FILM
brought you Crocodile Dundee. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I GoodFellas ( 18) (Martin Scorsese. US. 1990) Robert De Niro. Ray Liotta.Joe Pcsei. Lorraine Braco. Paul Sorvino. 145 mins. A return for Scorsese and De Niro to the creed of amoral violence seen in Mean Streets and Taxi Driver. Liotta plays Henry Hill. a real-life mafioso. while De Niro is his mentor in crime. And while the bullets. fists and carving knives fly. Scorsese brings us back to that unavoidable question — yes. it's glamorous and lucrative to live this way. but can anyone really live with the consequences? Edinburgh: Dominion. I Gospel According to St Mathew ( 15) (Pier Paolo Pasolini. Italy/France. 1964) Enrique lrazoqui. Margherita Carusa. Susanna Pasolini. 137 mins. Simple tale of an overtly political messiah driven by righteous anger at social injustice. This new print highlights the marvellous camera work all backed up by an imaginative score featuring anything from Bacb to Billie Holiday. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh University Film Society. I Le Grand Chemin(15)(Jean-Loup Hubert. France. 1987) Anemone. Richard Bohringer. Antoine Hubert. 107 mins. Nine year-old Parisien Louis is dumped on Anemone‘s turbulent Breton household while his mother goes into hospital to have another baby. and during his summer in the country is instructed by a village tomboy in the ways ofadults. Memorable evocation of childhood confusion about birth. sex and death. Edinburgh Film Guild. I The Griiters ( 18) (Stephen Frears. UK. 1990) John Cusack. Anjelica Huston. Annette Bening. 119 mins. An eternal triangle drama with a difference: small-time crook Roy Dillon (Cusack) has two women in his life. his girlfriend Myra (Bening). and his estranged mother Lily (Huston). When a con trick backfires on him. he winds up in hospital. where both decide to pay him a visit. In the confrontation which follows. the history of their relationships leads to wrenching revelations and a sickeningly inevitable climax. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I Gulliver's Travels (U) (Peter Hunt. UK. 1976) Richard Harris. 81 mins. lnofiensive treatment of Swift‘s raucous parable for the matinee market. interesting as a pre-Roger Rabbit example ofthe integration of animation and live action. with Harris‘s Gulliver the only human element. Strathclyde1WMR Film Centre. I Hidden Agenda (15) (Ken Loach. UK. 1990) Frances McDormand. Brian Cox. Brad Dourif. Mai Zetterling. 103 mins. See preview. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCl. I A High Wind In Jamaica (PG) (Alexander Mackendrick. US. 1965) AnthonyQuinn. James Coburn. Ben Carruthers. 103 mins. Victorian children en route home from Jamaica are ambushed by pirates but come to exercise an iafluence over their sea-going life ofcrime. Piquant and unsentimental adaptation of the Richard Hughes novel. in which Scots director Mackend rick ( The Sweet Smell of Success) brings off the mixture of buccaneering high-jinks and deep-rooted adult and childhood anxieties with some aplomb. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Home Alone (PG) (Chris Columbus. US. 1990) Macaulay Culkin. Joe Pesci. Daniel Stern. John Heard. Catherine O'Hara. 103 mins. Peter and Kate McCallistcr (Heard and O‘Hara) have an eight-year-old brat and wisely — albeit accidentally — leave him behind in Chicago when they go on holiday to Paris. Left to his own devices young Kevin (Culkin) has to deal with two bungling burglars (Pesci and Stern) who threaten to invade his peaceful haven. Jolly. ifsadistic. scare-comedy antics produced by teenflick veteran John Hughes. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Dominion. Odeon. UCI.
Central: Allanpark. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Kelburne, Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. La Seala. UCI Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.
I The Hunt For Red October (John McTiernan. US. 1990) Sean Connery. Alec Baldwin, Scott Glen. Tim Curry. Joss Ackland. 136 mins. The latest all-star offering from the director of Die Hard. set aboard a Soviet submarine 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. Edinburgh: Broughton Film Society.
I The Icicle Thiel (PG) (Maurizio Nichetti. Italy. 1989) Maurizio Nichetti. Caterina Sylos Labini. Heidi Komarek. Claudio Fulva. 98 mins. Noted young film and television director Nichetti returns to movies after a seven-year absence to wreak his revenge on the awful glossiness oftelevision. The Icicle Thiefis a multi-layered satire in which Nichetti plays both himself— appearingon television to present his new black and white film. The Icicle Thief- and Antonio. the main character within the film. A ‘typical‘ Italian family watch the film at home. switching channels and making ’phone calls. and every eleven minutes the elegant monochrome is interrupted by crass. full-colour commercials. while the director descends into despair. By turns farcical. exploratory and harshly critical of trash culture. The Icicle Thiefis an unmissably entertaining arthouse comedy. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Jesus Ot Montreal (18) (Denys Arcand. Canada. 1989) Lothaire Bluteau. Catherine Wilkening. Johanne-Marie Tremblay. 120 mins. Hier to revamp a 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 his own. 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 University Film Society. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I Life Is Sweet (15) (Mike Leigh. UK. 1990) Alison Steadman. Jim Broadbent. Timothy Spall. Stephen Rea. David Thewlis. 1(12mins. Another ghastly and archetypally British family are brought to horribly convincing life as Leigh lets a superb cast (including the inevitable Ms Steadman) loose on a storyline that involves the perils ofself-employed catering. anorexia nervosa. and that old chestnut. the self-desctuctive family unit. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre.
I Lite OlBrlan ( 15) (Terry Jones. UK. 1979) Graham Chapman. TcrryJones. John Cleese. Michael Palin. Eric ldle. 93 mins. The Gospel According to Monty Python offended a whole host ofreligious dominations upon its initial release. which rather obscured the fact that behind the controversy lay their most sustained humour to date. A host of very funny setpieces and smart cameos from all the team climaxes in a rather fetching musical crucifixion. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Little Mermaid (U) (John Musker and Ron Clements. US. 1990) With the voices of Rene Auberjonois. Buddy Hackett. Kenneth Mars. 83 mins. Based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. the latest Disney animated feature may not quite rank with the glories ofWalt‘s distant past but displays an impressive attention to detail. bags of humour and a set of truly tacky songs. Our bikini-clad heroine might be a little too eager to fulfil her Barbie-doll destiny. but by and large it's embarrassingly enjoyable stuff. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh; ()deon. UCl. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. UCI Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.
I Lolita (15) (Stanley Kubrick. UK. 1962) James Mason. Shelley Winters. Sue Lyon. 152 mins. Glum version of the Vladimir Nabokov novel in which hapless. middle-aged professor Mason becomes besotted by the charms of precocious nymphet Lyon. A strange blend of murder. lust and obsession with impressive moments and fine acting. Edinburgh University Film Society. I The Mahabharata (U) (Peter Brook. UK/France. 1989) Urs Bihler. Ryszard Ciesiak. Yoshi Oida. Bruce Myers. 360 mins. Brook‘s unforgettable theatrical marathon was adapted for television in collaboration with Channel 4. and is an adequate record of the stage show. But the atmosphere generated by Brook‘s extraordinary. multi-cultural company in action cannot be reproduced on screen and the guts of the piece are not alwaysin evidence. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Manhattan (15) (Woody Allen. US. 1979) Woody Allen. Diane Keaton. Mariel Hemingway. 96 mins. Woody wanders through the female jungle ofNew York in search ofa perfect soulmate after the demise of his marriage. Sublime comic delight with a soulful Gershwin score. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Metropolitan (15) (Whit Stillman. US. 1989) Carolyn Farina. Edward Clements. Christoper Eigeman. Taylor Nichols. 98 mins. Reworking ofJane Austen in modern New York. where a collection of ‘ths‘ (Urban llaute Bourgeoisie) exchange urbane. ironic banter on the three Ls~ life. love and literature. Intelligent. meditative satire from precocious newcomer. Glasgow: GFT. I Milou In May ( 15) (Louis Mallc. France. 1989) Michel Piccoli. Miou-Miou. Michel Duchaussoy. 108 mins. A rambling estate in the South of France and satyr-like old reprobate Piccoli is in fora prolonged bout of domestic discord when the members of his bickering family come together to sort out grandma's will. Their discord is increased by the worrisome news emerging from 1968 Paris. Certainly. there‘s a good comedy to be made about the plight of the bourgeoisie duringthis period. but Malle's latest. at cross between Brian Rix and Bunucl with settings by Renoir. isn't it. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Mississippi Burning(18) (Alan Parker. US. 1988) Willem Dafoe. Gene Hackman. Frances McDormand. Brad Dourif. 127 mins. This study of racial hatred in the deep South ofAmerica stirred up a hornet's nest ofeontrm'ersy. but gained six nominations and an ()scar. Despite its commercial context it remains a powerful thriller full of good intentions. and few mainstream directors would dare even to try and bring such a flammable subject to the screen. Glasgow: GFT. I Mo’ Better Blues ( 18) (Spike Lee. US. 1990) Denzel Washington. Spike Lee. Joie Lee. Cynda Williams. 13(lmins. Exuberantly shot. enterprisingly designed and evocatively scored. Lee's jazz flick scores on the incidentals but neglects the basics with a central storyline that moves at a snail‘s pace and was never that interesting in the first place. Denzel Washington is the self-absorbed trumpet star Bleek Gilliam. involved with both teacher Joie Lee and aspiringsinger Williams while failing to notice manager Spike’s gambling habit and the discord in his band. Worth seeing all the same. but patience is required. Glasgow: OFT. I The Music Teacher (U) (Gerard Corbiau. Belgium. 1988) Jose Van Dam. Patrick Bauchau. 100 mins. The conflicting demands of art and love are sumptuously explored in this beautifully mounted tale about a leading opera singer (Van Dam) who retires to devote himself to tutoring two young proteges. He is forced to Compete through them when a rival teacher (Bauchau) demands a musical contest with his own pupil. The score features Verdi. Mahler. Schumann. Mozart. Bellini. Schubert and Offenbach.
Edinburgh: Filmhouse. IThe Naked Gun (15) (David Zucker. US. 1988) Leslie Nielsen. Priscilla Presley. Ricardo Montalban. 85 mins. Nielsen plays a disaster-prone LA cop assigned to find the men who shot his colleague in a drugs bust. and protect our dear Queen at the same time. while also finding time for romance with secretary Presley. The makers ofAirplane here operate on a similar principle: keep it fast. keep it marvelloust dumb. and the comic dividends will eventually flow. Watch out for a great beaver gag and comedy cameos from Arafat. Gaddafi and Gorbachev. Glasgow: Grosvenor. 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 ofmarauding bloodsuckers and his difficult transformation to their parasitic mode of existence. As vampire-biker westerns go. this is a pretty good one. Glasgow: GET. I The Neverending Story 2: The Next Chapter(U) (George Miller. US. 1991)) Jonathan Brandis. Kenny Morrison. Clarissa Burt. John Wesley Shipp. 9() mins. Returning to the mysterious land of Fantasia via the magic book preserved in Mr Coreandcr‘s bookshop. Bastian Balthazar Bux (Brandis) meets up with friends old and new. and when imagination comes under threat. he once again participates in the struggle between good and evil. Lots of special effects and philosophical intricacies make this an entertaining and absorbing follow-up to the 1984 original. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. Central: Cannon. Regal. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. UCl Clydebank.UC1 East Kilbride. I HineAnd-A-HallWeeks (18) (Adrian Lyne. US. 1985) Mickey Rourke. Kim Basinger. 113 mins. Divorcee Basinger becomes a slave to love and lust when she succumbs to the stubbly charmsof commodities broker Rourke. Empty-headed and disturbing designer bonking. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. I 1900: Part 2 (18) (Bernardo Bertolucei. lt/Fr/W Ger. 1976) Robert De Niro. Gerard Depardieu. Burt Lancaster. Domminique Sanda. Donald Sutherland. Beautiful. yet violent study ofltalian history since the beginning of the 20th century told through the lives oftwo childhood chums (De Niro and Depardieu). Bertolucci’s marathon effort at popular drama (six-hours in total). has been reviled as both glamorous epic and lengthy advertisement for the Italian Communist Party. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbride Film Society. I Oliver! (U) (Carol Reed. UK. 1968) Ron Moody. Oliver Reed. Mark Lester. Jack Wild. Harry Secombe. 146 mins. A sparkling cast. great choreography and some dashed good tunes provide a handsome entertainment in Lionel Bart‘s musical adaptation of Oliver Twist. but the grim satire ofgreed. poverty and corrupted innocence that Dickens wrote is almost entirely smothered. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Paris. Texas (15) (Wim Wenders. US/W. Germany. 1984) Harry Dean Stanton. Natassja Kinski. Hunter Carson. 144 mins. Missing for four years. middle-aged loner Stanton turns up in the Texan outback. and is later reunited with his son. The two embark on a trek across America to find his estranged wife. the young boy’s mother. Wenders’ coolly dislocating visual sense of combines with writer Sam Shepard‘s version of America‘s desolate heartlands to produce a moving story of personal alienation. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Platoon (18) (Oliver Stone. US. 1987) Charlie Sheen. Willem Dafoe. Tom Berenger. 120 mins. Vietnam veteran writer/director Stone‘s movie won four deserved Oscars. vividly portraying the
25'i‘he List 11— 24Januaty 1991