4 ARTS The Michigan Daily Monday, February 10, 1986 Page 6 'Hannah ':dynamic chapter in Woody 's career' By Seth Flicker FROM THE stupidly hilarious Take the Money and Run to the play-on-morals in Love and Death, to the overly seriousness of Interiors to the gross realization of everyday life in The Purple Rose of Cairo, Woody Allen's films have made us laugh and think. Hannah and her Sisters takes us one step further. Of course, we still laugh and think but in a different way. We are no longer laughing about a misconceived plan to kill Napolean or a talent agent's mix-up with the mafia; we are now laughing about ourselves. Hannah is about us, about our lust, love, infatuation with death, and our infatuation with life. It is no longer slapstick comedy but rather the slapstick life we lead. . Hannah incorporates everything: adultery, birth, family, religion, art, music, etc. We see a different Allen here-an Allen not afraid to expose these subjects without hiding it behind a facade. Hannah, played by Mia Farrow, is the stable one of the family; the per- fect wife, mother, daughter and lister. But, as Hannah soon realizes, being perfect brings problems. You're responsible to patch up family problems, to give advice and to lend money. Perhaps Hannah is too perfect for her own good. This could be the reason why her husband, playedaby Michael Caine, has a lusty and secretive affair with Hannah's sister, Lee (Barbara Hershey) or why Han- nah's other sisterHolly (Diane Wiest) is so jealous of her. Farrow is commendable in her part. Though not the finest member of the ensemble, we like Farrow as we do everyone else in Hannah and Her Sisters (an accomplishment on Allen's part, in itself). Unfortunately, Hannah's sisters are not in such good shape as Hannah, herself. Lee is the Annie Hall-ish type of character; really not going in any direction. Lee is living with an ornery and stubborn artist (Max Von Sydow). Lee takes courses and goes through her life without really knowing where she is going. This is just why Hannah's husband, Elliot loves about her. While Hannah -is predictable and staid, Lee is not. Bar- bar Hershey is fantastic for this part; she's beautiful, lovable, and in- telligent. Michael Caine seems to be moving away from his stereotype he's built for himself as the serious Englishman (as seen in Educating Rita). We saw this in his other unfaithful husband part in Blame it on Rio. But here, Caine is both serious and silly. Holly, Hannah's other sister played by Diane Wiest is even worse off than Lee. Like Lee, she doesn't know where she is going but Holly changes colors for each different situation that she is in. If she'S not a coke-snorting punker or a frustrated and jealous sister, then she's a singer or a caterer. Wiest is effectively dynamic, as she makes you feel and experience every emotion that Holly feels-from her rejections at auditions or when her best friend steals the man she likes. Woody Allen plays a super- hypocondriac named Mickey. Mickey is Allen's typical quest for life, death and religion character. He has been with two of the three sisters-the ex- husband of Hannah and on an ex- tremely bad date with the wild Holly. Mickey is another character who in- tially has no direction as he changes religions as much as Holly changes characters. But Mickey offers us a fresh new look at Allen's predictable character, as finally, the loser finds success in the entertainment business. Hannah and Her Sisters is a near perfect movie but it does have it's problems. Though the script is crisp, funny and touching as usual, Allen seems to underestimate his audience. He seems to be telling his audience right off, "This is Life. This is Death. This is confusion." The audience can easily figure this out wihtout the over- explanation. A second problem is with the part of Mickey. Mickey is seen quite often throughout the movie but without any real connection to the rest of the characters until the very end. Of course, he is Hannah's ex-husband, but that has hardly any bearing on the plot. Hannah and Her Sisters is a very hard movie to swallow at first. But Hannah grows on you and leaves you asking for throughout shows us more. If Allen's films the past two decades, how he matured and changed then it is hard to picture Allen showing more maturity than in Hannah and Her Sisters. Watts' piano recital mesmerizes Hill A NDRE WATT'S recital at Hill Auditorium Friday night may have made many pianists feel that no matter how hard they practice, they will never be able to equal his amazing feats with the music of Franz Liszt. Everything that Watts did at his recital was superhuman. His technique was so spellbindingly stun- ning that his piano probably needs retirement (or at least a long sab- batical). His octaves (both solid and broken) raced by at lightning speed. His musical ideas were provocative, inviting the listener to become as in- tertwined in the music as he was. Programming an all-Liszt recital is undoubtedly an extraordinary under- taking. However, from the beginning of the Etude in D flat (Un Sospiro), Watts seemed comfortably at home with the music, shaping each phrase intimately. The Sonata in B minor was a staggering, hair-raising and equally refreshing performance. Watts, taking time with the lyrical sections of the piece, reflected Liszt's tender qualities. Watts also brought fiery passion and appropriate bombast to the Liszt sonata, making it one of the most musically satisfying performances of the piece I have heard in a long VAN DYCK DOBOS STUDIO VA LENT INE SPECIAL 2 - 3" x 5"s for $5.00 Appointment must be made by February 17th 663-6966 " Passport - Immigration * Resume - Application -Portraits 407 E. WILLIAM time. A Hungarian Rhapsody (No. 13) seemed to be a necessary requirement for an all-Liszt recital, and although the Rhapsodies are not among his deepest works, it is always fun to watch and hear a pianist do circus tricks with octaves, runs, skips, scales, etc. Watts followed formidably on that muscial treatise. Later works by the composer followed, the most provocative being the Bagatelle Without Tonality which runs the gamut of key centers without committing itself to any given one. And then, what a perfect way to close but with the set of Six Concert Etudes after Paganini! The works, all modeled on themes from Liszt's violinistic counterpart, are among the pinnacle of difficulty in the piano repetoire. Watts performed all of them superbly and with energetic verve. The third one, subtitled La Campanella, is one of the best loved works in piano literature, containing generous groups of repeated notes, skips, and octaves. Watts performed it at the fastest possible speed, with sparkling clarity. In spite of a slight "crack-up" at the end of the piece, it remained a brilliant, hueful perfor- mance, in keeping with the entirely of his recital. -Neil Galanter "i U- -1 FOR ALL YOUR LAUNDRY 1 AND DRY CLEANING NEEDS VALENTINE DRY CLEANING SPECIAL: 10% off any RED GARMENT E "Lowest pricesin town finest quality around." - FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 996-0894I or stop by 617 E. University, Suite 211 ABOVE TACO BELL Valid with coupon only expires 2/14/86 cci 103 - - - - - - - m - 4 4 Comedy and classics from P.D.Q. By Rebecca M. Chung LAST FRIDAY night's P.D.Q. Bach concert convinced me that the active and voluntary pursuit of the "worst musician ever to tread organ pedals" is due to more than simple insanity. It is a cult, with an active and extremely amused following. As I sat down, the audience, just waiting to laugh at anything. The tfore experienced devotees were hissing. Professor Schickele hadn't even arrived yet. As rumored, a man in a red plaid jacket and even more distinctive tie was explaining that Prof. Schickele vas trying to charter a helicopter from East Lansing. "Ladies and gen- tlemen, and those of you who came lite ... " Then the good professor himself came rushing. into the balcony, slid down a rope to the main floor, and stumbled onto the stage. The show had begun. ,,The concert itself was an exquisite .tix of good jokes and good bad jokes ('Did you hear about the show featuring an opera singer turned police officer? They're calling it 'Beverly Sills Cop'." Hisssssssss. . . ). But, more impor- tantly, and my reason for calling bWD.Q.Bach a movement, it was also a blend of the familiar with the less familiar. Anyone who's read the Definitive Biography (Random House, 1976) knows that "the ex- tremely accurate alcohol-dating technique has proven that the hangover in P.D.Q.'s skull has a half- life of over 140 years. "But everyone roared at the line last Friday anyway. Everyone knows that the thrust of P.D.Q. jokes is that the man had no talent... but they were still very, very funny. Most of P.D.Q.'s com- positions are available on the HAVE A OR GIVE A FEBRUARY 14 With DAILY CLASSIFIEDS MESSAGES FROM THE HEART "VANGUARD " lable, but the sur- prises, such as the beautifully ill- timed cymbal crashes in the Hinden- burg Concerto (S. LZ129), and the ob- stinate brass in the Echo Sonata for Two Unfriendly Groups of Instrumen- ts (S. 9-9-9-9-9-9) were still fresh and effective. I think that the blame for this suc- cess should be directed at Peter Schickele himself. He is a tremen- dous comedian, able to pull off slap- stick and subtlety simultaneously. He was able to get the audience to laugh at itself as well as the music - "How many of you own The Definitive Biography? Pause. "P. T. Barnum was right." University Activities Center Executive Board Applications SUMMER POSITIONS AT TAMARACK CAMPS Brighton, Ortonville, Camp Kennedy, Agree Outpost and Teen Adventure Trips Positions for: Cabin and Specialist Counselors, Service Staff, and many other positions INTERVIEWING: Feb. 12 at Hillel (663-3336) Feb. 18 at Career Planning and Placement (SAB) Tamarack is the Jewish residential camping agency sponsored by the Fresh Air Society of Metro Detroit -President -Vice Pres. of Finance -Vice Pres. of Human Resources -Vice Pres of Programming and Development -Vice Pres. of Promotion -Vice Pres. of Publicity Applications available at the UAC offices, 2nd floor Michigan Union Return by 5p.m., Thursday, Feb. 13 Interviews to be held Tues., Feb. 18. Sign up for time. For more info, call 763-1107 , TEACH ING ASSISTANT **** OPENINGS IN **** WOMEN'S STUDIES, Summer 1986, Fall 1986, Winter 1986-87 pick up applications in the Women's Studies Program Office 234 WEST ENGINEERING 763-2047 Applications DUE by 4 p.m. - Monday, March 3, 1986 DAYTONA BEACH SPRING BREAK86' - A SERIES OF EYE-WITNESS REPORTS - Tuesdays, 12 Noon *February 11-- "PEACE MARCH THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA" Speaker: MARK WEINSTEIN, just returned from 61/a weeks in the area from Panama to Mexico *February 18 - "A VISITOR'S REFLECTIONS ON THE SOVIET UNION Speaker: JOHN POWELL, participant in the 1985 National Council of-Churches Delegation to USSR 4 'I *March 4- *March 11- "ANALYSIS OF THE PHILIPPINES ELECTION" Speaker MICHAEL CULLINANE, Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies who was there for the pre-election campaigns. "LAO AND CAMBODIAN REFUGEES IN THAILAND" a slide report Speaker: WINIFRED O'DELL TAN, teacher of high-school-age refugees for Save The Children Federation 1y AT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER 603 E. MADISON STREET Lunch available: Students $1.00 Others $1.50 Co-sponsored by The EcumenicalCampus Center, The InternationalCenter I UNCH PREPARED AND SERVED BY CHURCH WOMEN UNITED IN ANN ARBOR For additional information please call 662-5520 MOVIE POSTER SALE ae e5 PG0 11 '1, .. ,fit i '/ / r J Lobby Cards Still Photos Visa, Mastercard, Amex accepted rare classics contemporary ,releases A o . w ,,,. ' ,. i 11 V .\ _ II E 11A .