Big City - 1980 (review)

were and not for what they supposedly did. Despite all these weaknesses as a film one still comes away feeling symt mixed with gentleness ofVanzetti in his moving portrayal. Due to their acting abilities, one aspect ofthe film is handled with some degree ofdelicacy and feeling: the seven-year time span from the conviction to the execution. They were able to capture the depth of the degradation and frustration which Sacco and Vanzetti suffered during this period. In doing this the basic humanity and essential quality ofthe two protagonists are preserved, despite Montaldo's effort to bury them in polemics. The Sacco and Vanzetti case was a real life tragedy, and a dramatization which explains why the American system ofjustice failed at this time has been long needed. It is unfortunate that the need still exists. Robert Horowitz is a Lecturer in History at Brooklyn College. His two main fields of interest are the Civil War and Reconstruction and the cultural history ofthe 1920's. films for the classroom Big City - 1980 (CBS, 1960) 50 min. b&w Addressing itselfto several aspects of one ofthe foremost processes in twentieth century American life, rapid urbanization and its attendant problems, Big City - 1 980 makes interesting viewing as much for what it omits as it seeks to portray. Using Brazil's new capital, Brasilia, as an example ofa planned urban center for the future, the film concentrates on some ofthe peculiarly vexing problems ofurban renewal and rehabilitation in the United States -more precisely, those of Philadelphia. The last ten to fifteen minutes ofthe show was devoted to a moderately enlightening discussion of some architects' renderings oftheir dreams and plans for the cities of tomorrow. What then does the film fail to delineate? In the case ofBrasilia, no mention is made of the extraordinary economic burden President Kubitshek made his nation assume for the sake of its new capital. Brazil's weak technological infrastructure coupled with the haste and mismanagement ofNOVACAP, the federal agency charged with erecting the new capital, helped set in motion an inflation ofsuch proportions that it contributed to the eventual collapse oftwo subsequent reformist governments. The building ofthis nation's 'big city" was instrumental in causing the "revolution" of 1964 and the ushering in ofthe military regime which has since ruled the nation. Big City - 1980 seemed especially interesting for its inter American format. However, for those who have experienced urban living in this country end Brazil, there is a sense that something is lacking. Absent is a feeling ofthe ethos ofcity life in both lands. The subconscious romantic Jeffersonian disdain for city life, the racial and ethnic antagonisms and rapid "rise and fall" ofintra-city neighborhoods are three features of most North American cities which are virtually unimportant in appreciating the Brazilian city. Cities are not the same the world over. The film should have made this clear. In a more positive vein, this rather long documentary does raise some relevant issues — the respective rights and obligations ofthe urban planners and citizens directly affected; some alternatives to the urban center as it is generally conceived; and how to house peoples ofall economic levels. Last, and iffor no other reason, this film is worthy ofcontinued exposure for its picture of an American city in the throes ofurban blight; a disease whose cure is vital to the continued socio-economic and humanistic growth of 24 the United States. (Course, Currents in the History ofthe Americas)Theodore Berson, Newark College of Engineering The Music of Williamsburg (Colonial Williamsburg, 1 960) 40 min. color This film illustrates the diverse European, African, and colonial music forms found in eighteenth century America. Using the plot device ofa sailor's visit through Williamsburg, the picture recreates the era in a highly professional manner. The concert music, ballad opera, and slave dance sequences are particularly good; a glass harmonica presentation is unique. But in the interest of general audience appeal the film suffers annoying touches ofthe modern day. No attempt is made to recapture the accents of colonial speech; little attempt is made to avoid the distinctive "folk" sound ofthe late 1950's; every attempt is made to avoid the unappealing aspects ofearly Virginia culture. The film is...