The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 51

8fb llnqmrer peoplehome entertainment section 4 Tuesday, August 30, 1983 3-D film flops: Effect and cause By Desmond Ryan Inquirer Movie Crilic. i jfcaw rHL jT 1 This summer has proved a point' INSIDE Action Line 2 Buchwald 2 Landers 2 Percy Ross 2 ......3 4 5 TV listings 6 7 about movies. If there is one thing worse than a movie whose special effects are nothing special, it is a film that pauses for its effects. The 3-D films released with sucn fanfare in the past few months have given new meaning to the idea of stop-action photography. In touting them, producers, studio executives and directors trotted out the party line that the scripts would be better than those previously found in 3-D movies and that the 3-D ettects would be vastly improved and would not be allowed to dominate the story.

Typical of the pre-release propa they were movies that were beyond salvage for other reasons? The answer is a little of both. None of the 3-D films has successfully Integrated its special effects into the flow of the story. And since most have all the flow of a mudbank at low tide, this deficiency is magnified. The usual deployment of the effect finds the film grinding to a halt for the titillation of the audience. Thus, in Metalstorm, an especially dumb piece of science fiction, a villain approaches the face of the hero with a metal arm on which rotates a blade.

It amounts to double-stopping: First the imminent effect is telegraphed to the viewer and secondly, the action is at the mercy of that effect. That is, instead of filming the sequence in, the most exciting way possible, the director defers to 3-D. This summer's flurry of everything from giant sharks to telescopes that fall out of the screen can be attributed to Hollywood's keen sense of what it has to do to maintain and increase film's share of the entertainment dollar. The common argument among many studio executives is that the sure-fire way of attracting people to cinemas is to offer something that they cannot find at home. Spectacle sells and 3-D, at least theoretically, makes a movie more spectacular and inviting.

As Louis Marks, head of a chain of theaters in Chicago, noted earlier this summer, "3-D is the kind of (See FLOPS on 10-F) ganda was the May comment of Alan Landsburg, producer of Jaws 3-D, which, at $15 million, was the most expensive of the 3-D productions. We ve tried to avoid bringing things off the screen for the effect of doing so." he said. "Where the story line was (three- dimensional, the effects were Ithree-1 dimensional." Unfortunately, the characters and plots of the 3-D movies were uniformly one-dimensional. In general, the 3-D releases of the summer (Jaws 3-D, The Man Who Wasn't There, Metalstorm The De struction of JaredSyn, The Treasure of the Four Crowns and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone) have been box-office disappointments and the object of almost universal critical derision. Itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny craftworks A $2,500 crystal chandelier.

Ceramic Italian bathroom sinks. Oriental rugs. They're on display, none bigger than your little finger. Page 3-F. Bill Forsyth holds Lisa Langlois and Steve Guttenberg at bay for 'The Man Who Wasn't There' Was it because of 3-D or because Sign -off by Ch.

48 says final farewell 81 1 Ex-justice is a man of opinions still piiiiii He's truly a hulking 'Hercules' Lou Ferrigno, who won fame as "The Incredible Hulk," stars in a new film about Hercules. Rick Lyman reviews. Page 4-F. By Gail Shister Inquirer Staff Writer WKBS-TV (Channel 48) officially went dark last night after the telecast of the Penn State-Nebraska foot-bull game. The following is the full text of the farewell editorial delivered by Vince Barresi, Channel 48 vice president and general manager: "Tonight completes the last day of the broadcasting operation of WKBS-TV, Channel 48, Field Communications, Burlington IN.J.l-Philadelphia.

On July 15. Field Communications announced that it would cease operation of the station and that the license to operate Channel 48 would be returned to the Federal Communications Commission. "Channel 48 began its broadcast operations on Sept. 1, 1965, under the ownership of Kaiser Broadcasting. Through those 18 years of operation, we endeavored to best serve all interests of the Delaware Valley.

The commitment of all of our station's employees has been dedicated to you, our viewers. Over the years, we have presented all types of programs to the people of the Delaware Valley. Channel 48 efforts have been recognized by many broadcast professional awards and, more importantly, by our viewers. "Channel 48 as an entity and our employees as individual citizens have been deeply involved in our community. We have been unselfish over the years, giving literally thousands of hours of personal time to make the Delaware Valley an even better place in which to live.

"We hope you enjoyed tonight's Penn State-Nebraska football game. 1 am sure that you can appreciate that this is a sad day for all of us at Channel 48. However, we take great pride in knowing that we have been of service to you over the past 18 years. Since the announced closing of our operation, we have received numerous letters and phone calls of support. For that, we are most appreciative.

"We, the people of WKBS, will all go forward in our new careers, and I can assure you that we will always have the people of the Delaware Valley in our hearts. Thank you, good night and God bless you all." By Leon Seligsohn Ntwsduy Service NEW YORK With quick motions, Arthur Goldberg took off his tie, jacket, shoes and socks, and stretched out on the couch in his room at the Garden City Hotel. It had been a long day, starting in Washington and ending with an address at Adclphi University. Fortifying himself with a sandwich and a glass of milk ordered from room service, the former U.S. Supreme Court Justice looked younger than his years (he celebrated his 75th birthday Aug.

8) and more relaxed than anyone acquainted with his public image might expect. He betrayed some agitation, however, because on the very day of the interview the court had announced the reversal of a civil-rights decision written by Goldberg in 1964. That decision, in the case of Aguilar vs. Texas, made it tougher for police to use anonymous sources to obtain a search "I'm sore. Naturally, I think they're wrong, since I wrote the loriginall opinion.

Goldberg said, ending the sentence with an unintelligent growl. "I believe a magistrate cannot use a warrant just because a law-enforcement officer comes in and says that you were a dope addict. I think that's very bad. A magistrate ought to say, 'What do you know about the informant? Have you used him before? Has his information in the past been Of course, you have to use common sense." Brightly, Goldberg tossed off views on a number of subjects, including his resignation from the court in 1965, when President Johnson asked him to succeed Adlai Stevenson as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Moderates and liberals, watching the court's swing to the right over the last 18 years, sometimes lament Goldberg's departure. But he doesn't think that it has made much difference. "Actually, in the course of time, the point of view I represent would put me at the center along with (Justices Thurgoodl Marshall and IWilliaml Brennan. Basically, you would still have a conservative court because today all the basic decisions are 6-3." Still addressed as Justice Goldberg, he has a limited law practice in Washington, is a consultant in international law and is often called on to serve in a quasijudicial role in international arbitrations. Goldberg also teaches, lectures, writes a syndicated newspaper column, serves periodically on special government committees and involves himself in causes.

Arthur Goldberg was a whiz kid who grew up poor in Chicago, went on to become a super labor lawyer and the secretary of labor under President Kennedy, who subsequently named him to the high court. He is known as a brilliant overachiever a lightning-fast reader who was first in his class, a man with a tremendous capacity for work and a labor negotiator without equal. His reputation was such that when Kennedy came to Washington as a congressman in 1948, one of the first things he did was call on Goldberg. "I remember my secretary coming in," Goldberg says. "She was palpitating.

She said, 'There's a young congressman outside who wants to see you. He's on the labor In '48, he looked like a college boy, and he says to me, 'I'm a newly elected congressman, and I would (See GOLDBERG on 3-F) I Savitch is happy to stay on In a telephone interview, Jessica Savitch says she always had faith that NRC would come United Pres International' Arthur Goldberg in 1970, when he was a candidate for N.Y. governor through for her again. Gail Shister. Page 5-F.

Arthur Goldberg says' that if he had not quit the Supreme Court "you would still have a coaservative court, because today all the basic decisions are 6-3." J- 1 Of I umiSI Catholic Church increasing marriage courses Jackson's Ion the track top sales gaged couple, and they meet on a regular basis, from six months before the wedding to about a year after. Right now, of 173 dioceses in the U.S., 33 require sponsoring couples; 32 recommend it. The diocese tries to match them up according to interests." What Father Preister finds particularly valuable in these relationships is that the longer-married couple remain on the scene after the wedding to provide support. "People don't realize how many problems can surface once a couple marry. That support makes a big difference." unusual to hit a crisis.

They need to know that it can be weathered." In some dioceses, group activities include Encounter Weekends for six engaged couples, a married couple and a priest, during which methods of communication are taught. Other dioceses run a series of four evenings during which hypothetical problems are presented and worked out. "A new group activity, which we're particularly excited about uses sponsoring couples," Father Preister said. "A married couple 'adopt an en higher, however, the Catholic Church has started to emphasize the importance of marriage preparation programs. About 85 percent of the dioceses nationwide provide marriage-preparation courses for engaged couples.

According to a 1976 study, such programs were available in only 39 percent of the dioceses. The Rev. Steven Preister, director of the National Center for Family. Studies at The Catholic University of America, reports that "between 50 percent and 60 percent of people being married in the Catholic Church in America today are going through some kind of marriage preparation. We have come very late to believing that you can't get yourself ready for marriage without outside help." Programs and requirements vary.

But in general, they involve meetings with a priest, as well as group activities. The idea is to bring disagreements to the surface so they can be worked out before marriage. Key areas covered by the programs are finances, relationships with inlaws, religion, communication and sex. Said Father Preister: "I think a couple need to know that it's not By Ricki Fulman New York News Servite Americans are great believers in lessons. We like to prepare ourselves for any new undertaking, whether a trip or a hobby.

In the last few years, self-improvement courses have come into their own, allowing us to become experts at everything from aerobic dancing to consumer rights to public speaking. Surprisingly, with our great emphasis on lessons and learning, until recently little thought given to preparing ourselves for marriage. With the divorce rate edging continuously It may only be August, but Michael Jackson's "Thriller" has all but wrapped up ranking as year top-selling ai- Fage lU-r. rtt i nit mil ariiitiiilliiitJNrjiit.