FILM LIST
Good Morning Vietnam (15) (Barry Levinson, US, 1987) Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran. 121
3 mins. Good Morning Vietnam marks
Robin Williams cinematic coming of
age. Devoted celluloid devourers may
have caught his conscientious character performances in material like Moscow on the Hudson or his fairly
‘ convincing stab at Popeye but most of
his recent film work hasn‘t even been released in this country, such was the perceived assessment of his box-office appeal. A smash-hitAmerican success, Good Morning Vietnam should guarantee him stardom on British screens lorthe tirsttime since Mark and Mindy.
Here, Williams gives a dazzling tour de force comic performance in the specially developed role of iconoclastic armed forces radio disc jockey Adrian Cronauer. Assigned to a Saigon posting in 1965 he provides a welcome blast of fresh air, ripping away the cobwebs of the staid broadcasting policy that cosin persisted until his arrival. Funny, irreverent, disrespectful and a crazy one-man show, Cronauersets the airwaves alight with his brand of rapid-fire, razor-sharp repartee and souhulfiOs‘sounds.
As Cronauer becomes involved with the local Vietnamese population and privy to details of the military escalation in the country, he feels the need to inform as well as entertain his avid listeners. However, his superiors would prefer him to boost morale rather than reveal the true situation of a war in progress. His huge popularity buys him time and friends in high places but not even they can prevent a sense of frustration leading him into conflict with his bosses.
Funny. touching and always captivating. Good Morning Vietnam captures every facet olWilliams firework talent on screen for the first time and his ability to improvise,
mimic and act is truly staggering. The role earned him a deserved Oscar nomination and togetherwith Levinson’s assured direction and a host of fine supporting performances,
Williams on peak form means one of the year's unarguable cinema highlights. (George Bailey)
Scorsese adaptation of the .\'ikos K;i/.ibt/akis noy cl has ('hrist teinptcdon the cross by the possibility ofliying out his life as in ordinary man. an ay critic w hich sciscsonly for lnm torealise thefull signilicancc of hisdiy intty.
l be central thesis aside. this is a fairly straightforward though ratheroyerlong ltcalntcnl of the ministry with \Villem l).tlt‘c’ making a rather cony entional looking ( ~hrist. ‘l be rather reyerent tone cart seem a little numbing at times. w ith the result that the film lacks the edge of the directot \ earlier work on the mean streets of \ew Yoi k. (ilasgow : (‘annon Sauclueliall Street. lidinburgh: ('amco. I The Little Prince ( l ' ) (Stanley l)onen. l‘ls. W71) Richard Kiley. Bolt l'osse, (icnc \Vilder SH mins. A young monarch lcay es the asteroid he rules to learn about life on earth. .\lisfiring musicalfantasy w luch doesn't do itisticc to Antoine dc Saint} \upciy'sclasstccliildrcn'sbook. ldinbaigh' l'ilmhouse.
I Malcolm ( l5) (Nadia l’ass. Australia. l‘Nil ( ienlle Aussie comedy lookingat the fantasy world of a young man deyotcd to mechanical dey ices. w ho somehow gets myobed in the world of crime. i l-dmbxngh: l-dinburgh l-"ilm (iuild. Strathclyde: llaldane Film Society.
I A Man For All Seasons ( l’( i l f l- red Zinnemann. l‘ls'. Woo) l’anl Scofield. Wendy lliller. Robert Shaw . ( )rson \Velles. llflmins. l’eifect film of Sir Robert Bolt's play about Sii'lhomas .\lore's conflict with l leniy \'fll.when the King. requiring a diyorce. asks More‘s support in breaking with Rome and forming the ( ~hurch of lingland.
Superb performancesand \ iy id atmosphere make this a worthy Oscar winner for director anemann. screenwriter Bolt and Scofield in the title role. though Robert Shaw 's l lenry and Olson \Velles' ('ardinal Wolsey are equally memorable. lidinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse.
I Masquerade ( 15) ( Bob Swain]. t'S. 1988) Rob l.ow e. Meg 'l'illy . Kim ( ‘attrall. 91 mins. Youthful heiress'l‘illy finds herself attracted to ingenuous y achtsman [.owe. an aspiring social climber around the wealthy boating community . and begins a relationship w ith her w lnlst remaining with long-time los'cr(‘attrall. The latter how eyer suspects that his interest in the rich youngster could be leading to a possible murder.
Rather old-hat romantic triangle. 'l'he yachting background looks pretty . but banal plotting makes this really nothingto
get too worked up oy er. (ilasgow : (’annon Sauchiehall Street. Strathclyde: A.\l(’ (‘lydebank lzdinburgh: ('annon.
I Midnight Cowboyt IS) (John Schlesinger. l'S. 1%”) .lon Voight. Dustin Hoffman. Brenda Vaccaro. Syly‘ia Miles. ll3 mitts. \'oight is the dim-w itted 'I‘exan offering his scry ices as a male prostitute for the rich ladicsot New York. while 1 lof’tman isthc tubercular comnan he befriends and helps out oy er one cold w inter in tliisseminal buddy moy ie. which helped both the protagonnists to major stardom in the early Seyenties. set Schlesinger of’f'on an intermittently successful .American career. and further shifted the censorship parameters of" the mainstream American film. lidinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse.
I Midnight Hunt is) ( Martin Brest. t 'S. 1988) Robert l)e.\'iro, (‘harles(irodin. Yaphet Kotfo. 133 mins. See caption
rcy icw (ilasgow: (‘annon ( ~Iarkston Road. I-dinburgh: (‘annon ( ’entral' ('annon l‘alkirk. Strathclyde: ( 'annon Kilmarnoek.
I Moonstruck ( l’( i ) (Norman Jewison. l'S. 1987) ( ~her. Nicolas ( ‘age. ( )ly mpia Dukakis. llltl mins. thoroughly winning romantic comedy with ( 'heron Oscar-winning form asa dowdy young widow who accepts a proposal of marraige
from a man she does not lose in return for a safe and secure future. Asked to clear up some bad blood w ith his young brother it is loy e at first sight w hen they mectzshe undergoes a (‘inderella-like transformation and is torn between the conflicting demands of her head and heart. Meanwhile. other members other closeknit ltalian-American family are similarly thrown into amorous turmoil by the influence of a mischiey ous moon.
(‘oinbining humour and poignancy with a charming eccentricity . Jitmnsrruck isa delightful story . engagingly told. ()scars also went to l)ukakis and .lohn l’atrick Shanley 's rich. tutti f'ruti script. iidinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse.
I My Life AS A Dog ( l’( i ) ( Lasse l lalstrom. Sweden. 1985) Anton (ilanzelius. Manfred Sery er. Anki l.iden. llll mins. Wholly captiy ating rite of passage tale set in Sweden dttring the l‘)5lls. 'I'wely'e year-old lngemar copes with hismother's terminal illness and his family's general indifference to his boisterous spirits by indulging in a high fantasy life. including the pretence that he is a dog. 'l‘erribletitle. wonderful. unmissable film. (ilasgow: (il-‘l‘. lidinburgh: l‘ilmhouse.
I The National Health ( 15) (Jack (iold. l'ls'. l‘)73l.lim Dale. Lyn Redgraye. Donald Sinden. 97 mins. Life in the general men's ward of a large run-down hospital. Acidic black comedy from Peter Nichols. play . w hich still seems remarkabley' fresh and reley ant today. lidinburgh: l'illttltottsc.
I Planes, Trains and Automobilest 15) (John Hughes. IS. 1937) Steye Martin. .lohn ( 'andy . l.aila Robbins. 92 mins. llughes relinquishes his position as the most pertinent commentator on teenage woes and graduates with honours in the side-splitting adult comedy stakes. Martin is a harrassed ('hicago businessman desparate to return home from New York for the 'l‘hanksgiy ing celebrations. Af'tera fren/ied attempt to catch the last flight home he undergoes a series of increasingly fraught misady entures. Along the way he meets ( ‘andy ‘s accident prone shower curtain salesman and they inadvertently become tray'clling companions through treacheroUs snow . hell. high w ater and mutual incompatibility.
Predictable and sentimental ()dd (‘ouple on the road which isgenuinely funny thanks to the script and the w ell-played clash of personalities between the two stars. (ilasgow : (irtisy‘c‘littr.
I Poltergeist "It [5 ) ((iary Sherman. US. 1988) l leather ()‘Rourke. 'l‘om Skerritt. Nancy Allen. 95 mins. 'I'he restless spirits from the other side are still after the soul of blonde poppet O'Rourke. now living with relatiyes in a high-tech apartment block. Almost (but not quite)absurdly awful enough to be funny . this isan unnecessary helping of horror tripe in a schlock sauce. (ilasgow : (‘annon (‘larkston Road. Strathclyde: AMC ('lydebank. (‘entralz Kclburn. Rialto.
I Predatort l8) (John Mc'l'iernan. l'S. 1987‘) Arnold Schwarzenegger. ('arl Weathers. lilpidia (‘arillo lfl7 mins. Arnie and his dirty halt-dozen are hired to enter a dense South American jungle to free a kidnapped cabinet minister. but lurking unseen in the foliage isa chameleon-like being waiting to skin alive any unsuspecting human to cross its path.
Slow to build. but ultimately-gripping
macho mayhem with a real sense ofthreat.
— WIN A CRATE
0F BEER
15 Niel N All Sept — 13 Oct 1988