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THE MICHIGAN -DAILY
cinemo aw ekn Friday, October 31, 1975 Page Five
Pick of the week.:
Mr. Smith Goes
to Washington
Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud.
Sat., 7, 9
Few American directors have
ever succeeded in developing
as distinctive a style as the
brilliant Frank Capra. There is,
indeed, a "Capra look" to his
films: a homespun humor mix-
ed with some genuine flair. And
that "look" was the root of some
of the best movies of Holly-
wood's biggest years.
Mr. Smith Goes To Washing-
ton is a fine example of Capra's
exceedingly delicate subtlety.
On the outside, Mr. Smith is a
humorous yet somewhat tragic
picture about a naive young
man who almost becomes the
yictim of a vicious political sys-
tem. Underneath the trappings,
however, the picture is a biting
comment on something that has
become all too familiar to us
as of late - corruption in the
Congress.
James Stewart portrays Jef-
ferson Smith, the backwoods do-
gooder recruited to serve in
the Senate by an aggressive
Tammany Hall-type political
machine. Jean Arthur backs him
up to the hilt as a dedicated
secretary, while Claude Rains,
as the machine's veteran Sena-
tor, provides the final ironic
twist.
Perhaps Mr. Smith is kitsch.
To be sure, it plays right for the
gut - there's no psychological
fol-de-rol on this Capra effort.
But then, Pauline Kael said it
best: "Our best work transforms
kitsch, makes art out of it." And
I don't think anyone can, deny
that Frank Capra films are, in
the end, a unique art.
-David Blomquist
** *
Psycho
Mediatrics, Nat. S. And.
Sun., 7, 9:30
Psycho is a film of incongrui-
ties. For 40 minutes it follows
the step-by-step process by
which a secretary embezzles
$40,000 and flees-pretty stan-
dard stuff, but well filmed and
helpful in providing character
introduction.
The scene shifts to a modern,
yet run-down motel. There the
thief meets its pathetic owner
who lives behind the motel in
a conspicuously out - of - place
Gothic mansion.
Then, merely one-third of the
way through his film, director
Alfred Hitchcock inexplicably
kills off his heretofore ever-
present heroine in the film's
legendary shower sequence.
Hereafter, the emphasis shifts
to the missing person investiga-
tion by various supporting char-
acters and the unmistakably
strange goings-on at the motel.
.Psycho is an unquestionably
brilliant work, and perhaps
Hitchcock's best. Filmed in
barely a month, the master re-
gards it as no more than a
joke-an experiment in audience
reaction.
But Hitchcock underestimates
himself. The performances of
Janet Leigh and Anthony Per-
kins (in the ultimate expression
of his typecast neurotic) are
brilliantly stiff. Filmed with
television equipment, Psycho is
uncharacteristicly stark, gritty
and black-and-white.
'No other film so represents
the distinct Hitchockian vision,
and perhaps no other film so
influenced the filmmakers of
its time.
Panned by critics uon its
initial release (1960), Psycho's
reputation has improved so
steadily over the years that to-
day to praise the film is alnost
cliche.
And yet for anyone interested
in film history and development,
Psycho is a must.
-Chris Kochmanski
The Man Who
Knew Too Much
Matrix
If the title The Man Who
Knew Too Much conjures up
memories of Jimmy Stewart,
Doris Day, Technicolor and
"Que Sera, Sera," then you'd
better take another look at the
date
Think instead of Leslie Barks,
Peter Lorre, Edna Best, black-
and-white, and the merciful ab-
sence of an Oscar-winning song.
The story lines are similar,
but the real common denomna-
tor is Alfred Hitchcock, who
made the original version while
HALLOWEEN
SPECIALi
Bloodthirsty
still a director in England. ,"::.::."r. .:;.::.::. :.::.... :..::. . :..:..:is without question one of the getic, dynamic qualities have and Ales McGowan turn in what r
One would really be hard best films I've seen, with Peter found a perfect compliment in are probably the best perform-!
pressed to pick the better of the What's playing this Cinema Weekend Falk and Gena Rowlands main- this role. Fonda has truly given ances in a Hitchcock film sincec
two, but this version does have Hitchcock thrillers (five of them, including his most taming an exquisitely painful everything she has into it and, North by Northwest.;
advantages over the remake- famous (Psycho) and horror films dominate the film group tension throughout the two-and- for once, she presents a cnar- Indeed, in several scenesZ
Hitchcock makes excellent use offerings this weekend with one commercial extravaganza,"a-half hours. acter that appears comple:ely (most particularly, the already'
of black-and-white film-eerie ofeig hsweed ih n omrileaaaz, true to life; obviously she 1aospoaotrc pi1e
Diana Ross in Mahogany, making its Ann Arbor debut. Ms. Rowlands plays a homy famous potato truck episode)
shadows and strange atmo- The entire weekend schedule looks like this: Wife to Peter Falk's bewildred thought a great deal about her Hitchcock actually seems to
spheric sets create a 'oggy bntee-eken sheulrkorslneshine role and about the lives of call
mood. Peter Lorre's perform- Friday-Testament of Dr. Cordelier, Aud. A, 7 9 blue - collar worker. In scene ion that his once infallible taste
4? ,A l A d 7~ T ftrsee olad'prom girls before the film was made.
ance, a literally crashing jimax Secret Agent, Old. Arch. Aud., 7, 9:05, The Haunting, Nat. ance is siply dazzling-at the Sutherland's performance, as
and the hunt for Hitch's walk- Sci. Aud., 7:30, 9:30 end elyex at he Klute, is less spectacular, but
on more than compensate for Saturday-The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir, Aud A, wrung out (a fact which seem-
some stiff acting and a very 7, 9, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Old Arch. Aud., 7, 9:05, ed to irritate sme viewers). namic, often overly-emotional sthe"oin-
boring first fifteen minutes. Frenzy, Nat. Sci. Aud., 7:30, 9:45, Klute, Bursley West Cafe- This movie asks a now-familiar Bree. He is the model of small- C ,
-Cynthia Cheski teria, 8:30 question, especially for Psy- tawn, middle American samty, THE DAILY IS A GREAT
* ;* *og tuens -namely,' n envrlsshsco.
I Sunday-The Crime of Monsieur Lange, Aud. A, 7,9, cooy suet n envrlsshsco.
SabotThe Man Who Knew Too Much 7Sabotage,9 Aud. 3, LB who is crazier, the "lunatic," All things considered, parts Y meet other good1
Matri The Heiress, WOl Arch. TA , 7, 9:05,syo, N. S. d L or everybody else? I ended up of Klute will irritate the dis- N drink 5c Cokes
In bi rweken forTHi H dA .A .,,9 ,Pyh, t. .d, sympathizing with her. She cerning viewer, but even the * learn the operati
Inc a big weekend for Hitch- 7:30, 9:30 seemed to be slowly driven most skeptical filmgoer can't * write stories
cock flicks, Sabotage is prooably All weekend-Mahogany, State (662-6264), 3 Days of the over the edge by the lack of im- fail to be impressed with the * see your name in
the one the least people will Condor, Michigan (665-6290), Lisztomania, Fifth Forum agination of her family, her sort of rapport Fonda and Suth- * earn a little mon
see. It's one of those anonymous (761-9700), Luther, Campus (668-6416), The Man Who Knew doctor and her friends. If 7ou're erland establish with the audi-
thrillers of Hitchcock's British Too Much and Sabotage, Matrix (994-0627), Tommy, A looking for a ha movie, ence and between the characCome on down to 420
period in the '30s that began TlokingorAahappy movemeneoan beteen heocarac
with the classic 39 tes ad Woman Under the Influence, Return of the Panther, Hearts don't go; but if you want to see ters, Bree and Klute. eoin the business, news,
finished with the yet better Lady of the West, Briarwood, (769-8780). darel * * *
Vanishes. .-diately. - F~
The film is based on Joseph Frenzy
Conrad's novel The Secret The Heiress I'm sorry to say that whoever *MediatriesNa
w , . The U'JQ r Mfdiatrics, Nat. Sc. Aud.
may again fail us. But it never
does. Frenzy may not be Hitch-
cock at his most humane or
intense. Still, it is an exceptin-
ally entertaining, beautifailly
crafted, clever and relaxed sur-
prise from a director I had
begun to think no longer cap-
able of such a film.
-Rich Glatzer
the DAILY?
T PLACE TO:
people
ons of a
print
ey
newspaper
Maynard anytime and
sports or photography
1 Agent (which paradoxically he.
came the title of another tatally
unrelated Hitchcock film), and
receives rather bland treatment
from the great filmmaker.
Oscar Homolka is nonetheless'
interesting as the small time
saboteur, perhaps symbolicly
running a movie theater in his
spare time.
Apparently Hitchcock was dis-
appointed in the casting of John{
Londer and S lvin Rdnevn the
wasrsp usieiur t casu jg
Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud. of the movie apparently neglect- lut
Sun. 7, 9: OS ed the fact 'that those stars, al- Bursley Hall, W. Cafeteria
The Heiress could just as though effective box oifice 8:30 p.m.
easily be called The Way We draws, have absolutely no muLsi- Klute (1971) is remarkable'
Were, referring to the lengths cal abilities whatsoever. only because of the outstanding
to which a woman formerly Russell has directed the film performances of Jane Fonda and
felt she had to go to win a man as a visual extravaganza in Donald Sutherland. The film is
and please her family. which everything but the kitch- a competently-directed murder-
In this adaptation of Henry en sink is thrown in for a num- mystery of the same kind that
James' Washinggton Square, ber of sequences. The movie graces television screens several
Olivia deHavilland plays a plain makes use of an extraordinary times every evening after the
f_ 4-: lf l .Fnnumber of special effects that ! c,.. h:. i
l
l
,1
,j
1
II
yae ynt Y'i yu1c as Ln rich spinster wno tau for a 1 11iL P~~- - - ami ynour is over
romantic pair. handsome fortune hunter and is just don't come off.*Ak '
But Sydney has the film's best abandoned by him when her Put simply, Tommy is the one kThe director,kAlanPakula, is-
scene-a classic Hitchcock "set-, father disowns her. movie this year that should be k
piece" in which she wordlessly This film is more of a char missed by anyone interested in cision in carrying off a project
stabs her husband to death andfisina etranng ahoa-
st es her uilt d acter study of the three main sJeff.Sorensen though he is unimagineative, as
throgh facal xpressons. people, though than a comment , * * s 'Klute's use of every cliche in
fortunately, that's about all nthe mores of the time, andn'the book demonstrates.L
forunteytht'sabutal should be viewed as such. A Woman Under r
there is of interest. Nevertheless, Jane Fonda s
-Chris Kochmanski lDeHavilland, Mo n t gomery The Influence portrayal of a prostitute, 'Bree,
* * * ft as the fortune hunter, and
Sir alpthe Rcrdone ner as d tThe Movies Briarwood is probably her finest perform-
Sir Ralph Richardson as the AWmaUdeth nuncanetdt.Hrmstnr-
The Haunting cold, imperious father give uni--- A Woman Under the lnfInce ance to date. Her most
Mediatrics, Nat. Sci. Aud. forml excellent performances , >
Fri., 7:30, 9:30 with Olivia (long past her Errol
Robert Wise is one of those lynn days) deserving every
all-purpose Oscar-winning Holly- ounce of the Oscar she copped ,a &I2 -
wood directors who can apply t year. Cheskiy
--Cynthia Ce I < I
himself to any film genre- * * */_ ' .
musicals (West Side Story, - ku IW
Sound of Music), historical Tommy
fiction (Day the Earth Stood Ken Russell has always had
Still),. etc.-and usually churn a flare for heavy-handed, often I
out a respectable product. , overly-pretentious cinema, but IMPORTS AND CRAFTS FROM THE AMERICAS
However, one Wise film, The in Tommy, Russell has reached 309 E LIBERTY 995-4222
Haunting, falls short of even the nadir of his admittedly in-
that rather dubious praise. consistent career. While W6men (Across from Sovbean Cellar)
Based on an intriquing, psy- in Love had Glenda Jackson and' --FEATURING- Hn o
chological horror story by Shir- The Music Lovers was at least Zuni and Navaio Hand Woven
ley Jackson, Wise was unfor- well- scripted, Tommy s1'ows Jewelry and Clothing
tunately forced by censorship Russell's worst impulses run - Coat Sweaters Blankets
pressures to discard the novel's rampant.-IPOTT ERY from
most interesting points - the The film stars Roger Daltry,
homosexual relationship of the lead singer of the Who, as Tom- ' TZIN TZUN TZAN M CAPULA 0 PATAMBA
two heroines, and the resulting my, a blind, deaf and dumb ><"" ><1"""> 0_9_ O
love triangle when one falls in teenager whose skill is pinb.ll
love with a doctor. playing. Admittedly, the plot is
What's left is dime-novel rather thin, but on the original M School of Music
spook-show stuff, with the en- Who album, released in 1968,
tire cast (Julie Harris, Claire the focus was not on the story-'presents
Bloom, Richard Johnson) over- line, but on the generally ex-
acting the spiritualist shtick to cellent rock music. In the film-,
a hilt. ed version, however, the sound-
With his upcoming block- track is infinitely worse because ':k
buster The Hindenberg in the it- features the singing, not of
works, Wise is mercifully re- just the musicians from the-
turning to safer ground-and Who, but also the rest of the x 3
probably more Oscar nomina- cast, which includes such vocal ... ;
tions. talents as Oliver Reed, Ann:
-Chris Kochmanski Margaret, and Jack Nicholson.
Sat., 7:30, 9:45
The success of Alfred Hitch-
cock's Frenzy (1972) might have
been predicted by those familiar
with scenarist Anthony Shaffer's
talent for writing mysteries. And'
Shaffer's script is, to be sure, a
very fine one. But even so, who
could have known that, alter'
having churned out a decade or~
so of cheezy nonsense, Hitch-
cock could have created as im-
peccably well-directed and satis-
fying a film as Frenzy.
The director's sense of timing,
has never been more finely
tuned (the final scene, for in-
stance, is an excellent example
of perfect editing). Almost every
scene is handled with care and
imagination. And Anna Massey
CHARING CROSS
BOOKSHOP
Used. Fine and Scholarly Books
316 S. STATE-994-4041
Open Mon.-Fri. 10-8,
Sat. 10-6
ART AUCTION
JAN MITCHELL GALLERY OF EVANSTON, 11., presents a
superb Art Auction to be held at the Marriott (Win
Schuler's) in Ann Arbor on Sunday, Nov. 2nd. This abso-
luetely will be the most outstandinq auction ever held in
the Ann Arbor area. Every work is orianol and is uncon-
ditionally guaranteed without time limit!!! No funk art cut
from books or posters.
We will present on outstandinqj collection that includes
hand sianed and numbered a r a p h i c s by VASARELY,
PICASSO, CHAGALL, CALDER, CLAVE, MAX ERNST,
SIOUIEROS, MOORE, ANDRE MASSON, MIRO, NEIMAN,
DALI, POSKA, LAUTREC, SARGENT, LINDNER, APPEL,
DURER, BOULANGER, ERTE, MAX, BAJ, etc.
Inspection from 1:00 to 2:00 P.M.
AUCTION STARTS 2:00 P.M. SHARP'
FRIDAY at H ILLEL
6:30 p.m.-MINYAN DAVENING
RAMAH DAVEN ING
7:30 p.m.-Shabbas Dinner
8:30 p.m.-Open Format Service
Please make reservations for dinner
by 1 p.m. on Friday.
H I LLEL, 1429 Hill St.--663-3336
5. STATE ST -
MON.-SAT.
10 A.M.-6 P.M.
FRI. TILL 9 P.M.
"FINE 1/V\PORTED AND
DON\ESTIC CLOTHINC"
"THE
ANN ARBOR
SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA,
Edward Szabo
music director
I'
CARL ORFF'S
CAR MNA BURANA
and WILLIAM ALBRIGHT'S
SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Choreographed and Danced by
University Dancers
with the
University Chamber Choir
and the
University Symphony Orchestra
Featuring
Original Choreography by
Elizabeth Weil Bergmann
and
Gay Delange
Conductors: Thomas Hillbish
and William Albright
with
EVA LIKOVA, Soprano
LEONARD JOHNSON, Tenor
LESLIE GUINN, Baritone
,',rA flcrn ' Wicskbz° VERA EMBREE,
Leonard Rose
the renowned American cellist,
guest soloist
I
MUSK
1976 SPRING MUSICAL
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
POSITIONS AVAILABLE
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2
at 3:30 p.m., HILL AUDITORIUM
Beethoven: Egmont Overture
Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5
Butchers
AND
Director
Muical2 flirPrtnr
Technical Staff
11
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