The Dartmouth film community turned out to honor one of its own Friday night in what Dartmouth Director of Film Bill Pence described as the "central event of the film year."
The man who gave us The Monkees, "Five Easy Pieces," and, in a sense, Jack Nicholson got a little something back for his excellent body of work. This year's Dartmouth Film Award was given to director, producer and Dartmouth graduate Bob Rafelson '54.
In his speech beginning the tribute, Pence described how Rafelson's work in the 1970's "turned the American film scene upside down." He compared Rafelson's impact to those of Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Altman.
But unlike those directors, Pence stressed that Rafelson "has not made peace with the system." He is a "compulsive drifter" who still works outside the system and is known for venturing off into the jungle for months at a time.
Pence concluded of Rafelson that after traveling the world, "his wanderlust or curiosity brings him back to Dartmouth."
Following Pence's remarks was a compilation of scenes from some of Rafelson's most famous works. The clips ranged from the classic diner scene of "Five Easy Pieces" to the raunchy kitchen table scene from "The Postman Always Rings Twice."
Rafelson then took the stage and received the award which described him as "a major force in modern American cinema."
Seeming somewhat embarrassed by all the attention, Rafelson literally hid from the spotlight and managed to keep his remarks to under a minute.
In his brief speech he said that "I've never seen any scene from any movie I ever made up on screen until tonight." Later, in a spotlight discussion, Rafelson would describe the feeling of seeing his own work as nauseating.
After a lengthy pause, Rafelson concluded "I've worked with some great people. I thank them, and I thank you."
Rafelson then left the auditorium to avoid seeing the complete showing of his latest film, "Blood and Wine."
Certainly not one of Rafelson's greatest works, the film does have all the right ingredients for a stylish film noir. The film tells the nasty tale of how a stolen million dollar necklace and a sexy Cuban can bring an already dysfunctional family to new levels of depravity.
In general, the audience reacted well, the burst of applause at the conclusion of the film covered the minor grumblings of disapointment.
But the night was not a celebration of one film but of the three decades of original, almost revolutionary work that Rafelson brought to the screen.
