Friday, January 24, 1975
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Five
Pick of the week:
To Kill A Mockingbird
Cinema II, Aud. A
Sat., 7, 9:15
Quality acting is a rare com-
modity in cinema. The endless
blockades that constrict the
film performer are almost in-
herent in-the necessities of com-
mercial production - out-of-se-
quence filming, endless retakes
for different angles, lengthy
shooting schedules and so on.
. Perhaps that is what makes a
picture like To Kill A Mocking-
bird so especially exciting.
From a unique and extremely
special combination of director
,and actor-Robert Mulligan and
Gregory Peck . - emerged a
drama as powerful yet restrain-
ed and poignant as any com-
parable piece of American film.
Peck plays Atticus Finch, a
warm but firm liberal lawyer
in a bigoted Depression-era
Southern town. Despite intense
public pressure, Finch agrees
to defend a poor black laborer
wrongly accused of raping a
white girl-and finds that not
even a strong will and dogged
perserverance can pierce a dis-
criminatory justice system.
Mulligan's.,direction aptly con-
veys the uncomfortable, muggy
atmosphere of Harper Lee's
novel. He captures unforgettably
an unfortunate period in Ameri-
can 'history that far too many
of us would rather gloss over
and forget.
-David Blomquist
** *
Sacco and Vanzetti
New World Film Co-op
Aud. 4, MLB
Sat. 7, 9:15
The adaptation of factual legal
proceedings to the screen can
be a delicate affair. Accurately
delivering a legitimate resur-
rection of the material can be
a process severely hampered by
any passionately - felt devotion
to any particular injustice on
the part of the filmmaker.
put the primary reason for
a filmmaker to bring the pro-
ceeding to the medium at all
is to present what is generally
thought to be an unjust verdict
of past history. It is his chance,
however late it may be, to set
the record straight.
Resorting to Costra Gravas
caricature tactics, director Gi-
ullano Montaldo here attempts
to give equal time to Nicola Sac-
co and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Ac-
cused of payroll robbery in 1920,
the two were ultimately put to
death out of pure sentiment
against what they stood for.
But what puts the film out of
sincere consideration are the
Keystone Cop antics and "black-
hat" stereotypes assigned to the
judge, jury and prosecutor.
Creating a virtual comedic tra-
vesty, Montaldo has abandoned
restraint for a more illustra-
tive comparison.
Still, the film nevertheless
succeeds in surfacing an un-
pleasant skeleton from a dimly
lit closet.
-Jim Valk{
* * *
It Happened One Night
Bursley Hall Enterprises
Bursley West Cafeteria
Sat. 9
Frank Capra's It Happened
One Night wasn't a new story,
even in the 1930s. There are
many movies about two people
with spunk who argue and ar-
gue but fall in love, neverthe-
less. There is something unique
about the story when the lovers
are Claudette Colbert and Clark
Gable, though.
Colbert is a rich girl .who
runs away because she doesn't
want to marry the man her
father wants her to. Gable is a
newspaperman who promises
to help in exchange for getting
an exclusive story about her.
There are also many romantic
movies which make you sit on
the edge of your chair near the
end because one of the lovers
makes a mistake and it looks
like the two might not get to-
gether. But even though you've
seen the sort of thing before,
you can't help worrying about
the hero and heroine of It Hap-
pened One Night. You'll be sit-
ting on the edge of your chair.
. -Join Ruhela
Deliverance
New World Film Co-op
Aud. 4 MLB
Sun., 7, 9
It begins as a canoeing week-
end down a wild Georgia river.
But by its conclusion, John
Boorman's Deliverance has
turned into a tragedy and an
cinema
weekend
intense study of character in- gerald, Larry Hagman and,
terplay. The timeless "man vs. Chief Dan George) and even
nature" and "man vs. man" Lenny Bruce's mother in a ca-#
conflicts are the underlying meo at the end of the film.
themes of this 1972 release, but What makes this film, whose
here they are presented in a plot sounds right out of Dis-
visually stimulating way as part I ney, such a joy to watch is Art
of a cohesive story. Carney as the 72-year-old who
c
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minute segments of artistic in-
terpretation of the 1972 Sum-
mer Olympics in -Munich, and
the result was Visions of Eight.
Unfortunately, the collection is
not breathtaking enough to es-
cape the tedium of the sports
documentary.
The eight directors were Ar-
thur Penn from the United
States, Milos Forman from
Tarza, the Ape Mari
Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud.
Sat. 7, 9:05
The primeval jungle echoes
the cry of the bull ape, herald-
ing Tarzan, the Ape Man, who
defeats both man and beast
while encountering innumerable
cliches in this 1932 film.
Johnny Weissmuller is Tarzan,
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There is lots of adventure,
varying from raging rapids to
the gunpoint performance of
sodomy by one of the mountain
men. Perhaps there is a bit too
much action and too many pithy
messages, but the film's credi-
bility assures a vicarious thrill,
if not a catharsis for the view-
er.
The photography is superb,;
capturing the full vitality of the
almighty river. Acting is
strong with Jon Voight and Burt
Reynolds in the leading roles.
Deliverance is a good movie
worth seeing.
-Linda Fidel}
* *
The Point
Cinema II, Aud. A
Sun. 7, 9
Poor little Oblio was born
into Point Land without a point
on the top of his head. Ostra-
cized by the duke of that land,
he is forced into exile with his
dog Arrow and discovers the
dilemma of choosing individual-
ism over social pressures.
The Point is an . animated'
cartoon which was originally
shown on television in 1971, and
was recently rerun in Novem-
ber. The music was written by
Harry Nilsson, and Dustin Hoff-
man narrates the fable in the
form of a bedtime story told to
his disarmingly sophisticated
young son.
The film is neither childish
nor tedious; the fun is imme-
diately contemporary and ac-
cessible. But most significant-
ly, the point of The Point never
catches in the throat.
-Sarah Polarek
refuses to act his age. He makes
Harry and Tonto what it is-
a touching film laced with
tears, laughter, and above all a
certain wisdom which will make i
you want to see it at least as
many times as Harold and
Maude. |
-John Frank
* * *
Trait Until Dark
Couzens Film Co-op
Couzens Cafeteria
Fri., Sat. 8, 111
In Wait Until Dark, a blind1
woman, alone in an apartment,
becomes the prey of some
criminals - one creepy and
one not-so-creepy.
In contrast with See No Evil,
another film about a blind wo-
man in danger, Wait Until Dark,
has some flaws. Wait Until
Dark doesn't really get moving'
until it is half over, while See
No Evil only needed a few
minutes to be well on its way.
Audrey Hepburn, as the blind.
woman, and Alan Arkin, as the
creepy criminal, manage to
make the last part of Wait Un-
til Dark very suspenseful and;
scary, though. It moves so fast
we can't tell what will -happen
next, though the woman's life,
depends on it.
-Joan Ruhela
The Emigrants
New World Film Co-op
And. 3, MLB
Sat. 7, 9:45
Jan Troell's film The Emmi-
grants is a story of first-genera-
tion Americans, Swedes who I
dream of a land kinder in po-
litical, geographical, and re-1
ligious temperment than their
Czechoslovakia, Claude Lelouch inthe nglish wait raised in the
from France, John Schlesinger , jungle by the beasts. He is ;
from England, Yuri Ozeroz from I Lord of the Jungle and master
the U.S.S.R., Mai Zetterling of his own domain, but Tar-
from Sweden, Michael Pfleghar ; zan's vulnerability appears in
from West Germany and Kon his first contact with civilization.
Ichikawa from Japan. While rescuing a hapless sa-
fari from danger, Tarzan is
The Olympics have been stricken with love for the fair:
filmed before, and Visions of English woman, Jane Parker,
Eight still cannot match Leni played by Maureen O'Sullivan.
Riefenstahl's now classic Olym- She is Beauty, taming the sav- j
pia, which was not merely a age Beast with her affection.
record of the 1936 Olympics held As an adventure in the Afri-11
in Berlin but forceful propa- ca of Hollywood, this film is
ganda concerning the rise of replete with lions, crocodiles,
Hitler. menacing headhunters, and
prisingly good. Doctor No, From
Russia With Love and Goldfing-
er were from an era where
Ian Fleming's novels were con-
sidered more than mere mas-
querades for their exploits. But
as time wore on, so did the
films. And now we are given
Roger Moore.
The film has zilch going for
it (except for the snazzy titles).
Guy Hamilton's direction is
shabby; the script by Bond
"veterans" Richard Maibaum
and Tom Mankiewicz follows
true to the total demise. Roger
Moore's acting is right on par
with Stubby Kaye and Soupy
Sales, while Christopher Lee as
the diabolical Scaramanga
-Jim Valk
Freebie and the Bean
The Movies, Briarwood
The 1974 Christmas rush of
feature films may go down in
Hollywood history books as
S Paper Moon
Briarwood
,Peter Bogdanovich has made
his reputation as one of Holly-
wood's foremost directors by
stealing the successful formulas
of his predecessors and using
them in his own productions.
Paper Moon is no exception to
the rule.
Featuring Love Story's Ryan
O'Neal and his cute daughter
Tatum, Bogdanovich tells the
story of a couple of con artists
travelling on the road during
the '30s.
Originally O'Neal was just
eking out a living selling Bibles
to widows whose names he
found in the obituary columns.
With the arrival of his little
sidekick, who may or may not
have been his daughter, how-
ever, he was able to turn his
con game into a profitable
racket.
Most films of this genre are
insipid and this one is no better
or worse than others. Perhaps
if Bogdanovich were to make an
original movie we would be able
to grasp whether he has any
talent. This movie doesn't show
any.
--Mark DeBofsky
Dracula
State
The Exorcist was supposed to
be "gross," but scary. Some
people, however, laughed. In
Dracula, Andy Warhol sets out
' to make people laugh at "gross-
ness.",
A vampire who 'hasn't sham-
pooed in years doesn't fall down
the way most people would
w h e n h i s appendages are
chopped off. His attempts to de-
fend himself in that condition,
along with a shot of an arm
left hanging from the banister
i* clasped, are made funny to
some people. Dracula also finds
t virgin blood in several distaste-
ful ways which amused.some.
S--Joan Ru ela
-Sarah Polarek
^ *
even the graveyard of the ele-
phants. Although it is not an
accurate adaptation of Edgar
containing
what could ultimate-
A Night at the Opera Rice Burroughs' novel, this is
Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud. probably the best in the series
Fri. 7, 8:45, 10 of Ape Man films.
The Marx Brothers return , -Joe McMullen
with their hilarious 1935 Marx-'
ist assault on grand opera. As
imposters and stowaways, Grou- te an witte
cho, Chico and Harpo infiltrate Golden Gun
an otherwise stuffy New York The Movies, Briarwood
opera company with gags and
mischief progressing to a de- Sequels, as a whole, are dis-
lerious climax, appointments. Don Segal's Dirty
roucho isax.ho u Harry was far superior to Don1
Groucho is a phony musical i Host's embarrassing Magnum'
impressario in hope of connmng ;Force; Airport (1970) was piti-
a dignified millionaire out of ful, only to hae Airport 1975
her millions. Chico is managing
an Italian tenor, while Harpo, as udefy descriptin by threcen
usual, is getting in everybody's with Francis Ford Coppola's ex-a
Dony. mcellent Godfather II has the se-
Don't miss the young Kitty quel taken a respectful place in
Carlisle as lovestruck opera modern cinema (see review
star if you haven't seen the above). And the thus enters the
film before. If you have, the longest, most successful series
Marx Brothers' flair for fun of sequels ever produced: the;
has not yet been outdated. James Bond epics.
-Gayle Krinsky ( The early films were sur-
ly be the worst movie of the
post-Civil War period. Freebie
and the Bean is such a miser-
able collage of disjointed seg-
ments and abandoned continu-
ity that it could reasonably be
mistaken as randomly - edited
five - minute clips from the
worst 22 films of past years.
Exploiting virtually every-
thing in his path, director Rich-
ard Rush has delivered a suit-
able member to his ailing port-
filio of films that is meagerly
highlighted by the 1970 muck
Getting Straight. One could
venture a guess that Rush had
viewed the French Connection
just beforedreaming up this
junk, and was hoping that car{
chases and smashups would be
the newest fad in luring patrons
into the auditoriums.
The end result is a grab bag
of stock footage that ultimately
totals more cars per foot of
film than anything to previously
pollute the silver screen.
-Jim Valk
liar old and Maude own.
The ,difficult decision to leave,
Mediatrics the arduous journey, and the
Nat. Sci. Aud. encounter with the real Ameri-
Fri., Sat. 7, 8:45, 10 ca have parallels in the heri-
This weekend, Harold 'and ,;tage of many of us.
Maude, Ann Arbor's favorite The film is unaffected yet elo-
movie returns to the local quent with expuisite camera
screen. One of the most popular work. Troell takes his time:
"cult" movies to emerge from with each sequence, and lingers
Hollywood, this former box of-
fice bust has recently captured wih ic ureportrits - a
the ears ofthosand ifnotship's bunk filled with lice and
the hearts of thousands if not blood, a steamboat coruscating
millions of fans, in moonlight, a flock of geese
Featuring excellent perform- over a Minnesota lake.
ances by Bud Cort and Ruth -C. B. Covello
Gordon, this Meovie tells the
bizarre story of a young man
obsessed by suicide who falls Here Is Your Life
in love with a much older wo- Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud.
man. The relationship teaches Sun. 9:05
him that it is far more worth- Here Is Your Life is a young
while to live and enjoy life than film, a film of beginnings. It is
to try to end it. director Jan Troell's first ef-
Directed by Hal Ashby (The fort. In it he tells of the growth
Last Detail), and soundtrack by of a young man to maturity in{
Cat Stevens polish this movie Swveden during World War I.
into one of the two or three The acting is, if not uniform-
classic comedies produced with- ly excellent, then certainly in-
in the last few years. spired. Standouts include Eddie
It seems that everybody has Axberg as the young man and
seen Harold and Maude at least two Ingmar Bergman s t o c k
once if not fifteen times. How- company members, Per Oscar-
ever, if you are one of the un- son as a railroad workers and
fortunates who have never Gunnar Bjornstrand as a carni-
seen the movie, don't neglect to val owner.
take advantage of this week- The film, for all its exuber-
end's offering. ance, has its flaws. Most ob-
-Mark DeBofsky vious of these is an over-use of
freeze frames. However, Here
Is Your Life is not a film to be
harry and Tonto missed. It is a visually striking
State tale of growth and loss of in-
What does this tale of a re- nocence.
tired English teacher and his -John Frank
cat hitchhiking across America*
have to offer? Well, Art Carneys
in the performance of his ca- Visions of Eight
reer, the unique vision of Paul Cinema II, Aud. A
Mazursky, stunning portrayals Fri. 7, 9
by supporting actors (including Eight international film mak-
Ellen Burstyn, Geraldine Fitz- ers each contributed 10 to 12
GUYS andDOL
Fame & Fortune Poster Contest
Enter your design for a poster
to represent the upcoming musical
"GUYS AND DOLLS"
The person who enters the winning design becomes
co-ordinating artist for the show and wins $25.00.
All entries must be in UAC offices by Jan. 27th at
noon.
for more info coil
763-1107 or 764-1630
P°"
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Bursley Hall Enterprises
presents
IT HAPPENED
ONE NIGHT
with
Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert
Sat., Jan. 25 Bursley W. Cafeteria
i
t
S'
7}f
1
9:00 P.M.
ADM. $1.00
OPEN TIL 1 A.M.
Fri. & Sat:
BILLIARDS and
BOWLING
at the UNION
Must present U-M I.D. for admission
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Couzens Film Co-op
PRESENTS
WAIT UNTIL DARK
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MK
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