Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Thursdcav, March 13_.1969
Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Thu rsrlov My nrr~ t-I' bi1 .J 1 7,17
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- film festival
Man upe Ii's Dr. Clhicago
music
It pays to know the score
II
By BRUCE HEMSTELL
The highlights of the second
night of the Ann Arbor F II1 m
Festival was the premier of
George Manupelli's Dr. Chicago,
the first episode in a projected
twenty-film series about the
mystical and fully architypical
Doctor Chicago.
The film, to be brief, was of-
Stenbrilliant and always inter-
~esting and amusing.With this
filmit becomessclear thath an-
."upelli deserves some of the ac-
claim and recognition that has
been awarded John Korty. Kor-
ty is, like Manupelli, an "under-
ground" film-maker but one
who has emerged to have his
features shown in commercial
release and at various festivals.
Manupelli, like Korty, is work-
ing with the future: feature-
length films. Dr. Chicago will
perhaps (hopefully) be picked
up for a future, major festival.
Doctor Albert (sometimes Al-
vin) Chicago is a fugitive from
the law, an abortionist qua sex-
change specialist with a dream
of a future clinic is Sweden. His
accomplices are his three female
assistants: his woman Shelia
Marie Marie, his nurse Peg and
his nurse's woman Jan, short-
ly to be a man.
The action takes place in their
temporary hideaway }where they
meet an equally mysterious fig-
ur called Steve. His name is
indefinite - it might not be
Steve - he never speaks
throughout the film. But he
practices a medicine, a folk
medicine, far more skillful than
Dr.Chicago's, and dies as a de-
coy when the slick spade cops
finally arrive.
Dr. Chicago is the last of the
American primitives: truly an
innocent, whose marvelous skill
is not in his hands but in his
mouth. The action of the film
isall "talk"-long sequences of
Dr. Chicago's comments the best
of which rival Taylor Mead and
suggest that in Alvin Lucier,
who played Chicago, Manupelli
has a talent of major propor-
tions.
As Chicago and his women
talk, the last stand of primi-
tivismi emerges. It is in wit, in
humor and verbal skill. Manu-
pell's characters are as one re-
marks, "children abandoned in
the woods" - partly their own
doing (it is they who have
driven here) and mostly because
therein is something of the
quality of life today.
This is fully accented with
the arrival of the police. They
are slick and cool, admire each
other's "pieces" and refuse to
give chase into the woods be-
cause there are snakes in there.
It is Chicago and his band
which offer the last, best hope
for survival. Their travels, we
begin to see lose a return. A
return tothe primitive, to some
more base existence, base oc-
cassionally to the point of gross-
ness, but in innocence enlight-
ened, hopeful, and at least (and
this is a lot) outside the norm.
By R. A. PERRY
Hill Auditorium's stage was +
occupied last night by the ,ser-+
ious, Jack Dempsey-ish men of
one of Russia's finest orchestras,
the Moscow State Symphony.
In this special concert sponsored
by the University Musical So-
ciety, Maxim Shostakovitch con-
ducted an all-Russian program ;
that presented to the less than
filled house both exhilirating
and depressing fare.
In the beginning there w a s
Ginka, the silly, repetitive over-
ture to Russian and Ludmilila
and here the orchestra immed-
iately exhibited its extraordin-
ary thick, solid, and precise
sound.
Following thistbit of mindless
excitement, the audience heard
a very dreary performance of
Tchaikovsky's potentially love-
ly "Variations on a Rococo
Theme."
Cello soloist was one F. Lu-
zanov who performed in a beau-
cratic manner with an ascetic,
dry tone and an arid lack of
feeling. The conductor himself
was too busy reading the score
to mold the string accompani-
ment or refine woodwind detail.
Twenty-six year old Nikolai
Petrov, winner of the 1964 Brus-
sels competition, immediately
brightened the atmosphere and
heightened the quality of
music-making with a virtuosic
performance of Prokofiev's
Third Piano Concerto.
Here again the conductor, son
of the composer Dmitri Shosta-
kovitch, seemed to indicate that
he had little to recommend him
other than his patronymic.
Throughout the concerto, he
kept his back to the cellos and
bass in his intent to follow the
score. He built no climaxes and
shaded no dynamics, just mere-
ly followed along-a far cry
from Rozhdestvensky's accom-
paniment on the Angel recording.
However, with his superb
management of his father's
Fifth Symphony, the y o u n g
conductor was almost complete-
ly exonerated. This most popu-
lar of Shostakovitch's s y m -
phonies possesses incredibly
stirring and martial outer
movements, a largo of brood-
ing beauty, and an allegretto al-
ternately boisterous and pre-
cious but always witty. Massed
strings sounding - like organ
swells, and exceptional flute and
brass playing indicated the true
potential of this orchestra.
The University of Michigan Players
Department of Speech
presents
Anton-Chekov's
THE
SCHERRY ORCHARD
Lydia- Mendelssohn Theatre
I MARCH 12-15
8:00 P.M.
Saturday Matinee-March 15
2:30 O.M.
ADMISSION
March 12-13: $1.25-$1.75
Matinee: $1.25-$1.75
March 14-15: $1,75-$2.25
BOX OFFICE
March 10-11-12:30-5 P.M.
March 12-15-12:30-8 P.M.
e
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CORRECTION
Contrary to Wednesday's ad
interviews for
Cinema Guild
Board Members
are over
10
U
'Ieffie'Heris a
C~oydi Huntec
ONE SHOW TONIGHT
._~ . . . 1 ZUr ..-& - i .lnc
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A scene from Dr. Chicago
>_-.
ORGANIZATION NOTICES
..*: ev::w:: *::****:**":* :.*** "***r*tn.".*,e**r.*ro**.":., ,* {r
STEAK and EGGS
with hashbrown potatoes,
toast and jelly
$1,10
STEVE'S LUNCH
just west of SAB
NOW OPEN SUNDAYS, TOO
1#
Organization of Arab Students: Lec-
ture: Dr. Mohamed Shokier, "The. Cur-
rent Middle East, Crisis: March 14th,
8:00 p.m. multi-purpose room of the
UGLI.
** * *
Hillel Foundation, 1429 Hill St.,
Thursday, March 13, 8:00 p.m., A Sym-
pgsium on the question of legalized
abortion with Sen. John McCauley.
Father Michael Donovan, Dr. Robert
Jaffe, Rabbi Max Kapuston,
Last day to register for the leader-
ship conference March 21st-23rd at
Highscope Conference Center. Mr. Will
Smith will be the Trainer. Register;now
at 1011 SAB between 8:00 - 5:00 p.m.
* * * *
Bach Club Meeting: Thursday, Mar.
14, 8:00 p.m., Guild House, 802 Mon-
roe. Program: A talk by Chris Broder-
sen on "Baroque Instruments," featur-
ing a live performance of a baroque
sonata on original instruments. Fun
and jelly donuts afterwards. Everyone
welcome. For further information call
769-0995 or 763-1614.
Ann Arbor Fa hdom, meeting Thurs-
day, March 13, in Greene House Lounge.
East 'Quad, 9 p.m. Meeting will include
disetssion of a possible trip to Marcon
or St. Louiscon, and the unveiling of
the new club magazine. Fonma.
* * * *
U of M Oceanological Society regular
meeting, Thursday, March 13, 7:00 p.m.
room 1040 NR. Special program wi t h
Navy films on careers in oceanogra-
phy. All welcome!
-0
in the PAUL NEWMAN pridction of
rachel,
rac hel
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Mg$
mwmho
MICHIGRAS
S 0
1965 SUPER HAWK. $300, well taken
care of miles Will sell to highest
offer by Nov. 1. Andy-761-5930.Z2
with xn i Power!
Michael!!!
(is here)
2 Homecomings are always better than
one! I love you! lap FF
Read and Use DAILY Classifieds
SUBSCRIBE TO THE MICHIGAN DAILY
starring PETER O'TOOLE, JAMES MASON,
CURT JURGENS, ELI WALLACH
SATURDAY, MARCH 15-8 P.M.
ADMISSION-75c (proceeds to U.J.A.)
Following the movie, at 10:45, PROF. ROBERT F. HAUGH of the English
Dept. will discuss the film in relation to the Conrad Novel from which it was
taken.
HILLEL FOUNDATION 663-4129 1429 U1.11 St.
APRIL 11-12
* SKIT NITE *
* CARNIVAL *
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141
CLI
Program Information
662-6264
SHOWS AT
1,3,5,7, & 9:05
14
EASTWOOD
GIVES NEW YORK 24 HRS . . . TO GET OUT OF TOWN!
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