Television, Cinema, Books: Jun. 27, 1969

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ALBERT AYLER, NEW GRASS (impulse!). Alto Saxophonist Ayler uses a gospel-rock background and a group called The Soul Singers to help him get a mystical word across: "The music I bring to you is of a different dimension in my life, the message one of spiritual love, peace and understanding." The tension of his wavering whines and reedy growls is somewhat dispelled by the propelling, regular beat, making such tunes as New Generation and Everybody's Movin' an oddly felicitous blend of spiritual and material.

PHAROAH SANDERS, KARMA (impulse!) Sanders reaches to the religions of the Far East for his spiritual overtones, using an assortment of percussion instruments, horns, bells and even incantations. In The Creator Has a Master Plan, sensuous, mesmerizing sounds roll over repeated phrases, curling peaceably upward like incense. In Colors, Pharoah's tenor saxophone begins a tempest of cries and emphatic screeches that hint at lurking discord in the universe. The harmonious moments of his music, though, far outnumber the discomforting ones, and suggest a passionate belief in man's perfectibility.

CINEMA

THE WILD BUNCH is Director Sam Peckinpah's way of telling the truth while preserving the legend of the West. His bandits, led by William Holden, are drawn by their own peculiar code of honor into a bloody finish that surpasses Bonnie and Clyde for violence.

PEOPLE MEET AND SWEET MUSIC FILLS THE HEART. There is welcome relief in this bizarre Danish film satirizing all that explicit cinematic sexuality.

THE LOVES OF ISADORA is distinguished only by Vanessa Redgrave's graceful and majestic performance. The truncated scenario is essentially true to events but essentially false to Isadora, who made them happen.

WINNING. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward give unduly serious attention to this somewhat bathetic tale of marital infidelity, set against the noisy background of auto racing. The Newmans are good to watch in just about anything, but this particular vehicle is badly in need of a dramatic tune-up.

MIDNIGHT COWBOY. James Leo Herlihy's novel about the unlikely friendship of a Texas drifter and a Bronx loner has been transformed by Director John Schlesinger (Darling) into a portrait of nighttown America that is notable for the acting of Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight.

LAUGHTER IN THE DARK. Love is literally blind in this black comedy about a wealthy Englishman (Nicol Williamson) who becomes obsessed with a lascivious movie usherette (Anna Karina). Williamson gives a strong performance as a weak man. The script—from Vladimir Nabokov's novel—is intelligent, and Tony Richardson's direction is undoubtedly his best since The Entertainer.

POPI. Alan Arkin is magnificent as a Puerto Rican widower struggling to get his two sons out of the New York ghetto in this funny, occasionally angry little comedy that is one of the year's most refreshing films.

MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN and RING OF BRIGHT WATER. These two children's films are distinguished by their lack of coyness and a singleminded refusal to condescend to their audience. Mountain concerns a Canadian lad who runs off to the woods, and Ring tells the sprightly tale of a London accountant and his pet otter.