FILM LIST
INDEX
I The Adventurer(15) (Kalj'o Kiisk. Estonia. 1983) Tonu Kark. Vijre Valdma. Paul Poom. 91) mins. Scottish premiere for the versatile Kiisk‘s 1983 screen adaptation of August Gailit's picarcsque folk tales of the 1920s. Kark features asa dreamy traveller womanising his way through the Estonian Countryside. Glasgow: GFI‘. I Amsterdamned ( 18) (Dick Mauls. Netherlands. 1988) Huub Stapel. Monique Van de Ven. Serge-1 lenri Valcke. 113 mins. Police inspector Stapel is investigating a bizarre series of murders around Amsterdam. and discovers to his shock that the killer seems to live in the canals and attacks victims from underwater. Dutch variation on Jaws handled with some brio and a more than usual interest in character development. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Ask The Dead The Price of Death ( 15) (Kaljo Kiisk. Estonia. 1977) Maria Klenskaya. Yuozas Kiselius. Gediminas Girdvaitis. 80 mins. Kiisk's striking political thriller makes impressive use of an expressionist colour scheme for its narrative of betrayal and recrimination following the failed uprising in 1924. when Estonia was still a bourgeois republic. Glasgow: GF'I‘. I Asterix and The Big Fight ( L') (Goscinny and Uderzo. France. 1989) Asterix celebrates his thirtieth anniversary with this new animated feature where he and his band of plucky Gallic mates take on the might ofthe Roman army. A hostof British voices on the soundtrack include Bill Oddie. Michael Elphick and Andrew Sachs. Strathclyde: L'Cl Clydebank 111. I Au Hevoir Les Eniants (PG) (Louis Malle. France/W. Germany. 1987) Gaspard Manessc. 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 at a small provincial school run by monks. one of whose closely-guarded Jewish identity is to prove dangerous to both boys as the Nazi presence looms alarmingly close. Simple. subtle. and very moving film. which avoids the cliches ofthe coming-of-age genre. and makes itslarger political points firmly but unobtrusively. Edinburgh: Film Guild. I Back To The Future 2 (PG) r: (Robert Zemcckis. US. 1989) MiehaelJ.Fox. Christopher Lloyd. Thomas F.Wilson. 108 mins. See review. Glasgow: Cannon Clarkston Road. Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cannon. Central: Allanpark. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. ()deon Ayr. ()deon Hamilton. La Scala. L'Cl Clydebank ll). WMR Film Centre. I Bad Taste ( l8) (Peter Jackson. New Zealand. 1983-7) PeterJackson. Mike Minnett. Terry Potter. 93 mins. See feature. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Batteries Not Included (PG) (Matthew Robbins. US. 1987) Hume Cronyn. Jessica Tandy. Frank McRae. llloniins. Only one tenement stands between a businessman and the construction ofhis latest brainchild. The desperate tenants having withstood bribes and threats of violence are now at the end of their tether. One elderly couple pray for a miracle and are rewarded with the visit offriendly alien creatures who help them resist the menace of the property developers. Lacklustre Spielberg-produced adventure lacking imagination and originality. The visual effects are occasionally attractive and amusing but children are likely to grow restless pretty quickly. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
BACK TO THE FUTURE PARTZ
Back to the Future Part 2 (PG) (Robert Zemeckis, US, 1989) Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson. 108 mins.
Ending with a big tease sequence of highlights for the mid-1990 scheduled ‘Back to the Future Part lll', this could well be the longest movie trailer in Hollywood history. Emphatically episode two of a three-part serial, ‘Part 2‘ won’t make much sense unless you're familiar with the plot ofthe original film, calling into question as it does all ofthe personal histories apparently so tidin resolved there.
We begin in 1985 with Marty McFly (Fox) just about to give his girlfriend a spin in his new pick-up. Suddenly, hyperactive inventor Doc (Lloyd) is on the scene with his DeLorean time machine, warning that Marty's future son needs help in the year2015. Azip forward into a world of aerial skate boards, self-fastening shoes and the Ayatollah as a Max Headroom style video waiter has unexpectedly disastrous results when the old-man version of Biff (Wilson, the original bad guy from the first film) borrows the time machine. He gives his younger 1955 self a 50-year sports almanac which enables him to bet his way to unfold riches, bump off Marty’s Pop, and not only marry his Mom but force herto have breast enlargment surgery. The radically different 1985 Marty returns to thus become an amoral, violent mess with the only solution another trip back to 1955 . . .
Directed and played with a terrific verve, this moves so fast from one special effects set-piece and imaginative gag to the next, that there’s no time at all to reflect on the
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basic ridiculousness of its Chinese box of a plot. At the same time there is also quite a strong undercurrent of bleakness to the film. The shopping mall Consumerville of 2015— all video screens, holograms and a middle-aged Marty being fired by his Japanese boss - is hardly enviable for all its hl-tech trimmings, while the rich Biff-dominated1985 comes across as something like the squalor of ‘Escape to New York’ decked out in Las Vegas neon.
However, ’55 is still a golden age of innocence where anything is possible, and it's one of the film’s slickest achievements that it manages to successfully bind an entirely new angle to the rock’n'roll finale of the original film without at all suggesting a mere rehash of the old material. Glossy, high energy, literal escapism, ‘Back to the Future Part II’ is everything it should be and just a little bit more. (Tom Tunney)
I The Battleship Potemkin (PG) (Sergei Eisenstein. L'SSR. 1925) A. Antonov. Vladimir Barski. Grigori Alexandrov. 75 mins. Made for the 211th anniversary ofthe 19(15 revolution. Eisenstein'sall-time cinema classic follows the mutiny by the crew of the Prince Potemkin and the support given by the local civilian population. who are mown down by the Czar‘s troops in the famous ()dessa Steps sequence. Expressive camera technique and a grasp ofediting that wrote the textbooks are just some ofthe innovations that put Eisenstein and Russian film firmly on the cinematic map. Glasgow: GI’I‘.
I The Bear ( PG) (Jean-Jacques Annaud. France. 1988) Bart. Douce. Jack Wallace. Tchcky Karyo. 98mins. Simple. unsentimental narrative follows the experiences of two bears. a bigadult kodiak and a young orphan cub. as they are pursued by two hunters. Cleverly filmed to capture the bears acting naturally. this insight into their point of view makes a moving plea for the integrity of all animals and is highly entertainingas it goes about it. Glasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh: Dominion.
I Blade Runner ( 15) ( Ridley Scott. US. 1982) Harrison Ford. Rutger 1 lauer. Sean Young. 117 mins. A tough coptracks down a group of malfunctioning androids in this gritty hi-tech rctread of Raymond Chandler. Edinburgh L'niversity Film Society.
I The MON 18) (Chuck Russell US. 1989) Kevin Dillon. Shawnee Smith. 95 mins. The psycho sponge from outer space is back with a budget. A welcome and
imaginative revamp for the Blob from Chuck Russell who brings the cult horror movie of the 511s hang up to date with state of the art special effects. Dillon takes on the role that made Steve McQueen a star and together with his partner in slime. Shawnee Smith. they battle the gelatinous glob which is viscoust vacuuming its way through a ski resort. Russell adds hisown outlandish broadstrokes to the monster-on-the-loose format while managing to keep a finger on the pulse of the original. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr.
I Blood Simple ( 18) (Joel Coen. US. 1983) John Getz. Francis McDormand. M. Emmet Walsh. 99mins. Walsh excels as the seedy Sheriffinvestigating a simple murder that hides a devilish'I‘exan chronicle of double-crossing in this enthusiastically executed attempt at contemporary film noir. Edinburgh University Film Society.
I The Buddy Holly Story (Steve Rash. US. 1978) Gary Busey. Dan Stroud. Charles Martin Smith. 113 mins. Well acted biopic of the bespectacled songsmith. culminating in that tragic plane crash. Sensible and unsensationalist. if ultimatley unremarkable. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr.
I Camila ( 15) (Maria Luisa Bemberg. Argentina. 1984) Susu Pecoraro.1manol Arias. Hector Alterio. 97 mins. A strict upper-class Catholic woman falls in love with a priest. and the couple elope together before being arrested by the police. A powerful and intelligent exploration oioppression. the film was delayed by several years by the Argentine
authorities obviously sensitive to its implied criticism of the contemporary regime. Glasgow: GFT.
I Carmen (Francesco Rosi. Italy/France. 1984) Julia Migenes-Johnson. Placido Domingo. Ruggiero Raimondi. 152 mins. Beautifully visual and excellently performed film record of Bizet‘s classic operatic tale of two men bewitched and destroyed by a dangerously sensual gypsy woman. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
: J Comfort And Joy (PG) (Bill Forsyth. UK. r 1984). Bill Paterson. Eleanor David. Patrick Malahidc. Rikki Fulton. A quirky Scottish comedy. along the linesof Forsyth's earlier Gregory '5 Girl. but which doesn‘t quite hit the mark in the same endearing way. Paterson is in fine form though as a disc jockey with more personal problems than he can handle who manages to get caught up in an underworld dispute over the territorial rights of ice cream vans. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover ( 18) (Peter Greenaway. UK. 1989) Richard Bohringer. Michael Gambon. Helen Mirren. Alan Howard. Tim Roth. 120 mins. Greenaway has made a film guranteed to offend everybody. Though beautifully art-directed. photographed. produced and acted it nevertheless deals with the type of subject matter normally only found under the counter at your local video nasty store. Compulsive and unforgettable but you‘d be hard pressed to like the thing. Glasgow: GFT.
I Dangerous Liaisons ( 15) (Stephen Frears. US. 1988) Glenn Close.John Malkovich. Michelle Pfeiffer. Keanu Reeves. 120 mins. Madame de Tourvel and the Vicomte de Valmont (Close and Malkovich) are two treacherous 18th century aristocrats weaving a web oferotic duplicity around one another. Stephen Frears makes a notable Hollywood debut by guiding his east through a difficult setof narrative pirouettes. and the crisp dialogue is handled with a certain asperity. Yet for all the pent-up emotion on screen. little fervour seeps through to the audience and the result is a rather cold and calculating piece of work. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.
I Dark Crystal (PG) (Jim Henson. Frank ()1. UK. 1982) 94 mins. The Muppet men branched out with this unoriginal children‘s fantasy surrounding the quest for a missing shard from the all-powerful dark crystal which must be retrieved to prevent evil consuming the known world. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank It).
I Dead Poets Society(PG) (Peter Weir. US. 1989) Robin Williams. Robert Sean Leonard. Ethan Hawke. 129 mins. In a staid private boys' school in Fifties New England. an unconventional teacher (Williams) interests his charges in literature and philosophy to such an extent that they form a secret club to investigate them further. Though Williams ison good form and turns in a richly zany performance. the film focuses mainly on the boys' emotional development and crises. and on the mystery and beauty surrounding their midnight meetings. A sensitive. tense and moving study ofthe conflict between passion and authority. Glasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh: Dominion. I Deepstar Six ( 15) fr (Sean S. Cunningham. US. 1989) Marius Weyers. Taurean Blacque. Nancy liverhard. 99 mins. The near future. and scientists from the US Navy undersea laboratory Deepstar Six are installing an underwater missile base under the auspicesof surveying the possibility ofundersea colonisation. However. the discovery ofa vast cavern on the ocean floor is todelay their mission in the most unexpected fashion. Sean Friday [31/1 Cunningham is just the man to be relied upon fora cheapjack rip-offof 'I‘lie.»tlri:.v.s'. but this further episode of subaquatic alien mayhem has at least some of the thrills(if fewer of the pretensions) of its big-budget
The List 24 November— 7 December 198913