FILM LIST
ludicrous. but enjoyable daffy fantasy adventure.
Glasgow; Cinema. Edinburgh; Dominion. Strathclyde; Kelburne. Rialto
o Huckleberry Finn (U) (J. Lee Thompson, US, 1974) Jeff East, Paul Winfield, David Wayne. 118 mins. Eminently forgettable musical version of the Mark Twain classic. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
0 III Fares the Land (TV) (Bill Bryden, UK, 1982) David Hayman, Fulton Mackay, Robert Stephens. 104 mins. Dramatised recreation of the evacuation of St Kilda and resulting death of a community, evoking memories ofJohn Ford and the Griersonian tradition.
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Edinburgh; EUFS
0 Notre Histolre (Our Story) (15) (Bertrand Blier, France, 1984) Alain Delon, Nathalie Baye, Michel Galabru. 111 mins. Aboard a train Delon is seduced by the mysterious Baye. Afterwards, they continue to live out each other‘s fantasies, but is this really happening or could it all be a dream? Edinburgh; EUFS
o Orion’s Belt ( 15) (Ola Solum, Norway, 1985) Helge Jordal, Sverre Anker, Hans Ola Sorlie. 93 mins. Adapted from a Norwegian bestseller, this is an efficient thriller awash with Cold War cliches but still a moderately exciting excursion into over-familiar territory. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
Glasgow; GFT
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0 Psycho III ( 18) (Anthony Perkins, US, 1986) Anthony Perkins, Diana
Marquand, US, 1985) Glenn Close, ' i ‘f ' ’ " N fix” Lamb (15) (Colin Gregg, UK, 1985) Liam Neeson, Hugh O'Conor,-lan Bannern. 110 mins. Thus far, Bernard Mac Laverly has been faithfully served by the cinema. Afterthe well-acted, prize-winning impossible romance of Cal, comes an unsentimental and affecting screen translation of Lamb. Michael Lamb (Liam Neeson) is otherwise known as Brother Sebastian, a teacher at a grim and forbidding remand home for boys situated on the Irish coast. Young, naive and with an innate need to do good in the world, he is frustrated and disenchanted by the unbending discipline and dogma of the priesthood and the callousness displayed at the home. He takes a fatherly interest in a new boy Owen Kane (Hugh O’Conor), an epileptic who has been sent into care as a last resort by a weary mother. Through his actions and attitude, Lamb begins to develop a trust and friendship with the boy. Increasingly disillusioned by the practical demands of his faith, Lamb inherits a small legacy and impulsively takes flight with the boy. Arriving in London, they pass for fatherand son and enjoy a brief and glorious time in which Owen is lavished with everything that his short life has thus far lacked — love, concern, toys, football matches etc. However, their idyll cannot last— money is a finite quantity, Lamb is now a wanted man, Owen’s medication is only available on prescription and London can be as uncaring as the remand home to an impecunious stranger. Tragedy inexorably looms as Lamb is faced with a world unable to accommodate the consequences of his actions or provide succour for their
Jeff Bridges, Robert Loggia. 109 mins. The irresistible Bridges stands accused of the brutal slaying of his wealthy wife in this unremarkable, old-fashioned courtroom whodunnit. Glasgow; GET 0 The Joker (Le Farceur) (Philippe de Broca, France, 1960) Jean-Pierre Cassel, Anouk Aimee, Georges Wilson. Archetypal, frothy French farce with Cassel as an amorous young man forever in search of another conquest. Edinburgh; French Institute 0 Labyrinth (U) it (Jim Henson, US-UK. 1986) David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud. 101 mins. See Caption Review. Glasgow; Cinema. Odeon, Salon. Edinburgh; Odeon. Lothian; ABC. Regal. Strathclyde; ABC Greenock. ABC Kilmarnock. Kelburne, La Scala. Odeon Ayr, Odeon Hamilton 0 Lamb (15) fr (Colin Gregg, Uk 1985) Liam Neeson, Hugh O‘Conor, Ian Bannen. 110 mins. See Caption Review and feature interview with Bernard MacLaverty. Edinburgh; Filmhouse 0 Legal Eagles (PG) (Ivan Reitman. US, 1986) Robert Redford. Debra Winger, Terence Stamp. 116 mins. Over-plotted and somewhat bland romantic comedy-thrillerembroiling dishy assistant-DA Redford in a case ofart fraud. Glasgow; ABC Clarkston Road, ABC Sauchiehall Street, Cinema. Edinburgh; ABC. Strathclyde; La Scala. Rialto 0 Letter to Brezhnev (15) (Chris Bernard, UK, 1985) Peter Firth, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke. 95 mins. Lively Liverpudlian comedy-romance of rough charm and ready wit, as a scouse gal finds love with a Russian sailor. Edinburgh; Filmhouse o MacLaverty Lecture Novelist Bernard MacLaverty will discuss his work with particular reference to the film adaptations of Cal and Lamb. Questions will be invited from the - audience. 8.30pm on 10 Dec, tickets available in advance. See Feature. Edinburgh; Filmhouse 0 Manhattan (15) (Woody Allen, US, 1979) Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway. 96 mins. Woody wanders through the female jungle of New York in search of a perfect soulmate after the demise of his marriage. Glasgow; GFT
0 Men (Manner) (15) 1*: (Doris Dorrie, W. Germany, 1985) Heiner Lauterbach, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Ulrike Kriener. 99 mins. See Caption Review. Glasgow; GFI‘
o Mona Lisa (18) (Neil Jordan, UK, 1986) Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine. 104 mins. The excellent Hoskins is a naive ex-cop charging through Soho vice to rescue a damaged damsel in distress. Little does he realise that life, as always, will never conform to his expectations.
Glasgow; ABC Clarkston Road. Grosvenor. Lothian; ABC. Strathclyde; ABC Greenock, ABc Kilmarnock
o The Muppets Take Manhattan (U)
relationship.
It must be said that there are a number of niggling plotholes in Lamb, particularly the ability of a hunted man to pass through Air and Sea Terminals apparently unhindered. The film’s poignant climax never seems as inevitable and unavoidable as the author clearly wishes us to believe. In spite of these reservations, the film is one of distinctive and self-etfacing pleasures whose unemphatic sensitivity commands the attention that other more forceful explorations of these topics might have alienated.
The brightly-lit, clear-sighted unfolding of events lends a precision and rigourto the storytelling and the acting is to be praised without reservations of any kind. Ian Bannen contributes a splendidly chilling cameo as the home’s superior whose rasping tongue and stem exterior are the perfect human embodiment of his religious beliefs and the home's dispassionate modus operandi. The waif-like Hugh O’Conor is faultless as the victom of everyone’s good and bad intentions; a scared, doe-eyed figure, wary of the world at large, whose displays of bravado merely mask a thousand insecurities and fears. The always reliable Liam Neeson captures the anguish and ambiguity of Lamb, a man whose concern and compassion can also be construed as dangerous meddling. His unsparing efforts give strength and honour to a notion of goodness that is bereft of the dull or sanctimonious. And that, in itself, is a rare and commendable achievement. (Allan Hunter)
(Frank 02, US. 1984) Guest stars include Gregory Hines, Liza Minnelli and Joan Rivers. 94 mins. Brisk, amiable, good-humoured Muppet feature in which the furry ones take on Broadway and emerge triumphant. Sure to be appreciated by aficionados awaiting their live gigs at the Playhouse, Edinburgh. Edinburgh; EUFS
0 Night Moves (15) (Arthur Penn, US, 1975) Gene Hackman, Susan Clark, Jennifer Warren. 95 mins. Mufti-layered detective yarn with the lugubrious Hackman setting aside his marital woes to try and fathom the complexities of a case that drags him from Los Angeles to the Florida Keys.
Scarwid, Jeff Fahey. 93 mins. Valiantly battling against the diminished interest inherent in an ongoing series, debutant director Perkins serves up his slaying with a dash of relish. some style and a wicked sense of humour.
This time Norman falls in love with
' a novice nun undergoing a
near-suicidal crisis offaith. Mother definitely dissaproves and as Norman struggles to control his
unfortunate bad habits it’s time for another night ofthe long knives.
Glasgow; ABC Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh; ABC. Lothian; ABC. Strathclyde; ABC Greenock, ABC Kilmarnock o The Purple Rose of Cairo (PG) (Woody Allen, US, 1985) Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels. VanJohnson. 85 mins. Unhappy waitress Mia relies on the exotic escapism of the Hollywood dream factory to survive the daily grind of Depression-ridden America. One day an ardent suitor steps down from the silver screen and totally tranforms her life with a touch ofromance.
Poignant comic love story from the maestro. Glasgow; Grosvenor
O A Question of Silence ( 15) (Marleen Gorris. Netherlands. 1982) 96 mins. Three women unrepentantly kill a male boutique owner. and at their trial a woman psychiatrist expected to explore their insanity actually begins to understand their problems. Important feminist film which lays on the table a lot of things usually kept underneath it. Brave film-making with the courage of its convictions. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
o The QuietEarth (15) (Geoff Murphy, New Zealand. 1985) Bruno Lawrence. 91 mins. A New Zealand scientist wakes up one morning to find himselfthe last man on Earth after the science project on which had been working has gone disastrously wrong. Being the only boy in the world sends him a little off his rocker, until two other survivors turn up and ye olde eternal triangle schtick raises its ugly head once more.
The earlier scenes with the
‘ excellent Lawrence are the best.
making good use of deserted Auckland locations before convention exerts its grip, although a bafflineg resonant ending rescues matters a little. Still, good to see a genuinely interesting sci-fi movie
12 The List 28 Nov — 11 Dec