Wednesday, May 15, 1974
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
rrn
Buffy sheds her vei
By TOM OLSON her sexuality up front and found that late in life, but she's taken it
Back in 1967 Buffy Sainte-Marie was it makes her music more arresting than and it's taken over her style.
the Singing Nun of the hippie/leftist anything from her asexual Joan Baez "Can't Believe the Feeling Whe
fringe - prim and proper and Concern- period. Gone" is the obvious single her
ed. She was the typical stern folkie, Her new album is called Buffy Sainte- furious, and lusty as well. "Sw
strumming and singing with No Funny Marie (MC-405) - apparently a clue that Vera" features a background of
Business Allowed. this is a celebration of the new woman horns and rinky-tink piano rif
Seven years later Buffy has shed a she's become. She no longer sings about support a gutteral chorus of
few inhibitions. Nowadays she's discov- world peace and racial justice b u t whoo's" and even "havva vZ
ered that it's fun to make her music about the "Sweet Fast Hooker Blues." va's".
loud. Like Joni Mitchell, she's brought Buffy has discovered hedonism rather To ease the transition into
life as America's favorite Nati'
to heart
en You're
e - fast,
eet Little
snorting
s, which
"whoa
a va va
her new
ve Amer-
ichigan Daily
Arts
ican rock 'n' roll floozie, there area few
quieter ballads here to remind us of the
shy little thing Buffy used to be. But
even here, the subject matter is thorough-
ly personal and apolitical - "ooh, what
you do to me, baby".
Altogether Buffy Sainte Marie is a
success as Buffy's first entry into the
field of crass commercial rock 'n' roll.
If she picks up any more confidence,
she may be mistaken for Bette Midler
her next time out.
Page Five
Lampoon
Publishes
Movie
Worsts
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (A') - The Har-
vard Lampoon has cited The Great Gats-
by as the year's worst film in the
magazine's 34th annual Movie Worsts
Awards.
Editors said the film was honored for
"making the Jazz Age look like the
Muzak Era, cynically strip-mining ano-
ther vein in the nostalgia market and
having the inquisitive gall to market a
lines of Gatsby products, of which "Gats-
by power tools' and 'Gatsby-burgers'
can't be far off."
Other movits selected by the Lampoon
in its worst awards were Day of the Dol-
phin, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, A
Touch of Class, Blume in Love, The Way
We Were, Save the Tiger, The Exorcist,
American Graffitti and The Seven-Ups.
Penelope Gilliant of The New Yorker
was presented "The Bosley," awarded
annually to the movie critic "whose writ-
ing consistently explores the farthest
limits of bad taste."
Other awards and their recipients:
"The Kirk Douglas Award for the Worst
Actor of the Year" to Jack L.emmon for
Save the Tiger!
"The Natalie Wood Award for the
Worst Actress of the Year" to Barbra
Streisand for The Way We Were.
Worst supporting actor to Dustin Hoff-
man for Papillon.
Worst supporting actress to D y a n
Cannon for Shamus and The Last of
Sheila.
"The Wilde Oscar," conferred upon
the performer "who has been willing to
flout convention and risk worldly damna-
tion in the pursuit of artistic fulfillment,"
to John Wayne for McQ.
Fleming requests soft policy on porn
(Continued from Page 1)
A spokesman for Friends of Newsreel,
however, called it a "continuation of
the censorship ruse in the context of the
administration's attempt to take over
the student film groups."
FLEMING LATER brushed off that
charge, terming it "their usual allega-
tion."
Vickie Honeyman of Cinema II laugh-
ed when she heard the "mature judg-
ment" phrase and said, "What the hell
is that supposed to mean?"
A FRIENDS of Newsreel spokesman
sarcastically responded, "That's bril-
liant." Even Cinema Guild's Thompson,
who generally favors the proposal, ad-
mitted that "it is a very vague phrase."
Roderick Daane, the University's gen-
eral c o u n s e 1, stated that his office
"hasn't planned to define" the phrase,
adding that it would be "difficult to de-
fine without a specific factual situation."
He commented, however, that in his
view last month's Deep Throat showing
"didn't display any good judgment -
mature or otherwise."
ALSO SCHEDULED to be discussed at
that session is an administration pro-
posal which, in the words of Henry John-
son, vice president for student services,
calls for "fiscal accountability" guide-
lines to be established for all student
groups which rent University facilities.
Specifically, the administration wants
all student groups to be required to keep
their accounts and deposit all funds with
the University's Office of the Student
Auditor.
BOB HONEYMAN of Cinema II said
he believes that the administration is
more interested in the 'fiscal account-
ability' issue than in film regulation.
According to Honeyman, "certain of
the Regents were duped" into voting for
the anti - pornography resolution last
month in an effort to cover up the finan-
cial issue, which he believes the admin-
istration does not want publicized.
Johnson denied Honeyman's allegation,
stating that Cinema II's "perception is
totally inaccurate."
Meanwhile, Bullard charged that "be-
cause the University owns 34 per cent of
the stock of Butterfield Theaters (the
firm that owns and operates the State,
Michigan, and Campus theaters), the
University should have absolutely noth-
ing to do with the showing of films on
campus."
President Fleming called Bullard's
implication of a c o n f li c t of interest
"nonsense."
Letters to the Arts Editor
'Zardoz' review'panned
To the Arts Editor: that tastes will change so radically in the fu-
Michael Wilson is crazy. His review of Zar- tare that all of us will love running around
doz not only misses the mark by a mile; it in weird plastic buildings with no furniture
also manages a bizarre misstatement of the in them. In Zardoz the people at the "vortex"
plot that makes it clear that he didn't under- live in an Irish manner surrounded by lush
stand the movie at even its most basic story- greenery and do such things as making their N
line level. (Sean Connery was not being sent own bread by hand while using a futuristic
to some other planet to kill people; the whole superfact oven. Someone has apparently rea-
plot takes place on the earth a few centuries lized at last that any future society is likely
hence. Moreover, the fact that he was killing to keep some of the nice things of the past,
people on earth was central to the relationship like trees and home-made bread, while in-
between those in the "vortex" and the bar- corporating technological conveniences.
barians outside.)
ZARDOZ IS FAR FROM A PERFECT HERE AND THERE THERE WERE ^
MOVIE. There are some excruciatingly em- OTHER interesting tidbits that provided deep- sr
barrassing lines that occasionally yank it back er interest to the movie. For example, women
to the level of Lost in Space (without the so- seemed to be dominant in the vortex, with
ciahly redeeming camp of the television the few men there somewhat effemiate. Yet
series). But the important point is that the our noses weren't rubbed in the fact; there
movie is (1) highly enjoyable, (2) sophisticat- was no preaching one way or the other about
ed, and (3) the first science fiction movie women's lib-just another facet to ponder in
that has entered the twentieth century with- the entire structure of the movie. (A friend
out regret. The first two points are obvious, noted that a further elaboration of the feminine
but the third deals with an irony of science motif was the possible use of the "vortex" as
fiction films. They usually deal with the fu- a vaginal symbol.)
ture but they are almost all cinematically Finally, your critic criticized Connery for
primitive. A few older movies moved in the running around with a potbelly in some under- r
right direction (for example, Forbidden Plan- wear. I knew nothing about the movie before
et), but it wasn't until 2001 that modern pho -I saw it except that it starred Sean Connery.
tographic techniques entered the science fic- I was very much afraid that I would see a
tion movie. Even 2001, however, was plagued potbellied 007, but no such thing. Sure Con-
by lengthy passages of wooden dialogue and nery is potbellied by now. Michael Wilson will
an entirely linear script, i.e., straight plot de- be old some day too. But the point is that he
velopment without much more, was playing a character miles distant from
With Zardoz, at last, there is a science fic- 007, and playing him well. Despite the medi-
tion movie that is not in the same league as ocre costumes and occasional awful lines that
The Ghoul's Saturday night fare. Although are put in his mouth by the screenplay writer,
there is a simple, easily understood plot- he makes a convincing, middle-agged, unedu-
line (I still don't understand how your re- cated but intelligent mutant. Apparently Wil-
viewer missed it), there is also a wealth of son saw what he expected to see; those of
calculated ambiguity and restrained mysti- your readers who have open minds and enjoy
cism (via esp) which add another dimension sf movies will find Zardoz a rare treat.
to the basic story. The version of future so- --James Martin
ciety depicted in the movie is also refreshingly May 13 Daily Photo by KEN FINK
logial1. It' has always bothered me its the James Martin is Associate Professor of Law CHARLOTTE RAMPLING (CONSUELLA) responds to audience
past that science fiction movie makers assume at the University. questions about 'Zardoz' at the Toronto preview screening.
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