THE DIRECTOR'S EVENT

Five interviews here apparently designed to prove that underlying Randy Scott's last ride into the sunset is a philosophical modus operandi equal to if not better than the best of Bergman. At least according to Budd Boetticher who directed umpteen of those western wonders. The talk covers the usual range of camera angles and shots and character motivation. Arthur Penn discusses why he prefers dealing with social misfits (the interview apparently took place right after Bonnie and Clyde); Samuel Fuller talks about Shark and The Naked Kiss: Peter Bogdanovich gives a fairy funny run-down of how and why he managed to stay on Target. But by far the only really worthwhile Event is the conversation with Abraham Polonsky who was blacklisted after his Force of Evil and is finally making a comeback. His is a charged sensibility combined with a peculiar form of fatalism that makes his films so distinctive. And he is an articulate philosopher who almost makes the book worthwhile.