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Lester'; study of oy uavia uoKer Gamecock Film Critic If I was to compile a list of the most underrated people working today in film, the name of director Richard Lester would have to be placed near the top. Lester was applauded in the mid-1960s for such films as A Hard Day's Night, Help! and Petulia, but with the1 advent of the 1970s, he began to lose favor with most critics. Of the four films directed by 4 Lester between 1970 and 1975, only i one, The Three Musketeers, rightfully could be called a hit. But while the remaining three, The Four Musketeers, Juggernaut and Royal Flash, were not expecially memorable, they were not as bad as their low box office grosses indicate. in 1976, Lester appeared to be making a comeback when he directed one of the best films of that year, Robin and Marian. It made enough money and enough ft J^SBB| Lovers rounitoc mmtm ^t7] f] IHBHHEflSZ s 'Cuba' pi pre-revolt "10 Best" lists to allow Lester to continue working. Later that year, Lester's film version of Terrence McNally's hit play, The Ritz, was ignored by critics and public alike, although I thought it was a wickedly funny picture. His recent Butch and Sundance: The Early Days bomed as well. Now Lester has returned with Cuba, a film which reunites him with the star of Robin and Marian, Sean Connery. And though their new collaboration is neither as graceful nor as compelling as their previous effort, it certainly doesn't deserve to be relegated to the trash bin like the greater portion of Ijfistpr's nthpr filmc Cuba is a literate, insightful and magnificently detailed study of life in Cuba, in the days just prior to that country's political upheaval in 1959. In it, Connery portrays Robert Dapes, a British mercenary soldier who comes to Havana intending to work for the Batista \in 'Cuba' w * m * w i kjHfcg i iJ^JuEfjJL 4,1 B I I 1 pJiVjl j | f , ?,?,?J_.? _ . . . ,M, resents ition era regime. At the airport," however, he is reunited with an old flame, Alexandra Pulido (Brooke Adams), who's now the happilymarried manager of a local cigar factory. Although she doesn't appear interested in rekindling their romance, Dapes is soon off on a side trip to win her back. She doesn't want to return, however, so he must spend most of the film trying to convince her that she's wrong. Indeed, after she learns that her husband (Chris Sarandon) ic hnvirifJ nn nffnir with nnp r?f hpr employees (Lonette McKee) and that the Cuban government is about to fall, one would think she'd be more than willing to go with him to England, but for some unexplained reason, she chooses to stay. Woven into this romantic storyline are several violent subplots which show why Batista was so hated a ruler and why Castro was able to take over the country with such ease. Other peripheral scenes show how so many foreigners (most Americans) were able to capitalize on the revolution. Lester shows the early events with an almost uncanny objectiveness, but by the picture's end, it's obvious he favors the Castro government. This fact may turn off a few viewers, but even they can't deny Lester's ability to make the struggle an engrossing subject for a film. Lester has done a good job of working with the actors, too. Connery, as always, is convincing and McKee, who made such good impressions in Sparkle and Which Way Is Up0, shines as Sarandon's hannu hrv\lror Arlomc IaaItc r*?it nf . I XUUtllO iUVAO VUV \Ik place, but covers her miscasting as well as could be hoped. Sarandon and Jack Weston, as a greedy American buisnessman, never seem to get their characterizations off the ground. The only major problem with Cuba is its length. At 122 minutes, it contains too many stretches of footage in which little or nothing happens. Hfhy pay i Molly Hatchet Lou Ra^ Rupert Holmes Emersc Willie Nelson Jean Li Joe Jackson Karla B Police Diana F Tim Curry April W Waylon Jennings Tom Sc Dr. Hook Also?Bo sure ft Igodd alb Be Sure to Brii (' fi Z-T;'>x~L-. _ ^Sp. liiM^ilife Hp #.|:, < HlKmb * 4-;: 1-^T.SJ,-rir|-i- . - ,.:5 9B . . . j|^fc-J-;;- ' '-i*^v-y : w ~*'"' ^ y ^r;"~. ^ I",. 7-~-^i8S";' ^ ^vJfcyjrT" fSSsffijF SfK? ' J11 HB| jf^l ' J i |.wii' arfe' - ^t^&B&BiSM^fi Ssi11 '? . r*^-?""" a~~~Lrn A Wc?P woufr \/i/if#fUf f UIIU i^# i/i/n<7 nuaf i/o [ "si'sTiiii "] ^ "T"VCr?^ j ^SSg* I a complete meal on a bun i !?27~S 7 ! i vK any whole sub j [X twith Couponl I I " \ offer expires 1/28/80 j s? I more? We're cheaper* 0 off on these new releases with this ad? A i I O l"> " " " - - - iDonnie Pointer Fleetwood Mac [j m Lake & Palmer* Jimmy Messina Kenny Loggins |j jc Ponty Head East Prince | onoff Crystal Gayle AC/DC toss Bar-Kays John Cogar ine Steve Forbert Smokey Robinson :ott Emotions PhylissHyman Bob Marley ^ re r~ ' ^ - uiTer txpires i - i 9-bU o check out our cut-owt section urns a for a great price. rig This Ad to Get $ 1.00 of on these LPs. Mon-Fri 10-8, Sat. 10-7 > -/ r,-. 111