FILM LIST
note. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I How Lucky to Be A Woman (PG) (Alessandro Blasseti. Italy. 1956) Sophia Loren. Marcello lvlastroianni. Charles Boyer. 100 mins. In the build-up to her assault on Hollywood. Loren was cast as a peasant woman whose life is altered by an appearance on a magazine cover. Boyer is the lecherous Count who assists in her consequent rise. Mastroianni her unscrupulous photographer boyfriend. A mild. fairly typical ‘50s Italian comedy. Glasgow: GFT.
I lronweed ( 15) (Hector Bahenco. US. 1987) Jack Nicholson. Meryl Streep. Carroll Baker. 143 mins. Drunken hobo Nicholson returns to a hometown and family he had abandoned twenty years previously following the death of his infant son. lntimationsof his own mortality and the need to make peace with the ghostsof his past have driven him back.
Remarkably engrossing examination of blighted lives and the underside ofthe American dream known as failure set during the dying days of the inter-War depression. Excellent performances all-round. moody camerawork and composition; a potentially dour drama of dereliction has been transformed into an American classic. Glasgow: ()deon.
I It Couldn't Happen Here (15) a (Jack Bond. UK. 1988) Neil Tennant. Chris Lowe. Barbara Windsor. Gareth Hunt. 91) mins. See caption review. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Dominion.
I It’s A Wonderful Life (PG) (Frank Capra. US. 1946) James Stewart. Donna Reed. Henry Travers. Thomas Mitchell. 129 mins. Small-town boy Stewart runsinto financial difficulties and is on the brink of suicide when an elderly angel descends to earth to show him all the good his life has done for those around him.
Archetypal Capra sentimentality with a superbly detailed fantasy framework and one of Jimmy Stewart's most lovable performances. One to warm even the most glacial heart. GlasgoszFT.
I Jungle Book (U) (Wolfgang Reitherman. US. 1967) With the voices of George Sanders. Louis Prima. 78 mins. Growing up in the jungle. young Mowgli learns from the animals around him. Enjoyable latterday Disney. a long way after Kipling. but the songs are wonderful. Glasgow10deon. Edinburgh: Odeon.
I The Kitchen Toto (15) (Harry Hook. UK. 1987) Edwin Mahinda. Bob Peck. Phylis Logan. 95 mins. Kenya. 1950. Mwangi. a young Kenyan boy. witnesses the murder of his preacher father by the Mau Mau. Taken on by the local British police chief as a kitchen toto. he becomes caught in the crossfire between the vestiges ofcolonial rule and the inevitable struggle for freedom.
Sensitively handled first feature with a stong central performance by Mahinda. Glasgow: GFT.
IThe Last Detail (l8) (Hal Ashby. US. 1973) Jack Nicholson. Otis Young. Randy Quaid. 104 mins.Two hardened naval petty office rs escort a young recruit charged with theft across country to jail.
Pereeptive and profanity-filled screenplay by Robert (Chinatown) Towne powers a magnificent outing by Nicholson that lies at the heart ofthis downbeat melodrama. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Legend (PG) (Ridley Scott. US. 1985) Tom Cruise. Mia Sara. Tim Curry. 93 mins. Wildly self-indulgent fairy tale with Good and Evil at each others' throats once more. Pretty pictures but a narrative shambles. Glasgow: GFT.
I Mad Max ( 18) (George Miller. Austr. 1979) Mel Gibson. Joane Samuels. Tim Burns. 93 mins. 1n the near future topcop Gibson quits the force but returns for revenge when his wife and child are murdered by vicious cyclists. High-speed action-packed adventure with death defying stunt work. Glasgow: GFT.
I Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome(15) (George Miller & George Ogilvie. Australia. 1985) Mel Gibson. Tina Turner. 107 mins. Max is hailed as the new Messiah by a group ofchildren and faces the challenge ofTina‘s queen of Bartertown in this overblown disappointment. Glasgow: GFI‘.
I Mad Max ll (18) (George Miller. Australia. 1981) Mel Gibson. Bruce Spence. 94 mins. Exhilarating post-Apocalypse adventure. pure cinema and the highpoint of the series. Glasgow: GF’I‘.
I M.A.S.H. (18) (Robert Altman. US. 1971)) Elliott Gould. Donald Sutherland. Sally Kellerman. Robert Duvall. 1 lo mins. Surgical shennanigans on a mobile hospital unit in Korea. Densely-textured comedy extravaganza in the director's best style. with a blacker bite than on the small screen and a truly splendid original cast. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Maybe Bahy(15) (John G. Avildsen. US. 1987) Molly Ringwald. Randall Batinkoff. 98 mins. A couple oftopnotch students look set for success. but too much carefree honking in the rain leads to a pregnancy that is initially unwanted. Despite parental brouhaha. and the disruption of career prospects however. they go ahead and have the child.
Well-meaning attempt at substituting the usual teen romance glitz with a harder edge of domestic realism. with Molly Ringwald‘s dominant presence steering the picture through the odd mawkish misjudgement. Glasgow: Salon. Strathclyde: Rialto.
I Mean Streets ( 18) (Martin Scorsese. US. 1973) Harvey Keitel. Robert DeNiro. David Proval. 110 mins. Tony's Bar isthe base for four young Italian-Americans. whose increasingly illegal activities lead to tragedy. Vividly observed character study which combines breathtaking technique with a pervasive sense ofcorruption. Keitel and DeNiro give of their very best. Glasgow: GFT.
I The Monster Squad ( 15) a (Fred Dekker. US. 1987) Andre Gower. Robby Kiger. Stephen Macht. 83 mins. Chaotic and insultingly; ludicrous bubble-gum cinema in which Count Dracula descends on smalltown America to acquire possession ofan ancient amulet that. once a century. can tip the balance between good and evil. Calling on the services ofa few close friends he also conjures up the Mummy, Wolfman. creature from the Black Lagoon and Frankenstein‘s Monster.
A joke-infested travesty that does a major disservice to the gloriouis Universal fantasy tradition by turning the monsters into cardboard cut-out opponents for the Goonies generation. Given the level of juvenile nonsense that prevails it seems a shame about the certificate. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon.
I A Month in the Country (PG) (Pat O‘Connor. UK. 1987) Colin Firth. Kenneth Branagh. Natasha Richardson. 97 mins. Thoroughly decent iffarfrom enthralling adaptation of the J. L. Carr novel in which two World War One veterans try to come to terms with peacetime and the lingering traumas of their experiences in the trenches.
Sensitively handled. finely photographed and admirably performed but lacking one iota of passion. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Glasgow: OFT. I My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (PG) «1? (Eric Rohmer. France. 1987) Emmanuelle Chaulet. Sophie Renoir. Erie Viellard. 102 mins. See caption review. Allan Hunter. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Near Dark (18) (Katherine Bigelow. US. 1987) Adrian Pasdar. Jenny Wright. Lance Henriksen. 98 mins. A chance sexual encounter for a Texas youth leads to his abduction by a group ofmarauding bloodsuckers and his difficult transformation to their parasitic mode of existence. As vampire-biker westerns go.
*****
“Perfection . . . Some handful! Some dust! It is impeccable in looks, sentiment, locations and casting. Best Waugh everfilmed.”
Alexander Walker EVENING STANDARD
“THE CASTING IS INDEED IMPECCABLE. ADMIRABLY ACCOMPLISHED.”
Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd DAILY TELEGRAPH
“Gold in the dust. Shredey characterised, nicely acted and elegantly shot . . . It is very well done indeed.”
Derek Malcolm T-IE CU?” r
“OUTSTANDING. A MAT CHLESS EYEFUI. OF CAMEOS. ”
Richard Mayne SUNDAY TELEGRAm
"EFFORTLESS PLEASURE . . . KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS IS A SINGULAR SENSATION.”
lain Johnstone SUNDAY TIMES
“Probably thefinest performances in British cinema this year. . . A stunning mix ofthe
rhapsodic and the rancorous.” Tom Hutchinson MAIL ON SUNDAY
"GREA T. .BR/LLIA N TLY OBSERVED, SUPERBLY MOUNTED AND GLORIOUSLYAC TE . ”
Richard Barkley SUNDAY EXPRESS
"Excellent . . . Kristin Scott Thomas is a true revelatlon- Barry Norman FILM '88 “This one’s a beauty. . . Master/y performances . . .
A fascinating story. . . Hugely enjoyable. A positive treasury of supporting performances.”
Shaun Usher DAILY MAIL
“BEAUTIFULLY FILMED . . . A POWERFUL FASCINATION.”
Madeleine Harmsworth SUNDAY MIRROR
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NOW SHOWING: CANNON SAUCHIEHALL STREET, GLASGOW CAMEO, EDINBURGH
The List8—21 July 198815