Fridoy Octobor 11, 1974
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
rm e Five
Fri~0y, Octoler 11, 1974 THE MICHIGAN DAILY r~e Five
Pick of the week:
Dr. Strangelove
Ann Arbor Film Co-op
Aud. 3, MLB
Fri., 7, 8:45, 10:30
It is probably fair to say that
the black humor genre of mo-
tion pictures began with this
strange 1964 film from Stanley
Kubrick. At once terribly funny
and h o r r i b l y chilling, Dr.
Strangelove is easily the best;
advertisement for detente and!
disarmament ever assembled on
celluloid.
Peter Sellers plays a totally
undynamic American president
beset with a rather grave prob-
lem: a Strategic Air Command
general, gone beserk while va-
hemently contemplating anti-
Communism a n d fluoridated
water, has sent his atom-bomb
filled B.52s off to destroy the
Soviet Union.
Now, according to Army Chief
of Staff Buck Turgidson (played
by a pre-Patton George C.
Scott), that wouldn't really be
such a bad idea (what's a few
million people, right?)-except
for the fact that the Russians;
cinemQ
wee kend
England where the last surviv-
ing member takes all. With a
variety of wild twists the plot
becomes unbelievably contorted
ending in a chase of horse-
drawn funeral wagons.
Forbes piles so many Vic-
torian cliches on us, including
old-style title cards with "The
Girl He Worships from Afar,"
along with an unceasing string
of gags that one laughs con-
tinuously.
Some of the gags are stretch-
ed too far though (notably the
final chase), and the last 40
minutes move a little slow. But
we are so busy laughingly en-
gaged in homicide, sex, greed
and body snatching that we
hardly notice.
--David Crumm
Sw * # *
Duddy Kravitz
State
grosses. It hasn't been the hit now it has become the definitive ed revenge by Marie for sexual
that French Connection was, but hard-nosed cop story. abuse incurred by respectable
one must consider the repedtion This was the film that br ught , citizens of the town. By using
factor involved with all spin- director William Friedkin h i s' a tape recorder and by charging
offs. pre-Exorcist notoriety, and lit- for her "services," Marie de-
It is just amazing, though, erally made Gene Hackman,' velops a foolproof case. Those
that 20th Century-Fox has rill- who has since become one of whom she confronts change
ed the Seven Ups on the same America's most sought-after little; however, for Marie, it isI
double feature with its forerun- performers. representative of her liberation.
ner. With only perhaps a ten The laurels won by the film; All in all, the fine acting
minute intermission between I (a slew of Oscars including Best coupled with the music of,
shows, the poor folks in the aud- Picture and Best Director) are , Georges Moustaki make this
ience may think they are just not undeserved in the light of film enjoyable.
seeing French Connection over, the film's wake. Almost over- -Cinthia Fox
this time with the reels in dif- night, the modern police drama
ferent order. became a new movie and TV !Wuthering Heights
-Jim Valk genre.
Hackmanplays a detective on Cinem Sat., 7, 9 . ud.
the trail of a narcotics ring -at. 7 .
thetrilofa arotcsrig Wuthering Heights is a movie
Cocoanuts a hackneyed story by now, but ,l Lke t novel by Emil
Mediatrics, Nat. Sci. Aud. just a couple of years ago, iconte on which it is based
Sat., 7:30, 10:30 it was timely. The suspense s this 1939 film version is the
Groucho Marx and assorted jell handled especially in re ultimate in Gothic romance.
kin cavort this weekend in one gard to the soundtrack, and But the movie cannot be dis-
of their lesser known flicks Co- there is just enough violence to missed as melodramatic clap-;
coanuts. While lacking the truly keep us tingling but certainly I trap-William Wyler has tight-'
maniacal ambience of other not enough to be wasteful, use- ened up the storyline and height-
Marx Brothers enterprises, this less, or gross. ened the drama with a sure and'
film does have its own unique And of course, there are the discriminating directorial hand.!
by now famous sequences of Plavedouainst the back-
drop of the desolate moor, thef
drama concerns the ill-fated;
love affair of the restless young!
Cathy (Merle Oberon) and the
brooding, enigmatic Heathcliff1
(Laurence Olivier). A typical!
Bronte heroine, Cathy is tornj
between her passion for Heath-
cliff and her appreciation of the
more refined Edgar (here,;
played by David Niven, a more
compelling character than in the:
novel). .
Oberon and Olivier turn in
matchless performances, and
the suspense is sustain e d
throughoutsthis powerful and
passionate drama.
-Judy Lopatin
Television Nostalgia
Radical Lawyers
Trueblood Aud.
Ed Sullivan to Elvis is as-c
sembled for a trip back to thef
golden days of yesteryear, total-
ing a package guaranteed toe
put Kojack, Kodiak and Kolchaki
politely to shame.
The mere thought of all these!
gems together under one roof1
is really too good to pass up.
What civil-minded citizen could:
possibly pass up the comedic1
genius of the ex-President in,
perhaps his greatest perform-
ance of his political career? The 1
now famous Checkers speech is ;
so juicy and, delivered with
such superb timing that it rivalsa
anything Mel Brooks could con-!
ceive. And Groucho Marx's now
classic You Bet Your Life seg-
ment, complete with George
"Lipton Tea" Fennamen and
that asinine duck, is worth the
price of admission alone.
Chinatown
The Movies, Briarwood
There's something hopelessly
beautiful about Roman Polan-
ski's new film, Chinatown. Per-
haps his memory of Sharon
Tate is fading: the streaks of
violence that have so much
characterized his more recent
films have disappeared.
Jack Nicholson plays Jake, an
ex-Los Angeles Chinatown cop
in the '30s who is in the small-
time and somewhat sordid rac-
ket of spying for suspicious hus-
bands and wives on their mates.
Evelyn Mulrae (Faye Duna-
way) comes to Jake with such a
problem, and . Jake suddenly
finds himself involved in a bi-
zarre scandal in the Los An-
geles Water Department - a
scandal that becomes for us
the incarnation of all the sec-
rets and corruptions within this
society.
Chinatown is about this so-
ciety - its aching need for jus-
tice and love and the incredi-
ble tides that crash you back
to where you've begun - back
to Chinatown, back to the filth,
back to the absurd horrors of
the street. It's Nicholson's most
in-depth role to date, and Dun-
away is, from every stand-
point, stunning.
S
i
4C
have instalued a dctoomsday The theme of Ted Kotcheff's
machine." This happy litcla de- The Apprenticeship of uddy
vice promises to destroy theKthe ialmstiesonougy
entire world if so much as one Kravitz is almost reason enough
inchof ussan oilgoe unin to see the film. Kravitz is te
inch of Russian soil ges up istory of an overly ambitious
a nuclear mushroom. Jewish boy determined to suc-
Character actor Slim Pickens ceed. In his endeavor, Duddy
is magnificent as the Texas B- becomes so coarse, crass, and
SZ pilot determined to blow up greedy that no amount of
those "Rooskies"-oops, I mean money can compensate for his
Slim Pickens is terrifying. . character degeneration.
That's the problem with Dr. There are, however, many
Strauglelove: between laughs, things that detract from the
46n't forget to shed a few tears. impact of this message. The
The "doomsday machine" may film fails to scorn Duddy's
really exist just around the: metamorphosis, allowing him to
corner, be sympathetically reimbursed
-David Blomquist the huge sum of money he
loses on a fixed roulette wheel.
Jules tin( Jim As Duddy, Richard Dreyfuss
Jules ad V~faithfully fails to show depth or
New World, MLB sensitivity, even when he loses
A forerunner in the use of the his girfriend. This can be per-
A foerunerm th us oftheceived as a credit to his por-
hand-held camera tecnhique 3nd tra ac edtohiver
a prime example of the natural- tray of an obsessed acieer
istie acting inherent to French or as oroftf the implausibil-
filmmaking of the '60s, Francois whtyof hpisd, chrce n h
Truffaut's Jules and Jim is a wholeepisode.-Linda Fidel
i
t
14
1
Sat., 5, 7:3U, 1U
If That's Entertainment can Judging from the fall lineup;
do it to movies, why not resur- on the tube, it may not be a
rect the golden oldies of video- bad idea to see the originals:
land for a few yucks? And that unwind again. But isn't this the
is exactly what has been en- season of the new NBC?
cnr c .2n - n
massed here. Everything from -Jim Valk -David Weinberg
leaureb .
For one, it is a musi'al com-
edy, complete with Irving Ber-
lin score (which adds a littleE
pizzaz to the already hectic fes-
tivities) and some nifty com-
bination chorus-dance scenes en-
hanced by some imaginative
camera work.
In the midst of this mujical
maelstrom, the Brothers wreak
their customary havoc in a story
set in the Florida land boom of
the 1920's. Groucho reaches new
highs, or lows, depanding on
your viewpoint, in an absolutely'
hysterical scene whe:e he
croons a less than adoring iove-
song to a huffy Margaret Du-
mont.
Strictly speaking, this is not
one of the Marx Brothers best!
movies. Still, it will certaiulyl
provide you with more than thej
requisite number of snickers,
chuckles and belly-'augh:,
-George Lobsenz
,i * *
police experts dismanrliag a
limousine, and of Backman
chasing a subway train.
-Bruce Weber
The Big Sleep
Law School Films
100 Hutchins Hall
Fri., 7, 9
The Big Sleep is the famous
Humphrey Bogart vehicle that
screenplay collaborator William'
Faulkner is said to have aban-
doned in mid-script because he
could not make head nor tails
of the plot.
Whatever the case, Big Sleeptj
reunites the late Bogart with I
his then-wife Lauren Bacall in
a Philip Marlowe detective yarn
so full of dramatic incidents
and characterizations that its
vital details of plot develonment
esane most viewers entirely.
To outline the plot in so
short a snace is useless, but
there's no onestioning the fault- I
r Laycu VUL rascaiiaot Liic vati n-
natural f4vorite aMong impres-
sionable ollege students, but is
f6t a favorite of mine.
The film features international
stars Jeanne Moreau and Oskar
Werner as two members of an
ever-rotating love triangle that
leaves the male rivals, Jules
And Jim, literally dazed untila
the film's resolution.
Eminent film critic Paune
Xaci has wondered aloud why
Truffaut would want to write a I
book on Ifitchcock as he aid,i
when "he (Truffaut) is by far
the superior filmmaker."
One look at film today, both
artistic and commercial, bears
out the opinion that Hitchcock!
is by far the more influential
director. Jules and Jim is pleas-1
ant enough, but disappointing1
and grossly overrated.a
--Cris Kochmanski
The Wrong Box I
Cinema II, Aud. A
Fri., 7, 9 :
A tremendous lineup of Brit-
ish performers are presented;
in Bryan Forbes' The Wrong
box, including Sir Ralph Rich-
ardson, John Mills, Michael
Caine, and Peter Sellers. ]
Based on the novel by Robert
Louis Stevenson, this tremend-
ously funny black comedy
concerns the fate of a tontine,;
a sort of lottery in Victorian'
* * *
SevenUps{
The Movies, Briarwood
Tinseltown Rule No. 1: "IfG
it makes money, try it again."
And thus hatches The Seven-
Ups, another brawny, mean-
man cop thriller that promises
all the excitement of The
French Connection. This time
the names and faces have been
juggled, but the flick has too
much in common with its fore-
runner to be deemed a mere
coincidence.
The producer of French Con-
nection, Philip D'Antoni (who
directs this time), evidently had
so much fun watching that one
being made he decided to do one
himself. And instead of Gene
Hackman, we get his old side-
kick, Roy Scheider.
The plot is slightly altered,
this time revolving around a
"dirty tricks" squad that han-
dles all the messy jobs of the
big city police force. But the
purpose for the movie's very
existence is the same. We are
exposed to the seamy under-
world, the brutal truth cf the
law and order system, and, of
course, another action-packed
chase scene, which does admit-
tedly have a cute ending.
Not surprisingly, this tning
has racked up some impressive
Horse Feathers s Howard Hawks direction
Mediatrics, Nat. 3ei. And. and crisp. s'irnrisinely frank
Sat., 7:30, 10:33 dialogue by Faulkner and a
The Marx Brothers made a tea'n of Hollywood writers.
practice of taking ove- evry, Thoualh not as ambitious in
large structure they could man- theme or as thouqhtfil as The
age to gain entrance to: hotels Maltese Falcon. Bia Sleep ac-
department stores, ocean line's tually dwarfs Hston's film in
race tracks, and ope. a houses. It susense and excitement. Count
comes as no surprise tat ttt it among the best of both Hawks
should overturn aiorher f our and Bogart.
favorite institutions, the college -Chris Kochmanski
4 4 *
campus, which is exactly what
they do in Horse Feathers. , 4 Prv CurioUs Girt
This is an early an, and there
are musical numbers in it which Cinema IL And. A
aren't so hot. 7ep:o is in it Sun., 7, 9
too, and he's not really so hot. The gist of A Very Curious
But the Marx Brothers are the Girl is best summarized by Pab-
Marx Brothers, and what el3e is lo Picasso, who calls the film
there to say? It's a funny movie. "insolence raised to the status
The best moments are the of art" and said that it has "the
stock laugh-getters: Groucho jsme atmosphere as in the best
insulting stuffed shirts, Chico films of Luis Bunuel." Nelly
tickling the ivories (and our Kaplan has definitely succeeded
ribs) and Harpo grinning his he n her first featueatirical
head off.
There is one priceless .sene comedy.
involving a password. (Pssst, This French film (English
it's "swordfish".) subtitles) has a captivating ar-
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-Bruce Weberr
French Connection
The Movies, Briarwood
The French Connection h a s
been such an accessible film
that I can't imagine anyone who
hasn't seen it yet, but if you a
haven't you might as well. By
ray of characters. Among them
are Georges Geret, a peeping-
ton postman; Jacques Marn,
one of Marie's most helpless
clients; and Claire Maurier, a
Lesbian farmer. Last, but not
least, the beautiful Bernadette
Lafont portrays the intelligent
Marie.
The plot reveals the calculat-
nighti'lfe
By ICON LANGDON
BLIND PIG
208 S. FIrst
This weekend it's "Babyboy"
Warren and his Chicago Blues'
Band. The show begins at 9:30
Friday and Saturday night. $1
cover charge.
* * 4
some of her recordings. Roma
Baran plays the guitar and
cello.
Admission is $2.50, but you
needn't spend a penny once in-
side: there is free coffee and
popcorn. Show starts at 9:00.
* *O*
MR. FLOOD'S PARTY
GOLDEN FALCON 120 W. Liberty
314 S. Fourth Ave. Appearing Friday and Sat-
Appearing Friday and Sat- urday night is a professional
urday night is "Mixed Bag," a blue grass group not often seen
local,- all black, five-man jazz in Ann Arbor, "Merrimac
group with flute, offering a va- County." Admission is $1. Mu-
riety of progressive, creative, sic begins at 9:30.
and "funky" modern jazz. **
Show begins at 10:00. $1.50 cov- HURON HOTEL AND
tr. LOUNGE
* * * 124 Pearl
SUDS FACTORY Ypsilanti
N. Murou at Lowell Long established professional
Ypsilanti jazz saxophonist Flip Jackson
Performing through Sunday and his quartet will be blow.
is the "contemporary" rock ing out "sassy and mellow"
group "Astigafa," a group of lo- contemporary jazz through
cal guys who feature popular | Saturday night, starting at 9:30.
top 40 music, but exhibit a par- There is no cover charge.
ticular affection for old Beach * * *
Boys' Ltunes. Admission is $1; THE PRETZEL BELL
"The goriest and the sexiest
'Frankenstein' ever filmed."
E -Kevin Sanders, ABC-TV
"A perverse y fascinating
In e" 9 9-Paul D. Zimmerman,
origin m v Newsweek
"The most outrageously
gruesome p ever."
-Bruce Williamson,
Playboy
i
show begins at 9:30.
* * *
CHANCES ARE
516 E. Liberty
Entertainment will be pro-
vided Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday night by "The Shakers,"
a top, rock group from Ohio.
Show begins at 9:30; admission1
is $1.50.
* * *
TIE SCENE
William at Main
This wekend, again, it's
"Kramer's Kreamers," kick-
"nr ,t hogvv isms ~from 9:00
120 E. Liberty
The locally popular blue grass
"RFD Boys" can be seen every
Thursday through S a t u r d a y
night at the P-Bell. Show be-
gins Thursday at 9:30; 10:00 on
Friday and Saturday. Cover
charge is $1. on Thursday, $1.50
on the weekends.
* * *
MARKLEY
Saturday night only, "Black
Connection" performs at Mark-
ley Cabaret, a dance being put
on by the Markley Minority
ifndy Warbols
frankcnsici 'n
A Film by PAUL MORRISSEY
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