Wednesdgy, October 18, 1972 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three Wednesday, October 18, 1972 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three PUBLIC LECTURE Myth, Symbol and Transcendence: The Theme of Nazi Concentration Camps in French Literature By DR CYNTHIA HAFT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY Lecture Room 2, MLB October 19,4:10 P.M. cinema Fiddler appeals to all K AULS ON LY before the anei'theia o f By LARRY LEMPERT True: producer - director Nor- man Jewison didn't have to start from scratch. Since its premiere in 1964, 35,000,000 people in 32 countries have applauded the stage production of Fiddler on - the Roof. It appeals to some- thing in everyone: its theme of tradition versus change, its bit- tersweet humor, its lively char- acters, its. often catchy, often beautiful music. Jewison had already chalked up a number of successful and well-done motion pictures, in- cluding The Russians Are Com- ing The Russians Are Coming, In the Heat of the Night and The Thomas Crown Affair. Add- ing: these to his earlier experi- ence in directing musical shows and television specials, he was certainly prepared to bring Fid- dler to the screen. Jewison, however, did more' than record a Broadway hit on cellulose. A film cannot pre- sent live bodies on a platform in front of an audience. But a play cannot offer the emphasis and detail uniquely available to the camera of a well-directed, well- edited film. Thematically, Fiddler has a lot to say. Tradition punctuates the tale throughout, beginning with an exclamation point. The opening number not only intro- duces the characters and sets the scene in a small Czarist Rus- sian village; it also presents certain role definitions and estab- lishes tradition as the one sta- bilizing force in an'unstable world. "Without tradition," says Tevye, the philosophizing milk- man, "our lives would be as shaky as . . . as a fiddler on the roof." Tradition often appears as a given, in parentheses, from the Sabbath candles to the waddling matchmaker. But the givens give way to the challenge of change. Three daughters approach Tevye with non-traditional approaches to marriage. Each time, the de- manded change is more drastic, and tradition is suddenly an un- avoidable question mark. Finally,. when the villagers must leave their homes, tradi- tion becomes an ellipsis . . . a "to be continued" somehow, somewhere. To put it simply, the theme of Fiddler on the Roof is Tradition!()??? . . . Fiddler as a motion picture is an experience quite different from the play, however, because scene by scene and shot by shot, Jewison welds this theme of tra- dition to his filmic techniques. Use of imagery, treatment of motion and space, rhythms within a scene and pacing throughout the film - in all of -iR CQAMpbNDEDFO~R : kLM m M W774L -6 plus 2nd X rated feature cit~nma 482.3300 FREE LI$NTEO PARKING Paid Political Advertisement Rag-Time, Electronic, Jazz, Chamber Vocal, Silent Flicks, Mixed Media M U -RF, M MVR 8 to 11:30 Sunday, October 22 First Unitarian Church, 1917 Washtenaw Suggested Donation: $5.00 Silent Flicks with Electronic Accompaniment; Charlie Chaplin's "Skating Rink," Mary Pickford in "New York Hat," Arp Synthesizer by George Burt, Electric Piano by Richmond Browne. RAG TIME PIANO: William Albright IARTS ----- -- -- - ------ ---- FILM SPECIAL - UAC presents tonight at 8, 10 in Power, The Beatles: Away with words, a multi-media presen- tation using 26 separate projectors operated by com- puter and a 360 degree sound system. An experimental "journey into your soul" that pays homage to musical genius. THEATRE-The Streetcorner Society of East Lansing pre- sents "The Woman Play at Bursley tonight at 7:30. FILMS:-Cinema Guild presents tonight at 7, 9:05 in Arch. Aud. Nights of Cabiria. About this film, Daily reviewer Richard Glatzer writes: Frederico Fellini's bittersweet tale of an innocent prostitute Cabiria (Giulietta Masina) who constantly is victimized, yet never becomes cynical. The movie is quite predictable, a situation that can do nothing but repeat itself until the film's beautiful ending. But the ending is -worth waiting for, and while Giulietta Masina (Mrs. Fellini) is a very limited actress, she's nevertheless touching-kind of like a puppy. Ann Arbor Film Coop presents tonight in Aud. A at 7, 9:30, Red Desert. About this film, Daily reviewer Larry Lempert writes: Antonioni tells the tale of a woman coming to terms with a barren world and with the disorder within her. He tells it visually, and the serious viewer must watch carefully for repeated images, camera movements, choice of settings, use of color, and varying degrees of focus. these, content and form, as in the best works of art, are insep- arable. The fiddler himself stands as the most compelling image, Tradition!())??? . . . Fiddling, beckoning, perched on the roof or on a hilltop, silhouetted against a red and gold sky or against the graying sky of a frozen steppe. In terms of imagery and rhy- thm, the integration of the mu- sical score is especially reward- ing. For those who wince at the beyond-the-call-of-duty suspen- sion of belief required when a character on stage suddenly bursts into song, many of the numbers have been treated with great subtlety. No chorus dances through the village in the opening number, "Tradition." Voices sing off- screen while the villagers go about their daily chores, fulfill- ing the roles that the lyrics de- scribe. Adding emphasis, the washing, meatchopping and sawing are all carefully synchronized to the song's rhythm; between verses, stills of vital Jewish symbols- the Eternal Light, the synagogue, the tablet of the Ten Command- ments - flash on the screen in time to the music. By the end of the number, deft editing has brought us through an entire day in Anatevka and has given us a necessary taste of the Jewish tradition so central to life in that village. At other times, the character on screen is indeed singing. But Jewison's transitions, artfully smooth throughout the film, shift us gracefully into the number. Lazar Wolf and Tevye toast their agreement on the engage- ment of Tevye's eldest; they toast it again, and again. The pace quickens as they begin to sing, march arm and arm out into the night and down to the tavern where their compatriots join the celebration. The pace continues to accelerate as they sing, they dance - and we are in the midst of a number "L' Chaim." The physical setting, like the music, is skillfully integrated. At times it provides a touch of irony, as when Tevye gaily dances his way through "If I Were a Rich Man" with chick- ens and geese fluttering around him and, upon occasion, the camera pointedly glancing over his shoulder at the simple barn floor below. The setting can also induce emotions to coincide with events being portrayed. When the skin- ny tailor Motel has assured his marriage to Tzeitel, despite Tevye's agreement with Lazar Wolf, the screen is suddenly color - green leaves, white birch: and movement - running, jumping, falling. Rapid move- ment through brightly colored space vividly expresses the emo- tional release of the moment. Just as vividly, the setting can express pain or the loneliness of separatin. As Hodel, the sec- ond damghter, leaves to join her husband-to-be in Siberia, Tevye stands as a tiny figure, alone in t'e barren expanse of steppe that fills the screen. Film, as a medium, lends it- self especially well to emphasis and detail - the techniques are PIANO MUSIC OF HAYDN, LISZT AND Joseph Gurt IVES: JAZZ: Danny Stevenson Trio; Bob Detwiler, Duo BRAHMS: Willis Patterson, Bass SONGS OF STEPHEN FOSTER: Lesley Guinn, Boritone endless and Jewison uses them thoughtfully. In "L'Chaim," for example. In the midst of the tumult, a loud snap, sudden quiet and the camera rests upon one hand - the hand of a Russian, out- stretched to Tevye, taunting him to break the traditional bar- rier, to join hands with a non- Jew. From here, the scene rises and falls in intensity, builds to a pitch and ends emphatically in a freeze - Tevye's face, dripping with beer, widely grinning to a final, rousing "To life!" Considerations of details go hand in hand with the matter of emphasis. When Tevye sings about the time he could devote to religious endeavors if he were wealthy, the camera moves us so close to his expression of bliss that 'we can see the mois- ture between his teeth. And that's close enough to see that this would indeed be "the sweet- est thing of all." Jewison's camera, in fact, fo- citses again and 'again on indi- vidual faces. This technique more than any other gives the viewer that rewarding sense of immediacy. In the final number, "Anatev- ka," the villagers prepare to leave the only life they have ever known. They stand still, si- lent, while the camera moves from face to face. Young and old faces, stony or close to tears, resolute or questioning and be- wildered. And we in the audi- ence, even those of us in the back row, see each face and be- gin to feel what each character feels. Like the focus on faces, suner- imnosition is selectively employ- ed to present simultaneous view- points in a way that would be impossible on the stage. Jewison uses the techniane often but al- ways to good effect. Examples abound: Tevye's face, one man in his home greeting the Sabbath with his family, at the same time, an entire village with Sab- bath lights in each home. Or Tevye's face, one man stunned -asking, begging Why? - as behind the image of that face, Russians terrorize the Jewish homes of Anatevka. Other effects add to the treat- ment of soecial scenes. When Tzeitel and Motel ask for per- mission to marry, Tevye has to think it over. Jewison expresses this mental withdrawal filmic- ally: Tevye talks to himself, his face in the foreground, while the two lovers stand in the back- ground, suddenly distant, out of focus.. When the decision is made, the normal perspective is restored. Jewison repeats the effect when the second and third daughters confront their- father. Jewison's technique adds a whole new dimension to Fiddler. But the film naturally inherits much of its charm from the or- iginal, most notably in the char- acter of Tevye, his conversa- tions with God, his misquotes from the "Good Book." "Send us the cure," he tells his friend, andt maker with a knowing glance upward, "we've got the sickness already." The film inherits certain weaknesses as well. The second act, musically, is weaker than the first. and carries more than its fair share of the plot's heav- ier implications. The character of Chava, the, third daughter whose love for a non-Jew causes the greatest pain of all, is not developed asfully as the sig- nificance of her role demands. Neither of these drawbacks, if that is what they are, has drawn, anyone back from the stage ver- sion, and they do little to harm the film. While the acting is excellent throughout, Topol as Tevye can easily garner the attention and affection of any audience. His expressions, his movements, his intonations, his glances upward -all are perfect. The daughters perform well, with exception of Chava, who probably appears over-dramatic only because the screenplay places too great a burden upon her. Golde is not the Jewish mother some might hope her to be, but she is the strong veter- to 0 an of a hard life, feeling deeply but never spilling her emotions. (After twenty-five years of mar- riage, her husband asks, "Do you love me?" Pressed for an answer, she finally admits, "I suppose I do." Less prominent characters are also well-portrayed, from the clumsy tailor Motel who finally earns the praise of Tevye and his mother-in-law as "a real per- son," to the elderly Rabbi, al- ways on the verge of tottering over but stable enough to dis- pense wisescounsel when called upon. As the whole it is meant to be, Fiddler joins the direction, the material and the acting happily together. It is a G-rated pitcure, a family film but, believe it or not, a work of art. One word of caution is in or- der. Recently, many directors, critics and students of film have come to believe what French film-maker Jean-Pierre Gorin expressed in a recent appear- ance here. "People are still reading films," he complained, "they are not seeing them." Go to this movie, and see it. Fiddler on the Roof has a lot to say. It also has a lot to see. 8:00 2 Carol Burnett 7 Paul Lynde 5eA Public Affair/Election '72 50 Dragnet 8:30 7 Movie "A Great American Tragedy" well - paid aerospace engineer faces unemployment. 50 Merv Griffin 56 Playhouse New York 9:00 2 Medical Center 9:30 9 All Outdoors 10:00 2 Cannon 4 To be announced 7 Julie Andrews 9 News, Weather, sports 50 Perry Mason 56 Soul! 10:30 9 Nightbeat 11:00 2 4 7 News, Weather, sports 9 Cheaters 50 Mancini Generation 11:30 2 Movie "Where the Bullets Fly" (1966) Super - suave secret agent faces all disasters. 4 Johnny Carson 7 Dick Cavett 9 Movie "The Outsider" (1967) TV pilot about private detective sus- pected of murder. 50 Movie "Lafayette Escadrille" (1958) American boy leaves home to the Foreign Legion. 1 :00 4 7 News 1:30 2 Movie "Loan Shark" (1952) Ex-con- vict exposes vicious loan shark ring. 3:00 2 News PUT SOME STYLE INTO YOUR LIFE GET A SHAG UM BARBERS The Confidence Keepers" _.._ PRESENTS t.\ . HALLOWEEN DANCE tonight 6:00 2 4 7 News, Weather, Sports 9 Eddie's Father 50 Flintstones Maggie and the Beautiful Machine 6:30 2 4 7 News 9 Jeannie 50 Gilligan's Island 56 Making Things Grow 7:00 2 Truth or Consequences 4 World Series Pre-Game Show 7 To Teell the Truth . Pro Hockey 50 I Love Lucy 56 Zoom 7:15 4 World Series 7:30 2 What's My Line? 7 Wild Kingdom 50 Hogan's Heroes 56 Consumer Game 'THEIE BOOGI E BROTHERS Boogie Woogie Red f 217SASH 2PiR,-2AM CHUCK BERRY SPECIAL GUEST STAR, Plus THE DRIFTERS and THE WOOLIES FRIDAY, OCT. 27-8:00 P.M. BOWEN. FIELD HOUSE E.M.U.-YPSILANTI RESERVED SEATS $2.00-3.00-4.00 TICKET OUTLETS: YPSI.-McKenny Union Huckleberry Party Store, 2872 Washtenaw DEARBORN-Ron Henry Music (Tel-Ford Plaza) A MULTI MEDIA Production Using 26 PROJECTORS Controlled by a computer 360 DEGREE SOUND-A Truly ULTIMATE Experience On Washtenow Ave. 1 1/2 Miles E. of US 23-Arborland DIAL 434-1782 SHOWS NIGHTLY AT 7 & 9 P.M. "The biggest, most exciting hit of the Cannes Film Festival." I k I- Have some lime on your hands?