FILM LIST
Essentially. it‘s Tornatore‘s lament forthe joyous movie-going experience of his youth and a recognition of the price we pay for our maturity. 1990 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Cameo. IACityoiSadness ( 15) a (llou Hsiao-Hsien.Taiwan. 1989) 158 mins. See Review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Courage Mountain (U) a (Christopher Leitch. US. 1990) Charlie Sheen. Leslie Caron. 98 mins. In this revision ofthe Heidi saga. Juliette Caton plays the young damsel in distress as her life with grandad is threatened by both an impending war and the bureaucratic talons oforphanagc director Yorgo Voyagis. Sheen plays Peter.the dashing soldier hero struggling to maintain his dignity in the face ofsome truly cringeworthy dialogue. Adequate matinee material for the unfussy kids‘ audience. but parents with a sense ofthe absurd might get into it. Glasgow: Cannon Sauehichall Street. Central: Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. I The Crazies (18) (George Romero. US. 1973) Lane Carroll. W.G. McMillan. Harold Wayne. 103 mins. Having established his talent with Nighrofrhe Living Dead. Romero created this remarkably green picture about the outbreak of a deadly virus created by Government germ warfare experiments and the authorities‘ attempts to crack down on the subsequent mass hysteria. Echoes of classic exercises in paranoia. like The In vasion of The Body Snatchers and The Andromeda Strain. are slightly dissipated by the slack narrative and high cliche-count. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Danny The Champion or The World (U) (Gavin Millar. UK. 1989) Jeremy Irons. Robbie Coltrane. Cyril Cusack. Samuel lrons. 97 mins. Roald Dahl‘s tale ofa corrupt property baron and pheasant-slayer (Coltrane) given his come-uppance by resourceful nine-year old Danny becomes a family movie in more ways than one. Millar. whose past work includes Dennis Potter‘s disturbing Lewis Carroll piece Dreamchild. has gone for wholesome entertainment this time. and cast father and son as father and son in the central roles. with young Sam‘s grandpa Cusack as the avuncular Doc Spencer. Charming and warmhearted. with enough subtlety to keep the grown-ups amused. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I Dead Poets Society (PG) (Peter Weir. US. 1989) Robin Williams. Robert Sean Leonard. Ethan Hawke. 129 mins. lna 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 (along with booze and girls) further. Though Williams is on good form. 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 of the conflict between passion and authority. even if the plot is something of a cliche. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I Driving Miss Daisy (U) (Bruce Beresford. US. 1989) Jessica Tandy. Morgan Freeman. Dan Aykroyd. 99 mins. An extraordinary four Oscars for this film adaptation of Alfred Uhry‘s Pulitzer-winning play. charting the relationship between gentlewoman Tandy and her chauffeur Freeman. The narrative spans several decades of graduallyshifting attitudes and developing racial consciousness. This affecting mosaic of everyday pride and prejuduce revealsa deeply-laid insight into human behaviour. presented throughout with wonderful pacing. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. I Drugstore Cowboy ( 18) (Gus Van Sant Jr.. US. 1989) Matt Dillon. Kelly Lynch. James Remar. William S. Burroughs. 100 mins. A gang of dope fiends blithely ripoff
a series ofdrugstorcs headed by our Matt who gives his best performance to date in Gus Van Sant‘s recreation of 1971 Oregon. Complete with its halucinatory visions of flying cows the film created a stir stateside for presenting the theft and use of narcotics as an alluring pastime. It marks a new and more creditable milestone in Hollywood drug movies. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Edge oi the World (PG) (Michael Powell. UK. 1937) Niall MacGinnis.John Laurie. Belle Chrystal. 81 mins. Powell‘s first major feature was shot on the wild remote landscape of Foula in the Shetland Isles. Inspired by the evacuation ofSt Kilda. the narrative charts how the struggle to survive breaks down even the closest of friendships. Powell returned to the project in 1978 to add new footage for a BBC version. but the enterprise only proved that his original material and imagination had stood the test oftime. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Exorcist 2: The Heretic ( 18) (John Boorman. US. 1977) Richard Burton. Louise Fletcher. Linda Blair. 110 mins. The horror film that once turned heads receives an unworthy sequel in this silly mumbo-jumbo about priest Burton trying to understand the demons still lurking within the hapless Ms Blair. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.
I The Fabulous Baker Boys ( 15) (Steve Kloves. US. 1989) Jeff Bridges. Beau Bridges. Michelle Pfeiffer. 113 mins. Writer/director Kloves makes an auspicious debut with this evocative tale of broken dreams. fraternal jealousy and slowly awakening passion among three very ordinary cabaret performers. Veteran piano duo Jeff and Beau draft in Ms Pfeiffer‘s smoky chanteuse to save their act‘s declining fortunes. but as the trio go on the road together. romantic and professional relationships are soon in turmoil. Crackling with some ofthe sharpest dialogue in years. this is a moody. mature picture. beautifully shot and scored. that has to come highly recommended. Edinburgh: Odeon. Central: Allanpark. (.‘aledonian. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank.
I Family Business ( 15) (Sidney Lumet. US. 1989) Sean Connery. Dustin Hoffman. Matthew Broderick. Rosana de Soto. 110 mins. From the titles down thisis Connery‘s film. As old Granpa McMullen. he swears. drinks. womanises and hangs his arms out of police cells a lot. It is a role he looks good in. Hoffman. has a harder time playing the crime-spurning son though Broderick. as the grandson. stands up well to his elders and betters. Together they get involved in a foolproof heist dreampt up by the grandson. Once old Scan gets banged up however. the film loses its way and slides into a mireof sentimentality. Glasgow: Odeon.
I Field oi Dreams (PG) (Phil Alden Robinson. US. 1989) Kevin Costner. Amy Madigan. Burt Lancaster. James Earl Jones. 106 mins. An unlikely winner from writer/director Robinson has Costner as a hard-working. hard-pressed farmer who risks financial ruin and builds the baseball diamond of his dreams in one of his fields in an attempt to recapture the innocence of his boyhood. And lo. out of the corn fields come his childhood heroes ready to toss the old ball around. Gee. it sorta gets you right here — the baseball equivalent of soft porn. Glasgow: GFT. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre.
I Flesh And Blood ( 18) (Paul Verhoeven. Netherlands/US. 1985) Rutger Hauer. Jennifer Jason Leigh. 126 mins.— Verhoeven‘s first English language picture before the success of Robocop is a lusty medieval epic that more than lives up to its title. Leigh is the fair maiden abducted by Hauer‘s band of marauders. whose nefarious activities are depicted in occasionally repellent detail. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Fly ( 18) (David Croncnbcrg. US.
1986) Jeff Goldblum. Geena Davis. 100 mins. Brilliant rcconceptualisation ofthe camp 1958 classic. with Goldblum highly effective as the scientist whose experiments in teleportation go disastroust wrong. and his wife Davis no less impressive as the love of his life. Special effects stiperlatively revolting. tension sustained throughout. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Hairspray (PG) (John Waters. US. 1987) Ricki Lake. Divine. Debbie Harry. Sonny Bono. 92 mins. Baltimore. 1962. Uproar breaks out on the Dance Council oftop TV pop extravaganza The Corny Collins Show when hefty teen queen Ms Lake deposes the former star of the show. and begins to make friends with (gulp) black people. thus breaking down the programme‘s strict racial segregation. Unflagging entertainment as former trash king Waters does his own bizarre version of mainstream comedy. Glasgow: GFT. I Hellhound: Hellraiser 2 (18) (Tony Randel. UK. 1988) Ashley Laurence. Kenneth Cranham. Claire Higgins. 93 mins. After the events of Hellraiser Kirsty (Laurence) is detained in Dr Channard‘s psychiatric hospital. but hell is unleashed once more and as the Cenobites and the now skinless Julia (Higgins) return to prey on our heroine. Hell hath no fury like a woman skinned. Redundant sequel that never recaptures the verve ofthe original because it fails to develop the characters or find much more for them todo. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Hellraiser(18) (Clive Barker. UK. 1987) Andy Robinson. Claire Higgins. Ashley Laurence. 92 mins. A horror picture with a well constructed plot. strong characters. haunting images and special effects that actually serve the storyline. Minor blemishes along the way. but an auspicious debut from writer Barker. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Henry V (PG) (Kenneth Branagh. UK. 1989) Kenneth Branagh. Derek Jacobi. Paul Scofield. Judi Dench. 137 mins. There are inevitable associations with Olivier in K.B. ‘s choice of first feature. but he emerges with some credit as both director and performer. This is a much muddier version than its predecessor. both in the scrappy turmoil of the battle scenes and in the tempering ofzesty jingoism with an appreciation ofthe human cost of conflict. Portraying the young king as a careworn. rather sullen warrior. the film seems to offer a more complex reading of the text. even if Branagh‘s budgetary resources stint somewhat on the grandeur ofOlivier‘s charging horses. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Honey I Shrunk The Kids (1: ) (Joe Johnston. US. 1989) Rick Moranis. Matt Frewer. Thomas Brown. Amy O‘Neill. Robert ()liveri. Jared Rushton. 92 mins. Hapless father and would-be inventor (Moranis) does just what the title suggests. The kids find themselves cut down to size (a quarter ofan inch) and swept out with the trash. Their mission: to escape from the garbage bagand somehow attract their father‘s attention to their height problem. Well. we might think it‘s old hat but Walt Disnae. Showing with the excellent new Roger Rabbit short. Tummy Trouble. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh: ()deon. Strathclyde: Odeon Hamilton. UCI Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.
I The Hunt For Red Octoberuohn McTiernan. US. 1990) Sean Connery. Alec Baldwin. Scott Glen. Tim Curry. Joss Ackland. 136 mins. Preview screening of the latest all-staroffering from the director of Die Hard. set aboard a Soviet subamarine and the NATO sub sent to hunt it down. In response tothe plot-spoiling thaw of East-West relations. McTiernan sneakily sets the film a few years back. which can‘t help but render it anachronistic. To be reviewed next issue. Glasgow: Salon.
I Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade ( PG)
(Steven Spielberg. US. 1989) Harrison Ford. Sean Connery. Alison Doody. Denholm Elliot. 127 mins. The third and supposedly final instalment of Spielberg‘s blockbuster series. in which the archaeological adventurer is joined by his father (Connery) for a romp through the Middle East in search of the Holy Grail. hotly pursued (as ever) by the Nazis. A rather dodgy quasi-Christian morality and a more-of-the-same-ish plot are offset by strong performances from Ford and Connery and technical bravura. Edinburgh: Cannon. I Indiana Jones And The Temple 01 Doom (PG) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1984) Harrison Ford. Kate Capshaw. Ke Huy ()uan. Amrish Puri. 118 mins. Againthe foreignors find it hard going keeping up with the Jones. as master entertainer Spielberg piles on the action sequences. This time. however. the frantic pace has even less credibility than Raiders had. Edinburgh: Cannon. I Invasion of The Body Snatchers ( 18) (Phil Kaufman. US. 1978) Donald Sutherland. Brooke Adams. Leonard Nimoy. 115 mins. This creditable remake of Don Siegel‘s archetypal exercise in sci-fi paranoia turns away from the McCarthyite dread of its Fifties predecessor to concentrate on Seventies lifestyle angst. but a host ofknowing cameos and a welcome underabundance of special effects make it more than worth a look. Glasgow: Grosvenor. ITheJerit(15) (Carl Reiner. US. 1981) Steve Martin. 104 mins. Hit and miss comedy as Martin goes from rags to riches to rags again. when his ground-breaking invention that stops spectacles slipping down the wearer‘s nose turns out to have disastrous side effects. Watch out for the classic cat-juggling sequence. and Martin‘s usual command of the physical gag. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I Jesus Oi Montreal ( l8) (Denys Arcand. Canada. 1989) Lothairc Bluteau. Catherine Wilkening. Johanne-Marie Tremblay. 120mins. Hired to revampa Catholic passion play. M. Bluteau enlists four actors from diverse sources. casts himself as Jesus. and sets to work on a stunningly radical version of hisown. Naturally. life begins to imitate art. but don‘t expect anything else predictable. because Arcand‘s follow-up to Decline ()f The A merican Empire is chockful of twists. surprises and incisive satire. Finely acted. elegantly filmed and always intriguing. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Jewel OiThe Nile (PG) (LewisTeague. US. 1985) Kathleen Turner. Michael Douglas. Danny DeVito. 108 mins. Mechanical sequel-by-numbers to the altogether more agreeable Romancing The Stone. With the same east and a similar plot. it falls quite remarkably flat. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. I Lambada ( l2) ‘1? (Joel Silberg. US. 1989)J. Eddie Peck. Melora Hardin. Shabba Doo. 105 mins. Lambada.where Latin dance styles meet contemporary clubbing gyrations. is the latest in an ignominious line of cash-in dance-craze movies. from the same folks who brought you Breakdance: The Movie. The (ahem) plot has high school teacher Peck convincing his kids to get on down to some academic study by showing them how hip this new dance is. but the powers-that-be are none too impressed when his double life is exposed. Cheapjack fluff forthe shallow of mind and deep ofpoeket. though if you‘re a parent with hyperactive kids on a wet afternoon. the film-makers‘ efforts might not have been wasted after all. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride. I The Legend of The iion Drinker(PG) (ErmanoOlmi. ltaly. 1988) Rutger Hauer. Anthony Quayle. Sandrine Dumas. 128 mins. The streets of Paris. and an alcoholic tramp is offered 200 francs:y—J
an enigmatic stranger on the condition
15 The List 6— 19 April 1990