Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

t '? . 1 <.* .* # \ Entente A ** * <TC JL ML. roiansk marvelc illjh By David Baker Film Critic "There is still a romance about being poor, especially about being an actor and being poor, in England," said Warwickshire-born actor Leigh Lawson. After graduating trom me ttoyai Academy of Dramatic Arts in the late 1960s, Lawson went through such a period, he said, "and it's not romantic at all." When I left RADA," he explained, "1 was thrilled to get into repertory theatre and be offered a contract there to play lead parts for a whole season for 10 pounds a week. And on that salary, by the time Wednesday or Tnursaay rons arouna, you're just having a pile of potatoes for dinner. That's it. You're cold, so you go to bed because you can't afford to have the heating on. I've met people since that haven't been through that and they seem to think of it as a very romantic time." Lawson is currently starring in one of the year's most romantic movies, Roman Polanski's "Tess." He plays Alec d'Urbeville, the black-moustachioed rvf t lw% f i 1 m ' C acciuuct ui (.nc; *i?i?? o beautiful heroine. He won the part of Alec without auditioning for it, an uncommon occurence among actors whose names are less than household words. "POLANSKI WAS one of four people in the world," Lawson said, "that had seen a movie I did with Marianne Faithful and Penelope Keith called 'Ghost Story.' He'd been on a panel of judges at a small film festival - San Sebastian or something where it won a prize. He remembered me in the film and just offered me the part." ainmerri V" . * > CC ' #00 i's lates ms, beat Laws Creating Alec was difficult for Lawson in that he had to take a role that he describes as "a bit two-dimensional" and make it as threedimensional as possible. And after filming stopped, Lawson said, his character did not want to go away. "When I finished shooting 4Tess,'" Lawson revealed, "I was very agressive, very angry, very bitter. I found that I was getting out of my car and going over and pulling other people out of their cars. I got in one or two nasty rows in restaurants, until my lady, bless her, pointed out that I was being very agressive and it wasn't very attractive. And I wasn't aware of what was happening until she told me." Just prior to his in volvement with "Tess," Polanski found himself embroiled in a widely Leigh Law I t effort utiful By Davkl Baker FMm Critic Roman Poiaaski s " less 3 a marvelous movie on 4 nany different levels. It's a ilting love story, told weetly and without con- p lescention toward its far haracters. It's a parable on ^ he ongoing struggle bet- ^a veen good and evil and it's a >iting comment on the plight w0 >f women in 19th Century ^ England. by' First and foremost, lowever, "Tess" is a superb example of how to film a re' iterary classic. Polanski C ind his fellow screenwriters, AU Gerard Brach and John ten Srownjohn, have edited fai rhomas Hardy's "Tess" of raj :he d'Urbevilles," but, for sh( Jie most Dart, they have bir remained faithful to the wh author's intent. In fact, they inf have expanded upon many of 1 the novel's weaker points, foi fleshing out its characters so an that the delineation between (P the good ones and the bad A1 ones isn't so obvious. he ion tal! Unoolrt in ?v (luuutucu icgdi uasaic in c America, but according to si Lawson, the director's v* difficulties did not interfere v with any aspect of the o filming. '! d "ON THE SET," Lawson v said, "it seems to me in ^ retrospect that it was just > total obsession time with Roman. He was like a little dynamo working away. He i seemed to be obsessed by making 'Tess' and very little />^ 1 1 At* I CISC, Willi aujr aui i ui ic^ai ui i political side to it, seemed to come into it. We were in a world of our own when we were making 'Tess."' The world of "Tess" was ^ shattered mid-way through s shooting, though, by the a untimely aeatnoT^ cinematographer Geoffrey a Unsworth. "It was very a upsetting. He was like a r father to all of us," Lawson c S / i son I ' ' MBMMHMHHMnHmMMHBMMMMHii Nastassia Kinski plays the title role in "Tess." >v '# ... ^ ^or those who aren't niliar with the novel, the ss of the title, played by stassia Kinski, is one of i most famous fallen men in literature. A asant of birth, she is sent her father, at the tender ? ? f ? /? A. - _ . . _ _ _ _ A Zmm. e 01 10, 10 ue a servaiu in ? household of rich atives. )NE OF THE relatives, jc (Leigh Lawson), atnpts to seduce Tess and, ling in his quest, resorts to ie. Alone and ashamed, s returns home to give th to a Dastard cniid tich dies while still an ant. Later, Tess goes to work * a dairy farmer, meets d marries a minister's son 'eter Firth), leaves him for ec and finally cleanses rself of her sordid pasl l/e aV Uk%j xplained. "But we didn top. Roman thought rould have fallen apart re'd stopped, so we pushe n. I'm sure that Superman' hadn't bee edicated to Geoffrey, 'Tes; /ould have." ' A 41 ^ A men amusi 1 Several amusing perform 'eek by the Columbia Lyric Unlike most operas, "Alb mall English community.' ct adaption from the short The opera takes place dui ppointment of the annual -A A 1 I I uuxjicu piayeu uy oiwiuii eveal to their counterpart ountry maidens "think Ux exchanged among the two hurch school teacher play Angela Wyndham respectiv FINALLY, SUPEHINTE nstead which is eventually nnocent Albert, the son of >estowed upon Albert is not The virtuous Albert is pre iround his hat and appeal ormance of the leery lad a especially by the butcher Richard Conant and Lillian vhich gives him a different While intoxicated, Albert hat night. Presumed dea VlcGarnty, and become 1? >ver. This amusing scene c lew adventures and changc The opera was well cast h^ Wit, ,What wasj ?0 ot^U >erforiners singihg talenfc overlapped and Sung in ha that the score was a difficul ANOTHER ASPECT off i by the Lyric Opera orchest was conducted by Williar transitions between scenes Without a doubt "Albert <?K,. through the act of murder. The story unfolds at, what T is by today's standards, a bi leisurely pace, but it seldom T1 becomes boring, thanks to le Polanski's almost ob- m sessional attention to detail. s< Indeed, by the time "Tess" t\ ends, we've been exposed to literally dozens of facets of L Victorian life that most of us p i ... :-i - J never tuiew exisieu. w The picture was filmed K over a 10-month period so s\ that each of the four seasons m could be portrayed by s photographers Geoffrey C Unsworth, who passed away b during the filming, and n Ghislain Cloquet. The work s of the two men is simply unparalleled and if the film ii i does not win this year's s Oscar for Best c ? Cinematography, the fix c t must be in. s >out T 't Instead, the picture is if dedicated to Sharon Tate, if Polanski's former com<1 panion. "It was Sharon if Tate's favorite book," >n I iiwcnn caiH "Shp and s' Roman read it together and he'd wanted to make the film t Herring rig, deligl f. y Lynn Massey Asst. Entertainment Editor ances of the comic opera "Albert H< Opera in cooperation with the USC I ert Herring" is not a drama but a c< rhe production, rewritten by Benjan story "Le Rosier de Madame Huson 'ing the spring at Loxford in East St May Queen is in jeopardy. Lady E Thompson, and her housekeeper, pe ? a t?a a. i?* ? a. - ; _ r l a. ^ ;s inai meir town is iresn oui ui vi ) little and see too much." A comicj women with the vicar, the mayor, ed by Washington Holmes, Randal ely. NDENT Budd resolves the dilemmi agreea upon oy an aner more nuai a grocery store owner, his mother accepted willingly and with good re; isented at the celebration wearing a rs embarassingly chaste. Richard it the special occasion who is laughe and his girl. Later, the butcher ai Quackenbush, spike pure Albert's 1< perspective on life. procedes to enjoy the spicier side o d, the village fathers comfort his ipressed over his death when Alber concludes the opera after Albert sho ; of heart. and each performer executed the v standing wa$ the fin? jajcjtjr g ability 5. The operatic abilities t were very rmonies and rounds. It would have It one to pursue. he production worth noting was the tra. The accompaniment, which cou n J. Moody. The orchestra was e Herring" was definitely an opera w< . I 3 .. .* i * > " V % . ::^HHR.: POLANSKPS DIRECION is almost as -eathtaking as the visuals, he film opens with a ngthy pan which somehow tanages to record several jparate pieces of action and len tie them all together. The acting from Firth, awsori and a host of suporting players is first-rate, 'hue the only problem with [inski is ' h?P'" pattern of peech. Before starting to fork on tbe^film, Kinski poke no English and her Jerman accent, while not deeding through, tends to nake some of her inflections eem a bit too strong. But this is a negligible flaw n what is otherwise a movie o close to perfection that to iisparage it would be a :rime comparable to lashing a Renoir. ess since." After completing "Tess," Lawson starred in a television version of Agatha Christie's "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?," which will air r^nn : J on roo in luiu-marcu. 'opera - a ?* * ntijui erring" were presented last department of Music. >medy about the values of a nin Britton in 1947, is a three " by Guy de Maupassant. iffolk around 1900 where thel lellows, an elderly, prudish! rformed by Valerie Bullock rtuous virgins and that the il but musical conference is the superintendent, and the Ferguson, James Ford, and a by suggesting a May King ity. The "honor" is given to \ However, the news status asons. white suit with daisies laced Veale gave a hilarious per*1 at by the village children, id his girlfriend, played by jmonade with "demon rum" f life and fails to come home mother. Dlaved bv Evelvn t comes stumbling in, hung cks the townspeople with his veil developed characters to es which complemented the j : . impressive as vocals were appeared to any opera goer musical delivery of the score Id be described as dissonant, mphasized more during the Mrth experiencing. \