The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 75

SAN DIEGO COUNTY EDITION CALENDAR Coo Angclce (Times Friday, August 12, l)HH Part VI The Last Temptation of Christ' Intense, Utterly Sincere, Frequently Fascinating Work By SHEILA BENSON, Times Film Critic In one of those awful ironies, the unholy furor that has been stirred up over "The Last Temptation of Christ" (CineplexOdeon Century Plaza), Martin Scorsese's version of the Nikos Kazantzakis novel, will probably draw more attention to a thoughtful, 2-hour-and-40-minute movie about Jesus than the most expert publicity department, working night and day for a year, could have done. Left alone, the film might have been an uphill sell. After all, even with its controversial vision sequence tempting the crucified Jesus with a chance at a mortal's life, complete with children, Movie Review Scorsese Ends Long Quest to Film Kazantzakis Novel By PAT H. BROESKE It has been a tumultuous journey from book to screen for "The Last Temptation of Christ." The journey ended with director Martin Scorsese realizing a 15-year quest to film Nikos Kazantzakis' novel. But it didn't start with Scorsese.

In the early 70s, Sidney Lumet quietly acquired rights to the novel from Kazantzakis' widow. In the spring of 1971, Lumet announced that he hoped to begin filming "The Last Temptation" in September of that year, in Israel. But Lumet never got around to casting. Nor did the project make the studio rounds. The reason, Lumet recalled this week: "I never could lick it in terms of a screenplay.

I just couldn't pull it off." Especially challenging, he said, was the book's depiction of Judas as a kind of heroic fall-guy who is hand-picked by Christ as the one who will seal his fate. "They set it up between them to fulfill the prophesy," said Lumet. "To me, that was what made the project so unusual." But what about the much talked-about, widely protested fantasy sequence in the book and the Scorsese film which finds Christ coming off the cross and living life as a normal man, complete with marriage and fatherhood? "I really don't understand what the fuss is about," Lumet said. "That is a total fantasy which is also the heart of the book. To film the book, which I find to be deeply religious, you have to examine Christ living as a normal man.

"Centuries of paintings have deviat-Please see QUEST, Page 18 Stage: Timeless Shakespeare Oliver North and Fawn Hall alternate on video screens with the cast of "Coriolanus" under the inspired direction of John Hirsch at the Old Globe Theatre. This thoroughly modern adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy about a soldier whose love for his country wars with and loses to his contempt for its ignorant citizens, proves once again that Shakespeare did write for the ages. The considerable detail -work in this production is superb and the Shakespearean cadences fall as smoothly as honey off the Southern tribune's tongue. Performances at 8 p.m. Tuesday -Sunday with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2.

two successive wives, even adultery and old age "The Last Temptation" was a book that Atlantic magazine called "both moving and respectful" at its American publication in 1960. Now. through the ugliness and vilification that has surrounded it, the film has been assured of its footnote on the sands of time. At the bottom of the controversy is an intense, utterly sincere, frequently fascinating piece of art by a director for whom, clearly, the message of Jesus' life has immediacy and meaning. The film's greatest virtue may be its vision of Jesus' time; its biggest drawback is the deliberate flatness and banality of the words used to convey it.

Scorsese plunges us brusquely into Please see FILM, Page 16 Classical Music: Cruisin If your plans for a summer cruise on the Adriatic or a visit to the Greek islands fell through, you can still sample some of the musical culture of this part of the world at Words and Music Gallery Saturday night. Duo guitarists George Svoboda and Fred Benedetti will play folk dances and other obscure ethnic songs from Greece, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia arranged for two guitars. A native of Cheb in Western Czechoslovakia, Svoboda discovered this rhythmically complex unusual music in his student days and arranged it for two guitars when he began playing with Benedetti several years ago. The virtuoso duo will plav their program at both 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. WiUem Dafoe portrays Jesus in "The Last Temptation of Christ." Movie Critics Debate Its Merit as Passionately as Religious Leaders By NINA J.

EASTON. Times Staff Writer "richly beautiful, profound work of the human imagination functioning at its peak of capacities." But the evening before Healy 's review arrived on doorsteps, KABC-TV's film critic, Gary Franklin, told his viewers the movie was "thoroughly boring." "It's not a question of having enough security to control protests, but enough ushers to wake up the sleeping patrons," Franklin added in an interview Wednesday. "I don't think any one should be offended except the Please see CRITICS, Page 28 Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" has sparked as much debate among film critics as it has among the nation's religious leaders. Is the film an artful, courageous rendering of Nikos Kazantzakis' 1955 novel that, at last, humanizes Jesus? Or another lumbering, awkward attempt to bring Jesus to the screen? The critics are divided though most seem to agree the film is worth seeing. Time magazine's Richard Corliss says those "willing to accompany Scorsese on his dangerous ride through the Gospels may believe he has created his masterpiece." USA Today's Mike Clark commended Scorsese for giving "us a flesh-and-blood savior in the first biblical movie of any real cinematic immediacy." But AP's Bob Thomas called the film "at times moving, often overwrought, and at least 40 minutes too long." And Rex Reed, co-host of "At the Movies," called the film "a 20-ton turkey, boring and pretentious.

It's rare you find so much bad acting." Michael Healy, film critic for the L.A. Daily News, called the film a Film: A nother Huston There is a lot of whimsy in "Mr. North," a quality rarely found in modern movies. Based on Thornton Wilder's semi-autobiographical novel, "Theophilus North," it is a tale of a relatively naive young man of the world (Anthony Edwards) who lands in plush Newport, R.I., circa 1926. He is a walking electrical coil, a conduit for static electricity, a harmless quality that is both charming and a constant source of annoyance to North.

Directed by Danny Hustonson of John, brother of Anjelica (who also appears in the movie North's adven -tures in Newport make for an uneven, but enjoyable tale, full of small-town Americana and light, humorous moments. "Mr. North" is currently screening at The Cove theater m.La Jolla. M.J. JOHNSON THEATER REVIEW 'Red Noses' Is Strange and Wonderful By DAN SULLIVAN, Times Theater Critic Art: Father's Song Father's Day it's not, but what better way to pay tribute to a creative dad? "A Song For My Father" honors long-time San Diego artist Guillermo Acevedo through an exhibition of three decades of his drawings.

The show, which opens tonight with a reception from 6 to 9 at the Acevedo Gallery (4010 Goldfinch was organized by Acevedo's son, artist Mario Torero Acevedo. Guillermo Acevedo came to San Diego from Peru in 1959 and "astounded the community of San Diego with his masterful drawings of the city's old buildings, historical architecture, and Victorian mansions," according to the gallery. AN DIEGO-Are you ready for a comedy about the Black Plague? A comedy where lep ers die laughing, where nuns hang their laundry from the true cross, where blind men juggle, where cripples throw down their crutches and dance badly? HOWARD ROSENBERG TV Documentary on Los Angeles' Homeless Looking for a Home Tom Seidman has almost completed his documentary about the city's homeless, titled "Lost Angeles." He spent months befriending and mingling with his subjects, then many more months editing his 40 hours of footage into 55 minutes of compelling video, lacking only a final cut that would include polishing and production credits. And now, a year later, his documentary is homeless, too. "With all the stations in this market, broadcasting 18 hours a day, you'd think there would be an hour somewhere," Seidman lamented about his failure to obtain a TV commitment now for the documentary he made with his heart and $16,000 of his own money.

"Lost Angeles" is the first documentary for the 39-year-old Seidman, who works as an assistant director in the movie industry. His plight is typical of the frustrating, rejection -paved road traveled by most independent documentarians. That "Lost Angeles" truly deserves airing, that its raw honesty and power far overshadow its inelegance and narrative gaps, may not matter much in the fiercely competitive scramble for air time. Although the small documentary seems to be resurging somewhat on some independent stations and public TV, space is still at a premium and it's a buyer's market. 'T)eople go out and find a cause they believe in and then they pour their heart into it," said Harrison Engle, vice president of the International Documentary which aims to expand opportunities for independent film makers such as Seidman.

"Partly it's their naivete and unfamiliarity with the marketplace." In fairness, Seidman at one point had a chance to place his documentary on KHJ-TV Channel 9. But that opportunity evaporated. Moreover, he has not explored all potential avenues, specifically cable TV and most significantly the documentary-minded Discovery Channel the low-paying stop of last resort that often Please see HOMELESS, Page 21 A comedy where all this has some point? We are discussing Peter Barnes' "Red Noses, opened SAN DIEGO COUNTY MUt I IILJ WW JkW Elk Dance: Critical Exchange Were you ever baffled by the meaning of a modern dance? Didn't you wish there was someone who could answer your questions? This weekend, at the San Diego Dance X-Change, the dancers, choreographers, and even the critics will have their say about a potpourri of brand new works. The Dance X-Change will showcase four local choreographers and eight guest artists from as far away as Seattle, New York, and San Francisco. During the course of two separate programs, slated for 8:30 p.m.

at Three's Company's Hillcrest studio on Saturday and Sunday, 13 new works will be on the block, and members of the audience will be invited to join the dialogue between the dance makers and the critics. Wednesday night at the San Diego Repertory Theatre's Lyceum Stage in Horton Plaza. It is a wonderful play. It didn't seem so in its American premiere last fall at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, but that was because the Goodman couldn't heft it. Understandably.

Even the Royal Shakespeare Company was stumped when Nichols sent them the play, then called "Red Noses. Black Death," in 1980. Oh, dear-couldn't we do this next season0 (They finally did it in '85.) It is a pageant play, a carnival, a black comedy, a spoof and a play of ideas. With songs, of course. Everything from plainchant to "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries." It occurred to the San Diego Rep and the Dell' Arte Players that there was enough play here for two Please see 'RED Page 28 What's Doing Page 21 A Art Scene Page 21 From the cast of the San Diego Rep's "Red Noses," left to right, back Paid HeUyer and Bernard Baldan; middle row, Ralph Hall, Michael Fields and Joan front row, Doug Jacobs.

STAGE FILM POP Inside Calendar Don Sparks fires "Young Guns" breathes new life into an old S.D. SPOTLIGHT John Simon says San Diego theater not thefinest. page 2 What have the image-makers done to Gloria Estefan? up P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves. MORNING REPORT: Page 2 FILM: San Diego Movie Guide.

Page 10 TV: Tonight on TV and cable. Page 24 RADIO. San Diego AM-FM listings. Page 28 genre. Page 21A Page 11.