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PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, April 5,1979
MASS ON CAMERA -- Msgr. Noel C. Burtenshaw, communications
director for the Atlanta archdiocese, eyes a television camera as a
cameraman at station WTCG in Atlanta moves in for position. Beginning
April 8, the station will carry a twice-monthly Mass which will be beamed
off a satellite into 45 states including Hawaii and Alaska. (NC Photo by
Barbara Gervais)
AT THE MOVIES
“Hair”
(United Artists)
Everything — acting, singing and
dancing — is done in the high style of
the big-budget film musical. As a
fantasy whose theme is personal and
social liberation, the film has, whatever
its flaws, enough drive and vitality to
re-create the sense of exhiliration shared
by those who saw the ’60s as the dawn
of a new age. To its credit, this version
of the musical shows the aspirations of
the time while suggesting that the
reality was far different.
Trying to evaluate the moral aspects
of “Hair,” even though we are now at
somewhat of a remove from the ’60s,
presents all sorts of problems. The
flower children in the original “Hair,”
acting in what was popularly believed to
be true ’60s style, took delight in
rubbing the nerve endings of their elders
in every possible way. Thus “Hair”
celebrated nudity, obscenity, drugs,
promiscuity, miscegenation and (to a
much lesser degree) homosexuality as
liberating and as true signs of moral
superiority over an older generation
presumably smug in its hypocrisy and of
one mind about Vietnam.
In keeping with its origin, then, this
film version includes all of these
elements in one form or another,
though Forman has exercised, for the
most part, a great deal of moderation in
their actual depiction. Forman also
makes free use of religious symbolism —
LSD as a communion rite, for example.
Though some viewers may be offended
by this use, the effectiveness of the
symbol to make a dramtic comment
rather than any thought of profaning
the sacred appears to be Forman’s
intent.
From the foregoing, it should be
evident that “Hair” is not a film for the
young and impressionable who cannot
be expected to see it in the social
context of the ’60s and understand the
cultural phenomenon that it both
exploits and celebrates. Parents should
be* aware, then, that it is definitely not
the sort of entertainment suited to their
children. (PG) A-IV — Morally
unobjectionable for adults, with
reservations.
“BOULEVARD NIGHTS” (Warner
Brothers)
The East Los Angeles barrio is the
scene for this old-fashioned story of a
minority family’s aspirations for a
better life. The central conflict is
between the hard-working Raymond
who wants to set up his own auto repair
shop and his younger brother, Chaco,
whose only ambition is to prove himself
in the local warfare between rival gangs.
Based on a script by Desmond
Nakano and directed by Michael
Pressman, the film is at best a superficial
view of Mexican-American life, a subject
long overdue for serious consideration
by moviemakers. Though the film shows
the futility of the macho rituals of gang
violence and drug dependence, its
treatment, in an effort to generate
bogus excitement, relies too heavily
upon the graphic depiction of these
elements. (R) B — Morally objectionable
in part for all.
“BUCK ROGERS”
(UNIVERSAL)
An American astronaut (Gil Gerard)
gets caught in a time warp and comes
back 500 years later, just in time to save
Earth from evil invaders led by a
sinuous princess (Pamela Hensely) who
has her mind on conquests of more than
one sort. A very corny offspring of
“Star Wars,” this movie, thanks to a few
bright lines and some good-humored
acting, is more pleasant than it has any
right to be. (PG) A-II — Morally
unobjectionable for adults and
adolescents.
“A PERFECT COUPLE” (FOX)
Last time out, “Quintet” director
Robert Altman tried to be profound
and failed miserably. Now he’s trying to
be simple, with far better but mixed
results. In this tale of true love
triumphing over diversity of
backgrounds — she’s a rock singer and
he’s the fortyish, browbeaten scion of a
wealthy and conservative Greek family
— there are some pleasant moments and
good acting, but the whole thing is so
inconsequential that at times it seems in
danger of evaporating. Some adult
situations and dialogue make it mature
viewing fare. (PG) A-III — Morally
unobjectionable for adults.
“THE PASSAGE”
(UNITED ARTISTS)
A fiendish SS man (Malcolm
McDowell) pursues an escaping scientist
(James Mason) and his family across the
Pyrenees. Anthony Quinn is on hand as
a stalwart Basque guide. This is a
mediocre war film filled with violence
and brutality and thoroughly
reprehensible in its excesses. (R) C -
Condemned.
Diocese
Of Savannah
Office Of Catholic
School System
PUBLIC STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE
Schools in The Diocese of Savannah admit students of any race, sex, color,
national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities
generally accorded or made available to students at the schools.
They do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, national and ethnic
origin in administration of educational policies, admissions policies, loan
programs, and athletic or other school administered programs.
Schools in this system are as follows:
ALBANY: St. Teresa’s School. AUGUSTA: Immaculate Conception School,
St. Mary’s-on-the-Hill School, Aquinas High School. BRUNSWICK: St. Francis
Xavier School. COLUMBUS: Our Lady of Lourdes School, St. Anne’s School,
Pacelli High School. MACON: St. Joseph’s School, St. Peter Claver School
Mount deSales High School.
SAVANNAH: Blessed Sacrament School, Cathedral Day School, Nativity of
? U u L ,° r £ S ^ h °° ’ ? acred Heart Sc hool, St. James School, Benedictine Military
School, St. Vincent s Academy. J
SAVANNAH BEACH: St. Michael’s School. VALDOSTA: St. John the
Evangelist School. WARNER ROBINS: Sacred Heart School.
Rev. Ralph E. Seikel
Superintendent of Schools
t " A
TV Reviews-Programs Of Note
S 4
BY T. FABRE
NEW YORK (NC) - There is a Jewish
legend that God always keeps 36
righteous individuals on earth to do
good. Even during the horrors of the
Holocaust, there were such individuals
— the righteous few who acted to save
those marked for death by the Nazis.
“Avenue of the Just,” a documentary
program honoring individual Christians
who risked their lives to protect Jews
during that terrible period, is being
broadcast on Palm Sunday, April 8, at
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on ABC.
The program’s title is the name given
to a path within Jerusalem’s Yad
Vashem Memorial to the Six Million,
which is lined with trees planted to
commemorate the valor of “righteous
Christians.”
Featuring footage shot in Europe, the
United States and Israel, the
documentary interviews 10 Christians
who acted as a matter of conscience and
religious belief on behalf of those
persecuted by the Nazis. A Dutch
pastor, a French priest, a German
widow, a Belgian mother and the others
speak not of their courage but of the
tragedy that more were not saved.
One of the most moving of these
interviews is that of Alex Roslan, who
rescued three young brothers from the
Warsaw ghetto, kept them with his
family and daily lived in fear of being
betrayed by an informer.
The program closes with a rare
interview of Otto Frank, the father of
Anne Frank, who recalls how his family
and four other Jews lived in hiding for
two years before they, and the
Christians who assisted them, were
betrayed. He considers it his mission to
tell the teen-agers who read his
daughter’s diary “not to forget. We have
to work together against prejudice and
discrimination.”
The film is an eloquent reminder of
those Christians who were faithful to
their belief and had the moral courage
to act in the face of such overshelming
injustice. Implicit is the question of why
there were not more.
The program, produced by the
Anti-Defamation League, is being
presented on ABC in cooperation with
the National Council of Churches of
Christ, the U.S. Catholic Conference,
the Southern Baptist Convention and
the Jewish Theological Seminary.
“DO IT YOURSELF MESSIAH,”
PBS, APRIL 14
An annual event in Chicago during
the Christmas season is a performance
of Handel’s “The Messiah.” What is
unusual about this is that the audience
comprises the chorus performing in
“The Do It Yourself Messiah,” airing
Saturday, April 14, at 9-10 p.m. on
PBS.
Joining professional soloists and
orchestra under conductor Margaret
Hills were 2,683 non-professional
singers who last Christmas filled the
grand acousitc space of Orchestra Hall
with the grandeur of Handel’s oratorio.
The program, produced and directed
by Christopher Lukas, is interested in
why people come to this event. A
Felician College nun explains that for
her the oratorio’s salvation history is a
religious experience, made “even more
personal” by singing it with such a large
group.
Another participant, a psychiatrist,
sees this annual event as a way of
providing a sense of community in our
current, complex world where there is
not much chance for interaction
between people. For him, it recaptures
the feeling of camaraderie that he knew
as a boy and misses today.
Some participate because it has the
fun and excitement of a spontaneous
happening. Others see it as fulfilling
some spiritual need or opportunity for
musical expression. Whatever the
reason, “The Do It Yourself Messiah” is
a rich experience of diverse people
coming together and sharing their
enjoyment of beautiful music.
“THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,”
PBS, APRIL 10
National Library Week is a suitable
time to have a look at the largest library
in the world. Taking the viewer on the
grand tour of its diverse collections and
vast holdings is “The Library of
Congress: A Portrait of an American
Institution,” airing Tuesday, April 10,
at 9-10:30 p.m. on PBS.
The size of the library is nothing
short of gargantuan. It subscribes to
117,000 periodicals. It houses 18
million books and adds 7,000 volumes
to this number every working day. The
average time it takes for a user to get a
book is 45 minutes.
For scholars, it is “the library of last
resort” — having material not available
anywhere else. It has books on all
subjects in all languages from all
countries. Although it continues to use
a card catalogue system, many users
prefer the speed of computer printouts.
The library, however, does not simply
limit itself to printed material. Its
holdings contain all media: 32 million
manuscripts and documents from
presidents to Groucho Marx, 8 million
photographs, 3 million maps, 250,000
motion pictures, among a myriad of
other items.
The documentary shows how the
Library of Congress serves its primary
function as a research service for
Congress. It employs nearly a thousand
researchers who answer some 2,000
questions daily from legislators and
their staffs.
Our genial host and knowledgeable
guide on this fascinating tour is Sir Huw
Wheldon, former head of BBC
Television. Whatever irony there may be
in the fact that the program was
conceived and initiated by an
Englishman, viewers can be thankful
that PBS presented this portrait of such
an American subject.
TV PROGRAMS OF NOTE
Sunday, April 8, 1:30-3 p.m. (NBC)
“Giselle.” The Bolshoi Ballet company’s
interpretation of the classic dance about
the doomed romance of an innocent girl
was taped on the stage of the Bolshoi
Theater in Moscow with commentary
by Edward Villella of the New York
City Ballet company.
On Palm Sunday Eve (April 7) at 8
p.m. THE BIG FISHERMAN. This
world premiere presentation from the
SFM Holiday Network tells the story of
Simon Peter, the doubting fisherman
who eventually became Christ’s chief
disciple. Howard Keel, John Saxon and
Martha Hyer star. (Aired by WSAV-TV
Chanel 3 Savannah)
Sunday, April 8, 8-10 p.m. (NBC)
“Jesus of Nazareth.” Appropriately
scheduled for Palm Sunday viewing, the
fourth and final segment of this highly
acclaimed Gospel dramatization follows
the passion, death and resurrection of
Jesus.
Monday, April 9, 10-12:30 p.m.
(ABC) “Academy Awards.” Johnny
Carson is the master of ceremonies for
the live broadcast of the 51st Annual
Academy Awards presentation.
Wednesday, April 11, 8-10:30 p.m.
(PBS) “Measure for Measure.” The BBC
Shakespeare series presents one of his
dark comedies, depicting a world where
sexual relationships between unmarried
people are punished by death.
Friday, April 13, 9-11 p.m. (ABC)
“Like Normal People.” Shaun Cassidy
and Linda Purl star as mentally retarded
young adults who triumph over
prejudice and ignorance when their
desire to marry meets with angry
resistance.
TV FILM FARE
Saturday, April 14, 9 p.m. (CBS) --
“Take a Hard Ride” (1975) In this
very routine Western, Jim Brown plays a
wrangler entrusted by his dying boss
(Dana Andrews) to bring home to his
widow the money from the sale of a
herd. Fred Williamson, as a
devil-may-care gambler, joins Brown in
an uncertain alliance as villains of all
sorts pop out of the sagebrush on the
way home. A-II — Morally
unobjectionable for adults and
adolescents.
IN MACON
Simone Weil will be the subject of
discussion for St. Joseph’s Book
Discussion Group in Macon on Tuesday,
April 10, at 10:30 AM in St. Joseph’s
Center. Simone Weil’s books have been
widely read in Europe for many years,
but she is just beginning to be
appreciated in America. The Book
Discussion Group plans to read one of
her books.
Speaking to the group about Simone
Weil whom Malcolm Muggeridge has
called “the spiritual luminary of our
age,” will be Madame Denise Volkov of
Mercer University’s French Department.
RELIGIOUS HIGHLIGHTS
RADIO: Sunday, April 8.
“Guideline” (NBC) continues its current
series of lenten faith-sharing dialogues
on the role of prayer in the life of the
Christian today. The subject of this
sixth dialogue is prayer and the cross.
Guests are Father Peter Mann, a British
priest and theologian currently working
in the United States, and Father William
Ayres, director of communications for
the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N. Y.
(Check local listings for time.)
TELEVISION: Sunday, April 8,
10-11 a.m. “Palm Sunday Liturgy from
St. Patrick’s Cathedral” (NBC) — In
special recognition of the 100 th
anniversary of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in
New York, NBC will broadcast live the
principal liturgy on Palm Sunday from
the cathedral. Cardinal Terence Cooke
will celebrate the Mass, Capuchin Father
Dacian Dee is homilist and music will be
by the St. Patrick’s Cathedral choir
under the direction of John Grady. The
choir consists of 75 voices plus an
instrument group. Produced in
cooperation with the USCC Office for
Film and Broadcasting.
Educated at the Sorbonne, Madame
Volkov is known at Mercer as an
excellent teacher. Those who have heard
her speak elsewhere, including Father
Thomas Healy, through whose good
offices she has agreed to speak, predict
that this will be one of the most
worthwhile programs ever offered at St.
Joseph’s. “She is a real scholar,” Father
Healy said, “and her insights into the
spirituality of Simone Weil will be quite
valuable.”
The interested public is invited to
attend.
THE CHURCH:
TV-MO VIES-BOOKS
Book Discussion Group
BAINBRIDGE CONFIRMATION - On Sunday March 11 Bishop
Lessard conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation on ten young people of
St. Joseph’s Parish, Bainbridge. In the photo are: first row, left to right:
Lita Faircloth, Mary Fite, Richard Whiddon, Scott Eckenrod and
Napoleon Matucan. Second row, left to right are: Natalie Holt, Audrey
Vrzal, Bishop Lessard, Fr. Alvin F. Matthews, O.F.M., Pastor of St.
Joseph’s, Rosanna Matucan, Eric Atkinson, and Joseph Bailey. After the
Confirmation Liturgy, the ladies of the parish provided a reception and
covered dish dinner for the parents, relatives and friends of the young
people confirmed.
Johnnie Ganem
Steak Ranch
CHARCOAL BROILED
STEAKS
PRIME STEAKS
DINNERS
LUNCHEON
COCKTAILS
DINNER MUSIC
Gaston and Habersham
AD 3-3032
THROUGHOUT AUGUSTA’S HOLY TRINITY
PARISH, the Franciscan Sisters continue to respond to
Bishop Raymond Lassard’s Parish Council Mini-Retreat
preached in Augusta last October 24. The kernel of the
Bishop’s message was Evangelization. In response the
Sisters sought out different segments of God’s people
who were open to a greater awareness, a truer living of
God’s Word. In addition to the regular Sunday classes
conducted at Holy Trinity and St. Joseph’s, classes
were set up in the Convent on week evenings at times
convenient for those desiring instruction. As this was
not practical for all, a center was established in an
out-of-the-way home. Two Sisters go there every 4
Wednesday evening to teach Religion. As a
consequence of the entire thrust, numerous Baptisms
have already taken place while preparation for the
other Sacraments of initiation is still in progress. The
Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate
Conception do adhere to the word in the Apostolic
Exhortation of the late Pope Paul VI. “Those who
sincerely accept the Good News and have been
gathered by it into the community of Salvation, can ^
and must communicate and share it with others.”
' THE
CHURCH:
DIOCESE