Page Two

Our "Best of Austin" issue is controversial, which is both surprising and not surprising. Periodically, I'm stopped by someone who exclaims, "It's just a popularity contest!" Duh! It is just a popularity contest, but one in which a lot of people vote. This is your chance to express your views on everything Austin. There is even a write-in category in case you feel something has been left out. Let the games begin. Go to work on the ballot in this week's issue. Celebrate Austin.

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Clifford Antone's sentencing hearing is a topic I'll probably return to again. It was a very moving experience, surprisingly so given the circumstances. Judge James Nowlin's performance -- his reasoning and conduct -- was incredibly impressive. We are sorry to see our friend Clifford go away; we will miss him and await his return.

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I haven't wanted to blow the trumpets for the Douglas Sirk film series too much so far because Sirk is such an odd director. But now is the time. The next two weeks find the Austin Film Society presenting brand-new prints of Written on the Wind (1956) and All That Heaven Allows (1955) at the Paramount -- the two definitive masterpieces of this often unheralded but brilliant director. Both are totally over the top. Written, showing June 6, presents a Texas that makes Dallas seem tame. The film belongs, in every sense, to Dorothy Malone. All That Heaven Allows, showing June 13, finds older widow (Jane Wyman) falling in love with handsome tree man (Rock Hudson). The family is shocked. Don't go to laugh -- you'll miss all the good lines. Sirk knows how outrageous it all is, and he beautifully exploits it. Here is a completely cinematic director at the top of his form.

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Remember the short story contest!