Fridoy, July 2, 1976
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Seven
Friday, Jly 2, 197 THE MICHGANIDAILYPage Seve
Happenings ..
This week's HAPPENINGS
film reviews were written by
Kim Potter.
All week long
COMMERCIAL CINEMA
Logan's Run - (Fox Village)
-The first entry in the movies'
new science fiction wave takes
us to a post-apoclypse earth
some 400 years in the future,
where the remnants of human
life have retreated into a huge
domed city. For centuries, ag-
ing computers have governed
the city's inhabitants, with the
latter having nothing to do but
romp about in hedonistic pur-
suits through a kind of giant-
sized Briarwood, the outside
world lost in myth. Naturally,
one man (Logan) breaks loose
from this stagnant Xanadu and
rediscovers the green, once-
again habitable earth.
The first half of Logan's Run
is an absolute dream of a sci-
fi movie: the special effects are
at least the equal of anything
previously seen in film (includ-
ing 2001), the less-than-origi-
nal plot is nonetheless absorb-
ingly presented, and director
Michael Anderson maintains ii
breathless sense of pace and
timing as we follow Logan's
desperate escape efforts. But
once he does escape, the film
rapidly falls apart: We get
cliche - ridden, technically un-
convincing shots of a decaying
Washington (The Lincoln Me-
morial natch), a dull, pointless
duel to the death in the re-
mains of the U.S. Senate cham-
bers, and above all Peter Usti-
nov in an idiotic, mood - de-
molishing travesty of a per-
formance that only the Gallo
Brothers could love. A conclud-
ig full-of-holes ending ensures
logan's Run's rating as one
half a film, a classification
made all the more maddening
because that first half is so
damned good.
The Sailor Who Fell From
Grace With the Sea - (State)
- Unconvincing story of a love
affair between an American
seaman and an English widow,
with its subsequent tragic dis-
rssntion by a neo-fascist group
of British schoolboys offended
by the sailor's defection from
his "perfect balance" with the
life of the sea. Author Yukio
Mishima's original story doubt-
less made much more political
and artistic sense structured in
the confines of Japanese so-
ciety, but when transplanted
to the setting of an English
coastal town, the whole enter-
prise comes across as point-
less and often laughable. Lewis
John Carlino's direction is
clumsy and unimaginative, and
he receives no help from his
stars - widow Sarah Miles
overacts outrageously, while
sailor Kris Kristofferson doesn't
appear to know how to act at
all. **
Buffalo Bill and the Indians-
(The Movies, Briarwood) -
Robert Altman's first film since
Nashville focuses (none too
flatteringly) on the famed
cowboy's traveling Wild West
show, and features Paul New-
man as a Buffalo Bill more
bigoted buffoon than hero. The
film has thus far received the
usual Altman critical raves, and
is doubtless worth attending.
The Omen - (Fifth Forum)
- Should films be censored,
ever, for any reason? As a
staunch believer in First
Amendment rights, I was none-
theless jolted slightly in the di-
rection of the yahoos after view-
ing this film - not because of
overt repulsiveness, but be-
cause its overall concept is sim-
ply terrifying.
The Omen is an incredibly
disturbing film. The plot (as
you doubtless know) concerns
the rebirth of Satan as a baby
adopted by an American diplo-
mat and his wife. The story
pays a natural debt to Rose-
mary's Baby and The Exorcist
(although its kinship is closer
to The Bad Seed), but The
Omen is in no way a commer-
ial rip-off of the others. It
soars away quite on its own,
presenting us with some of the
most profoundly frightening se-
aiences on film, aas Gregory
Peck stumbles through a step-
by-step realization of the hor-
rifying truth about his own son.
This is a risky film to see;
there is nothing ludicrous or
camnv about it-it is a straight,
starkly omnious exercise in
fear. In it's own way, The
Omen is a cinematic master-
work, but for God's sake leave
the kids at home; they'll have
nightmares for weeks (so will
you). ****
Friday
CINEMA
The Maltese Falcon - (Cine-
ma Guild, Arch. Aud., 7:30 &
9:35) - Bogart, Astor, Lorre
and Greenstreet battle tooth
and nail in pursuit of the im-
mortal bird. Virtually a pho-
tographed stage play complete
with an almost total absence of
overt physical action, but Fal-
con contains more memorable
dialogue than perhaps any film
in history, and certainly the
most immortal set of perform-
ances. Director John Huston
breaks almost every rule of
suspense cinema convention,
and still comes away with a
masterwork of fascination that
remains the finest product of
the detective genre. ****
The Wild Child - (Ann Ar-
bor Film Co-op, MLB 4, 7:15 &
9) - Boy raised by animals
is plucked from his natural for-
est environment and forceably
"civilized" by ,a determined
teacher (Francois Truffaut). In
effect, the film is a kind of
negative Miracle Worker, and
its Loss of Innocence plot con-
tains considerably more sub-
stance and power than Truf-
faut's other recent efforts. ****
The Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes - (Cinema II, Ang.
Aud. A, 7:30 & 9) - Number
two in the series featuring Ba-
sil Rathbone as London's sup-
ersleuth.
Investigation of a Citizen
Above Suspicion - (Ann Arbor
Film Co-op, MLB 3, 7 only) -
A top Italian police official
murders his mistress, then de-
liberately drops clues right and
left to see is his underlings will
possess the integrity to confront
him with his crime. A dazzing-
ly - made pseudo - absurdist
film that cynically debunks
the ability or willingness of
higher-ups to ferret out the cor-
ruption of their own compatri-
ots. Elio Petri directs and Gian
Maria Colonte plays the offic-
ial's role at a white heat pitch
made suddenly timely by our
own recent congressional reve-
lations in our own back yard.
The Working, Class Goes to
Heaven - (Ann Arbor Film Co-
up, MLB 3, 9 only) - A more
recent Petri - Volonte collabor-
ation, studying in dramatic
terms the dehumanizing effect
of assembly-line life on an av-
erage factory worker. Shown
for the first time in Ann Arbor.
.Saturday
CINEMA
Beach Blanket Bingo - Cine-
ma It, Ang. Aud. A, 7:30 only)
- Annette and Frankie bound
about in this most vintage and
most worthless of their surf,
sand and pseudo-sex epics.
Sure, it's ultimate nostalgia,
but do mere Memory Lane con-
siderations justify charging ad-
mission to this sterile, clock-
work orange apparition? Save
your money and wait for the
4:30 Movie. *
The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T-
(Cinema II, Ang. Aud. A, 9:15
only) - Fantasy film of a small
boy who hates his piano les-
sons, and who subsequently
dreams tie is held prisoner in a
giant piano by the evil Dr.
Terwiliger. Never seen by this
critic, but the Dr. Seuss-creat-
ed film is said to be one of the
best children's films ever made.
Cinema II bills it as "a treat
for all ages", so why not show
it at 7:30 instead of the afore-
mentioned beach atrocity?
Start the Revolution Without
Me - (Cinema Guild, Arch.
And., 7:30 & 9:3S) - Standard-
forinula vehicle abottt two mis-
See HAPPENINGS, Page 10
TICKETS NOW ON SALE
AT POWER CENTER!
MICHIGAN REPERTORY '76
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
+presents
JESUS CHRIST
SUPERSTAR
JULY 5 10
Music by \Z
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
tyrics by
TIM RicE
in the
Air-conditioned Power Center
PERFORMANCE TIME 8 P.M. JULY 10 MAT. 2 P.M.
Tickets at Power Center Box Office, M-F 12:30-5 p.m.
and all Hudsons
E u-s.s " " sCr
-TONIGHT-
E' 10 PETRI'S 1970
INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN
ABOVE SUSPICION
MLB 3-7 ONLY
'twer orrttots wItn the chief homicide inspector of the Roman
Poice Department is promoted to chief political investigator.
T) celebrate, he murders his mistress (Fiorinda Bolkan of
BRIEF VACATION), leaving astring of clues to see if his
fomer subordinates ha the integrity to pursue him. As the
nspector.Gian MariatVolnit t of Swept Away, Seduction of
it, shocks with the arronce of power aonie mad. Academy
Award, best foreign film. Itaian, English subtitles.
THE WORKING CLASS
GOES TO HEAVEN
(Elio Petri, 1972) MLB 3-9 ONLY
Needing money, LULU MASSA (Gian Marie Volonte) immerses
himself in the mindless drudgery that is factory work with dis-
astrous results to himself and his home life. Grand Prix winner
at Cannes in 1972, we are showing this in its full, uncut version.
Italian, English subtitles. ANN ARBOR PREMIERE.
TRUFFAUT'S 1970
THE WILD CHILD
MLB 4-7:15 & 9
Truffaut based this popular movie on the real story of Casper
Hauser, an eighteenth-century boy raised by wolves until he
taste . Trufaut himsefplays a ilosopher who tst
througthis srsee ofeducatin tobcate te cldfrom
wolf to a human being. The actual case was famous in the
eighteenth century due to the intense interest in Rousseau's
cta5 ro5She nobl s savageand th perfection of the natural
sate. Fsencb, English subtitles.
$1.25, DOUBLE FEATURE $2.00
AIR CONDITIONED MLB
HUMPHREY BOGART AS SAM SPADE in
THE MALTESE FALCON
"When your partner gets killed, you're supposed to do something' and
Bogart investigates the murder with a finesse and style that became his
trademark. Sidney Greenstreet plays the proverbial heavy and Peter Lorre
is his nervous, neurotic self. John Huston's first film and one of the best
detective-mystery flicks to ever grace the screen.
SAT: Gene Wilder & Donald Sutherland in
START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME.
CINEMA GUILD TONIGHT AT OLD ARCH AUD
7:30 & 9:30 Adm $125
BASIL RATHBONE/NIGEL BRUCE 1939
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
Dir. by Alfred Werker
The game's afoot again, as Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce defend the
Crown Jewels in this, their second outing as the dynamic duo of dauntless
deduction. The script combines plot elements of a number of Conan Doyle
short stories into a fast-paced, exciting mystery. "In what school did you
learn the science of deduction, Holmes?" "Elementary, my dear Watson .
CIN EMA 11 TONIGHT AT' AUD "A" ANGELL HALL
7:30 & 9:00 p.m. Adm $1.25