Rating: NNNNN
HAIR (Milos Forman, 1979) made it to screen so long after the hippie-led Age of Aquarius that it qualified as early nostalgia. But Forman’s take on the Broadway play breathed some dynamism into the new fossil. John Savage was already 30 when he starred as Claude, a country boy from Oklahoma who’s heading off to war but first discovers the counter-culture in New York. Forman, who had just won an Oscar for directing One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, gave this movie the euphoria of the late 60s but made room for darker tones, too. Though some of the songs now sound stridently rebellious, this film is too smart to swallow those sentiments. Instead, Forman – and choreographer Twyla Tharp – bring the music into a subtler balance. (June 1, Music Hall) NNN
