ARTS
Ah
The Michigan Daily
Thursday, December 3, 1981
Page 5
A look at the 'Heartland'
What's next, Ozzy?
THIS HANDSOME ol' chap is about
to embark on a 4-month U.S. tour to
support his latest album, Diary of a
Madman. Ozzy Osbourne, former lead
singer of heavy metal band Black Sab-
bath, who left the band because they
were attracting "bizzare cult-types," is
planning to spend $2 million to create
"the grossest show ever."
Ozzy claims to have "progressed in-
credibly" since he bit off the head of a
live dove at a CBS marketing meeting
last spring. His new show will be based.
on the horror film concept, with the
only difference being that the macabre
special effects and gory props will be
live, not on film. Among other things,
the show will include "gallons of pig's
blood, man!"
Fortunately, Ozzy says that, "At they
end of the show, I explode! It's the
God's honest truth! Because I've
got guts like fucking God's guts!
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
By Richard Campbell
T RADITIONALLY, AMERICAN
movies were thought to be more
action-oriented than 'foreign' movies.
Their films showed an airplane flying,
our films showed the airplane ex-
ploding. More recently, the American
public has shown that they are com-
pletely willing and eager to watch sim-
ple, personal stories revolving around
ordinary people.
Heartland is just about as basic and
simple a movie as one can find. The
film tells about a Mrs. Randall and her
daughter, who arrive in Montana to
work as a cook on the two-man ranch
owned by Mr. Stewart. The story isn't
unique; the development of America
took thousands of like stories. And the
film isn't particularly dramatic; that
is, if you say explosions and intrigue
are essentail to drama.
The drama of Heartland is in its
people, in the barely endurable back-
breaking life of early Montana. We are
never shown treacherous Indians, or an
infestation of anthrax, or any other
reason for the hardships. The film
doesn't burden the plot with acceptable
problems of that sort. Instead it just
shows us how hard life was in the
Records
Daryl Hall & John Oates-'Private
Eyes' (RCA)
SHOW AND TELL time for guilty
pleasures. The subject of this
confessional is the new Hall and Oates
album, Private Eyes. I know I may be
jeopardizing my position in some cir-
cles by admitting to affections for
material as commercial as this, but I
figure that if Hall and Oates are willing
to put their necks on the line with
material as simple and refreshing as
this, then the least I can do is offer up a
few words in their defense.
It seems to me that the problem most
people have with Hall and Oates is
mistaking their simplicity for simple-
mindedness. On the contrary, though,
the continually clever way in which
they use simple musical tools allows
them to always surprise the listener
without ever straying from well-
treaded territory. Hall and Oates are
well aware that their purified white-
bread soul could get boring pretty quick
if not for the artsy production, nasty
asides, and funky undertows with which
they dress it up.
Somehow, they manage to do this
without impinging on their blue-eyed
pop-soul purity. Daryl Hall has
mastered the free-floating Philly-style
vocals like no other white boy (barring
brief flashes from Todd Rundgren)
ever has. The Pips would be confor-
tably at home doing Hall and Oates'
chorus vocals ;
Oates: "Friday let me down..." Pips:
spin, "Down."
Oates: "Tonight." Pips: locomotive
shuffle, "Tonight."
The only thing that holds together ex-
tremes like the Temptations by-the-book
"Looking for a Good Sign" and the
technotic pulse of "I Can't Go for That"
is Hall and Oates' superb song-crafting
talents. . They adroitly unfold each
song so that its sweet barb is in you
before you even know what hit you.
And you'll be glad they did; Private
Eyes is packed with enough hooks to
homesteading era of America.
The film doesn't feel like a regular
film, because it doesn't depend on con-
trived, stereotypical elements. What is
shown is the truth about building a
home on the frontier, unadorned with
invented dramatic conflict. That life is
dramatic enough without the extra plot-
ting.
The movie appears to be flawless in
its recreation of the frontier. This is all
the more incredible realizing that the
film was produced on an extremely
small budget. The setting are
photographed almost too wonderfully
for them to be real. But that is part of
the theme of Heartland; it is the or-
dinary that is beautiful.
The actors shine in their performan-
ces. Rip Torn, in a role that forces us to
acknowledge his versatility, is an im-
migrant rancher, who for ten years has
been building his home in the biting
weather of the new world. His gruff,
hard exterior echoes the straightfor-
ward style of life that is his only chance
for survival.
Conchata Ferrell plays the widower
who comes to cook for one year, then,
naively, decided to begin her own
homestead. It is her character that
moves the film forward, struggling to
survive, yet accepting her life. Ferrell
Galway s artistry is
evident in concert
By Jane Carl
ORDINARILY, LISTENING to two
hours of baroque flute sonatas in
minor keys would be considered cruel
and unusual punishment, but when
played by James Galway they are
palatable and certainly less tedious
than when played by a flutist of lesser
caliber.
The greatest flaw of Galway's Mon-
day concert -at Hill Auditorium was
poor programming. The evening con-
sisted of six works, four by Bach and
one each by Couperin and Handel, and
all but one were in a minor key. This
appeals only to the hardcore flute
fanatic or baroque afficionado.
However, one cannot underestimate
the wealth of talent and artistry that
Galway has within his grasp. His
warm, ebullient tone was evident at the
onslaught of the evening's first work
and continued throughout the final en-
core. It is a clear, centered sound which
lacks the airiness that is the bane of the
flutist's existence. Of course, it is not
the ideal sound for all types or periods
of music; but Galway makes it an effec-
tive and serviceable tool.
In 1975 Galway quit the Berlin
Philharmonic to pursue a solo career.
This in itself is quite remarkable. One
does not quit the Berlin Philharmonic
and one does not enter a world of
recitalists unless one has a very
marketable product, as Galway does in
himself.
A diminutive, bearded fellow, he
gives the impression of being the
stereotypical Irishman. He struts on
stage with his flute jauntily cocked on
his shoulder like a gun and merrily
mugs to the audience, eyes twinkling.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it
doesn't, as in the case of the Bach
"Sonata in A minor for unaccompanied
flute, BWV 1013." Before its presen-
tation he sarcastically commented on
the difficulty and trauma of performing
the piece, which was played from
memory; he then proceeded to forget
how it went halfway through the first
movement. He recovered well, but he
was clearly off balance until the plain-
tive "Sarabande" movement.
gives this character warmth, and a
strength that looks almost too natural
for it to be acting.
The emotions and action in the film
are expressed through an absolute
minimum of dialogue, the script must
have been only a few pages long. But
writer Beth Ferris and director
Richard Pierce knew exactly what they
were doing. The story seems to jump
along in moments of activity, as a
result of so little dialogue. The result is
much more life-like and successful than
many other films which have used
more dialogue and more action.
Heartland is not like any other movie
you are likely to see all year. It is more
like a book than a film; painting perfect
pictures of a life-style long gone;
creating ninety-minutes of real charac-
ters in true situations. It is willing to
break through the standard conven-
tions of film to present an honest ac-
count of homesteading. Heartland is a
tremendously good movie.
Galway has mastered considerable
technical facility. He can probably play
faster than almost anyone else, but that
doesn't mean that he should. Many
times during the evening quick tempos
detracted from the delicacy. of the
presentation.
Accompanying Galway were Phillip
Moll, harpsichordist, and Moray Welsh,
cellist. Moll is a very talented in-
dividual. His figured bass was tasteful
and simple, and he had quite a wide
range of dynamics for a harpsichordist.
Usually, one does not need an extra
person playing the bass line, but the
addition of Moray Welsh on cello gave
definition and a nice color to the ac-
compan4nent. Although he didn't have
the most interesting part to play, his in-
tonation was impeccable and his
playing very much in charcter for the
period.
The insistent audience called for six
encores, which were thankfully more
varied than the program. The
Telemann "Sonata in F major" was
showy and flashy, as it was meant to be,
but was once again way too fast. A
popular Irish tune was perhaps the
most enjoyable aural diversion of the
evening.
The program could have ended here,
but no evening would be complete
without a few Irish reels on one tin
whistle, or two tin whistles which
Galway proved he could play
simultaneously. After an evening of
breathtaking runs and heartrending
phrases, it was amazing what joy and
delight a few scooped notes on a tin
whistle could arouse from the audience.
A Foot-Stomping &
Joyous Revue of
Song & Dance
Dec. 3, 4, 5
8:00 P.M.
St. Mary's Student Chapel
331 Thompson Street
Dec. 3, 4............$4.00 Students
$5.00 Non-Students
Dec. 5 ... Gala Dessert Buffet
Benefit Night
$12.50 advance
$15.00 at door
Ticket Reservations: 663-0557
keep you humming for months.
" Mark Dighton
The Cure-'... Happily Ever Af-
ter' (A&M)
THE CURE make the scariest wall-
paper around. Most bands that
twist musical constructions this un-
mercifully want to show it off - "Loot
at this; look at what we can do. We can
take this sound and pull it inside out un-
til it sounds like the memory of the
Wailing Wall compressed into one in-
stant."
But not The Cure. They're very un-
presumptuous about their subversive
mentality. I wouldn't exactly call them
Nihilistic Muzak just because they
won't send your friends fleeing from
the room in a panic. They may well be
stuck somewhere between Eno's am-
bience and Wire's mania, but I wouldn't
call it "nice'' just because it's quiet.
I only worry about who'll buy this
thing. It's neither mellow enough to
please the space conceptualists nor
propulsive enough to grab the nihilistic
bop set. Though I find it quite
satisfying in its own unassuming way, I
wonder who'll stop to really listen when
there are so many other bands around
that are more than willing and able to
command attention.
m.d.
Daily
Classifieds Get
Results-
Call 764-0557
S1
hr
The University Choral Union
and The University Orchestra
Donald Bryant, conductor
Susan Belling, soprano Joseph Evans, tenor
Melanie Sonnenberg, contralto Michael Burt, bass
Bejun Mehta, boy soprano
Dec. 4,5,6
Fri., Sat. at 8:30,
Sun. at 2:30
HilAuditorium
Gift Certificates for concerts available.
Tickets: Main floor: $7 and $6; First balcony: $4;
Second balcony: $3 and $2
Tickets at:Bu~rton Towver, Ann Arbor, Ml, 48109)
Weekdays 9-4:30, Sat. 9-12 (313) 665-3717
Tickets also available at Hill Auditorium
1P hours before performance time.
I IVEkSITYAM USICAL OCIETY
t
k
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jL375 N MAPLE
769-1300
$2 TO 6.00 PM)
Two ours o
non-stop thrills:13
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OF FTHE 7:20
LOST ARK 9:40
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