The Grapes of Wrath , Country presents a deeply moving portrait of the spirit of the American heartland. Co-producer Lange gives a terrific performance that should have won this year’s Oscar. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
0 Cutter's Way(18) (Ivan Passer, US, 1981) Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn. 109 mins. Bridges witnesses the aftermath of a murder as a young girl’s remains are deposited in an alley trashcan. The next day he tentatively identifies a wealthy oil tycoon as the culprit and is goaded into exploiting this information by his buddy Heard, a crippled Vietnam veteran. A simple revenge scheme has unexpected repercussions on their friendship and endangers their lives.
Absorbing adaptation of the Newton Thornburg novel Cutter and Bone in which a B-movie plot is given added resonance by the depth of the characters and their twisted interconnections. Glasgow: Glasgow Film Theatre.
0 Desperately Seeking Susan (15) (Susan Seidelman. US. 1985) Rosanna Arquette. Madonna. Aidan Quinn. 103 mins. Bored suburban housewife Roberta. looking for escape from her humdrum existence through the personal columns, becomes fascinated with a series of ads ‘desperately seeking Susan‘ and plucks up the courage to spy on the next rendezvous. By a sequence of coincidences she unwittingly swops identity with Susan and her life is changed forever.
Much more than‘the Madonna movie‘ this is a delightful feminist fantasy that can be enjoyed by all. Quirky observation conspires with an offbeat humour to create an unexpected treat.
Edinburgh: Odeon. Lothian: ABC. Strathclyde: Cimema, Odeon (Ayr), Odeon (Hamilton)
0 Dim Sum (U) (Wayne Wang, US, 1985) Laureen and Kim Chew, Victor Wong. 87 mins. A young Chinese/American woman is torn between moving out to get married, or staying with her possessive mother, who is convinced she is going to die after it has been foretold by a fortune-teller. A tale rendered all the more touching because it draws on elements of the relationship between real-life mother and daughter who play the leading roles. With a title that can be literally translated as ‘a little bit of heart’, this is an affecting, wistful study of emotional and cultural conflict, handled with a restraint that refuses to over-dramatise the pathos of the everyday. Edinburgh; Filmhouse.
O Diva (15) (Jean-Jacques Beneix, France , 1981) Frederic Andrei, Roland Bertin, Richard Bohringer. 117 mins. The twisted fate of two tapes, one an illegal recording of an American opera star, the other exposing a crime ring, are the central strands in this daffy Gallic cult favourite. Style exudes from every frame, and the pace never slackens. The sort of film where people can have conversations about their
FILM LIST
THE FROG PRINCE
The Frog Prince (15) (Brian Gilbert, UK, 1984) Jane Snowden, Alexandre Sterling, Arabella Weir. 90 mins. Imagine, it you will, the heady days of innocence to be iound in September of 1961; Kennedy was President in America, Lady Chatterly’s Lover was a racy read, the Sixties had yet to swing and Coronation Street was still to celebrate its iirst anniversary. At this time blossoming English rose Jenny ventures to Paristo begin a course at the Sorbonne.
Although boarding with a ismin in the suburbs she is soon swept into a crash course in romance as a variety oi lilter suitors lay siege to her heart. Likeliest lad oi the lot is Jean-Philippe, a dashing irog prince, whom she meets at a jazz club. A platonic relationship
favourite touches. Glasgow; OFF. 0 Doin' Time (15) (George Mendeluk, US, 1984) Richard Mulligan, John Vernon, Muhammed Ali. 85 mins. Low-brow comedy plummets to a new nadir with this dreadful mish-mash enjoying a quick cinema exploitation prior to a December video release. Richard (Soap) Mulligan is the new warden of the John Dillinger Memorial Penitentiary whose tough-as-nails tactics infuriate the once comfortably entrenched inmates. A musical interlude satirising Jailhouse Rock and Presley invokes the catchy lyric ‘All Fucked Up’, if you find that funny then this is the film you’ve been waiting for. Irredeemably abominable. Edinburgh: ABC, Glasgow: ABC (Sauchiehall Street), ABC (Clarkston Rd). Lothian: ABC. Srathclyde: ABC (Greenock), ABC (Kilmarnock) 0 Dune (PG) (David Lynch, US, 1984) Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Sting. 136 mins. An inter-galactic trade war rages over the posession of the spice melange which is exclusive to the planet Dune. This handy item permits travel through time and space and is the key to domination of the known universe. Unfortunately it is defended by gigantic worms.
develops but Jenny is soon laced with the dilemma at whether she should go all the way.
A mere slip oi a story, redolent at a chance meeting between Mills and Boon and Channel 4, The Frog Prince provides an agreeably charming stroll down the ore-permissive streets oi iirst love. The sympathetic hosts and Jenny's coterle oi giggling lellow exiles are all recognisable types but Posy Simmonds' script avoids any excesses oi caricature or siclrly sentimentality.
Jane Snowden is adequate for the minimal demands at her role and The Frog Prince itseli is something oi a cinematic rarity; a nice, old-lashioned romance, and may appeal on those terms. (Allan Hunter)
Unwieldy, uninvolving big-budget spectacular, bereft of any emotional resonance which suffers from a persistent lack of clarity and much unintentional humour. A waste. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
0 Educating Rita (15) (Lewis Gilbert, UK, 1983) Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams. 110 mins. A Pygmalion for the 19805 as chirpy working-class hairdresser Rita undertakes an Open University course and emerges an uncertain independent woman and revivifier of her dissolute professor. Willy Russell’s popular West End hit is competently transferred to film and although Walters personification of Rita borders on the irritating, Caine gives a masterly display of screen acting. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
o The Emerald Forest (15) (John Boorman, US, 1985) Powers Boothe, Charley Boorman. 113 mins. See caption review. Edinburgh: Odeon, Glasgow: Odeon.
0 Falling in Love (PG) (Ula Grosbard, US, 1984) Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Harvey Kietel. 106 mins. De Niro and Streep are the suburban couple whose chance brief encounter leads to romance. Both are already married and a genuine infatuation leaves them unable to cheat on their legal partner nor to
dismiss their attraction as a passing fancy.
Gentle, old-fashioned romance given stature by the potent chemistry of the stars. Strathclyde: Kelburne. O Fletch (PG) (Michael Ritchie. US. 1985) Chevy Chase, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson. Tim Matheson. 98 mins. Popular American star Chase finds an ideal character for his smarmy. casually flippant style as I. M. Fletcher, an investigative reporter with a penchant for disguise and a wisecrack for every occasion.
In this undistinguished comedy-mystery he uncovers a dope-smuggling ring and unmasks a bigamous businessman with larcenous designs. There is the odd moment of hilarity but the entertainment value is dependant on one‘s appreciation of Chase who remains an acquired taste. GlasgoszBC (Clarkston Rd), Grosvenor. Strathclyde: ABC (Kilmarnock)
o Fringe Film Festival The Second Edinburgh Fringe Film Festival runs from Oct 31 until Nov 3 at Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street. The organisers have assembled a programme which brings together many areas of film and video production — a mainstream cinema retrospective, British and European independent cinema, experimental videos and super-8‘s — and hope that the Festival will provide a forum for debate and discussion.
To focus on the ways in which popular media influences social attitudes, the theme of Youngness— Who Do They Think They’re Kidding? has been chosen as a channel for debate. At the present time, when the moguls ofte film industry are all too aware of the potential of the youth market and accordingly gear production almost exclusively to exploit that market, this is an important question in the relationship between film and its audience.
As a young organisation the FF deserves support for its attempt to widen its programme, and (hopefully) audience beyond the mainstream sector. Admission prices range from 40p to £1.25, with some free events. Fuller details are available in the 1985 Fringe Film Guide, price £1, which includes complete programme details and a range of informative and discursive articles.
0 The Frog Prince (15) (Brian Gilbert, UK, 1984) Jane Snowden, Alexandre Sterling, Arabella Weir. 90 mins. See caption review. Edinburgh: Dominion. Glasgow: ABC, (Sauchiehall Street) 0 Grand Hotel (U) (Edmund Goulding, US) 1932) Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, John Barrymore. 113 mins. The Grand Hotel in Berlin ‘where nothing ever happens’ is the centre of attraction for a glimpse into the lives of a disparate band; Garbo’s solitude-seeking ballerina, J. Barrymore’s jewel thief, Crawford’s upwardly mobile stenographer and the terminally ill bookkeeper of L. Barrymore, enjoying a final fling. Influential all-star portemanteau soap-opera. Opulent, creaky but
The List 1—14 November 29