Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Friday, February 18, 1972
EDITOR'S NOTE: Cinema Weekend
Was comtple~d by The Daily's review-
ing staff, Kyle Counts, Neal Gabler,
Richard Glatzer, Peter Munsing,
and Bruce Shlain.
TRASH
Cinema II
As one of the apparent few
who has been able to totally re-
sist Andy Warhol's cinematic
explorations, I must immediate-
ly say that I believe Trash to be
one of the most overpraised
films ever made.
It's one of his better attempts,
however, (small praise indeed)
thanks to the attempt at plot
and some rather fluid (at least
in comparison to Warhol) direc-
tion by Paul Morrissey. The
story traces the life of an im-
portant heroin addict (Joe Del-
lesandro, all mumbles and mus-
culature as usual) and a snag-
gled - toothed hag named Holly
(transvestite Holly Woodlawn,
who steals the show with his/
her bizarre characterization)
who together attempt to eke out
a meager existence collecting
the discarded "trash" of others.
The film was praised as an
"honest", "painfully funny"
work, and it is most of the
time. But honesty and outra-
geous laughs in the midst of
overriding grotesqueness (Holly
impossibly masturbating with a
beer bottle immediately comes
to mind), awkward, badly im-
provised scenes, and shallow
character insight (are sex and
drugs the only things that mo-
tivate these people?) simply
aren't enough, in my opinion.
Go to Trash if you dig War-
hol and gut-level realism. But
don't expect everyone to delight
in such proceedings. To me,
films that solicit cheap laughs
AT such pathetic individuals
are more mocking than memor-
able. (Friday)
-K.C.
The Pit and
the Pendulum
Conspiracy
This is one of the better
double features offered around
town and Just perfect for the
weekend crowd.
M. Fritz LAng's 1931 drama
about a disturbed child murder-
er, is both a masterpiece of
German expressionist cinema
and the genre of the psychologi-
cal thriller. Peter lorre, in his
first film role, became an in-
stant success as a result of his
brilliant portrayal of the help-
less killer, Franz Becker.
Lang superbly sets the mood
of the film by bringing new di-
mensions to the use of sound,
shadowy photography and vis-
ual imagery to imply rather
than graphically depict the kill-
ings, at the same time making
a social appeal on behalf of the
mitreated mentally ill. He left
Germany three years later for
Holy'woo4 (where he made
such films as Fury and Minstry
of FEar) but the directorial ex-
cellence of his M has never been
equalled by the German artist.
The Pit and the Pendulum,
based on the story by Edgar
Allan Poe, is a thriller like M,
but much more so in the phys-
ical vein. Though Poe's works .
have provided frameworks for
less than successful screen pro-
ductions in the past, director
Roger Corman (The St. Valen-
tine's Day Massacre) does well
(it's .about the only kind of
material he's any good with)
using Ri I c h a r d Matheson's
slightly altered adaptation to
produce some genuinely eerie
results.
. Storywise it concerns a man
(John Kerr) who arrives at a
menacing castle to investigate
the details surrounding his sis-
ter's recent death. There he is
greeted by the late woman's
husband (Vincent Price, in the
kind of menacing role that suits
him best) and a host of other
assorted oddballs. Soon the
young man finds himself in the
grip of the maniacal Price and
undergoing the various sadistic
tortures he has devised.
The color is used quite ef-
fectively, and there are plenty
of creepy cliches of the Gothic
thriller (screams, squeaky cof-
fins and the like) to offset the
strange round of performances.
Of course, you've got to expect
unintentional laughs with some-
thing like this,, but Corman
months wear on without sleep,
the couples no longer dance,
only able to drag each other
around in a drunken stupor.
During this'- ordeal the per-
sonalities of the contestants be-
gin to show their ragged edges.
Jane Fonda, as a hardened
young woman with an air of
frowsy elegance, gives a superb
performance. Like the rest of
the down-and-outers trying to
win the prize money, she be-
comes so hopelessly tired and
monomaniacally involved in
winning that all else is blotted
out. Her life becomes inextric-
ably entwined with the dance
hall and its glittering globe
rotating above, and its announ-
cer, arms outspread, yelling
"Yowsah! -Yowsah!"
--B.S.
seat and has you biting your
lips and muttering to your-
self. After all, when we say an
action picture is "good," we
don't mean simply that it had
plenty of action, plenty of
things happening; we mean it
pulled us in and knocked us
around. Connection, as you
probably know, does have a
justly lauded chase scene that
had me swaying and wincing,
but lasts for only a few min-
utes before things settle down
again. Hypercriticism perhaps.
If you're looking for something
supremely inconsequential, Con-
nection, practically guarantees
satisfaction for two hours. After
that you're on your own.
--N.G.
one room schoolhouse, says he
wants to talk to the boys, and
watches the schoolmarm, "bow
to the fact that this is a man's
world."
Although Mark Rydell's di-
rection is too uninspired, his
boy actors too unconvincing to
return me emotionally to my
childhood the way a film like
To Kill a Mockingbird does, I
found all this pleasant and
quaint enough. Had Cowboys
ended after ninety minutes, it
would have been a good, thor-
oughly minor movie. But Rydell
wasn't content to produce a
small, quiet film. He opted in-
stead to load the flimsy fiber
of Cowboys with great profun-
dity, and naturally the fabric
tears.
So John Wayne gets killed
er all the way up to Governor,
detailing the compromises he
makes and the political savvy
he acquires on his trip. Inevit-
ably, as in so many rise-to-
power pictures of this period,
the film borrows heavily from
Citizen 'Kane - the narrating
reporter, the movie within a
movie, the bullet-fast editing,
etc. - and like Welles, Rossen,
a much underrated director,
tells his story with economy,
speed, verve.
Still, I think this is one in-
stance where fact swamps fic-
tion. Broderick Crawford's Wil-
lie (Best Actor) begins as a
fumbling, good-hearted fellow
out to help folks and getting
chewed up by the local political
jackals before he finally learns
the ropes, But Huey Long, as T.
Undoubtedly, it was for the
sake of thematic clarity that
Warren (and Rossen) decided
to focus on the ambiguities of
political morality, and they
sacrificed the real, flamboyant
Huey to accomplish their goal;
but by so doing they reduce the
larger drama and give us an
old-hat, securely 1940s morality
tale complete with poor suf-
fering wife and smart-aleck
footballing son. All the King's
Men is not a bad picture by any
means. My complaint is that it
could have been so much better
if it had stuck to real life.
-N.G.
* * *
The Music Room
Cinema Guild
I'd hesitate to recommend a
use a cliche, so clearly tran-
scends geographical - borders.
The Music Room concerns a
profligate In d ia n aristocrat
thrust into hermitage by the
deaths of his wife and child,
and then shaking his funk for
one last fling. The film is
probably worth a chance if
you're dedicated. I can't say.
(Saturday and Sunday).
--N.G.
La Femme Infidele 4
Cinema II
The measure of Claude Cha-
brol's brilliance - and he is one
of the world's ranking film-
makers - is that he can infuse
a little murder story with clas-
sic beauty and psychological
depth. La Femme Infidele is
superficially a taut suspense
yarn (though even on this level
thrill - seekers will be disap-
pointed) about a middle-aged
bourgeois (Michel Bouquet) who
discovers that his young wife
(Stephanie Audran) has been
bedding down with someone
else. Simple. In Chabrol's hands
the film become a somber Dos-
toievskian study of middle-class
life, intense love, middle age,
fear of inadequacy. Bresson is
usually considered the master
of this interior drama and when
it comes to expressing resigna-
tion there is no one better. But
Chabrol can put an entire uni-
verse of emotion on his screen;
he can create characters with
souls. La Femme Infidele, an
object - lesson in soul-making,
is not merely . good. It is per-
fect. (Sunday).
-N.G.
C l Q a
QQ Q d
concentrates well enough on the
horror (the climactic pendulum
scythe torture scene is a beaut)
to smooth over the weaknesses.
It's not exactly Poe, but it's
horrific enough to be good fun.
--K.C.
Lovers and Other
Strangers
and They Shoot Horses,
Don't They?
Campus
Lovers and Other Strangers
is a frail domestic comedy
swathed in a wry, worldly-wise
attitude toward marriage-bit-
ter but generally unfunny. The
simple plot revolves around
Mike (Michael Brandon) and
Sue (Bonnie Bedelia), a young
engaged couple who happen to
be living together.
As the couple is rather un-
interesting, Lovers attempts to
make its comment on wedded
life by incorporating into the
narrative the problems of more
experienced couples (Mike's
brother and parents, Sue's sis-
ter and parents, friends of the
family). But despite a good per-
formance by Richard Castellano
(as Mike's father), Lovers'
cutesy cynicism fails to ele-
vate the film much above the
level of t.v. situation comedy.
-R.G.
It is a rare thing to find a
single event that can be con-
sidered as representative of the
all-encompassing flavor of an
era. But in the grueling mara-
thon dance documented in
They Shoot Horses, Don't
They?, it seems as if all of the
fragile dreams and quiet des-
persAlon that followed the Roar-
Ing 20's in America is captured
as the couples "dance for their
lives."
Gig Young, as the tireless
emcee, is the epitome of the
brash, falsely enthusiastic an-
nouncer. He panders without
reservation to the crowds who
come to the dance hall as if it
were a demolition derby, wait-
ing for the dancers to crash in
a heap,' as many do. But the
more determined contestants do
not go down so easily. As the
TONIGHT!
ionesco-genet
VICTIMS
and
MAIDS
Mendelssohn Ih.
Ihru Saturday
Box Office-12:34 P.M.
Dirty Harry
State
Movies being a relatively in-
fant art form, and self-pro-
claimed movie buffs being occa-
sionally infantile, plaudits most
often go to palpably symbolic
films (like Bergman at his
worst) or to muddily enigmatic
films (like Kubrick at his
worst). Don Siegel's Dirty Har-
ry, a snarling picture about a
San Francisco cop-turned- Lev-
iathan, is neither palpably
symbolic, nor muddily enigmatic,
so you may be tempted to pass
it by as junk. Don't. I've been
saying it for five weeks now
and I'll say it once again:
Dirty Harry is a violent, pow-
erful, intelligent piece of film-
making, and one of the best
American films in some time.
You may not agree with the
picture (at least I would hope
not), but you will be affected by
it. Just bring along a strong
stomach.
-N.G.
* * *
The French Connection
Fox Village
The French Connection, an
above .average cop movie set in
the grimy streets of New York,
is usually described as a thriller,
but I'm not convinced. It has
lots of screeching cars, gun-
shots, bad guys, tough lan-
guage, an ornery protagonist
(fabulously played by Gene
Hackman), and a heavy dose of
realism, which is really what
makes it a beauty queen of the
action genre. The sad thing is
that this documentary realism,
while pushing C o n n e c t i o n
above run-of-the-mill violent
trash, also saps its energy, neu-
tralizes its impact and makes it
the most handsome yet least
visceral detective picture I've
seen. A classically tragic dilem-
ma.
Although I'd never ask. that a
bang-bang movie be a religious
experience, I do ask for the
vacuum action that whooshes
you along on the edge of your
DIAL 665-6290
SHOWS AT:
1:15-3:45-6:15-8:50
FEATURE AT:
1 :30-4:00-16:30-9:00
All they wanted
was their chance
to be men .. .
and he gave it
to them.
Cowboys
Michigan
The Cowboys opens with a
beautiful shot of horses gal-
loping across a plain in an
eerie, almost surrealistic dawn
light - a scene out of the day-
dream of a ten year old boy.
This dreamlike quality contin-
ues for the first hour and a
half of Cowboys, when Wil An-
derson (John Wayne), a ranch-
er bereft of help for the long
cattle drive that lies ahead, re-
cruits boys from the local
schoolhouse. Once the boys are
tested and hired by Wayne, life
becomes one big summer camp:
bunk beds, rugged horseback
riding, good food, and an exotic
and mysterious Negro cook
named Jebediah (played beau-
tifully by Roscoe Lee Browne).
Reality never impinges on this
dream world; parents only show
their faces in one brief scene,
and then only to see their boys
off and say goodbye.
An essential aspect of this
very American boyhood sur-
realism is the film's stress on
masculinity, on the rough and
rugged quality of life on the
ranch and during the cattle
drive. Wil's wife admits she
likes, "the sound of orders,"
and she doesn't even wince
when Wayne leaves for the trip
without kissing her goodbye.
Small boys are tested on a wild
bucking bronco, they get drunk,
and talk about nude women.
And in the ultimate anti-femi-
nist scene, Wil bursts into the
by an immoral cattle rustler,
and the kids avenge his death
- Gunsmoke-ish music while
the entire band of rustlers get
their faces smashed, climaxed
by a kid repeating Wil's favor-
ite phrase - "We're burning
sun." Great social commentary.
The boys are now men. I have-
n't bothered to decide whether
Rydell is telling us that Wayne
(like an army officer) has ma-
tured his cowboys, or that Man
has vicious primal instincts;
either way, Cowboys is the most
lame-brained Coming - of - Age
movie I've seen.
-R.G.
, * ,
All The King's Men
Cinema Guild
Corruption and power, means
and ends are the heart of Rob-
ert Rossen's solid film version
of All the King's Men, just as
they were in Robert Penn War-
ren's Pulitzer Prize-winning
novel. Book and movie both
chronicle the rise of country
boy Willie Stark (read Huey
Long) from county commission-
rock music
at 60c a set
salamander
young trio: soprano
woman lead singer,
accoustic guitar,
electric bass
as lively and fresh
as the early Airplane
4:00 Matinee
7:15-8:30-9:45
conspiracy
cafe-theater
330 Maynard
5TH WEEK!
At State and Liberty
4TAT-E
Program Information 662-6264
Harry Williams' fascinating bi-
ography reveals, was a vastly
more complex creature than
Willie - a blend of tough po-
litical infighter with farmboy
humanitarian with demagogue
with W. C. Fields. As a result,
Huey's corruption, if you want
to call it that, was nowhere
near as patent as Willie's and
his appeal never flagged as
much.
Satyajit Ray movie (especially
one I haven't seen myself) to
anyone who doesn't have a good'
attention span and a deeply
humanistic vision. Ray, a very
gifted craftsman; makes snail-
paced films about his native
India, and the accusation is
often made by overconditioned
Western critics that you have to
be one to know one. Frankly,
I've never found that to be the
case because Ray's humanity, to
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Dir. ROBERT ROSSEN, 1949
The story of Huey Long-
Based on R o b e r t Penn
W a r r e n ' s expose of
American political cor-
ruption. Starring Brod-
erick Crawford, Mercedes
MacCambridge, and John
Ireland.
PLUS A SHORT:
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
ARCH ITECTURE
AUDITORIUM
FIFTH Forum
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DOWNTOWN ANN ARBOR
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MIKE
SEEGER
..consistently
brilliant . . ."
-L.A. Night Life
".. . a virtuoso
in everything."
-Boston After Dark
141[fillSTREET
16111511
"
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OPEN 1 p.m. SHOWS AT
1:15-3:10-5-7-9 P.M.
Feature Starts 5 min. later
1
I
NEXT WEEK
Come to Meet and to Hear
DR. SAMUEL KEEN
Visiting theologian, philosopher and
contributing editor to Psychology Today
LECTURES:
Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 12 Noon at Main
Amphitheatre on 6th Level in Univer-
sity Hospital
Thursday, Feb. 24 at 4:00 p.m. at
Angell Hall, Auditorium D
Friday, Feb. 25 at 4:00 p.m. at Angell
Hall, Auditorium A
CINEMA .I
AUDITORIUM A, ANGELL HALL, 7 & 9 p.m,, 75c, tickets on scale at 6 p.m.
Friday and Saturday:
Andy Warhol's
"IT'S A SIZZLER"
-Detroit News
"ONE OF THE
YEAR'S TEN BEST"
-Time
"The best American
movie of the last six
months."
"Come on like gangbust-
ers . . . I doubt if you'll
see anything quite as
devastating."
-Michigan Daily
DIRTY
HARRY
SUNDAY-
One Night Only-
A graceful, engrossing
Versailles. The wife is
television set that sits
mix for long. "Claude
and adultery with the
TRASH
directed by Paul Morrissey
(1971)
NEXT WEEK: Fri. & Sat. Bunvel's Tristana
Sun.: Conrad Rook's underground classic Chappaqua
Neil Gabler called it the real Love Story. It features Joe Dallasandro and introduced Holly Woodlown
to the world. If you care about cinema, don't miss this one.
pi
UAC-DAYSTAR Presents with ICC and Vietnam Vets Against the War
BILLY PRESTON, IRIS BELL
AND
Delaney, Bonnie & Friends
Claude Chabrol's LA FEMME INFIDELE (1969)
story of a suburban couple and their disenchanted cottage in the woods near
still young and beautiful. The husband watches dopey programs on the little
in the mouth of the enormous, unused fireplace. Beauty and boredom don't
Chabrol demonstrates how to make a civilized thriller; he serves up sensuality
elegance of a master."-Pauline Kael
A MARK RYDELL FILM
& PanavisionO Technicolor GP[
From Warner Bros.,A Kinney Company
I
"
$1 double Fritz Lang - Roger Corman features
Saturday-Sunday Tuesday-Wednesday Thursday-Friday
1931 Fury 1936 Hangmen 1943
A I.L.. n0MIgE
8 P.M.-HILLfAUD.
THIS SAT. NIGHT, FEB. 19
$4.50-3.50-2.00 gen. adm.
"Listening to Billy Preston, you
really can believe once more in
the saving powers of music."
-Rolling Stone
You've heard Billy Preston on the
Bangla Desh Concert Album, with
i
II
C1
1
-.,::
I