pWednesday, September 1 2, 1 9 7 3TE MHIADAL
THE MICHIGAN DAILY..
Page Five
PQge Five
'Graffiti'
By CHUCK BLOOM
As a student would have said
back in 1962, George Lucas'
American Graffiti is a "boss"
movie. Man, it's. the ginchiest!
W it h ouit a doubt, Amer-
ican Graffiti (Fox Village Thea-
tre is the best movie yet for 1973.
It is a study of an era, ignored
by most historians, which most
of us have heard about but few
remember..
Cars were king, ,and songs
were made for dancing, and you
held your girl tight in the back
seat of a '57 Chevy.
It was a time of non-commit-
ment when being a high school
stud was more important than
political involvement. It was an
era for having fun.
A MLR I CA N GRAFFITI
recounts the last "big night" of
the summer for four guys in a
small California coastal town,
perhaps Modesto. Through ac-
tion spanning a 12-hour period,
the viewer is introduced to the
entire panorama of the late fifties
and' early Sixties: the greaser
king, -the head cheerleader-class
president romance, the cars, the
strip, and above all, the music.
The music of the Sixties is. an
integral part of the movie. The
soundtrack is a sii-ulated radio
Sbroadcast featuring %V1lfm -a r
Jack, who even make; token
appearance. Songs are not chos-
en at random. Well placed in the
film, the songs hold spec,,ific
tmeanings in the Sixties c,:l_:reI
W~hile one of the charactets
hot-wires a car, a menacing fig-
ure approaches to the sound of
"Mello, baaaaaaabv!'' from Big
Bopper's "Chantilly Lace." When
the big high school romance
threatens to break up, reconcilia)-
tion is attempted through't;e
Skyliners' "Since I D~on't Tve
You." Booker T. and theMG'
"Green Onions''. is a bad- ass
Sares
~ s;
t f
E'
,r'
/
2. r
{n tA toresl iclowvs a had-ass
Yet I>rcti'Lu'cas does an
c~ci~at jb o editing and di-
ut g Otat the plot and the
f' of musi never becomes
Th sor,, revolves around Gust,
i;i -db ~card Dreyfuss, and
his :: cli, whether to leave
fari enFirn college in the
I )e fu.sterns in a sensitive
pcrorr:Ine o a kid who is al-
\, 3 [1usunganelusive dream,
ei~hc a fture outside of his
b'~nr~wnor a nmysterious blonde
cruising the local strip in a '56
T-Bird.
Curt's, friends also face typical
high school dilemmas. Paul, for
instance, (played by Ronny Ho-
ward who you may remember as
Obie in the old 'Andy Griffith
show) the class president, and
Laurie, the head cheerleader,
have a lover's spat.
Toad, portrayed a;s a totally
inept loser byChri Martin
White, attempts to score with a
blonde lush.
And John Milner (Paul Le-
Mat) reigns as the king of the
strip. LeMa~t turns in the film's
finest portrayal as the child lost
in his times. lie is the true
philosopher of the film:
"I remember five years ago
when it took one tank of gas
and two hours to complete the
circuit . . ." Milner says.
"I don't dig that isurfin' shit.
Music has gonez downhill ever
since ruddy Holly died."
While cruising around torn
in a car described as "a cross
between piss yellow and puke
-green," Milner picks up a car-
worshipping teeny-hopper played
by 12-year-old McKenzie Phillips
(daughter of John Phillips of the
Mamas and Papas).
'1h ovie climaxes, as it al- "
nay diba~them Frith the. de
iniilad th~e faster out- l ' .
sidt',whopossibly symibolizes a
dawingera. But illogical fate _
decrees tht Mzilner stay on top, . .. iW t4 *,t0
though he re' lizes his time has
Io l :n d , Il. ort, the- them e of A m eri-
can Gaffiti ca n be summed up 1
b;v M ilner's sta tement, "I don't
want to leuvic here - I'm having
too muach fun'.''
The more you think about the
film, the "heavier" it will seem. I# r'' ::':^
But you won't want to analyze ; :**..\lt
it. Yo Mlijst i' t to have fun r t l>Ftt
wa ltchn it-thke kind of fun they A l' '" : a- ' . 1 , H
had Back 'fhen: .....
k Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, 1 933. With Frederick March, Gory Cooper,
Miriam Hopkins, Edward Everett Horton. The' last word in sophisticated
comedy. A Ben Hecht screen play from Noel Coward's daring play about
a writer, a painter, and the woman who lives with both of them. "No sex,"
sh. says with a wink,. Directed with the famed,.Lubitsch touch. SHORT: THE
FLOOR WALK ER: Charlie Chaplin.
cinqma u.
ARCHITECTURE ADgORUil
ADMI1SSI ON.:$
r ~THIS WEEK! -WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY ONLY:
1iht Zone Festiva~l
8 HOURS FROM THE TELEVISION SERIES
-4 PROGRAMS-ALL DIFFERENT-
WEV _D NESDAY, SEPT. 12--7 p.m.-Program No. 1, 9 p.m.-Program No. 2
TH iURSDA'Y, SEPT. 13-7 p.m.--Program No. 3, 9 p.m.-Program No. 4
Ceporate admission, '$1 for each program, Special double-ticket for an evening, $1 .75
A
R
TD
Do 'l. Pharo by TERRY McCARTHY
Mime at the Ark
Jango Edwards 'and Nola Rae per
last night. The troupe is from Lon
weekend.
Lv.
tonight
e6:00247wews *
9 Andy Griftith
50, Gilligan's Island
56 Takig Better Pictures
6:30 CBS News
4 NBC News
7 ABC News
9 1 Dream of Jeannie
50 Hogan's Heroes
56 Guten Tag Wei Gehi's
6:45 56 German Film
7:00 2 Truth or Consequenes
4 News
7 To Tell the Truth
9 Beverly Hillbillies
50 Mission Impossible
56 Vince Lomnbardi Science and
Art of Football
7:30 2 What's My Line?
4 Sale of the Century
7 Wait Till Your Father Gets
Home
9 Bewitched
56 Consumer Game
8:00 2 Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour
4 Adam-12
7 Love Thy Neighbor
9 Ian Tyson
50 Night Gallery
56 Narukami The Thunder God-
Drama
rform in "Chairs" as part of -the
indon, England and has made one
8:30 4 MovieM
"I1 the Heat of the Night,"
7 Movie
9 Nears
50 Merv Griffin
9:00 2 Cannon
9 Pro Football
9:30 56 Man Builds, Man Destroys
10:00 7 Owen Marshall
50 Perry Mason
56 Homnewood
11:00 2 47 News
50 One Step Beyond
11:30 2 Movie
"Hunters, Are for Killing"
(1970)
4 Johnny Carson
7 TV Times
9 CBC News
50 Movie
"Secret Agent of Japan"
(1942)
12:00 9 Movie
"Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-
Round" (1966)
1:00 4 7 News
"Bullfighter and the Lady."
(1951)
3:00 2 Mayberry R.F.D.
3: 30 2 News
wcbn
7:00 The Morning Show
9:00 Rock
12:00 Progressove
3:00 Folk/Rock/Progressive
6:00 News/Sports/Comment
6:30 Talkback
7:30 Jazz/Blues
11:00 Progressive
3:00 Signoff
"Friends Roads Show" mime tro. ' ppnhc at the Ark at 6:30
earlier, appearance in Ann Arbor a the lus and Jazz Festival last
ART EXHIBIT-Lantern G' ilryOiI a one-man exhibition
of Jean Weinbaum's Wat.ercofors,, and oils today with a
reception for the artist from 7 to 9 toui lt.
FILM-Ann Arbor Film Co-op esntTwlid Zone Fes-.
tival at 7 and 9 tonight ii And. AA_ el Cinema Guild
is showing Lubitch's i , in urIiv=n~ in Arch. Aud. at
7 and 9:05 tonight. The ew orl Fim Co-op presents
Hill's Slaughterhouse ive i ,3 ML at 7:30 and 9:30
tonight as well asAlcin odead in Aud. 4 MLB
tonight at 7:30 and9:.
.'NEXT MONDAY, Sept. 17th--Hello Dolly, in 4 track sound,
TUE SDAY, Sept: 18th--Filmore, in 4 track sound
W^EDNESDAY, Sept. 1 9th--Fellini's Satyricon*
THURSDAY,,Sept. 20th-Fellini's Night-of Cabirio"
Presented in cooperation with Cinema Guild's Fellini Festival Sept. 25-30th
ALLte E S .,OWI NGS IN AUDITORIUM "A" ANGELL HALL
f s fr anl ol each evenings performances on sale outside the auditorium at 6 px.m
-14
NOW FORMIN
SIGN UP
UNION LANES
I
INDI "'DUBLS
Open 11a m orn S . 1 pY ISuh
1
NEW WORLD FILM COOP-presents-
42 . j .rf
44lA ~
IV, a F
v f~l Y ,
Thi biare c1O /
"'7."
* IN KURT VON NEGUT'S *
SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE
Winner 2972 Canniies Film Festival-Jury prize and award. "One of the
most daring, original, and totally fascinating pictures ever mnade."
-Rex Reed
II
y (Wed.-Natural Sciene Aud4., :ur. :..cn n~oqsAud.?I