed Hudson, de Havilland Vampire, Gloster Meteor, and English Electric Canberra. It was really magical to see these machines in the air. My greatest regret of the weekend was missing the Canberra's display and formation flight with an F-111. While this was happening on Saturday, we were otherwise occupied with getting lunch, and I was thinking "don't worry, I'll catch it tomorrow". Well, unfortunately, the Canberra didn't fly on Sunday, so the brief glimpses I got while standing in the fast food line were all I saw of it in the air. We must make a pilgrimage to its home at Temora one of these days!

Tips for future shows:

• Don't assume that there will be a chance to see it "tomorrow" (or "today" for that matter - those who only came on Saturday didn't get to see the C-17 in the air).
  
• Don't underestimate how much water, sunscreen, and batteries you will need
• Don't underestimate how much the food could possibly cost!

All in all, a weekend close to my idea of heaven; shared with a lovely wife who not only supports my strangely obsessive fascination with flying machines, but actually came all day both days to share the event with me!