t Friday, February 21, 1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Poge Fivs! Fridciy, February 21, 1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Pose Five Pick of the week: Rebecca Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud. Sat., 7, 9:05 s. , " } } (0"1.1nPm weekend The years immediately sur- 1 J.JL. L . L rounding World War II were w mo gul Dvs O. Sel f io o Randy Quaid turns in a probably the least crude. It's wd Ddes 0.e Shenom ellznpro.ksplendid performance as Mea- also the only one that attempts Besides tephomenally p- dows, a naive, shy, and mixed- to tell a story. fenitle oedWtaTeWid up 18-year-old Navy enlistee When a slightly preverse old- Seuckisproducedda'long string who earns a nine-year prison time Broadway producer is vis- scredp,well-atdbox"fficesthatsentence for bungling a $40.00 ited by a very neurotic account- scored well at box offices. I rip-off from a polio donation ant, the two discover that they Part of the reason for Selz- box. could make more money from} nick's prosperity was a young Whie awaiting new assign- a huge flop than from a hit' British director imported or- ments, Singleman First - Class play. They grossly overback iginally for this film. With Re- Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) their production and the rest of becca, Alfred Hitchcock began and Gunners Mate Mirst - Class the story takes a predictably an American career that would Mulhall (Otis Young) receive funny course, gain him the reputation as the orders to escort Meadows Zero Mostel still thinks he's "master of suspense" - and, from the Norfolk, Virginia brig on stage as the overbearing indeed, a master of all cinema, to the Navy prison in Ports- producer, but Gene Wilder Hitchcock spins a complex mouth, New Hampshire. makes up for him as his lovab- tale about a young wife (played The three sailors take the ly hysterical accomplice. by Joan Fontaine) who fears long route to Portsmouth via Although parts of the film for both her life and her safety stuffy, second - rate motel drag, while others just aren't as it becomes mysteriously ap- rooms, dingy bars, and a funny, Brooks includes enough parent that her new husband house of prostitution. The trip; of everything to make the film' (Laurence Olivier) has less ends up being an enlightening work. By no means is it a great than kind intentions for her but emotionally exhausting ex- piece of comedy, but The Pro-' future. perience for all three. ducers is a fun way to spend Nigel Bruce and Judith An- Perhaps the ultimate failure an hour and a half. derson round out the cast in of The Last Detail lies in Ash- -Linda Fidel this Oscar-winning example of by's persistent efforts to me- top-quality Hitchcock drama. chanically control our emo- The Servant -David Blomquist tional responses throughout the Cinema , Aud A film. Still, for Jack Nicholson Sat -7 L irn .L% -' r ut.,/ , V The Night Porter fans and those who appreciate The ornate veiled style of Michigan good acting, The Last Detail the Joseph Losey - Harold Liliana Cavani's The Night is a film worth seeing. Pinter collaborations is not Porter is an important film. Jfeasy for many to come to Some critics see it as a brilliant grips with. Director Losey insight into the eternal man-wo- Zardoz tends through shades and col- man conflict while others see New World, Nat. Sci. Aud. ors to slide obliquely into his it as little more than plain Sun., 7, 9plots, while screenwriter Pin- pornography. Just as we thought Sean Con- ter often ascribes more weight The film which is the center nery had forsaken the realm to pauses and silences than to of this debate takes place in of secret - agentry, that hon- his lines themselves. Vienna in 1957. Max (Dirk Bo- eyed land of electronic gizmos a one unfamiliar with the garde) a former Nazi concen- and bosomy playgirls, he re- vnuances of this team, The tration camp officer, is now a turns in pazzed-up form in Servant is a good picture to porter in a hotel. Occasionally Zardoz start with since it is probably he caters to the perversions of Connery was certainly no their best. It is essentially a his guests, but normally he is slouch as Agent 007 and he class-warfare film depicting h the slow envelopment and dis- aloner, hardly misses a step as Agentthslwevop ntadi- Enter Lucia, the bored wife 2030. All that seems to have integration of a young English of a famous seymphony con- changed is Sean's boss, No lord (James Fox) by his cor- ductor who once was an in- longer subject to the whims of rupt man-servant (Dick Bo- mate at Max's camp. Within the English foreign service garde). hours they are back to old Connery now intrigues inthe Games People Play abound tricks, playing sado-masochis- name of Zardoz, a god of du- through the film, with the tic games in an effort to regain bious distinction, young aristocrat, a rather nice the bad old days. It seems all is not well in young chap at first, reduced Liliana Cavani, the film's di-j Zardoz's cozy paradise of the to blubbering near-catatonia by rector, regards it as "a love future. The natives are bored the fial scene. The man - ser- story". Though Porter is a film with scientifically assured im- vant (played with vicious bril- of dubious quality, it is still by mortality and they're becom- fiance by Bogarde) fares little nature of the passionate de- ing increasingly restless and, better; at film's end they both bate it inspired, an important ooccasionally, downright defi- seem self-imposed prisoners one and certainly worth a ant. Zardoz decides to send within the lord's cavernous, viewing, down his best trouble - shooter rapidly - decaying mansion. -John Frank (guess who?) to straighten Losey matches sight and * * things out. sound with a haunting musical hThis film has been the source score to achieve a very person- jsrfTsm controvrsyminlyebreal kind of masterpiece. Some Cam us of some controversy maly b may find it simply too per- Tamu . cause of its sexist tendencies. . There is perhaps nothing Unfortunately this is about the sonalized for their own taste, more pleasing to the primitive only form of interest Zardoz but for others it is a brilliant instinct than a movie chocked has stirred up. film. Count me in the latter full of adulterated, unpreten- -George Lobsenz category. tious smut. And when it is * * ,--Kim Potter presented as flagrantly and * jocularly as it is in Flesh Gor- Bonnie and Clyde Touch of Evil don, we don't mind the total Michigan Fair Tax Campaign New World, MLB abolition of good taste. 170 Physics and AstronomyN Sun., 7, 9 The film exists on purely Fri., 7, 9:30 Sun., 7, a ground level, but there's real- The 1970 Arthur Penn - War- Perhaps the most amazing ly nothing wrong with that. It ren Beatty film, Bonnie and. tuch o lut not the bril- definitely has its place in even Clyde, is not really a faithful liant photography, the moving such a cultural mecca as Ann representation of the desperado characterizations, or the fas- Arbor, as illustrated by the careers of Clyde Barrow and'ch tatis nsy or athe r bordes of howling funseekers Bonnie Parker. Too much sen- cinating screenplay but rather that flock to see it. timent predominates the por- the fact thate wrote the It does no good to even at- trayal of this notorious team of script and finished all the pre- tempt at explaining the gist of; bank robbers and killers who induction work within 17 days. the movie, except that it in- roamed Texas and Oklahoma then film,Charltonedto work(ex- volves a sex-ray that is raising in the post Depression years. cellent as the Mexican detec- havoc and others things back Faye Dunaway and Warren tive Vargas, misunderstood on earth. Beatty have the leading roles, that Orson Welles was to di- Flesh, as he is affectionately and Michael J. Pollard is their named, travels to the reaches simpering, yet highly amusing portray Hank Quinlan, the cor- of outer space in search of sidekick. Farcical holdu-ps and rupt detective, and nothing the origin of the ray with a rollicking chases in stolen get- scientsit whose name I can't away cars abound. But the mix- more. Sevetee davs before pro-I t homage to his idol, Alfred Hitchcock. It is a suspense film, a genre that Truffaut is unused to, yet in his hands, it becomes a touching, delicate film of gen- tle comedy and strange love. It is the story of a bride, widowed on the church steps, who seeks revenge on her hus- band's murderers. She kills five men in all, eabh one a fine characterization. Jeanne Mor- eau, as the bride, maintains a perfect, expressionless, de- meanour, as she accomplishes her task. There are several small scenes and details that help to establish this as one of Truf- faut's best, on a level with The 400 Blows and The Wild Child. Bride is proof that Truffaut is one of the most important di- rectors in recent history. --Melissa Harris 4 - * ain hoe Ann Arbor Film Co-op MLB, Aud. 4 Fri., 7:15, 9:15 Released in 1972 with little fanfare, Gumshoe was critic- ally well - received, but still re- mains relatively unknown. De- scribed as a spoof on 1930's pri- vate-eye movies, it is ultimate- lv about boredom, bleakness, and ineptitude. Eddie Ginley is a third-rate comic who dreams of some- thing more out of life and gets it. As a birthday present to himself, he places an ad in the newspaper as a quasi - Sam Spade investigator. Hle is promptly plunged into a melange of plots, and dou- ble crosses, involving murder, kidnapping, and other assorted goodies. The dialogue is witty and, fast, written with zeal and af- fection. Albert Finnev makes an excellent Eddie, his surface bravado hiding his confusion and incertitude. -Melissa Harris The :agicalM ystery Tour * * New World, MLB Sat., 7, 9 "You've got an invitation to make a reservation." John, Paul, George and Ringo are waiting to take you away on The Magical Mystery Tour. Guided by four, or five strange magicians, the Beatles, embark on a bus tour through England, with stops at night- clubs, and strip-tease shows. At frequent intervals in their journey, the Fabulous Four, tut n to their songs "Fool oon the Hill" "Your Mother Should Know", and "I am the' Wal- rus." The Beatles filmed this British television special in 1967, hot on the success of their monumental Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In comparison, Magical Mystery Tour is a disappointment. Still, this film offers an interesting look at the Beatles phenomena of the '60s, including clues to the "Paul is dead" rumor. -Joe McMullen Dritins Along the Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud. Sun., 9:05 Drums Along the Mohawk is finely - crafted, exciting cine- ma. This 1939 films is one of John Ford's best and most ov- erlooked efforts, certainly su- perior to the strangely immor- tal Stagecoach of the same year. The story concerns the strug- gle between Colonial settlers and British - controlled Mo- hawk Indians during the final year of the American Revolu- tion. If you overlook Henry Fon- da's dimples and Claudette Colbert with nary a hair out of place throughout the bloody conflict, then you'll find some real insight into the trials, ag- onies and necessary unity of an isolated community surrounded by a hostile and often murder- ous environment. Director Ford's eve for unity is everywhere apparent, blend- ing action and realism to a degree few films of this genre were able to achieve. Drums makes a enjoyable flick for anyone - and for Ford fans, it's a requirement. -Kim Potter The Boy r-ith (reen Hair Cinema II, Aud. A Fri., 7, 9 The Boy With Green Hair is a fantasy film from the forties that tries to entertain and evangelize at the same time. Dean Stockwell plays an or- phan boy who is in the care of a lovable Irish singing wait- er (Pat O'Brien). One morning ,the boy wakes up to find that his hair has turned green. (In blazing Tech- nicolor, no less.) In a vision, the boy discovers that he has been singled out to represent the cause of the world's starv- ing war orphans. It is hard to protest a film that preaches against preju- dice, intolerance, and war, but the messages are presented in a trite way and the plot seems contrived. Boy will be enjoyed, nonetheless, by sentimentalists who like a good cry at the mov- ies. -Cathi Suyak Secrets of a Soul Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud. Sun., 7 Based on one of Freud's case histories, Secrets of a Soul is a suspense story in reverse, beginning with one man's fear of touching knives and retrac- ing the causes of his phobia in film's first psychoanalytic in- vestigation. The 1926 film, though silent, was technically as well as dra- matically innovative. German director G. W. Pabst took full artistic advantage of the re- collections and d r e a m frag- ments involved in the psycho- analysis. --Jane Weaver tn atnv yof al Iurider Law School Films 103 Hutchins Hall Fri., 7:30 Anatomy of a Murder was Otto Preminger's last critic- ally successful film, and is therefore noteworthy. The 1959 courtroom drama, based on R o b e r t Traver's b e s t seller, garnered an Oscar for Wendell Mayes' screenplay and a New York Film Critics Best Actor citation for James Ste- wart. Set in Michigan's Upper Pe- ninsula, Anatomy concerns a small - time lawyer (Stewart) who defends an Army lieuten- ant (Ben Gazzara) in a sensa- tional murder trial highlighted by hints of adultery, rape, and insanity. Though overly long at three hours even, the film, and especially its courtroom confrontations, is generally ab- sorbing. -Chris Kochmanski ;. s ? .a.r; aara 1 (dry, s "' k.rs. Y ,: NIMM -11 r3 w r, 5 t . .; , T' 7 , . t ,;, 'I poise mention. ture of farce with other epi- After encountering an Em- sodes of grisly violence doesn't peror with a name I will pass work. over, Flesh and crew discover The movie lacks the depth cave monsters that turn out and insight many expect. In to be gigantic unmentionables. spite of generally mediocre dis- You get the picture. cretion and a weak script, one -Jim Valk cannot find much fault with the * * acting. The film is worth see- The Last Detail ing, if only to painfully bear witness to unrealized potential. Ann Arbor Film Co-op -Nathalie M. Walker MLB, Aud. 3 * Fri., 7, 9 Fine acting and a screen- The Producers play tailor - made for its cast Mediatrics, Nat. Sci. Aud. highlight Hal Ashby's The Last Fri., Sat., 7, 8:30, 10 Detail. Unfortunately, the His more recent films sug- film's strong points do not com- gest that Mel Brooks will do pensate for its choppy, dis- anything for a laugh. This lack jointed visual texture and its of subtlety is apparently a re- stilted, often sentimentalized cent element of his style, as his character development, first film, The Producers, is .I seventeen aaysDre pro duction began the studio exec- utives explained their dilem- ma to Welles and he agreed to write and also direct Touch of Evil. The result of this hasty labor is one of the greatest films of all time. Welles once again shows himself as the master of the camera. Besides Welles and Heston, brilliant performances are turned in by Marlene Dietrich, Dennis Weaver, Joseph Cotten and Akim Tamiroff. --John Frank Th, Bride Wore Black Cinema Guild, Arch Aud. Fri., 7, 9:05 The Bride Wore Black is supposedly Francois Truffaut's Records in review By JAMES FIETIG 'AN IS A GERMAN-BI GROUP that tries to bine in its first America lease, Soon, Over Bab (United Artists LA 343-9) tain elements of jazz, rock avant-garde mediums. combination might haN e successful in Germany,1 don't predict much Ame success. Soon Over Babaluna turn to be one of those al where you're waiting for4 I 'Stars End (VR 13-114) and Ro-! (Capitol .ST-11349), featuring a ASED bert Wyatt's Rock Bottom, I fine voice in some quiet, soft com- (VR 13-112) have one basic rock vocals. n re- thing in common: both are ' Riordan's material generally aluna very removed from reality, fits the standard attern of cer-' Stars End, composed by Bed- more accepted artists (like , and ford and performed by the Roy- James Taylor), but he has The al Philharmonic Orchestra, is some fine studio backing: such been a very avant-garde work span- able musicians as Harvey Ma- but I ning both sides of an unusually son, Tim Weisberg, and erican long album. The Royal Phil- Charles Larkey. harmonic performs adequately; ns out guitar - bass player Mike Old-' Vernon Bunch is another bums field adds a few plucks here young vocalist who has a lot some- and there. ! of potential. Although Bunch is - - , / rv , --