the ann arbor Film cooperative
TONIGHT presents TONIGHT
The Ann Arbor premieres of 2 films
by RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER
THE THIRD GENERATION
7:00 MLB 4
A pruovocative examination of contemporary political terror-
ism.
IN A YEAR OF 13 MOONS
9:00 MLB 4
The trials and tribulations of a transsexual in a world marked
by uncertainty and alienation. Both films are in German with
subtitles.
$2 SINGLE FEATURE; $3 DOUBLE FEATURE
0
ARTS
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Pg Friday, November 14, 1980 The Michigan Daily
4
Ray Charles:
The legend lives
CINEMA II
Presents
TARANTULA (Jack Arnold, 1955)
One of the best monster movies ever made. A typical story of
radiation-mutation iants, Tarantula features an intelligent
script, plus amazing special effects, to make a fun, but scary
movie. Leo G. Carroll (of Man from Uncle fame) is the mad
scientist who unleashes the giant arachnid on the world.
(80 min.) 7:00 & 10:20
Creature From The Haunted Sea
(Roger-Corman, 1957)
A put-on of both monster movies and Casablanca, Creature
From The Haunted Sea is a story about thieves in Cuba who
invent a "monster" to scare away prospective victims . . . onlya
to find a real monster looking for them. In the same realm as
A Bucket of Blood and Little Shop of Horrors. (72 min.) 8:40
ONLY FI., NOV. 14 - ANGELL HALL
THE EYES OF LAURA MARS
(Irvin Kershner, 1979)
Psychological suspense set against the glamour of New York's
high fashion world. Fay Dunaway stars as a successful fashion
photographer whose work reflects a world of violence and
death. Possessed with psychic powers, she visualizes the
bizarre murders of one friend after another, yet helpless to
prevent them. The film reaches its climax when it becomes
apparent that she is to be next victim. (104 min.) 7:00 and 9:00
SAT., NOV.15 ANGELL HALL
ZERO FOR CONDUCT (Jean Vigo, 1933)
Zero De Conduite tells the story of the oppressive life in a
French boarding school and of a revolt by the students. This
film is a monumental piece of art work which created critical.
furor and physical altercations, as well as inspiring such films
as The 400 Blows and If . . . On the grounds that it was a
vicious attack on the French educational system, Zero was
banned in France until 1946. (44 min.) 7:00 and 9:45
MAEADCHEN IN UNIFORM
(Leontine Sagan, 1931)
An underground classic, this legendary film remains a land-
mark in women's cinema. A sensitive younggirl in a fashion-
able school is unhappy under the harsh, Prussian discipline,
but she flpwers when a sympathetic teacher gives her special
consideration, a consideration at once sexually -ambiguous
and decidedly sensual. German, with subtitles (89 min.) 8:00
ONLY SUN., NOV.16 ANGELL HALL
Next Week: WOMAN IN THE DUNES{
THE LONG GOODBYE Coming Dec.6;
TIERESA THE THIEF BEST BOY
FOOLISH WIVES
A WOMAN OF PARIS"
By MARK COLEMAN
"I can't stop loving you ... I've
made up my mind to live my life in
memories ..."
The Ray Charles Show, 1980, is firmly
rooted in the past, but that's not
necessarily a bad thing. In terms of
musical approach and stage presen-
tation this show is stuck somewhere
around 1965: a low-budget soul revue
with Las Vegas pretensions. What
saves it from being another wearying
exercise in nostalgia is the awesome
ability and curious charm of its center-
piece, Ray Charles.
Ray Charles was the first black artist
to "break through" to a mainstream
(read: white) audience without
watering down his bluesy, gospel orien-
ted sound. His 1959 hit "What I'd Say"
corrupted the classic call and response
vocal patterns of gospel with the
sinuous sexuality of the blues, immor-
talizing the raspy eloquence of Charles'
voice and his spastically rhythmic
piano playing. "Brother Ray" went on
to assemble the most bizzare string of
recordings imaginable during the six-
ties; from gut-wrenching country
covers like "I Can't Stop Loving You"
to an oil and vinegar collabora-
tion with jazz vibraphonist Milt
Jackson, to unadulterated schlock like
"America the Beautiful.';
TO THE CHAGRIN of rhythm and
blues purists, Charles became a
charismatic, if lightweight, pop
stalwart, doing shakedown stuff like "I
Don't Need No Doctor" and misguided
Beatle covers with equal aplomb. Since
then, he's seemed to exist in a musical
freeze frame, as time and the tides of
musical taste move on. It's unfortunate
that a new generation knows Ray
Charles only through Coke commer-
cials and the bastardizations of the
Blues Brothers because the man's still
got it.
It's
SEMBLAINCE
at
1140 South University
668-8411
Even though backed by the Ray
Charles Orchestra and the "Inter-
nationally Famous Raelettes" at Hill
Auditorium Wednesday night, Ray
Charles proved he is a show unto him-
self. He hasn't tries to update himself
because he doesn't need to. From the
moment he was led on the stage the
audience responded electrically to the
irrepressible happiness that this
graying blind man exudes from every
pore. Like many great gospel singer
before him, Ray Charles is a living
testimony to the rejuvenation, san-
ctifying power of his music, albeit
secular.
He's so relaxed, so joyful in his
playful gestures that his sprightly, up-
tempo soul tinged pop is irresistible.
Rather than recite a greatest hits
program, Ray plays around with his
repertoire, alternating the expected
favorites with lesser-known works and
some familiar cover versions. Though
he works in an overly familiar, border
line-shlocky vein, his singing and
playing are tense and exciting. He im-
poses blues figures on tacky piano fills,
abruptly alters the audience's expec-
tations with herky-jerky introductions
that expertly tread the thin line bet-
ween inspiredimprovisation and clumsy
noodlings. He ulitizes the raspy range
of his voice vividly, injecting notes of
high drama and low comedy through
dynamic shifts. Charles can shift into a
rapturous childish pant at the end of a
lyric, then accentuate the next with a
lecherous chuckle, without sounding
the least bit strained.
Ray Charles is an irresistibly un-
pretentious performer. He squirms and
jumps, shouts and shimmys, kicking jis .
legs around in some kind of suppressed
dance while precariously keeping his
balance on the piano seat. He often flir-
ts with precariousness on his choices of'
material, too, yet again his footing is
sure-who else could turn "Oh What a
Beautiful Morning" into a rollicking
stomp? He remains entertaining even
in his most grandoise moments of
misdirection, but he can always turn
around and nail your soul to the wall
with a stark, moving rendition of
"Georgia on My Mind," then toss off a
gospelly goof like "Some Enchanted
Evening" and make it sound like it
means something. Charles does stick to
proven ground, though; his version of
Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly
Now" was infused with soul but
eschewed the lilting reggae of the.
original for a lumbering big' band
arrangement.
HE MAKES IT all sound so natural
that the eccentricities flow and the
shortcomings are ultimately
forgivable. The shortcomings are
serious, but they lie not with Charles.
The orchestra, a 13-piece brass section
plus guitars, drums and organ sounded
best when they fell into unison, riffing'
behind Rays' melodic direction. Left to:
their own devices they were downright
boring: brassy and bombastic unison
playing and vapid solos dominated.:
They were the kind of band where the
musicians set their instruments down,
folded their hands, and stared off into
space when they weren't playing. Spor-
ting identical glen plaid suits, they
couldn't help but to look and sound
dated.
The Raelettes, Charles'.female vocal
support, were a good deal more difficult
to ignore, unfortunately. Obviously not
the original Raelettes, these five
comely young women complimented
their musical insignificance with
stagey, spaced-out dance routines so
far removed from reality that they
were fascinating in an utterly perverse
way. It was a bit distracting, really:
Ray was giving a gospelly number
called "Just Because" - a spirited
reading, but I couldn'd keep my eye off
the Raelettes and their eerie, vacant
facial expressions.
That's the only problem with Ray
Charles' show, circa 1980: he's
upholding traditions that have lost most
of their meaning. It's- a bit of a disap-
pointment when he takes one of his oft
played standards ("Baby Please Don't
Go"), slows down the tempo and gives
it a new, hesitant intensity, then perfun-
ctorily rushes through his pull-out-al-
the-stops concert closer "What I'd
Say." That's show biz, I guess. Still, you
can't blame Ray Charles for staying
where he has; with a past like that he's
got 90 percent of today's singers beat
before they even start.
Dorati
Daily Photo by MAUREEN O'MALLEY
Ray Charles kicks up his heels during a jubilant performance at Hill Auditorium
this past Wednesday. Ray won the near-capacity crowd over with his infectious,
spine-tingling mix of blues, gospel, soul and pop.
quis
THE MOVIES AT BRIARWOOD quits
1-94 & S. STATE. @ 769-8780 (Adjacent to J C Penney)
*DAILY EARLY BIRD MATINEES-Adults $1.50
DISCOUNT IS FOR SHOWS STARTING BEFORE 1:30
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STARDUST mEmORIES
50:00
A llE HALL Double Feature Rated PG
1:30 Shows-52.00, 5.00A& 8:30 Shbws-$4.00
(DOUBLE FEATURE ONLY)
EVERYTHING YOU ALWA YS Midnight
.. ....s wS.Ea .4r% .-me 1WA nfI IT C v Rated R
DETROIT (UPI) - Antal Dorati will
leave his post as music director of the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the end
of the current season and conduct only
a limited number of concerts each year,
DSO officials say.
The announcement Wednesday came
just two months after Dorati criticized
the DSO management for not obtaining
sufficient funding to maintain the or-
chestra's quality.
He said at the time he would give up
his title unless he was certain that the
continuation of the DSO as a world-
class body will be assured."
Dorati has been credited with turning
the DSO into a world-renowned or-
See DORATI, Page 7
The School of Music
presents
The University of Michigan
company
POWER CENTER
tPENS TONIGHT!
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