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Show JnuoMJ&o; By Jean Piatt Film has always been a director's medium, since the very nature of making movies mo-vies calls 'for one man to call all the shots. Theatre sometimes seems this way, and the director is Important, but he deals with stage pictures, and where each member of the audience sits, plus the actors nuances can often change his interpretation inter-pretation slightly. Since the camera frames one area, it makes the viewing view-ing more specific. Add to that the fact that the director chooses between close-ups, medium shots, and a wide range of angles and shots, and he suddenly has much more control. Some directors never, however, become known because be-cause their vision is either limited, or too similar to other directors. Every now and then a truly great director arrives on the scene. It seems that In recent years there have been more of these men who show their specidic genius. One such man Is .Robert Altman. Altman has dealt with films of diverse styles and always come out on top. MASH first brought recognition recogni-tion to his particular genius. Then he came up with McCABE AND MRS. MILLER, MIL-LER, a film very different in style from the comedy of MASH. As he has continued con-tinued making films, he has shown himself to be adept in whatever style he chooses. Now he has added THIEVES LIKE US to a list of filmic successes. The film Is a story of three escaped convicts hid ing out In a gas station. One convict Is a brutal, drunken man called Chlcamaw. He is well played by John Schuck, who Altman used In MASH to portray Painless. He gives an Intense, major performance. perfor-mance. Added to this Is Bert Rem-sen Rem-sen as T-Dub, a veteran bank robber who is prone to bragging about past successes suc-cesses in robbery. Finally, we have Keith Carradine as the boyish, fresh young kid, Bowie. It is Bowie who falls In love with the gas station owner's daughter, Keechie. Keechie, as played by Shelley Duvall, Is a girl who has never had a boyfriend, living her life In the small world that revolves around her father's gas station. Altman could have made a miniature Bonnie and Clyde of the film. Instead he gives an honest, open look at the desperate life in tawdry America in the thirties. He is not one to look for nostalgia, as Bogdonavlch is so want to do. Altman prefers to recreate recre-ate things as they were with meticulous care. Altman Is a director who puts out a finely finished film, with none of the plastic, cardboard characteristics of Hollywood. His films are always likeable like-able and enjoyable, but not In the amusing way of entertainment en-tertainment films. His style is relaxed, but very aware of his surroundings surround-ings and the realities of life. He Is a director worth viewing. By all means, view him -don't miss this film. For a second feature, try staying to see THE STING. Redford and Newman do It again - prove to be a successful suc-cessful team both for box-office box-office appeal and for fine performances. Hill has given us an enjoy- aDie mm that leads you carefully care-fully through the planning and execution of the stingdevlsed by Newman for Redford's revenge on the wlley racketeer racke-teer played by Robert Shaw. All performances are good, and the direction works well to lead you along, suck- 4 lng yofrin. Although Hill can never be compared to the kind of director Altman has proven to be, he is a success In the Hollywood, big money style, and knows how to pro-' duce a thoroughly good time. So, it looks like a great week for film viewers. You can see both films Wednesday, Wednes-day, and maybe even return Thursday for a second viewing. view-ing. After all, a good film gets better with the second viewing. view-ing. But, by all means, see both at least once. Don't make a choice between be-tween them when you can have two good films to see. |