? o This section aims to provide a review
of every film to be seen in central
2 Scotland overthe next fortnight. For -' programmetimes see individual
I cinema listings.
' U - Universal, suitable for all ages. PG - Parental Guidance suggested as some scenes may be unsuitable for youngerchlldren. 15 - tlo-one underthe age ol15 admitted. 18 - flo-one under the age ol18 admitted. 0 After Hours ( 15) (Martin Scorsese. US. 1985)Griffin Dunne.John Heard. Rosanne Arquette. 97 mins. ‘ Mild-mannered word processor Dunne spends an unforgettany
nightmarish night on the town in this ,
fast. furious and extremely funny black comedy.
He loses all his money. is caught in .
torrential rain. can‘t afford the increased tube fares. discovers a corpse. is mistaken fora burglar. . . and the night is yet young. Who‘d
again‘.’
Breathless. brilliant filmmaking. Edinburgh; Cameo 0 Aliens(18) (James Cameron. US. 1986) Sigourney Weaver. Carrie Hehn. Michael Biehn. 137 mins. Revived from a 57-year snooze in
cajoled into joining a marine rescue mission to the planet LB 426. home from home for the original alien.
For once. a nerve-shattering sequel that not only matches but cleverly i surpasses its predecessor. Cameron has cannin devised a taut. fluid rollercoaster ride that perfectly judges the balance between humour and horror to exploit our most primeval fears that the bogey man is out to get us. Definitely one of the films ofthe year; an underwear-drenching. nail-devouring. pulsatineg visceral piece of filmcrafting. In short — a monster. Edinburgh; Odeon. Glasgow; Odeon. Lothian; ABC. Strathclyde; ABC Greenock. ABC Kilmarnock. La Scala. Odeon Ayr 0 Animation Syncopation (PG) 75 mins (approx). A programme of 17 films from 1929 to 1986 exploring the relationship between music and animation. the close harmony of rhythms and images in work ranging from Oskar Fischinger and Chuck Jones to the Art of Noise‘s Close to
ever complain about a dull existence .
. . . deep space. warrant officer Ripley is
the Edit and the video for Peter Gabriel‘s Sledgehammer. Edinburgh: Filmhouse
0 Another Country ( 15) (Marek Kanievska. UK. 1984) Rupert Everett. Cloin Firth. Cary Elwes. 90 mins. Fictional exploration ofthe milieu and circumstances at an English public school that may have resulted in the nest oftraitors that emerged in the Fifties led by Guy Burgess. The substance ofthe film
| v I D
FJ_L.M_I:£$I_-__ -___
maybe facile but the sharpness of the
script and the excellence ofthe lead performances make it worth seeing. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
o Backto the Future (PG) (Robert
Betty Blue (18) (Jean-Jacques Beneix, France, 1985) Beatrice Dalle, Jean-Hughes Angiade. 120 mins.
Beneix is back. Afterthe incredible and
completely justified success of Diva, and the incredible and notwholiy
warranted failure of Moon In The Gutter ‘
comes Betty Blue, which looks as though it might fit comfortably between
the two extremes. It is a change of tone
though, for the new film is a study of amour compietement fou, and as such relies much more on the foibles of human nature than the contrivance of the production designer.
Beneix is back with a bang. Several minutes of vigorous hanging, in fact, and right under a copy of the Mona Lisa, who smiles arcaner on the athletic duo beneath her. We learn later that she is Betty (Beatrice Dal|e( f and he is Zorg (oh yes he is, and he‘s ' played by Jean-Hughes Anglade); that they are quite tempestuously in love; i that he has written a novel; that she ! thinks he is a genius and wants to see 1 him pubiished.Thelirst haiiofthe film i
Zemeckis. US, 1985) Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd. 116 mins. Expertly-cast. wittily scripted time-travelling Oedipal fantasy adventure. A worthy crowd-pleaser. Glasgow: Cinema
0 Betty Blue ( 18) it (Jean-Jacques Beineix, France. 1986) Beatrice Dalle, Jean-Hugues Anglade. Consuelo de Haviland. 120 mins. See Caption Review. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
0 Born in Flames (15) (Lizzie Borden
US. 1983) Honey, Adele Bertei. 80 mins. The future. Ten years after the peaceful social democratic revolution in the US. little has changed. The Women‘s Army seeks to expose The Party’s repression of the feminist movement. Skilfully made on a low budget, this futuristic political film retains a powerful, driving narrative without sacrificing its ideological integrity. Glasgow; OFF
0 Cabaret(18) (Bob Fosse. US. 1972) Liza Minnelli. Joel Grey. Michael York. 124 mins. In the divinely decadent Berlin of the early 30s singer Sally Bowles wows them at the Kit Kat Club. encounters the beginnings of Nazism and shares her
\I
is an occasionally hilarious,
soft-centred confection, a passionate and picaresque vision of pink beach huts, a piano shop, a big white Mercedes, and steaming pots of chilll. Which then proceeds to turn very sour as the publishers’ rejection slips start to roll in and Betty’s violently exuberant nature turns in on itself in a frenzy of disillusionment and self-doubt. Be warned, the very dark ending is a real killer.
By turns electrifying, exasperating, disturbing, touching, and even downright silly, Betty Blue's greatest asset is that it is all of these. The gifted and desperate Beneix makes films that always take risks. Superficial it might be, but here is a film of colour,
movement, and emotion, a film that is
CINEMA in capital letters. As such, it may at times fall flat on its face, but it is not content to be the sort of dour succession of actorishly talking pictures that is often mistaken for the cinema. Why not see the difference for . yourself? (Trevor Johnston)
pretty English boyfriend with a gay baron.
Stylish and invigorating Broadway musical turned Oscar-winning cinema landmark. Glasgow; GFT I o The Color Purple ( 15) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1985) Whoopi i Goldberg, Danny Glover. Margaret 1 Avery. 152 mins. Spielbergturns serious. turning Alice Walker‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a sort of Black American Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a sort of Black American Feminist David Lean-style epic. Whoopi Goldberg is unutterably wonderful as the protagonist. arising from the ashes of female servitude to realise her potential as an independent woman. One is always aware of the skilful manipulation at work. but this does not stop one capitulating to the film‘s emotional onslaught.
Edinburgh; ABC. Glasgow; Grosvenor
0 Crimes of Passion ( 18) (Ken Russell. US. 1984) Kathleen Turner. Anthony Perkins. John Laughlin. 107 mins. Ken Russell's debunking ofthe American way ofsex is an uproariously black satire where moonlighting'l‘urner meets dildo-packing clergyman meets ordinary guy Laughlin who sometimes pretends to be a Human Penis.
A strident and courageous piece of filmmaking in that it casts men as the oppressors. this will arouse fierce opinions in anyone strong enough to take it. Turner and Perkins excel. Glasgow; GET 0 Dance With A Stranger ( 15) (Mike Newell. UK. 1985) Miranda Richardson. Rupert Everett. Ian 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. Edinburgh; Filmhouse 0 Desert Hearts (18) (Donna Deitch. US. 1985) Helen Shaver. Patricia Charbonneau. Audra Lindley. 91 mins. Reno. Nevada. 1959. Vivian Bell arrives to complete the formalities ofa quick and convenient divorce. Her desert retreat is meant to provide tranquillity and solitude. a chance to smooth a worried brow. Instead. the city ofgamblers pushes her towards taking a chance on love with an attractive younger woman.
An appealing and intelligent treatment of potentially melodramatic themes. hindered by budgetary privations but graced with fine performances and a generally assured touch. A cornmendably positive lesbian drama depicting an overcoming ofself-repression with which we can all empathise regardless ofsexual orientation. Recommended. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
o The Detective (18) (Gordon Douglas, US. 1968) Frank Sinatra. Lee Remick. Jacqueline Bisset. 114 mins. Sinatra in his favourite type of dramatic role as a dogged cop. here beset by marital strife. but still coming up trumps against a sensationalist script and a case I. .___.i
The List 19 Sept — 2 ()ct 17