Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday, January 30, '
Page Two THE MICHiGAN DAILY Sunday, January 30,
'Johnny': An eloquent reminder
Hickerson: Music
and crowd together
By BRUCE SHLAIN
There were people in the 30's who op-L
posed wars. Although Dalton Trumbo was
not the first, his anti-war novel Johnny
Got His Gun was published at a time-
1939-when it was not the most fashion-
able thing in the world to cast moral as-
persions upon the American soldier.
Trumbo's conception of the fighting in-
fantry soldier is remarkably simplistic-
and dramatically effective. He leaves out
any recognition of the obscure economic
and political forces that move nations or
the hateful nationalistic pride that burns
inside young men weaned on historical
horse manure. Instead he concentrates on
one item, the one and only reality, that
there's a chance someone can get killed
in combat.
The storyline is simple enough. Boy
meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy
goes off to war and gets arms and legs
blown off and loses eyes, ears, nose and
mouth. Doctors keep boy alive as experi-
ment, thinking he has been "decere-
brated," and can no longer think. But he
can. The movie begins as he slowly dis-
covers, in the dark, what he has become-
a thinking lump of meat.
It would be easy for such a gory tale to
lose its emotional effect by simply laying
it on too Aeavily. But Trumbo, who also
adapted and directed the film, deftly
avoids this pitfall with frequent interludes
into the sparkling color (the hospital
scenes are in black and white) of Joe's
fantasies and remembrances. At times he
thinks about his rambling childhood, of
former sweet smells and sounds, and often
he thinks of the girl he loved, now so
untouchable.
The girl is played by Kathy Fields, who
follows in the grand syrupy tradition of
Bambi, and does a creditable job with her
soleful stares. Joe (Timothy Bottoms) also
imagines surreal discussions with his de-
tached father (Jason Robards) and Christ
(Donald Sutherland). Robards turns in a
fine performance, but in this movie acting
is delegated to secondary importance in
lieu of that all-encompassing image -,.
the live upper trunk of a body lying band-
aged on a table.
What is created, in hearing the lonely,
innermost nightmares of a young man
locked inside himself, is a portrait of the
soldier as individual, as capable of pain,
love, and even regret. There is an implicit
assumption in Trumbo's work that any
being capable of such rushes of feeling
should not be slogging through mud and
dead bodies on a battlefield. Yet, this
personalized conception of the soldier is
surprisingly lacking in American folklore,
despite the fact that this country has been
through skirmish after skirmish, and even
a World War here and there. It is not so
much the case of the soldier being placed
on a pedestal as much as it is perhaps a
sheer blockage of reality through the end-
less barrage of media stereotypes.
When Joe finally gets through to the
outside world, aided by a sensitive liasion
with a nurse (Diane Varsi) his wish is to
be put in a carnival-not because of any
preverse sense of revenge or quest for
pity-but a last chance to let people in on
his "secret." Otherwise he would rather
be killed. He wants to be a reminder, and
reminders are important things to be
zapped with once in a while, since it is
hard to sustain the emotional pitch that
originally brings a person out into the
street to say "NO".
In its own manner of shocking elo-
quence, this movie is such a reminder. If
hundreds of years of civilized intellectual
foreplay have done little to abolish war-
fare, then perhaps emotional warfare is
worth a try.
area-wide
BLACK WOMEN'S
meeting
Mon., Jan. 31-7 p.m.
Michigan Union Ballroom
Black men-Black women
relationships Topic: B'ack male
recruitment at colleges and universities
By PAULA THOMAS
Of all the entertainers who
currently perform at the Ark,
Joe Hickerson is one of the few
people I truly enjoy. Unfortun-
ately, he is also one of the
hardest performers to review.
The entire evening is so full of
choice material that to review it,
is to pick it to pieces and de-
stroy the whole mood of the
evening.
Unlike most performers, Hick-
erson does not assert his per-
sonality over his music. Every-
thing about him blends so well
with his songs that by the end
of the first set Hickerson; his
music and his audience are
united.
This feeling may not come
across well in print, but when
you are a part of it, you are
totally engulfed. It is you.
More than a competent musi-
cian. Hickerson definitely has
his own distinct style. His "cha-
risma" is reflected not only in
his rich voice, but also in his
style of guitar playing. Instead
of the standard thumb for
rhythm and fingers for melody,
he reverses this. His rhythms
change, and his music sounds
more like mellow banjo frailing.
And he has an unusual ability
to choose the exact chords to
complete the mood of every song
he sings.
It would be an injustice for me
to list even a few of the songs
he sang this weekend. Hickerson
-through his job in the folk
music archives-can daily exca-
vate obscure versions to enrich
his already amazing repertoire.
With Hickerson, the audience
is a large part of the entire per-
formance. He-along with too
few others-is able to bring
this feeling to life. I can only
urge you to go hear him the
next time he is in town. Let
yourself become one with Joe
Hickerson and his music. I think
you'll be delightfully surprised.
Israeli
Folk Dancing
Every Sunday 12:30 p.m.
HILLEL 1429 HILL
MONDAY NIGHTI
THE COMPLETE 41V HOUR
VERSION OF
THE HOUR OF
THE FURNACES
dir. by Fernando Solonas
1967, Argentina
A radically innovative film-essay
on violence and liberation in
Latin America.
TREAT YOURSELF to a MID-WEEK BREAK
F D
0
Come to the
GRAD
COFFEE
HOUR
Wed., Feb. 2
8-10 p.m.
4th Floor Rackham
Hot chocolate and
coke for all
records
Ragtime and old silent films
A new natural foods restaurant:
Naked Lunch
food as natural as life
inexpensive, carefully prepared.
LUNCH SERVED FROM 11:00-2:30 P.M.
MONDAY-FRIDAY
l
4.
SGC Tenants Committee
Presents
By DAVID SOSIN
recent release from None-
such features piano rags played
by William Bolcom. The disc-.
called "Heliotrope Bouquet,"--
contains examples of the finest
work of Scott Joplin, several by
Tom Turpin, Louis Cauvin and
Joseph Lamb and a few by Bol-
com himself. And without ex-
ception, these are beautiful
pieces. The title cut, a work of
Joplin's, is slow and lyrical, not
at all fitting the popular mis-
conception of what ragtime is.
There are honky-tonk moments,
to be sure, but most of the rags
here prove that the genre can be
poignant and delicate.
Bolcom's own compositions are
fine additions to the rag tra-
dition. Graceful Ghost especial-
ly, grows on the listener, and is
quite haunting (pun not intend-,
ed). Its nostalgic quality con-
trasts with the gaiety of Seabis-
quits, and together the two
make a fine pair.
The last item on the record
is a team effort by Williams
Bolcom and Albright, entitled.
"Brass Knuckles Rag." It is a
complete antithesis to every-
thing on the album. "Brutish,"
"Loutish", the score instructs,
and that it is, with tongue-In-
cheek nastiness that rounds out
an altogether exceptional re-
cording.'
7*
Those who have seen the
NET series, The Silent Years,
featuring great silent films of
Griffith, Chaplin, Keaton and
others, may be' interested to
know that the music for those
films is now available on a re-
cord called "Musical Highlights
from films of The Silent Years."
The music is composed and
played by William Perry, who is
the accompanist for films at the
Museum of Modern Art in New,
York. In preparing this record,
he succeeds in distilling the
qualities of a two-hour film into
perhaps ten minutes of music,
fitting in major themes and
giving some kind of continuity.
The musical excerpts come
from Perry's scores for The
Gold Rush, The General, Or-
phans of the Storm, The Mark
of Zorro, Beloved Rogue and
Blood and Sand. Most of the
music qualifies as real art, bear-
ing no resemblance to the
honky-tonk style that many as-
sociate with silent film accom-
paniment. The themes range
from sentimental to whimsical
to bold, and Perry displays in-
genuity in his piano style, not
to mention the skillful fitting
of themes to the characters they
suggest.
Announcing a donference
on
WOMEN & RELIGION
from the perspective
of Women's Liberation
Feb. 18-20
Jewish, Black, & Non-Western
Women Participants Needed to
help run Workshops
ALL INVITED-
if interested please call 764-7442
SUNDAY MATINEE
ALL SEATS 75c
331 Thompson, 761-1154
FREE FILM FESTIVAL
Rink--Chaplin
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Cruz)
Great Moments from Phantom of the Opera
Son of the Sheik-Valentino
Great Train Robbery
Round Trip to Mars (Cartoon)
Food or Famine
TONIGHT
THE HOUR OF
THE FURNACES
Part II-Act of Liberation
7:00p.m.& 10:00 p.m
oc c> ocnc) c)cs c;oeo0
Remember Her On
0 nn
with Something Special
The monogrammed
x CIRCLE PIN
.,.in a campus tradition ^
^. many sizes and finishes to
,. choose from
STERLING or GOLD FILLED
' No charge for engraving
from $3.75 to $8.00
6
0aarcade jewelry shop+0
16 Nickels Arcade
for beautiful jewelry
STOP IN AND BROWSE.
co e e o e e
10/
OVILI,
Flight in White
Parable
Rival world
7:00 p.m.
only 75c
at
ARCHITECTURE
AUDITORIUM
FRI., JAN. 28-7-11-U.G. Library
SAT., JAN. 29-7-11-Mich. Union Assembly Hall
SUN., JAN. 30-7-1 1-Michigan League
.t
U
I
"BLACK
BEAUTY"
I nnr ;-I
A
U of M Students
Faculty and Staff
GET LOST'
I
I
BAHAMAS-
Freeport
8 DAYS/7 NIGHTS
March 5 to 12
$159.00
HAWAII-00
Waikiki Beach
8 DAYS/7 NIGHTS
March 4 to 11
$269.00
ALL TRIPS INCLUDE:
i Round trip non-stop let
transportation
* Open bar and meal
service en route
" Accommodations for
seven (7) nights at:
Freeport: Freeport Inn
Hawaii: Hole Maki
a
ALSO WALT DISNEY
CARTOON-FEST
Shown-2:45 P.M.
"ONE OF THE YEAR'S 10 BEST !"
-Bob Salaggi, WINS Radio
-Archer Winsten, Pete Homill, N.Y. Post
-Frances Taylor, L.I. Press
"'johnny got his gun' hits squarely in the guts
with the impact of a recoiling howitzer!"
Newsweek
TIMOTHY KATHY MARSHA JASON DONALD
BOTTOM$ FIELDS HUNT ROBARDS SUTHERiAND
Dalton Trumbo's
ohnny Got7is Gun
A BRUCE CAMPBELL PRODUCTION From the book that sold over a million copies'
JERRY GROSS PRESENTS A CINEMATION INDUSTRIES RELEASE
FPiTH POr'Ujvi SUNDAY 50 70 9
'I
Part l l-Violence &
Liberation
8:00 p:m. & 12:00 p.m.
"The second part is an expose
of nationalism and its function
in the struggle for liberation in
dependent countries, followed
by.,a chronicle of Peronism and
an account of the struggle sus-
toined by the Argentine prole-
tariat after the toppling of
Person in 1955. The third port
is a call to arms and a vision of
the revolutionary future of the
Third World."-K. Barsy
only 75c at
ARCHITECTURE
AUDITORIUM
O F'IFTH Fborum
[~ PWTP AV NUN AT L IBvY
COWNTOWAI ANN ARBOR%
INFORMATION 76'f-9700
FIFTH4 AVENUE AT LIBERTY
IONFOMTONA761.RB00
INFI OWNTONA761A8BO0
MON., TUES. 7 & 9
UAC - DAYSTAR presents
For, Details Call:
Owen Perlman-663 -244
Larry Kaufman-764-7692
Steven, Eder- 763 -2790
Carol Klav-663-8227
or
Steven Zacks-Studentours
483-4850
"This film forces the audience
to stop, to woke, up, to interrupt
the hypnosis, and to regain
consciousness, to question them -
selves to think and to act."
MONDAY NIGHT at 7 p.m.
The Complete 4 hour
version
so
"Gordon the great
:::_: _: ,~Lightfoot, ffinest
.:.: .:..... .,:.singer am ong,
al the folk
.troubadours..
A GREAT TRIP,
he's euphoric."
--San Franciscc
Examiner
"ightfoot invites
._.:4R: :::::.:: }}:r : w :the. audience to
..; listen to the
picture flow."
::' .} ' f ".::..": : ,",-Chicago Sun iTimtes
:' . .
'I
TEACHING FELLOWS
COUZENS HALL WILL BE OFFERING AN INNO-
VATIVE TEACHING PROGRAM NEXT FALL.
For further Information
CALL.m764-2144
between 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY ART FAIR
WHEN: Sunday, February 6,12-5 P.M.
WHERE: Michigan Union Ballroom
r4
WHAT: Artists Displaying and Selling Their Crafts
A __ I. - - - _ -