Friday, September 20, 1 q74
THE MICHIGAN DAILY,
Doge Five
Fridoy, September 20, 1 ~74 THE MICHIGAN DAILY P0~e Five.
- . -
Pick of the week:
California Split
Fox Village
Robert Altman more than re-
deems his spring flop, Thieves
Like Us, with this terribly sub-
tle yet terribly complex tale of
two gamblers on an almost un-
believable winning streak.
Elliot Gould is the professional
of the pair - the man who
thrives on the risk of high-low
poker and the close, sweaty at-
mosphere of the dice tables.
George Segal, meanwhile,
portrays a magazine. writer
wnrkinr in .Las Vpoas (whilp
crnemci
wekend
R
marks the completion of a full-
circle adventure.
This has not, for reasons un-
known, been a box office suc-
cess. But it's a young film. And
it's so good. Go.
-Bruce Weber
* * *
/
the source from whence it
came. By now, Bergman's repu-
tation precedes him always andj
we are interested in his xiews
of a world not his own, iast as
we are interested in what de.
Tocqueville had to say about
America.
Cries and Whispers is some-
times tedious and static, but it's
fairly important. I won't re-
commend it for evening enter-
tainment because I can think of
a lot of important films that are
boring as hell.
-Bruce WVter
is hard to swallow, bat t
acting makes it palatable.
the Robert Blake reminds me of a
cross between Charles Bronson
}
t
f
-Linda Fidel and Tom Laughlin, and t ii e
* * * whole damned thing smells of
Scarecrow Billy .Jack.
caree OtcThere are lots better pickins '
Mediatrics, Nat. Sci. Aud. at the movies this weekend.
Sat., Sun., 7:30, 9 -Bruce Weber
Featuring truly excellent per- * *
wu~ug II .a :gj kwl
separated from his wife) who Three Musketeers
has only a passing interest in Waysidef
gambling - until he meets up With an international all-star<
with the pro. cast featuring the likes of Charl-t
But the icing on the cake is ton Heston, Raquel Welch, and
Altman's superb use of sound to Richard Chamberlain, how can
emphasize and heighten the: a film like this one fail to elicit
pace pace of his film. S o u n d excited response from even the
mixer Jim Webb presided over j most discriminating audience?
no less than 13 microphones in It can't - but still I wonder'
a daring attempt to convey a why talented director Richard
more in-depth cinematic im- Lester should devote so much1
pression of the frenzy-filled of his cinematic energy to sucht
world of the casino. ,The tech- an obviously "formula" film. i
nique proves to be largely suc- Three Musketeers concerns it-:
cesful, and at' any rate is fas- self with the efforts of t h e
cinating to listen to. bumbling D'Artagnan, played
-David Blomquist with less-than-engaging goodr
* * humor by Michael York, to win
Zandy's Bride the favors of the famed Mus-
'keteers and the hand of the
Michigant lovely but equally bumbling R-
Two superior performances quel Welch. yg
by Liv Ullmann and G e n e Although Lester's latest yen-
Hackman as a frontier couple t srnc edy fl
in a weak romantic 'melodrama ture ito screen comedy falls
characterize this film directed considerably short of classic sta-
chaactriz ths flm iretedture, one might nonetheless be
by Jan Troell (his first- Amer- tlesanlmdghte t lesb
ican film after The Emigrants pleasantly diverted by its leis-
an4 The New Land). urely, lighthearted raucousness.,
The 94 minutes of Zandy's -Chris hmanski
formances from award-winning'
stars, Gene Hackman and Al'
Pacino, and highlighted by the
best work of premier cinema-'
tographer Vilmos Szigm nd,I
Scarecrow succeeds on most
levels in presenting a vivid por-
, Itrait of two drifters in search
of a productive existence.
Animal Crackers Hackman and Pacino portray
State Max and Lion, derelicts by any
Animal Crackers, a classic' definition of the word, b u t
Marx Brothers comedy, has re- united in their dream of estab-
turned to the world of the liv- lishing a car wash in Pitts-
ingk For 20 years this film burgh, of all places. Their ad-
has been kept off the market, ventures, rather meaningless
for one reason or another. But and unstupendous by H o I11 y-
now another studio has re-re- wood standards, lead them
leased it, and it is as funny as+ across highways and railways
everyother Marx Brothers film from small town to small town,
Shot, on Long island in the' and dramatically conclude on
early thirties, this film is an Detroit's Belle Isle.
excellent opportunity to see the Ultimately, the film seems
Marx Brothers as young men. rather fragmentary, with each
It is easy to see the seeds of scene contributing l i t t 1 e to
greatness in these four young- the over-all plot development.
sters. Regardless, the performanes
What can one say about a by all concerned, and especially
Marx Brothers film? Only tnat Hackm an, constitute an unfor-
if you go to see it, you will gettable visiontoftheapettiness
laugh for the entire evening. of small people's lives.
-David Warren --Chris Kochmanski
* * * * * ,*
The Conformist
Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud.
Sat., 7, 9
This 1970 film marked the in-
troduction of director Bernardo
Bertolucci to the 'American
Cinematic Empire', having pre-
viously to his credit The Spid-
er's Strategy and Before the Re-
volution.
The Conformist is based on a
book by Alberto Moravia b u t
diverges to produce a more
stimulating plot set in 1930 Fac-,
ist Italy. The main character,
Marcello, (Jean-Louis. Trintig-
nant, who was attacked in his
youth by a homosexual (whom
he shot, is, as a result, ob-
sessed with conformity, and be-!
comes a Facist.
Trintignant's performance is
excellent, but Bertolucci w i I1
no doubt be criticized for his.
attention to the photogenic de-
tails of a decadent period. The:
Conformist is a good choice for
inder extremely poor circum- The Groove Tube
stances.
-David Warren Fifth Forum
The Groove Tube is much like
Death Wish Where's Poppa? It containsa
The Movies, Briarwood something to offend nearly ev-
Death Wish features Charles erybody, no matter who you
Bronson as the New York City are. But it's also wildly funny
vigilante who has to stand by in spaces and is a beautiful
and let his wife's death at the roasting of the bland dreadful
hand of street psychos go un- pap which comprises commer-!
avenged. His daughter, raped ial television.
and brutally beaten during the The short film is set in a
attack, has been left a perma- number of short skits, many of
nent vegetable as well but the which parody familiar televi-
police seem to be doing nothing s i o n formats. Predictably,
about: it. Well, thinks Bronson, there's a Sex Olympics skit,
somebody should. with, of course, commentary by
Death Wish, although featur- a former participant describing
ing pointless murder after mur- the action. The French Chef et
der by Charlie stone-face in an
absurd attempt to curb city vio-
lence, has been doing smash box
office everywhere it plays and
will continue to do so through
the fall. Do yourself a favor
and don't patronize garbage like
this, and wait until the day
when movies will be made again
instead of cheap sensationalis-
tic stuff like Death Wish.
Directed by Michael Winner,
the picture also features Hope
Lange in a three-minute role
that gives her more time than
she deserves, Vincent Gardenia
gives the only valid perform-
3L Daily
alia is blasted by The Kramp
Easy Lube Kitchens.
But this film is not for the
squeamish. When I saw it in
August, a number of patrons
walked out after an episode
about a new miracle substance
called "Brown 25", brought to
you by "Uranus Corporation,
where everything comes out a
little different in the end."
Still, if you're not offended by
National Lampoon humor you're
bound to find a great deal of
it funny.
.-Stephen Selbst
* * *~
Interested in reviewing mov-
ies? Then why not join the staff
of Cinema Weekend! We meet
every Monday evening at 7 p.m.
at The Daily (420 Maynard
St.) to discuss the upcoming
week's films, and we'd be hap-
py to have you join us.
-David Blomquist
s
I
anyone who can appreciate a ance in the movie as the cop in
good piece of upper-middle class charge of the vigilante investi-
decadence. gation who sports a wisecrack-
-David Crumm ing attitude.
Bride (what remained a f t e r
much initial criticism about the
film lagging forced Troell to cut
22 'minutes) tells the story of a
lovely, strong spirited mailorder
bride who tries to adapt to the
crude, stubborn frontiersman
who she has married.
Even though the plot still
moves at a slow pace and stret-
ches, its credibility with Hack-
man savagely attacking his
bride and expecting her to love
and accept him, the superb, pro-
fessional jobs done by Ullman
and Hackmn make this a worth-
while film.
-David Crumm
Cries and Whispers
New World, MLB 3
Sun., 7, 9
Cries and Whispers is ingmar
Bergman's incredible and haunt-
ing film about a household of
four woman, three of whom are
sisters. One of them is afflicted
horribly with tuberculosis, and
her ogoing agony is the back-
drop for a sensitive and shatter-
ing study of women and their
relationships to each other.
The camera-work is beautiful
and a pervasive sort of imagery
gives the film a real complete-
ness as it builds quietly towards
its denouement A masterpiece
* * *
-Michael Wilson
Summer of '42
Campus
Summer of'42sis a movie
with which everyone wants to
identify. The simplicity of sum-
mer, the intensity of a boy's
first sexual encounter, and the
unappreciated closeness of kids
growing up together make Ro-
bert Mulligan's 1971 film an en-.
joyable one. It's not recom-
mended to viewers repulsed by'
the nostalgia craze or who will:
try to analyze the plausibility
of the plot.
As Dorothy, Jennifer O'Neill
is bland through most of the
movie,, although a touching sen-
sitivity emerges at the climax.
Instead, Hermie, Oscy, and
Benjie provide the film's
strength as they stumble into
adulthood. Their bickering and
ogling of 'pubescent girls is done!
with authentic innocence and
comedy.
Michel Legrand's music and}
a beautiful shore (filmed
through a hazy lens - a fav-
orite nostalgia device) add a;
bit too much softness. Tie story'
Tell Them Willie
loy Is Here
Couzens Film Co-op*
Couzens Cafeteria
Fri., Sat., 8, 10
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
is the second film by director.
Abraham Polonsky, the first af-
ter 20 years. There are sormel
good moments, but by and
large, I think he's a little rus-
ty. .
Willie is an Indian who in
self-defense has killed the fath-
er of his white girlfriend. A
sheriff (this is the od West)
is given a posse and is dispa'ch-
ed to capture him, but he dies
not want to, because he 1 i k e s
Willie.
The greater portion of t h e
film is devoted to the chase,
with the best moments coming
during intercuts between the
hunters (Robert Redford plays
the sheriff) and the hunted
(Robert Blake and Katherine
Ross).
The main fault of the film is
that the plot is unavoidably bad.
Friends
The Movies, Briarwood
Lewis Guilbert's 1972 f i l m
Friends was a good picture,
and it had limited success in
the U.S. and Europe. However,
it was a smash in Japan.
It is an interesting movie,
even though Guilbert uses triedl
and true camera techniques.:
Still, he is able to keep our
attention for the entire picture,
despite the rather poor story.
A young man, the son of a
millionaire, is a juvenile de-
linquent with no direction to his
life. While stealing a car he
meets a young orphan woman,
living with her sister and her
sister's lechrous husband. To-.
gether they leave theit homes,
fall in love, and begin to make
a home of their own.
It is rather too sentimental
in spots, with lots of gauzy shots
of the young woman, looking
beautiful and vulnerable. But
the real theme of the film is the
untapped inner strength within
people that allows them to live
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She was less than he i
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6tL
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0 Lucky Man of Bergman cinema and of mo-
Cinema II, Aud. A 'dern film.
Sat., 4, 7, 10 -David Weinberg
0 Lucky Man! (1973) marks Near the end of an otherwise
the reuniting of director Lind- superlative review, Vincent
say Anderson and Malcolm Mac- Canby says: "Cries and Wh i s-
Dowell, a duo which made its pers is not an easy film to
debut in 1969 with If . . . Mac- describe or endure," and, it is
Dowell is cast as Mick Travis, just this, I think, which has
an ambitious rookie coffde produced a good many negative
salesman, who immediately af- reactions to a film which cer-
ter his training is the recipient tainly .deserves better.
of his first bit ofluck - there Ingmar Bergman made Cries
is a sudden opening in the high- and Whispers about women,
er reaches of his firm, which specifically, three sisters and
he and his unavoidably charm- an attendant. It is about the
ing smile are chosen to fill. fierceness of the varying emo-
The remainder of the film tak- tions; love, fear, hate, a sub-
es on a sort of initiatory flav- ject which is generally reserved
or as Travis, in a series of for men dealing with men or
fantastic episodes, is witness to women with women.
the ways of the world - poli- Admittedly, Bergman is tread-
tics and money. ing on thin ice, and (though
The finale, in which Travis I obviously, will not be one to
ends up at an audition for a do it), could possibly be accused
new film by Lindsay Anderson of being inaccurate.
called 0' Lucky Man, and at However, accuracy is not in
which he recognizes all the fig- itself a sufficient test for any
ures who colored his travels, I statement. We must consider
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