SCRKl-NnGreatness UnincarnatenGandhi; Written by John Briley; Directednby Richard Attenborough; ColumbianPictures.nby Stephen MacaulaynA reclining figure with a spine of casehardenednsteel: that was Gandhi. Fewnothers in the 20th century show, as hendid, that a tenacious belief in truth, innthe dignity of man, and in the power ofnideas is worth living and dying for. Gandhinhad charisma, though not in thenhomogenized PR-agency John F. Kennedynsense that is all surface, but in thendeeper, more profound sense of thenterm, one that emerges from the spirit,nnot from a press release. Gandhi was angood man, which is not to say that he wasnpure, without fault, for to be man presupposesnblemish. Blake’s commentnabout Milton, that he “wrote in fettersnwhen he wrote of Angels & God, and atnliberty when of Devils & Hell,” points upnthe extreme difficulty of portrayingngoodness. It is extraordinarily hard tonmake a film biography, given the complexitiesnoiany life—not merely that of angreat figure—and the demands of thenbox office. So, trying to make the life of angood man into a cinematic product is annenormous task. Mr. Richard Attenboroughnwasn’t up to it in Gandhi. The filmnis one part National Geographic televisionnspecial, one part television news andnopinion talk show. Both parts are translatednto the wide screen, only throughnenlargement, not through enhancement.nMr. Attenborough, it seems,nemployed Candice Bergen and MartinnSheen for American viewers to identifynwith and John Gielgud and TrevornBooks, Albums, BooksnJules Feiffer’s America: From Eisenhowernto Reagan; Edited by StevennHeller; Alfred A. Knopf; New York.nTobey ‘s 80: A Retrospective; Universitynof Washington Press; Seatde.nThe Blue Four: Galka Scheyer Collection;nEdited by Sara Campbell; Universitynof Washington Press; Seatde.nGraphics and Other Works by Henri denToulouse-Lautrec; University of WashingtonnPress; Seatde.nFrank Driggs and Harris lewine: BlacknBeauty, White Heat: A Pictorial Historynof Classic Jazz 1920-1950; William Morrow;nNew York.nOver the years, Mr. Feiffer has becomena sort of epitome, a phenomenonnthat exemplifies how liberal andnleftist attitudes in life and ideology arennow—in our age—symbiotic with hysterianand malaise. And that, perhaps,nmakes him one of the most importantncartoonists alive. As a man of prodigiousngraphic sensitivities, and no lesser sensenof style, he evolved a technique of portrayingnthe convergence of radicalismnARTnnnHoward for British viewers; either thencharacters those actors play are superfluousnor the character didn’t need thenactor. The impHcation is that Anglo-nAmericans couldn’t identify with thendark-skinned characters. Goodnessnknows no bounds.nThe truth of goodness is best capturednand conveyed in poetry. Gandhi aspiresnnot to poetry, but to documentary. Gandhinthe good man remains untouched.nand fashionableness, the correlation ofnmodern, middlebrow franticality ofnmind with the tyranny of modish posesn—a relatively new factor of Western civilization,nan offshoot of its affluence andnthe mass production of culture. Mr. Feiffer’snidiosyncratic portraiture of thenminiphilosophies of the era are a valuablenmirror of propensities and mores ofnthe contemporary collective or individualnconsciousness, of the shallowness of hisnown political sensitivities. One can bothnstudy and relish his work.nIhe University of Washington at Seattlenis lately pursuing a highly ambitiousnprogram for its books on the arts. Thosenpublications are often an imaginativenrefinement of the catalogue form, makingnavailable known and valuable collectionsncurrently in the possession ofnmuseums, galleries, or private individuals.nThe University of WashingtonnPress skillfiiUy takes all possible advantagenof this method, and meticulouslynprepared, tasteful volumes are the result.nTobey’s 80: A Retrospective is one strikingnexample of how such an enterprisenshould be handled. Beautifiilly printed.nwmmmm^^nApril 1983n