FILM LIST
INDEX
5 I The Accidental Tourist ( 15) (Lawrence Kasdan. US. 1988) William Hurt. Geena
Davis. Kathleen Turner. Amy Wright.
7 121 mins. Macon Leary (Hurt) isa
. successful writer of mollycoddlingtravcl
' guides. but his placid home life is disturbed when his wife Sarah (Turner)
walks out on him. Left to his own devices. ' he soon finds himself falling for kooky dog trainer Mttriel (Davis).
llurt‘s impressive performance is at the
centre of the film's quiet domestic strengths and its absorbing depiction of everyday Baltimore lives; but astrained ; set oftoo-eccentric secondary characters tends to obscure the movingordinariness ofthe film‘s core. Edinburgh:Cameo : I The Accused (18) (Jonathan Kaplan.
: LS. 1988) Kelly McGillis.Jodie Foster.
Berni Coulson. 111 mins. Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) is raped on a pinball
machine by three men. yet when the
assailants are taken to court. a plea
bargain with Sarah‘s lawyer Kathryn
' Murphy (Kelly McGillis) reducestheir charges. When both women realise this is a sell-out. they decide to bring charges
against the men in the bar who cheered on y the attack and offered encouragement to l the rapists.
Standout performance from Foster in this sympathetic and responsible
treatment ofdifficultsubjectmatter.
whose firm grasp of character and honest ‘ intentions help allay one's reservations
' about the content. Glasgow: Cannon.
Sauchiehall Street. Grosvenor.
Strathclyde: AMCClydebank.
I The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (PG) (Terry Gilliam. US. 1988)John
‘ Neville. Sarah Polley. Eric Idle. Robin Williams. 126 mins. Gilliam's fabulously expensive 18th century fantasia begins in a . city under siege from the Turks where the . populace are being entertained by a
theatrical extravaganza based on the tall
: tales of Baron Munchausen. whereupon
2 the lad himself appears to give a first-hand account of his adventures and save the
day.
Gilliam's extravagant visual sensibility guides this occasionally misfiring maniac epic through its sticky patches. but there is so much to look at and enough genuine I laughs that his relentless campaign against mediocre convention is more than 2 justified. Glasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh:
()deon. Strathclyde: AMCClydebank.
()deon Ayr. ()deon Hamilton.
IAllen(l8)(Ridley Scott. US. 1979)
Sigourney Weaver. lan llolm. John Hurt.
116 mins. Agatha Christie in outer space
as a freighter lands on a mysterious planet
and is ingeniously invaded by a ravenous
intruder which proceeds to chomp its way
through the cast list. Edinburgh:
Filmhouse.
I Alien Nation ( 18) a (Graham Baker.
L S. 1988) James Caan. Mandy Patinkin.
't erence Stamp. 98 mins. See panel.
Glasgow: Cannon (‘larkston Road.
. (irosvenor. ()deon. Edinburgh: Odeon.
('entral: Allanpark. Caledonian. Cannon
1-alkirk. Regal. Strathclyde: AMC (‘lydebank. Cannon Kilmarnock. Kelburne Paisley. Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. Rialto. I Aliens(18) (James Cameron. US. 1986) Sigourney Weaver. Michael Biehn. 137mlns. Revived from a 57-year snooze in deep space. Warrant Officer Weaver is cajoled into joining a marine rescue mission to the planet that is home forthe original alien beastie. Unrelentingly
paced with a terrifically gutsy
performance from Weaver. this
; nerve-shredding sequel not onlymatches its predecessor but cannily surpasses it. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Au Revoir Les Enfants (PG) (Louis
14 The list 7—~ 20 April 1989
WORKING GIRL
Working Girl (15) (Mike Nichols, US, 1988) Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver. Joan Cusack. 114 mins. Working Girl has all the traditional trappings of an American fairytale, from Melanie Griffith’s downtrodden corporate Cinderella to Harrison Ford’s gallant Prince Charming and Sigourney Weaver’s hissable Wicked Witch. Deceptiver simple and disarmineg nice, it is a credit to the Rolls Royce pedigree of cast and crew that it has turned out to be substantially more than a distall re-run of the Michael J. Fox hit The Secret of my Success.
Like some contemporary reincarnation of a Frank Capra archetype, Tess McGill (Griffith) is an anonymous, struggling face in the crowd of Manhattan’s business community: a bright, efficient, ambitious secretary who has the skill but lacks the clout or class to begin the ascent of the slippery corporate ladder. Used and abused by her male chauvinist colleagues, she begins to despair until the apparent Godsend of a female boss, Katharine Parker (Weaver), who nurtures her self- esteem and applauds her aspirations. However, not only does she value Tess‘ contributions, she steals them.
A ski-ing accident that temporarily sidelines Parker allows Tess to realise that ruthless exploitation is not the sole
preserve of the men in her life. Rebuilding her shattered hopes. she pretends to be the absent Parker and tackles the financial world on its own unscrupulous terms, with a little assistance from investment broker Jack Trainer (Ford), who loves her even when she is unmasked as a mere secretary. There are the expected deceitful complications, and of course justice prevails and the happy ending is eventually reached.
Whilst Harrison Ford seems a little over-earnest in his attempt to emulate the effortless cool and debonair charm of a Cary Grant, Weaver is plainly having a damn good time as a rich bitch in the Rosalind Russell mould. Given a woman of substance to play, Griffith is an appealing mixture of little-girl-lost and curvaceous sex symbol, bringing charismatic conviction to lines like ‘1 have a head for business and a bod for sun‘.
Given the solid foundation of these performances. with excellent further support from Joan Cusack as a sassy best friend, Mike Nichols has constructed a thoroughly entertaining piece of escapistfluff. It has an unobtrusive commentary on sexism and class in American society, but is primarily a ‘movie movie’, about romance, adventure and the good guys winning one. Here’s to the little people. (Allan Hunter)
Malle. France/W. Germany. 1987) Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejito. Philippe Morier-Genoud. 113 mins. Low-key. cinema verite influenced screen portrayal of autobiographical incidents from Malle‘s boyhood. Set duringthe German occupation, the film follows the developing friendship between two boys, one of whose closely-guarded Jewish identity is to prove dangerous to both as the Nazi presence looms alarmingly close. Simple. subtle. and very moving. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Babette's Feast (U) (Gabriel Axel. Denmark. 1987) Stephane Audran. Jean-Philippe Lafont. Bibi Andersson. 103 mins. The Jutland peninsula during the late 19th century. Exiled French housekeeper Audran wins 10,000 francs in a lottery and uses the money to prepare a sumptuous banquet marking the centenary of the birth of a Lutheran dean whose surviving spinster daughters carry on his good works among the poor and needy. A delicious gastronomic experience and an exquisite slice of cinematic narrative.
this is a boisterous. exemplary literary adaptation full of pleasurable surprises and real feeling. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Battleship Potemkin (PU) (Sergei Eisenstein. USSR. 1925) A. Antonov. Vladimir Barski. Grigori Alexandrov. 75 mins. Made for the 20th anniversary ofthe 1905 revolution. Eisenstein's all—time cinema classic follows the mutiny by the crew ofthe Prince Potemkin and the support given by the local civilian population. who are mown down by the Czar‘s troops in the famous Odessa Steps sequence. Expressive camera technique and a grasp of editing that wrote the textbooks are just some of the innovations that put Eisenstein and Russian film firmly on the cinematic map. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Beetleluice (15) (Tim Burton. US, 1988) Geena Davis. Alec Baldwin. Michael Keaton. 92 mins. Recently deceased. and very charming New England couple. have difficulty in adjusting to the afterlife. Not the least of their worries is the tasteless refurbishment of their old home by a nasty
New York yuppie family. and they eventually call on freelance bio-exorcist Betelgeuse to deal with the problem in his own inimitable fashion.
Exuberantly eccentric cartoonish capers. a movie that creates its own comic cosmos where the unexpected is the norm. Glasgow: GET I 819 (PG) (Penny Marshall. US. 1988) Tom flanks. Elizabeth Perkins. Robert Loggia. 104 mins. 12 year-old Josh (David Moscow) has no luck with the school beauty because of his diminutive stature. However. upon discovering a neglected fairground wishing machine. he jumps out of bed the next morning to find his boyish self now wrapped in an adult packaging (Tom Hanks).
()f all the role-reversal movies outlast year. Big has been by far the most successful. because Tom Hanks offers a most appealing characterisation as the dopey innocent at large. and because it treats the situation with a little intelligence. Josh is at times lost and bewildered in the adult world. for instance. but his unspoilt ideas triumph when he gets a job with a toycompany. Good mainstream fare. Central: Allanpark I The Big Chill ( 15) (Lawrence Kasdan. US. 1983) William Hurt. JeffGoldblum. Tom Berenger. Glenn Close. 103 mins. A group of friends who were once Sixties college radicals get together for a weekend to discuss the old days and examine why they've all sold out. Brilliantly acted ensemble piece with a snappy soundtrack of golden oldies and the kind of memorable dialogue that has made it a considerable cult attraction. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I 819 Time ( 15) (Chris Blum. US. 1988) Tom Waits. Ralph Carney. Greg Cohen. 90mins. Concert movie shot during the 1987 Frank's Wild Years tour. with Waits and the band in stunning form. interpolated with fantasy sequences to tell the story of Frank. chihuahua killer. and dreamer with a song in his heart. Glasgow: GET.
I Blfd (15) (Clint Eastwood. US. 1988) Forrest Whitaker. Diane Venora. Samuel E. Wright. Michael Zelinker. 161mins. Eastwood‘s labour oflove manages effortlessly to blast away our misgivings about any Hollywood messing around with jazz. for this is a brave and moving attempt to bring to the screen some ofthe complexities of Charlie ‘Yardbird‘ Parker, whose improvisational developments on the alto saxophone mark him down as one of the century‘s most significant musical presences.
The skilled patchwork narrative combines with an excellent cast. among whom Forrest Whitaker's range of emotional expression in the title role must go down as a major achievement. Could well go down as one of the great screen biographies. Central: Regal.
I 808 Stop (PG) (Joshua Logan. US. 1956) Marilyn Monroe. Don Murray. Arthur O‘Connell. 105 mins. Murray plays an innocent cowboy who falls in love with Monroe‘s saloon singer and has his heart set on marriage. but he can't pluck up the courage to tell her. Marilyn gives one of her best acting performances in this enjoyable comedy with musical asides. but somehow it’s not one of the movies we mostly remember her for. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Le Cage Aux Folles ( 15) (Edouard Molinaro, France. 1978) Ugo Tognazzi. Michel Serrault. Remy Laurent. 109 mins. Renato (Tognazzi) and Albin (Serrault) own the outrageous Cage Aux Folles nightclub. where the latter is the star drag act. Lovers for twenty years. together they have brought up Renato‘s son by a fleeting heterosexual relationship. but headaches arise when the lad wants to marry intoa strait-laced family. and the couple have to try to frantically conCeal his background. Actuallv rather old-fashioned. but
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