Friday, August 2, 1974 THE MICHIGAN DAILY cinema weekend Page Five Pick of the week: La Strada Friends of Newsreel, MLB Fri., Sat., 7:30, 9:30 When Federico Fellini stopped fooling around as an Italian ac- tor and writer in the 40's and started directing movies, he blew a lot of people's minds. His first few handful of films are so special, such incredibly personal and precious works of art, that to this reviewer they cast his later films of the last two decades in a terminal sha- dow. La Strada (1955), staring An- thony Quinn and (the director's rwife) Giulette Masina, is a 'powerfully moving picture about a strongman-performer and the Innocent little waif he picks up 'along the muscle-bound tour he's making via motor bike and trailer. Quinn has never been better, bursting chains on his chest and hearts in his breast with the pul- verizing fury of a locomotive - his character doesn't let up for a minute. Masina is the per- fectly pathetic blonde servant girl for the muscle man; she is devoted to Quinn in a love that is never recognized or ack- nowledged. Richard Baseheart, who later went on to a big career in the 60s, doing television's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, plays a surprisingly likeable character called Fool by Quinn because he sees through the strongman's insults and malicious threats. He is a character with human- ity, a rarity in Fellini cinema. After La Strada and Nights of Cabiria Fellini made La Dolce Vita. Then he stopped making films and started making spec- tacles of both himself and the motion picture industry. His talent is missed but the brief hiatus he gave us was too bril- liant to ever be forgotten. -Michael Wilson + r * Pink Floyd The Movies, Briarwood A "cinema concert" that is, but, it is not, alas, "more than a movie." Basically, it is just a performance - on film - in the 3000-year-old ruins of a IPomneii coliseum, empty save for the somd crew, the cam- eramen, the wind, and t he grass - interjected with a lot of aimless footage while the sondtrack plays. Hot lava and bubbling mud. Agonized faces from ancient sta- tues and mosaics; the Pompeii ruins. Pink Floyd's collosus speakers. The four Floyds wan- dering through barren land- scapes and similar exsistential scenes. The music, however, perform- ed live for this film, is close to brilliant. In spite of their recent commercial turnings, Pink Floyd is still one of the roost original, inventive, a n d 'dynamic groups at work today. While the cinematics of this flick do not add anything to their music, they do not detract, either. After all, the film brings one a lot closer to the greup than they will ever get in con- cert. The curious can get to see how they make all those weird and intriguing sounds that they do. Thedfilm also includes some studio footage, and interviews. -Ron Langdon Jamaica Inn Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud. Sat., 7:30, 9:30 Jamaica Inn (1937) is an Al- fred Hitchcock picture that moves with the pace of a two- headed snail. How Hitchcock ever got involved in this mess is a wonder to everyone, includ- ing the director himself. It was his last British picture, a n d one of three Daphne Du Maur- ier story lines that the master of great suspense was to for- ever cannonize on film. The story of Jamaica, if you really must know, concerns a boring 18th century tavern where all kinds of ugly crim- inals and scavengers h a a g out trying to pretend they're in some kind of psycho Treas- ure Island. Charles Laughton, who also co-produced the film, plays a highly respectable justice of the peace that also serves as ring- leader of the scum in the tav- ern. Laughton, who had nis part built up by J. B. Priestly in tite screenplay because he felt it needed more dialogue, hated Hitchcock and couldn't stand his version is by far the best and represents the definitive ana- chronisms Wilson was search- ing for in both his hilarity and English protocol. -Michael Wilson Captains Courageous Cinema II, Aud. A Sat., 7:30, 9:30 Freddy Barthomew, Mickey Rooney, Lionel Barrymore, and Spencer Tracy are the fantastic cast in Captains Courageous, a good film that tells the story of a boy growing into manhood with the fishermen of the North Atlantic. Based very closely on the Mkichigan Daily methodical and meticulous dir- ectorial style. "He wasn't real- ly a professional film man," said Hitchcock in retaliation to the 1938 press, "and I don't like to work that way." The result is a period piece almost as revolting as the cos- tume buffoonery of this year's Daisy Miller. Robert Newton also stars in this film, but he sure doesn't help much. -Michael Wilson Mutiny on the Bounty Cinema II, Aud. A Fri., 7:30, 9:30 Perhaps one of the greatest sea stories ever filmed is Frank Lloyd's Mutiny on the Bounty, the true tale of the mutiny against the repressive Captain Bligh in 1781 on a voyage to Tahiti. Although the direction is not really up to the task of telling the tale, the acting is first rate. Starring Charles Laughton as Bligh, Clark Gable as Christ- ian, and Franchot Tone as Brown, this film is carried sole- ly on its acting. Laughton, es- pecially, gives a performance that is a classic, the definitive Bligh. You will really h a t e him by the end of the first reel. The supporting cast is also good. This film was recognized as a classic when it was made, and even though a color remake was made in the 60's, the orig- inal is by far the best. -David Warren Ruggles of Red Gap Cinema Guild, Arch. And. Fri., 7:30, 9:30 Ruggles of Red Gap (1934) is the story of an English butler lost by his employer in a de- faulting poker game who has to contend with new owners and the wild, wild West in a process of splendidly funny rejuvena- tion. Charles Laughton, the dis- tinguished British ham and vet- eran of over forty motion pic- tures, fortunately portrays the bumbling butler with more ob- noxious manners and startling eloquence than the character could ever use. Thus Ruggles turns ;nto classic cinema through Laugh- ton's virtuoso performance and the stunning supporting cast, which includes Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, Roland Y o u n g and Zasu Pitts (remember her on Oh Susannah! as Gale Storm's dizzy girlfriend?) The story is taken from a pert little novelette by Harry Leon Wilson and has been filmed four grueling times. This Laughton Rudyard Kipling novel of the same name, this film won Spen- cer Tracy his first Oscar. More importantly, though, is that he deserved it. His portrayal of Manuel, the Portuguese fisher- man, really exhibits his enor- mous talent. Lionel Barrymore is great, as usual, and Rooney and Bartho- mew both give fine perform- ances. If you are a Kipling fan, or Tracy fan, or Barrymore fan, or just like to see fine acting, go see Captains Courageous. -David Warren The Great Dictator New World Film Co-op Nat. Sci. And. Fri., 7:30, 9:30 In The Great Dictator (1940), Charlie Chaplin capitalizes on his own more than striking re- semblance to Der Fuhrer, tooth- brush moustache and all. Char- lie plays the part of an under- dog Jewish barber who is mis- taken for German dictator Hin- kel. When the film was originally released, audiences gagged on the vicious satire in the film, which was a bit too much in the days when Hitler's armies pos- ed a real threat. Only a few decades later can viewers give the film the proper sort of at- tention it deserves. . Unfortunately, Chaplin d i s- covered the soundtrack in The Great Dictator, dropped h is tramp character, and used dia- logue instead of pantomime. Charlie found out he could use speeches to plead his case, ra- ther than comic action, and this leads him into serious trouble. While there are admitterly some brilliant sequences (par- ticularly the scene in which Hin- kel addresses his following in a mocking form of "pig Ger- man"), much of the film de- generated into mush, a cliched appeal for "peace and brother- hood." Chaplin shows in Dictator that he still has the talent to save a lot of souls - but I'm afraid most viewers will have to settle for being half-saved with this one. -Jeff Sorensen Everything You've Always Wanted To J Know About Sex The Movies, Briarwood Never in a milion years will Woody Allen approach the tal- ent he displayed in the late six- ties as a nightclub comedian and rising filmmaker. In be- tween all the hoopla about his talent and cute looks and funny plays, Woody made this f it1 m based on the infamous David Reuben book and turned in some of the best acting and directing of his career. True, Everything has its low points, but there are scenes in this film that have got to be some of the most hilarious and imaginative satires to c o m e around in a long time. There are some great foreign film takeoffs, for example, featuring Allen in a deft pair of sun- glasses. Everything is being shown as a double-bill with Mr. Majestyk, the latest Charles Bronson thril- ler. -Michael Wilson Love and Anarchy Campus This is beatifully constructed Italian pornography, starring Giancarlo Gianinni in a sort of Day of the Jackal takeoff about a man who has a bullet with the initials "B.M." that he plans to fire into Mussolini's skull. Unfortunately, Tunin, our hero, bumps into a pretty streetwalker (portrayed incred- ibly well by Lina Polito), a n d becomes momentarily detoured. Many of the scenes take place in the inevitable house of i11 repute, and director-writer Lin- da Wertmuller makes this an advantage by using real-life lo- cations and brilliant co-stars. Wertmuller is a fine technic- ian and will no doubt be heard from again. She is a welcome addition to an industry that is desperately lacking in female directors. --Michael Wilson Terminal Man The Movies, Briarwood Terminal stars George Segal in a fascinating failure of a mo- tion picture. Directed and writ- ten by Mike Hodges from Mich- ael Crichton's best-selling novel, Terminal is one-third interest- ing and two-thirds ridiculous. Crichton's story of a slightly disturbed paranoid psychotic who submits to an operation for a cure to his "disease" was at best fairly nice paperback ma- terial. On celluloid, the results of this complex and frightening futuris- tic medical technology make a big joke of Segal and seems closer to a Dean Martin shoot- 'em-up than a valid comment on where we're all headed. The problem lies somewhere between the fact that G e o r g e is making far too many pictures and the sophomoric essence of the material. Jean Hackett and Donald Moffat are also featured in this terminally slick shock treatment. -Michael Wilson For Pete's Sake Michigan Barbra Streisand stars in this quasi-sequel to the very success- ful What's Up, Doc? Pete's pace is just as frantic and some of the lines are just as funny as the material in the original Peter Bogdanovich feature. Bas- ically, however, Pete s i m p1 y doesn't stack up. Streisand portrays a harried housewife who, having plunged her husband into debt to cover a nebulous investment, now must come up with a scheme to raise $3000 in a hurry. Her ideas: prostitution and c a tt I e rustling. (That's part of the humor, gang.) it's an enjoyable picture, ut it could have been better. -David Blomquist Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat Fifth Forum The feature-length animated film and grade B studio Ameri- can International Pictures re- ceived a much-needed shot in the arm a couple of years back when Steve Krantz turned out Fritz the Cat, a lewd, definite- ly X-rated cartoon that no doubt started Walt Disney roll- ing over in his grave. Naturally, we now have a sequel to Fritz entitled (what else?) The Nine Lives of guess who. Be prepared: it isn't as blue (or as funny) as Fritz No. 1. Krantz's excuse probably will be that during the period when Nine Lives was in production, the Supreme Court appeared to be taking a tougher stand on porno, and he didn't want to get caught in the squeeze. Nonsense. Well, you be the judge. -David Blomquist Chinatown Fox Village Roman Polanski has a repu- 'ation for being a great direc- tor. However, he also has a reputation for being inconsist- ent. His latest film, China- town, is possibly the best film he has ever made. It is a thrill- er mystery of the first order. It is the tale of a private in- vestigator, Jack Nicholson, who is caught up in a scandal and a series of murders involving the leading citizens of Los An- geles of the 1930's. The action is fast, and the acting is the best in years. Ni- cholson plays his role with a cool and cynical style reminis- cent of Bogart. Faye Dunaway plays the woman who is trying to run away from her past in the best performance of her career. Polanski has been compared to Hitchcock, but the compari- son is not justified. Polanski has proven in this film that he is equal to any of the great direc- tors of mystery movies. -David Warren EXCELLENT ACTING highlights this weekend at the movies. Anthony Quinn and Charles Chaplin are just two of the many brilliant performers featured at the cinema this Friday and Saturday evenings.