Fill INDEX
FILM -mz:-
Films screening this tortnlght are listed below, with certiilcate, credits, brief review and venue details. Full-length reviews oi selected new releases can lie iound close to the appropriate entry. Programme details
appear in the Listings section which iollows. Film Index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I Alien(18)(RidIcy Scott. US. 1979) Sigoumey Weaver. lan Holm. John Hurt. 116 mins. Agatha Christie in outer space as a freighter lands on a mysterious planet and is ingeniously invaded by a ravenous intruder which proceeds to chomp its way through the cast list. Edge-of-the-seat suspense thriller with a strong cast and ghastly specialeffects. Edinburgh: Cameo. Strathclyde: UC1 Clydebank. IAIiens(18) (James Cameron. US. 1986) Sigoumey Weaver. Michael Biehn. 137 mins. Revived from a 57-year snooze in deep space. Warrant Officer Weaver is cajoled into joining a marine rescue mission to the planet that is home for the original alien beastie. Unrelentingly paced with a terrifically gutsy performance from Weaver. this nerve-shredding sequel not only matches its predecessor but cannin surpasses it. An Oscar winner for special effects. Edinburgh: Cameo. Strathclyde: UC1 Clydebank. I Apocalypse NW! (18) (Francis Coppola. US. 1980) Martin Sheen. Marlon Brando. Robert Duvall. Dennis Hopper. 153 mins. Vietnam as The Ultimate Trip. We follow US Army assassin Sheen downriver and deeper into the Heart of Darkness ruled Over by Brando‘s mad Colonel Kurtz. Altemately pretentious and visually overpowering (the Valkyries helicopter attack . for example). its grandiloquent folly somehow pierces right to the bone of the conflict. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. UC1. I Barton Fink ( 15) (Joel Coen. US. 1991 ) John Turturro. John Goodman. Judy Davis. Michael Lerner. 117 mins. When socially-committed playwright Barton Fink (Turturro) is consigned by the Hollywood machine to write wrestling films. he slumps into a writer‘s block as large as his mysterious next-door neighbour (John Goodman). Unprecedented winner of best film. actor and direction awards at 1991‘s Cannes Film Festival shows the Coen‘s at their most menacing and absurd best. Central: MacRobert. Strathclyde: UC1 East Kilbride. Ieasic Instinct(18) (Paul Verhoeven. US. 1992) Michael Douglas. Sharon Stone. George Dzundza. Jeanne Tripplehorn. 128 mins. On-the-edge ‘Frisco cop Nick Curran (Douglas) becomes embroiled with a successful novelist and murder suspect (Stone); she. in turn. treats him to a series of psychological fornications while going along a similar path with his body. Easily the best. ice-pick-sharp thriller for several years. with steamy sex scenes that leave the screen dripping with sweat. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Strathclyde: Magnum. All UCls. I Batman Returns ( 12) (Tim Burton. US. 1992) Michael Keaton. Michelle Pfeiffer. Danny De Vito. Christopher Walken. 127 mins. Unpredictable violence and aberrant psychology parading in the form of popular family entertainment — yes. the Caped Crusader is back. brooding over the darkest recesses of Gotham City. De Vito‘s deformed penguin. Pfeiffer‘s whip mistress by night and Walken's cadaverous tycoon make it clear director Burton favours the complexity of his villains to his schizo hero. Bigger. better and blacker than the original. General release. I Beethoven (U) (Brian Levant. US. 1992) Charles Grodin. Bonnie Hunt. Dean Jones. 87 mins. A small St Bernard pup escapes from an evil vet and attaches itself to the Newton family. Soon it grows to enormous proportions and begins to wreck domestic havoc. Endless visual gags and good timing. particularly from Grodin. enliven what might have been a run-of-the-mill mutt movie. General release. I Belle De Jour ( 18) (Luis Bunucl. France/italy. 1967) Catherine Deneuve . Jean Sorel. Michel Piccoli. 100 mins. The beautiful but bored wife of a surgeon spends her afternoons working in a brothel where she meets an odd assortment of characters. Bunuel‘s treatment of the bourgeoisie is typically cool but unforgiving. and his blurring of the line between fantasy and reality so succesful that by the end. we are unsure if the whole movie could have been dreamt up by the protagonist. Wonderfully amoral comedy of manners. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. IThe eest lntentlons(15)(Bille August. Sweden. 1991)Samuel Froler. Pemilla August. Max Von
Sydow. 180 mins. Winner ofthe Palme D‘Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The Best Intentions chronicles the fortunes of the parents of Swedish film director lngmar Bergman. who also wrote the screenplay. Though beautifully photographed and flawlessly performed. it is perhaps a film to admire rather than one viewers will take to their heart. as it retains the chill wind of melancholy that swirls through the typically gloomy Nordic character. Glasgow: GFT. I Bill a Ted's Bogus Journey (PG) (Peter Hewitt. US. 1991) Keanu Reeves. Alex Winter. George Carlin. Joss Ackland. 93 mins. Evil robot versions of that most excellent duo totally kill our heroes. causing them to take on the Grim Reaper at party games. make a quick visit to Heaven and eventually win the day. A triumphant sequel. slightly more coherent than the bodacious original — in Bill and Ted terms. at least. Glasgow: GFT. I Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure ( 1 5) (Stephen Herck. US. 1990) Keanu Reeves. Alex Winter. 91 mins. Bill and Ted's dream of forming a band called the ‘Wyld Stallyns' is haunted by the spectre of flunking their history exams and being packed off to military academy. However. courtesy of a time-travelling telephone booth. the two dudes canter through the centuries on a breakneck refresher course where they meet up with the likes of Genghis Khan and Beethoven. And save the future of the universe. A most excellent cinematic experience. Glasgow: GFT. I Blacit Beauty (PG) (James Hill. UK. 1971) Mark Lester. Walter Slezak. Patrick Mower. 106 mins. An untameable wild horse suffers a variety of misfortunes before being reunited with its young master. Ho-hum version of the Anna Sewell children‘s classic. with the nauseating Lester as would-be cute as usual. One for the gymkhana types perhaps. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Black Bohe(15) (Bruce Beresford. US. 1991) Lothaire Bluteau. Aden Young. Sandrinc Holt. Stirring version of Brian Moore‘s tale ofa 17th century Jesuit priest travelling across North America to a remote mission takes a realistic view ofthe savagery of the Indian tribes. Nevertheless. their philosophies and way of life are treated with the same respect as those of the Christians. Bluteau‘s anguished looks are perfect for the conscience-stricken priest who gradually comes to terms with the harsh landscapes and opposing cultures. Glasgow: GF'I‘. Central: MacRobert. IBroadway iiound(15) (Paul Bogart. US. 1991) Anne Bancroft. Hume Cronyn. Corey Parker. 110 mins. The last segment of Neil Simon‘s trilogy that has already brought us Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues. Broadway Bound brings us to 1948. with Simon‘s alter-ego Eugene and his brother Stan trying to write a comedy sketch for CBS. More dialogue-based than its predecessors. it relies heavily on the playwright‘s turn of phrase and on wonderful performances by Bancroft and Cronyn. Even the name betrays its theatricality. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Can-Asian Shorts Frog 1 A programme of short film and video works by and about Canadians of Asian origin. Unsurprisingly. themes of alienation. exile and nostalgia dominate the new landscape that must now be called home. The five films shown here also emphasise women's perspectives. Glasgow: GFI‘. I Cape Fear( 18) (Martin Scorsese. US. 1991) Robert De Niro. Nick Nolte. Jessica Lange. Juliette Lewis. 127 mins. Scorsese‘s stunning remake of the 1962 original leaves Silence of the Lambs pallid by comparison. De Niro is terrifying as white trash psycho Max Cady. out of prison and stalking the family ofthe lawyer who suppressed evidence to put him away. Disturbing sexual undertones. ccntring on 15-year-old Danny (Lewis). make this an even more uncomfortable. but unmissable. top-notch scare-fest. Edinburgh Filmhouse. I Cat People ( 15) (Jacques Tourneur. US. 1942) Simone Simon. Kent Smith. Tom Conway. 73 mins. A young woman is haunted by sexual frigidity and fears that she is tuming into a panther. One of the great. totally atmospheric ‘8‘ horror pictures produced by Val Lewton which stands up even today due to clever set pieces. good performances and flawless photography. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Commando(l8) (Mark L. Lester. US. 1985) Arnold Schwarzenegger. Rae Dawn Chong. 90 mins. When his beloved daughter Jenny is kidnapped. retired colonel Schwarzenegger springs back into action. In a matter of hours he must locate and rescue the girl. beat the bad guys and settle an old score. Hardly enough bother to work up a sweat really. A pure action adventure told with zest and the saving grace of gallows humour. The pace rarely flags and Chong is a treat as the innocent bystander along for the ride.
‘Patently preposterous but persuasively packaged.
Strathclyde: UC1 East Kilbride.
IThe Cook. The Thiet. ills WileAnd ilerLover(18) (Peter Greenaway. UK. 1989) Michael Gambon. Helen Mirren. Alan Haward. Richard Bohringer. Tim Roth. 120 mins. A superb film which (nonetheless contains something to offend
everybody. Beautifully photographed. directed.
written. acted and art-directed (with lavish costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier). its subject matter is at once bizarre. repulsive. romantic and compelling. Centring on Greenaway‘s obsessions with food. decay and infidelity. it's an unforgettably stylish tale of forbidden love and brutal revenge. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Cries and Whispers ( 18) Ingmar Bergman. Sweeden. 1972) Harriet Anderson. ingrid Thulin. Liv Ullmann. 91 mins. At the turn ofthe century. a middle-aged spinster lies dying of cancer. Her two sisters. one frigid. one suicidal. come to watch over her. Mounted in the style of Edvard Munch . Bergman's bleak and harrowing vision of suffering and Sven Nykvist's Oscar winning photography in various tones of red combine seamlessly to form a quite hypnotic confrontation with mortality. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Daydream Believer ( 15) (Kathy Mueller. Australia. 1991) Miranda Otto. Martin Kemp. Anne Looby. Alister Smart. 86 mins. tAbused by her father as a child. Nell hides in the stables. Years later. now an aspiring actress. she thinks she is a horse and can't keep a boyfriend due to the high-pitched whinnying noises she makes. Fortunately she meets a self-made millionaire who's having trouble with his stud farm. Strangely sentimental sex comedy is unlikely to last the pace. even with a strong debut from Otto. Edinburgh: UC1.
I Dead Calm (15) (Philip Noyce. Australia. 1989) Sam Neill. Nicole Kidman. Billy Zane. 96 mins. A psycho on the seven seas disturbs a young couple trying to get away from it all on a cruise along the Barrier Reef. First rate suspense follows. in this canny mix ofon-ship claustrophobia and wide open seascapes from Aussie new waver Noyce. Glasgow: GET.
I Delicatessen (15) (Jean-Pierre Jeunet/Marc Caro. France. 1991) Dominique Pinon. Marie-Laure Dougnac. Jean-Claude Dreyfus. 99 mins. in a sepia wasteland somewhere in the future. a butcher feeds his neighbours with the juicy joints of his lodgers. But when former clown Louison (Pinon) arrives and falls for his daughter. an underground vegetarian resistance group come to the rescue. Hilarious blend of bizarre characters. slapstick and comic tension makes for the first true cult item of the ‘90s. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Dona iierllnda and iier Son ( 15) (Jaime Humberto Hermosillo. Mexico. 1985) Arturo Meza. Marco Antonio Trevio. Guadalupe del Torro. 91 mins. Occasionally ponderous but generally likeable gay Mexican satire in which the strong-willed matriarch Dona Heriinda ensures that her son is a happily married husband and father despite his ongoing passionate affair with young music student Ramon. Glasgow: (if-'1‘.
I Double Indemnity (PG) (Billy Wilder. US. 1944) Barbara Stanwyck. Fred McMurray. Edward G. Robinson. 106 mins. Cracking adaptation by Wilder and Raymond Chandler of the James M. Cain novel has insurance man McMurray attracted by the alluring Stanwyck. who talks him into murdering her spouse. and all goes well until his boss Edward G. begins to suspect foul play. Sexual chemistry. labyrinthine plotting. tart wordplay. it‘s all here. Aclassic. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Drowning 8y llumhers(18)(Peter Greenaway. UK. 1988) Joan Plowright. Bernard Hill. 10er Richardson. 118 mins. in a narrative as straightforward and complicated as the title. three generations of women. all of them called (‘issie Colpitts. dispose of their husbands in a series of aquatic murders. whilst the numbers 1 to 100 run through the film in the backgrounds. Besides the enjoyable pastime of number spotting. this is among Greenaway's most accessible and pleasurable films. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Evil Dead (18) (Sam Riami. US. 1982) Bruce Campbell. Ellen Sandweiss. Betsy Baker. 85 mins. Five unsuspecting youngsters head off for a healthy weekend in a mountain cabin. only to fall foul of wicked demons whose purpose is - wait for it — wholesale slaughter. Every horror cliche is exploited and subverted in this stylish. cheapo schlocker-shocker made with imagination by an inventive young team. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Evil Dead 2: Dead Belore Dawn (18) (Sam Riami. US. 1987) Bruce Campbell. Sarah Berry. Dan Hicks. 84 mins. Bruce 'fastest axe in the West‘ Campbell and another selection of hardy citizens gird their loins and set their Chainsaws running for another ding-dong battle with the evil forces in the woods. Less gruellingly relentless than the original. this was the smart trash hip hit of the year. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Exorcist ( 18) (William Friedkin. US. 1973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. 110 mins. Earnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scarey. dead priest. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I FarAnd Away (12) (Ron Howard. US. 1992) Tom Cruise . Nicole Kidman. Thomas Gibson. 140 mins. lfyou've seen the trailer. you‘ll know the story of the plucky duo fighting adversity to gain their place in the American Dream. Oirish
accents. suppressed lust. bare knuckle fights. all looking sumptuous in Panavision Super 70mm wide-screen format. Other than that. it sentimental tosh. as corny as they come. See review. General release. I Femouliy: The Last Raintorest (U) (Bill Kroyer. US. 1992) With the voices ofTim Curry. Samantha Mathis. Jonathan Ward. Robin Williams. Christian Slater. 76 mins. In a secret forest world touched by magic. a young fairy shrinks a human lumberjack. who then has to help save the rainforest from destruction. Eco-edged animation has a lot to recommend it other than its well-meaning intentions: lush colour. sweeping computer-aided cameras. and a decent set of songs. ()ne for the grown-ups as well as the kids. General release. I The Field ( 12) (Jim Sheridan. Eire .1990) Richard Harris. John Hurt.'1‘om Berenger. Brenda Fricker. 110 mins. Based on John B. Keane‘s stage play. Sheridan's follow-up to the immensely successful My Left Foot is a rural tragedy set in 1939. Harris stars as The Bull. an lrish farmer in competition with an American for the purchase of the field he‘s worked for years. As their struggle intensifies. so violence and revelations are unleashed which draw him inexorably to an awful fate. Strathclyde: UC1 East Kilbride. I Flirting (12) (John Duigan. Australia. 1991) Noah Taylor. Thandie Newton. Nicole Kidman. 100 mins. The second part of writer/director Duigan‘s trilogy. which began with 1987‘s The Year My Voice Broke. relates the continuing life of Danny Embling (Taylor). now at a remote Australian boys‘ boarding school. Wonderfully evocative writing and characterisations lift this gem above other. more slushy. tales of first love. Glasgow: GF'I‘. I Freddie As F.R.D.7. (U) (Jon Acevski. UK. 1992) With the voices of Ben Kingsley. Jenny Agutter. Brian Blessed. Nigel Hawthorn. A French prince turned into a frog becomes F. R.().7. . the toast of the secret service. A quick hop and he‘s over in Britain. trying to find out why top national monuments are disappearing. The first in a planned series of animated features is certainly well cast in the voice department. but the animation reminds you more of the substandard world of Dangermouse than the wonderful world of Disney. General release. I Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cate (12) (Jon Avnet. US. 1991) Kathy Bates. Jessica Tandy. Mary Stuart Masterson. Mary-Louise Parker. 130 mins. After the local Ku Klux Klan threatens the busy cafe in Whistle Stop. Alabama for serving coloured customers. the female owner and her black handyman find themselves on trial for an unsolved murder. A chronicle ofcourage and ingenuity that avoids becoming as overwhelmingly heart-warming as one might have feared. Not the most tantalising item on the menu. but a l'lavoursome little dish nonetheless. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Grand Canyon ( 15) (Lawrence Kasdan. US. 1992) Kevin Kline. Mary McDonnell. Steve Martin. Danny Glover. 134 mins. Kasdan‘s 90s retort to his earlier The Big ("hill looks at the fears and anxieties of successful white professionals against the background of a disintegrating society. The contrast between the rich and poor doesn't always work -~ there are as many sentimental subplots as effective sequences - although the end result has to rank as a major American movie. Central: MacRobert. Fife: Adam Smith. I Gregory's Girl (PG) (Bill Forsyth. UK. 1981) Gordon John Sinclair. [)ee Hepburn. Clare Grogan. 91 mins. Winning comedy from (‘umbernauld with Sinclair eventually finding romance after his heart is set aflame by the latest recruit to the school football team. Seminal piece of Scottish cinema. its universal appeal demonstrating that homegrown talent can compete with Hollywood‘s finest in the entertainment stakes. Edinburgh: Cameo. I The Hand That llocits The Cradle ( 15) (Curtis Hanson. US. 1991 ) Rebecca De Mornay. Annabella Sciorra. Matt McCoy. 110 mins. Nanny manages to con her way into the home of the family who inadvertantly caused her husband‘s suicide and her own miscarriage. and soon begins to show psychotic tendencies. Despite implausible plotting. director Hanson cranks up the tension and delivers a slap-bang finale. In other words. beautifully crafted mainstream trash. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: UC 1. Central: MacRobert. Strathclyde: UC1 East Kilbride. I iiear My Song (15) (Peter Chelsom. UK/lreland. 1991) Adrian Dunbar. Ned Beatty. Tara Fitzgerald. 103 mins. Devious but loveable promoter Mickey (Dunbar) tries to win back his reputation and the woman he loves by booking famous Irish tenor and tax fugative Josef Locke for his Liverpool nightclub. A modestly charming British production that is fun if you're not expecting some sort of all-time classic. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I High lleeis(15) (Pedro Almodovar. Spain. 1991) Victoria Abril. Miguel Bose. Marisa
20Thc List 31 July— 13 August 1992