Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Friday, March 12, 1971
Puge Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, March 12, 1971
Revisiting the world we live in with film
By JOHN ALLEN
The Selection process, where-
by films g e t screened during
the five nights of the Ann Ar-
bor Film Festival, is likely to
remain one of the more secure
mysteries in the cosmos. I use
the last term advisedly, since
Jordan Belson's film, Cosmos,
was among the 150-plus films
eliminated during the prescreen-
ing. Happily, one of the judges
(or two or eight of them) had
the good sense to request that
it be shown, and it was, and the
9 p.m. program on Wednesday
was consequently enriched be-
yond telling.
Cosmos, like most of Belson's
films, is an abstract evocation
of a perpetually modifying and
self-renewing infinity - de-
signed for those who 1 o v e to
"make the journey out and in."
No one can aproach hirp in his
work as a colorist. Few come
close to him as a filmmaker who
understands the filmic potential
of a constantly expanding, ever-
modulating universe of p u r e
light. How his film happened to
be excluded from a scheduled
screening is hard to understand.
But we saw it anyway, and God
Bless Our Judges.
There are some other inter-
esting omissions. For example,
J a m e s Broughton submitted
The Golden Positions to t h i s
year's festival, and it is n o t
scheduled for showing. Along
w i t h Bartlett's Lovemaking,
Broughton's film shared top
honors at the First Internation-
al Erotic Film Festival in San
Francisco 1 a s t December. An-
other film, Don Fox's Omega,
took top honors in both the At-
lanta International and again
in Buffalo - and was not deem-
ed worth a showing here in Ann
Arbor. Broughton's The Bed, by
the way, was part of the 1968
AAFF and has become some-
thing of a classic since then.
The point is simply this: one
knows that a good deal of schlok
has been mercifully mailed back
to the filmmakers without be-
ing paraded across the viewing
field of the Arch. Aud. audienc-
es . . . but one d o e s wonder,
now and then, how many ba-
bies get thrown out with the
bath.
Wednesday evening's program
was notable for more than the
unscheduled inclusion of t h e
Belson film, however. A num-
ber of effective documentaries
were screened, perhaps foremost
among them being This Is the
Home of Mrs. Levant Graham,
produced by New Thing Flick
Company. Home is a superbly
understated a n d deftly edited
film focussing on a black fam-
ily in (I think) Boston.
Without bitter irony it is the
ghetto equivalent of Tricia Nix-
on's TV special on the White
House - w i t h the exception
that the Grahams would like to
move out to a larger place and
they are m a d e of flesh and
blood rather than plastic. Mrs.
Graham works and pays for the
electricity, the water, the gas,
and the groceries. Her husband
(?) pays the r e n t and buys
booze. The kids are sort of ev-
erywhere, the TV sells t h e m
wind-up toys, Creme-Rinse and
the White American Dream, and
an occasional glimpse of Maha-
lia Jackson.
Put down in words, it sounds
slightly commonplace, perhaps
even a cliche; y e t the film's
pulsebeat is basically the trag-
edy of the ordinary -- when the
ordinary is being black and poor
in a run-down house in a run-
ning-down urban society.
Free Growth, by Alan Gorg,
presents a similarly low-key
look at another side of the run-
ning-down society: public com-
pulsory education. Beginning
with an Indian who was sent
off from home for five years to
a "government school" where
the lock-step was a literal truth
- and ending with a.lyric tri-
bute to the Los Angeles Free
School - Free Growth is a ser-
ious and generally wel-structur-
ed plea on behalf of two ideas:
the Indian's advice to "w o r k
with nature,", and the instruc-
tion of a f r e e-school teacher
conducting an outdoor sensitiv-
ity session - "Share yourselves
with each other."
See FILMING, Page 7
Nin-te-7 Academy
for 1 Awards
Best Picture
Best Actress
Best Director
Best Actor
AND OTHERS
GP IN COLOR
DOORS OPEN 12:45
Shows at 1, 3, 5, 7; 9 P.M.
FREE LIST SUSPENDED
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Paramount Pictures Presents
Ali McGraw r Ryan O'Neal
John Marley & Ray Milland
Program Information 5-6290
603 E. LIBERTY
Director and soloist: The honors go to Menuhin
By A. R. KEILER
The last visiting orchestra pre-
sented by the University Musi-
cal Society, the Menuhin Fes-
tival Orchestra, performed in
Hill Auditorium on Thursday
evening. Yehudi, Menuhin was
both conductor and soloist, and
in this dual capacity gave us the
Bach E Major Concerto, the
Mozart A Major, and, with or-
chestra, Haydn's Symphony No.
83 and the Britten Variations
on a Theme of Frank Bridge.
The Menuhin Festival Orch-
estra is a small one, indeed,
compared to present day sym-
phone orchestras, with some 30
players. It is very similar in
terms of its forces to the orches-
tra Haydn had available at
Esterhazy, and still more simil-
ar in the partnered role t h a t
Menuhin assumes with his or-
chestra. And this group is no
dusty relic of eighteenth cen-
tury musical life, in which the
duties of conductor and soloist
conflict, but rather a marvel-
ously adaptable and expressive
ensemble which is the result of a
partnership between Menuhin
and his musicians that is now
well over a decade.
The precision, balance and
cultivation of sound could hard-
ly be bettered. There is, further,
a degree of ensemble which is
not so much the result of being
led properly, but of a one-
ness of intention and spirit, of
each section and each musicial
listening to the others as he par-
ticipates. All of this was espec-
ially apparent in the Bach con-
certo which opened the program.
The effect that Menuhin and
the orchestra 'produced in this
piece was not one of soloist and
orchestra at all. The older prin-
ciple of concerto ,grosso pre-
vailed, in which Menuhin's part
was a textural contrast appro-
priately relieving the fuller
string sonority which surrounds
it. Menuhin thus played w i t h
the full orchestra in all of the
tutti passage, and carefully ad-
justed his own contributions to
the sonority of the full orches-
tra. In accompaniment passages,
e.g., he did not allow himself
to stand out soloistically at all,
but provided only harmonic sup-
port for the full group. When-
eVer he played, it was w i t h
wonderful vitality, careful rhy-
thmic accentuation, and a
straightforwardness that - this
concerto demands.
The spirited and polished per-
formance of the Haydn s y m-
phony which followed was cer-
tainly the result of the splendid
musicianship of all the players.
It was also the result of the
smallness of forces that were
involved. Haydn's symphonies
were intended for a group of
this size, and the compositional
and orchestral vocabulary he
chose was, therefore, determined
by this factor. It can never be
the case that current symphon-
ic organizations can play this
music as appropriately (so m e
play it very well, if one accepts
these gargantuan realizations in
the first place). They must al-
ways adjust and compensate
Delta Sigma Delta
Dental Fraternity
T.G.
Fri., March 12th
7-10-p.m.
1502 Hill St.
(even with their token string
reductions) in order to achieve
the very things that Menuhin's
orchestra will do naturally and
musically. It is mostly a matter
of string and wind balances, and
a lightness in texture which
gives every section of the or-
chestra a more solostic variety
when it is called for. In Menu-
hin's performance, therefore,
each of the bassoon, oboe, and
flute doublings of the strings,
e.g., colored the latter in a way
that was distinctive and audible.
This appropriateness in p e r -
formance was enhanced by the
robust wit and earthiness that
Menuhin was able to get out of
Haydn's delightful score.
By the time the Mozart con-
certo had its turn, Menuhin was
in full command of his instru-
ment, and gave a performance
of this work that came alive by
the sensitive coloring, movement
and careful phraseological ten-
sion which he imparted to the
line. He produced the warmest
and purest sounding tone of the
evening in the slow movement
- all together a wonderful piece
of lyric playing.
In the Britten variations, the
whole orchestra rivalled Menu-
hin in the sheer exhuberance
and expressiveness of t h e i r
playing. This early work of Brit-
ten is an inventive and imagina-
tive* treatment of the Bridge
theme. To be sure, there is more
attention to purely orchestral
variety and excitement than to
real musical substance, but the
close association which th e
group has with Britten was
surely responsible for the spec-
ial affection and relish w i t h
which his work was played.
Mr. Menuhin is one of our
most loved musicians. T he
affection in which he is held
is as much due to the gracious-
ness and sincerity of his person-
ality as his great gifts as an ar-
tist.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE MKCHGAN DAILY
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~Te Twelve Chairs'
'is uproariousun!NGH
TON IGHT
AT Any true
DOORS
OPEN come
6:5
6:5has to
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see it.
-ABC-TV
A wild and harious chase fora fortune in jewels.
-Wa dHlewYr iNG
-Wanda Hale New York Daily News
~r
4
RADICAL FILM SERIES
(TONIGHT ONLY!)
F. W. Murnau's
TheLast Laugh
Written by CARL MAYER
("CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI")
"Brought on the revolution (of the subjective cam-
era) ... more than a tour de force."
--ARTHUR KNIGHT
75c o Canterbury Hse. s 7-9-11 p.m.
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THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
SCHOOL OF MUSIC and DEPARTMENT OF ART
present KURT WEILL'S OPERA
THE THREE PENNY OPERA
(IN ENGLISH)
Conductor: JOSEF BLATT Stage Director: RALPH HERBERT
MARCH 26, 27, 29 and 30
at 8:00 P.M.
MENDELSSOHN THEATRE
ALL TICKETS $3.00.
TICKET INFORMATION: 764-6118
3" '#5
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MAIL ORDERS:
School of Music Opera, Mendelssohn Theatre,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
dwi;:i ?n'J::k :"iifn::::'.r::i }',ie inti ).;:L}
Nil'
"Another Step Towards Complete Movie
Freedom! Director Joseph Strick Broke
Similar Ground with 'Ulysses,' but by
Comparison the Frankness Was a Ripple!
He Accurately Captures the Spirit of
Miller's Famed Controversial Work-His
Bawdy Humor, the 'Up-Yours' Attitude ...
and Avalanches of Long-Taboo Vocabulary!
Some of the Incidents Are Wild! Woe
to the Prude!" -WILLIAM WOLF, CUE MAGAZINE
"A Vibrantly Blunt and Lifelike Eyeful!"
-N.Y. TIMES
"THE U.S.
CUSTOMS BUREAU "' "
BARRED IT
AS OBSCENE!
READERS FOUNDIT
SHOCKING AND
SCANDALOUS!
AND NOWFOR
ANYONE1j
OVER 18
IT IS A
MOVIE!"
- -.-TIME MAGAZINE . "- '.'. "9 '
PARAMOUNT PICTURES PRESENTS HENRY MILLER'S
Sagng()
RI N DAVID BAUER PHIL BROWN ELLEN BURSTYN JAMES CALLAHAN LAURENCELIGNERES
1 l d c ,JOSEPH STRICK sceenlay by JOSEPH STRICK and BETTY BOTLEY COLOR A PARAMOUNT PICTURE
by the maker of "ULYSSES" and "THE BALCONY"
o aiP'-PTH oruMiti Fri.-7:15, 9:00, 10:45
.+ N I Sat.-2:00, 3:45, 5:30,
U INFORMA'iON I0 7:15, 9:00, 10:45
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE
"Best'Foreign Film
"SALLAH IS FUN! ..
More than a touch of Tevya and the delightful
score echoes 'Fiddler on the Roof.' We emerge
quite in love with Sallah and all his works!"
-Judith Crist, Herald-Tribune
"OUT-ZORBAS ZORBA! .
Sallah is plain marvelous! It out-Zorbas 'Zorba
the Greek' for charm, color and good nature!"
-McCall's Magazine
"UNUSUAL, ENDEARING,
COLORFUL!" A.HWeiler, N.Y. Times
"A Palisades International Release"
TUESDAY, MARCH 9: 4 & 7 P.M.
THURS., MARCH 11:
4,7&9 P.M.
75c
9th ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL. Winners and Highlights.
Three programs repeated in two auditoriums.
SUNDAY 7:00 Architecture Auditorium: Program A
Auditorium A: Program B
9:00 Architecture Auditorium: Program B
Auditorium A: Program C
11:00 Architecture Auditorium: Program C
Auditorium A: Program A
Tickets go on sale at 6:00 P.M. Series tickets good
at both auditoriums.
at "SHALOM HOUSE" (Hillel) 1429 Hill St.
(CORNER OF HILL AND WASHTENAW)
FRIDAY, MARCH 12: 7 & 9 P.M
IN THE EAST DINING ROOM
BURSLEY, North Campus
I
DO NOT ENTER
Io-+ You like people
m -+ Are willing to listen to
their problems
1-+ Want to learn how to
help them
jo - Are not lookingfor com-
pensations
3-+ But are willing to pre-
pare for a life of dedication to
others by bringing to them the
"good news" of Jesus' life,
death, and resurrection. This
means prayer, work, study, and
continued self-giving, life of the
T ickets stilt available-but going fast ! !
The Project Coinmunity
presents
IKE& TINA TURNER. REVUE
plus SRC
SFa M cTICKETS ON SALE
Fridav. March 12hh
4" -
'V..
JOHN WAYNE
GLEN CAMPBELL
KIM DARBY
HAL WALLIS'
PRODUCTION
PLUS
Shown
at
9:30 .m.
only
Ai O LAERY VA L -STROTHER uiwT* -NMY IATHA WAY
MAIfLA i UM - CHARLES EUMRT x IS We
w ° 'TCNA R
i. c. rnA ~ pt it p I .
ApaaOx" oaR
paULN~
just bugs the Establishment as
coopHN i.UKE
4