Hannah and Her Sisters (15) (Woody Allen, US, 1986) Woody Allen, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Dianne Wiest. 107 mins. With nineteen films in twenty-one years to his credit, Woody Allen is one of the American cinema's most prolific and consistent acts; constantly exploring and refining a set of preoccupations and neuroses that have become as identifiable as Chaplin’s baggy pants and cane. His
3 ability to provoke laughter and tears,
blend pathos and patter is unrivalled. His 1986 evaluation of life, love and
i death, Hannah and Her Sisters,
stemmed from a desire to make a film about families and also to ponder the question ‘In the face of the apparent
meaninglessness of life — why should
we chose to Iive?‘
Mia Farrow plays Hannah, the
; lynchpin of a large family unit, a big
sisterto everyone who generously dispenses understanding, sympathy and concern without requiring very much in return. Over a period of two years the film charts the romantic
; entanglements, hopes, despairs and
anxieties of the principal family
3 members. Beautifully structured and
timed with a precision grace the resulting work is a mellow maypole of insightand wit.
Neurotic sister Holly, seeking direction and love, tries a variety of careers before finding fulfillment as a writer and happiness with Hannah’s
ex-husband Mickey, a hypochondriacal '
TV writer. Lee terminates an affair with a dreary academic and seeks temporary solace in the arms of Hannah's husband Elliot before finding a love of her own in a literature
1 professor. Elliot realises the
foolishness of his philandering and
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS
l i
reasserts his love for Hannah. Hannah
herself provides the emotional rock of
Gibraltar for them all even coping with
; hersometimesdifficultelderly ‘ parents.
Blessed with a terrific ensemble cast
i and skilfully exploiting elements from pastAllen films Hannah emerges as
j the work of an artist reaching full
j maturity. Whilst Interiors dealtwith
family breakdown in a gloom-laden,
is a celebration of the cohesion and support within the family unit. Having reached the age of fifty Allen
seems a less anxious, less fraught and
happier human being. His character in the film is quintessential Allen neurotic-escalating a minor ailment into a terminal brain tumour, beset by the notion that life is meaningless and seeking purpose in a variety of
religious solutions from Catholicism to
Hare Krishna. His scenes are the
austere Bergmanesque drama, Hannah
sharpest and funniest in the film. The difference here is that the character and, one assumes, Allen himself rediscovers reasons to be cheerful. He goes to the movies and laughs at the Marx brothers, he meets the right woman and falls in love. The film ultimately concludes that life is for living today, who knows what the future may bring but if you have the moment and love, then it’s worth having. His view that ‘the heart is a resilient little muscle’ is one that warms the very cockles.
Decked out with a sumptuous musical score of the classics and familiar show tunes, expert photography and uncredited appearances by Sam Waterston and Tony Roberts, Hannah and Her Sisters is a joy and a tonic and Allen’s most commercially successful film ever. Miss it at your shame. (Allan Hunter)
manipulation at work. bill this does
not stop one capittilatiiig to the film's 1
emotional oiislaugiit. izdiiinurgn: ABC. (ilasgow: ABC Sauchiehall Street
0 Continental Divide (PG) (Michael Aptcd. US. 1981 ) John Belushi. Blair Brown. Allen Goorwitz. 103 mins. Belushi. in his most conventional leading man role. is a hard-hitting Chicago reporter who turns to mush at his first sighting of ornithologist Brown who observes
eagles amid the peaceful peaks of the
Rockies. Obvious romantic comedy made by a group of talented people who should have studied their Cukor. Wilder and Lubitsch just a bit more thoroughly. Glasgow; GEl' 0 Dance with a Stranger ( 15) (Mike Newell. UK. 1985) Miranda Richardson. Rupert Everett. lan Holm. 102 mins. The true story of Ruth Ellis. the last woman in Britain to be hanged for murder.
A brilliantly acted. atmospheric production that captures a snapshot of 1955 and a society wrought by social and sexual hypocrisies. Glasgow; GFT
0 Death in a French Garden ( 18) (Michel Deville. France. 1985) Michel Ficcoli. Nicole Garcia. Christopher Malavoy. 101 mins. A young. attractive musician is hired
: by a well—to-do couple as a guitar
tutor for their precocious daughter.
Smart. stylish thriller redolent of
5 the Draughtsman '5 Contract but an
aura ofclinical calculation detracts
from its full impact. Edinburgh;
§ Filmhouse
i 0 Down and Out in Beverly Hills ( 15) (Paul Mazursky. CS. 1985) Nick
.\’olte. Richard Dreyfus. Bette
i Midler. 1(13 iiiiiis. Sugar-coated
i reactionary update of Botidu Saiive
E de liatix. A glib. class-divide
: comedy. where the humour is very
; . American and overly reliant on
i slapstick and cute dogs. (ilasgow:
()deon
0 E.T. (U) (Steven Spielberg. US.
1982) Henry Thomas. Drew Barrymore. Dee Wallace. 117 mins.
I A lonely suburban youngster
' befriends a loveable alien creature
that has been stranded on our planet in one of the irresistible movie phenomena ofour age. Edinburgh; Dominion. ABC. Glasgow; ABC
(Sauchiehall Street)
0 Easy Rider( 18) (Dennis Hopper.
LS. 1969) Dennis l lopper. Peter
Fonda. Jack Nicholson. 9-1 mins.
Artless. archetypal 'road‘ movie in
which two dope-loving bikers travel
the highways and by-ways of
with Nicholson memorable as a
i l
booze—drenched. straitlaced lawyer who is persuaded to join tip for the trip. l'idinburgh; Cinema 0 Edinburgh and Lothians A summer tourist matinee comprising Sean Connery"s Edinburgh. Lothian Landscape. The Sun Pictures and Whicker in Bell‘s World. 89 mins in total. Edinburgh; Filmhouse 0 Falling in Love (PG) (Ula Grosbard. US. 1984) Robert De Niro. Meryl Streep. Harvey Keitel. 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 partners or to dismiss their attraction as a passing fancy. Edinburgh; Filmhouse o The Flamingo Kid ( 15) a (Gary Marshall. US. 1984) Matt Dillon. Richard Crenna. Hector Elizondo. 100 mins. Set in the summer of 1963 this teen epic stars Dillon as a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who savours a taste of the good life Glossily seductive period trappings and an attractive cast make this an agreeable slice of lightweight
nostalgic Americana. Glasgow; GFF
0 Hannah and Her Sisters (15) s
America. Dated. low-budget feature ' (Woody Allen. US. 1986) Woody
Allen, Michael Caine. Mia Farrow.
Barbara Hershey. Dianne Wiest. 107 mins. See Caption Review. Edinburgh; Odeon
o The HarderThey Come ( 18) (Perry llenzeldamaica. 1972)JimmyCliff. Carl Bradshaw. Janet Bartley. 104 mins. Jamaica's stunning first feature has charismatic reggae superstarJimmy Cliff as folk hero lvan Martin. on the run after battling with the corrupt police and drug dealers. and on top of the charts with the classic title song into the bargain. 'l'he reggae soundtrack is quite wonderful (Cliff. The Maytals. Desmond Dekker). and the film itself rattles along at a cracking pace towards a memorable shoot-out finale. Irresistible entertainment. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
o Karate Kid: Part II ( PG) Ralph Macchio. Noriyuki ‘Pat‘ Morita. 'l‘amlyn 'l'omita. 113 mins. Set some six months after the 198—1 box-office smash. this sequel takes young champion Daniel and his wisdom-dispeiisiiig mentor Miyagi to the latter's ancestral home in Okinawa. where the youngster discovers the rough-running course
of true love and acquires an enemy in ;
the shape of the vicious Chozen. With broad brush strokes ofgood and evil. love and hate. Avildsen creates a ‘Manichean battle ground' (Copyright 1986 A. lltinter) from which the good guys predictably emerge with honour and dignity intact to the cheering adulation of the whole community. A formula of such winning naivety is easy to knock. but when allied to technical expertise. a decently developed script and good acting it is also hard to fault. Edinburgh: ()deon. Glasgow; Cinema. ()deon. Rio. Salon. Lothian; ABC. Strathclyde: ABC (.ireenock. ABC Kiliiiarnock. La Scala. ()deon llaiiiilton. Rialto o The Lightship( 15) :3» (Jerzy Skolimewski. US. 1985) Robert Duvall. Klaus Maria Brandauer. 'I‘om Bower. 88mins. 'l‘hemidSlls. On board a floating liglitship offthe coast of Virginia Captain Miller (Brandauer) shelters his teenage son. recently picked up by the police for fighting. The two are joined by
three men whom they find floating in 5
a disabled boat. and who turn out to be desperados on the run after the sacking of a [JS'l‘reasiiry ship. A violent clash ofpersonalities ensues between the Captain and the men‘s leader ( Duvall ).
Supremely cinematic. characteristically subtle Jerzy Skolimewski film making much use of the location as microcosm of the universe etc. and couched tricksin halfway between moral and psychological drama by an oblique script which concentrates on the two men as clap/2c/garigcrs. Generally careful and sophisticated. Glasgow;
(iFl'
1983) Burt Lancaster. Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay. 111 mins. A high-flying American businessman is dispatched to Scotland on an oil-related deal. Removed from the high-pressure
- Local Hem (PG) (Bill Forsyth. UK.
atmosphere ofhis workplace he '
The‘List 251uly—I15-August 23