1971_10 The Daily Collegian October 1971

              7HE DAILY COLLEGIAN
■  latest film.
Is mad* explicit i
Ingmar Bergman's
Th*l
A woman lies dead on a hospital
bed; a clock on the bedside table
and her gold watch 'continue to
■now th* passage of the time.
The complex medical equipment
around  her stand  Idle, as If lt
stop, picks up a few passengers
and moves along. The dead woman's daughter stands against the
background of a white wall and
look on, speechless.
The compositions are Impeccable, the usage of color as
Intelligent as It can be, the distancing between the cuts Just
right. This Is cinema; the cinema
that one can love, the cinema
that one can respect as an autonomous and viable art form. Above
all, this Is the work of a man who
knows or Integrity and does not
lend himself to cheap thrills -
Ingmar Bergman.
even before the title and the credits appear. But Bergman goes on
to make a full length film because
in the minds of so many or us
exists  the Illusion or together-
aware of the
truth that everyone should live
with oneself. And this 1* regardless of bow strong or bow weak
one's sexual and love relationship* with.others are. Her two
man continue to Uve In Ignorance
and her teenage daughter expert-
lements that a
kes   place.
dl eating that she haa to learn the
hard way, as bar mother did.
So much for the explanation of
the obvious. As lt was first Indicated in "The Passion of Anna,*
Bergman Is superb with color,
tn "The Touch,* each bit of color
Is  used  for  a definite  reason.
Color functions at three different levels: thematic, as in the
exterior shots of the Scandinavian
autumn scenery; compositional,
as exemplified by Karln's predominantly red attire; and as a
mood setting element, as In the
jet  black  surrounding of Karln
and she Is ietl alone In the bed-
The sheer Intelligence in Bergman's cinematographic compositions are as Intriguing as usual.
The close-ups leave enough or a
the omnipresent threats or the
surrounding dangers.
The long shots usually depict
Karln with David or Andreas,
placed at a distance and empha-
Bergman becomes delightfully
camera looking through closets
and cupboards, depict Karln during her dally house chores.
Bibl Andersson (Karin) deUv-
ers her performance as she always has: sensitively and with
total grasp and understanding ol
the Intricacies or the role. I cannot explain why, but there Is
something definitely erotic about
Elliot  Could  does what he is
The Baha'
com
munityol
Fresno cord
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nvites you 1
just a Benin,
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a 24 min   1
ute color  fi
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Faith  as   se
tn th
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eyes df youth. Al
are wel- 1
come. No ad
nissi
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October 2
St-
4PJV1.      1
College Re
iqious Center    1
For information please cal   1
227-9553
or 23
7-8132       1
hurts   so  badly   deep-d
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FSCs production of'Oliver!' —
'having trouble staying lively'
By Le* Trachtonberg
Collegian Reviewer
When the funeral director delivers about the best performance, you know a show Is having trouble staying Uvely.
That was the case last night
with «OUver|*, a Joint production of the Fresno State College
Drama Department and the Child
Drama Center. Director Douglas
Brlggs had claimed i
would be emphasized s
slcal aspects of the production
would be downplayed a bit.
. It would seem that to downplay
the music In a musical Is Uke
trying to downplay the tragedy In
•Macbeth* or the violence In
■Bonnie and Clyde*. What have
you got left?
In  the case of 'Oliver!* you
a distinct personality and several
who are not too much more than
the words playwright Lionel Bart
dentured as a coffin foUower for
children's funerals. Kaiser's
death-like, slow-moving action
humored the audience without his
When Kaiser did speak lt was
was most magnificent. He and
Mrs. Sowerberry (Linda Franz)
were ghastly as they sang'That's
Your Funeral*, ahorrlfylng'num-
Ms. Franz'singing was at a much
lower volume than her spoken
lines, which were well delivered.
Likewise pauperCharlotte(Susan
Matthews) was a slutty slut and
pauper Noah Claypole (Richard
Rees) a prlcky prick. The whole
group worked great together.
As Mrs. Sowerberry noted, lt
took her husband twice as long to
anything as it did anyone else.
only one taking his lime.
Things got off to a slow start
fast when the orphen boys mop-
lngly gathered for their gruel.
But here the pace was effective.
The boys captured the essence of
ren little faces into looks of wild
and happy imagining as they sang
•Food, Glorious Food*.
Mr. Bumble (Mark Turck) and
Widow Corney (Gael Gallant)
were a bit down when singing
"Oliver* alter the title role performer dared ask for more gruel.
They rose sharply In their duet
•I Shall Scream* as the flirting
Mr. Bumble makes a successful
pass to the protesting but inwardly willing widow.        ♦
It made him look like a star In
•Planet of the Apes*. But Turck
didn't monkey around-If he had
a Une he said lt, loud and clear,
a good practice for all the cast
to foUow.
Another good practice Is that
of actor Fred Perry, who portrayed Fagin. Get your c'
across the moment you are introduced to an audience and they
will stay with you through your
whole performance. The comic
evUness of the master bad guy
was there from the start.
There was also little doubt
that BIU Slkes (Roger Keller)
meant business. Theperformers
shuddered In his presence and he
gave them something to shudder
about. This Interacting reaches
a definite high point In a scene
where Oliver has been kidnapped
Fagin, Bill and Nancy (Shirley
Bechtel) fed each other strength
through word and song.
Definite bright spots were Nancy  and Bet (Lesley Bliss) with
shining through a small-
The boys came through charmingly In I'd Do Anything*. Their
dancing parody of the upper das*
was delightful, particularly the
mock arrogance on their faces.
The boys also held up welt against
the powerful personality of Fagin
In the number 'Be Back Soon*.
The performances of Steven
LaVelle as gentleman-pretended
Jack Dawtdns, the Artful Dodger,
was neither here nor there. Which
Is too bad because the Dodger can
be a delightful character. Mike
Carr as Mr.Brownlow.whotums
ir role but with a
r light.
when Nancy sang 'As Long as Hi
Needs Me' you understood he:
painful devotion to the rottei
Stkes.
Oliver (Terry Wlnnett) got :
little lost In the orchestra's mu
sic ar. times. You don't know I
the boy was really meek or act
lng meek.   He sure was cute an
just talked. When he called for
help after Slkes stabs Nancy, you
got the feeling a warm cup of tea
would quickly soothe his barely
ruffled nerves.
People selling roses, milk,
strawberries, knives and .songs
do so In such an unhappy fashion
that Oliver's question 'Who Will
Buy This Beautiful Morning?*
seems out of place amidst their
apparent misery. Something happened with the direction of this
scene and It was not something
(Continued on Page 5, Col. 3)
Not much new in
Santana's latest album
By George Hlatt
Collegian Reviewer
Santana is one of mnay group's
which caught on tn Fresno long
before they made lt on the national scene.  They appeared tor free
but the sound hasn't altered in
the least. This album wlU seU
well to all those who are already
established Santana freaks, but
really,   folks,  there's not much
Two of the cuts, 'Everybody's
Everything* and 'ParaLosRum-
beros", are boosted considerably
by the addition of a horn section.
This album strikes me as mood
music. That is to say, when I
want something to really ptckmc
up, this album will nil the bill,
but if I want to hear something
really progressive, this album Is
In concert, with the wild pulsating rhythm section and Carlos Santana making the audience
almost feel every note that he
squeezes out of his guitar, the
band Is both musically and visually exciting. I mean, watching
Carlos grind his teeth to each
note and noticing each grimace
and  contortion Is some experl-
eally don't
m Santana
a regular ba-
to evaluate,
speedy, throbbing and torrential as their first
two albums, nothing has changed.
They've  added a new guitarist,
Although It li
they  are really able to pell off
a good show.
I  guess  the fault of this new
album is the same kind of prob-
ebythe
the arm on the first listen. It
makes you want to puU orf their
first two albums again, but after
before
d this
Maybe
wouldn't let Bill Graham broadcast their set the closing night
of the Fillmore West. It's not
really that someone might lose
the thrilling experience of their
new material by hearing It before
It was released, but maybe they
hear their new material and not
was new' material.
I really don't hate this album,
but I really can't get too excited
about lt either. If you want to
spend about four dollars for an
album with driving rhythms which
will knock you out maybe once,
be my guest. If you really want
- a good album of .this sort and
don't want to- hear re-worked
material, pick up the album
•Oslblsa*.
FILMCOLUMN FSC's 'Ol
iver!
1
i4
-.»
' certain models are available to
you, and If your model Is, say,
Stan Brakhag*, you make your"
film* Independently, for a small.
There ar* a few Mm makers In
this area who are legitimate artists — Brakhage Is one. There
are also a lot of hype-artists and
If your modal Is old-style
-Hollywood, you move to Los
Angeles, get a mental Job tn the
film Industry, Join a union and
hang on. Many years later, If
you're lucky and pay your union
dues  regularly, you  may get a
contribution to a movie.
This model offers regular eats
(union pay scales being what they
are), lots of shop talk, and large
audiences. You also get to work
In 35mm with professional equipment. But you have to live In Los
Angeles, which Is a high price
to pay for anything, and the
chances are good you'll never get
to do anything meaningful.
If film festival Art Movies are
your trtp, the procedure Is the
same - except you go to France,
Italy, Spain or Sweden and pay
your union dues there. Lower
pay-scales, smaller audiences
and you've got to learn French
(or whatever).
But Hollywood has taken over
the world, and neo-colonialism Is
where It's at. ir you don't like lt,
There are a few other models
- Newsreel, for Instance, or
Godard's recent attempts at a
political film making collective.
But we're talking mainly about
commercial films and In the last
merdal  rtlm   making has  pre-
■Were-
lt goes under the i
exploitation film, and
wolves on Wheels* Is a perfect
example. Exploitation films are
usually pre-sold properties
(•Werewolves* was sold on the
basis of Its name alone) Intended
When Michel Levesquebrought
wolves' to the San Fran-
ilm Festival, the Festival
even look at lt. The Festival was
all booked up, they said, but lt
was a lie. The truth 1* th* Art
Film m*otaUty that pervades
most film festivals Is Incapable
of dealing with a film like *Were-
The thing that makes exploitation films, like 'Werewolves,*
interesting for young film makers
Is that IF you bring the film In
n schedule, IF you stay within
it,IF
the required elements of violence, sex and production values
- you can do anything else you*
about art. because the exploitation market Is only concerned
with the product. But If you keep
your mouth shut, and play your
cards close to the chest, you can
pull some far out things. Ask
Dennis Hopper or Peter Bog-
Furthermore, Ihe exploitation
market Is open to young, beginning film makers. Levesque, the
writer/director of 'Werewolves,* has worked In the exploitation field for several years,
on such films aa 'The Savage
Seven* sum "Naked Angels.*
He decided t<
hi. own. and r^Uxed that aU he JjjZ^^ZZ?*
£22 InoYcf T/t * 2. ""** N^Tner bTmo!
stoned, and lt came to htm: 'Put roentJ     F^ ^ p^   ^^
werewolvea on those motorcyel*. ^^ tJiJ^SJ^^
^." corns'no^foV hi* fllm, ^ "*"■ —** ""*"'
but   speaks  In  terms  of small
victor!** of technique and style.
It's an accurate (and refreshingly honest) critic?* of the film.
■Werewolvea*    tl   entertaining,
suit, Levesque may get a chance
to make another film, refining his
craft and testing Ms Ideas. Eventually, he may get to make a film
that means something.
I've been Info exploitation films
for six or seven years, and I've
and film makers. True, the average Is low - but not a* low as
the overall Hollywood average,
for the simple reason that most
exploitation film makers are
young and new at the game.
Either way, whether you go to
the flicks or want to make them,
the field of exploitation films Is
the most Interesting game In
town. The film festivals may not
agree,  but when did that ever
Dr. GrlmwigandKay
"    Mrs.  Beewin ar*
th* right track but
Betty Jean Thlebaud, filmmaker and wife of Wayne Thi*-
baud, the International pop artist,
will present a film program tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. tn the
Mint-Theatre next to the Art
GaUery In the New Fine Arts
Building.
The program will Include two
new films Just completed, "Slit'
and 'Question Mark,* and her
award winning films "Wayne
Thlebaud* and "Yellow.* The
program Is free to the public.
7 to 9 p.m. Ir
CoUege Art GaUery. Th* exhlbl-
whleh appeared     llon vUI oBer t0 th* viewer con-
nt not th* play.      temporary   direction*   In   craft
Including   fabric,   fiber.
If the rest of the cast follows
the lead of the Uke* of Sowerberry, Fagin and Slkes,'Oliver!'
will begin to pick np In Its remaining  performances.     Dean     Maple
The FSC Art GaUery 1* Iocs
the new Fine Art* Building
north of Shaw.
f
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