FILM LIST
I Exorcist 2: The Heretic ( 18) (John Boorman. US. 1977) Richard Burton. Louise Fletcher. Linda Blair. 11(lmins. The horror film that once turned heads receives an unworthy sequel in this silly mumbo-jumbo about priest Burton trying to understand the demons still lurking within the hapless Miss Blair. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Fatal Beauty ( 18) (Tom Holland. US. 1987) Whoopi Goldberg. Ruben Blades. Sam Eliott. Brad Dourif. Cheech Marin. 104 mins. One of Whoopi's myriad post-Color Purple disasters. this has the unsuitably-cast but undoubtedly talented black comedicnnc adrift in an unfunny narcotics cop caper. An interesting supporting cast do not atone for an abominable script and too much gratuitous violence. Glasgow: Grosvcnor. I A Fish Called Wanda (15) (Charles Crichton. UK. 1988) John Cleesc.Jamic Lee Curtis. Kevin Kline. Michael Palin. Tom Georgeson. 108 mins. Stuffy English lawyer Archie Leach (Clecsc) gets unwittingly involved with a gang of diamond thieves. including brash American Kline and stammcring animal lover Palin. because he has access to information that will help them laytheir hands on the swag. Glamorous Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) steps in to romance him into talking. but love is to rcarits head.
Remarkably effective comedy. with the absurdly black humour of the Python generation given a narrative control and sense of timing that only a veteran‘s steady hand could provide. And it makes a wonderful romantic lead out ofthe rather unlikely Mr Cleese. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Grosvcnor. Edinburgh: Dominion. Strathclydc: AMC Clydebank 10.
I Four Flies 0n Grey Velvet ( l8) (Dario Argento. Italy. 1972) Michael Brandon. Mimsy Farmer. Bud Spencer. 101 mins. Murder-mystery thriller from the earlier part of Argento‘s career. when the stylish flair for screen violence he was latcrto display in films like Suspiria had not yet quite come to the fore. And Michael Brandon is a dull lead. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Full Metal Jacket ( 18) (Stanley Kubrick. UK. 1987) Matthew Modine. Dorian Harewood. Lee Ermey. 109 mins. Technically effective but soulless depiction of raw Vietnam recruits asthey endure basic training and the even greater horrors ofthe 1968 Tet offensive. A disappointment. Glasgow: GFT.
I Ghostchase (PG) (Ronald Emmerich. US. 1988) Jason Lively. Tim McDaniel. Jill Whitlow. 90mins. A pair ofbudding young film-makers hope that their late grandfather‘s bequest will leave them some money to help save their latest production. it turns out that all they get is a suitcase full of junk and an old clock. but the midnight chimes bring them some creative inspiration and breathe life intoa model of the old man‘s butler. and the two tyro cineastes are soon up to their necks in the mystery ofa stolen inheritance.
Shambolic. low-budget effort lacking in inspiration and expertise. and suffering from incoherent plotting. In other words. a stiff. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street.
I Good Morning Vietnam ( 15) (Barry Levinson. US. 1987) Robin Williams. Forrest Whitaker. Tung Thanh Tran. 121 mins. At last getting the specially tailored role his improvisatory comic talent deserves. Robin Williams gives a dazzling performance as Iconoclastic armed forces radio disc jockey Adrian Cronauer. assigned to 1965 Saigon and soon creating headaches for the military top brass.
Williams‘ electrifying stints on the radio mike make the film‘s more serious investigation of cultural and military conflict look a little lame. but watch out for a host of fine supporting performances and director Levinson's always winning
way with dialogue. Glasgow: Gl-‘l'. I Gorillas In The Mist ( 15) (Michael Apted. US. 1988) Sigourney Weaver. Bryan Brown. John Omirah Miluwi. 129 mins. The story of Dian Fosscy. an American naturalist who went to central Africa in 1966 with no experience. yet who over the next two decades was to devote her life to the pioneering study ofthe mountain gorilla. and became ruthlessly determined to protect the species from the unwelcome attention of poachers. Priceless footage ofthe real wildlife.
shot on location in the Rwandan jungle. and Sigourney‘s convincing rapport with the gorillas. the keystone ofa sympathetic and committed performance. are the prime reasons for catching this patchy biopic. which suffers unduly from a sagging and cluttered narrative. Glasgow: Cannon C larkston Road. Grosvcnor. Salon. Edinburgh: Cannon. Central: Cannon. Strathclydc: Cannon. I High Hopes (15) a (Mike Leigh. UK. 1988) Philip Davis Ruth Sheen. Edna Dore. Heather Tobias. 112 mins. Sec panel. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I High Spirits ( 15) (Neil Jordan. US/UK. 1988) Peter O‘Toole. Daryl Hannah. Steve Guttenberg. 92 mins. O'Toole stars as the financially desperate owner ofa
decaying lrish castle. Facing the prospect of coming up with some swift cash or accepting foreclosure. he cooks up a scheme to pass off Plunkett Castle asthe most haunted house in Ireland. When a group of American tourists arrive. however. the real ghosts eventually do come out for them and a complicated double supernatural romance is the result Lacklustre slapstick farce. with poor timing and a cluttered narrative curtailing any interest in the sometimes charming special effects. Perhaps comedy isn‘t Jordan‘s forte. or the compromises of international production have spiked his authorial independence. but this load of mularkey does him and his stellar cast no credit at all. I High Tide ( 15)(Gillian Armstrong. Australia. 1987) Judy Davis. Jan Adele. Claudia Karvan. 101 mins. Backupsinger for a second-rate Elvis impersonator finds herselfstranded in a small coastal town. where she inadvertently comes across the teenage daughter she abandoned as a babg and begins to face up to the responsibilities of parenthood. Well-acted Australian drama. with a heady eye for the details of the generation gap. and an atmosphere of unsentimentality that is most commendable. Glasgow: GFT.
— RED SORGHUM
Red Sorghum (15) (Zhang Yimou, China, 1988) Gong Li, Jian Weng, Jiu Ji. 90 mins. This completely startling piece of work, winner of the Golden Bear at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival last year, could well achieve the highest international exposure yet gained by any of the Chinese ‘Fifth Generation’ of film-makers. It perhaps merits an even greater reputation than Chen Kaige's remarkable Yellow Earth (actually photographed by Zhang Yimou before he turned to direction). The film is a family saga set in a rural community during the 1930s, and begins with a young woman (Gong Li) resplendent in bridal red being taken by sedan chair to meet her new husband, a rich leper. 0n the way however, the procession is attacked by bandits and one oi the carriers comes to the bride’s rescue as she is about to be raped. This marks the beginning of a relationship between the pair, and after the leper husband (whom we never see) mysteriously dies, the two lovers settle down to work at the brandy distilling business that has been left to her. A strong sense of community soon develops between them and their fellow workers, but the environment is to be ripped apart when the Japanese
invdrs begin to commit the most
“3- W Wgr‘ w I ~ “- M ‘
dreadful attrocities on the local villagers. The time is ripe for a terrible act of revenge against the foreign army.
lied Sorghum is a film conceived on a gloriously broad palette. Yimou manages to bring off considerable tension as we investigate the opening marriage procession before it is attacked. He then goes on to explore (without the need for any explicitness) the profoundest stlrrings of female sensuality, achieving a memorable love scene amidst a sorghum field furiously blown by the wind that has broken new ground at home in China. There’s endearing knockabout comedy too with the enjoyable scenes at the brewery, before the tone darkens into a final dreadful cataclysm.
The widescreen throbs with a ruddy glow at the tragic close when we witness a symbolic eclipse, and the film’s bold use of colour reaches its conclusion: the bride's red costume, the strong red brandy, the blood that is spilt, and the red of the sun fuse together in what is almost a spiritual affirmation. A magnificent debut for a film-maker of considerable promise. See it. (Trevor Johnston)
EDinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Hollywood Shuttle ( l5) (Robert Townsend. US. 1987). Robert Townsend. Anne-Marie Johnson. Starlette Dupois. 81 mins. Financed by Townsend's credit cards. the film stars the man himselfas Bobby Taylor. a hot-dog vendor who dreams of stardom in Tinseltown. but in reality gets a role in the exploitative Jiverime Jimmy 's Revenge. Bobby finally has to face the choice of continuing to be a stereotype in the white dominated industry. or stand up for self-respect. in a film which confronts important issues with some wit. and. if far from perfect.onc forgives its faults because it is pertinent. fresh. well-intentioned and frequently side-splitting. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Huckleberry Finn (PG) (J. Lee Thompson. US. 1974) Jeff East. Paul Winfield. Harvey Korman. 1 18mins. Empty-headed musical version ofthe Twain classic. Funded by the Reader‘s Digest and probably fitting their idea of ‘family entertainment‘ (i.e. glutinous mush). Strathclydc: AMC Clydebank 11). I Hugo The Hippo (U) (William Fcigcnbaum. US. 1976) Voices ofBurl lves. Marie Osmond. Robert Morley. 91) mins. Reasonable animated fare asa youngster tries to save a magical hippo from extinction in old Zaire. EDinburgh: Filmhouse.
I lnnerspace (PG) (Joe Dante. US. 1987) Dennis Quaid. Meg Ryan. Martin Short. 119 mins. Miniaturized and accidentally injected into Short‘s bum. maverick pilot Quaid has a mere twenty-four hours to alert the hapless victim to his presence. effect an escape and evade the wicked clutches of various industrial spies.
Overplotted but engagingly ramshackle
cartoonish adventure frolic. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Ladykillers (PG) (Alexander Mackemdrick. UK. 1955) Alec Guiness. Cecil Parker. Katie Johnson. 97 mins. A bunch of not-so-bright crooks planning a daring robbery get more than they bargain for when they set up headquarters with a seemingly harmless little old lady. Wry Ealing comedy. with Guiness as usual outshining a plethora of vigorous comic character actors. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The Last Emperor ( l5) (Bernardo Bertolucci.1taly/China. 1987) John Lone. Peter O‘Toole. Joan Chen. 162 mins. Peking. 1908. a three year-old boy ascends to the Imperial Throne to become the ‘Lord of Ten Thousand Years‘. A mere 59 years later. however. he dies a humble gardener in a China that is now the Maoist People's Republic.
intelligent epic following the
self-delusion and re-education of a man shaped by a superseded power structure. A little cold perhaps. but the production and cinematography are ofsuch exquisiteness that one only wishes the film were longer. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Film Guild.
IThe Last Of England ( l8) (DerekJarman. UK. 1987) Tilda Swinton. Spencer Leigh. Spring. Derek Jarman. 91) mins. Part autobiographical study. part examination of post-Empire Britain's decline and fall. this expressive vision of a country edging towards anarchy exudes a technical bravura placed wholly at the service ofa singular painterly sensibility. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Life 01 Brian ( 15)(Terry Jones. UK. 1979) Graham Chapman. TerryJones. John Cleese. Michael Palin. Eric Idle. 93 mins. The Gospel According to Monty Python offended a whole host ofreligious denominations upon its initial release. which rather obscured the fact that behind the controversy lay what still remainstheir most sustained exercise in lunatic English humour. A host of very funny setpiece scenes and smart cameos from all the team climaxes in a rather fetching musical Crucifixion. Central: Regal. I Light 01 Day ( 15) (Paul Schrader. US.
14 The List 24 February - 9 March