THE MICHIGAN DAILY
'inema
we ek
Pick of the week:
-The Godfather
UAC Mediatrics, Nat. Sci. Aud.
Fri., Sit., 7, 9:30
Sun., 2:30
Gulf & Western's golden goose
comes to town this weekend with
all of the hooii usually re-
served for truly classic motion
pictures.
Whether or not Godfather is,
indeed, cinematically classic is,
admittedly, debatable - at best
the film can only be described as
"inspired" =- but $80 million at
home and $100 million abroad
is, unquestionably, an awfully
convincing argument.
Leading the parade in front
of the camera is Marlon Bran-
do's alreqdv legendarv perform-
ance as Don Coroleone. Al Pa-
cino and James Caan's work as
his sons is almost cinema legend
as well.
Even Diane Keaton, Woody
Allen's foil in Sleeper, shows up
at the end - although in an en-
tirely different sort of role.
Francis Ford Coppola's direc-
tion features flashes of mastery,
but he has a nagging tendency to
use three minutes of film to cov-
er a two minute scene.
Coppola and novelist Mario
Puzo's screenplay retains the
impact of the original book, al-
though large quantities were left
on the cutting room floor (soon
to appear, however, in a now-
lensing segel). Nino Rota's mu-
sic score is, typically, nothing
less than superb.
-David Blomquist
East of Eden
Cinema II, Aud. A.
Fri., 7, 9
This movie should appear a bit
melodramatic to the average stu-
dent who only knows James Dean
as he is referred to in modern
song. It is a story of a family
conflict between father (Ray-
mond Massey) and son (Dean,
who thinks he's Marlon Brando)
set in scenic California.,
The photography is very good
and holds the picture together.
This movie could prove good en-
tertainment for some, especially
Lou Rteed fans who want to know
how Suzy could have "thought
she was James Dean for a day."
Too little of the Steinbeck
novel is used to make this mo-
vie an artistic whole. Wait until
it is on TV again.
-LOUIS MELDMAN
Great expectations
Cinema II, Aud. A
Sat., 7, 9
Great Expectations is an early
film from British director David
Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr.
Zhivago). Made in 1947, this ek-
cellent film remains one of the
best adaptations of a Dickens
novel ever made.
Expectations is the story of
young Pip, his youth, and his
coming of age. The film, like the
book, is filled with dozen of
memorable Dickensian charac-
ters.
The marvelous cast (Alec
Guiness, John Mills, Jean Sim-
mons, and Valerie Hobson)
proves once again that the Brit-
ish ch'aracter is the finest in the
world.
-James Hynes
Tall Blond Man with
One Black Shoe
Fifth Forum.
Tall Blond Man is a charm-
ingly funny French spy movie
directed by Yves Roberts. The
film is a farce about Francois
(Pierre Richard), a young violin-
ist who, unknown to him, is chos-
en by the head of the French In-
telligence Agency to act as a de-
coy to trap Milan (Bernard
Blier), the agency's second-in--
command.
Milan's ludricous bugging of
Francois's day-to-day activities
and the misunderstandings that
result are carried off winningly
by an excellent cast.
-Margaret Coffey
The Sting
State
Newman and Redford turn in
nice performances (Redford even
got a best actor Oscar nomina-
tion), but at the real heart of the
film is the work of screenwriter
David Ward and director George
Roy Hill.
Although Ward's exaggerated,
outlandish, full-of-holes script is
blatantly escapist, it is a dar-
ingly original piece of Hollywood
scripting (the bad guys, you see,
don't get hauled off to jail in the
end, and that's a cinema code
no-no).
Hill gets a little carried away
with 130s gimmicks (e.g. wipes,
Sat Eve Post titles, and even
the 1935 Universal Studios lead-
er), but on the whole creates 'a
brilliant work, most remarkable
for some unbelievably effective
point-of-view shots.
The no-moral, no-theme nature
of Sting may - turn off cinema
purists, but most viewers will
find this a delightful little flick.
-David Blomquist
The Last Detail
Michigan
Last Detail is another Jack
Nicholson style comedy. Direct-
ed by Hal Ashby, Detail is to-
tally dominated by Nicholson's
special blend of cockiness and
charm.
Nicholson and fellow sailor
Otis Young are given five days
to deliver a young recruit, Randy
Quaid, to the brig to serve eight
years for petty theft. Their ad-
ventures enroute make for an
amusing and entertaining film.
Even' Detail's witty dialogue,
inventive episodes and spirited
direction cannot totally change a
depressing situation into a satis-
fying comedy.
-Margaret Coffey
One Day in the Life
of Ivan Denisovich
Bursley Hall Enterprises,
Bursley West Cafeteria
Fri., 9
Of the two films so far made
from the novels of Alexander
Solzhenitsyn, one was poor and
one was excellent. The film
adaptation of First Circle was
pretentious and overdone. One
Day, on the other hand, is a bru-
tally realistic film that accurate-
ly captures the impact of the
novel.
As in the book, the film sim-
ply records one day in the life of
one prisoner in a Stalinist labor
camp in Siberia, Ivan Deniso-
vich (played by Tom Courtenay).
The picture chillingly depicts
the brutality of the guards, the
hyinger of the prisoners, and the
bitter, bitter, cold.
The viewer should keep in
mind throughout this excellent
but depressing film that Solzhen-
itsyn spent eight years in such
camps.
-James Hynes b
Also...
Warner Brothers continues to
push Robert Redford and Sydney
Pollack's Jeremiah Johnson at
the Campus. You can forget this
one.
The Exorcist and Serpico go
on and on (probably into eter-
nity) out at The Movies at Briar-
wood.'
Cinema Guild's annual Ann Ar-
bor Film Festival continues
through the weekend, with award
winners announced Sunday night.
Finally, the Cook Memorial
Festival presents 12 Angry Mep,
a typical piece of commercial
film, in 100 Hutchins Hall Friday
at 7:30 and 9:30.
Page Five
film festival
--_____ - -..-- .- .
Unique films mark
late night showings.
By DAVID BLOMQUIST
Nature, animation, dance, and
documentary provided a unique
-if occasionally mediocre -eve-
ning Wednesday night for those
cinema - loving night owls who
waited up for the Ann Arbor
Film Festival's 11 p.m. offer-
ings.
While each of Wednesday's six
late show movies had its own
distinctive approach, all experi-
mented more with oral than
visual effects.
Grover Dale's Motion Pictures
exhibited a simple approach to
the problem of sounds. He elimi-
nated sound completely in an ef-
fective attempt to focus all at-.
tention on his visual presenta-
tion.
Basically, the 18 minute film
can best be described as a fran-
tic, erotic, and grotesque ballet-
without-music. Interior dance
sequences were beautifully cho-
reographed, marvelously lighted,
and exquisitely photographed,
but over-extended exterior dance
scenes had the audience squirm-
ing in its seats.
"Natural" sounds provided the
audio track for Skycap, an
imaginative nature flick from
Theodore Lyman. An undescrib-
able gamut of sounds - every-
thing from rippling water to a
simulated bowel movement fol-'
lowed by a stuck flushing toilet-
appear as accompaniment for a
series of quick, flashing cuts of
woodland scenery.
Lyman's camera movements
were a bit jerky at times, but on
the whole Skycap was perhaps
the most technically advanced
film of the evening.
Electronic effects provided an
interesting background for Joe
Comerford's documentary-from-
fiction Withdrawal, an Irish-
made film examining the life of
a heroin addict undergoing with-
drawal in a mental institution.
Comerford's audio was, the
best of the evening, (but despite
good source material and fine
quality acting '- Withdrawal
did not have the visual impact to
match. Comerford spent too
. pntp
much time in medium and long
shots, ignoring endless possibili-
ties for close-ups of facial reac-
tions.
Video and audio came together
most completely in a brilliant
film from Harvard filmmaker
Richard Rogers. Rogers's Ele-
phants, produced under a grant
from the American Film Insti-
tute, is an almost-documentary
look at not only that proverbial
generation gap but differences
within the same generation.
In a series of carefully staged
interviews with his grandmother
and his father, he painstakingly
explores the now-cool relation-
ship' between old guard and revo-
lutionary filmmaker.
Roger's Boston girlfriend then
appears in a second setof inter-
views that sharply contrast with
the . family sequences. Here we
look at a second side of Rogers's
character - instead of the liber-
al vs. arch conservative con-
frontation we found within the
Rogers family, we now find, our-
selves in the midst of a scathing
examination of Roger's sex life.
These contrasting sequences -
neatly, one is presented in color
and the other in black-and-
white - add up to- an amazingly
detailed portrait that covers a
surprising amount of ground in
27 minutes. Elephants was cer-
tainly was the highlight of
the Wednesday late show, and
definitely deserves recognition
from the festival jury.
SFI!E Un oL1041
ed
For anyone wbo wants to sing,
play or listen to folk or old-time
music.
NEXT GATHERING
Sunday, March 17, 3-5:30 p.m
AT THE ARK- A421 HttSt.,
Ann Arbor
Daily Photo by KAREN KASMAUSKI
Maim~iln I lire . again!
The Music School and Collegium Musicum presented "An Entertainment of Music from the Court of
Maximilian I" last night at Rackham Aud. The program, under the direction of Thomas Taylor, was
organized to accompany a graphics exhibition of the p e r i o d presently underway at the Graduate
Library.
Men uhin*
than musi
I'U' Players offer two fine
examples of Black Theatre
By ROY CHERNUS
Violinist Yehudi Menuhin re-
vealed a wealth of consummate
musicianship in his University
Musical Society recital Wednes-
day night.
Yet there is more than mu-
sicianship that distinguishes
Menuhin from his colleagues. He
has a rare humanism and cosmo-
politan spirit that pervades his
very way of life.
What other artist pursues such
diverse interests as classical mu-
sic, Indian music (Menuhin's
collaborations with Ravi Shankar
were unprecedented cultural fu-
sions), jazz (Menuhin has been
a longtime friend and admirer
of the French jazz violinist,
Stephane Grappelli with whom
he recently recorded an album,
Jalousie), countless humanitar-
ian causes, two music festivals
and a school for aspiring mu-
sicians?
The most striking aspect of
Menuhin'
wonderful
cal logic
of meret
of innate
turity.. T
in the ma
for solo vi
Menuhi
of the v
Gigue se
shading
tum. Som
sourceful
present i
dante ex
inner voi
the clari
whnla ctr
reveals more,
calvirtuosi~ty
s performance was the 108, Yehudi and Hephzibah prob-
l lucidity of his musi- ed each o t h e r' s inner-
- something born not most thoughts for all to hear. A
technical virtuosity but better Brahms could hardly be
insight and fullest ma- imagined; this was a reading
his was most apparent that fanned the pathos in the
)numental Partita No. 3 score up to blazing intensity.
iolin by Bach. The supple thematic give-and-
n, etched out the lines take between the two in the
vivacious Preludio and Brahms was carried to an ex-
ections with sensitive ilarating extreme in, the Beet-
and chugging momen- hoven as furious chords and
ne of Bach's most re- runs were hurled from one to the
harmonic writing is other. Romantic duo-sonatas in-
n the work's Loure-an- evitably give predominance to
pressivo section' whose the non-piano instrument of the
ces were shaped with pair, and the broad themes fair-
ty and breadth- of a ly soared off Menuhin's strings.
ims cton-nn_- -- --
BENEFIT DANCE
FOR
MARY
RICHMAN
DEMOCRAT
2nd WARD
By MICHELE BECKER
'U' Players Wednesday night
opening of Douglas Turner
Ward's Happy Ending and Day
of Absence provided city audi-
ences with a rare opportunity to
view Black Theatre here.
Black Theatre has been suf-
fering from very little exposure.
U Players presents its "token"
black play every year. Its ne-
glect is topped only by the Ann
Arbor Civic Theatre.
Carlton Molette II, a man
greatly respected in Black The-
atre will direct the production
which is being presented in Men-
delssohn through Sat.
Ward's two plays are two fine
examples of what is happening
in Black Theatre.
Happy Ending, the first play of
the evening, opens with two sis-
ters, domestics, crying over the
possible divorce of their bosses,
the Harrisons. The story unfolds
to disclose how the sisters have
"put one over" on the Harrisons.
The Harrisons stock their re-
frigerator, clothes them and pay
their bills without even knowing
it. The divorce would end this ar-
rangement.
At first the two women's ne-
phew resents his aunts for bow-
ing to the "mastuh." He finally
realizes that "whitey" is the one
that's getting used. But "whitey"
ironically believes it's the oth-
er way around. The black wo-
man has made fools out of her
TONIGHT!
white employes who are too stu-
pid to realize what is happening.
Although the production itself
had problems, ranging from
breaks in concentration to stilted
movements, the play offers valu-
able insight into black life.
Day of Absence is a satirical"
fantasy that takes place in a
southern town. When the entire
"nigra" population vanishes one
day, the town stops working, "ba-
bies that's due won't be born .. .
them that's helf-well won't git
no better." Even Mr. "Klan"
wants the "darkies" back.
The play is done through a
series of blackouts. the cast con-
sists of black actors in white
face, with the exception of the
announcer, a white actor. The
play explores the consequences
for America if the entire black
population were to leave.
For this town the exodus
meant destruction. The white
people were unable to run the
town without their "nigras." In
only one day of absence the
town fell apart.
The play was beautiful, well
done, exciting, funny and fright-
ening in its implications.
Hopefully, this exploration of
Black Theatre will be repeated
here.
SHABBOT SHALOM
6:00 Traditional Services
6:45 Dinner
8:00 Liberal Services
9:00 Torah Study
Friday, March 15
HILLEL
1429 HILL ST.
wni sring sucun
Yehudi is not the only Menuhin
genius. He had an admirable
counterpart in his pianist-sister
Hephzibah.
In two staples of chamber
literature literature, Beethoven's
Sonata No. 7 (Op. 30, No. 2)
and Brahms' Sonata No. 3, Op.
603 E. Liberty
DIAL 665-6290
Open 12:45. Shows at
1, 3, 5, 7, & 9 P.M.
3 Academy Award
Nominations icl.
BEST ACTOR
JACK NICHOLSON
"THE LAST
DETAIL"
r,
CINEMA GUILD
Presents the
12t~h Ann Arbor
Film Festival
-TONIGHT-
7, 9, 11, (each different)j
FREE SHOW TODAY at 1 P.M.
$1-ARCH. AUD.
info. 662-8871
FRIDAY
March 15
featuring
LIGHTNIN'
9:00 P.M.
LAW CLUB LOUNGE
State & South University
Contribution - $1.25
I
PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY, Inc.,
DELTA RHO CHAPTER
PRESENTS
PAUL NEWMAN
& ROBERT REDFORD in
"THE
STING" (PG)
WINNER OF 10
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINATIONS!
OPEN DAILY I P.M.
Shows at 1:30, 4,6, 6:30
& 9 P.M.
Three Dog Night
and
CHAMBERS
BROTHERS
1-
- DAYSTAR PRESENTS
GLADYS KNIGHT
And THE" PIPS
1 THE PERSUASIONS
THE SOULFUL SOULMATES
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1974
CRISLER ARENA-8 P.M.
$5RESERVED SEATS 5
a
I
University Players present
Obie Award Winners
HAPPY ENDING and
CRISLER ARENA, U of M Campus
March 15, 1974
8 p.m.
FRI.: open 6:45
shows at 7 & 9 only Sot. & Sun.
RobertU
Redford
as Jrem iah
Johnson"
14 s. university
AMPUS
tre Phone '60-6416
$6.50
$5.50
S4.50
,I
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