FILM INDEX
FILM
Films screening this fortnight are listed below. with certificate. credits. brief review and venue details. Full-length reviews ol selected new releases can he lound closeto the appropriate entry. Programme details appear in the Listings section which follows. Film Index compiled by Alan Morrison.
IThe 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 entirer underwater. Though Cameron has opted for a more contemplative exercise in tension. the intertwiningof plots leads one to feel that he‘s crammed too much into the film‘s length. It may not go down as a great 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. IAllelt3(18) (David Fincher. US. 1992) Sigoumey Weaver. Charles Dutton. Charles Dance. 114 mins. Forget the backlash and the woeful tales of production difficulties — pop promo wunderkind Fincher makes a brave attempt to bring something new to the series by placing a shaven-headed Ripley plus monster companion on a prison planet filled with religious nutcases. Okay. it‘s not Ridley Scott‘s classicsei-fi horror or James Cameron‘s Rambo In Space. but it is very dark . very atmospheric and very nearly worth the wait. General release.
I Les Amants du Pont-tleul(18) (Leos (‘arax. France. 1991)Juliette Binoche. Denis Lavant. 127 mins. An artist with a degenerative eye disease meets a fire-eating down-and-out. and they fall in love against the backdrop of Paris's Pont-Neuf. A stunningly visual movie. the most expensive ever to come out of France. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Barbarella (18) (Roger Vadim.1taly/France. 1967) Jane Fonda. John Philip Law. David Hemmings. 98 mins. 1n the year 40.000 AD. sex kitten Fonda travels to the planet Sorgo to divest herselfof much futuristic clothing. fall in love with
Law's angel and tussle with Hemmings‘ mad scientist character Duran Duran (yes. fact fans. it is he). Dated Vadim romp of interest mostly to kitsch aficionados or horny twelve year-olds. Strathclyde: Paisley Arts Centre.
I Basic 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 fomications 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. Edinburgh: UCI.
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 Bunuel.France/1taly. 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 sosuccesful that by the end. we are unsure if the whole movie could have been dreamt up by the protagonist. Wonderfully amoral comedy ofmanners. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Betty Blue ( 18) (Jean-Jacques Beineix. France. 1986) Jean Hughes Anglade. Beatrice Dalie. 120 mins. Tempestuous love gone mad as an older handyman and a free-spirited woman embark on a passionate. peripatetic fling that ends in tragedy. Filmed with a dazzling technique and an irritating emptiness by the maker of Diva. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Big Blue (15) (Luc Besson. France. 1988) Rosanna Arquette. Jean-Marc Barr. Jean Reno. 120 mins. Barr and Reno. friends since they were children. are divers competing to reach the greatest depths without the aid of breathing equipment. and also rivals for the romantic attentions of Ms Arquette. A commercial smash in its native France. Besson’s film is a stunningly photographed visual experience in varying shades of blue. Even if the plot is a load of tosh. the dolphins are nice. Edinburgh: Cameo.
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I III Wednesday (PG) (John Milius. US. 1978) William Katt. Gary Busey. Jan-Michael Vincent. 120 mins. Re-release of Milius's autobiographical surfing movie. which follows the lives of three buddies riding through the 605 and early 705 on the crest of a wave. The director‘s most audience-friendly work has gathered something of a cult reputation: here‘s your chance to see it as it was originally intended. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Bill a l'ed's eoees 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 triumphantsequel. slightly more coherent than the bodacious original — in Bill and Ted terms. at least. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Blll and ‘fed's Excellent Adventure (15) (Stephen Herek. 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. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Blflet Icon (18) (Roman Polanski. UK/France. 1992) Peter Coyote. Hugh Grant. Emmanuelle Seigner. 134 mins. A wheelchair-bound novelist (Coyote) entraps a young Englishman (Grant) with his tale of lust and perversion while on board a luxury liner. Polanski‘s dissection of the darker side of desire may not be to everyone‘s taste. but it certainly has its moments of outrageously black comedy. See feature. Glasgow: Odeon. Ediburgh: Odeon. All UCIs.
I Blue Velvet (18) (David Lynch. US. 1986) Kyle MacLachlan. Dennis Hopper. Isabella Rossellini. 120 mins. 1n 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: Cameo.
I Calamity Jane (U) (David Butler. US. 1953) Doris Day. Howard Keel. Allyn McLerie. Gale Robbins. 101 mins. When the Deadwood stage comes on over the hill bringing the wrong Adelaide Adams to the town‘s music hall. Calamity‘s in trouble again. and Wild Bill Hickok ain't too happy either. Bouncy musical with good songs. great laughs and an engagingly energetic performance from Day as the buckskinned tomboy. Edinburgh: St Brides.
I Calltorata Man (PG) (Les Mayfield. US. 1992) Sean Astin. Pauly Shore. Brendan Fraser. 88 mins. College loser and spaced-out buddy dig upa prehistoric caveman. tidy him up a bit and pass him off as an Estonian exchange student asa means of wowing the babes. Substandard Bill & Ted fare that adds even more loopy teen vocabulary to the Wayne's World dictionary. General release.
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 of the lawyer who suppressed evidence to put him away. Disturbing sexual undertones. centring on 15-year-old Danny (Lewis). make this an even more uncomfortable. but unmissable. top-notch scare-fest. Edinburgh: UCI.
I Carry On Columbus (PG) (Gerald Thomas. UK. 1992) Jim Dale. Maureen Lipman. Alexei Sayle. 91 mins. Map shop proprietor Chris C gets an expedition command and takes off across the Atlantic pursued by Ahmed the Turkish spy. Without the effortlessly zany presences of Sid James. Kenneth Williams et al. this new generation Carry Or: is noticably hollow. Sadly unfunny. it hints that the series' elevated status may have very little foundation. See review. Odeons: Glasgow. Edinburgh. Ayr. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. All UCIs.
I Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (PG) (John Glen. US. 1992) George Corraface. Marlon Brando. Tom Selleek. Plenty of period detail and a convincing performance from newcomer Corraface doesn‘t quite save the first of this year's Columbus epics. Part swashbuckler. part portrait of a man obsessed. it contains some of the worst examples of screen acting (Rachel Ward's Queen Isabella has to be seen to be disbelieved) witnessed in recent years. One to look back on and reassess when the hype dies down. Central: Caledonian.
I Cinema Paradiso (PG) (Giuseppe Tomatorc. Italy/France. 1988) Phillipe Noiret. Jacques
Perrin. Salvatore Cascio. 123 mins. Told largelyin flashback . the winner of the 1990 Oscar for Best Foreign Film traces young Salvatore‘s infatuation with his village cinema. and his growing friendship with its pro jectionist (played to perfection by Noiret). Essentially. it's Tomatore's lament for the joyous movie-going experience of his youth and a recognition of the price we pay for our maturity. Glasgow: GFT.
I City 01.!” (15) (Roland Joffe. UK/France. 1992) Patrick Swayze. Pauline Collins. Om Puri. 135 mins. Surgeon Patrick Swayze agrees to help Pauline Collins run a school and medical dispensary in the poorest area of Calcutta. but is intimidated by the local gang chief. Roland (Killing Fields) J offe‘s latest offering is another attempt to create a feelgood epic from a situation of incaleulable suffering. but deSpite being well made and acted. its didactieism smothers any ability to reSpond. See review. General release. I‘I'he Commitments (15) (Alan Parker. UK.1991) Robert Arkins. Michael Aherne. Angeline Ball. Maria Doyle. 118 mins. Sod U2 — when would-be manager Jimmy Rabbitte (Arkins) puts together The Commitments. soul comes to Dublin and the band become the force to really put Irish music on the map. Alan Parker delivers a hilarious. down-to-earth. close-to-home movie. stuffed full of good music and with some relevent social comment to boot. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I M Warrant(18) (Deran Sarafian,US.1990) Jean-Claude Van Damme. Robert Guillaume. Cynthia Gibb. George Dickinson. Patrick Kilpatrick. 110 mins. Our Jean-Claude plays a hardened cop who‘s just busted mad. mental psycho- killer The Sandman (Kilpatrick), and who is just recovering from his wounds when he‘s assigned to undercover work. posing as a convict to investigate a series of prison murders. Formulaie tough-guy antics. with Van Damme and his bulging shirts on regular form. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride.
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 '905. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I the Discreet Charm ofthe eoerpeolsle (15) (Luis Bunuel. France, 1972) Fernando Rey. Delphine Seyrig. Stephane Audran. 105 mins. A groupof friends find their dinner gathering interrupted by a series of bizarre. mostly dreamt-up events. Not as savage a satire as Bunuel‘s earlier work . but he is certainly more assured as he fires at his constant targets - the church. the state and the army. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I ERIN m (PG) (Tim Burton. US. 1991)Johnny Depp. Winona Ryder. Dianne Wiest. Vincent Price. 105 mins. Burton follows up the excesses of Batman with this fairytale for the 90s. which works as a welcome return to the darker side of the genre. Depp is the unfinished creation of The Inventor (Price). who lives alone in a crumbling mansion. unable to even scratch his nose without needing stitches. Diseoverd by a friendly Avon lady. his talent for coiffure and topiary makes him a neighbourhood favourite until tragedy strikes. Beautifully shat. tenderly acted and full of hidden depths. Glasgow: GF'T. I Em (15) (Lars von Trier. Den/Fra/Ger/Swe. 1991)Jean-Mare Barr. Barbara Sukowa. 107 mins. A young American visits post-war Germany and falls in love with an enigmatic woman . . .but forget all that. because Europa exists purely for the sake of its visuals. The images are indeed stunning but. given that von Trier freely admits he is ‘a simple masturbator of the silver screen‘. this is simply an exercise in cinematic she .. “' pretentious and unfulfilling. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Em Europa ( 15) (Agnieszka Holland. France/Germany. 1991) Marco Hofschneider. Julie Delpy, Halina Labonarska. 112 mins. In an attempt to avoid the death camps, a youngJewish boy tries to pass himself off as a member of the Hitler Youth. Despite touching a few raw nerves on home territory. the films uses its ‘based on a true story' caption as the excuse for all manner of unbelievable coincidences and laughable situations. A real disappointment. Fife: Adam Smith.
I “(helm (12) (Ron Howard. US.1992) Tom Cruise. Nicole Kidman. Thomas Gibson. 140 mins. If you‘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‘s sentimental tosh. as corny as they wine. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street.
I W11: The Last Ralntorestw) (Bill Kroyer. US. 1992) With the voices of Tim Curry.