Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Friday, December 3, 1971
BIG DOUBLE FEATURE!
i
1 _.__._ . _ _ _ ._ _ _
II
I
dM .o J
By BRUCE SHLAIN
In the previews for Kotch
that appeared on television, di-
rector Jack Lemmon sits com-
fortably in his cloth-back di-
rectorial chair and proceeds to
inform us smugly that this mo-
vie was one that "had to be
nyde." It is by no, means a bad>
film, and, judged in the genre,
of sentimental soft-comedy,
does not fare badly. But Kotch
"had" to be made about as
urgently as the Hope-Crosby
road pictures. The only objective
that the film sets for itself is
to portray an old man, played
by, Walter Matthau, as a real-
live person, thereby escaping
the stereotype of these "for-
gotten people" as mere fumb-.
ling vegetables. It does this,
and does it well. But that in
itself cannot squeeze tears or
cheers out of anyone with
homework to do over Thanks-
giving vacation.
the
Matthau's portrayal o
year-old is quite good
plete with an assortm
well - practiced maneu
hunched back, - wobbly
twisted mouth, and dra
speech. Mr. Kotcher th
acter is in a world of h
operating at his own pac
while ;everyone else runs
frantically, without time
precise, historical disser
which he delivers wheth
one is listening or not. I
most people have hadt
comfortable experience
lently smiling . andz
while some Methuselah
lative lectures on why we
install sprinkler systems
natronal forests to preve:
For once we see such sit
from the perspective of
man, who feels a need t
his presence felt.
forgo (ten
f a 70- Unlike Ruth Gordon's whim-
, com- sical portrayal of the disturbed
cent of oldster in Where's . Poppa,
vers - Kotch's situation is grounded in
y gait, reality.'The movie is at its best
awn-out when it focuses on the home-
e char- lessness of the aged, as Kotch
zis own, is finally turned out of his son's
eAeven plush suburban home. No long-
around er can his daughter-in-law tol-
for his crate Kotch's tendency to leave
'tations, the toilet seat up, a rattier du-
er any- bious reason for expulsion. At
'm sure any rate, an especially good
the un- scene ensues when Kotch's own
of si- flesh and blood take him.to the
nodding Sunnydale retirement h o m e
of ar ("for the sunset years") just to
a re- "look around." Kotch, with
should most of his mental faculties still
in our intact, cannot relate to 80-year-
nt fires' olds who .only want to play
uations games and be children again.
tFor Kotch is not ready to return
the old to any womb-like security; his
o make realization of impending death
is too vivid, and keeps him from
succumbing to anything. Once,
looking at a grouping of :stones
outside his window, he imagines
them as his, gravemarkers at a
rainy funeral.
Some of the film's more po-
etic effects are achieved through
the periodic use of flashbacks.
as certain things instantaneous-
ly touch off Kotch's recollections
of married life, the birth of his
first child, and decorating the
Christmas tree for his family.
ts, I sat But Kotch does not allow such
reminiscent moments to con-
,ffort to trol him in the least. Determin-
Fury is ed to make himself useful, he
elusion" rents a cabin in which he hous-
'ocalists es a 17-year-old unwed mother.
he plot Erica, played by Deborah Win-
oh dra- ters. In a rather stilted finish
oncilia- which unitesold and new, decay
e living, and regeneration, death and
Oriental birth, etc., Kotch winds up de-
beyond livering her baby in a filling
not so station lavatory. The major
sing or preoccupation of the past few
Eereare months done with, Kotch does
ed) but not relax, refusing an oppor-
~d)but tunity to move back into his
oeons son's home. Instead he goes
S soutto raise hell with a Spanish
ut is-r friend of his, defiantly leaving
ae bsiar the toilet seat raised as. he
tl ais, storms out of the house.
I
U pn aiIg Calendar
I
e
Friday, December 3
Film-
Fifth Forum
"Stranger" 7 and 11 p.m.*
"Joe Hill" 9 p.m.*
Michigan Theater
"Play Misty for Me" 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 p.m.*
State Theater
"Soul to Soul" 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 p.m.*
Campus Theater
"The Touch" 7 and 9 p.m.
ARM, Nat. Sci. Auditorium
"Vladimir and Rosa" 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.*
Cinema Guild, Architecture Auditorium
"Ministry of Fear" 7 and 9 p.m.*
Cinema II, Angell Hall, Auditorium A
"The End of the Road" 7 and 9 p.m.*
Other Events:
Rive Gauche, 1024 Hill
Ukranian nights 8 p.m.
Power Center, University Players
"Anthony and Cleopatra" 8 p.m.*
*denotes events for which admission is charged
POTS & PRINTS--STUDIO SALE
Sat. 12-8 p.m. Dec. 4
Sun. 10-6 p.m. Dec. 5
1314 Marlborough
(off Packard, past Stadium)
471-2455
RITA DIBERT MESSENGER
GEORGETTE ZIRBES STULL
I
I
'I
4 '
Joe Hill, the movie:
"A BEAUTIFUL WORK,
PART HISTORY, PART
SOCIOLOGY AND IN
LARGEST PART, A FILM
BALLAD ABOUT A FOLK
HERO! DIRECTOR
BO WIDERBERG HAS
TAKEN A PART OF
HISTORY AND GIVEN IT
THE GLOW OF LEGEND!"
-Judith Crist.New York Magazine
"O WIDERBERG'S 'JOE
HILL' IS SPLENDID
BEYOND REALITY!"
--Pau! D. Zimmerman, Newsweek
Joe mill, the man:
Joe Hill was a banjo-playing
drifter who became an organ-
izer of the radical "Wobblies'
in 1915, he was indicted for
murder and executed.
Many felt he was framed.
It has fallen to Bo Widerberg,
director of "Elvira Madigan,
to tell this uniquely American
story. In "Joe Hill' he chooses
not to concentrate on the
political being or musician but
concentrates on Joe Hill the MAN.
records-
Creating your own
instrumentalsystei
i
® i
"gR"wvAkwVi
$1.50
U. UTAH PHILLIPS
THE GOLDEN VOICE
OF THE
GREAT SOUTHWEST
Paramount Pictures Presents
A Sagittarius Production
A BO WIDERBERG FILM
who wrote songs and was shot.
THOMMY BERGGREN
andbyAWIDERBERG
Ttesong sung by JOAN BAEZ in Color
A Paramount Picture
PLUS-2ND HIT ,,,
PAUL N EWMAN
in
'COOL HAND LUKE'
STOCKWELL HALL
By DON SOSIN
Although I had heard of Har-
-,ry Partch, _Ihad never heard
any of, his music until I re-
ceived the new Columbia re-
cording of his gigantic Delusion
of the Fury (M2-30576). I was
immediately enthralled. Partch
is a 70-year old Californian who
has, since the 1930's, created his
own distinct type of music, a
rare achievement in a culture
where composers are desperate-
"'.ly trying, to sound different.
Partch's success rests on the
fabulous instruments that he
has built and used. Their names
are exotic - chromnelodeon, blue
rainbow, zymoxyl, cloud-cham-
b Mer bowls, to mention a few-
and their sounds are incredibly
beautiful. The listener becomes
acquainted with them through
a bonus record included in the
package on which Partch de-
scribes each of them in turn
and performers provide musical
illustratians.
Partch's earliest instruments
were adaptations of already ex-'
isting ones. He elongated the
neck of the viola and changed
its tuning; he added stops to an
old reed organ and re-tuned the
whole thing. Later his imagi-
nation broadened and he crea-
ted new sounds by cutting up
S 'bell jars and hanging them from
'abeamn or collecting bamboo
tubes from all over the Far East
and arranging them in a tuned
pattern. These new instruments
'were created out of his need to
break free from the tonal sys-
tem. He invented a 434tone
scale, and his own method of
notation. All this is fine, but
does the music itself match the
ingenuity of the sounds? Very
definitely. With the help of his
instruments he has written
beautifully expressive pieces,
over a score of them, and from
the examples on the introduc-
tory record, they' seem to be
h o n e s t musical statements,
evoking pictures of cross-coun-
try trains, and timeless mys-
tical knowledge. After absorbing
all these new sounds, and look-
ngat the color pictures of the
stunning instruments while they
s IT WITH
x YOUYOU
CAN'TTAKE
NOW SHOWING
DIAL 434-1782
ON WASHTENAW AVE.
11/2 MILES EAST Oi
ARBORLAND-U.S. 23
TODAY OPEN 6:45
Shows at 7 & 9 P.M.
Sat.&Sun.at 1, 3, 5, 7 &9 P.M.
FAYE DUNAWAY and
STACY KEACH in a
Frank Perry Film
are played, as he suggest
down to Delusion.
His most ambitious e
date, Delusion of theF
"a ritual of dream and de
for mimes, dancers, v
and instrumentalists. Tr
is based on a Japanese N
ma, and involves the recc
tion of the dead with the
The music reflects the C
background, but goes far
that, and comes out
much Oriental - sound
African - sounding (the
African themes also use
as a synthesi's, a unique
The use of the chromel
adds a Western flavor, b
torted. The kitharas evok
sounds with.a more tong
Rhythmic section,
nate with strummed
grotnds (reminiscent of
Cowell'sdBanshees) an
voices slide up and do'w
the harmonic canons (s
instruments played lik
guitars).
The work as a whole'
ply very fresh, full of su
and hangs together we
spite the fact that one hi
a vague idea what is
place visually.
The performers, an un
ensemble under the d
of Danlee Mitchell, seem
in command of their twen
instruments, and I wou
misc. that the quality
playing is very high. I
gineering is superb; the
effects are fantastic. V
the only complaint I
with the liner notes byI
Paul, who is apparently
seduce the youth mark
moth-eaten phrases lik
your own thing" "far-ou
"the times they are a-
ing."
Listening to Delusion
Fury is a rare and be
experience, and one that
not be missed.
9 p.m. TONIGHT
Admission 75c
1411 Rill STREET
t'.i5
'I
B ___
PIPTH POF'LJI
P1PTH *VSNU W ATLIU6"Y"
DOWNTOWN ANN AR5Oq
"STRANGER"-7 & 11
"JOE HILL"-9 P.M.
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
PRESENTS
CANNED
HEAT
sunday, december 5
8:30 p.m.
pease auditorium, EMU
tickets $2.50
on sale at
mckenny union
a student activities board production
back-
Henry
ad the
vn with
tringed
e steel
is sim-
irprises,
ell, de-'
as only
taking
nnamed
irection
2to be
nty-five
ld sur-
of the
he en-
stereo
irtually
have is
Eugene
out to
et with
ke "do
it" and
chang-
of the
eautiful
should
--MO
E
f
EfI
I
I
E
i
THE NEW YORK TOURING COMPANY
Presenting Its Interpretation of
JESUS CHRIST
SUPERSTA
Saturday, December 11 CO-SPONSORED BY
Hill Auditorium-8:30 P.M. ENACT AND THE
ANN ARBOR JAYCEES
TICKET SALE BEGINS 10:00 A.M. MONDAY
DECEMBER 6 AT HILL AUDITORIUM BOX OFFICE
I
DIAL 5-6290
"One of the most excit-
ing films you'll see this
year." -Det. News
CINT
L S "5'
I
r
r
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
7 and 9
THE EN.D
OF THE ROAD
I
American Revolutionary Media presents
Jean-Luc Godard and the Youth Culture
-TON IGH T-
GVladimir and Rosa ... & Abbie & Jerry
"flashes of the Marx Brothers and Bertold Brecht. . . on the whole, the best
recent Godard I've seen."-Kauffman, NEW REPUBLIC
"the Chicago Trial -parody is bitter, but the playing is exuberant and ener-
getic, as childlike as the (pre-Moo) fantasies."-N.Y. TIMES
also: Haight six-minute 1968 Newsreel documentary-and-
Godard in America 40-rminute documentary of Godard's
1970 campus tour. Berkeley confrontation was historic.
7:30 & 9:30 Natural Science Aud. $1.25cont.
I
l
I
tPLAY STY
FOR ME
TODAY AT 1-3-5-7-9
(1969)
I
SCREEN ADAPTATION OF
JOHN BARTH'S 1958 NOVEL
OF LIFE IN ACADEMIA
NOW !
d&Ml
DIAL
8-64 16
L
"Ingmar Bergman's 'The Touch' is the best
film about love he has ever made."
-Penelope Gilliatt, The New Yorker
e "' ' Elliott Gould
A Bergm n's
The Touch"
ColorR
directed by ARAM AVAKIAN
with Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, Dorothy Tristan and
James Earl Jones.
Roger Greenspun of the N.Y. Times calls it, "a
fairly close, sometimes clumsy adaptation."
75c Auditorium A,
Angell Hall
AMERICAtoAFRICA
I
Oakland Congress Concert-lecture Series
Presents:
THE ROCK OPERA
'SUPERSf-TAR'
SATURDAY 4 -Dec. 1971-8:00 p.m.
O.U. Sports & Recreation Bldg.
AM I
; ; .. "RO