Wednesday, May 18, 1977 Arts I THE MICHIGAN DAILY P 'Anastasia' opens age Five Stor ms commi' Storm de Hirsch . (right), whose intense look mirrors the z ritualistic mysticism of her poetry and underground films,° will speak and show her films Thursday at 8 in the Old Archi- tecture Auditorium.y de Hirsch has been awarded 23 international honors for her innovative filmmaking, which includes techniques involving hand painted and scratched frames of film and dual pro- jections.> Among the brilliantly coloredj rhythmic, and symbolic films scheduledhare Third Eye But terfly, The Tattooed Man, and Geometries of the Kaballah. Admission is $1.50. de Hirsch Strip-mining history By RICHARD LEWIS F YOU THINK you know your history - if you share the generally accepted belief that the entire family of Russia's Nicholas II was executed by a Bolshevik firing squad in 1918- perhaps Marcelle Mauret's Anastasia will make you think again. The play, which opens tonight at Lydia Men- delssohn Theatre, toys with the possibility that Nicholas' youngest daughter, Anastasia, may have survived the gunfire that slaughtered the rest of her immediate family. The plot concerns an exiled Russian Prince's attempts to convince the remaining Romanovs that this is not merely a possibility, but a fact.' With an eye on the immense inheritance due to the "resurrected" princess, he contrives to de- fraud the royal family and forces an ex-mental patient named Anna Broun to pose as Anastasia. The forthcoming Ann Arbor Civil Theatre pro- duction of the play is an English adaptation by Guy Bolton, who reports that his "Anna Broun" was suggested by a real life claimant to the Russian legacy. In a New York Times article writ- ten shortly before the play's Broadway opening in 1954, Bolton said the "Grand Duchess Anas- tasia" was first pointed out to him at a party in 1928. CURIOSITY LED THE dramatist to read sev- eral accounts of "Anastasia's miraculous reap- pearance. Some supported the claim, others did not. One of the most supportive was The Real Romanovs, written in 1931 by Gleb Botkin, son of the Romanov family doctor and Anastasia's childhood friend. "After reading most of what has been writ- ten in English and French," writes Bolton, "I am prepared to stick my neck out on the side of the believers." Bolton and author Mauret even reportedly gave "Anastasia" a portion of their play's royalties. These royalties have no doubt proven con- siderable, as Anastasia was one of the biggest hits of the 1954 55 Broadway season. A success- ful film version was made a few years later starring Yul Brenner, Helen Hayes and Ingrid Bergman in the title role. Incidentally, the "Anastasia" who inspired the Mauret-Bolton play has recently become the subject of another book, The File on the Tsar, by Anthony Summers and Tom Mangold. Though this book offers long-lost police reports in sup- port of her claim, "Anastasia" derides the au- thors' efforts. "PEOPLE WILL BE trying to make money off the, Tsar and his family forever, and I re- sent it," she said in a People magazine article of last November. "Anastasia" is now the wife of a retired po- litical science professor named John Manahan. The couple lives comfortably and quietly in Char- lottesville, Virginia, but "Anastasia" is still re- solute in her claim to the Romanov fortune de- spite the fact that the struggle, she says, "has cost me everything." The story of a woman's struggle - against exploitation, insanity and loneliness is the sub- ject of Anastasia. Surely this is a subject which should provide opportunities for strong, suspense- ful drama, and any devoted theatre-goer will probably be eager to see what the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre can make of it. Performances are scheduled tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. For information regarding ticket prices and reserva- tions stop by the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre box office or call 763-1085. By ANDREA BROWN AIIDST a barrage of confus- ing images, filmmaker Barbara Kopple manages to evoke a moving statement on the plight of coal mine workers in Harlan County, U.S.A. And it's not difficult to figure out whose side she takes in this filtn, which documents the Unit- ed Mine Worlers' (UMW) strikes in Harlan County, Ken- tucky between 1972 and 1975. Documentaries on controver- sial subjects often demand that the viewer take a stand on an issue given only the largely one - sided view presented. This is especially true with the film medium, as many people con- sider motion pictures a mirror of reality - unaware of the fact that the images and sounds can be manipulated as much as any written document., Yet Kopple avoids present- ing her film under the guise of objectivity, she clearly sympa- thizes with the strikers. The meetings of the UMW and their wives are filmed as if the camera crews were par- ticipating. The mining company execs are depicted through in- terviews and press conferences from the viewpoint of any strik- ing worker who might gain ac- cess to the management. MANY wonderful moments are caught as a result of this intimacy, among the most memorable are the meetings with the wives of the miners. It seems as if- Kopple had a special affinity for the women involved, which -surfaces in their emergence as a driving force which kept the strike alive during its leaner periods., These moments carry the - film, which, on the whole, lacks a clear focus. There is old footage of an historic, bloody strike at the same mine during the 34s intercut with the pres- ent day strikers in the process of organization, and tantilizing clues are given concerning sev- eral side issues relating to the strike. But the reason why these moments belong in the film, aside from the peripheral interest, is never made clear. MORE IMPORTANT to the central subject of the film, but not well tied into its generally hazy focus, are the actual is- sues of the strike. Instead of emphasizing t h e s e is- sues, which may not be imme- diately clear to the casual viewer, Kopple opts for empha- sizing the solidarity of the strik- ers. Excepting an extended se- quence on black lung disease, the inevitable death of count- less miners, and a few descrip- tions by miners' wives on past mine disasters, crucial issues are only mentioned in passing. The, film was shot in a very straightforward documentary style and has all the problems and advantages of such a meth- od. The presence of the camera provides ample acting space for certain individuals who un- avoidably become the de facto "stars" of the film. Likewise, certain incidents seem to be swayed by the fact that cam- era crews were shooting. Yet the camera operators were often able to capture some riveting footage in spite of it all. The crews were able to catch a dawn attack on the strikers by hired gunmen as well as catching the company men involved in several other irregular situations, SUSPENSE AND DRAMA saturated several terrifying scenes of men hiding their guns in their pockets awaiting any provocation by the strik- ers, and the death of one of the strikers which results in the ratification of a new contract is both excellent reportage and an effective use of the often obtrusive camera crews. The musical background of the film consisted of-traditional ballads and songs written by the strikers and their families. Most of the music aided the emotional impact of the film, though in several places banal lyrics elicited a cheap senti- mentality that marred some truly effective scenes. There is no question that Harlan County, U. S. A. packs an incredible punch, though Kopple does little more than string explosive situations to- gether. It is not the most mon- umental task to depict the hardships of one of the bleak- est existences in American life, and the film's saving grace- is that despit its lack of a co- hesive vision, it presents many fascinating and informative in- sights into the miners' way of life. D o c u m e n t a r i e s, un- fortunately, rarely hit paydirt at the box - office, and al- though Harlan County, U.S.A. netted an Academy Award, its Ann Arbor run lasted only one paltry week. But luckily, it will return in late August at Cine- ma II and the film, despite its flaws, should be seen for the rare view that many of us will ever have into an alien world. 'Calcutta': Erotic relic',. By CHRISTOPHER POTTER IT SHOULD be noted for pos- terity that a touring com- pany performance of Oh! Cal- cutta! passed in and out of Ann Arbor last week with scarcely a ripple. That is a fact much more remarkable than the show itself; six or seven years ago the event would doubtless have elicited court injunctions, mass protests, and certainly a barrage of Letters to the Editor. No more, 'my friends. The Sexual Revolution is the one revolution from the recent Age of Turbulence that seems to have stuck; it's now almost es- tablishment, if not in deed then certainly in image - we may not have done it all but by now we have surely seen it all. And the collective community yawn wfhich greeted this post- dated debut of Kenneth Tyn- an's famed all-sex, often nude review indicates less an ac- ceptance than a collectively be- nign boredom. CALCUTTA'S SWORD has been blunted, not by resistance but by absorbtion. Sex and The Arts have become overdue but immensely compatable bedfel- lows in a remarkably short time span; in 1967 controversyt and censorship threats raged nationwide over Molly Bloom's one-time usage of the word "fuck" in an otherwise tepid film version of Ulyscses. Bare- ly five years later, Marlon Brando's torrent of obscenities in Last Tango in Paris would earn him lavish critical (and financial) tribute, and at worst a few tolerant tut-tuts. Our deep throat - molded generation would find hard to believe the 1968 Ann Arbor Po- lice raid on the Fifth Forum Theatre to confiscate a copy a copy of I Am Curious, Yellow, or the Union Ballroom raid the following year during a per- formance of the experimental Dionysius in '69, a then-daring theatrical happening. Locally at least, such incidents seem as dead as The Edsel. THUS the metamorphosis of Oh! Calcutta! Whereas its stormy New York debut drew gasps, protests and mass titila- tion, it now draws a few be- mused chuckles, more than a few stifled yawns, and certain- ly no need for large black rain- coats. The New Sophistication was readily evident among the au- dience that half filled the Mich- igan Theater last Thursday night. While a typical New York Calcutta audience was so male-oriented that it often look- ed like a crows at a stag film, Ann Arbor's gathering was split virtually 50-50 on a sex ratio and seemed relaxed and cas- ual as opposed to nervously self - conscious ("Gee, I hope my wife doesn't know I'm here"). - CONTRASTING the former nervous giggles and guarded whispers during inter- mission were about a half-doz- en rather lengthy and not at all quiet customer commentar- ies testifying to the fact that. such a nouveau-bland exhibi- tion was hardly worth $7.50 a shot. Their sentiments were accur- ate. The automatic notoriety which accompanied Calcutta everywhere it went its first few years succeeded to an optimum degree in the illusion of equat- ing shock effect -with enter- tainment. Now that the shock seems buried for good, the show's always threadbare struc- ture is now doubly and embar- rassingly apparent. Even in its heyday Calcutta suffered from an impoverish- ment of dramatic, if not the- matic( unification. The show consists entirely of a series of unrelated revue-style skits in- terspaced with several musical production numbers interlocked only in their basic carnal orien- tation. DESPITE Calcutta's impres- sive list of authors ranging from Jules Feiffer to Samuel Beckett to John Lennon, the skits -rarely rise above TV-level competence and often fall a good deal below that. A major problem is that al- most without exception each segment tries very hard to be funny, to ironically satirize the very subject it purports to lib- erate and uplift, creating such a heavyhanded burlesque of the erotic that it comes close to desexualizing it entirely. The dance numbers, although some- what better and also the major in-the-buff offerings of the show, are still rather ordinary in execution. The current touring company brings a number of changes to the original production, mostly for the worse. Several acts have been dropped, including a John Lennon skit that was one of the few truly humorous seg- ments and the most lyrically sensual of the dances is also mysteriously absent. REPLACING THEM were a small turgid group of non-nude, non-mobile rock and country songs apparently inserted for the purpose of shoiwng off the dubious talents of a noisily me- diocre rock combo which ob- trusively filled nearly half the Michigan's stage throughout the long evening. A very young - looking cast radiates a level of competence barely above the level of a soph show, both in elocution and anatomical agility. One might have hoped that their very youthfulness would make up in exuberance what they- and the show-lacked in talent, but even as they went through the motions they seemed to ex- ude a projected resignation to approaching senility, to the knowledge that a few more nak- ed bodies skittering innocently around a stage now looks about as erotic as a game of volley- ball at a nudist camp. Whips and chains, anyone?