Fridoy, April 12, 1974
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
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Pick of the week:
Papillon
Campus
Only a few directors have suc-
cessfully been able to move from
television to motion pictures. The
TV director is almost univer-
sally trained to think in terms
of close, tight shots. Film, how-
ever, requires - especially in
wide-screen - an almost com-
pletely opposite viewpoint, de-
manding a broad, nearly pano-
ramic approach.
Director Franklin Schaffner
started out cooped up in the
confines of television, but no
viewer of his latest film, Pa-
pillon, could accuse him of feel-
ing cramped any longer. Indeed,
in not only Papillon but his pre-
vious films (including Patton
and Nicholas and Alexandra),
Schaffner appears to be develop-
ing a mammoth epic style that
rivals Cecil DeMille.
Allied Artists spent $11 million
to produce this present Schaffner
extravaganza from Henri Cher-
rier's story of life in a chillingly
cruel French prison colony. (Star
Steve McQueen alone reportedly
received over $1 million for his
efforts.)
The film portrays what it's in-
tended to, all right - 'man's in-
humanity toward man' - but
Schaffner far too often (like in
Nicholas and Alexandra) gets
hung up in his epic style and
wastes reels of film just show-
ing off his big budget. McQueen
and co-star Dustin Hoffman
seem lost in the midst of it all.
Nevertheless, the film defi-
nitely has its fascinating high-
lights.
-DAVID BLOMQUIST
The Man Who Shot
Liberty Valence
Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud.
Sun., 7, 9:05
Liberty Valance is probably the
most deluxe western produced
in recent years.
The film is a simple story of
homesteaders (good guys) vs.
cattlemen (bad guys), using
flashbacks to create the plot.
Director John Ford allows the
action to drag out at times, but
this seems to give the film an
entertaining melodramatic tint.
Lee Marvin is fabulous as the
mean guy, Liberty Valance.
John Wayne is, as always, ef-
fective as, the hero. James Ste-
wart plays a rather slow fellow
at the center of the conflict.
Add Vera Miles, Edmund
O'Brien, Andy Devine, and Lee
Van Cleef for spice, and the re-
sult is some genuine fun.
--LOUIS MELDMAN
The Great Gatsby
Fox Village
With all that advance publicity
-the Gatsby "look", the Gats-
by napkins, the Gatsby under-
wear - what else could the film
do but flop?
Jack Clayton's long-awaited
Great Gatsby is so rotten, so
devoid of talent and imagination,
that it comes off looking like
little more than some monumen-
tal tribute to Vogue magazine.
If only the acting and dialogue
had sparkled and glittered like
the photography and costumes,
this could have been one hell of
a picture.
RobertRedford and Mia Far-
row as Gatsby and Daisy are
truly pathetic; the captivating
Fitzgerald portrait of undying
and unrequited love has been
transformed on screen into some-
thing, out of True Confessions
magazine.
The two effective perform-
ances are given by Bruce Dern
as Tom Buchanan and Karen
Black in the role of Myrtle Wil-
son. The rest of the cast (Sam
Waterson, Lois Chiles, etc.) are
more laughable than passable.
It's interesting that a lush-bud-
get film like Gatsby can be so
bad. It makes you wonder where
all that money went.
-MICHAEL WILSON
Cabaret
Cinema II, Aud. A
Fri., Sat., 7, 9:15
Cabaret is perhaps the best
musical ever filmed. It is en-
tertaining, lively, yet not senti-
mental. If you only go to see
one movie this term, go see
Cabaret - no matter how trite
that sounds.
The picture stars Joel Grey
and Liza Minnelli, is directed
by Bob Fosse, and is loosely
based on Christer Isherwood's
"Goodbye to Berlin" stories. It
shows the beginning of one era
in Germany in the 1930's, Nazi-
ism, and the end of another, the
Weimar Republic.
The decadence of the times is
excellently captured, but not in
a shirking way. There are no
hidden ,winks, but instead a
wide-eyed naivete. None of the
truly obscene acts of the era
is overlooked or ignored. As a
result the viewer is properly
astonished by each.
Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli
are simply fantastic. Grey, as
the MC in the club where much
of the movie takes place, is truly
the Devil incarnate, twisting,
gyrating, dancing. and singing
with an evil, never ending leer.
Minnelli proves-she is more than
mere set decoration as she acts,
sings, and really entertains.
-STEPHEN SELBST
Rebecca
Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud.
Fri., 7, 9:05
This 1940 Alfred Hitchcock
film was the "master of sus-
pense's" first picture produced
in Hollywood after being lured
away from Britain six months
before by mogul David 0. Seiz-
nick.
Daphne DuMaurier's novel
forms the basis of a splendid,
although typically Hitchcock,
screenplay by Robert Sherwood
and John Harrison. Laurence
Olivier stars as Maxim de Win-
ter, the master of Manderly,
who appears to have less-than-
kind plans in store for his sec-
ond wife, played by Joan Fon-
taine.
Nigel Bruce and Judith An-
derson round out the fine cast in
this especially fine Hitchcock
picture.
-DAVID BLOMQUIST
Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid
Bursley Hall Enterprises
Bursley West Cafeteria
Sat., 9
The trio from The Sting-Ro-
bert Redford, Paul Newman, and
George Roy Hill -- scored their
first big hit with this turn-of-the-
century Western.
In this case, however, Red-
ford portrays the veteran and
Newman the accomplice. Both
are forced out of the West by a
special force of railroad security
police. They flee to Bolivia, hop-
ing for easy pickings - but in-
stead prove to be no match for
the Bolivian Armed Forces.
Katherine Ross holds the two
together for a while, in every
possible capacity as they trans-
cend reality, taking us with
them.
-LOUIS MELDMAN
Blazing Saddles
The Movies, Briarwood
There hasn't been a good sa-
tire on the Old West since Cat
Ballon in 1965, but Mel Brooks
has finally changed all that. His
Blazing Saddles is perhaps the
funniest movie to come out this
year, besides being a genuinely
dizzy piece of genre parody on
every Bonanza-ridden cliche you
can think of. Saddles is crazy
from start to finish don't miss
it.
Cleavon Little plays the new
black sheriff of an old town
about to be destroyed to make
way for the new railroad; Gene
Wilder is the has-been gnsling-
er who drinks booze for break-
fast and know's he still the fast-
est shot alive. To reveal any-
thing else would be shameful;
half the fun of Saddles in the in-
congruity, like having Count Ba-
si and company in full swing
right out there in the middle of
nowhere as Little rides by.
Brooks himself plays two parts
in the film, which also includes
guest stars Harvey Korman,
Slim Pickens and Madeline Kahn.
The screenplay was done five
separate ways by five different
writers; Brooks then put it all
together one night during Co-
lumbo. Not since his fabulous
Get Smart TV Show has the
writer - actor - director suc-
ceeded so well so fast.
MICHAEL WILSON
Fantastic Planet
Fifth Forum
Fantastic Planet is a beautiful
movie - but that doesn't mean
that you should go see it, be-
cause it's a long way from a
masterpiece.
The story can only be describ-
ed as thin. A race of gigantic
blue creatures called Draags
rule on 'Fantastic Planet', while
the humans, called Oms, are sav-
ages. Suddenly the Oms revolt,
and a bloody battle begins.
Not exactly a candidate for the
best story of the year. But, after
all, animated features don't rise
and fall on story line. They ulti-
mately fail or succeed on the
strength of the drawings, and
Fantastic Planet works well in
this regard.
-Stephen Selbst
Conrack
Michigan
The main attraction of Conrack
seems to be Jon Voight, and
don't think he doesn't know it.
Several times during the film
he openly admits how delerious-
ly handsome Jon Voight is. Com-
bine gross vanity like this and a
wretched, sympathetically soapy
script by Irving Ravetch and
Harriet Frank, and you have
what amounts to the newest los-
er by director - producer Martin
Ritt.
Based thinly on a true story,
Conrack is about a North Caro-
lina humanitarian who taught
for a year on a backwards is-
land off the South Carolina coast
to a somewhat retarded group of
black elementary schoolchildren.
The truly sad thing about Con-
rack is the screenplay writing.
Ravetch and Frank were brilliant
when they were good - in the
sixties that team was responsi-
ble for pictures like Hud and
Hombre. But nowadays all you
need is a box-office super-star
like Voight and some sappy dia-
logue to pass for motion picture
entertainment.
-Michael Wilson
The Sting
State
No doubt about it: the team of
Paul Newman, Robert Redford,
and George Roy Hill simply can-
not make a bad movie. If you
liked Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid, you'll squeal with
delight at Sting.
Sting is a story of a big con
artist (Newman) who comes out
of retirement to take on an ap-
prentice (Redford) and make
one final "big con" - one final
"sting". The result is perfect.
-Louis Meldman
The Fxorcist
The Movies, Briarwood
Director William Friedkin
(French Connection) has said that
this movie was intended to scare
people. It is the story of how a
little girl (Linda Blair) becomes
possessed by the Devil.
The little girl masturbates with
a crucifix, turns her head all the
way around, and swears a la
Jack Nicholson.
-Louis Meldman
Serpico
The Movies, Briarwood
Serpico is a fine example of
how a film can wrestle with a
controversial subject and come
out on top.
Al Pacino exquisitely portrays
Serpico, a Greenwich Village in-
tellectual who decides to join the
New York City police force. Dis-
gusted by rampant corruption
among patrolmen, he complains
to his superiors, but each time
receives the same blunt answer
-an order to keep his damn
mouth shut.
Easily Sidney Lumet's best
movie, Serpico also happens to
be Dino De Laurentis's first film
since moving his operations from
Rome to New York.
-David Blomquist
17IcQ
The Movies, Briarwood
McQ is Dirty Harry without
star Clint Eastwood, or Don Sie-
gal's taut direction. Instead, we
have John Wayne in street
clothes running around Seattle,
hunting down cop-killers with a
quasi-cannon that he uses as aj
handgun.
Director John Sturges (The
Great Escape) seems to be
mainly interested in making sure
that all the scenes are in order
and that Wayne's gun is loaded.
-James Hynes
Gilbert and Sullivan Society's
S
Iolanthe':
A superb' operetta
"A movie with 603 E
a lot of
heart, a lot
of guts!
-Susan DIAL
SDetrk Open 12
Free 1, 3, 5,
Press
YOU C RAZY"sai
Take said
n real the black
lon \school
look at children
me-I'm of a small,
handsome. remote South
I have a Carolina
ouq nose, Island
eves as blue \ ' when their
as Paul ". new teacher
Newman's, .arrived.
a penetrotin4
wi & a one beautiful
fanciful man. His
imaqina- sStory is
tion. true.
your
teacher.
. LIBERTY
665-6290
:45. Shows
7, & 9 P.mr
at
By DAVID WILLIAM WARREN
When I went to the Gilbert
and Sullivan Society's produc-
tion of Iolanthe, I didn't know
what to expect. I was pleasantly
surprised - this production is
great. The humor of the operetta
is timeless.
This play deals with the foibles
of any society, not just Gilbert
and Sullivan's England of the
19th century.
The show is set in latter 17th
century England. The leading
characters are Iolanthe, a 175
year old female fairy who looks
20, who has been banished by the
Queen of the Fairies because she
married a mortal. The product of
this marriage is her half-breed
son Strephon, who is fairy from
the waist up, but mortal from
the waist down.
Strephon is in love with Phyl-
lis, the ward of the Lord Chan-
cellor. But Strephon is not alone
in his quest - all the peers of
England also seek the hand of
the fair Phyllis. All works out
for the best in the end, however,
thanks to the efforts of the
fairies.
Generally, the vocalists were
great. The best performance was
unquestionably that of John Al-
len, who played the Lord Chan-
cellor. Allen perfectly rendered
the very difficult but hilarious
"Love, unrequited, robs me of
$2.50 & .
AL'YBAI N
AND THE
BOYS OF
THE LOUGH
my rest" from the second act in
nightshirt and cap.
Roberta Owen did a very
good job portraying the Fairy
Queen, sensing exactly what the
audience expected. The other
cast members, including Kay
Murray (Phyllis), Sue Borofsky,
Dennis Kisor, and Kevin Casey,
were all up to the difficult task.
H. D. Cameron, who played
Private Willis, - was living proof
of the old axiom that 'there are
no small parts, but just small ac-
tors'. The part of Willis is only
a minor role, yet Cameron made
the most of it. To merely say
that he gave an excellent per-
formance would be incomplete.
Chris Grapentine was a little
weak as Strephon. After long
passages, his voice cracked; his
face, at times, seemed frozen.
The orchestra, under the di-
rection of Eric Stern, occasional-
ly drowned out the singers, so
some lines were lost here and
there. The players were right on
top of the score, however, and
seemed to enjoy the show as
much as the audience did.
Well-timed choreography en-
hanced the impact of the produc-
tion. Unfortunately, the Society
omitted the name of the choreo-
grapher from the program, but
he or she certainly deserved re-
cognition. The lighting was ef-
fective as well.
If Iolanthe is typical of the
work of the Gilbert and Sullivan
Society, this reviewer would
urge you not to miss any of their
productions.
Iolanthe was beautifully staged
with superb acting, excellent mu-
sic, and fine direction.
.. Sa nnpr .r flm * 0*ea S
PRESENTS
the fourth annual
8mm FILM FESTIVAL
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7Academy
Awards
includinq BEST MOVIE
...all t takes "T H E
Is a little
Confidence.G S I"
- ST NG
J.*
J:I
BLACK
COMEDY
Friday, April 12
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& white liars
two plays by PETER SHAFFER
MENDELSSOHN THEATRE
Sunday, April 14 WINNERS
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East Quad
Auditorium
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APR I L 17-20,
1974
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THE GRANPE BOUFFE
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hilarious dirty movie that, tickles us with memories
of Fellini and Resnais and Bunuel, of Antonioni and
Bergman."-Foster Hirsch, in the New York T imes
AL EN KsLEiV4 P-sts
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