LISTINGS TELEVISION
As the snowplough clears the path from your home to the video store, via the oil-licence and the tandoori take-away, it’s time to check out the latest VHS releases.
Rental
I Meet The Feebles( 18) Anthropomorphism pushed to the limits in this wicked Muppets pastiche. The Feebles are a motley crew of puppet variety artistes with a penchant for drug-dealing. porno films and kinky sexual fetishism. Initially amusing. but bad taste alone doesn‘t sustain the interest through to the end. (Island World)
I Detenseless ( 18) Straight to video for a humdrum thriller starring Barbara IIershcy as a smart attorney who finds herselffacing a murder rap unless she can prove herinnocence. lleronly ally is homicide cop Sam Shepard. (Fox)
I Grand Canyon ( 15) The Big Chill for the mid-life crisis gang. directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Steve Martin. Kevin Kline and Danny Glover are the blokes. you won‘t have heard ofthe women. Occasionally amusing. but the smugness is hard to take as the characters cocoon themselves from a distinctly threatening Los Angelcs. (Fox)
I The Lawnmower Man (15) The much-hyped ‘virtual reality‘ thriller starring Pierce Brosnan as a disenchanted computer genius trying out his simulations on backward gardenerJeff Fahey. with predictably disastrous results. Poor acting. some ludicrously graturtous sex scenes and a dire script tend to overshadow the admittedly excellent special effects. (First Independent)
I Don’tTell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead (15) ‘Teenage sensation‘ (shyeeah. right!) Christina Applegate stars in a half-decent teen-style comedy. Mom heads offto Australia for the summer leaving the kids in the hands ofa tyrannical babysitter. who. you‘ve guessed it. pops her clogs early on. leaving our Christina in charge. Comic antics ensue. Sort of.(First Independent)
I Medicine Man (PG) (Guild)
i I All I Want For Christmas 1 (PGHCIC)
I Mobsters ( 18) (('1(‘) INastyBoy33(18)((‘1(‘) I Seed People ( 15) ((‘10 I Bad Channels ( 15) (C1(‘) I Leaving Normal ( 15) (CIC)
I Gunsmoke: To The Last Man(15) (Fox)
I Crisscross ( 15) (Warner)
I Scanner Force ( 18) (First Independent) IAiterbum (15) (Columbia Tristar) IAmbition ( 15) (Columbia Tristar)
I Rage And Honour( 18)
; (Columbia Tristar)
I In The Shadow 0111 Killer (PG) (Odyssey) I Midnight Ride ( l5) (Warner) I Rush ( 18) (Warner'N/IGM) I Naked Truth ( 15)
(Columbia Tristar)
Sell-through
I Big Wednesdayn’m John .‘inlius's surfclassic follows the development ofthrcc surf fanaticsover the course of a decade as Jack. Matt and Leroy grow up against the backdrop of Vietnam and adolescent angst. (Tartan £15.99)
I Honeysuckle Rose ( PU) (Tartan £15.99)
i I Reflections In A Golden
i Eye(15)Johnlluston‘s
; mixture of strange desire and bizarre fantasy.
g starring Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando as a
! loosely—married couple
3 indulgingtheir passions
' for(respcctivcly) a
i neighbouranda
r voyeuristic soldier.
l Huston skilfully conveys l the atmosphere ofa
- stiflingsummerinthe middle of nowhere with plenty of scope for boredom and frustration. (Tartan£15.99)
I Left Handed Gun (PG) (Tartan£l5.99)
I Chill Oul(Screen Entertainment£lll.99)
; IGreen Animation
I (Connoisseur£111.99)
I The Damned ( 18) Luchino \I’iseonti‘s’ intriguing examination of the German psyche during the rise of fascism. Dirk Bogarde plays Friedrich. a man obsessed by power who gains control of the steel empire. while Ilelmut (irein is Aschenbach. an ambitious
5 leaderinllitler's = bodyguard whose career comes to a sticky end
dttring the ‘night ofthe long kuives'. (Tartan £15.99)
I Hearts Of Darkness( 15) (Tartan £13.99)
I Bill Hicks—Relentless (18) The chain-smoking American libertarian comic captured performing at the Montreal comedy festival. (Columbia Tristar £111.99) I Capercaillie — Two Nights 01 Delirium Live footage of ‘the next Runrig' from concerts in Aberdeen and Nairn. including all those smash hits like ‘Coisich a Ruin' and ‘Waiting For The Wheel To Turn'. (Polygram £12.99)
IThe Commitments ( 15) Alan Parker's relentlessly popular adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s novel about an aspiring Dublin soul troupe doesn't quite get the full flavour ofthe book‘s humour but makes up the shortfall with plenty of boppy musical
interludes.(Fox£12.99) , I Sweat Express (Screen
Iintertainment £111.99)
I Belle De Jour( 18) Bunucl's erotic classic starring Catherine Deneuve as Severinc. a beautiful and bored I‘rench housewife who indulges her masochistic tendencies in a brothel. (Iilectric Pictures £15.99) I The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie ( 15) (Electric Pictures £15.99) IThat Obscure Object Of Desire ( 15) (Electric l’ictures£15.99)
I The Best Intentionsr l5) Ingmar Bergman wrote it. Billc August directed. it's Scandinavia-erama with loads of tasteful rural scenes. star-crossed romance and bleak elegiac moments. lt'sthe turbulent and beautiful tale of Bergman's parents‘
l troubled courtship. Those
bleak Nordic types have a frighteningly high suicide rate. This might provide a few clues why. (Artificial fiye £15.99)
I Christ Stopped At Eboli (PG) (Artificial liyc double-pack £22.49)
I Prool( l5) (Artificial Eye £15.99)
TELEVISION m
A selection or television highlights. listed by day. in chronological order. Television Listings compiled by Tom Lappin.
FRIDAY 6
I Royal Gardens (BBCZ) 8.30—9pm. Sir Roy Strong saunters around the gardensof Sandringham House and Windsor Great Park. finding fault fairly regularly no doubt.
I Blackadder Goes Forth (BBCZ) 9—9.3(lpm. The rather moving final episode with our lads going ‘ovcr the top‘ and not even one of Baldriek's ‘cunning plans’ can get them out ofthisone.
I Between The Lines: Nothing To Declare (BBCI )9.3()—1(l.2(lpm. The police internal investigations series continues with Tony Clark (Neil Pearson) called in to investigate allegations that crooked drugs squad officers helped dispose ofa murdered Customs officer‘s body.
I Cheers (Channel 4) 9.30—10pm. Diane feels it is time to tell the truth about her relationship with Frasier.
I Nurses (Channel 4) ll)—l().3llpm. Dr Kaplan's indifference towards Gina is dispelled when his brother arrives on the
I Clive Anderson Talks Back (Channel 4) 111.3(1—1 1 . lllpm. The follicalIy-challcngcd one offers more gags and chat.
IThe Word (Channcl4) 11.111pm—12.1(lam. Addictivcly amateurish pop gossip and nonsense with Terry Christian. Dani Behr. Katie Puckrik and Mark Lamarr.
SATURDAY 7
I Gerard Depardieu: An Extended Prolile (Channel 4) 8—9pm. As a prelude tothe Depardieu season. this profile interviews the French actor at his home where he speaks frankly about his wild youth and his career in film.
I Casualty(BB(‘1)8.15—9.115pm. IIolby General gets the treatment from an asthmatic seeking revenge. while Julian and Sandra try to keep their affaira secret. I Cyrano De Bergerac (Channel 4) 9—11.35pm.Jcan-Pau| Rappencau‘s acclaimed version of the classic love story stars Depardieu as the proboscis with a man attached. acting as a go-bctwecn for his friend in the courtship of Roxane (Anne Brochet).
I Suspect (Scottish) 905—1 1. 15pm. Cher stars as public defender Kathleen Riley assigned to defend deaf. mute Vietnam veteran Dennis Quaid on a charge of murder. Mildly engaging courtroom thriller with conspiracy overtones.
I The Bedroom Window ( BBCZ) 9.1)5—Ill.55pm.A so-so thriller starring
Steve Guttenberg as a philanderer enjoying a fling with his boss‘s wife Isabelle lluppcrt. She witnesses an attack in the street below and a tangled webof deception leaves Guttenberg under suspicion of murder.
I Saturday Night Live (1313(2) 12.25~ lam. Well. more Sunday morning recorded actually but it‘s a nice idea all the same. showing the cult American comedy series that launched countless US comedy stars and catchphrases. The show is hosted each week by an international celebrity. starting with Nicolas Cage.
SUNDAY 8 i
I The Borrowers ( BBCl ) 5.411—6. Illpm. One of those winter Sunday teatime children's classic adaptations the BBC excel at. Mary Norton's adventure tale follows the antics of a family of six-inch-high scrotmgers who live under the floorboards.
I Equinox: Rebuilding Berlin (Channel 4) 7—8pm. A report on the problemsof reuniting a city where the technical systems. from transport to phones. became as incompatible as the politics for 4(lyears.
I The House 01 Elliott ( 1315(1) 7.45—8.4llpm. Evie (Louise Lombard) isin the headlines as a kind of3lls Antonia Dc Sancha as her relationship with Treasury Minister Alexander Montford reaches the papers.
ITellTale Hearts(BB(Tl)9.25-1(). 15pm. The second episode of the BBC Scotland drama serial. Radio reporter Becky Wilson is on the trail of released child murderer Anthony Steadman (Bill Paterson) in the hope of arranging an interview.
I A Word In Your Era (1313(2)
9.411—11). lllpm. More hastily cobbled together historical flammery with Josie Lawrencc.11e1enl.edererandllugh Dennis impersonating Cleopatra. Horcncc Nightingale and KingJohn respectively.
I The South Bank Show(Seonish)
10.35—1 1.35pm. Melvyn Bragg prescntsa profile of George Formby. the cheeky Northern chappie who kept Britain cheerful through the war with his saucy dittics about window-cleaners and lascivious Chinaman. How did we ever win'.’
I Magic And Loss (Channel 4) I 1.55pm-I.115am. Lou Reed performs his harrowing song cycle based on his experience of watching two close friends die.
MONDAY 9
I Allo Allo ( BBC] ) S—8.3(ipm. They're
promising us that this is the last series. The
war is drawing to a close and the comedy
Nazis are now the ones on the run. (iorden
Kaye is still alive as Rene. France'sanswer I to Benny Ilill.
“ “T _‘-“—T
l
The List 6— 19 November 1992 69