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[Epp finds film ' a challenge Waterloo professor and author Frank Epp has been working for about , years arhiatorieal consul- tant and script developer on a major Canadian motion picture tentatively titled "Night Train from Moscow" which is to begin production next June in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The film is based on the Men- nonite experience in Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the Mennonites' subsequent migration to Canada. Epp says the story deals with Frank Bargen, a Mennonite with pacifist leanings, who must strug- gle with the questions of violence, land reform, religion and econo- mics prior to and during the turbu- 'Ient revolution in Russia. Epp, who is a professor of his- tory at Conrad Grebe! College on the campus of the University of Waterloo and author of Mennonite Exodus and volume one of Men- nonites in Canada, agreed to act as historical consultant to the project to ensure the historical integrity of the story with respect to the Men- Ronite experience, culture and faith. He said working on the film has "opened up a whole new world ... it's a new experience for me and something that l thought I'd never be doing." “I never went to films when I was younger. I was taught to be- lieve that films were not proper." he said. "But that's not the only reason why I never saw films. It was a combination of a strict upbr- inging and we were isolated by dis- tance from any movie theatres." Epp's background as a Mennoni- te, combined with his writings about the religion, make him a prime candidate for the position of historical consultant. But he says the project is also a labor of love. "Both my wife (Helen) and I had parents who immigrated to Canada from Russia in the 1m and they were welcomed with open arms by the Pennsylvania Dutch Mennoni- tes," Epp said. "rm just grateful for the experience of working on a film that I believe will prove to be very interesting and an educational experience for anyone who sees it." He said the film will deal with the personal as well as political lives of the Mennonites in Russia during the peasant uprising. John Clarke of Forestgreen Pro- ductions Inc., the Canadian film company producing the movie. re- cently toured the Winnipeg area to select potential filming sites and to meet with representatives of the Manitoba government. Filming is expected to begin in June "before the wtteatfields are Prgduce-r Dean ireteGon and By Stewart Salmon-ml The projected budget for the film is tio-million with Mennonite im vestors from across Canada con- tributing $150,000 seed money. The pre-production budget tincluding purchasing the screenplay, scout- ing locations. etc.) has been set at about tl-million while the actual production of the film will cost an- other 'r-million. according to Epp. harvested because they play a major role in the location scenes," Epp said. He recently finished proof read- ing the 160-page screenplay to check for religious and historical inaccuracies It was originally written by Mark Gilhuis, president of Forestgreen, and Philip Yorden, an academy award winning writer and producer whose credits in- clude: The Fall of the Roman Em- pire, 55 Days at Peking, Battle of the Bulge, El Cid and Brigham, the story of the louder of the Mormon Church. ' “The screenplay is sufficiently finished that we can begin budget- ing and casting. but there are bound to be more changes before filming begins," Epp said. "The company has opened an office in Winnipeg and expects to begin working on more motion pictures after this one is completed." "The owners of the company have stepped up their fund raising campaign and I'm told the money will be in place well before produc- tion is expected to get underway next summer," he said. The project had its beginning se- veral years ago when Peter Bar- gen, a resident of Edmonton, Alta., in his address to the 1977 Ontario Provincial Prayer Breakfast told the story of his family's dramatic escape from Russia in the 19208. Gilhuis recognized the potential of the story which he says carries a message of faith that speaks to others beyond the Mennonite com- munity, He felt it was a story that had to be told and one of such a na- ture that it could be released suc- cessfully through commercial theatres and television. Filming should be completed by next December with release set for early in 1982 and. if all goes as an- ticipated. viewers could see a spin- off mini-television series based on the movie, Epp said The story concludes with the dra- matic events leading up to the es- cape from Moscow to ultimate freedom in Canada, and Epp says the three-hour film will be "loaded with excitement and intrigue as well as containing an educational message." Epp concurs with Giihuis' view of the film's potential and says "it's important to educate people about whether or not social chan- ge, that's beneficial to people, can come about without violence." While a lot of movies promise a lot more than they ultimately deliver, All Night Long arrives on the scene with little fanfare and rewards viewers with an hour and a half or so of likeable characters and pleasant humor, goth leading performers play parts which are lar- gely in contrast with the types of characters that es- tablished their stardom. At first, Gene Hackman and Barbra Streisand seem an unlikely star combination, and in fact their gramme together in this picture is somewhat ac- Cl ntal since Streisand replaced the much less stel- lar Lisa Eichorn after the production was under way. Hackman. who's never again managed to achieve the same degree of critical and popular acclaim that followed his 1971 Oscar-winning performance as Po- peye Doyle in The French Connection. is very much at ease in the role of a middle-aged demoted bu- siness executive who falls in love with the woman his son has been having an affair with. Streisand, whose mutti-layered entertainment career has kept her in the limelight despite erratic film achievements since her own Oscar-winning screen debut ill 1968's Funny Girl. also effectively underplays the character of the married woman who switches her extra-marital affections from son to father. Dennis Quaid endows the loutish son with a likea- ble quality that allows for a good balance of sym- pathy between characters. and even the maligned wife is given both a dignified and funny charac- terization by Diane Ladd. a nominee for a best-sup- porting-actress Oscar for her 1974 performance in Alice Doetm't Live Here Anymore. Former Kojak regular Kevin Dobson also does a satisfactory job in the movie's most narrowly de- fined role as the macho husband of the Streisand character, The picture's humor vanes widely In the degree of hilarity ll evokes. but commendably writer W‘D Stanton All Night Long is a modest little screen comedy that is simply fun to watch. Modest comedy's . simply fun to watch George (Gene Huekrmn) and Cheryl (Barbra Streisand) have a perfect tore affair - almost. By Victor -utttotattm_tta.g,tggg'$Eet_t..P_eff3.t a. on! an: a - Klthough the fian is not saddled with any theme of social significance, there are several scenes which appear to be amusingly satiric. One delightful sequence. for example. parodies the helicopter - at- tack scene rom Apocalypse Now, and in another very funny scene Streisand pokes fun at her own singing prowess by purposefully singing very badly. All Night Long isn't likely'to a'chieve'classic status. but it's a genuinely enjoyable movie that leaves you feeling good after watching it. Legendary jazz band to perform Richter and director Jean-Claude Tramont have re- sisted an all-out onslaught of exaggerated visual gatp_to fyeleghs, ._. _ ._ _ - The band musicians areietthei 60s,70sand 80s, but Keir music is young andfi1led with spirit. Their music came out of the tum-of-the- century street parades. saloons, and river boats. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the original New Orleans musicians. will be performing their famous jazz music at The Centre in the Square tomorrow, March 19. It's music played by men who worked the docks all day. but weren't too tired to blow their horns most of the night. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band gets its name from the historic Pre- servation Hall which is an idea more than a structure. It was built as a house about 1750 in the heart of the French Quarter. It was a tavern during the War of 1812 and through the years has served many pur- poses - most notably today as the physically blemished but artistic- ally impeccable home of the great Preservation Hall Jazz Bands. This is where New Orleans jazz was preserved and where the bands play when not on tour. Tickets for the perfor- mance are $9.50, $11.00 mull“)