FILM LIST
Merchant-Ivory adaptation of the l lenry James short novel about twoexuberant
liuropeans w ho visit their Boston relatives-
and crack their fragile sense of propriety. Slow -ntoy ing btit impeccable in its ow it way. Glasgow ; (il’l~ o Frankenstein ( PG) (James Whale. US. 1931 ) Boris Karloff. Colin Clive. Mae Clark. 71 mins. Mad scientist Baron Frankenstein whips up a monster from bits and bobs of dead people. Archetypal and still atmospheric horror. all moody expressionist lighting. Karloffis remarkable and the burning windmill mob frenzy climax packs a punch even yet. Half of a classic double bill. Glasgow; GFT 0 The Fly( 1S1 ( Day id ( ‘roncnberg. l'S. 198(ilJeff ( ioldblum. ( ieena Davis. .lohn (ietl. 9h mins. Brilliant ‘rectmceptuali/ation‘ of the 1958 catnp classic w ith ( ioldblum highly effective as the scientist w hose evperiments with tcleportation go disastroust wrong. and Day is no less impresst e as the love of his life. Special ellects superlatiyely revolting. 'l'ension sustained throughout. Required y iew ing. (ilasgow ; ( il’l' O The Gate ( 15) ('l‘ibor’l‘akacs. US. 1987) Stephen Dorff. Christa l)enton. 84 mins. While the parents are away for the weekend a group of plucky teenagers face up to the demons from hell that turn up through a hole that suddenly appearsin the back garden. Cute and well animated the little devils are probably the most memorable thing about this ho-hum horror tare. though it does have its moments of surreal lunacy. Glasgow; Cannon Clarkston Road. Cannon Satrchiehall Street. Cinema. Grosvenor. lidinburgh: Cannon. l.othian; Cannon. Strathclyde; Cannon Greenock. Cannon Kilmarnock. ()deon Hamilton. Rialto 0 Gothicr l.si ( Ken Rtisscll. t‘K. lush) (iabriel By rne. Julian Sands. Natasha Richardson. 8" mins. Shoddy . irritating Rttsscll larr'ago with assorted Romantic poets pumped full of drugs and telling glrostic stories in a night of hysteria that was to inspire Mary Shelley 's I’l'unkensrerir among others. Glasgow ; ( il-‘l‘. l',Llllll‘lll'}_’lll Cameo 0 Haunted Honeymoon ( PG) (Gene Wilder. LS. 1986) Gene Wilder. Gilda Radner. Dom l)el.uise. 8-1 mins. Wilderis a .tfls' radio star with a tendency towards chronic hysteria in this flat and derivative old dark house comedy-chiller. Lothian: Cannon. Strathclyde; Cannon Greenock. Cannon Kilrnarnock o Heavenly Pursuitu 151((‘harles (iormlcy . l'K. 198M 'I'omConti. l lelen Mirrcn. Day id I lay man. 92 mins. (‘onti is the caring teacher caught up in his remedial school's miracle fey er w ho must determine the plausibility of divine intervention in contemporary (ilasgow. An engaging. lightweight comedy -drama told w ith w it and charm and performed with assurance. ’l‘artan candy floss. lidinbur‘gh; l‘ilmhousc 0 He Died With His Eyes Open ( is) (Jacques l)eray . l‘rance. 1985) Michel Serrault. (‘harolotte Rarnpling. Xay ier l)elluc. 95 mins. Investigating the violent death ofa pianist. the uncony errtional Inspector Slaniland discoy ers a cache of audio tapes rey caling the dead man's lust for a certain Barbara who turns tip in the shape olMiss Rampling and confesses to the crime. Staniland doesn't beliey e her. so the two hay e an atlair instead. .-\sinine l-‘rench thriller. lidinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse o Jaws: The Revenge (PG ) (Joseph Sargent. ['S. 1987) Lorraine Gary. Mario Van Peebles. Michael Caine. 90 mins. A great white with a personal grudge against the Brody family (now minus the wisely unavailable Roy Schieder) chews up and spits out one of the grown-up sonsthcn heads down to the waters of the Bahamas in pursuit of Mom and the rest ofthe brood. lnane. preposterous. patheticand totally unnecessary fourth entry in the
series. that lacks suspense. thrills. tension.
COMBADES
Comrades (PG) (Bill Douglas. 68, 1987) Robin Soans. Robert Stephens, Alex Norton. 180 mins. Comrades begins with the violent repression of an act of rebellion. and ends on a defiant speech defending human rights, but director Bill Douglas is not primarily interested in the unavoidable political dimension of the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Instead, Douglas attemptsto capture the human story behind the persecution of these icons of the early labour movement.
The six Dorset labourers who became the Martyrs were tried and found guilty of forming an illegal society. and sentenced to deportation to Australia. Their crime wasto demand higher wages; when their wages are cut instead. the men form a labour unionto fightthe local Squire’s imposed tyranny. The film follows the convicted men to Australia. where the six are scattered around the penal colonies. and eventuallyto theirultimate pardon and return to England.
Douglas avoids all but the minimum of didactic statements. concentrating instead on a genuinely cinematic treatment ofthe subject. His characteristic method is to allow
'.:l l‘. slab“ ‘ | 1,.(‘o’ ’
a decent script etc. Caine is along fora lucrative ride as Gary's amiable love interest. btit the film is a mess.
Glasgow; Cannon Sauehiehall Street. lidinburgh; Cannon. 1.othian; Cannon. Strathclyde; Cannon ('rreenock. Cannon Kilrnarnock
o The Lavender Hill Mob l t ' 1 (Charles (‘l'lL‘llltll1.l.K. 1951).-\lec(iuinncss. Stanley llolloway . Audrey Hepburn. 83 mins. Delightful. ( )scar-w inning comedy in which meek blank clerk ( iuinness devises a tool-proof scheme for a gold-bullion robbery . disguising the proceeds as models of the liillel lower to bamboo/1e customs. l-.dinburgh: l'ilmhouse
0 Lethal Weaponl ls) ( Richard Donner. l'S. l‘).\7).\1c‘l(iiltsoli. Danny Glover. (iary Busey . Darlene l.oy e 1119mms. Violent buddy cop ady enture that has been described as ‘Dirty l larry tor the Yuppie generationf Gibson is a young widower whose wile has recently died ina car crash. Bordering on the psychotic he is intent on cleaning the streetsot scum. regardless of the cost. including hisow n life. (iloy er. middle-aged. middle-class and a father of three. treads a mile more w arily . Reluctant partners they investigate an international drugs smugglingoperation. lli-tech may hem with a touch of humanity then ensues. Glasgow; Cannon Clarkston Road. Cannon Sauehiehall Street. Cinema. Grosvenor. lidinburgh; Cannon. Lothian; Cannon. Strathcly'de; Cannon (ireenock. Cannon Kilmarnock. Kelburne. ()deon Ayr. Rialto
0 Little Shop of Horrors ( P( i) (Frank ( )1. 1S. 198M Rick Moranis. lillen Greene.
the image on screen to tell the story:
succesive scenes, for example. showthe Squire's driver collecting six chairs from the local carpenter, who asks for a fairer leelor the money; the next has the empty chairs lying outside his door; the next shows the six men carrying a chair each up the long hillto the mansion. The entire drama is conveyed with almost no resort to dialogue. andthe director resists loquacity throughout; even in the courtroom scene, the talking is done ina pre-trial meeting, while the only dialogue during the actual trial is the sound of a baby crying in the corridor outside.
The film contains a sub-theme on the development of pre-cinematic forms of illusion. all contained in a series oleleven different characters played by Scots actor Alex Norton, but the real strength of thetilm lies in its intimate understanding ofthe medium itself. and its moving defence of certain persistent human values: it is ultimately a film about the indomitable nature of the idea of freedom, equality, and justice. Elegant and stately, Comradesis that all too rare phenomenon - a genuinely important film. (Kenny Mathieson)
Steve Martin. Bill Murray. 94 mins. Brash. breer . big-scale musical about Audrey. a likeable plant with a man-size appetite. lidinburgh; l'illllhollsc
o The Living Daylights ( l’( i ) (John ( ilen. l'K. l987)'1'imothy l)alton.Jeroen Krabbe. Maryam D'Abo.
llighly creditable (")7 with Dalton's slightly humourless presence serving to reinvigorate the series and bring Bond back to basics. ‘ Glasgow; Cannon Clarkston Road. Cinema. Edinburgh; Dominion. ()deon. Strathclyde; Kelburne. ()deon Ayr. ()deon Hamilton
0 The Magic Toyshopt 15) ( David Wheatley. l‘K. 198(i)'1‘om Bell. Caroline Milmoe. Killian McKenna. l’atricia Kerrigan. 107 mins. See panel. lidinburgh: Cameo
o The Man With Two Brains ( 15)((‘arl Reiner. CS. 1983) Steven Martin. Kathleen Turner. David Warner. 93 mins. [any Martin-Reiner romp in which the great man plays a brilliant brain surgeon driven to the depths of despair when he weds 'l‘urner. a man-hungry murderess with a penchant for driving elderly husbands to early graves and pocketing their legacies. l)eliriouslydelightful. lidinburgh; Filmhouse o Mannequin (PG) (Michael Gottlieb, US. 1987) Andrew McCarthy. Kim Cattrall. 90 mins. lnane screwball comedy with windowdresser McCarthy in lurve with a beautiful dummy who comes alive only for him. Corny or what'.’ Strathclyde; ()deon Ayr
0 meta (PG) (Alain Resnais. France. 1986) Sabine Azema. Fanny Ardant.
Pierre Arditi. Andre Dussolier. llOmins. Paris 1926. a world renowned concert violinist‘s wife embarks on an affair with one of her husband's old friends which is to threaten her marriage and conclude in tragic circumstances. Resnais adapts. most improbably. a popular melodrama of the Twenties. and turns it into stripped-down almost essential cinema whose brilliant performances and claustrophobic settings remind one ofthe powerful recent work by Altman. Initially rather cold but finally a mesmerising and rewarding experience. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
0 Men ( 15) (Doris Dorrie. West Germany. 1985) l leiner l.auterbach. Uwe ()chsenknecht. l'lrike Kriener. 99 mins. Droll comedy in which a complacent. philande ring middle-class businessman reacts to his wife's infidelity by secretly moving in with her hippyqsh lover lidinburgh; l‘ilmhouse
o The Morning After( 15) (Sidney Lumct. US. 1986) Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges. Raul Julia. 104 mins. Fading. alcoholic actress wakes up one morning with a corpse beside her. Did she do it'.’ Traditional mystery thriller with sound performances from the two stars. Glasgow; Salon. Lothian; Cannon. Strathclyde; Cannon Greenock. Cannon Kilmarnock
o Mosquito Coast ( PG) ( Peter Weir. US. 1986) l larrison Ford. River Phoenix. Helen Mirren. 119 mins. A black-edged reworking of the Swiss I'kimrly' Robinson as Ford's know -it-all inventor forsasz the decline of Western civilisation for the jungles of South America. lntermittently fascinating trtopian parable. Edinburgh“. l-‘ilmhouse
0 No Mercy ( 18) (Richard Pearce. US. 1987) Richard Gere. Kim Basinger. 95 mins. Chicago cop Gere in the Louisiana backwaters to track down his best buddy's murderer finds himsel falling for comely Cajun maiden Basinger. Formulaic stuff lifted out ofthe rut by Pearce‘sstylish handling of the atmospherics. Glasgow; Grosvenor
o Passport to Pimlico ( L‘ ) ( l lenry Cornelius. L'K. 1948) Stanley 1 lolloway. Margaret Rutherford. Barbara Murray. 85 mins. The discovery of an ancient treaty allows a group of independently-minded individuals to form their own domain in the heart of l .ondon. complete with taxes. parliament and laws.
Edinburgh: l’ilmhouse
0 Pee Wee's Big Adventure (U) (Tim Burton. US. 1986) Pee Wee Herman. Morgan Fairchild. James Brolin. 92 mins.
Enjoyable pucrile comic capers with a
cult comedian. Somehow more appealing to knowing adults than the kids though. Glasgow: Cannon Sauehiehall Street
0 Peggy Sue Got Married (15) (Francis Coppola. US. 1987) Kathleen Turner. Nicholas Cage. 10?. mins. Resistible romantic drama as Turner collapses at a high school reunion to find herself back in 1959 with a chance to live her life over again. Glasgow; Grosvenor
0 Police Academy IV: Citizens on Patrol (PG) (Jim Drake. US. 1987) Steve Guttenberg. Buhba Smith, George Gaynes. 87 mins. The boys in blue get involved with a neighbourhood watch scheme and strive vainly for laughs. Glasgow; Cannon Sauehiehall Street. Edinburgh; Cannon
0 Prick Up Your Ears ( 18) (Stephen Frears. 17K. 1987) (iary ()ldman. Alfred Molina. \‘anessa Redgrave. 11(1mins.Wickedly tart and funny biographical portrait ofthe seesaw relationship between playwright Joe ()rton and his lover Kenneth
llalliw ell. Highly recommended. Iidinburgh; Cameo
0 Radio Days (PG) (Woody Allen. US. 1987) Mia Farrow. Seth Green. Julie Kavner. Dianne Wiest. 89 mins. Amiably laid back family reminiscing about the early Forties and the golden age of radio. Potpourri of modest charm held together
The List 21 Aug— 3 Sept 55