8- The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 8,1993 Altman back in grand style By JON ALTSHUL Twenty-three years and countless flops afterthe releaseof"M*A*S*H", Robert Altman is once again Hollywood's grandest poohbah. Seemingly impervious to the onset of old age and the reality of box office V-22 Am -m -m - I II - 1I UIA m Short Cuts: The Preview Directed by Robert Altman; written by Altman and Frank Barhydt; with Tim Robbins and Jack Lemmon. m on the writings of Raymond Carver, the film is a visual montage of 10 distinct stories set in Southern Cali- fornia. Replete with 22 legitimate stars, "Short Cuts" has already been compared favorably to Altman's 1979 masterpiece, "Nashville." Indeed, the picture's rave public reception is a fitting tribute not only to the film, but to Altman as well. After establishing himselfamong the Hollywood elite during the early 1970's with the success of "M*A*S*H"and "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," the weathered filmmaker endured an almost endless string of flops in the 1980's. Yet 16 months after "The Player's" dramatic rise from art house theaters to suburban multi-plexes, Altman has regained the mythical allure that has eluded so many of his contemporaries. Kubrick's too old. Scorsese's too focused. Coppola's too washed-up. Stone's too nostalgic. Lee's too jumbled. Levinson's too sentimen- tal. Van Sant's too "je ne sais quoi." mediocrity, the 68 year-olddirector- still basking in the radiantglow of last year's biting satire "The Player"- seems poised to one-up himself with his soon-to-be-released "ShortCuts." After garnering sublime reviews at last week's New York Film Festi- val, the 189-minute project will make its Midwest premiere this Saturday at 8:00 at the Michigan Theater. Based Indeed, only Altman has usurped them all. Resilience has been kind to Bob. "Short Cuts" stars, among many others, Mathew Modine, Robert Downey Jr, Lily Tomlin, Tim Robbins, Andie MacDowell, Jack Lemmon and Huey Lewis. The op- portunity to collaborate with such a revered auteur proved enticing enough to the star-studded ensemble that the performers agreed to accept signifi- cant pay cuts. Furthermore, given the film's multi-layered and over-lapping nature, Altman acknowledged that the script demanded recognizable faces in order to side-step the audience's potential confusion. Altman first became interested in R.aymondCarver's writings whilefly- ing back to the U.S. after filming "Vincent & Theo" in 1990. Carver, arguably the greatest American short story writer since Flannery O'Connor, had died of cancer two years earlier. Still, Altman was enthralled by his honest, succinct style and proletarian concerns. Yet, in the light of the aging director's increasingly dubious repu- tation, the project spent three years in development before Fine Line finally agreed to back it. Like "Nashville" and even "The Player," "Short Cuts" is an ensemble piece. Too amorphous to be dubbed a "genre film," the picture deftly juxta- poses a smorgasbord of literally unre- "Short Cuts" features a wide slew of great actors. Pictured here are Peter Gallagher and Frances McDo"and. P NEWCOMB LECTURE RICHARD E. NISBElT Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Director and Research Scientist, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research lated episodes under one collective umbrella. The potential for inconsis- tency, particularly in the tireless cross- cutting between entirely different story lines, demands that each sub- plot be equally poignant. As a result, the impending success of the tapes- try-like film rests squarely on the shoulders of the well-balanced cast. Altman's signature fascination with realism in its most absurd mani- estations once again breaks new ground. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays a mother who nurses her newborn with one hand while she operates a phone sex service with the other. Tim Robbins plays an embittered cop who hates his dog. The list of idiosyncratic characters is virtually endless. Altman himself is no stranger to Ann Arbor. A close friend of Michi- gan alum and New Line head Robert Shaye, he has both filmed a movie here ("Secret Honor") and collabo- rated in various endeavors with the School of Music faculty. This screen- ing will benefit the University's De- partment of Film & Video. SHORT CUTS will be shown at t Michigan Theater Saturday at 8:00- Tickets are $8 for students and - $12.50 for everyone else and should be purchased in advance. I" ahomat,' still fun after all these years 4 ~ THE, By JASON rCARROLL "Oklahoma!" marked a new beginning for the musical theater when it opened on Broadway over 50 years ago. Today it has been seen and per- formed countless times so it is hard to think of it THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MICRO-ECONOMICS WHO KNOWS HOW TO CHOOSE? TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12,1993 4:00 PM, RACKHAM AMPHITHEATRE Reception follows. Al lectures «e open to the public. Presented by LSdA i N i oklahonmai Mendelssohn Theatre October 6,1993 as groundbreak- ing. In fact, when you see ' Okla- homa!"youhave to transform you mind into a 1940's way of around a sweet, farm girl Laurey (Lynn Bishop) who doesn't want to admit that she is in love with a handsome cowboy (Kevin Binkley). Bishop and Binkley both had crisp, operatic voices, but there wasn't much chemistry between them. At times, Binkley had trouble acting with Bishop, and he preferred to act to the floor and into the audience instead of with her. Comic relief is added to the show through a ditsy, flirtatious Ado Annie (Sharon Sussman) and her goofy, cowboy suitor Will (Jim Nissen). These two acted beautifully together. Most of their scenes were hilarious. Whenever Will en- tered the stage the audience laughed at his south- ern drawl and the funny expressions he made. Sussman did have trouble projecting her voice over the orchestra, but after intermission she ad- justed her volume accordingly. You can tell if a production of "Oklahoma!" is successful if Agnes de Mille's legendary dance sequences are performedcorrectly. CivicTheatre's "Oklahoma" had superior dancing. the 12 minute dream ballet sequence, at the end of the first act; was performed with perfection by Gregory Georgo and Roya Fanini. Their movements were smooth and fluid, which is quite an accomplishment since George was wearing blue jeans and cowboy boots (not your typical ballet garb)! With it's many dance sequences and large cast; "Oklahoma!" was meant to be performed on A rather large stage, which the Mendelssohn. The' atre doesn't have. Interestingly, Civic Theatre was able to choreograph dances, with 14 or more cast members, in very small spaces and not appear cramped. The sets for "Oklahoma!~ were humble and modest, suitable for what was needed. In contrast; the lighting wasn'tas satisfying. The lightchanges occurred too fast, and most of the lighting on stage was washed out by the intense front lighting. With the golden anniversary of "Oklahoma!"* this year it is a treat to see how plain and simple musical theater started out. For that reason alone, this "Oklahoma" is well worth seeing. thinking, otherwise the dialogue and songs will probably seem very silly. To celebrate 50 years of Rogers' and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" numerous theater companies have put together productions. This weekend, Ann Arbor Civic Theatre tries their hand at this musical theater classic. "Oklahoma!" takes place just before the turn of the century when there was a heated rivalry between cowboys and farmers. The plot centers Hampton and Unit are not Dead' By TOM ERLEWINE Next to the proliferation of grange, the emergence of scores of second- generation Grateful Dead disciples is the most annoying musical trend of the 1990's. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't see Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium RescueUnitat the Blind Pig this Friday night. You see, the good Colonel is not a The Mystical Arts of Tibet Sacred Music. " sacred Dance Wed. Oct. 20 8pm Rackham Auditorium Ann Arbor UM Major Events a world tour by 9 lamas from Drepung Loseling Monastery A "Sounds that seem . % . 10 Come f) om the x womb of the earth..." 3 763-TKTS nostalgic twenty-four year-old that grew up listening to his parents' old Steve Miller, Allman Brothers and Dead records; Hampton has been spin- ning his surreal southern stories since the late sixties and he's only improved over the years. What sets his band apart from the scores of nuevo-hippie groups littering the countryside is his bizarre humor and the sheer musical force of his latest band, the gifted4k Aquarium Rescue Unit. All of the members can play rock & roll, blues, country, jazz, bluegrass and soul convincingly, melding all the diverse styles into aunique gumbo where nothing seems forced or out of place. Instead of being alienating, their eclecticism is welcoming. At times their music can't quite measure up to their lofty ambitions, but the real fun of Hampton and his crew is hearingo. them try. If you can't make it to the 9.30 show on Friday {tickets are only $8 in advance}, check out "Mirrors of Embarrassment," the latest album from Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit and see why they are the best of their lot. I Michigan Union Ticket Office & all Ticketmaster outlets N /LL lie, B'O L Intramural Quiz Game Registration/Ranking Quiz Michigan Union October 12 Kuenzel Room 7-10 pm AW011 !WI F