Page Two,
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Tuesday, March 4, 1969
PaeTw HEMCHGN;AL
cinema
DAILY OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
---- ":'ii;:;;i:L{:}j^"{,4':r+:i.},:r;..a (
Ben Hur:
By DANIEL OKRENT to judge
There seems to be no propriety critically
whatever in the American film I m e,
. industry. It is bad enough that about re
Hollywood spends so much of them t
its energy on the production of may re
thoroughly lousy films; it is which H
worse when they realize it, and hero, i
have to dip into the film vaults the sea
to keep themselves solvent, or's galb
- And so, fresh behind the sixth- perhaps
time-around for Gone With the Judah B
Wind, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer is its num
re-releasing Ben-Hur. I saw die of th
Charlton Heston paint the ceil- there is
ing of t h e Sistine Chapel on of a sr
Channel 4 Sunday night; earlier guy wit
in the week, I was privileged to wood. N
see him beat the hell o u t of shoulder
Stephen Boyd as they raced into the
around a Cinecitta chariot track gang sw
at MGM's big Miami Beach re- Sudde
premiere.. side, an
There-is no question that Ben- lapsing
Iur is the product of an earlier their fa
age - not the age of Christ and the Ron
chariot races, but the a g e of long dri
Eisenhower and the 1950's. Finally,
First released in 1959, it closed have ga
off a decade which had seen Ce- mission
ciJ ,B. DeMille spectacularize prisoner
with The Buccaneer and T h e Whereu
Ten Comrmandments, and mark- to the d
ed William Wyler's attempt to of his sp
produce the supreme Epic. Cast "God he
of thousands, millions in ex- Belies
pense, y e a r s in production, a over an
theme and story line exploded that. T
to universals and miniaturized from th
to The Saga of a Good Family up to H
in Hard Times - the compon- him wat
ent parts are really no longer in Someth
vogue. But just as Gone With happen
the Wind. has always appeared There
at road show prices and made of this
tremendous amounts of money, Hur, a
Ben-Hur will more than likely work gr
do the same. won't co
It is amazing what the pas- ing it
sage of -ten y e a r s can do to enough
sorneone's conceptions of a film (for son
like this. To an eleven-year-old time in
junior high school student, Ben- half ho
Hur was" eminently more plaus- corn in
ible, infinitely more acceptable. have -s
_Today, one needn't be too jaded race is
Miracle of the Ages returns
General
Notices
Scabbard & Blade Society - Military social area. Labor safety technician, BA
Ball - March 15 - 9:00 - 12:00 p.m. in engineering and 2-5 years exper in
League. this area.
Taylor House, South Quad - A 11 San Diego County, Calif. - Assistant
Campus Mixer - February 28 - 9:00 Parks and Beaches Superintendent, de-
- 12:00 p.m. gree in park mgmt.. landscape arch.,
horticulture or related area, and min.
Graduate Record Examination: Ap- 1 year admin. exper in similar organ-
lication blanks are available in Room ization.
American Library Association, Chi-
3014, Rackham Building for the Grad-caoIl~NnrtMteilRvwr
e Eamn a for the Booklist and Subscription Books
ministration of the test will be on Bulletin. Evaluate 8mm loops, film-
Saturday, April 26, andeapplications strips, and other nonprint materials.
are due in Princeton, New Jersey be-
Degree in Libr. Sci. at MA level or
fore April 1.' Masters in audiovisual work.
Pennsylvania Department of Public
Placem en(Continued on Page 8)
GENERL-DIISIO
e the film a b it more
y.
a n, there is something
eligious epics that makes
ough to reconcile. You-
emember the scene in
Heston, as the oppressed
s bein dragged across
to serve in the emper-
eys. The chain gang of
15 other infidels plus
Ben-Hur is shrinking in
bers as various members
hirst along the way. Then
a soft cut to the inside
mall room, where some
th long hair is sawing
We are looking over his
r, and see him gaze out
desert, when the chain
mings in to view.
enly, the camera is out-
.d the prisoners are col-
and gasping, agonizing
tigue and their thirst as
man captors indulge in
inks from the town well.
the townspeople w h o
thered are given the per-
to give water to t h e
rs - all except Ben-Hur.
pon Heston collapses in-
dust, grimaces with all 64
lendid teeth, and groans,
81lp me!"
ve it or not, God comes
nd helps him. Just like
The long-haired fellow
he carpenter shop walks
Heston, kneels, and gives
ter. Its marvelous, really.
ling like this can o n ly
in a good of Moovie.
e is somewhat too much
type of thing in Ben-
rnd the religious frame-
rates terribly. But I still
ondemn MGM for releas-
again. The film has
to make it worthwhile
rfething with a running
excess of three and a
urs -excluding the pop-
termission - it ought to
omething). T h e chariot
everything it w as ten
Free German Measles Vaccine: Tues-
day, March 4, 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the
Health Service. Information at SAB,
Health Service or call 764-5483.
Sports Building Hours - Spring Re-
cess: Wed., Mar. 5, open, 8 a.m. - 6:30
p.m.; Thurs., Mar. 6, open, 10 a.m. -
4:00 p.m.; Fri., Mar. 7, open 10 a.m. -
4 p.m.; Sat., Mar. 8 - closed; Sun., Mar.
9, closed; Mon., Mar. 10 - open, regu-
lar hours, 8:00 a.m. - 10 p.m..
Yost Field House Hours - Spring Re-
cess: Wed., Mar. 5, open, 8 a.m. - 1:30
p.m.; Thurs., Mar. 6, open, 10 a.m. - 4
p.m.; Fri., Mar. 7, open, 10 a.m. - 4
pm.; Sat., Mar. 8, closed; Sun., Mar.
9, closed; Mon., Mar. 10, open, regular
hours, 8 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., 7 p.m. - 10
P.m.
Student Relations Comminttee: Open
meeting, Tuesday, March 4, Council
Room, SAB' Bldg., 7:30 p.m. Agenda:
1. Consideration of the minutes of Feb-
ruary 4 and 18; 2. Announcements; 3.
University's relationship to fraternity
system (use of land on North Campus).
STUDENT GOVERNMENT COUNCIL
The approval of the following stu-
dent sponsored events becomes effective
after the publication of this notice. All
publicity for these events must be
withheld until the approval has become
effective.
Approval request rorms for student
sponsored events are available in rooms
1001 and 1546 of the Student Activities
Building.
*f
GENFRALS A.ISION
3200 S.A.B.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Vista Week is March 17-21, further
details to be announced later.
The next FSEE Test should be ap-
plied for by March 12, to be given on
April 19. Applic. at Career Planning
Division, Placement Services.
Career planning division has now re-
ceived a new supply of applications for
the U.S.I.A. examination, applic. due,
March 14 for test May 3.
Current Position openings received by
General Division by mail and phone,
not interivews on campus, please call
764-7460 for complete information and
application procedures.
State of Michigan: Public Welfare
Administrator, Bach. or masters in
"I ENJOYED'GREETINGS'
and good-natured.
A whole gallery
of new, young
talented
performers."
Pauline Kael.
The New Yorker
Greetings
A ma OA mu
RZLIASE ".!N COtOI rfn .
STARTS
THURSDAY,
Vth FORUM
PETITION FOR
CINEMA II
BOARD
SGC first
bulletin floor
board SAB
POOR RICHARD'S
331 THOMPSON
NEWMAN BASEMENT
REOPENING OF
BEST FOOD, BEST PRICES
IN ANN ARBOR
I DIDN'T have the nerve to mention the above in the accompanying story. This was premiere
night in Miami Beach, outside the Lincoln Theatre. Besides the locals hired to stand around out-
side dressed as ancient Jews and Roman gladiators, who you can see, there also was an immense
mob of Miamians behind police lines, all of them craning for a look at the arriving stars. When
the buses with the press people arrived, the crowd went frantic with screaming and waving, and
when we waved back-jokingly--they started howling for autographs.-D. 0.
7 lb. Chuckburger.......
Homemade Chili... .
Charcoal Grilled Hot Dog ...
Roast Beef Sandwich......
Ham Sandwich . .......... .
Tuna Sandwich ... . ........
Egg Salad Sandwich .,..
Potato Salad, Cole Slaw ...
Desserts 25c, Drinke 1Oc
Daily specials featuring
Chinese food 80c-$1.00
45c
30c
30c
45c
40c
35c
25c
20c
years ago, and its surprising how
much the sea battle has been
overlooked since.
And even if you're not inter-
ested in entertainment, Ben-Hur
is commendable as an histori-
cal relic. They just don't make
movies like this anymore.
Charlton Heston fits Ben-Hur.
In fact, there probably has nev-
er been an actor that has been
so well cast during his career.
Besides playing the Judean
chariot racer, Moses, and Mich-
aelangelo, Heston has done his
historical bit as St. John the
Baptist, Andrew Jackson, Thom-
as Jefferson, Franklin D. Roose-
velt, Sir Thomas More, and El
Cid - not to mention the mili-
tary heroes he portrayed in
Khartoum, Fifty-Five Days at
Peking, andicountless other
films.
And its wondrous, how well
Heston fits. In real life, he is
truly n o b 1 e. A serene, severe
giant, with shoulders stretching
almost to the width of an aver-
age man's armspread, he is psy-
ically larger than life, but man-
ages to be so spiritually as well.
His casual conversation is spiced
with an accent nuance that
evokes the sound of a godly ec-
ho, and his simplest greeting
takes on the form of a holy pro-
nouncement. -He reeks honesty, N
dedication, and commitment;
his favorite topics of conversa-
tion are his membership on the
National Council for the Arts,j
and his presidency of the Screep
Actors Guild.
T h e entire image is really
very intimidating. MGM had us
sitting in the garden plaza of
the Hotel Fontainebleau, per-
haps 12 of us around a luncheon
table waiting for a Heston in-
terview. He strides up, everyone
rises for introductions, and ev-
eryone shrinks back from the
grip of his massive hand and
his excruciatingly polite "How
do you do?"
The interview is not really an
interview at all. Rather, Heston
will respond to a fairly innoc-
uous question on the changes in
Hollywood for young filmmak-
ers by launching into a 20-min-
ute p.r. piece on the Guild's ef-
forts to provide room for new
people and the National Coun-
cil for the Arts' provisions of
funds to finance struggling be-
ginners. But it is not a flack-
like p.r. job - Heston is filled
with such messianic fervor . that
the listener feels thatGod 'him
self is setting down the laws of
the artistic universe, incorrupt-
ible and indisputable.
He will talk on a hundred dif-
ferent subjects and in every
speech he is uniformly sure and
perfectly fluent.
On pornography in films: "As
a film maker" - he considers
everyone who has any part in
t h e production of a movie a
film-maker - "I have a desire
for as much elbow room as pos-
sible. But the freedom of an ar-
tist does not divest the artist of
responsibility. As a result of the
directors' carelessness, the free-
dom is often self-defeating. The
extreme detail deprives sex of its
eroticism a n d violence of its
impact. It becomes clinical and
instructive." All this entirely
off-the-cuff, with barely a stop
for breath.
The quotes are perfect, t h e
type that can be lifted out of
context and made to sound like
a sermon. For an hour, Heston
went on and on, totally serious.
"Communication is integral to
film," he said.
"Van Gogh's brother could
support Vincent's work f o r a
lifetime;, but today, a director's
brother could barely raise t h e
money for one film," he said.
"The only successful art by a
committee we have seen is the
St. James Bible," he said.
"One of the advantages of the
film, as opposed to the stage, is
that there is an extant body of
work," he said.
But he also said, immediately
.after waving to a Fontainebleau
guest from New York who in-
terrupted t h e interview by
shouting out her love for him,
"You need every one of them."
And.that brought things back
to a framework we could under-
stand.
SEVENTH
ANN ARBOR
FILM
FESTIVAL'
MARCH 11-16
Tuesday-Sunday
ARCHITECTURE
AUDITORIUM
sir
HELD OVER!IZ
SHOWS AT:
1:00-3:00-5:00-7:00 & 9:05 Info: 662-6264
Student 198200624 Was Officially
Designated Missing ...
PITY POOR
PAXTON OUIOLEYA
11
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I WELCOME
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STUDENTS!
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HAIRSTYLING for Men
ari Women -
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THE DASCOLA BARBERS
Near .Michigan Theatre
-A
..he had: MIUXq
too much 4SPE
of a good -N
thin TA C
r.'N N a PME .OT
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XNATIONAL SE RA CTERPORAT IO
HELD OVER
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375 No. MAPLE RD.-769-1300
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Will Be Emptied
After 7:00 P.M.
Showing Fri.-Sat.
Nominated for 2 Academy Awards
BEST Picture * BEST Director
A friend of Christ
U OF 0 CARNy
:.March 14-T
Rides-Games-Movies -
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AND
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BOB SEGER
SYSTEM
8 P.M., Friday, Mar. 14
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CONNECTION
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* UNCLASSIFIED *
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Estelle Parsens
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NOMINATED FEATURES A
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Sandra Locke
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OFF TH IS KIND OF
MULTI-FACETED
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