FILM LIST
INDEX
I Advertising Film Awardwinners ( t7) ioS mins. If you're one ofthose people. as Denis Nordeii might say. who enjoy a good advert then this should be a veritable feast for you. Some of the first-time entries in last year's ('annes' festival appear in [firm [few “)5 mins) while the prize-winne rs are featured in Shown First (65 mins). The screenings have beeii organised in conjunction with (‘reative Forum. Edinburgh: liilmhouse.
I All About Eve (PU ) (Joseph l. Mankievvicz. l'S. 1950) Bette Davis. Anne Baxter. (ieorge Sanders. Marilyn Monroe. l3b’ mins. Davis and Baxterare on top form iii this tale ofback-stagc back-biting and conniving and a young Marilyn makes a big entrance in asmall part. A witty and intelligent film. (ilasgow: (il’l‘.
IAltered Statest la) ( Ken Rttsscll. t'S. 1980) William Hurt. Blair Brown. Bob Balabaii. 102 mins. llurt made his film debut in this conflict-ridden production frorii a disowned Paddy (‘hayefsky script abotit ati inquisitive scientist dabbling in things best left alone. An interesting jumble of mind-bending special effects and ludicrous narrative developments as llurt regresses to an ape-like state under the influence of his dangerously self-destructive experiments. ()uite conventional by Russell‘s standards. Edinburgh: (‘ameo
I Kenneth Anger Films ( 15 ) 'l'hrcc programmes bringing together Anger's highly imaginative. ritualistic and influential underground films. which will also include material by Jean (ienet. Sergei liisenscin and Derek .larman to place his work in context. (ilasgow: (3171‘. I Back To The Future Part 2 ( l’(i ) ( Robert Zcmcckis. 1S. 1989) Michael J. l’ox. (‘hristophcr Lloyd. Thomas J“. Wilson. 108 mins. Finishing with a big tease sequence of highlights for the mid- 1090 scheduled Back to the Future Purl}. this could be the longest movie trailer in Hollywood history. Once again Michael has to otttfox Biff. this time zooming forwards as vveil as backwards in the time machine. Directed and played with terrific verve. If l‘l’.’ moves so fast fromone set-piece to the next that there‘s no timeto reflect on the basic ridiculousness ofthe plot. Strathcly‘dc: l'(‘l ('lydcbank. l'(‘l Ifiast Kilbridc.
I Bad Taste ( is) ( Peter Jackson. New Zealand. 1983-7) PeterJackson. Mike Minnett. 'l'erry Potter. 03 mins. Painstakiiigly assembled by Jackson every weekend over a four year period; he and the cast had day jobs during the yy eek. Rarely has intergalctic carnage been presented with such charm and humour. (‘entralz MacRobert Arts Centre.
I Bananas ( 15) (Woody Allen. L's. 1971) Woody Allen. Louise Lasser. (‘arlos Montalban. 81 mins. 'l‘he lad's second feature centres on a neurotic. wimpy. Jewish New Yorker (guess who playsthis part?) who gets caught up iii a Sotitli American revolution. The plot isa somewhat flimsy vehicle for Woody‘s wonderful one-liners. btit there's a degree ofcynical commentary on political power struggles. (ilasgow: (irosvenoi'.
I Beetlejuice ( 15) (Tim Burton. L's. was) (iecna Davis. Alec Baldwin. Michael Keaton. 03 tiiiiis. Recently deceased and v cry charming New lingland couple have difficulty in adjusting to the afterlife. .\'ot 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 [iciclgcuse ( pronounced 'Bectle-juice' ) to deal w ith the problem in his ow n inimitable fashion. A mov ic of exuberantly eccentric cartoonish capers.
18'l'he List 9 — 22 March 1990
. . , hikes... Glory (PG) (Ed Zwick, US, 1989)
Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman. 124 mins. When screened out of the competition section at the Berlin Film Festival, Glory conspicuously divided the partisan and politically aware audience. 0n the one hand, they clearly approved the film's attempt to rehabilitate a momentous and still little-known moment in black history, the formation of the first coloured regiment during the American Civil War; at the same time, they were equally clearly put off by the film’s heroic glorification of combat and war itself.
The one, however, seems to logically follow the other. Adapted from two separate books on the subject, Glory is an account of the raising of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, under a young and inexperienced Colonel, Robert Gould Shaw (Broderick), promoted directly from Lieutenant and given command of the first everalI-black regiment, an indication of how little esteem the military authorities held for the idea, promoted by the celebrated black leader Frederick Douglass.
Shaw, however, refused to be fobbed off with inferior status or
non-combatant duties. He and his men are commemorated by a statue in modern Boston, and the film charts their progress from an ill-disciplined and raggedy bunch of stragglers into a disciplined combat unit. The 54th had to overcome massive institutional and personal racism before being allowed the highly dubious privilege of throwing themselves into certain slaughter in an assault on the near-impregnable Confederate stronghold, Fort Wagner.
All of this, from their shaping up under their diligent young Colonel and hard-nosed drill Sergeant-Major, to the spectacular closing battle scenes, is familiar enough, even hackneyed, tare. Where Glory succeeds most directly, though, is in the splendid way in which director Ed Zwick subtly shifts the focus of the film from the white officers to the black soldiers, tracing their emergence as soldiers and dignified human beings at a structural as well as a thematic level. It is that palpable assumption of dignity and awareness of a new status, beautifully portrayed by the principal black actors (Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, and Jihmi Kennedy), which lodges most strongly in the mind. (Kenny Mathieson)
which creates its own comic cosmos where the unexpected is the norm. (ircat ftiii it all is too. (ilasgovy: (‘aniion The huge.
I Black Rain ( ls) ( Ritllcy Scott. vs. 1989) Michael Douglas. Andy (iarcia. Ken 'I‘akakura. 135 mins. .\'ot so much the land of the Rising Sun as the land ofShiny Surfaces as adman extraordinaire returns to a set not unlike lJ/(ltlt’RllIlIlt’l‘. However. some promising ideas are shunted to the sidelines by Douglas'ssour and rather uninspiring heroics as the New York cop sent to Osaka to counter a counterfeiting ring. The whole perhaps confirms Scott as a master decorator hired to tart tip a very obvious formula. (ilasgow : ('annon Saucliicliall Street. Central: (‘aledoniair Strathcly'de: l'('l (‘lydcbank. l.'('l liast Kilbritlc.
I Blade Runner( 15) ( Ritlley Scott. [S 1982) l larrison l-"ord. Rutgcr l latter. Sean Young. l 17mins. A toughcoptracks down a group of malfunctioning aiidroids in this gritty hi-tecli retrcad of Raymond ('handler. executed with Scott's customary visual flair. and with strong performances. especially from Ford and llauer. Btit try following the confusing
plot first time around. lzdinburgh: (‘amco
I Blood Simple( 18) (Joel (out. l'S. Irish») John (ietz. l‘raiicis McDonnand. M. liininet Walsh. 9‘) mins. Auspieiousdebtit from the (’ocii brothers'
dierction production team. Walsh excels as the seedy Sheriff investigating a simple murder whose devilish ’l'exan chronicle of double-crossing is any thing btit simple. An enthusiastic attempt at contemporarv film noir. which keeps everyone guessing even after the final frame. Iidinburgh: ‘ l-‘ilmhouse.
I The Blues Brothers ( 15) (John Landis. US. 1980) John Belushi. Dan Avkrov d. (‘arrie l-‘ishcr. l3llmins. Bloated. ' overlong anarchic ('liicago comedy with the two stars on a mission from (iod to salvage the imperillcd fortunes ofan orphanage. Lots ofguest stars. musical numbers and automotive destruction in a typical product ofover-emphatic contemporary American humour. lidinbtirgh: l-‘ilinhouse.
I Born On The Fourth 0fJuly( is) ( ( )liv er Stone. l'S. 1989) Tom ('ruisc. Willem Dafoc. Raymond J. Barry. Ky't'a
Scdgvv ick. l-H niiiis. Surging forward on the crest of a hy pe-w as c. Stone'ssecoiid triP to 'Nam features ( ~i'tiise as disabled
veteran Ron Kovic. in a biographical depiction of ambition. disillusionment and national betrayal. as the lad grows tip. joins tip. gets wounded and finds his country doesn't want to know him
any more. Kovic‘s plight is rendered
sy mbolic of state-ofétlie-nation dismay. and (‘ruisc brings an llllpl'CL‘ClltlL‘lllCLl- degrccofintegrity totlic part.giving easily his best performance todate. Stone‘s usual lack of subtlety is offset here by Kovic's ow n involvement in making the mUVic. (ilasgoys : (‘annon (’larkston Road. (‘annoii 'l‘he l‘orge. ('annon Satichichall Street. Salon. lidinburgh: ('aiinon. (‘entralz (‘annoir Stratliclvde: ('annon. La Scala. ()deoii Ay r. ( )tleon llamiltoii. l'(‘l ('lydcbank. l'(‘l liast Kilbi'ide.
I Celial 15) (Anne ’l‘tirncr. Australia. l‘).\“)) Rcbccca Smart. Nicholas liadic. Maryanne l-‘ahey. Ill} mins. See feature. (ilasgow : (til.
I Citizen Kane ( l’( i ) (Orson Welles. PS. 194] )()rson \Velles. Joseph ('ottcn. Agnes Mooreliead. 11‘) mins. Stuniiinglv successful biographical mosaic ccntring on a l lcarst-likc media tycoon. \\'elles' first film remains scintillating viewing for its sheer technical v erve. narrative confidence and spellbinding performances. The best film cv er made'.’ Who'sarguing'.’ Stratliclyde: Paisley Arts ('entre.
I Clean Slate ( ‘oup tic 'I'm-t-limn l 5 l (Bertrand 'l'avernicr. l-‘rancc. NS!) Philippe .\'oiret. Isabelle l ltippcrt. Jean-Pierre Marielle. 128 mins. Basedon the .liiii ( Kill-(m) 'l‘honipsoii novel. Pop 138/). this tale of lacklustre law man (‘ordicr ( .\'oiret) is transposed to lirencli West Africa in 1038. (‘oi‘dier decides to extend his clean-tip operations beyond the callofduty murderinghiswil'cand framing his mistress. A fine and expressive example offi/m noir. in which .\'oirct's irrational and perplexing characterisation finds its match in schoolteacher l luppcrt. lidinburgh: l’ilmhouse.
I Cocktail ( 15) (Roger Donaldson. PS. 1988 i 'l‘om Cruise. Bryan Brown. lili/abcth Slitie. 95 mins. ('ruise playsa greenhorn inducted into the my steriesol all-action bartcnding by master cocktail shaker Brown. and before long they have graced the top bars in Manhattan and been signed tip to work in the ( ~aribbean.
l lowevcr. a failed romance with poor little rich girl Shuc has our 'l‘om questioning the vapidity of his experience. (ilossy soapet' w ith risible pretensions to social comment. A disappointment . giv en the talent involved. (ilasgow: (ii'osvenor.
I Conquest OtThe South Pole ( 12) t ( illles Macls'innon. l’ls'. 1980) Steven Rimktis. liwen Bremnei‘. l.aura ( iirling. 90mins. Manfred Karge's acclaimed ( ierinan play is brought to the screen by this Scottish production. substantially rescriptcd and shot on location in l.eith docklands. five young men face soul-destroy ing teditiiii on the dole. and decide to escape through their imagination by mounting an expedition to the Antarctic wastes. Director Macls'innon. working with the slenderest of material resources. fuses cast atid location into an inventive and unsentimental piece of cinema. Sec Preview. (ilasgoyy: (il-‘l‘. lzdinburgh: l-‘ilinliotise.
I A Cry In The Dark( 15) ( l‘rcd Sclicpisi. l'S Australia. WSS‘) Meryl Streep. Sam .\'eill. Brian James. ll‘) mins. Aftertlic exhaustive publicity the famed Dingo Baby case generated throughout the world, Schcpisi vy iscly av oitls focusing on the now resolved issue of whether or not Lindy ('hamberlaiii was guilty. Instead he concentrates on the mood of national hysteria and prejudice that confronted the couple and led to a trial by media. The result is a sttiiiiiiiig. shameful indictment of media excesses and institutionalised injustice. It eschews glib melodrama and opts instead for a more thought provoking approach. which benefits from solid