Thursd©y, October l F, 19-/3
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Five
Thursday, Octcber 18, 1973 THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Supe rs hi
By BRUCE SHLAIN what happens every timea
I Am not a Biblical scholar. My jor film is made about
religious leanings have grown (Him?). The cinema has er
to more personal leanings, like ed upon the story of Jess
leaning against a wall in the aft- installing a Second CrucifiN
ernoon. But still there was some- the first being on the cross
thing insidious about the film the second 'being in the al
musical Jesus Christ Superstar rendering of the whole bus:
that was close to offensive. For Superstar, with all it
I suppose it has something to do pretenses and rock music
with the inclination all of us have youing cast, is playing essen
to try and avoid 'giving Christ a the same slanderous game p
needless beating, or having to by Ben-Hur and The Gr(
witness it. But that is exactly Story Ever Told, which w~
r.0
Crucifixion
II
a ma-
thinm
nlarg-
s by
:ion-
s,' and
ibsurd"
siess.
its hipr
cand
ntially
played
,eatest
vas to
reduce the greatest story to a
gangland killing in the former
and a soap opera in the latter.
Since, Birth of a Nation, there
must have been some secret pact
made that excluded the film spec-
tacle from any connection with
aesthetic unity.
In Bien-Hur, there are those
sadomasochistic shots of naked
slaves in the gallows, the seeth-
ing, uncontrolled crowds, the rot-
ting lepers, and the resounding
hammer - blows, in close-up, as
Christ is nailed to the cross-
the obsession of C. B. DeMille
with graphic sensationalism that
borders on silliness was part of
a hysterical attitude towards 're-
ligion that found its end, hope-
fully, in Russel's The Devils.
Norman Jewison reverses that
trend, having found a new way to
sidestep the grandeur of Christ
by removing the religious awe in
the name of his ill-aimed stabs
at reality. He contrasts. the life
of Christ with our overblown
ARTS
conception of him with a montage
of Renaissance paintings, which
would not have been a bad idea
if it did not have to stand next
to the far superior Christ-mon-
tage done by Kubrick in Clock-
work Orange.
Sure, Jesus and his disciples
did not have that sense of their
own timeless and picturesque
significance that we attach to
them. But to film the Last Sup-
per as if it were a Kiwanis pic-
nic? And even if Jesus was not
the great rhetoritician, even if
the Sermon on the Mount was no
Gettysburg Address, even if he
simply electrified people with
his mere presence, surely he
could sing more than one sen-
tence at a time. And I doubt whe-
ther Christ had his voice dubbed.
Still, the music (although not
as good as the album) makes the
film possible to sit through, even
to enjoy if one is willing to ignore
Jewison's complete failure to as-
sume any semblance of an atti-
tuide. On the one hand he rejects
the pure and magical conception
of Christ, leaving out the mirac-
les, inserting a young "Mary"
as his ambiguously loving com-
panion, and portraying Christ at
his most physically revolutionary.
as when he angrily overturns the
trinkets at the marketplace.
The slapstick injection of tanks
rolling acrross the desert from
out of nowhere seem to suggest
that technology is the apocolypse.
But, like Judas' love-hate rela-
tionship with Christ, it is never
developed.
Curiously enough, if Jewison
was trying to get awsay from the
stereotyped version -of Christ,
then why did he cast Ted Neely
in the title role, divinely blue-
eyed and consummately hand-
some in his quiet wisdom etc.?
It is obvious by now that the crux
of our relation to the story of
Jesus is in how far we have come
from his conception of humanity.
We are, for the most part, out of
touch with that saga, unless one
really believes that Nixon is a
Christ figure. Perhaps the way
to explore this aspect of the dra-
ma would be to cast a man as
Christ who is more a moan of the
times. Ernest Borgnine, for in-
stance. And isn't Ted Agnew
available now?
I would not, of course, mention
such sacrilege unless it had al-
ready been expertly done by Ro-
bert Downey (Putney Swope) in
his last film, Greaser's Palace, in
which Christ is portrayed as a
song and dance man in the Old
West who gets his palms to bleed
on stage for his encore. And
when God comes riding in on
horseback in the end to work out
the arrangements for the cruci-
fixion, Jesus replies that he is
not quite ready, having just be-
gun to find himself.
Downey's film is, of course,
perverse, vile, and pernicious,
but that seems a whole lot bet-
ter to put it in the film instead
of pretending, like Jewison, that
we have come to the theatre to
be saved.
,.,,._.__ __.._ n . _ ... _ __ __ ___ _ _ . .__._ _ .... ____. _ . __._._.
A
crea tive
union
of
music,
By ROSE SIDE BERSTEIN
and SARA RIMER
The Braided Theatre Group
will unleash a creative flow of
energy in its premiere Sunday
night at Power Center. Coher-
ently integrating three different
art forms, it promises to assault
the audience with explosive tal-
ent. Flowing together will be the
Dance Mobile, the String Quar-
tet, and a compact drama troupe.
A grant from the Michigan
Council for the Arts made it pos-
sible to realize director, man-
dance,
alter Chris Brown's dream of
bringing together outstandingly
talented actors, dancers, technic-
ians, and musicians. Most of
them, friends from high school
or college, boast Interlochen
training. Associate manager Pam
Polom exp~lains, "They decided,
if if's working separately, let's
put it all together!"
Bi own describes the group's
expression, "It isn't just ham,
bamn, barn, music, drama,
dance! Themes are carried
through. It's not poppy, oppy."
drama
One of, the group's major fea-
tures is its flexibility in talent
and repetoire. Able to build
around any audience, the group
expects to find quite a bit of
room to experiment in Ann Ar-
bor.
Sunday's progrma, entitled,
"Travel in Time and Space" is
"going to be a lot of fun," prom-
ises Polom. But more than just
presenting unchallenging fun,
the group's artistic entertainment
will demand questioning and
wondering from its audience.
Members of the group, dress-
ed in quaisi-uniform, will be-
wilder the viewers immediate-
ly upon their entry into the lob-
by. Polom says, "They will be
prepared with lines deliberately
designed to freak the audience
out." Another surprise will be
the programs printed on com-
puter paper.
The Braided Theatre G r o u p
believes that Ann Arbor is ready'
for new avenues and new ex-
pression. Sunday promises to be
an exciting challenge for a re-
ceptive audience.
TV
highlights7
3:15 4 World Series, last game tele-
cast live from New York City.
9:00 2 Richard Chamnberson a n d
Yvette Mlimieux in "Joy In
the Morning". Sentimntal
love story.
7 "West Virginia - Life, Lib-
erty, and the Pursuit of
Coal." Special documentary
on coal operations.
9:30 9 A profile on the "Grey Owl,"
nature documlentary.
11:30 2 Movie: "Champion" -- Hard-
hitting drama about boxing.
50 Movie: "Green Light." An Er-
rol Flynn swashbuckler.
12:00 9 Movie: "The Gortress." World
War 11 drama.
{~m edlIa tr IC S presents
THE BEATLES At Their Zaniest In
YellowSur
WHEREIN THE BRAVE LADS OF LIVERPOOL BATTLE
THE FORCES OF EVIL IN PEPPERLAND
Thurs. & Fri. 10Na.S.Ad
10 18 1019 190fa.S.Ad
This feature replaces COOL HAND LUKE and 81:/
TONIGHT s THURSDAY, Oct. 19-ONLY
KuoswasSEVEN SAMURAI
w~inner of the Liton of t. Mark 4
* : . { > £ k ' YY Yaltiie 'v e n i c e Film Festival, 4
# x x ' " SVEN SAMURAI is one of the 4
M4
tf greatest films in the career of 4'
Akira Iurosawa JKIRU, '4
~ I*rt H R O N OF LO O D'RE
4 Y B E A R D. It is a successful
>}Yblending of e ] e m e n t s fromt 4
yF A eri can westerns (especally
*F the, films of Jhn Ford) and 4
* "ganster films into the classic 4
* Japanese samurai movie. In a 4
It sense SEVEN SAMURAI may be K
s{ consideredi the definitive "east-
", ern-western." his epic tale, 4'
>f. howxever, is more than an ect
exi-ing adventure film. It is also A.4
*f mov'.i ng a ndc compassionate .
* y drama of men fighting to protect 4'4
4 lbthi way of life, no matter what 4
ompromise they may have to 4
* 7:30 a 9:45 PM. $1,25ake. 4
* 'MODERN LANGUAGES AUDITORIUM 3 44
The most remarkable fllm
ji have seen this year.
* -Arthur Schlesinger Jr. 4
>a'
4
Ciea5peet
* _4'4'
* Caae4elcsDayo' Md'oswf.TakYu
*"++.ta.f"#"+k++ " ++++".+fj+ "k4'++" rf r~i++ "k~rri
'FILM--AA Film Co-op presents Ritchie's The Candidate at
7, 9 in Aud. A; Cinema Guild shows Worth and Peil's
Malcolm X in Arch. Aud. at 7, 9:05; New World Film Co-
op presents Kurosawa's Seven Samurai at 7:30, 9:45 in
Aud. 3; Mediatrics presents Yellow Submarine in Nat.
Sci. Aud. at 7, 9:30; Couzens Film Co-op features The
Prime of Miss Jean Brody at 8, 1.0 in Couzens Cafeteria;
New World Film Co-op shows Ophul's The Sorrow and
the Pity in AudI. 4, MLB at 8.
MUSIC-The Music School presents Thomas Hilbish con-
ducting U Woodwind Quintet in SM Recital Hall at 8;
The Bach Club features a woodwind quintet with music
by Leclair, 'Reicha, Persichetti, and Arnold at 8 in Greene
Lounge, Bast Quad.
DANCE--IAC Homecoming features a square dance in Wat-
ermnan at 7-11.
1:30 2 Movie: "Cattle King." Ranch-
er Robert Taylor wins range
war.
Wpb"
7
3
s
7:30
7:30
"11
Mornixng Show
Rock~
Progressive
Fol/Rout/Progressive
News/~Sports/Coninwent
Latino-Americano
Jazz/Blues
Progressive
PROBLEM
PREGNANCY
COUNSELING.
PREGNANCY TESTING.
no charge
SUMMIT
MEDICAL CENTER
1-272-8450
approved by
National Organization for Women
MARCEAU SPEAKS
HOLLYWOOD (UPI)- French
pantomimist M a r c e I Marceau
will speak for the first time in
a motion picture in William
Castle's Paramount production of
"Shanks."
University Symiahorty
at conductor Thionv~s
ing concert for the
bright, organ soloist,
October 24.
! l Daily Photo by KEN FINK
Shhhss"
Orchestra and Chamber Choir decrescendo
H-ilbish's comm'-ind during last night's open-
Contemporary Music Festival. William Al-
appears in the festival's next concert on
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Friday, October 19
NOON "LUNCHEON,
BUFFET-.40
DONALD HALL
A Poet's View onl: "Moral and
i
TON IGHT
The ROCKETS
$1.00
Friday and Saturday
LOCOMOB ILE
and WALRUS
=.50
Ethical Leadership of the Nation"
(series)
GUILD HNOUSE-802 Monroe
(There wi ll be no dinner this Friday evening. Watch
Michigan Daily for future announcements.)
I_-
i
UAC-DAYSTAR Presents 2 HOMECOMING CONCERTS . .
this friday
Oct. 19
hill aud.
show begins at
8 p.m. with
RADIO KING and
his COURT OF RHYTHM
with
The Soulful Soulmates
$3.50-4.50-5.00-5.50
Tomro ih
Eastern Michigan University
HOMECOMING WEEKEND
EMU an'd WWWW Present
CUI AGO
OCT. 26-8:00 P.M.
B3OW EN FIELDHOUSE
TICKETS: $4, $S, $6
AV'AILABLE. A T' :AnnArbor Music Mart, Huckleberry Party
Store, McKenny. Union
"THE INCOMPARABLE KCING OF THE BLUES"
ROCK &
ROLL
reserved seats
r
GOOD SEATS STILL AVAILABLE
0 AW \ 11 ( An
i
i
11