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