Quad-City Times from Davenport, Iowa • 21

Friday, May 31, 1991 quad-city times 5 I Thelma 8z Louise' are a delightful pair is i 'i, I i I I 'I 'Si? -Mi mntlrii till "y.M., JJ You'll want to spend some time on the road with "Thelma and Louise." Geena Davis Accidental is Thelma Dickinson, a frustrated housewife, and Susan Sarandon is Louise Sawyer, a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails waitress in a coffee shop. With some coaxing from Louise, Thelma leaves her domineering, obnoxious husband Darryl (Christopher McDonald, "Chances and takes off with Louise for a weekend away. Louise needs to get away, too, from her musician boyfriend Jimmy (Michael Madsen, "Kill Me who just can't make a commitment. And so the two women, whooping and hollering, take off maaj Susan Sarandon, left, and Geena Davis star as two best friends whose weekend getaway that goes awry In "Thelma Louise. Stones" and B.B.

King's "Better Not Look Down." The breathtaking and almost surreal imagery of the back- grounds add to the quirky story, which moves more quickly as the Home video cameras change the way we look at each other "I don't believe there's going to be another event from now to the end of history that won't have a VHS camera pointed at it." Chris McDaniel television news director chums become more brazen and desperate in their bid for free- dom. This for-adults-only show is a rarity a buddy film about women. And you'll find it won ring to the dress shop owner whose 8mm film recorded the assassination of President Kennedy. "If such a thing could happen again, now you would probably have 25 videotapes of the same event." Betty Nelson, a schoolteacher from Cairo, W.Va., made video history this month while taping surf and sea birds in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. Alerted by a nearby workman to possible trouble, she focused the camera on a couple lying on the beach, zooming in on a man holding a bikini-clad woman at knifepoint.

The attacker fled, but with the help of stills from the video, police arrested a man, who was the parking lot, it turns out he thinks she owes him much more than just a good-night kiss. When Louise intervenes for her friend, the two end up leaving the scene of a felony, running from the law as well as their personal problems. Perfect cop actor Harvey Keitel stars as Hal, the police officer who encourages Darryl to help track down the fleeing duo. No one can play an earthy type better than Sarandon. And Davis is great as the semi-innocent who yearns for adventure, becoming involved with a handsome hitchhiker who brings more catastrophe into their lives.

The music is replete with a repertoire of "driving songs" that keep pace with the action. You'll hear Glenn Frey's current hit "Part of Me, Part of You," as well as Chris Whitley's "Kick the and tape living wills, police record DUI arrests, lawyers take video depositions, and banks and supermarkets install cameras to deter crime. Most of our tapes aspire only to the level of "America's Funniest Home Videos." But occasionally the camera enthusiast records events of national interest. Trapped on the Oakland Bay Bridge during the 1 989 San Francisco earthquake, Debra Kelly switched on her camera as a car -whizzed past and plunged through the fractured asphalt to the level below. "I was numb," says the Ringwood, resident, who has since opened a video production house.

"My mind refused to believe what my eyes were witnessing." Some stations encourage hobbyists. WAGA-TV in Atlanta has urged viewers to submit their spot-news tapes and become "eyewitness newsfinders." CNN simi- 5 ROOMS HALL $7995 7, li--Kiit La" I CHRISTINA 2 COX NEWS SERVICE Call them America's Scariest Home Videos: A crowd of Los Angeles police officers kicks and clubs a motorist. A knife-wielding assailant attempts a broad-daylight rape on a beach in North Carolina. Dynamite-stunned dolphins drown in the nets of tuna fisher-men. These startling scenes were captured not by intrepid professionals but by amateurs toting video cameras.

There are 1 3 million camcorders and portable video cameras in the country, and they aren't being used just to tape stupid pet tricks. They are changing the face of television, and the way we look at each other. Some home videographers, such as George Holliday, the Los Angeles plumber who taped police beating motorist Rodney King," just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Hol-liday's tape has sparked an FBI investigation into the L.A. Police Department and brought widespread calls for the resignation of Chief Daryl Gates.

Four officers have been charged with assault. "It's a very powerful tool," Holliday says. Others have specific political aims, brought within reach by the power of the moving picture. Biologist Sam LaBudde posed as a cook aboard a Panamanian tuna boat to videotape the slaughter of dolphins. His documentary foot STOP SMOKING! Dr.

Lennon can also help you: CONTROL WEIGHT MANAGE STRESS USE SELF-HYPNOSIS MINIMIZE PAIN Linda Cook Movie Review in a convertible to get away from it all. They decide to stop at a country-western tavern in Arkansas for a smoke and a drink or two. And that's when things get out of hand. Lonely Thelma flirts, drinks and dances with local Casanova Harlan, who has just one thing on his mind. And once he corners the snockered Thelma in age triggered international outrage and brought promises from the tuna industry to make their products dolphin-safe; the federal government took steps to back up those vows.

Why did the videotape get results when past debates over dolphin deaths failed? Because, LaBudde says, "When you see something, it gets in your gut. When people saw the dolphins dying in the net, it didn't matter what anybody said." These are some of the more dramatic products of the camcorder boom. On the undramatic side, camcorders have made boring home movies even longer and more boring. But they've also changed the way we document our lives. We tape births, graduations, weddings and funerals.

Americans use video to catalog their possessions, record storm damages and memorialize fender-benders for insurance purposes. Families send video letters FLIGHT OF THE jlS INTRUDER 3 REVERSAL OF FORTUNE A KISS BEFORE IS DVINO 12 THE DOORS KINDERGARTEN pcij COP 3 SHIPWRECKED 1:25 ONLY SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY 1 1 1 1 I I i iy Don't Cost Extrd ROOMS HALL 399S pent up frustrations lead them on a derful entertainment although sometimes saddening regardless of your gender. "Thelma and Louise," rated is at Showcase Cinemas, Davenport and Milan. charged with sexual assault in that and two other incidents. "The pictures made our job so much easier," says Kill Devil Hills detective Jim Mulford.

"I didn't know what was going on" until police cars started arriving, Mrs. Nelson says. "I thought they were just a couple on the beach." As television news programs make greater use of homemade tapes, some problems may crop up. Media watchers say the growing demand for amateur footage increases the risk of faked or doctored tape. Though he hasn't seen bogus footage, Sykes says the technology exists to produce a "pretty convincing" video of an Elvis sighting at the Big Boy." Professor Lisby also voices concern that tapers may one day step outside the law to get a good shot.

"Without training, you can't expect the citizen-reporter to understand legal limitations, and you risk them breaking the law to bring you information," he says. Patrick Lennon, msw pw Specialized Training In Tharapautlc Hypnoala OF THE SUMMER!" HUrtyn bet. CHCMSO TMUNE SVNUCMt SHOWCASE CINEMA MILAN 8:00 1 v-irr ya Located At: BLUFF MEDICAL CENTER 240 N. Bluff, Clinton 319-243-5600 "SOMTHING FISHY IS GOING ON!" ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OAKS "THE BEST MOVIE I 1 1 1 1 1 wi larly recruits "Newshounds." But most tapers don't produce impressive results, says WAGA news operations manager Bud Veazey. Yet, with $3.2 million in camcorder sales projected for 1991, the odds of a camcorder catching a major news event continue to increase.

"I don't believe there's going to be another event from now to the end of history that won't have a VHS camera pointed at it," says North Carolina television news director Chris McDaniel. "The modern origin of the citizen-slash-reporter goes back to (Abraham) Zapruder," says Greg Lisby, professor of journalism law at Georgia State University, refer- 3 PIECE UVINGR00MSET 5495 PI APPLEG ATE 11 i 1 1 (IS 1 1 Dinners Include choice of Potato, Cole Slaw, and Homemade Biscuits I FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY OICI Oclif Begins May 24th 787-0990 2 miles south of Milan Cinemas Hwy 67 late. yM 1 MS 0 fi liLJL wmMS. mmsz Vi Lb. T-BONE $5.99 Grilled For Healthy Dining.

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