FILMS: Mythic guest
By RICHARD GEARY
Assistant Arts & Reviews Editor
"Easy Rider" is definitely not a disappointment. In fact, it is quite a good film, if the viewer doesn't expect something utterly great.
It is far greater, though, than the average run of "alienation" movies aimed at the youth market which have been glutting marquees recently, simply because it stares its problem in the face without resorting to false sentiment or easy answers. At the close of the sixties, "Easy Rider" seems a culmination of the alienation theme, with a clean, ultra-simple story, presented in mythic terms. The spine of the narrative follows a cross-country motorcycle odyssey by a pair of familiar hippie-types, covering a fine cross-section of all that is beautiful, repugnant, funny and violent in the land of the not-so-free.
The two men, Captain America and Billy, played by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, start out with a tankful of money from a drug sale south of the border and glide through the landscape from California to the Mardi Gras, encountering, in turn, a peaceful farmer, a struggling hippie colony, scores of leering rednecks, and, best of all, a drunken young lawyer who accompanies them part of the way.
The entire production bears the mark of enthusiastic sincerity. Dennis Hopper's direction is remarkably professional, even though his use of flash cutting to form transitions and his constant reliance on pular songs for background music reminds one of student work. But it is this blend of proficiency and amateurishness that bolsters the film's basic tone of honesty: we know that the picture was made quickly and economically by men who, though they were newcomers behind the camera, had first-hand knowledge of their subject matter.
The acting is uniformly good. Peter Fonda, who has never been anybody's idea of an accomplished performer, fortunately is given very little to say and seems just right as the disillusioned hero of the story. Hopper, too, is fine as an angry, incoherent, somewhat comic little fellow, with a very noticeable violent streak. The standout, though, is Jack Nicholson as the drawing, alcoholic lawyer, who is with the others in spirit but ludicrously out of place in their life-style. Nicholson has won the New York Film Critics award for best supporting actor and has been nominated for the academy award.
In the end, we realize something that the two wanderers don't, because we have, in effect, seen more than they have. At the close of their journey, Fonda says, "We blew it," as if he had failed America rather than the other way around. He thinks he has missed something, but we know he has not; "Easy Rider" shows it all.
Guitarist to perform
Francisco Espinosa, one of Spain's great guitarists, performs at 8 p.m. Sunday in Woodruff Auditorium of the Kansas Union.
Francisco Espinosa
He is currently performing throughout the country on his fourth personal appearance tour.
The noted guitarist—famous on both sides of the Atlantic for the vastness of his musical repertoire and the incandescence of his guitar performances—has won widespread acclaim throughout North America on two previous personal appearance tours, and has won standing ovations with his phenomenal renditions of Spain's most dazzling Flamenco, Folkloric, and Classical guitar masterworks.
Epinosa's local appearance will emphasize the Flamenco and Folkloric facets of his repertoire, as the music of the Spanish people and provinces is performed in all its intricacy, with deceptive facility by the thirty-six-year-old artist. Fandangos, Tangos, Bulerias, Jotas, Alegrias, and Zapateados will rain forth in breathtaking profusion during the two-hour concert.
W. C. FIELDS
"TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE". This is a new film with Katharine Ross and Robert Redford, who performed in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
"EASY RIDER"—See review this page.
A Reiver Is A
Wanderer
So Hurry, He may
Leave Soon!
Eve. 7:30 & 9:30
Mat. Sat. & Sun. 2:30
Rated M
Adults 1.50; Child .75
THE
Hillcrest
"THE DAMNED" — Another "X" movie has come to town but this one should prove better than the rest. The movie centers on the rise of the Nazi regime and the people involved in it.
"THE REIVERS" — Staying around for another week, those who haven't seen this should.
The Weekend Scene
"DON'T GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK" and "THE BANK
DICK"—Again The Great One is back with two of his classic movies.
GET A CHAW?
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (UPI)
—Plug tobacco originated in Missouri, deriving its name from the method of curing. The tobacco leaves were treated with wild honey and brandy and wedged into holes in green hickory or maple log. The holes were then plugged and the tobacco left to cure.
Patronize Kansan Advertisers
FRANCISCO ESPINOSA—See story this page.
"IN COLD BLOOD" (SUA Popular Film Series, Fri. and Sat.)Many may recognize the actors and the scenery in this film based on the murder of the Clutter family.From the best selling book by Truman Capote, this film is something to see and remember.
Mar. 6
1970 KANSAN 5
Some people will say"The Damned" goes too far. We don't think so.
The New York Times doesn't think so and neither does The Saturday Review, Playboy, New York Magazine, Cue, NBC-TV's Today Show, The Village Voice, Group W Network and Holiday Magazine.
They call it "The year's ultimate spectacle, a rare treat, hypnotic and fascinating, a shattering experience, a masterpiece, a monumental achievement!"
WARNER BROS. presents LUCHINO VISCONTIS "THE DAMNED" • An ALFRED LEVY-EVER HAGGIAG production Starring DIRK, BOGARDE • INGRID THULIN
HELMUT GRIEM Introducing HELMUT BERGER • RENAUD VERLEY • UMBERTO ORSINI • ALBRECHT SCHOENHALS • RÉNE KOLDENOFF and FLORINDA
BOLKAN and CHARLOTTE RAMPLING • Original Story by NICOLA BADALUCCO • Music Composed and Conducted by MAURICE ARRE · Produced by ALFRED
LEVY and EVER HAGGIAG • Directed by LUCHINO VISCONTIS • Screenplay by NICOLA BADALUCCO • ENRICO MEDIOLI • LUCHINO VISCONTI • TECHNICOLOR®
No One Under 18 Admitted.
I.D.'s Requested. Adults 1.50
7:00 & 9:40