* THE MICHIGAN DAILY
A rts & Enterta inm ent Thursday, March 18, 1976 Page Five
Film
festival
inspires boredom
s
The 14th Annual Ann Arbor
16mm Film Festival opened'
Tuesday night with a fairly mot-;
ley collection of prints, rangingI
from esoteric foolishness to;
wild and innovative pieces. Some1
of the films were chai acterized'
by their humor and good taste;i
others fell flat.
In any festival, if there are
one or two good films a night,
the festival is a success. On
this year's competition, the juryI
is still out.
** *
The 9:00 p.m. showing in theI
old Arch. Aud. was character-
ized by whimsy and a discon-
nected style. The films present-,
ed attempted innovation inl
story telling, but generally the!
point was lost somewhere along E
the way.
The first offering, entitled'
Creepy Blues, was an attempt
at reproducing the effects of
song form within the medium of
animation. The sound track con-
sisted of an original song, to
which the movements of various'
pieces: Paul Revere Is Here, by test explosions with a pathetict
Mary Beams, and Ted Beck and sound track (IV, V, I bass tones
Ken Finch's The Spirit of '76. I repeated ad inauseum).
Paul Revere seemed to be a .
training film for the young, as- Director (?) Bruce Conner;
piring network documentarian. had not the decency to use his'
The Spirit managed to present own footage (God forbid what
its points with equal clarity, this thing would have lookedj
greater sensitivity, and humor. like if he had), but lifted,
-Jeff Selbst scratchy black-and-white U.S.:
* * * A Army prints from the National
For the most part, Tuesday's Archives. The film left one al-
11:00 p.m. showing represented most feeling as though Bikini
experimental c i n e m a at its Atoll would be a more desirable.
worst: an overly drawn-out, of- place to be during the screen-
ten narcissistic, terribly boring, ing.
and utterly pretentious collec- Gary Winter '75, a black-and-
tion of images attempting to white effort by Dan Goldfarb,
masquerade as art. was a haunting portrait of schi-
There were two good films: zophrenia. The film depicted a
No Breaks by Dan Manson, and rambling L e n n y Bruce-esque
Pang by Bruce Nolte. Both monologue which first appeared
films were satiric at the base, merely disjointed and unfunny,
each deriving its humor from but later emerged as psychotic.
the unexpected. In the first, we The words "Two weeks after
were presented with a 464-foot- the completion of this film, Gary
long loaf of bread (traced from was committed to a state hos-
dough to sandwich), while in pital" at the end led to ,the;
the. second, stop-action cliches dawning realization, and made'
were paraded for foolish con- a. n
terest either. Surface, an ab- the skin trade from the hookers'
stract work by Nicholas Kan- 1
dau, intermingled water fluctu-1
ations with atonal music-not an
especially original idea, but the
film was slickly-made and en-
joyable, with the liquid droplets{
assuming a kind of life of their
own towards the end of thej
work.1
Cream Soda, a documentary1
by Holly Dale, focused on the
rituals of a Canadian sex par-
lour. It presented a portrait of
point of view which was in-
teresting-, but just too dragged
out and repetitive. More suc-
cessful was Dispartes, a better-
than-the-usual abstract film by
Paul Brekke. The director blend-
ed,a series of real and fantasy
images into a study that was
genuinely dramatic. In a fes-
tival often dominated by eso-
teric tedium,' Brekke's film was
a pleasant exception to the rule.
-Kim Potter
Maia Muldaur
Muldaur' s 'Harmon
for sweet, captivatmi
By KURT HARJU
ON HER THIRD solo album
Sweet Harmony (Warner,
Bros. MS 2235), Maria Muldaur
reasserts herself as one of con-E
temporary music's foremost in-
terpretive vocalists. She sings
with such grace that one hard-
ly notices that her approach
is essentially unchanged since
her initial success nearly three
years ago.
As a singer who freely adopts
the styles and material of both
the past and the present, Maria
does not necessarily have to'be
original to be creative, but it's
crucial that she be very selec-
tive. .
Sweet Harmony shows that she
still retains the eclectic imag-
ination that can produce a col-
lection as diverse as Smokey
Robinson's "Sweet Harmony"
and Neil Sedaka's "Sad Eyes",
as well as old classics like Hoa-
gy Carmichael's "R o c k in'
Chair" and Harry Woods' "We
Just Couldn't Say Goodbye". '
IT'S ON the strength of these
choices that the ultimate value
of this LP stands. Maria has al-r
ready proven on her first two
records that she is an unusual-
ly-captivating vocalist who can
make an old song sound fresh
and alive. She has lost none of
her ability to adapt to the par-I
ticular demands of a new song,
and so the only way of measur-
ing her progress is by evaluat-
ing the type of challenges shet
takes on this time.
As it turns out, Muldaur is
not as daring or decidedly dif-'
ferent as she has been in the
past. She's toned down much
of the sexual emphasis she ,dis-
played openly on cuts like
"Don't You Feel My Leg," and
whereas previously she always
balanced her LP's with equal
amounts of slow and fast selec-
tions, Sweet Harmony definite-
ly reveals a perference for laid-
back torch songs and ballads
with which Muldaur can take
her sweet time in unwinding.
cal guitar on Wendy Waldman's
"Wild Bird" is understated to
perfection. The harmonies
themselves are rich and sooth-
ing and include a very special
treat in the form of Hoagy
Carmichael who joins Maria in
reinterpreting his song, "Rock-'
in' Chair". On the gospel tune,
As An Eagle Stirreth In Her
Nest",, Maria shows she can'
still belt out a lyric with the
best of them though her up-
beat numbers suffered a little
in that respect.
Maria's message, is she has
one, is that music and singing
Refinedmi
4.. shapeson the screen were key-: tent.
Daily Photo by TOM GOTTLIEB ed. But as the song is written NARCISSISM had its day in
in ABA form, so too did the NRCISSIM had its h's
I three films: Lainard Bush's
shapes receive cyclical treat- Duramater,Pamela . Belding's
menit. Thus, each musical re- Self Portrait, and Kevin Dole's'
1' frain carried with it a visual The Bitch Is Back.
y m'anoan bes ut mfilmshall e consisted, and we
- monotonous.shllete facts speak for~
STHE SHOW ING included themselves, of shots of a manj
lying naked on, a bed fondling
[ many films of little or no in- his penis, superimposed over
1 M- u si terst.One such was Roy Cl-' inane TV excerpts (ranging
1g muitsic =Mre'st.EE
mer's 278, made up of shots of from Monty Hall to Howard K.
moving automobiles in various Smith). No more can tastefully
offer both the listener and the uninteresting, dull color config- be said.
performer a fulfilling release. urations. Self Portrait contained mate-
As she delivers the advice of In Preparation for the Feast, rial that may have meant some-
the title cut, she goes straight Meryl Bronstein's paean to God thing to director Belding but:
to the heart of the matter: knows what, exemplified the was totally irrelevant to the
festival's preoccupation w i t h festival audience. The Bitch Is4
Stay in perfect tune lengthy, pointless works. This Back was the most engaging,
In your unfamiliar song morsel consisted of scenes de- yet remained essentially a pixil-
Make the world aware that picting different types of gross- lated home movie, or "What I
You're still going strong. ness and brutality,Uand each Did On My Summer Vacation.":
Whe sh ca dicovr iter dealt with meat. Understand- But lest you think that we~
When she can discover inter- I ably, this left the viewer dazed. have described the nadir of ex-
esting material and match it Three Bean Salad, however, perimental cinema, there re-
with a delivery on par with her. was a film of similar scope. Yet mains a fim which truly has to
best work, it's proof enough that director C. Sempliner managed be seen (and endured) to be be-
Maria still has something left to the affair with lightness, taste, lieved. It lasted 36 minutes, and
say, and Sweet Harmony says' and good humor-thus proving in itself convinced these review-;
it exceedingly well. that Feast's fault was not in its ers of the existence of hell.
concept.
Homage to Magritte suffered ENTITLED Crossroads, it was
a"from a surfeit of length, yet also a dull, flatulent, idiotic, :su-
si i iproved an interesting if rather; premely stupid, filched piece of
slick offering. And the Bicen- crap. This sorry thing consisted
7 T 11 T 14 tennial was represented by two: of approximately 20 atom bomb
SCIENCE
FANTASY
MARCH
05.Thousan
by all the
authors.
FICTION-
FESTIVAL
15-28
as of books
greatest
an untorgettabme imprSession.
This film grew on you. Most
of the rest merely grew tire-
some.
-Jeff Selbst and
David Blonmquist
The 7:00 p.m. segment con-
tained no genuine clinkers, but
few items of overwhelming in-
POETRY READING
with j
TONY KL EIN
reading from his poetry.
THURSDAY, March 18-7:30 p.m.
GUILD HOUSE, 802 Monroe
Refreshments
8 p.m. Lecture-Thursday, March 18
"THE FIRDS AT
ANCIENT EBLA"
Professor David Noel Freedman
You are cordially invited to attend the
first public lecture in the U.S. on the
finds of Tel Mardikh at ancient Ebla.
This find may well be even more impor-
tant than the Dead Sea Scrolls to Bib-
lical Scholarship.
Prof. David Noel Freedman recently re-
turned from Rome where he was able to.
view photographs of the cuneiform tab-
lets that were found.
at HILLEL-1429 Hill St.
marks new Hll Lr
By JOSHUA ROSENBAUM ing. Recorded live in June, 1975,
at Bourbon Street, a noted jazz
Jim Hall-Live (A&M SP-705) club in Toronto, the album, serv-
is the culmination of Hall's es as a lesson in the art of jazz
twenty-five year career as one improvisation.
of the finest guitarists in jazz, On this record, he's joined by
a career that has paralleled the two relatively unknown Canad-
rise to prominence of his instru- ian musicians, Don Thompson
ment. Originally relegated to the on bass, and Terry Clarke on
rhythm section, buried under drums, both excellent perform-
horns and reeds, it has since ers. Thompson, in particular, is
emerged as one of the dominant an exceptional musician whose
melodic instruments. nlaying compares favorably with
But, unfortunately, something Ron Carter, Hall's previous bas-
was lost in the guitar renais- sist.
sance of the past decade. Virt- The trio relies on some well
uosity has come to mean speed k n o w n standards: "Angel
and vol'ime. Guitarists are mea- Eves", "I Hear A Rhapsody",
sured by how many notes they "The Way You Look Tonight",
can squeeze into a bar, or how Charlie Parker's "Scrapple
niuch electronic gimmickry they From the Apple", and Thelonius
can fuse onto their instruments. Monk's austere and beautiful
Many have forgotten about the "Round Midnight".
most inoortant qualities of mu-
sic - craftsmanship, sensitiv- THOMPSON'S bass is a melo-
ity, and soul. dious voice, capable of perform-
Jim Hall is an exception ing agile and creative solos.
University of Michigan School of Music Presents:
UNIVERSITY
DANCERS
IN POWER
CENTER
i
.j
among contemporary guitarists. 1 Clarke proves to be a deft per-
During his career with s u c h cussionist, one of those r a r e
jazz luminaries as Sonny Rol- drummers who know how to lis-
lins, Bill Evans, and Ron Car- ten.
ter, he's waged a lonely cam- Listen to the way Hall a n d
paign for lyricism and taste on Clarke play with the melody in
&,itar. Hall has been one of the "Angel Eyes", the precisely in-
few electric guitarists to ex- tonated duet in "Scrapple From
nloit the instrument's potential the Apple", and Hall's f I e e t,
for the subtleties of dynamics swinging solo is the same tune.
and timbre. But he's never sac- Listen to the harmonizing in
rificed those essential jazz qual- "Round Midnight", Clarke's
ities of improvisation and swing. contrapuntal bass lines, and
Hall's subtle shifts in. meter.
Jim Hall-Live is Hall's most Buy Jim Hall-Live for a taste:
recent release. It is outstand- I of what jazz can be.
...E. - - -. .
-41
Part of this relaxed pace is
due to the fact that the two
stand-up, knock-down produc-1
tion' numbers she does attempt,
"I Can't Stand It" and "Jon
the Genrator", are simply not
as effective as her classic ver-.
sion of "I'm A Woman" or oth-
ers of that nature. But she gives
the majority of the songs aI
gentle but thorough going-overj
that especially enhances the
title cut "Sweet Harmony",
','Rockin' Chair", and "We Just
Couldn't Say Goodbye."
0F
__. ___
i
I
1
NOON LUNCHEON
Homemade Soup and Sandwich 50c
CLAIRE JEANNETTE
Executive Director, The Women's Assembly:
"Learn How to Affect Your
Government"
FRIDAY, MARCH 19 ot
GUILD HOUSE, 802 Monroe
IN KEEPING with the album
title, the vocal work is the most
appealing feature of the entire
presentation. Maria's vocal is
backed by a flute and a classi-
Quarterbacl Tony Dungy of
Minnesota gained 1,236 yards
passing in the Big Ten last sea-
son and is 'the first Gopher, to
lead the conference in that de-
partment.
8:00 p.m.
March 19 and 20
3:00 p.m.
March 21
Reserved Seats
at $4, $3, 2
featuring: Gay Delanghe's
SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Music by William Albright (Seven Deadly Sins)
Doris Hurmphrey's
BRANDENBERG CONCERTO
Music by Bach (6randenberg Concerto No. 4)
FIL/L IIFESTrIVLL
TONIGHT and TOMORROW at 7, 9 & 11 P.M.
Saturday at 1, 7 & 9 P.M. Winners & High-
,. 1, r . -7 n r 1 n LkA . . ,- . * ...
ii
PINBALL,
BILLIARDS,
Elizabeth Weil Bergmann's
FANTASIE
Music by Vivaldi (Sonata in D Major)
Other Dances by Vera L. Embree
and Guest Artist Montreal Choreographer
Martine Epoque, with The Chamber Ensemble
Ii