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Page Four, PHOENIXine Flicks At i %u00a3 IIV I I I C I I I M I M I IIt is high time someone commented on the wide variety of quality films consistently shown by the Brooklyn Heights Cinemas I & II. After the long lines and high admission prices at almost all the uptown NY film houses, it is a pleasure to relax with a box of buttered popcorn in unpretentious surroundings and see a film usually a few weeks after its original premiere (at nearly half the price) or even a golden oldie that you might have missed the first time around.The latter was our experience recently we avoided thenihilism or %u201cPlay It As It Lays%u201d in favor of %u201cMarjoe,%u201d (which we%u2019d narrowly missed seeing about four times around) playing with Robert Downey%u2019s %u201cPutney Swope,%u201d which we%u2019d seen a few years back, but which still proved to have its funny moments. Double features as good as these are not a rare phenomenon at the Heights Cinemas.Having seen Marjoe Gortner turn on (and off) his Pentecostal preaching style upon request by Dick Cavett about a year ago, I was curious to see the amazing story of this young man%u2019s life. Marjoe remains a sociological phenomenon who has lived to tell his incredible tale. Supposedly having had the Lord place His hand upon him at the age of four (according to his mother, one suspects) Marjoe (short for Mary and Joseph) began laying his hands on people, resulting in %u201cmiracle cures,%u201d and preaching with gestures carefully coached by his parents (%u201cHalleluhah%u201d meant use your arms a bit more, or speak louder, we forget which; %u201cPraise the Lord%u201d meant get ready for the appeal to the pocketbook, etc.).After marrying couples as a four-year-old minister and a faith healer at eight, Marjoe dropped out of preaching at 15, supposedly realizing the sham and hypocrisy of it all. Yet suddenly in his early 20s %u2014 in need of money and still so good at rousing an audience to %u201creach deep into their pockets forJesus%u201d he returned successfully to the evangelical trail. Presumably harboring no bitterness at his parents who took whatever money he had earned as a child phenomenon, Marjoe returned to preach in Jesus%u2019 name with long hair, sex appeal, and a few bodily movements borrowed from Mick Jagger. Until the hellfire, brimstone, and counting of dollars backstage became a bit too thick, that is, he then decided to make a movie, revealing all (thus making more money). %u201cI%u2019m a good entertainer,%u201d he says quite candidly, and for people who aren%u2019t allowed to smoke, drink, or presumably even think licentious thoughts, Marjoe will be a great loss on their one night out a week at the revival meeting.The picture poses an interesting question %u2014 is it necessary to believe in what you%u2019re doing if you do ^effectively? No one else riding the circuit seems to, and the only suckers are the poor people, it seems, who want to be taken, and do it with their eyes fully closed. Marjoe has been criticized for ruining these people%u2019s illusions with his picture, but it seems more likely that people will go on believing in what they need to believe, just as the odds are even that Marjoe may some day return to the preaching he is best at, perhaps with a little less fire and brimstone. After all, he likes the hymns, and as a rock and roll star, his professed ambition, he doesn%u2019t make it.%u201cPutney Swope,%u201d Robert Downey%u2019s second effort after %u201cchafed elbows,%u201d if chronology serves correctly, concerns what happens after a black man is voted head of a prestigious advertising agency (because everyone on the Board of Directors was convinced no one else would vote for him). Basically, many of the scenes of Swope%u2019s rise to fortune could use some serious editing, something Downey has always been too selfindulgent about, but the actual commercials themselves areContinued on Page 5GapuLetsM m f a g u eKeslauranW ib*5! S t ~ Merits,L o n d h t +O ie -ir tte s kn r e -'$ a t + 5 i u iC r u n c h .\\ \\ -JAPANESE SCROLL: John Jay student Noemi Nunez smiles as Principal Abraham Venit presents her with a scroll in Japanese and a little gift from the Governor of Tokyo in recognition of her artwork contribution to a special Tokyo-New York Sister City contest. Noemi's work is on display in a Tokyo museum.Poetry At MuseumBY BARBARA COLLINSAt 2:00 every Sunday afternoon, a poetry reading, free to the public, takes place in the quietly beautiful Egyptian gallery of the Brooklyn Museum. If all the readings are as good as last Sunday%u2019s, they deserve audiences even larger than the 500 they sometimes draw.On February 25, Roberta Gould and Alfred Dorn read their own poetry. The pdetry was excellent and both poets read effectively. Miss Gould presented her poetry, much of it personal in content, in an informal style that seemed to involve the listener in an intimate conversation, so that he was caught up in the rhythm of the poem and closely moved by it. Mr. Dorn%u2019s more formal delivery emphasized the visual and philosophic quality of his poetry. Each poem, like a polished sculpture, was placed before the audience and invited contemplation.Mr. Dorn%u2019s %u201c Bricklayer,%u201d %u201cfather of skyscrapers,%u201d wiping from his brow the %u201csweat of pyramids,%u201d or his %u201c Flamenco Dancer,%u201d %u201cToo taut for grace,%u201d man and country of bone and stone, %u201chammering%u201d the earth with his heels, are people so clearly seen and so informed by thought that they are understood and unforgettable. Miss Gould%u2019s poetry isharder to recall with that visual clarity, for it is experienced rather than seen. In the poem %u201cLeft,%u201d the poet becomes the reverberations of the walls of a room after the door has closed behind one who will never return. Carried along by the reading the listener experiences the hollowness of the room by feeling the slam of the door in himself.Roberta Gould, who was born and educated in Brooklyn, attended the National University in Mexico. She has written in Spanish and has translated the work of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, 17th Century Mexican poet. Translations of three of these poems, very modern in feeling, were included in Sunday%u2019s reading. Miss Gould%u2019s work has appeared in a variety of poetry magazines. She has read at Hunter, NYU, NY Poet%u2019s Coop, Brooklyn Public Library, WBAI and WNYC.Alfred Dorn is the author of two volumes of poetry, Flamenco Dancer and Other Poems and Wine|n Stone. His poems have appeared in more than 50 publications here and abroad. A specialist in Renaissance and Baroque Literature, he received his Ph.D. degree from New York University. He has taught at Rider College, NYU, and the City University of New York. He has lectured at writers conferences, given publicContinued on Page 5t h i s y e A R ?^ O U V L A K IA\\owTd%u20ac%u00bbu%u00a3 St .a Park Slope landmarksince 1910,off Grand Army PlazaLUNCHEONDINNERCOCKTAIL LOUNGEBANQUET FACILITIES free parkingclosed Mondaysowned and operatedby the Michel family346 Flatbush AvenueNE 8-4552'tccaddilRESTAURANTFamous for Our^Overstaffed SandwichesCateringOur SpecialtyLot U%u00bb P in Your Hurt PartyJenufaOperaticIV * M m 4flb MBA^ JMS* Atm*.Janacek%u2019s masterpiece Jenufa received a stunning performance at the Bel Canto Opera on February 24. Three Brooklynites contributed heavily to the evening%u2019s success. Vincent Alfano directed with great style and a good eye for colorful stage pictures and interesting movement. Aside from one or two awkward moments, he moved the performance steadily to an engrossing climax. Brooklynites Richard Cerullo and Elinor Shanbaum designed and built sets of great beauty. The exterior for act one . was airy and spacious, and the interior for acts two and three was appropriately stark and evocative.The success of an opera depends upon the performance of the music, and here the glories were overwhelming. The smaller roles were sung and acted with great beauty. Special mention is due to Gianni Zeno for his richly sung and perfectly acted Miller; Harlan Foss and Stephany Low for their authoritative portraits of the Mayor and His Wife; and to Judi Elterman, Brenda Taub and Helena De Aguillar for their strong interpretations of Jano, Grandmother and Karolka, respectively.| Jenufa%u2019s four leading roles are among the most demanding in opera, and the evening%u2019s principals were more than ready for the great demands imposed upon them. Michael Harrison was Steva incarnate. Lee Winston was a Laca of great sensitivity and superior musical intelligence. Maggie Toe vs offered a Kostelmica of melting tones and strong psychological nuance. As Jenufa, Kris Karlovsky sang with magnificent tone, and never lost sight of her role%u2019s great drama. Angela Manso at the piano played magnificently throughout.I strongly urge you to attend this production. It will be repeated on March 3rd and 4th at the Madison Ave. Baptist Church. Call MU^5- 1377 for details.%u2014 JOHN BURKE GILLESPIE.Heights NurserySets CarnivalRain or shine, Saturday, March 10, can be a fun day for the kids. Take them to the Children%u2019s Carnival at the Brooklyn Heights Community Nursery School, any time from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Everything for sale will be childoriented, from books (new and used, all inexpensive), to toys (gently-used and rejuvenated), to handicraft kits (specially designed for little hands), to refreshments (hot dogs, soft drinks, and finger desserts).Community Nursery School is at 26 Willow Place in Brooklyn Heights, off Joralemon StreetMA 4-97745 TO 10 P.M.QUA