The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 7, 1974 Page: 9 of 16
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*★ ★MOVIES* ★★
E 1 Topo
Directed by and starring Alexandra Jodorowsky
Playing at the River Oaks
The typical Western, includ-
ing the American and spaghetti
types, entertains with an inevi-
table purge of evil accomplished
with the bad guy's spilt blood.
By analyzing the good guy's de-
terioration of spirit due to their
dependence on the gun, El Topo
progresses the Western to an
epiphany.
El Topo, a black—leather clad
gunslinger, rides into the desert
out of a misty past, accom-
panied by only his innocent son.
He avenges the mass slaughter of
a town by castrating the leader
of the guilty banditos. Leaving
his son with four grateful friars,
El Topo rides off with Mara, the
leader's woman to a brief, idyllic-
existence of nature.
Mara goads him to prove his
godliness by killing the four
masters of the desert. After lear-
ning their knowledge, El Topo
kills each by means of trickery
and adept pistol—packing. But
the bloodshed does not mark
victory; as El Topo becomes
master, he loses sight of God,
Ballet's "Coppelia" is delightful
The Houston Ballet presented
a highly enjoyable performance
of "Coppelia" Thursday night in
Jones Hall. The ballet, which
centers around an old toymaker
and his precious life-sized dolls,
was delightfully executed amidst
HELP WANTED
freshman or sopho-
more to work in movie
theatre as concessionist and/
or ticket sales. 15-25 hours
per week. Start $2.00 an hour
with fringes. Jim Clark,
626-7942.
picturesque scenery and quaint
costumes. Frederic Franklin, the
guest artist, charmed the audi-
ence with his vibrant portrayal
of the addled Dr. Coppelius.
'■^Coppelia" was choreo-
graphed by Nicholas Sergeyev
after Arthur Saint-Leon and
staged by Frederic Franklin,
with music by Leo Delives, scen-
ery and costumes by Peter Far-
mer, and lighting by Jennifer
Tipton.
— Mary Julia Arnette
XEROX: Special
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& dissertations.
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LAST
RPC PRESENTS
Anarene, Te>as, 1951
Nothing much has changed.
starring
TIMOTHY BOTTOMS/JEFF BRIDGES
ELLEN BURSTYN/BEN JOHNSON
CLORIS LEACHMAN/CYBILL SHEPHERD
directed by Pefer Bogdanovich, screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Peter Bogdanovich,
produced by Steven J. Friedman, Executive Producer Bert Schneider
"It is the most impressive work by a young American director
since CITIZEN KANE." Paul D Zimerman NEWSWEEK
ACADEMY AWARDS
Best Supporting Actor — Ben Johnson
Best Supporting Actress — Cloris Leachman
November 9, Hamman Hall
7:30, 10:00, & 12:00
Admission 50 cents
wandering aimlessly pleading for
vision or solace. Though he de-
feats the masters, he cannot help
but be gunned down by Mara,
the nature's child converted to
unnaturalness by a sadistic dyke
with a man's voice and a
woman's body.
El Topo does not die. Freaks
of nature, buried in a mountain,
nurture him and call him God.
Now cured of his violent misan-
thropic habits, he plays the buf-
foon and gladly performs de-
grading tasks to raise money.
With the aid of a beautiful fe-
male dwarf and his long—lost
son, he works to burrow his
people out of their mountain.
The society people, a curious
matriarchy enamored of blood-
shed as sport, gun down the
freed freaks. In an unquenchable
passion, El Topo again acts as an
avenging angel. Finally, only his
son, dwarf—wife, and new—born
son remain, riding off into the
same desert from which El Topo
emerged.
The film derives its title from
the myth of El Topo (the mole):
the mole digs and digs, burrow-
ing deeper, looking for the sun.
If the mole ever sees the light, he
is immediately blinded. The hero
indeed searches incessantly for
God, finally seeing his goodness
destroyed with the murder of
the freaks.
The plot bears repeating be-
cause the film should be seen
more than once to savor its sub-
tleties. Religious and natural
symbolism dominate, and the
first viewing merely serves to
whet the senses and hint at the
profundities.
The opening scenes of El
Topo abound with blood and
death: indeed the film contains
more-gore than is found in the
Westerns. This should not scare
off the potential viewer how-
ever. The bloodshed soon sub-
sides and operates as a disturbing
contrast to the simple holiness
of El Topo's rebirth.
For comic relief from vio-
lence, director Jodorowsky char-
acterizes the banditos in perverse
satire. From the shoe—licking
six-shooter to the toupeed tri-
hatted, fat, immobile leader,
the banditos pose some of the
most disgustingly comic—evil
postures seen this side of Snidely
Whiplash.
The townspeople fare no bet-
ter. All the fat, wrinkled women
rule the men, delighting in acting
weak while raping their slaves.
The husbands, docile as rocks,
all sneak down to the basement
of the saloon for a grab at the
imported girlies. Their belief in
violence (exemplified in the re-
ligious Russian—roulette cer-
emony) is as pompous and evil
as the outlaws.
Only El Topo and his son ob-
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528-0148
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tain any level of truth. Their
lives, unmarred by the matriar-
chal demands, consists in the
tearing down of symbols and
battling to receive truth. Finally
they prove different from the
rest of mankind as neither can
"kill their master." Both behave
marvelously stoical until the
murder of the freaks. The father
and the son carry religion in
their souls instead of on their
voices.
Images of the desert are
flashed frequently, sometimes
making it simple to forget their
beauty. Indeed, the cinematog-
raphy provides striking contrasts
in color and size, lending an air
of not—explainable majesty.
Unexplainable yet profound-
ly moving, the images and
symbolism in El Topo leave the
viewer with wonder. Subsequent
viewings should be mandatory
for the satisfaction of every
viewer. The English subtitles ap-
pear inconspicuous, not inter-
fering with either thought or
vision. Not at all a new movie,
but never a big first run film, it's
about time a film like El Topo
made it to showcase cinema.
— Nancy Taubenslag
KEG BEER SERVICE
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Day 228-9045
Evenings 7 95-4219
528-4746
LONE STAR BEER CO., IIMC.-H0UST0IM
Arc all
scientists
evolutionists
Students have for many years been indoc-
trinated with the idea that science has proved
evolution and that all scientists believe in evolu-
tion. The Biblical record of creation, we have
been assured, is no longer taken seriously by the
well informed.
One soon discovers, of course, that much of
what is taught from classroom podiums and
printed in costly textbooks is mere human
opinion . . . even wishful thinking. The idea that
evolution is a proven fact of science is a modern
myth. Loud and frequent repetition has made it
sound credible.
Actually, at this moment there are thousands of
well-qualified scientists and other educated
professionals who have become convinced that
the Biblical model of creation and the earth's
history is far more scientific than is the
evolutionary model. This, despite the
evolutionary indoctrination received in school.
If you enjoy forming your own opinions — es-
pecially on matters of such basic importance as
this, drop us a postcard at: Institute for Creation
Research, Dept. R—2 P.O. Box 15486, San Diego,
California 92115. We'll send a free packet of
scientific literature outlining the credibility of
special creation, no strings attached.
the rice thresher, november 7, 1974—page 9
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Brewton, Gary. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 7, 1974, newspaper, November 7, 1974; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245208/m1/9/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.