FILM LIST
I Spivs ( l’(i) (liedrico Fellini. ltaly. I953) AlbertoSordi. lll9mins. l-‘ellini'sfirst international success. I l'rli'l/mii followed the inter-linked stories of a groupof youths in a provincial ltalian town. allon the make and looking for the big break. listablished the brooding Sordi as a major name in ltalian film-making. (ilasgow: (if-'l‘.
I Sunday in August ( PU I ( Luciano limmer. Italy. 1951!) \‘era ('armi. Anna Baldmi. Marcello Mastroianni. .‘s‘tlmins. This semI-di)cumentary presentsan affectionate and unpretentious mosaic capturing a Sunday at the seaside asall humanity . trom young lovers topetty crooks. congregate on the teeming beaches. (ilasgow : (il’l'.
I Testimony ( l’( i l (Tony Palmer. l 'ls'. NS") Ben Kingsley . 'l'crence Rigby. Sherry Baincs. l5" mins. The life and turbulent times of composer Dmitri Shostakov ich set in the context of an examination of the forces behind the emergence of the Soviet l'nion under Stalin's crushing rule. Shot in atmospheric black and white. Palmer’s best film isa series of highly imaginative tableaux made on location in this country togreat metaphorical and visual effect. The music. in Dolby stereo. is wonderful as are the performances from Kingsley and Terence Rigby' as an ttncannily chilling Stalin. (ilasgow: (il’l'. lidinburgh: Filmhouse
I Three Men And A Baby ( l’(i) 2*: (Leonard Nimoy'. l'S. I987) Tom Selleck. Steve (iuttenberg. Ted Danson. (‘eleste l lolm. 102 mins. Slavishly reworking the popular I985 l-‘rench larce ‘I‘lin'e .llwi xlmlxl (rad/e l lollyw ood has produced a blandly innocuous light entertainment that has delighted American audiences to the tune of $153 million. The reasons for its success are hard to fathom.
Three smug. womanizing lads share a bachelor apartment with hot and cold running women. ()ne of theirnumber carelessly impregnates one affair and the result arrives on their doorstep one day. l'ntortunately. the lather. an actor. ison location in Turkey and his two hapless flatmates are reduced to gibbering ncry ous w recks by their inability tocope with the demands of a hungry. nappy -l'illing toddler. There‘s also a lame sub-plot about a mistaken package of drugs but the meat of the matter isthe me it’s paternal acceptance of responsibility and the way in which the little mite ingratiates her way into the cockles of their hearts. line if you have a sentimental. undemanding critical faculty and a love of lavatorial humour. otherwise forgettable mainstream fodder. (ilasgow: ()deon. lidinburgh: Dominion. ()deon. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. ()deon Hamilton.
I Travelling North ( l’( i) ((‘arl Schultz. Alistralia. I98"). Leo .\lcl\'ern.Julia Blake. (iraham Kennedy. 95 mins. Leo McKcrn stars as the irascible Frank. who attempts to retire with his younger loverto an idyllic new life in Queensland. amid family turmoil and his own newly discovered heart condition. A funny and w ell made reminder that life doesn‘t end at sixty plus. but it suffers from a slight lack of engagement w ith these determinedly unsentimental characters. (ilasgow: (‘annon Sauchiehall Street
I The Untouchables ( 15) (Brian De Palma.
LS. 1987) Kevin Costner. Sean Connery. Robert DeNiro. 119 mins. The best
A me rican drama of I987 as naive Treasury
officer ('ostner. gritty lrish cop (‘onnery (the part that won him. as best supporting actor. his first ()scar). and a groupof incorruptibles tackle the bloated criminal empire of Prohibition kingpin Al Capone. (ilasgow: ('annon Sauchiehall St.
I Wall Streett 15) ~.-:— (Oliver Stone. L's. 1987) (‘harlie Sheen. Michael Douglas. Daryl Hannah. Terence Stamp. 129 mins. Returning to the trenches. unabashed moralist Stone again presents a flawed hero with character-defining dilemmas
and invites us to observe as he is excited. seduced. overwhelmed. abandoned and ultimately redeemed by the wrong turns and twists of his encounters with malfeasance. ('ontemporary robber baron and stoekmarket legend (iordon (ieeko (Douglas) takes a shine to ambitious yuppie Bud Fox (Sheen) and eventually offers him the choice of becoming a ruthles splayer like himself. or maintaining his self-respect and integrity.
Wall Street finds Stone's fire tempered bv a tnore seductively ambivalent incarnation of evil. bill the result is still an impressive. engrossing drama that. for memorable dialogue and fluid cinematic skill remains comt'ortal‘ily ahead of the current pack. (ilasgow : ()deon. Salon. lidinburgh: Dominion.
I The While Shiek ( Federico Fellini. ltaly. I952 l Alberto Sordi. l.eopoldoTrieste. Brunella Bove. (iuilletta Masina. 113 mins. 'l‘y'pically sly early satire from Fellini. .-\ yoting couple arriy e in Rome. where the husband is to be presented to the Pope. btit the w ife has a mission of her own -— to meet The White Shiek . the handsome hero of a photographed comic strip. played by Sordi. Part of the Italian comedy season. (ilasgow: (il’l‘.
I Wings of Desire ( 15) 2": (Wm w'cntlcrs. W. (iermany France. 1987) Bruno(ianz. l’eter l-‘alk. Solveig Dommartin. ('urt Bois. 127 mins. See l’anel. (ilasgow: (il’l’. Edinburgh: Filmhouse
I Wish You Were Here ( 15) (David Leland. LiK. 1987) limily Lloyd. Tom Bell. (ieoffrey l lutchings. 92 mins. Amatory misadventures of a precocious teenager in a drab l95lls' seaside town.
Enjoyable. bittersweet comic treatment of the sexual mores of times gone by . with an energetic performance from perky newcomer Ms Lloyd. lidinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Witches of Eastwick ( 18) (George Miller. US. 1987) Jack Nicholson. ('her. Susan Sarandon. llts’ mins. Sttflocating In the prim tranquility of a small town in New England. three single women set their collective brains towards conjuring up the perfect Mr Right. Next morninga mysterious stranger suddenly appears. as if in answer to their prayers. and beginsto charm the pants off them. But the ripe. randy and rakish Daryl van Home is the devil in disguise. and there is a price topay fortheir pleasure. . . A joyous.diabolical romp. with Nicholson having the time of his life. Edinburgh: Filinhouse.
I The World According to Garp ( 15 l (George Roy Ilill. US. 1982) Robin Williams. (ilenn Close. John Lithgow. 131 mins. The life of aspiring young novelist T.S. (iarp is complicated by a bestselling authoress mother and a group of radical feminists who've cut out their tongues.
Rambling adaptation of the engaging John Irving novel is most at home with the easygoing childhood section and runsout of steam long before the end.but John Lithgow's performance as a transsexual football player is a real s'howstoppet‘. Somehow Irving seems to work better on the page than the screen though. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Young Man with a Horn (PU) (Michael ('urtiz. LS. 1950) Kirk Douglas. Lauren Bacall. Doris Day. 111 mins. Basedon Dorothy Baker's book that. in turn. was suggested by the life of Bix Beiderbecke this is a biography of a sensitive lad who ‘wanted to be the best trumpet player in the world'. Compulsiver drawn towards the jazz form he is initially at odds with conventional dance bands who want him to play the music as written and not as he feels it. Eventually he becomes a stellar attraction among the jazz fraternity but an unhappy marriage. alcoholism and his own crippling quest for perfection combine to ruin his life.
A contrived happy ending aside. this is a sturdy biopic with Douglas effectively miming to the sound of l larry I lames. Glasgow: (il’l’
THERE ARE ANGELS M—l THE STREETS OF BERLIN
FROM THE DIREcTOR OF PARIS TEXAS & THE AMERICAN FRIEND
A F L M B
Y WIM WENDERS
WIN 4! OFpEr/Pé
(15; WITH BRUNO GANZ SOLVEIG DOMMARTIN AND PETER FALK
W DlRECTOR PRIZE ‘4 CANNES
Rm FEST/(g
The List 2-1 June — 7 July 1988 15