PAGE TWO
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGE TWO FIlE MICHIGAN DAILY
FILMS
Music School's
'Don Giovanni'
4
Corman 's 'Massacre': A Masterpiece
Captures Mozart's
Lively Spirit
D-. OTTLM IDIM"L+GM2}AT
By ANDREW LUGG I for one, can
"The St. Valentine's Day Massa- genius. He i
cre" is a great movie! Nobody. most unappre
but nobody (as they say), should ing out of H
miss it. is perhaps 1
Those of us who attend the director of
drive-ins regularly will need no deserves any
introduction to Roger Corman, the ever. (Lewis
director of "Massacre." Between Welles and F
1954 and 1964 he directed some 70 the old-schoo
films, including "X - The Man I want to e
with X-ray Eyes," "Bucket of Valentine's D
Blood," "I Was a Teenage Were- very, very iml
wolf" and "I Was a Teenage Fran- sibly it is a c
kenstein." His later films have sacre of mem
been made on large budget, where- gang by mem
as the early works cost less than pone outfit o
the average B-film. The films were Like D. W. G
made to make money and they a Nation," Co
dwell on what audiences want: pleading that
blood and thunder. count, but li
Yet for all this, this reviewer it impossible
Cavanagh Promises
Of Police Brutality
DETROIT P)--Common Coun- bayonet and
cil has asked Mayor Jerome Cav- Wednesday n
anagh to report today on his find- out of a
,ings on charges of police brutality. Street with
The mayor has promised that air.
each complaint w o u 1 d be Other per
thoroughly investigated, without provo
More than 200 claims of bru- cendiary bomr
tality and illegal search and seiz- store, burning
ure have been made to investi- Hood said
gating agencies since the riot. complaints ha
"Each of these claims will be the U.S. Just
thoroughly investigated," Cava- the Federal
nagh said. "I would ask the com- tion.
munity not to. pass judgment on Complaints
the accusations against individ- to the Ame
,ual policeien until there has Union, the
been an opportunity to investi- for the Adva
gate them." People, the
The mayor called for the same Bureau of th
open-mindedness about persons the Michigan
arrested during the violence "un- mission and
til the defendants have had their, Democratic
day in court." Detroit, John
Nicholas Hood, a Negro and a Diggs, both N
council member, said Thursday Meanwhile,
he had received complaints that gency Counct
police beat prisoners 'and illegal- called the sup
ly searched persons on the streets rights of priso
and in their homes. the riots. It
Five persons say they saw po- a breakdown
lice and National Guardsmen dure in the tr
r,...L J.... /Y _._____ ___. s.
not deny Corman's rendition. And he does this in the a definite counter-point to the fast While the narrator announces for aBy UE REDFERN
s without doubt the best possible way; he creates a fic- action, fedora-mystic of the tradi- each person to be massacred; "On and JENNY STILLER
ciated director work- tion of immense power. If he were tional gangster movie. Thus the the last morning of his life . . ," Good opera, as entertainment,
ollywood. Indeed, he writing a novel, we would have no color is low keyed and grainy. the camera shows each character is hard to beat. Even if the cast
the, only Hollywood hesitation in calling it literature. Corman uses red-brown tones about his routine activities. Cor- of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" had
our generation that At a certain point, both in lit- for Moran's recollections of an man plays down the drama vis- butchered the performance at Ly-
recognition whatso- erature and in the film, style be- earlier show-down with Capone. ually and plays it up verbally. He dia Mendelssohn this weekend, it
Hitchcock, Rosen, comes the most important aspect However this is no device! In- picks out the details, without much would have been worth seeing.
ord are products of of a work. In "Massacre" Corman stead of an "apology" for "time- regard to their "worth" and builds! Happily, "Don Giovanni" was
1.) has developed a way of filming past," these colors take us right from these oblique comments the not butchered. The School of Mu-
xplain why "The St. which is both beautiful and hor- in there where the action is. Again essence of the massacre. sic and the department of art
Say Massacre" is a rific. at the Circus Cafe the phenom- And so on.... The film is open collaborated to produce a spar-
portant film. Osten'-, The French call this way of enal purples and pastel greens to a great deal more analysis. kling, lively and thoroughly de-
hronlcle of the mas- Ishooting a film "ecriture," be- and browns are no more cliches. One reservation, however: the act- lightful rendition of the 18th cen-
bers of Bugs Moran's cause the film-maker wields his Whereas Antonioni will use color ting of Jason Robards as Capone. tury master's greatest opera. I
nbers of the Al Ca- camera as though it were a pen (usually in a very obvious and This is overly dramatic; quite out Mozart had a wonderful intui-
n Feburary 14, 1929. Let us not underestimate this fact: silly fashion) to mirror his actors' of tune with the other actors and tive understanding of humanity
3riffith in "Birth of that within an atmosphere hos- emotions, Corman uses it much the demands of the visuals. Never- coupled with a penetrating in-
rman opens his film tile to personal expression, Cor- more positively to create a whole theless, the film is the first gang- sight into all the silly little pet-
it is a factual ac- man stamps all his films with mood, which encompasses the to- ster movie of this decade which tiness and foibles which govern
ke Griffith he finds his own personality. Just as we tal quality of a particular mo- is of our time. It is the first one much of our behavior. His char-
not to distort his . can recognize a Hitchcock film or ment and which is in complete to use scope and color complete- acters are fashioned with wit and
a Godard ;without knowing that it harmony with the rest of the film. ly successfully. Hopefully it will subtlety. There are few heroes or
had been made by them, so "ecri- Toward the end of the film, bring Corman the recognition he villains in Mozart; no character
ture" is immediately discernible in Corman-lays bare his conception. deserves.is distinctly good or evil-but all
Corman's films. We recognize
"Massacre" as being a work by,' * e
"rg see - of0senesancor) Matter of Resistance 'All Too Resistable
(cenp - the way the film looks at.
of them are human. To render a
successful interpretation of a Mo-
zart operatic figure, then, one
must have a flair for comedy as
well as singing.
This double ability-usually all
too rare in student opera-was thej
largest contributing factor to the
excellence of Thursday night's per-
formance.
Lee Davis was superlative in the
title role, his forceful baritone
voice being perhaps the best -
and certainly the most operatic-
in the company. Davis' acting abil-
ity played a close second to his
singing, and he carried off what
has become rather a stock role
with a great deal of finesse.
when she chased Giovanni around
the stage while she was not sing-
ing, but had to stop short and
cling to his cape during her part
of the duet.
Of the two remaining roles,
there is very little to say. Ken-
neth Scheffel as Don Ottavio gave
a commendable performance in
his one aria, and seemed to be fill-
ing his role quite adequately: his
Ottavio was every bit the insipid
fop one imagines that character
to be. Franklin Dybdahl, in the
not-very-demanding role of the
Commander's statue, had a strong
voice which sounded fine when it
wasn't being drowned out by the
,trombones.
n"A +{,n vaxs if m^-
Rv. DEBORll~iAH INDERM~'P~tAN
a key beachhead, the marriage be- but substantially faithful. Her
The best all-round performance With the exception of a little
in the opera was provided by Rob- too much sound during the statue
ert Schneider, who portrayed Gio- scene, the orchestra, under the di-
vanni's bumbling, cringing, but rection of Joself Blatt, did an
well-meaning servant, Leporello, admirable job after a rather slop-
with originality and wit. Schneid- py rendition of the overture. Par-
er's singing voice, although it lacks ticularly effective was the skill
the impressive tonal quality of Da- with which the difficult coordina-
vis', was well-suited to the part,, tion of pit, backstage and stage
and the result was an impressive, orchestras with the singers was
professional performance. accomplished.
Michael Robbins, in the role of Ralph Herbert's stage direction,
Masetto, the peasant to whom one which was marked by such minute
of Giovanni's conquests is en- attention to detail as having Gio-
gaged, was the other really out- vanni's and the Commander's
standing performer. His voice met swords meet in time to the mu-
very well the demands of the part; sic during their fight, added dra-
and he clowned throughout, his matic and musical unity to the
facial expressions in particular be- production. Effective staging, aid-
ing a joy to behold. Mary Wake- ed by Jeanette Descutner's able
field, as Masetto's bride Zerlina, . choreography, contributed to the
matched his performance with a naturalness and ease with which
great deal of sparkle, and suc- the production moved. The light-
shoot two Negro men --1ane way it moves. n i
night as they came Throughout the film, a narra- "A Matter of Resistance" is
building on LaSalle tor gives a 'dead-pan account of mildly funny but not extraordi-
their hands in the the events leading up to the mas- nary, or, put otherwise, it's easy
sacre. He gives a pocket biography to take but resistable. The Eng-
sons claim police, of each of the characters - when lish redo of the French title (La
)cation, tossed an in-' they were born, previous convic- Vie de Chauteau) is supposed to
.b into a Nigro book tions, when they died and so on. be some kind of a ,pun in which'
g it to the ground. He reveals each of the incidents "resistance" applies to both love
that more than 110 before they occur. But as the and war, and though the film has!
tat been refethan 1tonarrator attempts to give authein- the "all's fair in both" motif, the
ave been referred to ticity to the account, the visual word fits the battle (French re-
Bureau of Investiga- aspects of the film counter-point sistance fighters against Ger-
the account and reveal the film mans) more than the love (the'
for what it is: pure poetry. I seductive but withholding woman).!
also have been made mean the camera seems to be Maybe this imbalance says some-
rican Civil Liberties isolating numerous little incidents thing about why the film never.
National Association all of which add up to the feeling "gets there."
ancement of Colored of the massacre, rather than to its For If good farce is measured
Civilian Complaint documentary pretentions. by how well it reduces the dimen-
e Police Department, Corman knows, how to achieve sions of what it mocks, the pro-
Civil RIghts Com- effect, i.e., tone. He knows how portions of love and war, each of
the offices of two to be silent, when to go in and which should belittle ahe other,
representatives from out of focus, when color should be are not kept in order. The war is
Conyers and Charles subjective (as in Antonioni) and sometimes too real and the love
vegroes. when it should be functional (as too unfunny; thus what seems in-
i ". '". .-- .'.LA . _ . I:_ - - _-.-._4! .. , i - - - -
cause in the first place he discov-
ers while sabotaging the chateau,
battle-weary soldier's longing for
the earth woman, one of its in-
habitants; and in the second be-
cause he can use her "cleverly"
against German villains, in par-
ticular to hoodwink the efficiency
of an officer who lusts for her,
and to distract him from the ex-
igencies of war.
This is one of those films that
would-be comic energy is bland.
At the other extreme, the Ger-
mans were over-solidified. Not un-
conscious enough, they are the
only the oft-done stereotypes, rig-
id and militarized, except for two
good scenes: one where the com-
mandant, having clearly lost his
female desiderata, goes way out
of whack and overturns and de-
stroys a whole piano, and another
where the stock German brutal-
continually invites you to wonder ity is again cut down to comic
why it "misses," and how it might below par-ness as he and the
have been done. Partly, it's off the saboteur slap each other several
hook because it's too deadpan in times across the face.
spots, and not deadpan in spots- The final touch-and-go climax
as though it hasn't sharply made -will the Americans get through
up its mind about the values of to wipe out the enemy's big guns?
the experiences it plays with. A -assumes an overdose of real, D-
lot of this has to do with the act- Day suspense, despite an inter-
ing. Really good comic style has ruption by what should be a smart
a quality of absent-mindedness to scene: two resistance "dumb farm-
it. The only character who ers, struggling amidst Bundist
achieves that here is the cuckold- searchlights for the honor of get-
._- -. 3iir. . of n r .+c sn a T~i..J. At.. .QL
c
t
i
i
r
t
s
ceeded admirably in making the
girl who leaves her huszand-to-be
on their wedding day, coyly shift-
ing back and forth between him
and the nobleman seem entirely
believable.
In contrast, the other two lead-
ing women were slightly disap-
pointing. Lynda Weston was com-a
petent but not spectacular as Don-
na Elvira, making up in her rich,
clear voice what she lacked now
and then in acting ability.
Martha Ecclestone as Donna
Anna had perhaps the most beau-
tiful voice-in terms of tonal
quality-in the cast, but it was
not quite powerful enough for the!
demands of opera. Miss Ecclestone
distinguished herself for both good
acting and good singing - but
never both at the same time. This
was particularly evident during
the opening scene of the opera,
ing, like the other less superla-
tive aspects of the opera, was
competent if not overly exciting.
The one special effect, Giovanni's
descent to hell, was carried off,
amid red lighting and smoke, with
a great deal of aplomb.
The new English translation by
Ruth and Thomas Martin also de-
serves comment. It was the best
version of da Ponte's libretto that
these reviewers have yet come
across, and provided a fitting com-
plement to the vitality of Mozart's
score.
Most important of all, the com-
pany caught the infectious, bub-
bling elan of Mozart. Too many
performances of "Giovanni" have
been ruined by heavy-handedness.
This cast had the Mozartian spirit
in spades, and the audience
couldn't help but catch it.
It was all great fun.
the Interfaith Emer-
il protested what it
ppression of the legal
oners arrested during
said there had been
of the court proce-
'eatment of 'prisoners.,
DA LYOFFICI
c -:02-rtitit-,"} r. ;sv a . {'fi'4}iptmi ' h +#} ;ir """,.
The Daily Official Bulletin is an
official publication of the Univer-
sity of Michigan for which Thej
Michigan Daily assumes no editor-
ial responsibiity, Notices should be
sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to
Room 3564 Administration Bldg. be-
fore 2 p. of the day preceding
publication and by 2Z p.m. Friday
for Saturday and Sunday. General
Notices may be published a maxi-
mum of two times on request; Day
Calendar items appear once only.
Student organization notices are not
accepted for publication. For more
information call 764-9270.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5
Day Calendar
Cinemat Guild-Cary Grant and Jose-'
phine Hull in "Arsenic and Old Lace":
Architecture Aud., 7 and 9:05 p.m.
School of Music and Dept. of Speeh
Opera-Mozart's "Don Giovanni". Ly-
dia Mendelssohn Theatre, 8 p.m.
School of Music Degree Recital -
Duane Dishaw, Piano: School of Music
Recital Kil, 8:30 p.m.,
Events Sunday
University of Michigan Summer Comn-
mencement Exercises--4. Gov. William
G. Milliken state of Michigan.."Knowl-
edge, Wisdom and the Courage to
Serve": Hill Aud., 2-4 p.m. Reception
immediately following. for graduates,
friends, relatives: Michigan League Ball-
room.
School of Music Degree Recital -
Lauran Brown, -Clarinet: School of Mu-
sic Recital Hall, 7 p.m.
in Godard). His control of such tended for bathos is often just ed husband Jerome (Pierre Bras- Iing oil a grenade. Bu th 1p
disparate elements as color, dia- boring seur), whose very funny presence of perspective is not bold. The way
logue, narration and music is com- I The plot involves the efforts of on screen is due to his air of being the audience laughs, or doesn't
pletely integrated within the mood a French resistance hero to sab- slightly; quizzically, below par. shows its interests are over-much r
of the whole film. otage an old plaster-rotting castle, I t h with the simple but always seduc-d
Let me explain this. by refer- and a marriage: the castle be- fighte ns t e Rtoo e tive suspense angle of whether the
ence to color. Corman uses this as cause it yields military access to sleepy, even though this mask good Americans will win the war;
eepy eve thugh his askand so the potential comic de-
",+ ":'..W..':""::...:".,, .....::.:"x "a:x :: %=%.;:%r:;:<-: , serves the necessities of his "coun- basement ails.
tem pyig." Somehin ofwel The filming is attractive, but t'
suppressed fire rather than steady, director Jean Rappeneau's de-
detachment might make it seem cisions haven't much to do with
that events are happening to him the needs of the narrative. This
here and now; he seems to be may be because the narrative isn't I
.".r.ls:::;:::r::.:<.:.:;::" ::rir:.::..r...:.:}:::tW imitating what happened to him deep enough to have needs. You
Richard Perkins, Clarinet:. School of POSITION OPENINGS: :in an already rehearsed script, can't accuse a film of being super-
Music Recital Hall.n8:30 p.m.SGfrPIN OPNIGS This is also true of Catherine ficial when it doesn't presume to
City, Mich.-Public Relations Editor Deneuve, the country girl supposed depth. And so its main flaw. is
General Notices Journ. or Engl. degree. Men preferred to be easy-pickings, quickly stirred not its inconsequence but its tone
because of night activities and travel. not mastering this inconsequence, not mastering this inconsequence.
TV Center Program: On Sun., Aug. 6. News writing, publications, editing, It is whipped-up and strained and It is whipped-up and stained and
the following program produced by the some oral presentations. Responsiblej
TV Center wnill have its initialtele- for all stages of publications. misses the case of relaxing with misses the case of relaxing with
cast in Detroit: Management Consultants, Western the pure power of doing very little. the pure power of doing very little.
12 Noon, WWJ-TV, Channel 4 - ' U.S.-Distribution Planning Manager,
"The Many Worlds of India. Festivals degree in Mktg., plus 5 yrs. exper. in
of India." A tour in music, song and planning and admin. Foodservice Dis- The Area's Finest Drive-In is easy
dance of India's religious festivals, trict Sales Mgr., degree in mktg, 5Ph 4 to reach - miles south of
trs. foodstuffs selling exper~ broker ah - n miles thr,
Doctoral Examination for Richard exper. Washtenaw Rd. on Carpenter,
Gene Niemi, Political Science; thesis: 'Raytheon Co., Waltham, Mass.-Mi-
"A Methodological Study of Political crowave and Power Tube, Mass. Opera- BOX OFFICE
Socialization in the Family," Mon.. Au- tions seeks all degree engineers, BS/ OPEN 8:00 P.M.
gust "7, Room 3038 ISR, at 12 noon. MS levels. Also Acctg., Buyer, Mktg. CARPENTERR
Chairman, M. K. Jennings. areas. TEDRAD
Chai man, _._KJen_ ngsCity of Gastonia, N .C.-Design Engi-
neer, CE with municipal engineering F IRST FIRST
Placement spec. RUN N RUN
Central Wisconsin Colony and Train-
ANNOUNCEMENTS: ing School, Madison, Wis.-Mental Re- I! 0+ I
Teacher Corps-Applications are being tardation Community Services Coordi- 5
taken through August 10 for Teacher nator. MSW or MA in counseling of
Corps program at Wayne State Univer- psych., 2 years professional exper. in
sity. New Teacher Corps interns for retardation.
Detroit area, 2 yr. grad work-study Pure Oil Co., Ypsilanti, Mich.-Gas
program, trng. lib. arts grads in teach- Station Attendants, shifts compatible
ing methods for poverty youngsters. with reasonable course load, station
Tuition-free MA. working in - pavesty open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Pref. man, some j ur rn ran uaui,,r ar o.~ u "
^"1
i
'4
I
Film-"The Parable" - controversial
film produced by the National Council
of Churches for the New York World's
Fair. Discussion and coffee will follow.
[ Canpel Chapel, Forest at Washtenaw.
7 p.m., Sun., Aug. 6.
Events Monday
Dept. of Civil Engineering Confer-
ence-"The Second International Con-
ference on the Structural Design of
Asphalt Pavements": Registration, Lob-
by, Rackham Bldg., 9 a.m.
School of Music Degree Recital-Da-
vid Yeomans, Piano: School of Music
Recital Hall, 4:30 p.m.
School of Music Degree Recital-
I
I
1
SHt
7, 9
)WS AT
, 3, 5,
:05 P.M.
r JANE CHARLES MIMRD
D- FONDA.BoYER- aTWICK
Mats, $1.25
" Eves. &
Sundays $1.50
4
ORGANIZATION NOTICE
, ., f
USE OF THIS COLUMN FOR AN-
NOUNCEMENTS is available to officially
recognized and registered student or-
ganizations only, Forms are available
in Room 1011 SAB.
* *
Newman Student Association spon-
sors a Bar-B-Q and Mixer at 6 p.m. this
Sunday at the Center's backyard, 331
Thompson St.
Voice SDS holds a fall strategy miem-
bership at 8 p.m. in Room 3A at the
Union..
* * *
Lutheran Student Chapel at Hill St.
will hold a 10 a.m. worship service
with a speaker at 7 p.m. talking on
"What is Black Power?"
* * *
University Lutheran Chapel holds a
cleanup activity on .Aug. 5 at 1 p.m.
at 1511 Washtenaw Ave. On Aug. 6
there will be a 9:45 a.m. church
service with Pastor Scheips preaching
on the 8th Commandment, "Worth-
while Witness Bearing." Bible class is
at 11 a.m., "The Doctrine of the
Church in the Lutheran Confessions."
At 7 p.m., Pastor Schelps Will show
his slides from the Sesquicentennial
World Cruise. All are welcome.
community. Non-education majors. Ap-;math capabilities, over 18.
plications and further information at State of Vermont-Personnel Mgint.,
Bureau of Appointments, eGneral Divi- BA plus 2 yrs. Exec. Sec., BA plus 5
sion. yrs. Trng. Info. Spec.. BA. Interviewer,
Teacler Corps, New Mexico, Dept. of BA. Public Health Immunization Rep.,
Elem. & Second. Education, New Mex BA Engl., Speech. State Investigator, BA3
-AcolStatiUniveqrsiyyLACugestN2M. plus 3 yrs. Voc. Rehab. Couns., BA plus,
BA degree in non-ed. majors preferred. 2 yrs. Applications being accepted con-
If possible get Miller's Analogies Test tinually contact Vermont Personnel
I scores to Grad School of N.M.U. Will Div., State Admin. Bldg., Montpelier
live in communities where work with for applications.
schools in urban and rural povertys t
areas. 2 yr. MA work/study program. Ciba Corp., Summit, y p.Jp-Fsycholo-
The FSEE Test-Being given Aug. 12, gist for Psychopharmacology Research,
will be held at the downtown branch PhD in psych. plus 0-2 yrs. in this
of the Post Office, Main at Catherine field, experimental design duties, supv.
Sts. If, your notice from the Federal staff in lab, areas of tranquilizers and
Service read otherwise, please disregard anti-depressants.**
it, there was an error. Applications for
the September exam must be filed by For further information please call
Aug. 10. Applications availabue at Bu- 764-7460, General Division, Bureau of
reau of Appointments. Appointments, 3200 SAB.i
- Eu
fRUMMU OK Me tAe US CSShawn sit 9:25 cOnl y J f r-I
ALSO-SHOWN AT 11:10 ONLY
TONYRANDALL 11*"S111S"5
SENTABERGER *
HERBERT LOMQ
WrlFRIOHYDE-WHITE
TERRY-THOMASoo
--PLUS--
"RIDE A WHITE HORSE" "HIC
PLUS-
GHWAY RUNNERY"
,_
(
ommoommosw
I
HELD OVER - 4th Week
NOW SHOWING
They blamed him-
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Population
explosion!
serviced
the
whole
town!.
PRESENTED BY ANGELO RIZZOLI
ANOUK AIMEE UGO TOGNAZZI GIOVANNA RALLI
WITH PIERRE BRASSEUR DIRECTED BY ALESSANDRO BLASETTI
41
SNC}W TIMES;
Mon. thru Thurs. 7-9
WEE mmml -
fi
F1- ' T itY' M/Y!