FILM
unavoidable question — yes. it‘s glamorous
and lucrative to live this way. but can anyone really live with the consequences? Edinburgh: Dominion. I Hardware (18) (Richard Stanley. US. 1990) Dylan McDermott. Stacey Travis. John Lynch. William Hootkins. 95 mins. When Mo (McDermott) takes a broken robot home as a present for his girlfriend Jill (Travis). he little suspects that it will rebuild itselffrom their electrical appliances and declare war on humanity. Stanley‘s debut is a massively over-the-top. plagiaristic fantasy of machine versus man. but no less enjoyable or imaginative for it. Mental metal madness. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I Havana ( 15) (Sydney Pollack. US. 1990) Robert Redford. Lena Olin. Alan Arkin. 144 mins. See preview. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. I Hidden Agenda (15) (Ken Loach. UK. 1990) Frances McDormand. Brian Cox. Brad Dourif. Mai Zetterling. 103 mins. One of Britain‘s most respected political film-makers takes on the big one — the security forces in Northern Ireland. When an American lawyer is killed. details begin to emerge which are neither palatable nor - in the view of the British government— suitable for public consumption. Fortunately for all concerned. the characters and narrative are fictional. but Loach's research revealed some unsavoury facts about Britain‘s record on civil and human rights. and he‘s not keeping them to himself. A bitter pill. Edinburgh: Cameo. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I Home Alone (PG) (Chris Columbus. US. 1990) Macaulay Culkin. Joe Pesci. Daniel Stern. John Heard. Catherine O'Hara. 103 mins. Peter and Kate McCallister (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 Clarkston Road. Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI. Central: Caledonian. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. La Scala. UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. WMR Film Centre. IThe HotSpot ( l8) (DennisHopper. US. 1990) Don Johnson. Virginia Madsen. Jennifer Connelly. 130 mins. Ilopper's homage tofilm Hair is set in small-town Texas. where Johnson‘s amoral drifter sweet-talks his way into a job as a car salesman. and soon finds himselftorn between two women. one ofwhom happens to be married to his employer. As tensions begin to rise. it transpires that : everyone has a few secrets they‘d rather not share. Suspenseful and astute. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I I Love You To Death ( 15) (Lawrence Kasdan. US. 1990) Kevin Kline.Tracey Ullman. River Phoenix. Joan Plowright. William Hurt. 98 mins. Would-be satiric screen version of a true story. Wherein an angry Pennsylvania wife made a number of unsuccessful murder attempts on her philande ring pizza parlour proprietor hubby - mugging performances from Kline and movie debutante Ullman as the central duo in a lacklustre and draggy misfire of a movie. A grave disappointment considering the ample talent involved. Glasgow: GFT. I Kindergarten Cop ( 12) (Ivan Reitman. US. 1990) Arnold Schwarzenegger. Penelope Ann Miller. Pamela Reed. Linda Hunt. Richard Tyson. 111 mins.See review and feature. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. LGrosvenor. Edinburgh: Dominion.
Odeon. UCI. Central: Allanpark. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Kelburne. Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I King Creole (15) (Michael Curtiz. US. 1958) Elvis Presley. Carolyn Jones. Dolores Hart. Walter Matthau. Vie Morrow. 116mins. Possibly the least light and frothy of the King‘s movies. in which he plays a tough street hustler whose heart belongs to rock ‘n’ roll. Excellent support from Matthau as the neighborhood‘s meanest mobster. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The Krays ( 18) (Peter Medak.UK.1990) Billie Whitelaw. Gary Kemp. Martin Kemp. 119 mins. The long planned biopic ofthe terrible twins: Ronnie and Reggie. comes crashing onto the screen. Director Medak opts to imbue their lives with the mythic qualities ofa fairytale and thereby ignores most of the grisly details oftheir reign of fear. Whether or not you believe that their sordid tale deserves such treatment. the Spandau siblings do turn in a passable impersonation. despite their love of gazing moodily at the camera. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I Leningrad Cowboys Go America ( 12) ( Aki Kaurismaki. Finland. 1989) Matti Pellonpa. Micky Tesco. Kari Vaananen. 79 mins. Finland‘s Budweiser-powered enfanl terrible‘s first big breakthrough in this country features daffie duck‘s arse haircuts. a nasty. beer-guzzling manager. the worst rock ‘n' roll band in the world and sundry shots of the downbeat backwaters of America‘s heartlands. A highly distinctive sense of humour at work here. and very enjoyable it is too. ifyou happen to be in line with it. Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Letter From an Unknown Woman(15) (Max Ophuls. US. 1948) Joan Fontaine. Louis Jourdan. Mady Christians. Art Smith. 90mins. Superny wrought tale of doomed love between concert pianist Jourdan and infatuated former girl-next-door Fontaine. whose brief. disastrous yet inevitable union is explored in awesomely profound and painful detail. A masterpiece of early psychological film-making. Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Life Of Brian ( 15) (Terry Jones. UK. 1979) Graham Chapman. Terry Jones. John Cleese. Michael Palin. Eric Idle. 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 ( L' ) (John Musker and Ron Clements. CS. 1990) With the voices of Rene Auberjonois. Buddy Ilackett. 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. ()UI' bikini-clad heroine might be a little too eager tofulfil her Barbie-doll destiny. but by and large it‘s embarrassingly enjoyable stuff. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Iidinburgh: L'Cl. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. l'Cl (Tydebank.
I Lord Of The Flies ( 15) ( l Iarry Hook. CS. 1990) Balthazar Getty. Chris Furrh. Daniel Pipoly. 95 mins. Second adaptation of William Golding's modern classic eschews the path followed by Peter Brook‘s groundbreaking I962 effort to controversially transpose the action to a contemporary group of American military cadets marooned on a desert island and soon replaying the age-old drama of man's essential savagery. Talented young English film-maker Hook's beautifully shot version lays the emphasis on the allegorical elements of the tale. perhaps at the expense of fully developingthe
characters. but remains a brave attempt all the same. Edinburgh: Broughton Film Society.
I Macbeth ( 15) (Roman Polanski. UK. 1971 ) Jon Finch. Francesca Annis. Martin Shaw. 140 mins. Blood-soaked version of Shakespeare’s turbulent Scots tragedy which manages to convey the play‘s pervasive spirit ofcvil. The Pole‘s dark imagination provides scenes of horror encompassed in a brooding vision of fate. mortality and power. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Mahabharata (U) (Peter Brook. UK/France. 1989) Urs Bihler. Ryszard Cieslak. 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 A Man Escaped Un Condamne (1 Mar! S'esr Echappe (PG) (Robert Bresson. France. 1956) Francois Leterrier. Charles Le Clainche. Maurice Beerblock. Jacques Ertaud. 102 mins. The true story ofa French Resistance fighter‘s escape from imprisonment by the Gestapo. Recently re-released. Bresson‘s account is both austerely straightforward in its depiction of the story. and sublimer metaphysical in its implications of Providence at work. A riveting experience. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Maniac Cop 2(18) (William Lustig. US. 1990) Robert Davi. Claudia Christian. Michael Lerner. Bruce Campbell. Laurene Landon. Robert Z‘Dar. 87 mins. Writer/producer Larry Cohen and Lustig renew their collaboration with a sluggish follow-up to a fairly dull original. The infamous Officer Cordell (Z'Dar). left for dead at the end ofthe first instalment.is back seeking vengeance on anyone wearing blue. and this time becomes bosom buddies with fellow serial killer Turkell (Leo Rossi). The predictable. slightly amusing gorefest ensues. but once again founders under the weight of over-plotting and clumsy direction. The real question is: did they kill Cordell in the end or will it make enough bucks togo another round? Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I Muppets Take Manhattan (U) (Frank ()z. L'S. 198-1) Kermit. Miss Piggy. Fozzie Bear. 94 mins. The Muppets try tobreak into Broadway with their college show. Amusing use of New York locationsand guest appearances from the likes ofJoan Rivers and Gregory Hines mark this out as superior fun for the family. Strathclyde: lfCl East Kilbride.
I Narrow Margin ( 15) ( I’eter llyams. 138. 1990) Gene Ilackman. Anna Archer. JamesB. Sikking. 97mins. See review.
Specialising in: Afghan rugs. kilims and cushions. plus ceramic ware from Moorish Spain. jewellery and embroidery from around the world
Glasgow: Cannon The Forge . Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. UCI. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride.
I the Neverending Story 2: The Next Chapter (U) (George Miller. US. 1990) Jonathan Brandis. Kenny Morrison. Clarissa Burt. John Wesley Shipp. 90 mins. Returning to the mysterious land of Fantasia via the magic book preserved in Mr Coreander'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: UCI. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr.
I 1900 (18) (Bernardo Bertolucci. It/Fr/W Ger. 1976) Robert De Niro. Gerard Depardieu. Burt Lancaster. Domminique Sanda. Donald Sutherland. Beautiful. yet violent study of Italian 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. Edinburgh: Film Guild.
I Notebook on Cities and Clothes ( U) (Wim Wenders. France/Germany. I990) Yohji Yamamoto. 80mins. Sponsored (presumably to an excessive degree) by Paris‘ answer to the Third Iiye — the Pompidou Centre — Wenders‘ rather tiresome documentary explores the work of fashion designer Yamamoto. the conflict between identity and fashion. the colour black and the generation ofimages: and conducts a particularly thorough survey of his navel. A waste of talent.not to say money. Glasgow: GI’I‘.
I Oedipus Rex( 18) (Pier Paulo Pasolini. Italy. 1967) I-‘ranco Citti. Silvana Mangano. Carmelo Bene. Julian Beck. 104 mins. Visually strong re-interpretation of Sophocles. which matches period scenes filmed in North Africa with a modern Italian setting: Citti is marvelloust earthy and animalistie as the King. while the dazzling sunshine provides a stark background. Glasgow: GET.
I The Outlaw (PG) (Howard Hughes. US. I943)Jane Russell. Jack Beutel. Walter
I luston. Thomas Mitchell. Joe Sawyer. 121 mins. Offbeat Western takinga new path along the well trodden story of Doc Ilolliday. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. There were personal tensions on set (Hughes is reputed to have stormed out). and the not-always-subliminal eroticism upset the censors. but there's enough sly humour and stunning photgraphy at play tocompensate for any misgivingsabout
Monday - Saturday 103m - 5pm 42/43 Royal Park Terrace, Edinburgh Tel. 03l-652 I962
The List 25 January — 7 February 199] 23