ARTS Friday, April 4, 1986 The Michigan Daily Page 5 Film uncovers pain By A my Goldstein S HOAH ("annihilation"), a nine- and-a-half hour film which was an unprecedented ten-years in the making - intelligently depicts the story of the Holocaust. Testimonies from Jewish survivors, former SS men and eyewitnesses to the Nazi attempts to exterminate the Jews, form the heart of the film: These testimonies give more truth to the history of the Holocaust than any amount of archival footage could ever hope to. French director Caluse Lan- zmann allows the subjects to speak freely and for themselves, adding very little narration. The film is long, but each new, testimony supports the one preceding it, imparting a deepersense of truth about the Holocaust to the audience. There are several languages in Shoah, and the translations from some are poor. For example, the Hebrew and Yiddish were translated first to French then to English, losing the flavor of the original language. The .subtitles should have been taken from the first language, not the French translation. But, the English tran- slations from the German and French are good because they eliminate mid- dle translations. Lanzmann attempts to inform the audience of the precise conditions during the Holocaust via personal testimonials. The witnesses and sur- vivors repeat the sensations of the Holocaust; the smells, the sounds, the touch of dead bodies. There is no possible way the audience can begin to comprehend exactly what the sur- vivors are saying, as there is no parallel event of this scope and magnitude with which to compare. This is a crucial point, specifically because the survivors were con- tinuously exposed to these sensations throughout the Holocaust. The Polish peasants living near the death camps breathed the stench of burning human flesh daily, affecting their taste. Workers could not quell the screaming of the victims in the tran- sportation trains, or the gas cham- bers, as the victims struggled for li- fe. Many of the survivors who worked in the death camps on "special detail" described the sights they encountered while working for the Nazis. Those who did not experience this work could not imagine the dead bodies falling out of the gas chambers, the physical condition of bodies buried under hundreds of others, or the feel of decomposing flesh tearing off in one's hands. From the beginning, the pacing of the film is slow, but Lanzmann prepares the audience for this well. He starts the documentary by showing an encompassing shot of a man in a boat floating down a river in the middle of the Polish countryside. He also uses visuals without sound, does not use background music, and See 'SHOAH,' Page 4 Director Claude Lonzmann sensitively handles the Holocaust tragedy in 'Shoah' Joan Baez brings folk to Hill By Joseph Kraus J OAN BAEZ doesn't really need an Her name springs up automatically whenever the subject of "protest singing" comes up, and she tops the list whenever the litany of performers is recited. Of the people that shook the com- mercial world a quarter century ago, only Baez seems to have held onto her predominant role. Phil Ochs is dead, Tom Paxton has slowly settled into relative obscurity, Bob Dylan reemerges every few years behind a new mask, and the numberless almost-as-bigs of the early 60's reappear occasionally before ever dwindling crowds. But Baez is different. Even today her name can fill up a place like Hill Auditorium. Her reputation is perhaps stronger than her recording legacy. Far more people recognize her name than can cite a single hit of hers. It's perhaps a cruel thing to say, but Baez is such a strong draw more because of who she has been than because of who she is now. She hasn't released a new album in several years (I couldn't find one since 1982, and that was a packaging of several of her earliest recordings) and she hasn't initiated a major change in her style since she turned to more personal songs and songwriting in the mid-'70s. But that doesn't mean that Baez has, nothing to offer. On the contrary, she still has one of the finest sopranos anywhere. Her treatment of any song, even if unin- spired, demands attention, And when she's inspired ... watch out. Her versions of such classics as the Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and Woody Guthrie's "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Depor- ted)" have a drama to them that rings powerfully even today. Baez has always been known more for covering other artist's material than for writing her own songs, but she can be an impressive songwriter on occasion as her "Honesty Lullaby" shows. She first came to popularity in the early '60s as one of the "purest" of the new breed of folk interpreters. Like more singers of the time, she soon turned to covering Bob Dylan's songs, and, as a result of their highly publicized romance they became one of America's premier couples. Their subsequent breakiup failed to dam- pen either of their careers, and Baez continued to appear as a folk super- star at various festivals and in- dividual performances. In the mid '70s she turned gradually from the overt protest songs that had established her reputation to songs about experiences and feelings, but has never renounced protest music. Saturday night's performance at Hill Auditorium is Baez's first in Ann Arbor in two years, when she played to a capacity crowd at Hill. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are still availale for $15 and $12.50 at the Union ticket office. 1 THE MECHANICS OF MONDAY I1 ItLbetAnAboMcia 1 Irrr' + :r..+ri I I 5610 East Liberty, Ann Arbor, Michigan For more information call: (313) 994-5438 1 1 1 I 1 %/ Price Cover with this Ad. Good thru 4/30/865 1 -1 -- --m- Butler' serves up lusty laughs After Words Quality Books at uncommonly tow prices By Lauren Schreiber A N EVENING OF RACY CA comedy awaits those at the Per- formance Network, where the Suspension Theatre is presenting Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw. Essen- tially a bedroom farce, the play tells of the wild adventures of Dr. Prentice, a lecherous and frustrated psychiatrist. Accoring to director Andy Mennick, What the Butler Saw is "the funniest play ever." The play is "extremely well-written - Lots of verbal wit and highly-stylized dialogue." Writer Joe Orton is also responsible for the more well-known Entertaining Mr. Sloane and Loot, which the Suspension Theatre produced last October. Mennick explains Orton's use of farce. "It was chosen as the best way to get across the theme of a search for ' FOR HEALTHY BABIES.. build a strong foundation with good prenatal care. March of Dimes l(l) BIRTH DEFECTS FOUNDATION sexual identity." In the complicated plot, characters are constantly swit- ching identities, only to discover that "proper" sexual roles are not necessary. "I love it," says Christopher Flynn, who plays Dr. Rance, the insane Psychiatric Commissioner. "I think it's just the craziest thing going. It's one of the dirtiest shows I've ever read, and there's not a four-lettered word in it- figure that one out!" John Nicolson, who plays Dr. Pren- tice, describes the play as "questionable material, you can't help laughing at ... you get pulled in- to it." To match its plot, What the Butler Saw has an equally outrageous history. Orton's last play, it was finished in 1967 just before the author was beaten to death by his lover at age thirty. It was not produced until 1969 due to the threat of a lawsuit. When it was finally produced it was labelled obscene and condemned to obscurity until a London revival in 1975. It has now been ranked as one of the finest examples of English farce of the 20th century. The six member cost includes four p.s members of the cast of Loot: John Nicolson, Christopher Flynn, Alison Makes (as the nymphomaniac wife of Dr. Prentice) and Scott Palmer (as a hotel pageboy trying to get some por- nographic pictures of Mrs. Prentice). Also in the cast are Kaarine Quinnell as Miss Barclay and Chris Korow as Sergeant Match. All the actors are members of the Suspension Theatre, a three-year-old company based in Ann Arbor. "If you have a taste for an outrageous, hilarious, witty, utterly unique comic experience, you should not miss this play," says Mennick. "The comedy is the main reason to see the show." What the Butler Saw runs Thur- sday-Sunday, April 3-6, 10-13, and 17-20 at the Performance Net- work, 408 W. Washington St. Thursday through Saturday per- formances begin at 8 p.m., and Sunday performances begin at 6 p.m. Call the Performance Net- work for ticket information. M ... ,,"_ I y I OPEN Mon.- Sat. 10-9 Sunday Noon -5 ANSWERS TO AUTO QUIZ 1) Yes! All You Need Is Your Diploma. 2) Livonia VW-Mazda. only 20 minutes from Ann Arbor via M-14 call us collect at 425-5400 THE CENTER FOR WESTERN EUROPEAN STUDIES ANNOUNCES THAT DEADLINES HAVE BEEN EXTENDED FOR THE FOLLOWING UM SUMMER PROGRAMS: TOURS, FRANCE French 231, 232, 36i (earn 5-6 credits) BAEZ SALAMANCA, SPAIN Spanish 231, 232, 361 (earn 5-8 credits) na, ill T. , H SEVILLE, SPAIN tn/' s ua /in \1 1 r_ cLhiD1 Upper level courses in art history, history, Spanish language and literature. Proficiency in Spanish not required. (earn 6 credits)