lNDEX
I The Abyss (15) (James Cameron. US. 1989) Ed Harris. Michael Biehn. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. 140 mins. An estranged couple get caught up in a tense drama on the sea floor in this movie made almost entirely underwater. Though Cameron has opted for a more contemplative exercise in tension. the intertwining of plots leads one to feel that he's crammed too much into the film’s length. It may not go down as agreat artistic achievement. but it does push back a few boundaries of the possible in movie—making. so it won‘t sink without trace. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Air America ( 15) (Roger Spottiswoode. US. 1990) Mel Gibson. Robert Downey Jr. Nancy Travis. Ken Jenkins. 112 mins. Modestly entertaining comedy thriller set in neighbouring Laos during the Vietnam war. Gibson and Downcy star as maverick pilots signed up to Air America. acorrupt and covert drug/gun-running business under the ClA‘s discreet auspices. who are forced to think for themselves to save their skins when the organisation sets them up as scapegoats. Engagineg light and unpretentious action fare. Edinburgh: UCI. I Airplane (PG) (Jim Abrahams. Jerry and David Zucker. US. 1980) Robert Hays. Julie Hagerty. Peter Graves. Lloyd Bridges. 87 mins. Ted Striker endeavours to overcome his problems and fly again when the pilots Rodger and Under flake out on him in this hilarious spoofofevery old cliche in every old disaster movie ever made. The laugh-a-minute pacing keeps it flowing along and helps keep the groaning to a minimum. Edinburgh University Film Society. I American Gigolo ( 18) ( Paul Schrader. )8. 198(1) Richard Gere. Lauren Hutton. Nina Van Pallandt. 117 mins. Archetypal Schrader. exploring the seamier side of the American fast-lane. Gere is perfectly cast as the title character. a shallow. Armani-clad stud who provides his clients with infinitely pleasurable sexual satisfaction. but is unable to experience either love or commitment himself. This emotional paralysis changes when he becomes an innocent dupe in a political scandal and reaches out to the beautiful Hutton. lingrossing Brechtian morality play. Edinburgh: Cameo. I L‘Amoureuse( PG) (Jacques Doillon. France. 1987) Marianne Cuaul. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. Laura Benson. Catherine Bidault. 98 mins. Typically French exploration of love. sex and emotional entanglement among several teenage friends of the Gallic female persuasion. during a holiday weekend in Normandy. Rohmer aft'cirmudos should enjoy it. Edinburgh: French Institute. IAngel Heart ( 18) (Alan Parker. US. 1987) Mickey Rourke. Robert de Niro. Charlotte Rarnpling. 113 mins. Scruffy. unshaven private eye Harry Angel is hired by the mysterious Louis Cyphrc to track down a missing Forties crooner who has reneged on a life-or-death deal. His investigations lead him to a seedy New Orleans dominated by voodoo cults and extremely dead bodies in this uncomfortable mating of visceral gore and moodyft'lm noir. with some ingenious if nasty twists in the plot. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Arachnophobla (PG) (Frank Marshall. US. 1990) Jeff Daniels. Julian Sands. Harley Jane Kozak. John Goodman. 110 mins. In rural retreat on the California coast. the Jennings family are unpleasantly surprised when they meet their new neighbours. a particularly venomous breed of spiders. which are to terrorise the village of Canaima. not least through the surgery of arachnaphobic Dr
FILM
Jennings (Daniels). Produced by Steven Spielberg and billed as a ‘thrillomcdy’. this feast of humorous horrors is guaranteed to appeal to sick-minded punters who enjoy either nightmares or close contact with our eight-legged friends. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI. Strathclydc: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I Back to the Future (PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. 1985) MichaelJ. 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. Edinburgh: Broughton Film Society.
I Back To The Future Part 2 (PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. 1989) Michael]. Fox. Christopher Lloyd. Thomas F. Wilson. 108 mins. Finishing with a bigtease sequence of highlights for the mid- 1990 scheduled Back to the Future Parr3, this could be the longest movie trailer in Hollywood history. Once again Michael has to outfox Biff. this time zooming forwards as well as backwards in the time machine. Directed and played with terrific verve. BTFZ moves so fast from one set-piece to the next that there's no time to reflect on the basic ridiculousness ofthe plot. Edinburgh: Broughton Film Society. I Back To The Future Part 3 (PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. 1990) Michael J. Fox. Christopher Lloyd. Mary Steenburgcn. 119 mins. After the elongated trailer of B'I'FZ’ we‘re back in 1885 for the thirdand absolutely final instalment of the series. in which Michael has to face upto longstanding enemy Biff and save the Doc from certain death. except that the latteris much more interested in falling for Mary Steenburgcn. The end result is not quite a bad film. but. as with almost every other sequel ofa sequel there’s an overall slackness which prevents it from lifting off in the way that it should. ln alrnostevery sense. we've been here before. Edinburgh: Broughton Film Society.
I Black Narcissus (PG) (Michael Powell. UK. 1947) Deborah Kerr. Sabu. Jean Simmons. 1(leins. Kerr‘s colonyofnuns in the Himalayas find their faith tested by the desires of the flesh. An unlikely subject matter. astonishingly evocative studio settings and affectineg controlled performances are combined in a beautiful. unique film. Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Blade Runner ( 15) (Ridley Scott. US. 1982) Harrison Ford. Rutger Hauer. Sean Young. 117 mins. A tough coptracks down a group of malfunctioningandroids in this gritty hi-tech retread of Raymond Chandler. executed with Scott's customary visual flair. and with strong performances. especially from Ford and Hauer. But try following the confusing plot first time around. Glasgow: GF'I'.
I Blue Velvet ( 18) (David Lynch. US. 1986) Kyle MacLachlan. DennisHopper. Isabella Rossellini. 12(lmins. ln small-town Middle America. would-be boy detective MacLachlan finds a severed car on some waste ground. When the police shoo him away he decides to do some investigating of his own. A singular fusion of the cosy and the terrifying which blends kitsch and nightmare. B-movie detection and brutal sex to deconstruct our complacent vision of normal society. This is film-making of remarkable imagination and skill. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Cabinet or Doctor Caligarl (PG) (Robert Wienc. Germany. 1919) Werner Krauss. Conrad Veidt. Lil Dagover. 90 mins. A landmark ofexpressionist cinema. feasting the eyes with bizarre. angular visuals despite its technical crudity. The acting and directing are superb. and the story ofa fairground hypnotist who uses a sleepwalker to carry out murders still retains a unique sense of horror. Edinburgh Film Guild. I Casablanca (PG)
(Michael Curtiz. US. 1942) Humphrey Bogart. Ingrid Bergman. Dooley Wilson. 102 mins. You must remember this. .. Bogart being impossibly noble. Bergman torn between two lovers. Claude Rains playing both ends against the middle. devious Nazis. a fogbound airport. a piano-playertinklingthat tune . . .A wonderful hill ofbeans. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I Catchtlre(15) (Alan Smithee. US. 1990) Dennis Hopper. Jodie Foster. Joe Pesci. Fred Ward. 99 mins. The ubiquitous (and non-existent) Mr Smithee is credited with movies whose original directors (in this case Hopper) disown them following over-zealous editing. Here. Foster is an artist who witnesses a mob killing. Hopper is the hitman sent to get her. who fallsin love with her instead. Given the choice between dying and becoming Hopper's property. Foster unsurprisingly chooses the latter option. then (extremely surprisingly) falls for him. too. ending up as a kind of latterday gangster's moll. Weird stuff indeed. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I C'Est La Vie ( 12) (Diane Kurys. France. 1990) Nathalie Baye. Richard Berry. Zabou. Vincent Lindon. Julie Bataille. Candice LeFranc. 100 mins. Kurys‘ latest movie is another instalment in her serialised semi-autobiography. which also includes Diabolo Menthe and Coup De Foudre. Set in the summer of 1958 at the holiday resort of La Baule-les-Pins. the story explores the effects on two children (Bataille —13 and LeFranc — 6) oftheir parents‘ deteriorating relationship. Sensitive. sometimes harrowing. but not without humour. this is a stirring and affecting movie. See preview. page 15. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Cinema Paradiso (PG) (Giuseppe Tornatore. Italy/France.l988) Phillipe Noirct. Jacques Perrin. Salvatore Cascio. 123 mins. Tornatore‘s vision ofhis movie-mad childhood is a wonderful love letter to the cinema itself. Told largely in flashback. it traces the young Salvatore‘s infatuation with his village cinema. and his growing friendship with its projectionist (played to perfection by Noiret). 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. 1991) Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. Edinburgh: Broughton Film Society. Cameo.
I Citizen Kane (PG) (Orson Welles. US. 1941 ) Orson Welles. Joseph Cotten. Agnes Moorehead. 119 mins. Stunningly successful biographical mosaic centring on a Hearst-like media tycoon. Welles‘ first film remains scintillating viewing for its sheer technical verve. narrative confidence and spellbinding performances. The best film ever made'.’ Who‘s arguing? Glasgow: GFT.
I The Cook. The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover ( 18) (Peter Greenaway. UK. 1989) Richard Bohringer. Michael Gambon. Helen Mirren. Alan Howard. Tim Roth. 120 mins. Greenaway has made a film guaranteed to offend everybody. Though beautifully art-directed. photographed. produced and acted. it deals with the kind ofsubjcct matter normally only found under the counter at video nasty stores. Compulsive and unforgettable but you‘d be hard pressed to like the thing. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I Darlt Star (PG) (John Carpenter. US. 1974) Brian Narelle. Dre Pahich. Cal Kuniholm. Dan O‘Bannon. 83 mins. Carpenter's excellent. low-budget debut has four 22nd-century astronauts and their extra-terrestrial pet freaking out on an interminable journey through space. Witty and ironic. it satirises US society. popular culture and 200]: A Space Odyssey while providing solid entertainment. Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Dead Calm (15) (Philip Noyce. Australia. 1989) Sam Neill. Nicole
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18 LISTINGS WEEK ONE 23 WEEK TWO 25
INDEX
I The Russia House(15)The Cold War may be over. but the spy thriller lives on: Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer star as a world-weary publisher turned British agent and his Moscow contact in a lavish mix of intrigue. sex and global power struggles. See preview. Wide release from Fri 22 Feb.
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I Short Tlme(15)1n this mixture oftortuous plotting and slushy sentiment a burnt-out cop (Dabney Coleman) is wrongly told he is dying. and spends the film trying to get killed on duty (for the insurance) making up with his ex-wife (Teri Garr) and being nice to his son. Odcon Glasgow. UCls from Fri 22 Feb.
I Tilai(PG)This latest offering from the director of Yaaba. again set in the rural heart of Burkina Faso. again stunningly photographed. is a love story examining the conflict between individual feelings and the rule of law. See review. Edinburgh Filmhouse Sun 24 Feb—Sat 2 Mar.
I The Unbelievable Truth(15)Witty. low-budget comic study of American small-town life focussing on the struggles and aspirations oftwo teenage outsiders. See review. Glsagow Film Theatre 4—6 Mar.
IA World Without Pity(15)Much-acclaimed portrait ofchic Parisian youth. centring on the relationship between an ambitious language student and her laid-back poker-player boyfriend. See review. Glasgow Film Theatre Mon 25 l-‘elFSat 2 Mar.
The List 22 February— 7 March 1991 17