FILM INDEX
LL.--“ _ ._-_ j 20 The List 27 September— 1() October 1991
message is not exactly positive. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCl.
I Klng Kong (Merian C Cooper. US. 1933) Robert Armstrong. Fay Wray. 100 mins. A film producer on safari brings back a souvenir monster which terrorises New York. One of the all time great monster movies. even though the plot is somewhat flawed (why. for example .,if the natives on the island wanted to keep Kong at bay with a giant wall. did they build a door in it large enough for him to get through?) Edinburgh University Film Society. I King Of New York ( 18) (Abel Ferrara. US. 1990) Christopher Walken. David Caruso. Larry Fishburne. Victor Argo. Wesley Snipes. 104 mins. Extremely violent and amoral account ofNew York drug lord Frank White (Walken). who kills quite a few people but is really a decent cove. whose dream is to open a hospital for the people of his native South Bronx. A twisted tale ofcriminal loyalty and glamorised violence which wastes the considerable talents ofits leading actor. At least Arnie does it with a sense of humour. Edinburgh: Cameo. I A Kiss Before Dying (18) (James Dearden. US. 1990) Matt Dillon. Sean Young. Max Von Sydow. Diane Ladd. 92 mins. Writer/director Dearden also wrote the screenplay for Fatal Attraction. which many people found misogynistic. Here. he‘s back on dangerous relationships territory. though the maladjusth partner in this case is male. and a psychopathic killer at that. Gaps in plot and obvious photographed backdrops actually work in favour of this enjoyable. old-fashioned thriller from the Hitchcock school. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. I Last Tango in Paris ( 18) (Bernardo Bertolucci. France/Italy. 1973) Marlon Brando. Maria Schneider. 13() mins. A young Parisienne meets a middle-aged man with whom she develops an increasingly violent and purely sexual relationship. One ofthe key films ofits decade. Bertolucci‘s powerful drama is a meditation on the expression and communication of personal identity through intense sexual contact. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Life Of Brian ( 15)(Terry Jones. U K. 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 University Film Society. I Life Stinks(12) (Mel Brooks. US. 1991) Mel Brooks. Jeffrey Tambor. Lesley Ann Warren. 95 mins. The writer’director’star of such comedy classics as Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein this time delivers up a laugh-free zone with this tale ofa megalomaniac property tycoon who takes up a bet that he can survive asa down-and-out on the streets of LA for 31) days. Poverty and homelessness aren't exactly easy pickings for any comedian. but. that aside. this is such a dire attempt to breathe life into the lamest of gagsthat you begin to wonder if the joke is on us. Life Stinks? The movie sure does. Strathclyde: Cannon. I Meet the Applegates t 15) ( Michael Lehman. US. 199”) Ed Begleer. Stockard Channing. Cami Cooper. Dabney Coleman. 82 mins. Lehman's follow—up to the wonderfully black comedy Heathers is an off-beat satirical comedy about the green move ment's struggle against consumerism. Posing as an ornery. mid-Western family led by blue-eyed patriarch Begley. the Applegates are in fact a gang ofgiant Brazilian insects charged with the subversive duty of extinguishing the
UNDER SUSPICION
Under Suspicion (18) (Simon Moore,
UK, 1990) Liam Neeson, Laura San Giocomo, Kenneth Cranham, Alphonsla Emmanuel. 100 mins. Writer/director Simon Moore says he wanted his debut feature to be ‘a wholly un-British type of movie’ - a tough urban thriller that echoes the studio-shot Hollywood crime pictures of the 40s and 50s. It is Ironic, therefore, that its modest budget, seedy Brighton locations and quintessentially British milieu conspire to produce precisely the opposite effect. Liam Neeson and Laura San Giocomo have the star quality to pull it off, but the period detail, shots of Brighton pier and scenes in stuffy law courts inevitably reinforce an air of parochial Engnshness.
Neeson plays a disgraced cop turned sleazy private eye who specialises in exploiting a loophole in the arcane divorce law - setting up gentlemen in need of a quick marital separation with hotel accommodation, an en suite lloozy and incriminating photos to
1 order. For a few pounds extra, his D clients can even employ the services of ‘
his attractive but discreet wife. Things
; go nightmarishly wrong, however, i when Neeson tlings back the hotel door
one night to discover his wife's slaughtered body on the bed. Also killed in the frenzied attack is the client, a famous Italian painter, and the ensuing case involves his estranged widow, his sexy mistress, a dodgy will, and enough red herrings to make the whole thing smell fishy as hell.
Neeson wears a swift flying jacket, drives a battered Consul, and enjoys a dangerous liaison with femme fatale Laura San Glocomo. She models some striking 50s outfits and hats, looks enigmatic, and explains a lot of the dense, convoluted plot. Everything fits perfectly, like a jigsaw puzzle, but none of the individual pieces really rivets the attention — even the climactic race-against-time slides from
' breathless suspense into ludicrous
melodrama. (Nigel Floyd)
From 27 Sept. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge, Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon, UCl.
Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr, Odeon
Hamilton, UCI Clydebank, UCl East
Kilbride.
environmentally unsound human race. = But of course. the temptations of
; American decadence can be seductive. . .
Gentle satire with a slimy underbelly. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Meeting Venus ( 12) (1stvan Szabo. UK1.'SA.1991)(i|enn Close. Niels
Arestrup. Erland Josephson. ll9mins. Zoltan Szanto. an unknown Hungarian
conductor. is given the chance toconduct
Wagner's 'I‘tmnltauser in Paris; ifit isa
1 success. a worldwide satellite transmission will bring him fame and fortune. lstvan
Szabo. a we|l~known Hungarian director. directed the same Wagner masterpiece a few years ago. From its autobiographical roots. Meeting Venus builds into an
; inspiring blendof politicalmetaphor. human desire and great music. See
preview. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon.
I Miracle Mile ( 15) (Steve DeJarnatt. L'S. 199(1) Anthony Edwards. Mare Winningham. John Agar. Lou Hancock. 87 mins. When Harry ( Edwards) picks up the 'phone itl LA. in the middle ofthe night. he isn’t expectingthe end ofthe world. But that's what the voice on the
wire tells him. A missile has been
launched: another will be heading back
this way in an hour. What can he do'.’ A story of love and reconciliation in the last
few minutes of life. DeJarnatt's cherished. self-scripted project took eight yearsto complete. but the suspense. humourand
warm-heartcdness which result have been
worth the wait. Glasgow: GFI‘.
I Mo‘ BetterBlues ( 18) (Spike Lee. L's. 199(1) Dcnzel Washington. Spike Lee. Joie Lee. Cynda Williams. 13llmins. Exuberantlygshot. enterprisingly designed and evocativer scored. Lee's jazz flick scores on the incidentals but neglects the
basics with a central storyline that move? at a snail's pace and was neverthat
‘ interesting in the first place. Denzcl
1 Washington is the self-absorbed trumpet
l star Bleek Gilliam. involved with both teacher Joie Lee and aspiring singer Williams while failing to notice manager Spike‘s gambling habit and the discord in
: his band. Worth seeing all the same. but
3 patience is required. Edinburgh: Cameo.
; I The Naked Gun 2V2 ( 12) (David Zuckcr.
; USA 1991) Leslie Nielsen. Priscilla
: Presley. Robert Goulet. George
5 Kennedy. 85 mins. The nasty leaders of
. the coal. oil and nuclear industries have t " hatched a fiendish plot to trick President
7 Bush into carrying out an extremely
unsound energy policy. But they hadn't reckoned on the inimitable abilitiesof Lieutenant Frank Drebin. Leslie Nielsen
is back on top form as he bungles through
; lame jokes. bizarre sight gags and lust for
- Priscilla Presley with a CIouscau-like efficiency. Central: Regal.
I Once Upon A Time In The West(15) (Sergio Leone. US. 1968) Henry Fonda. l Charles Bronson. Claudia Cardinale. Jason Robards. 165 mins. Probably Leone's best film. this classic western
; details in operatic fashion the drive of
' crooked railroad magnate Fonda to cheat widow Cardinale out of her land. until lone stranger Bronson comes to town. - Brilliant Morricone score. achingly slow pacing. and an enthusiastic use of the wide screen mark this out as an idiosyncratic j gem. Glasgow: GFT. '
1 I Only The Lonely ( 12) (Chris Columbus.
1 US. 1991 ) John Candy. Maureen O‘Hara. l Ally Shecdy. Kevin Dunn. Milo O'Shea.
l 104 mins. Dominated by his widowed
1 mother and haunted by Irish-Catholic
1 guilt.Chicago cop DannyMuldoon ' (Candy) hasn't much ofa love life. That is. 3 until he falls for local undertaker Ally Sheedy. But aforementioned spiteful i mum is determined to sabotage the nervous romance. with the result that l ; there are hintsofsomethingdarker 1 lurking beneath the film's polished surface i andmanipulative sentimentality. Glasgow: Odeon. Strathclyde: La Scala. g I Out ForJustice ( is) (John Flynn. US.
l 1991)Stevcn Seagal. William Forsythc. I ; Jerry Orbach. 92 mins. Hot on the heelsof
' Hard To Kill and .llarked For Death
comes the latest hit-and-run vehicle from would-be megastar Steven Seagal. lf
: there‘sa plot. thenitconcernstwomen. 3 enemies from childhood. who find
, themselves on opposite sides ofthe law
whcnthe future oftheirold
neighbourhood is at stake. Then again. if you really need a Scagal fix that badly.
‘ you‘re probably only interested in the size 3 of the guns and the pectorals. Glasgow:
Cannon The Forge. Edinburgh: L'Cl.
, Strathclyde: L’Cl Clydebank. L'Cl East
Kilbride.
i I Outland ( 15) (Peter Hyams. LJK. 1981)
1 Sean Connery. Peter Boyle. Frances
; Sternhagen. Steven Berkoff. 1119mins. A n real space western that happily rips off
l High .Voon. Connery is the honest
l marshall posted to a mining base on oneof 3 Jupiter's moons where the authorities
l have becnturning a blind eye tolethal ‘ 1 drug deals. As the clock ticks away. he 1 stands alone against the hired assassins
j who are about to arrive on the next I shuttle. Good fun. if a little over-zealous in the flashing diodes of its space station i set. This screeningisattended byAlan i Dean Foster. who wrote the novelisation - of this film. Allen and Aliens. Glasgow: GET. 3 IParis Trout(18) (Stephen Gyllenhaal. I US. 1991) Dennis Hopper. Barbara 1 Hershey. Ed Harris. Tina Lifford. 99 mins. Hopper is on trademark psychotic form. this time in the Deep South during the late 194()s. When a young black man fails to keep up the payments on a carhe bought from shady businessman Paris Trout. the latter assumes white superiority
and kills his client‘s sister. But thisdrives