FILM
LIST
callous in dispensing with a former business colleague whom she believes to be intent on blackmail. The combination of passion and murder reveal the chinks of vulnerability in her seemingly implacable armour and her descent into damnation begins. Hare‘s approach with a range of close ups in the manner of Dreyer and pause-heavy dialogue (he seems uneasy writing the bread and butter dialogue to move the plot along) renders the whole enterprise mannered and stilted. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I Pet Sematary (18) (Mary Lambert. US. 1989) Dale Midkiff. Denise Crosby. Fred Gwynne. 102 mins. In a dark old house in Maine near an old lndian burial ground. strange things can happen. Handy really. for young Louis Creed (Midkiff). who. shattered by the death of his two year-old son, tries to bring him back to life by meddling in the old lndian plot. Strange to relate. the child comes back slightly changed and soon anyone in reach ofthc cutlery is at the sharp end ofthc youngster‘s tantrums. Despite its clumsy structure. it is at least well acted and occasionally scary. However. like most Stephen King books. this could make a great movie. though. like most Stephen King films. this is not it. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Grosvenor. Central: Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. UCl Clydebank 10. I Play Me Something ( 15) (Timothy Neat. UK. 1989) John Berger. Tilda Swinton. Hamish Henderson. 72 mins. 1n the lounge at the tidal airport on Barra assorted travellers are waiting for the fogbound Glasgow plane. and old man Henderson conjures up a storyteller in the shape ofJohn Berger to keep them entertained. His story of romance and politics in Venice is transposed against Neal‘s dislocated images of the city and Swiss lensman Jean Mohr's evocative photographs. The result is an impressive examination of the art of narrative and its place within both a primarily oral Celtic culture and the formal strategies ofthc cinema. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Prova d’Orcheslra Orchestra Rehearsal (15) (Frederico Fellini. Italy. 1978) Balduin Bas. Clara Colosimo. Elizabeth Labi. 72 mins. lnsubstantial latterday Fellini. originally made for Italian television. is a kind of modern parable looking at the disgruntled orchestra members‘ determination to dismiss the conductor and head towards anarchy. Edinburgh University Film Society. I (lueen Kelly (Erich Von Stroheim. US. 1928) Gloria Swanson. Walter Byron. Seena Owen. l()()mins. Stroheim‘s final. unfinished. sexual melodrama. silent and in monochrome. in which Ms Swanson plays a fallen convent girl sold into slavery. but redeemed by an inheritance. Patchy and overwrought. but not without its moments. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Raging Bull (18) (Martin Scorsese. US. 1980) Robert de Niro. Cathy Moriarty. Joe Pesci. 129 mins. Middleweight boxing champ Jake La Motta finds it difficult to sustain his early success and as his career fades. he declines into a travesty ofhis former self. De Niro‘s stunning physical presence dominates Scorsese‘s savagely bleak study of self-destructive machismo. Edinburgh University Film Society. I Rain Man (15) (Barry Levinson. US. 1988) Dustin Hoffman. Tom Cruise. Valeria Golino. 114 mins.1mpecunious smalltime hustler Charlie Babbitt (Cruise) ends up kidnapping his previously unknown autistic savant brother Raymond (Hoffman). when their late father leaves his $3 million fortune to the latter. However. as the two cross America by road genuine feelings of fraternal affection well up between them. The 1989 major Oscar winner is a warmhearted and touching buddy movie that scrupulously avoids sentimentality. Glasgow: GFT. I Raising Arizona (15) (Joel Coen. US. 1987) Nicolas Cage. Holly Hunter. 94
NEW YOR
New York Stories (15) (Scorsese, i Coppola & Allen, US, 1989) Nick Nolte,; Heather McComb, Woody Allen. 118 mins. lcan’t say I’ve ever really been all that enamoured with the portmanteau movie. The Somerset Maugham jobs of the early Fifties and those terribly dreary series of Amicus horror packages all seemed to consist , of a job lot of conceits, each of which was only enough to pad out a half-hour orso of screen time. Someone probably thought it would be like a book of short stories, but the results often seem awfully thin. Now producer Robert Greenhut has managed to compile the work of three major American directors around the theme of the city they‘ve all been associated with in New York Stories. And yes, it’s a mixed bag all right.
LIFE LESSONS: Martin Scorsese kicks off with a little number about an artist who’s so expressionist he paints to the sound of Procol Harum. Like Profoundsville, man. Nick Nolte plays the man with the murals who has the hats for beautiful assistant Rosanna Arquette. We know this because the camera keeps lingering over her bod.
KSTORIES
The art/life routine is traipsed over one more time. Only fortysomething males slavering after Rosanna will truly go for this one. Which could, sadly, count for a sizeable portion of the movie audience.
LIFE wnaour 205: So youthoughtThe L Cohan Club was a turkey, huh? Coppola e
stares straight at the bottom of the barrel with this stinker. Scripted by his teenage daughter Sofia, from the first-name only credits (photographed by Vittorio) onwards, it has self-indulgence scrawled all over it. Heather McComb features as a 12 year-old whose expensive existence at
atop New York hotel and private school 3
is offset by the rift between her parents. Lots of wealthy brats disport themselves. Ugh.
OEDIPUS WRECKS: Woody Allen goes back in time to the early Seventies when he made crazee comedies, and you feel that he‘s maybe getting a bit too old for it. Here he plays exec Sheldon Mills, who at fifty still suffers an embarrassing Jewish Mother problem that continues to prove harmful to his romantic life. However, an attempt to get rid of the shrill hag (brilliantly played by Mae Ouestel) only serves to exacerbate his situation. Actually this segment is fairly passable. At 40 minutes just the right length, and at least you leave the cinema with a smile. Wonder if they'd letyou in at a third the ticket price if you only wanted to see this bit? (Trevor Johnston)
mins. Married ex-con Cage settles down to a life ofcrime once more and remedies his wife's childless state by stealing a millionaire's recently whelped quintuplet. Exhilarating. live-action cartoon combining non-stop action. crazy situations and deadpan wit. A joy. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I Le Rayon Vert The Green Ray (PG) (Eric Rohmer. France. 1986) Marie Riviere. Lisa lleredia. Vincent Gauthier. 98mins. The latest in Rohmer‘s increasingly insubstantial ‘Comedies and proverbs‘ series tells of the lonely Delphine tryingto pass her summer holidays without the benefit ofa boyfriend. Travelling with a suitcase of self-pity through Normandy and on to the mountains of Biarritz. she finds a companion when she least expects to. Rohmer's lean. observational style is still distinctive and admirable but Delphine is irksome and one longs for a bit of spit to go with the French polish. Edinburgh: French Institute.
I Red Heat ( 18) (Walter 11111. US. 1988) Arnold Schwarzenegger. James Belushi. Ed O‘Ross. 104 mins. Tough Moscow cop Arnie travels to Chicago on the trail of Moscow‘s most psychotic drug dealer. and slobbish Yank detective Belushi is assigned to co-ordinate with him on the ease. Startingout in hostility. but finally ending up buddies. they break the rules at every turn in their attempts to bring the wrongdoer to justice. Glasnost era police thriller makes little of its Russian elements. instead settling down for the familiar banter and action set-pieces Walter Hill seems to be turning out in his sleep these days. even ifthis one does have arather nifty bus chase sequence. . Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. l
I Red Sorghum ( 15) (Xhang Yimou.
China. 1988) Gong Li. Jian Weng. JiuJi. 9(1mins. Completely startling pieceof l work from the New Chinese Cinema isa family saga set in a ruralcommunity l
during the 1930s. which follows a bride's adventures: finding a litter carrier forhcr husband. setting up her own brewery. and fighting against the barbaricJapanese invaders. Conceived on a gloriously broad palette. Yimou's film manages to controversially explore the stirringsof female sexuality. and include some endearing knockabout comedy before the tone darkens for the final cataclysm. The marvellous control of a rich red colour scheme throughout makes this a magnificent debut. Edinburgh L'niversity Film Society. (‘entralz MacRobert Arts Centre.
I Restless Natives (Michael 1 1offman. UK. 1985) Vincent Friell. Joe Mullancy. Teri Nally. 89 mins. Quaint but silly Scottish comedy of dubious morals. in which a couple of lads from a peripheral housing scheme set out to make their fortune as highwaymen. ()n a 125cc moped. wearing masks stolen from the joke shop where one of them works. they raid (Totters coach tours. stealing goods and chattels from their American clients. who enjoy the touch of local flavour. After a car chase. filmed in an around Edinburgh. they are cornered by international police. but there's a twist in the tail. Worth seeing. ifonly to spot local landmarks and actors. Glasgow: (irosvenor.
I Road House ( 18) ( Rowdy l lerrington. US. 1989) Patrick Swayze. Ben (iazzara. Kelly Lynch. 114 mins. Sway/c moves from dirty dancing to dirtily dunting— people's heads off tables. in an effort to clear up the Double Deuce. A violent dump. only marginally preferable to the Black Hole of Calcutta as a place to gofor a drink. There. as top bouncer. he takeson the scumbags who like to preface social interaction by inquiring as to the object of your gaze. Though graced with precious few moments oforiginality. the movie is full of satisfying cheap thrills as Swayzc
demonstrates his commitment to philosophy by battering the stuffing out of people he dislikes. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. ()deon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Strathclyde: ()deon Hamilton. UCI Clydebank 11).
I The Secret Of My Success (PG) (Herbert Ross. US. 1987) Michael J. Fox. Helen Slater. RichardJordan. 111 mins. Country bumpkin Fox comes to New York determined to make it in the cut-throat world of big business. Slick yuppie comedy. with an obnoxious world view and an experienced cast. Edinburgh: National Museum.
I The Secret of Nimh (Don Bluth. US. 1982). Forced to flee her cosy field a mouse. and a single mother to boot . seeks the help of the mysterious rats of.\'imh. Animated cartoon feature by a groupof cx-1)isney artists who believed their erstwhile employers were letting standards slip. shockch Though their artistic credentials are obvious the narrative strength isn't. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr.
I Shame ( 15) (Steve Jodrell. Australia. 1987) Deborra Lee Furness. Tony Barry. Simone Buchanan. 92 mins. Asta (liurness) is an independent barristerand a biker. whose motorcycle breaks down while she is travelling through the outback. She finds herself in a small town where a conspiracy of silence is covering up the gang-rape of a young girl. Asta takes on her case and becomes locked in a battle with the sheriff and the whole ofthc town's male community for recognition of the crime. Powerful companion piece to The Accused which manages to create a brooding atmosphere of male threat without resorting to explicit detail. (ilasgow: (iFI‘.
I Shirley Valentine ( 15) (Lewis Gilbert. UK. 1989) Pauline Collins. Bernardllill. Tom Conti. 1 111 mins. Gilbert’s screen version of the celebrated Willy Russell play. now expanded from a monologue to include Bernard Hill as the insensitive hubby and Tom Conti as the Greek bit of stuffShirley meets on a Mediterranean holiday that turns into a voyage of
self-( re)discovery. Pauline Collins is outstanding in the title role. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Salon. Edinburgh: Cannon. Dominion. Central: Regal. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank l(l. I A Short Film About Killing ( l8) ( Krzysztof Kieslowski. Poland. 1987) Miroslaw Baka. Krzysztof (ilobisa. Jan Tesarz. 8-1 mins. A brutal. intelligent exploration of the mechanics of murder and capital punishment. Barely a shot is wasted as Kieslowski builds the tension to an unbearable pitch. his documantarist‘s eye for unsparing physical detail stares unblinklingly at mortality while a humanist‘s intelligence pleads for the right to life. A masterpiece. Glasgow: GF'I‘.
I Star Trek V: The Final Frontier( PG) (William Shatner. US. 1989) William Shatner. Leonard Nimoy.l)e1~‘orrest Kelley. James Doohan. 107 mins. Their mission to boldly go where no man has gone before. well where this lot have been four times before. This time (‘ap'n James Tiberius Kirk makes his directorial debut. ()n the plus side most of the characters are as well written and credible as they were in the T\' sereies. albeit with rather more grey hairs. However. the plot turns out to be the normal formula bokum. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank 11).
I La Strada ( 15) (Frederico Fellini. Italy. 195-1) Giulictta .‘vlasina. Anthony Quinn. Richard Basehart. 115 mins. Fellini‘swife Masina is unforgettable as a simple-minded girl in love with larger-than-lifc circus strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn). who dies ofa broken heart when he kills the gentle tightrope walker (Basehart) who had befriended her. Painful story ofloneliness and isolation whose vividly seedy small-town backgrounds never allow sentimentality to set in. Edinburgh
16 The List 24 November - 7 December 1989