BACK LIST
oftwo New York hipster airheads and their canny Hungarian cousin in snow-swept Cleveland and sunny Miami. A beautiful feel for composition. an ability to extract the comic potential from the situation and a winning way with slangy dialogue make this one a cult classic. (Virgin) £48.95
I The Tenninator(18) (James Cameron. US. 1984) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn. Linda Hamilton. 107 mins. In 2029 machines have all but conquered the planet but a saviour is at hand in the form ofa new human leader. Part-man. part-machine. Schwarzenegger's cyborg is sent back from the future to 1984 on a mission to kill the future leader‘s mother. Inventive. excitingly-paced science-fiction adventure with a notable performance from Arnie in his first villainous role. (Virgin) £9.99
I Back to the Future(PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. 1985) Michael J. Fox. Lea Thompson. Crispin Glover. 116 mins. Deservedly popular time-travelling fantasy adventure with street-smart 80s teenager whisked back in time for a little chicanery with his future parents. Its incisive use of detail and characterisation to make the complex situations easily digestible display a narrative skill sometimes lacking from the over-cluttered sequel.(ClC) £9.99
IBrazil ( 15) (Terry Gilliam. US. 1985) Jonathan Pryce. Kim (iriesl. Robert de Niro.
75 The List 22 December 1989— l 1 January 1990
Peter Vaughan. 142 mins. Extravagantly designed and bJaekly humorous Orwellian vision ofthe future. as modest bureaucrat Pryce battles the forces of totalitarianism and fights for his dream girl. feisty trucker Griest. Overlong and ramshackle fantasia. with moments of sheer creative adrenalin and a classic ending. (Warner) £9.99
I Pee Wee's Big Adventure (PG) (Tim Burton. US. 1985) Pee Wee Herman. Elizabeth Daily. Mark Holton. 90mins. When his worst enemy steals his beautiful red bicycle. Pee Wee Herman crosses America in search ofthe coveted machine. and ends up having a movie made about his life! Terrific cartoonish stuff. with sight gags galore and the Pee Wee Herman character himselfa wonderful exercise in the cruel humour of a loveable brat. (Parkfield Entertainment) £9.99
I Sweet Dreams ( 15) (Karel Reisz. US. 1985) Jessica Lange. Ed Harris. Ann Wedgeworth. 115 mins. Highly watchable portrait of the life and tragically short times of country-western singer Patsy Cline that rarely avoids the standard biopic cliches but is dragged well out ofthe rut by fine performances from the principals (notably violent hubby Ed Ilarris). and some sterling miming by Miss Lange. (Warner) £9.99
1986 _ I
I Blue Velvet ( 18) (David Lynch. US. 1986) Kyle MacLachlan. Dennis Hopper. Isabella Rossellini. 120 mins. In small-town Middle America. would-be boy detective MacLachlan finds a severed earon some waste ground. When the police shoo him away he decides to do some investigatingof his own. A singular fusion of the cosy and the terrifying which blends kitsch and nightmare. B-movie detection and brutal sexual perversion to deconstruct our complacent vision of what passes for normal society. This is filmmakingof remarkable imagination
and skill. (CBS/Fox) £14.99
IThe Fly (18) (David Cronenberg. US. 1986) Jeff Goldblum. Geena Davis. Brilliant reconceptualization of the original 1958 camp classic with Goldblum highly effective as the scientist whose experiments in teleportation go disastrously wrong. and Davis no less impressive as the love ofhislife. Special effects superlatively revolting. tension sustained throughout. (CBS/Fox) £9.99
IThe Hilcher(18)(Robert '
Mandel. US. 1986) Rutger Hauer. C. Thomas Howell. JenniferJason Leigh. 98 mins. Drowsy driver Howell gets more than he bargains for when he picks up psycho-hitcher Hauer in this genuine edge-of-the-seat suspenseful thriller. (Warner) £9.99
I The Mission (PG) (Roland Joffe. UK. 1986) Jeremy Irons. Robert De Niro. Ray McAnally. 125 mins. In 18th century South America a Papal Prelate is called in to resolve a territorial dispute between Spain and Portugal. His decision is dictated by the political climate in Europe and has harsh ramifications for a mission run by Jesuit priests. Both a study of male friendship and an exploration of man‘s capacity for the noblest altruism and the most treacherous selfishness. The Mission is an operatic film ofdepth and considerable power. (Warner) £9.99
I Salvador( 18) (Oliver Stone. US. 1986) James Woods. Jim Belushi.John Savage. 122 mins. Raw. abrasive reporting of journalists under fire as sleazy ‘ war junkie ' photojournalist Woods travels to Salvador and finds his senses assaulted by the fear and corruption perpetrated by the ruling elite. Exceptionally well acted. angry. bravura filmmakingthat not only demands your attention but deserves it. First and best of a series offilms announcing Oliver Stone‘s ability to take issues from the headlines and turn them into raging entertainment. (Prestwieh Operations) £9.99
I Something Wild ( 18) (Jonathan Demme. L'S. I986)Jeff Daniels. Melanie Griffith. Ray Liotta. 113 mins. Best of the burgeoning yuppie-in-peril genre as business executive Daniels is willingly led astray by the irresistible charmsof Griffith only to find himself involved with
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genuine love and the frightening possessiveness of a psychotic ex-beau. Kooky comedy and genuine thrills are artfully blended with a non-stop soundtrack ofeclectic treats. Not to be missed. (RCA/Columbia) £9.99
.1987
IThe Dead (L‘) (John Huston. UK/W. Germany. 1987) Anjelica Huston. Donal McCann. Helena Carroll. 83 mins. Huston's final film is a superb adaptation of the James Joyce Dubliners short story. Set during a traditional festive celebration its skill and mellow perception draw you into another world where the dinner conversation and general merriment reveal universal truths about death and the beauty of true love. (Vestron) £9.99 I Housekeepingu’a) (Bill Forsyth. Canada. 1987) Christine Lahti. Sara Walker. Andrea Burchill. 116 mins. Scrupulously faithful to the Marilynne Robinson novel. I’orsyth's film tells of two orphaned sisters who are entrusted to the custody of their eccentric aunt Sylvie. Literater scripted. confidently directed. beautifully photographed and performed with sensitive insight. (RCA’Columbia) Rental
I House olGameS(15) (David Mamet. US. 1987) Lindsay Crouse. Joe Mantegna. Lilia Skala. 102 mins. A workaholic psychiatrist. the author of a bestseller on compulsive behaviour. develops an obsession with a group of con men and the seams they perpetrate. Attracted by the vicarious thrill oftheir games. she is eager to graduate from observer to
participant .The movie starts slowly. but becomes a gripping and pleasurable thriller ofserpentine twists. hard-boiled Chandlcresque dialogue and surprise double-crosses. A Chinese box of a film. (RCA Columbia) £9.99
I The Last Emperou 15) (Bernardo Bertolucci. Italy China. 1987)John Lone. Peter O‘Toole. Joan Chen. 162 mins. Peking. 1908. athree year-old boy ascends to the Imperial Throne to become the lord ofTen Thousand Years'. A mere 59 years later. however. he dies a humble gardener in a China that is nowthc Maoist People's Republic.lntelligent 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 of such exquisiteness that one only wishes the film were longer. (RCA/Columbia) £9.99 I Near Dark(18) (Katherine Bigelow. US. 1987) Adrian Pasdar. Jenny Wright. Lance Henriksen. 98 mins. A chance sexual encounter for a Texas youth leads to his abduction by a group of marauding bloodsuckers and his difficult transformation to their parasitic mode of existence. As vampire-biker westerns go. this is one ofthe best. (Entertainment In Video) £9.99 I No Way Out ( 15) (Roger Donaldson. US. 1987) Kevin Costner. Sean Young. Gene Hackman. 114 mins. Resourceful naval hero Costner. now a liaison officer between Secretary of Defense Hackman and the CIA. is asked to lead an investigation into the murder of a Washington socialite. He knowsthat Hackman was the accidental killer and that suspicion is falling on another man who shared her bed. namely himself. Beautifully paced conspiracy yarn with fine performances all round. and a great twist ending. (RCA/Coulumbia) £9.99 I Roxanne (PG) (Fred Schepisi. US. 1987) Steve Martin. Daryl Hannah. Shelley Duvall. 107 mins. Witty. tender and charming reworking of Cyrano de Bergerac deploying a range of comedy techniques as fire chiefMartin ofthe enormous proboscis copes with life and lovestruck romance. Probably Steve‘s best picture because the physical comedy is so well tailored to what he can do. Probably because he wrote it himself. (RCA Columbia) £9.99
1988
I Midnight Run ( 15) (Martin Brest. US. 1988) Robert De Niro. Charles Grodin. Yaphet Kotto. 122 mins. De Niro is charming and surprisingly straightforward as a bounty hunter bringing Grodin back from New York to Los Angeles to face chargesof embezzling Mafia money. Unfortunately the FBI. the mob. the cops. and another bounty hunter all want their hands on him too. Focusingon the growing friendship between the two leads as they rely on each other to escape their pursuers. this is an amiable buddy movie that'salso an
unpredictable road movie and a quite smart cop movie too. (CIC) Rental I Robocop (18) (Paul Verhoeven. US. 1988) Peter Weller. Nancy Allen. Ronny Cox. 103 mins. Slick and stomach-churningly violent futuristic thriller blending elements of Dirty Ilarry. Frankenstein and The Six Million Dollar Man. When diligent policeman Murphy is shot to pieces by vicious thugs. his remains are mechanically reconstructed into a hi-tech law enforcement officer but the human desire for revenge still beats beneath his mechanical exterior.(Virgin) £9.99 at;
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I Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. 1988) Bob I loskins. Joanna Cassidy. Christopher Lloyd. 92 mins. Los Angeles. 1949. and side by side with the human population live the Toons. the cartoon characters working in the movie business. Animated star Roger Rabbit hires private dick Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) to keep tabs on his wife. but Eddie uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the very future ofToontown itself. An amazing technical achievement for the credibility with which the cartoons interact with the human cast. this surefire box office winner efficiently spoofs the film noir genre while milking its Tex Avery-styled highly physical sense of black comedy for all it's worth. (Touchstone) Rental
1989
IThe Accused ( 18) (Jonathan Kaplan. US. 1988) Kelly McGillis. Jodie Foster. Berni Coulson. 111 mins. Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) is raped on a pinball machine by three men. yet