The Michigan Daily-Friday; April 14 1978-Pae 9
Happenings
For the Week of
April 14 through 20
MP
All Week
COMMERCIAL CINEMA
Julia (Campus) - The film has its
moments (I counted about one-and-a-
half), but they're nearly obliterated by
the unbearable air of self-importance
that permeates each overly-composed
frame: **1/2
The Big Sleep (State) - A dreadful
remake of Howard Hawks' legendary
detective picture. The , movie,
idiotically set in, London, substitutes
1970's sleaze for the feisty exchanges of
Bogart and Bacall. *1/2
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(Michigan) - Steven Spielberg's
grand, UFO epic is a special 'effects
tour de force. ****
Straight Time (Fifth Forum) -
Dustin Hoffman plays a small-time
crook with bleak hope for the future.
Equus (Fox Village) - The reviews
for both Richard Burton (in the title
role of psychiatrist Martin Dysart) and
the film in general have been mediocre
to poor.
Saturday Night Fever (Briarwood) -
A fine performance by John Travolta
and the infectious rock 'n' roll spirit
help to transcend the crude script and
overt commercialism. ***1/2
The Fury (Briarwood) - The latest
extravaganza from Brian De Palma is,
visually, up to the director's usual level
of glittering surrealism. The Fury's
sloppy narrative and utterly direc-
tionless thematic subtext limit its effec-
tiveness.
tiveness.**
The Turning Point (Briarwood) - A
shlocky melodrama about the world of
ballet and its attendant fanatics. The
' dialogue (Sometimes, dahling, it all
comes togethha... the music, the
dance, the lights ... ) is romanticized
crappola, and even the ballet sequences
are poorly filmed. *1
The Goodbye Girl (Briarwood) -
rNeil Simon at his best - hollow but en-
tertaining. Richard Dreyfuss' very
funny performance steals the showl ***
Friday
'APRIL 14
Pumping Iron (MLB 3), 7:00, 8:40 and
wu0:20) - The Ann Arbor premiere of a
1977 documentary on body building that
gained notoriety largely through the
appearance of talk show-
muscleman/cult-hero Arnold Schwar-
zenegger.
Head and Stay Hungry (MLB) 4, 7:00
and 9:00, respectively) Two films by
Bob Rafelson (Five Easy Pieces), the
first an entertaining mish-mosh with,
among others, The Monkees and Annet-
te Funicello, the second the story of an
s orphan who deserts his luxurious life-
style and falls in with a club of body
builders (Schwarzenegger among
them). , Lady Sings the Blues (Nat Sci
Aud, 7:00 and 9:30) This incompetently
directed and rather sketchy biography
of Billie Holiday deserves attention for
the superb performance by Diana Ross.
With Richard Pryor. ***
Woman of the Year (Old A&D, 7:00
and 9:05) Tracy and Hepburn battle it
out in one of their more average duets
- this time it's Tracy as a sportswriter
and Hepburn as a glitteringly tough
political commentator. **/2
Wuthering Heights (Angell Aud A,
7:00 and 9:00) William Wyler's splendid
film features flawless performances by
Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon -
truly one of the screen's great romantic
fables ****
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
(MLB Classroom 1, 7:00, 8:45 and
10:30) Trivial garbage in the guise of a
camped-up, freaked-out pseudo-
parody. The ultimate in grab-bag
filmmaking. *
EVENTS
Jazz - Eclipse presents its last
Bright Moments concert of the season
with Joseph Jarman playing and Leo
Smith and playing sax, and trumpet.
Residential College Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Contemporary Music - Midwestern
composers perform their latest scores
at Hill Auditorium 8 p.m.
Saturday
APRIL 15
The American Friend (MLB 3, 7:00
and 9:00) The Ann Arbor premiere of
the most recent film by German direc-
tor Wim Wenders.
Lenny and Than You Mask Man'
(Angell Aud A, 7:00 and 9:15) Bo'b
Fosse's biography of Lenny Bruce, is a
well-made and compelling (though
completely sugarized) account of the
great comedian's rise and fall. The
short, Thank You Mask Man, shows
Bruce in performance. ***1/2
The Confession (MLB Classroom 1,
7:00 and 9:30) Costa-Gavras'
devastating account of the agonizing
abuse heaped on a young communist
during the Stalin regime.****
Arsenic and Old Lace (Old A&D, 7:00
and 9:15) The perversity of the black
humor has lost a bit of its edge but Cary
Grant and Peter Lorre still steal the
show. ***
Paper Chase (Nat Sci Aud, 7:30 and
9:30) Yes, it's silly, contrived, even sen-
timental - but who can resist a movie
that so unabashedly exposes the tor-
turous rigors of academia. B ±
EVENTS
Back Alley Players - The prison
drama, Short Eyes is guaranteed to af-
fect viewers. A gripping saga of a child
molester in prison. Arena Theatre,
Frieze Building 8 p.m. Runs through
April 18.
Major Events - John Denver per-
forms at Crisler 8 p.m.
Sunday
APRIL 16
The Music Room (Old A&D, 7:00 and
9:05) Directed by Satyajit Ray (the Apu
trilogy), this tale tells of a man's
passion for music and its adverse effec-
ts on the life of his family.
I Clowns (Angell Aud A, 7:00 and
9:00) Clowns would seem to be the per-
fect subject for a Fellini documentary.
Alas, the life-is-a-circus metaphor is
overworked and the sentimentality is
strained, at best. **
Monday
APRIL 17
Trouble in Paradise (Old A&D, 7:00
and 9:05) - Fast-paced story of double-
crossing jewel thieves in Paris. Direc-
ted by Ernst Lubitsch.
The Southerner (Angell Aud A, 9:10
only, free showing) - A 1945 film by
famed French director Jean Renoir
shows a tenant-farming family that
resists being pulled under the wing of
conglomerate control.
Tuesday
APRIL 18
The Man Who Fell to Earth (Angell
Aud A, 7:00 and 9:00) - Although the
"plot" is completely convoluted, incon-
sistent, and impossible-to-follow space
traveller the astounding visual beauty,
and peculiarly mesmerizing perfor-
mance of David Bowie make it far from
a lost case.***
Chloe in the Afternoon (MLB 3, 7:00
and 9:00) The last of Eric Rohmer's
"moral tales" deals with a man who
must choose between his wife and "the
other woman." Chloe is often more
trivially humorous than thematically
probing. **%2
Wednesday
APRIL 19
Jane Eyre (Old A&D, 7:00 and 9:05)
George C. Scott and Susannah York
star in this 1970 adaptation of the Bron-
te novel.
EVENTS
PTP - UNder Milkwood, The lyrical
prose of Dylan Thomas depicts the
midnight to midnight wanderings in a
small Welsh fishing town, and delves
into the ingrown lives of the villagers.
The performance features the Uri
sity's guest directors and actor
residence. Power Center 8 p.m.
through April 20.
Thur sday
APRIL 20
Animal Farm (Old A&D 7:00
9:05) - A British animated versi
George Orwell's famous satirf
communism U.S.S.R.-style.
The Hills Have Eyes and R
See HAPPENINGS, Page 13
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