The Good The Bad & The Ugly

Generally the film scene has been excellent for the number of interesting and worthwhile new releases. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (United Artists) mixes sadism and poetry into a long saga of western man. Not up to the quality of its immediate successor For a Few Dollars More, it allows the stars of the latter film to be outplayed by Eli Wallach relishing his one of his meatiest parts since Baby Doll. Morricone is there again on the soundtrack with his yahoos to pierce the air, breaking film into comic episode. Just as Antonioni showed the British with Blow Up, so Leone shows up many Americans who seem to have forgot ten what the Hollywood greats used to do with atmosphere and technique. Clever-clever scripts, basically trivial while striving for significance, are the chief faults of all Hollywood Westerns seen lately.

Advertised as "Is this the most daring film ever?" many would have had little problem reaching a negative conclusion. What D. H. Lawrence put into his novella disappeared somewhere among Christmassy postcard snowscapes and three extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed people. Even Anne Heywood's Scene was as antiseptic as her bathroom; Sandy Dennis was unsuited and miscast as an alleged lesbian (ambiguities abound so that it is fruitless to attempt to discuss the topic on the basis of this put-on) and Keir Dullea (fast becoming the screen's foremost succesor to Anthony Perkins) as a director's favourite actor. The Fox (Warner-Seven Arts)—symbol of the male!!—had something going for it but missed all the way.

Better things, though not without some strain, were offered in the film adaption of Waugh's Decline and Fall—the ... of a Birdwatcher was a pun draeged in by some philistine at 20th Century-Fox. Apart from a whole string of veterans (some seldom seen, and one, Sir Donald Wolfitt, now gone) it was notable for a fresh debut by Robin Phillips. Genevieve Page glided through exuding charm by a mere quiver, fas she did in Belle de Jour). John Krish directed it in lush colourful conventionality, emphasising throughout the story. It's one of the best told film lately, something that can't be said for the unfortunate Villa Rides! (Paramount). For those who turn up their noses the thought, heed that a co-script credit went to Sam Peckinpah, and Buzz Kulik was the director. An interesting combination, but one which failed overall. But some small scenes were excellent. Villa's political career was depicted with more than usual Insight (Peckinpah) and Charles Bronson had a field day by the stable (Kulik, the sort of thing that ran him foul of our censor: his Explosive Generation is one of the select few we cannot see).

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Film Society offerings this year have drawn disappointing audiences, despite a reasonable variety and a programme for the year which emphasises films which are unlikely to be seen again on the commercial circuits for any period. Many have had only a week run a year or two ago and this may account for a certain amount of ignorance about such films as The Deadly Affair. Tomorrow night Arthur Penn's violent The Chase will be screened. Recently, in the Movie paperback series, an interesting, if overargued, hagiography of Penn's career has appeared by Robin Wood, a Hitchcock devotee.

Till the initial thrill of Bonnie and Clyde died away Penn was perhaps over-rated on the basis of a gradual build-up to the one film. The Chase will offer a more realistic appraisal to Penn's achievement.

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The Wellington Film Society (screenings Wednesday at 8 p.m. and Thursday at 5.15 in the third week of the month) offers its best programme for several years. Membership for students is $2.50, more than previous years but worth the additional cost when films like Hands Over The City, Breathless, He and She, The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short and Eroica are offered for the first time in New Zealand.

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Films not available for screening at university because there is as vet no provision for 35mm will be rectified by a combined Film Sociery-Roxy Theatres venture on Sunday afternoons where specially selected films will be screened at concession prices at the Princess cinema. First attraction will be Morgan (two weeks if justified) plus The Collector, followed by The Caretaker, Landru (Bluebeard), The Pawnbroker, The Game Is Over, The Swimmer, In Cold Blood and A Fine Madness. Coffe will be available and the sessions will begin this Sunday Watch newspaper ads for details.