Seventy-FiftbYear
EDIrED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
REVIEWS OF MOVIES, SYMPHONY:
Monicelli's 'Organizer' Not
I
11
' Fred,420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH.
NEws PHONE: 764-0552
torials printed in Th'e Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
AY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1964
NIGHT EDITOR: JEFFREY GOODMANI
Bluestone SGC Motion Gives
Students Chance for Action
RAH FOR BARRY Bluestone!!! He
k a step. It was unfortunately a
one, rather like a baby taking its
tep, but it appears to have been
right direction. In collecting the
nces of students he gave Student
nment Council something to do.
e, the fourteen page statement was
strosity in more ways than one. It
ie product of anger and one after-
n front of a typewriter. It jumbled
er problems that do not concern
niversity regardless of whether or
ey concern the student, and prob-
which do not radically interest the
it regardless of how much they
'n the University. Next to no back-
:d work done before it was thrown
er and onto the Council table.
rHE OTHER HAND, had the prop-
procedure been followed, and the
round adequately filled in, noth-
er would have happened. The need-
ormation would have come to SGC
sjointed fragments. The sense of
ity would have been lost. And the
tion would have appeared in in-
ive pieces. Bluestone took the only
it.
question is now whether even that
ill work. The SGC machine has been
i up and the necessary committees
1 out. They may very well fade
to come to the surface again in
.l months with mealy-mouthed re-
and tepid recommendations: per-
one more change in Council plan,
ecommendation to the administra-
tating that SGC believes the admis-
office should be less enthusiastic
policies.
SUCCESS of Bluestone's attempt
)ends on the dedication of the SGC
ers and of anyone else who will
.ce a few minutes of his precious
for the good of future generations
University.
re is a lot of work to be done in re-
to reform within the University.
SGC is strong enough to do it only in
so much as its constituency pushes its
members into hard work and contributes
such effort as is necessary to aid them.
The Bluestone motion is as good a place
as any for the student to exercise his
prerogative and rights.
THE COMMITTEES, for one thing,
might be able to use help in actual re-
search, but more than that they can
listen to suggestions regardless of wheth-
-er they want to or not. Many of current
problems can be resolved at least to a
certain extent through inner student co-
operation using SGC merely to organize.
Just to consider some far flung ideas"
which student cooperation could bring to
fruition-
There is a housing problem in the
dorms: it might be possible to find other
places to set up housekeeping and to ne-
gotiate with the University to do so. Rents
are too high: there are such things as
rent strikes. There is not any place to
study: one could be found and set up
independently of the University. It might
even be a profitable business venture to
set up a place which guaranteed quiet,
space and soft light. No one knows.
STUDENTS ARE NO LONGER children.
They should not have to have every
detail of their lives protected by the Uni-
versity father image. The current spawn-
ing of "study committees" is a good place
to start being Independent.
SGC is always accused of being ineffec-
tive. It is, but its weakness is not totally
the fault of its members or the Univer-
sity's hideous bureaucracy. The depend-
ence of the student body has more than
a little to do with it. Students should not
'whine. If they have a problem theyI
should figure out a solution and then
hound it through SGC.
Take advantage of Bluestone's toddling
"step in the right direction."
-KAREN KENAH
At the Campus Theatre
THERE ARE Golden Bears and
Gold Lions from Europe and
pretty soon I presume there will
be Grand Potatoes from Boise. I
am referring to those voluminous
numbers of awards presented,
after much political dickering, to
motion pictures from various na-
tions at international film fests
every year. You have been warned
before, in these columns and else-
where, to beware of these trophy-
laden films.
Now, I am afraid, I must warn
you to be doubly aware of the
festival winners also bearing the
seal of ecstatic approval of the
cognoscenti reviewers across the
land. For several months they
have been enthusiasticly praising
"The Organizer" by the prominent
Italian director, Mario Manicelli.
And like those other critical and
box-office successes that possess
a cheap base under their glitter-
ing and expensive cinema-plating
-i.e., "Tom Jones," "Seven Days
in May," "The Servant"-"The
Organizer"' makes a fair clink as
it sets up its hardware for us to
see.
TELLING the story of the tex-
tile mill workers of Turin during
the closing years of the last cen-
tury, this film attempts to senti-
mentalize them in the neo-realistic
style that washed over Italy, and,
consequently, several other coun-
tries, immediately after the last
great war.
Slaving 14 hours a day in the
factory, with half an hour off
for lunch, and with the one out of
five chance that they, will be
mangledin the machines and laid
off without any compensation, the
workers consciously decide their lot
is. an unfair one. They attempt a
quasi-strike and fail. A high-
school professor, Marcello Mas-
troianni, on the run from author-
ities because of his other "So-
cialist" activities, drops into Tur-
in, one day, and, in a haphazard
manner, commences to lead the
workers in a full, and, as can be
expected, unsuccessful, strike.
GOOD POINTS FIRST: Mas-
troianni's acting is superb and the
cinematography is outstanding.
The lesser roles are only as fine
as the faulty script and direction
allow them to go.
Mastroanni is the most fasci-
nating actor in film today. e has
the most mobile and expressive
face of any screen actor since
Chaplin. It is unfortunate it is
here hidden behind a shaggy
beard. (I presume that Monicelli
thought it would be a sin to allow
an Italian "Socialist" professor
helping the exploited workers to
be clean shaven.) Yet, it is amaz-
ing how much emotion is com-
municated through that beard and
through the expressive postures;
and mannerisms of the rest of his
body.
THE CHARACTER Mastroiani
plays, the "professore" is beguil-
ing and pitiable. He is probably a
very poor teacher and he is an
even worse "organizer."
At first, telling his followe s to
"think twice" before striking, he
is completely lost in his sway and
control of the crowd and he telis
them not to strike for "an hour,
or a day, but for a week or even
a month!" And off they march
home, ready for any consequences
the strike may bring on.
* * *
ANOTHER TIME, dashing to
the rescue to save the workers
from following their leaders and
returning to work, he again loses
control of his own thinking pro-
cesses and stirs up the workers to
return to the factory and occupy
it ,because it is their's - their
"sweat runs those machines."
He doesn't have enough posses-
sion of himself to simply tell the
workers that they can win if they
hang on for just a little longer;
he wants action of some sort and
unfortunately falls into that final,
fatal cry, "To the factory." And
the strike is broken in that last
rush to the the textile mill's gates.
* * *
MONICELLI and his director of
photography, Giuseppe Rotunno,
have attempted to infuse a semi-
documentary feeling into the film.
And, in keeping with the period
the movieportrays, the photog-
raphy is made to look 70 years old,
through such tricks of the trade
as back-lighting, sharp contrast
lighting and zero-to-infinity fo-
cusing.
Immaculate attention is devot-
ed to a clutter of detail in cloth-
ing, housing conditions and fac-
tory conditions to give a sharp
documentary flavor and a sharp
editorial comment on conditions in
the factory slums of the nineties.
But it is all done with little un-
derstanding of human plight and
only with a desire to show a com-
fortable, air-conditioned audience
that "This is how it really was."
MONICELLI TRIES to stir up
a little human feeling with such
faded devices as having older
brother beating up younger broth-
er because he won't study for his
classes and wants to work by
older brother's side in the factory.
After thesbeating, the older
brother helps pick up the sat-
tered notebooks and papers, pulls
out his handkerchief and wipes
younger brother's tears away and
cakes him by the hand as they
return home.,
We expect much more of Fel-
lini's and Antonionifs compatriots
than a modern and unfelt rendi-
tion of sibling conflict and com-
passion removed almost 20 years
from Rosellini's and De Sica's
successes.
-Michael Juliar
Nights of Cabiria
At the Cinema Guild
L TRANSITIONAL FILM, falling
between his neorealist and
surrealist periods, Federico Fel-
lini's "Nights of Cabiria" will be
of interest mainly to those who
wish to study the development of
a great director. At this stage,
Fellini was abandoning the hard,
lean, documentary style of his
early success, "I Vitelloni," but
had not yet found the imaginative-
ly rich visual vocabulary that
marks "La Dolce Vita" and "8/."
"Cabiria" is, then, an inchoate
andrgroping film, not intrinsically
interesting.
Cabiria, played by Fellini's wife,
Giuletta Massina, is a prostitute
beset by false lovers. The opening
sequence sets the theme: Cabiria
and Georgio frolic in the fields,
apparently much in love, until
Georgio snatches her purse and
pushes her into the river where
she almost drowns. The bulk of
the film is a series of variations
upon this theme.
* *
IT IS fascinating to note motifs
here which appear more fully
developed in subsequent films. The
capsulation of the theme in an
opening sequence appears again
in "8112." A religious ritual is a
clear forerunner of the miracle
sequence in "La Dolce Vita," one
of the best parts of that film. And
the ending definitely suggests that
of "81/2."
The most disappointing aspect
of "Nights of Cabiria" is Giuletta
Massina's performance, especially
when compared to her touching
performance in "La Strada." This
is doubly ironic, for Fellini, a
director rivaled only by Bergmann
in his ability to obtain a per-
formance, seems to have intended
the film as a showcase for his
wife's talents. Her performance,
however, is crudely forced, fre-
quently sinking to the level of
amateurish mugging at the cam-
era. The character of Cabiria car-
ries the burden of the entire film
and with this poor performance
the entire film collapses.
* * *
THE ENDING is a very instruc-
tive piece of cinema when it is
compared to that of "81/2." Both
express reconciliation and hope
through a metaphoric dance_ of
life, but this early workig of the
theme is too facile and sentimen-
tal. The more extravagant "8 2"
sequence is imbued with a sense
of mystery and inexplicability, a
feeling that the essence of life is
as quicksilver in the hand, none-
theless real for all its elusiveness.
'Nights of Cabiria" is then only
a tentative film. Fellini was grop-
ing toward those personal and
social ideas and techniques of
visual metaphor which mark his
most recent films, but had not yet
developed them fully.
-Sam Walker
Behold A
Pale Horse
At the Michigan Theatre
THE HORSE may be pale, but
the movie is not. There is
enough action and suspense to
keep the viewer crouching toward
the edge of his seat with a plot
that is reminiscent of old espion-
age movi-s. But, occasionally, the
viewer may sit back for a brief
moment while he enjoys a laugh.
Gregory Peck and Anthony
Quinn portray the two long-time
enemies who stage one final due,
to the death. Peck, as an ex-
guerrilla leader in the Spanish
Civil War, returns to Spain to see
his dying mother. He has been
warned that his best friend is an
informer and that a trap has beeli
set for him. But at the encour-
agement of a small boy, he must
take the chance to prove to him-
self that he is not the coward he
believes himself to be.
Peck is the usual Peck, but every
once in a while the character of
the once insolent, impetuous Arti-
guez makes a definite break-
through. He manages to make Ar-
tiguezjustkold enough and tired
enough to make the viewer slight-
ly more sympathetic' with him
than with his enemy, the captain.
* * *
FORTUNATELY, Peck is sup-
ported by a superior cast headed
by Anthony Quinn who plays the
tough captain. In the church scene
where Vinores prays to God to
help in the capture of Artiguez
Quinn convinces us of his long
struggle to do so.
By far the best performances
are given by Marietto Angeletti as
Pacho, the orphan who comes to
Artiguez for the revenge of his
father's death; and Omar Sherif
as the young priest who risks his
life to help Artiguez.
Direction and photography arc
excellent. Especially effective I
the use of close-up. At times, these
approach portrait quality; and the
prolonged and intense concentra-
tion on eyes is a successful way
to reveal character. Settings are
also contrived to reveal the cir-
cumstances in which the charac-
ters are found. Scenes in the Py-
rennes are breathtaking in qual-
ity, although their importance I:
relatively minor.
ONE DETAIL of special merit
is the sound track by Maurice
Jarre. Not at all loud and blar-
ing like so many scores, this
music never intrudes upon the
action. Rather, the subtle blend of
guitar, castinettes and harpsichord
adds a slightly Spanish flavor to
the settings and helps to estab-
lish an appropriate mood for the
actors. This is the final touch in
a truly artistic -- and enjoyable
film.
-Mary K. Simpson
The Fall of the
Roman Empire
At the State Theatre
AFTER SEEING "The Fall of the
Roman Empire," the latest
Samuel Bronson spectacular, it
is obvious that Rome did not fall
-it just marched away. The movie
is an exciting two and a half hours
of Roman soldiers marching in
one procession after another-
exciting that is if you enjoy that
much marching, in glorious color
and wide screen.
The picture starts off at a slow
pace and never icks up. It be-
gins with Marcus.NAurelius (Alec
*Giuiness) on the Danube frontier
of the Roman Empire. After an
hour of preliminary battles, pro-
cessions, marches and long dis-
cussions, Marcus Aurelius is finally
murdered. Then, we watch the
armies march around under the
command of one Livius played by
Stephen Boyd. He pines away for
Lucella, Caesar's sister (Sophia
Loren) while her brother, the new
Caesar (Christopher Plumb) drains
Rome from within by over tax-
ation and all\tie other old stand-
bys of misgovernment.
In addition to the overabun-
dance of marching extras, the
movie is hampered by a poor
script. None of the lines are
memorable, but they are all very
familiar. Never are we burdened
by the unexpected, even in dia-
logue. Perhaps due to the wooden
script or maybe poor directing,
whichever, the performances even
of such accomplished performers
as Alec Guiness and Sophia Loren
are stilted and adequate at best.
HOWEVER, Bronson tries to
compensate the lack- of story and
action with lavish, colorful cos-
tumes and photography. The long
shots of the snow' covered moun-
tains and the rock-covered moun-
tains are beautiful. It is obvious
that much money was spent on
film, costumes, and sets--as well
as paying the extras and feeding
the horses.
Also James Mason turns in a
very creditable performance. He
makes his lines sound almost
sincere and sometimes rises above
his pat role of the Greek philos-
opher preaching peace to the deaf
ears of the warrior Romans. He is
very good in a scene in which he
is tortured by the barbarians-the
only really worthwhile scene in
the movie. '
* * *
"THE FALL of the Roman Em-
pire" is another spectacle, , no
better, and perhaps even a little
worse than the rest of' them. In
fact, traces of earlier cast-of-
thousands movies are in evidence.
Sophia Loren looks like she is
still playing in 'E Cid," and there
is even a chariot race with strong
similarities to that in "Ben-Hur."
It is all second-hand now and
would have been better left to
"rest in peace."
-Martha Eldridge
Chicago
Symphony.
A PROGRAM of music imposing
oin its difficulty and excellenq
of craft was performed last night
in Hill Auditorium by Jean Mar-
tinon and the Chicago: Symphony
Orchestra.
Brahms' Third Symphony, Opus
90 in F major inaugurated the
86th Choral Union ,Series. A prod-
uct of Brahms' mature period, the
Third (1883) is perhaps the most
difficult of the Brahms' symphon-
ies to perform. Meticulously and
subtly orchestrated, and filled with
meter changes and cross rhythms
this work is a challenge -for the
best orchestras. Martinon led a
performance noteworthy for its
precision, careful phrasing, clean
articulation and transparent in-
strumental balance.
* * *
A CHARACTERISTIC of the
concert which emerged in the first
pages of this score was Martinon's
particular attention to dynamic
markings, especially subito pia-
nb's. Although breathtaking in
their effect, these were executed
turbing, such as accelerandos at
the end of 'movements in the De-
bussy,,were not,
* * *
PRESENTING the essence of-the
sea in all its varied moods, Claude
Debussy's "La Mer" never fails
to sweep all before it by. its son-
ic richness . and the grandeur of
its conception. Completed in 1905
"La Mer" is a masterpiece of or-
chestration. Its delicate colors and
intricate rhythms require the most
careful balance and wellaconsid-
ered tempos.
Chicago rendered a fast-paced
performance that left something
to be desired in more quiet sec-
tions, but was quite exciting in
the closings of the first and third
sections. The second section suf-
fered most at the hands of this
tendency toward quick tempos and
produced the roughest playing of
the evening.
SECOND TO NONE as a virtu-
oscshowpiece, Bartok's "Suite
from the Miraculous Mandarin"
concluded a program distinguish-
ed, bythe severity of its demands
upon conductor and orchestra.
Written as a ballet score in 1919
in collaboration with the writer
Menyhert Lengyel, the "Miracu-
lous Mandarin" is full of Bartok's
exciting rhythms, distinctive har-
monies and arresting orchestra-
tional effects.
Somewhat controversial in its
subject matter, "Mandarin" was
denied performances in many ci-
ties when it was newly cdmpuet-
ed. In this work, the orchestra
measured up completely to every
demand of the score. The magnifi-
cent Chicago brass section was in
its glory, woodwind soloists were
outstanding, and the strings and
percussion played with a rhythmic
vigor seldom encountered in pro-
fessional orchestras.
A WORD should be said about
the programming: all audiences-
like to hear familiar works. On
this occasion, we were treated to
two works that are played fre-
quently by major orchestras, and
a third that is fast becoming a
staple of the orchestral reper-
tory. Is it too much to ask that
an occasional less familiar work
preferably a recently composed
one, be included on these pro-
grams?
These comments, however, have
no relation to the quality of the
performance last night. Anple
proof was given that the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra remains the
great orchestra it has always been.
-John Farrer
LETTERS:
L~alty
Need Series of Convocations
ANNOUNCEMENT this week of a
tative November date for President
er's convocation means that this
All probably be the only one this
Ger.
e the bureaucratic wheels were set
tion just last spring, this is per-
ll that could be accomplished this
ut time permits at least two con-
L'hrillsville'
ANN ARBOR movies aren't bad
h, our intelligence is now being
by a student-led debacle filled
,ditional juvenility and insipid-
the minds of those who thought
rhole mess were no less juvenile,
I find some excuse for Homecom-
since this must certainly be not
one must face the no less ap-
ypothesis that a group of intelli-
iversity students are responsible
is about to befall our campus.
fun, and the show must go on
that sort of thing; but can the
's of Homecoming '64 really be-
t anyone with less than a second
entality is going to be thrilled
ght of a group of students riding
ks and trying to retain a certain
of jelly beans in their helmets?
the whole idea of playing musi-
s around a boiling cauldron just
it stupid? It's bad enough that
have been racing Saint Bernards
years.
NO WAY suggesting that Home-
g should consist of chess tourna-
bridge games. Nevertheless, it
me that the sort of fun and.
uis year's Homecoming Commit-
come up with are just plain
-STEVEN HALLER
.u rit1M .
vocations to be scheduled for the spring
term.
The three topics already suggested
could be arranged logically into a series
revolving around the interaction be-
tween the University and the undergrad-
uates.
A COMMITMENT to a series of talks
would necessitate the completion of
the series. Thus several sides of the prob-
lems of undergraduate education at the
University would be discussed, not merely
one facet of it.
The students on the President's ad-
visory committee should strongly urge
that a series of convocations be estab-
lished.
If only one talk is scheduled, unfavor-
able student reaction might prompt a
quick cancellation of future convocations.
It would be difficult, however, to with-
draw a scheduled series.
The future -of student-administration
dialogue cannot rest on the success or
failure of this semester's convocation.
-JOHN KENNY
Assistant Managing Editor
Scholarship
MOST STUDENTS know from personal
experience that term-paper writing
is usually a dishonest process. Not that
we swipe material or hire ghostwriters
that frequently; our }papers are dishon-
est in the sense that we seldom believe or
care much about what we write, we know
it is replete with contradictions and false-
hoods a dedicated scholar would take the
time to correct-yet we write them any-
way. We write them because we have to
write something; our aim is to make that
something impressive, if not true.
In the faculty member's world, there is
a little maxim known as "publish or per-
ish." It's impossible to say just what pro-
portion of the research the faculty does
is extracted from them solely or partly
by this maxim; I've heard faculty mem-
.L
tR iA " t
' h1
"r A
A f + J }f
Q y1 1 r
l r
vjX"
rM'
1.
" .d
wki, '.t " .
q= . sew
"rSi
t >r
r
9 }-
x 1I'. - N, ,f- ji.$ ' ,
K-itf-;j nit
4f,. -.74.x .4
To the Editor:
pI E OATH of office that Mi-
chael Zweig understandably
dislikes (Daily, Sept. 22) is per-
haps more vexing than objection-
able. Unlike the pernicious dis-
claimer affidavits and loyalty
oaths -of recent memory, the oath
of office is ;not applied to any
single class of suspects. (It is uni-
formly required of all employees
from the governor on.) Nor is it a
loyalty oath-that is, a profession
of pious political orthodoxy.
Illogical and vague it certainly
is. As an office-holder oath, it
is apropriate only for Regents
and officers of the University. A
professor, a clerk-typist, or an-
accountant is not an office-holder
in any real sense-anymore than
a civil engineer employed by the
highway department (and he too,
under the present law, must sub-
scribe to the oath).
Moreover, the vague key-phrase
of the oath ("support the Con-
stitution") is vaporously non-
commital. It certainly does not
prohibit anyone from advocating
repeal or amendment of the Con-
stitution. If it does, a majority
of the voters of the state violated
it in the process of adopting the
new constitution. Vague and vexa-
tious, the oath of office is not
necessarily pernicious.
MUCH MORE exasperating is
the revival of the anti-subversive
disclaimers and loyalty oath in a
little-noticed amendment to the
r e c e n t Economic Opportunity
("anti-poverty") Act. After sus-
tained efforts by the American
Association of University Profes-
sors and other organizations, such
disclaimers were removed in 1962
from the National Defense Educa-
tion and the National Science
Foundation Acts. The- University
was -one of the institutions that
officially deplored and opposed
such disclaimers.
- Now the amendment, sponsored
by Rep. Williams of Mississippi,
will apparently apply to profes-
sors and students involved in edu-
cational programs established by
the act. So, the frustrating and
difficult task of getting this
amendment repealed must begin
all over again.
Faculty, including teaching fel-
-n1~.m nnnn n "n A:"4% hi
. _.,
}"
s'
i:' °1
t.. ,.S
k - t r'" "
?d : tip:
1+ 1 '*t i4 i is
.a
,..J AK .s..
x i i .. 7y, ' apt - V