20 The List 26 July — 8 August 1991
FILM PREVIEW
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I Backdraftt l5) llugely successful at the ['8 box office. Ron Howard‘s fire-tighter adyenture has brothers Kurt Russell and William Baldwin battling against the flames and a lethal arsor‘ist. Sec prcyiew. ()pens Fri 2.
I Le Cheteau De Ma Mere (l ' ) The sequel to ers Robert‘s I.u (iluln‘ lh’ .llori I’eri' takes author Marcel l’agnol from his idyllic childhood in the l’royence country side to more testing times of middle age. Sec rey iew. ()pens Sun 38.
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I LB COD 2(13)(iallic comedy sequel has the two likcahlc gcndarmes continuing to wallow in a world of corruption and buddy bonding. An engaging performance by the veteran Philippe Noiret. ()pens Sun 4. I Defending Your Life (l’( i ) Writer director star Albert Brooks finds himself haying tocope with an afterlife w here angels and harps are replaced by prosecutors and law hooks. Judgement Day in a courtroom setting. See preyicw. ()pcns liri 2o. IFForFakell')
l'nay ailable for ten years.
()rson \Vclles‘
hotch-potch ot' lakcsand takery receives a welcome re-rclease. Questioning notions of art and experts. the master dazzles with wit and anecdote. ()pcns l-‘ri 2f).
I Henry: Portrait QlA Serial Killeri 18) Based loosely on the real life confessions of i lenry l.ee [.ucas. .lohn McNaughton‘s film redefines the serial killer genre. (iraphic and harrowing. it provides a stark portrayal ofa sociopath without the usual titillation. See preyiew. ()pens Sun 28. I In Bed With Madonna (18) A behind the scenes look at the world‘s most famous pop icon. filmed on and off stage during her Blond .-imbi!imi tour. Amusing sequencesof documentary footage are mixed with stunning stage renditions ofsome greatest hits. See feature. ()pens Fri 26.
I Last Images QfThe Shipwreck( 15) A middle-aged insurance agent believes he has found the theme of his great unw ritten noyel
w hen he sayes a girl front diving underneath a train. ()pens'fliiirs l.
:— Music Man
Quincy Jones takes centre stage
Screen appearances by Michael Jackson, Miles Davies and Frank Sinatra give a pretty good indication of Quincy Jones’ standing in the business. None are known lortheir eagerness to get in front of the cameras and rap these days, but all three are among the couple of dozen eminent names who sit in front of Ellen Weissbord‘s lens and pay tribute to the subject of herfast-moving, and sometimes annoyingly fast-cut, documentary.
True to form, Michael Jackson does insist that she turn out all the lights and
conduct the interview in the dark. Jackson, though, knows that he owes Jones the favour; as producer of ‘Dfl The Wall' and ‘Thriller’, Quincy had a big partto play in establishing the world-beating Jackson sound.
He has been playing a big part in black music since arriving on the jazz scene in the 50s, via Seattle’s blues clubs, where he hung out with another genius he would later produce, Ray Charles. Apart from playing, arranging » *’ or producing a string of hugely successful records for himself and countless other artists, his accomplishments, all touched on in the film, included becoming the first black executive of a major record company (Mercury in 1964), movie scores, and movie production (The Colour Purple).
The film centres on Jones' rather indifferent recording comeback, ‘Back On The Block’, which is remarkable only for a stellar cast ranging from Miles, Dizzy (‘they were the Rolling Stones and The Beatles to me') and Ella Fitzgerald, through to rappers like Melle Mel and Ice-T. The results never quite coalesce, butJones remains adamant that such hybrids are essential to the development of the music. ‘Thetimes,’ hetells us, ‘are always in the rhythms.’ (Kenny Mathieson)
Listen Up: The Lives Of Quincy Jones , opens atthe Dominion, Edinburgh on ‘ Fri 2. ,3
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; _ . {Afterlife Crisis
‘I don‘t know about you,’ sighs the frizzy-haired observer of man’s vanitiesthat is Albert Brooks, ‘but I’ve never seen a dead person. Where are
they, all these dead people that always
come back in the movies? I wanted to do Defending Your Life because I just wasn’t convinced by any other film dealing with that afterlife experience. You know I lost my lather some years back, but he doesn’t pitch up again to lend me a hand when I'm moving housefl
Relaxing into a hotel suite sofa, Brooks is hitting his stride. A former stand-up comic, possibly best known for his roles in other people's projects— Cybil Shepherd's wimpy politico associate in Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, later Oscar-nominated as the nervy newsreader in James L. Brooks’ Broadcast News, it's asthe multi-hyphenate behind his own series of movies that he's fast becoming one of Hollywood's most urbane and underrated talents.
While 1985’s wry yuppie road odyssey Lost in America was something of a sleeper hit over here, it’s with his latest offering, the perceptive and touching apres-death fantasy Defending Your Life, that he’s sure to make his biggest impression yet on UK audiences. Here Brooks plays a LA advertising exec, who disappears under a bus only a few minutes after buying a new BMW. 0n
u awakening he finds himself in
Judgement City, a massive processing
The situation is made even worse
Meryl Streep’s radiantly confident Julia, who's probably aboutto go onto . higherthings, thus ensuring their
graduated (like Steve Martin) from the tough training ground of the early 70s
i and be the only person in the hall
Albert Brooks as Daniel Miller in Defending Youthe
Hot Shots
Ron Howard‘s latest blockbuster Backdraft offers a spectacular look at the Chicago Fire Department‘s everyday gung-ho heroics. one which puts its stellar Hollywood cast right in there amidst the flames. Trevor Johnston reports as William Baldwin, Scott Glenn and Kurt Russell recall the moments that left them singed but unbowed.
centre for the recently deceased, where he faces a nine-day trial to ascertain whether he’s overcome the principal human failing of fear. Reviewing selected incidents from his previous life, the investigation is not going well for him, and it looks as though he will be sent back to earth to try it all over again in a different body.
however, by the fact that he’s just fallen in love with a fellow traveller,
eternal separation.
It’s a neurotic's fantasy to be sure. Brooks, mind you, seems as though he’s been through the mill, having
comedy circuit. ‘l’d be opening for Richie Havens and there’d be 5,000 drunken Texans yelling “Richie! Richiel”. Some nights I’d have to leave the stage because l physically could not make myself heard. I mean, I’d be supporting Sly and the Family Stone
‘Star Wars. where you create a
spaceship out ofnothing. that’s a special effect.‘ explains the i granite-jawed figure of Kurt Russell.
‘ln Backdrafl. the special effect is that you have a building. you pour
wearing shoes.’ (TrevorJohnston)