ARTS Saturday, November 6, 1982 The Michigan Daily Beaming up at oe s Star Lounge By Joe Hoppe . AN FRANCISCO synthopop band Barry Beam stops at Joe's Star Lounge Sunday for a performance before starting off on its East Coast tour. Beam, variously described as "the Clark Kent of technopop" and an "elec- tronic genius," has a strong San Fran- cisco following with a local radio hit, .tf "Castro Boy's," a "Valley Girls"-type jibe at the city's Castro Street gay a community. Beam has done most of his ,studio work in the Bay area, and has in- cluded fellow citizen Bonnie Hayes, of Wild Combo fame (and another recent guest at Joe's) on his first album, Barry . Beam, as backup vocalist. The six-song LP isn't bad for dance- oriented technopop. It's got more layers and seems to be a little less for- mulated than other bands' noise and the lyrics sound better than average as well. With a combination of funk-like, surf- like, and pure pop songs, Barry Beam would best be utilized at dance parties, though listening to it can be tolerable at times. All of the good songs happen to be on side two. "Radio Head" sounds like a certain old Buggles tune in both the chorus and silly high range vocals. "Wacs in Slacks" keeps up the high- frequency mouth noise, but it's kinda cute and a little humorous. "IC" is the album's best song, being an elec- tronically toned down and smoothed out Big-Bopper type selection. Joe's Star Lounge boasts the biggest dance floor in the area. Barry Beam, including Bobby Imsolucky on drums and Mike McDonald (not of the Doobies) on bass and synthesizers, should be able to fill it. Also coming to the Ann Arbor music scene are Cleveland reggaers I-tal, who return to Second Chance Monday night. With a strong local following and past appearances with the likes of Steel Pulse, and the Mighty Diamonds, as well as at this summer's Art Fair, 1-tal is sure to draw an enthusiastic dancing crowd. The group sports a number of originals, including "Who Seh," "Fight Down Babylon," and an innovative cover of the Sesame Street theme song. Tickets available at the door and through Prism Productions. Page 5 A bold opera from one of cinema's best Michael Palin stars as C. W. Fortescue, a man with a mission, in the sometime comedy, 'The Missionary.' Missionary 'fails to fulfi l 0 1 -- / I By Robert Cassard ALTHOUGH NOT strictly a 'Monty Python' movie, The Missionary boasts not only a plot containing sight gags and improvisational humor, but stars Pythonite Michael Palin in the title role, a man of God charged with saving the souls of fallen women. The comic potential of this concept seems unlimited; it's the kind of sub- ject that allows Palin to play his classic bemused-and-a-bit uncomfortable-yet gracious character to the hilt. In The Missionary, he does it with his usual finesse, but this simply isn't enough to keep the film alive. Aside from Palin's acting, the film has very little going for it and is weighed-down by many technical problems. Aspects of it Constantly vary from one extreme to another in terms of quality. The cinematography ranges from gorgeous, as it occasionally cap- tures a beautiful scene of the English or Scottish countryside, to frustrating, as in many of the indoor scenes, where bad color correction and poor lighting ren- ders the picture annoyingly unclear. The garbled soundtrack poses another problem (at least it did with this par- ticular print of the film). It is recorded so poorly that many of what may very well be funny or important lines are lost. The often-exaggerated British ac- cents of the characters certainly don't help. The script again covers a tremendous quality range, sometimes touching upon the absolutely hilarious (rivaling Monty Python's .best) but more often succumbing to the foolish and obvious. There is a sense of imbalance, a problem that was often eliminated in Palin's team efforts with the other ts po te members of Monty Python. Then, tlyre's the plot. The movie opens effectively with two dramatically opposing scenes: one which shows the name "C. W. Fortescue" being painted- over on the Church of England Register of Clergymen, and another showing C. W. Fortescue himself (played by Palin) performing missionary work in Africa. Palin is at his best when dealing with subtle material and African "fertility symbols" are perfect fare for him. In stark contrast to Fortescue's ten years of hard work in "the most remote and uncivilized regions of the British Empire," we get our first glimpse of the Bishop of London, who seems more interested in boxing than religion, but who finally assigns Fortescue his new -mission: to go among the "fallen women". of London and bring them back to "the path of righteousness." Two women become involved in helping Fortescue reach his goal: an incredibly well-organized fiancee and a sex-hungy "bride-of-wealth" aristocrat named Lady Ames (Maggie Smith). Palin utilizes the obvious opportunity for ironic tension. Fortescue's fiancee demands that he see Lady Ames to solicit a monetary donation with which to start his Church of England Mission to Fallen Women. Palin is typically brilliant as he attempts to avoid the imminent sexual encounter with Lady Ames, but he gives in a bit too easily for my tastes. There are some other ex- cellent scenes at the Ames mansion revolving around the antics of a forget- ful butler. In its mission scenes, the movie seems self-conscious in its attempts to avoid an "R" rating. Palin sadly, therefre, passes-up a lot of comedic F~ ANN ARBO ~I chances. Still, it has its moments the narrator sums it up quite wi saying that the mission's high dance level is due to a combinat Fortescue's "moral leadership personal availability." From this point on, both the plc the dialogue which accompanies apart. Fortescue, at the Bis request, abandons the mission (ai scheduled wedding) to run after Ames in the highlands of Sco There are some action scenes, sor gets shot, blah, blah, blah, an whole thing begins to wallow in it mediocrity, etc. At the end, the film is tied-up w neatly just as it clocks in at an and-a-half (about as much as you take). The mission is re-opener this time it is not under the auspi the church. We get a last glimj Lady Ames working hard ft "cause." One last intriguing touc series of old photographs includir of Fortescue with Lady Ames and must be their two children. It's teresting postscript which is ji gratuitous as the rest of the unraveling. The Missionary is not a horribl but neither is it worth the few you would pay to see it on its fir,, While it boasts the Monty P hallmark of a brilliant underlyin Palin alone simply doesn't succ, carrying out that idea and mal ynh~rent enmedv nut of it By Richard Campbell W ORD THAT RobertAltman was - Win town to stage direct Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress left many wondering what he could do with an opera. A film director noted for off-beat and commercially unviable films such as Nashville, McCabe and Mrs. Miller as well as M*A*S*H and A Wedding, Alt- man assured all that the results would be interesting, whether you were an opera buff or not. Judging from Thursday night's per- formance, Altman has succeeded. The Rake's Progress, presented by the School of Music to celebrate they Stravinsky centenary, is based on a series of paintings by the 18th-century British engraver William Hogarth depicting the rise and eventual down- fall of a young lad. As detailed by Stravinsky and librettist W.H. Auden, young Tom Rakewell is seen at the beginning to be in love with Anne, when he suddenly inherits a large amount of money. Accompanied by his servant, the sly Nick Shadow, Rakewell journeys to s, and London to take charge of his affairs and ell by proceeds to squander his money on atten- lechery and fraudulent business ion of schemes. After a series of adventures, and Rakewell winds up in an insane asylum, hopelessly in love with Anne yet out of t and touch with reality. it fall In this production, Altman has made hop's some very important changes from the nd his original. Instead of having the action Lady take place in the various locations tland. specified by the original script, the en- neone tire opera exists inside bedlam, the d the asylum to which Rakewell is commit- s own ted. As constructed by scenic designer Wolf Koreger, bedlam is a monstrous ay too pit, a cross between hell and prison- hour- a huge steaming pot in bloated human could form sits on the left, scaffolding which d, but holds the inmates bunks occupies the ces of background, and a huge, monstrous pse of bird head overlooks the doorway. or its The entire production is composed of h is a this giddy professionalism; costumes, ig one props, and staging are designed both I what with an artistic point in mind, but also an in- to demonstrate the boldness of that ar- ist as tistic vision. plot's Altman's main change in the opera, however, has been to split the character Altman ... directing 'The Rake's Progress' of Anne in two, Anne the dream and Anne the reality, a device that perfectly meshes with the decision to have the ac- tion take place in bedlam, and one which strongly reinforces Rakewell's frame of mind, presaging his insanity. The leading characters are double- cast; tonight's show will repeat Thur- sday's performance. In particularly' fine form are Anne Nispel and Carla Connors, who alternate the double role of Anne. While Richard Fracker's Rakewell had a timid beginning, in the second act he seemed to finally enjoy his performance and projected a much stronger voice. Theodore Rulfs, as Nick Shadow, deserved the extra applause the full house at Power Center gave. His character, a blend of Machiavelli, Mephistopheles, and Iago, formed a solid core to the entire undertaking. If you've seen opera before, The Rake's Progress is a must. If not, this production is an excellent introduction to a world of sight, sound and magic, brought to you by one of cinema's most gifted directors. 'Dial 'M' for Murder' " to be presented in 3-D, I 2 INDIVIDUAL THEATRES 5th Ave of Lberty 701-9700 1 SAT SUN only $2.00 shows beore. - :00 P.M. Y ESTERDAY'S issue of Weekend magazine erronously reported that tonight and tomorrow evenings' screening of Dail 'M' for Murder would be the regular 2-D edition. Not so. Alfred Hitchcock originally shot Dial 'M' in 3-D using a relatively new polaroid process that allowed any viewer with the right glasses (generously provided by Cinema II) to see another dimension on the silver screen. Unfortunately, that version was .not released to the general public. . Fortunately, though, the 3-D version still exists and has been re-released. In 2-D, the movie was rightly praised as a classically intricate murder mystery that kept up the suspense while taking place entirely in one small London apartment. The 3-D edition, however, is the only film to use the new technology with sub- tlety and drama. Instead of threatening the audience constantly with objects, tHitchcock simply allowed his setting to expand the frame of the camera. Com- positions take on the added complexity Hof the real world. When Hitchcock does -thrust something into the audience's lap, the effect becomes twice as ex- traordinary. So, apologies to Cinema II. Dial 'M' for Murder stars the late Grace Kelly and Ray Milland. It shovfs in Lorch Hall at 7 and 9 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night. (ppN11MISSING SUN.-1:10, 3:00, 4:50, 6:40, 8:30, 10:20 MON.-6:40, 8:30, 10:20 THE MOST PRAISED AND LOVED ROMANTIC FILM OF THE SEASON! "GO SEE IT AND BE MOVED TO CHEERS AND TEARS"