FILM INDEX
FILM .1131:-
Filnts screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Full length reviews oi new releases can he found in the Listings section wiclt follows. Filtn index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I A.” All“ (U) (Peter Lord/David SproxtonlNick Park. UK. 1983—92) A new selection of shon animated films from the Aardman Studios. including Park‘s Oscar- winning Creature Comforts. It‘s also worth looking out for M y Baby Just Cares For Me. Next and War Story. Part of Edinburgh Puppet and Animation Festival. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I helm Ill. ( l5) (Stephen Frears. US. I992) Dustin Hoffman. Geena Davis. Andy Garcia. I i6 mins. A special BAFI‘A Scotland preview screening of the new film by British ex- pat Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette. Dangerous Liaisons). Down-trodden Hoffman saves reporter Davis from an airline crash. but Garcia ends up getting the glory. A Capra-esque comedy that is genuinely funny as it piles injustice on the underdog. Fri 2 April only Glasgow; GFT. I WI. an“ ( I8) The first in the touring package from the 7th London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival includes this Israeli piece plus other shorts. More on the festival‘s Edinburgh and Glasgow dates next issue. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Animated Shakespeare (U) This S4C Wales/Russian co-production. seen recently on television. uses various techniques to bring to life 22-minute versions of The Tempest. Hamlet. Macbeth. Romeo and Juliet. A Midsummer Night '5 Dream and Twelfth Night. Three films will be shown in each slot (details of exact programming from the Filmhouse nearer the time). while Christopher Grace. executive producer of the series. gives an illustrated talk on Tue 30 only. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. IMHMWWHGary TrousedaIe/Kirk Wise. US. 1991) With the voices of Paige O‘Hara. Robby Benson. Richard White. 84 mins. The first animated film ever to get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. the 30th Walt Disney feature-length cartoon is a classic by anyone's standards. The familiar story is supplemented by terrific songs. a host of comic characters and a breathtaking combination of traditional and computer animation techniques.200lasgow: MGM Parkhead. Central: Allanpark. Strathclyde: Magnum. Odeon Ayr. All UCIs. I Belle II. JO. ( I8) (Luis Bunuel. France/Italy. I967) Catherine Deneuve. Jean Sorel. Michel Piccoli. IOO mins. The beautiful but bored wife of a surgeon spends her aftemoons 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. Also with short film Out (see Film News). Glasgow: GFT. IMMMWMW(PG)A new programme of animated shorts. including the Oscar-nominated The Sandman and Screen Play. and A Is For Autism. which won the Post Office McLaren Award at the I992 Edinburgh International Film Festival. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I II!!! III. ( I8) (Jean-Jacques Beineix. France. I986) Jean Hughes Anglade. Beatrice Dalle. I20 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 Illl G ‘I’ed’s MI: W (PG) (Peter Hewitt. US. I991) 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. Edinburgh: Cameo. ITIIOWTMOIPMVOIMUS) (Rainer Werner Fassbinder. W. Germany. I972) Margit Carstensen. Hanna Schygulla. Inn Hermann. 124 mins. In a sumptuous apartment lives a fashion designer. slavisth attended by her assistant. but the arrival of an attractive young woman whom the former wishes to use as a model changes the domestic power set-up. One of the great Fassbinder films. incisiver examining the way in which social positions influence romantic relationships. Glasgow: GFT. I Black llolte ( l5) (Bruce Beresford. US. I99l) Lothairc Bluteau. Aden Young. Sandrine Holt. Stirring version of Brian Moore’s tale of a I7th century Jesuit priest travelling across North America to a remote mission takes a realistic view of the 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. Edinburgh: Cameo. I III. VOIM (I8) (David Lynch. US. I986) Kyle MacLachlan. Dennis Hopper. Isabella Rossellini. 120 mins. In 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 the Mom (15) (Mick Jackson. US. I992) Kevin Costner. Whitney Houston. Gary Kemp. I30 mins. Avoid. Edinburgh: UCI.
I I”! I Til. ilood (IS) (John Singleton. US. I99I ) Cuba Gooding Jr. Larry Fishbumc. Ice Cube. Morris Chestnut. I I2 mins. A poignant depiction of life in the rundown suburbia of South Central Los Angeles by debut director Singleton. A group of teenage friends try to keep their heads above the never-ending flood of reprisal killings. but find that it is all too easy to get sucked into the violence. Ultimately moving and emotionally harrowing. Glasgow: GFT.
I Bram Stoker's Dracula ( I 8) (Francis Ford Coppola. US. I992) Gary Oldman. Winona Ryder. Anthony Hopkins. I28 mins. More gothic love story than out-and-out horror. Coppola's version is not the strict Stoker adaptation that many had hoped for. but is a visual feast nonetheless. Oldman taps his own dark. sexy. stormy self to create a powerful but sympathetic monster. while the rest of the cast range from the ineffectual to the overbearing. A rich and substantial vampire movie for our times. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: Magnum.
I WI (I8) (Bernard Rose. US. I992) Virginia Madsen. Tony Todd. Kasi Lemmons. 93 mins. Writer/director Rose (who brought us the memorable Paperhouse) transplants Clive Barker‘s short story ‘The Forbidden‘ to a run-
down Chicago housing block where a series or killings are blamed on Candyman. a hook- handed boogieman figure. The film‘s use of urban myth takes it well beyond the jumps and scares of the genre (although they aren‘t ignored either). to make it the most intelligent. disquieting horror film since Jacob '3 Ladder. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. All Odeons. All UCIs.
I 0.. F08 ( I8) (Martin Scorsese. US. I99l) Robert De Niro. Nick Nolte. Jessica Lange. Juliette Lewis. I27 mins. Scorsese‘s stunning remake of the I962 original leaves Silence of the Lambs pallid by comparison. De Niro is ten‘ifying 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. centn'ng on IS- year-old Danny (Lewis). make this an even more uncomfortable. but unmissable. top-notch scare- fest. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Central: Allanpark I A cm W (X) (Stanley Kubrick. UK. I97I) Malcolm McDowell. Patrick McGee. Michael Bates. I36 mins. One-off screening of long-banned Kubrick classic should be seen for its relevance to the current debate on film violence feeding into society. Droogs. milk bars. mindless violence. aversion therapy. Thurs I April only. Glasgow: Salon. I WI. Milt! (l5) (Alan J. Pakula. US. I992) Kevin Kline. Mary Elirabeth Mastrantonio. Kevin Spacey. 99 mins. How many more of these yuppie-households-in-peril movies can we take? The Parkers‘ family life is perfect until dodgy financial advisor Eddy Otis (Spacey) and his babetitious spouse move in next door. and Mr P. (Kline) decides to break a commandment or two. When she‘s found beaten to a pulp. he‘s suspect No. I. A contrived set-up that slides into absurd convolutions. Edinburgh: Odeon. All UCIs. I 0!!“ (i8) (Alison Maclean. New Zealand. I992) Marcia Gay Harden. Caitlin Bossley. William Zappa. 97 mins. After trashing a car and placing literary critic Christine in a coma. femme fatale Lane ends up in bed with an aspiring author by way of a manipulative friendship with his daughter. After an hour of disjointed set-up. Crush transforms into a ferocious. stricken drama that is. ultimately. absolutely compelling. Glasgow: GFT. I no WI. M ( l5) (Neil Jordan. UK. I992) Stephen Rea. Forest Whitaker. Jaye Davidson. I I2 mins. A disillusioned IRA terrorist strikes up a friendship with the black British soldier he has kidnapped. and subsequently finds himself in London and in love with the Iatter‘s girlfriend. A bold. unpredictable film that has plenty to say about notions of personal and sexual identity. If only all British movies were as good as this. Glasgow: GFT. I m ( 18) (Louis MaIIe. UK/Francc. 1992) Jeremy Irons. Juliette Binoche. Miranda ‘ Richardson. Rupert Graves. I l 1 mins. A Tory MP. headed for high office. drOps his parliamentary briefs in favour of his son‘s new girlfriend. David Hare's script is restrained and dispassionate. leaving the audience detached from the potential melodrama. A very English sexual repression pulled apart by French master Malle. Edinburgh: Cameo. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. I m (IS) (Maria Novaro. Mexico. I99I) Maria Rojo. Carmen Salinas. Blanca Guerra. 96 mins. Twice a week for ten years. Julia has met her mysterious partner Carmelo to dance the ‘danzon'. the Mexican dance of seduction. When he disappears. she sets out to find him. A powerful exploration of suppressed desires. Glasgow: GFT. I the Distinguished Section (15) (Johnathan Lynn. US. I992) Eddie Murphy..Lane Smith.
Sheryl Lee Ralph. I I2 mins. Con artist Murphy scams his way into Congress and discovers that Capital Hill is more a Bisto factory than a mere gravy train. No sense of a political satire here — even though Brit director Lynn brought us TV‘s Yes. Minister - as Murphy mils over all subtlety in this star vehicle. headed ever onward to a land of predictability. See review. General release.
I The MN. lite oi Veronique ( I5) (Krzystof Kieslowski. Poland/France. I99I) Irene Jacob. Philippe Volter. Alexander Bardini. l IO mins. Two girls — one Polish. the other French — are born at the same time on the same day and come to discover that their fates are bound up together. An eerily fascinating and disturbing erotic dance of love and death from the director of Dekalog (The Ten Commandments). with an extraordinary twin performance by Cannes award-winner Jacob. Glasgow: GFT.
I Em Em ( l5) (Agnieszka Holland. France/Germany. I99I) Marco Hofschncider. Julie Dclpy. Halina Labonarska. I l2 mins. In an attempt to avoid the death camps. a young Jewish 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 'bascd on a true story‘ caption as the excuse for all manner of unbelievable coincidences and laughable situations. A real disappointment. Strathclyde: UCI C lydebank.
I the Exorcist (18) (William Friedkin. US. I973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. I I0 mins. Eamest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scarey. dead priest. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Exorcist 2: The lieretic ( l8) (John Boorrnan. US. I977) Richard Burton. Louise Fletcher. Linda Blair. I I0 mins. The horror film that once turned heads receives an unworthy sequel in this silly mumbo-jumbo about priest Burton trying to understand the demons still lurking within the hapless Ms Blair. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I A Few Good idea (15) (Rob Reincr. US. I992) Tom Cruise. Jack Nicholson. Demi Moore. Keifer Sutherland. I38 mins. Navy lawyers Cruise and Moore are called upon to defend two suspected murders. but as the case develops. it becomes clear that their superior officers (Nicholson and Sutherland) may have had a role in the affair. A fine return to real acting for Nicholson and yet another engrossing piece of work from Reiner. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Dominion. Borders: Kinsway. All UCIs.
I Forever Young (PG) (Steve Miner. US. t992) Mel Gibson. Elijah Wood. Jamie Lee Curtis. [02 mins. A 8-52 test pilot volunteers for cryogenic experiments. gets frozen. then thaws out in I992. After befriending a young boy. off he goes to find his lost love. Escapist twaddle this may be. but it is a shimmering example of the Hollywood weepic machine at its best. Three packs of Kleenex and a box of chocs. See review and preview. General release.
I 1492: connuut of Paradise ( I5) (Ridley Scott. US. 1992) Gerard Depardieu. Sigoumcy Weaver. Armand Assante. I50 mins. The best of the Columbus fleet casts its protagonist in tragic idealist mode. a man whose dream of a egalitarian paradise is set against the harsher dictates of the Spanish imperialists. A visual masterpiece by Scott: a performance of truly heroic proportions by Depardieu. Fife: Adam Smith.
I The Slant of m (PG) Heroic nonsense from I960 Italy. when bodybuilders in skirts were all the rage for a series of historic epics. Part of the Gentlemen Prefer Bonds series. with a lecture by Richard Dyer. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Elm SIC. 3088 ( I5) (James Foley. US. I992) Al Pacino. Jack Lemmon. Ed Harris. Alan
Tim Bradford. NME
HILGRIOUS. SEE IT! "
Rachel Simpson, Daily Express
“British film comedy has made a (EIGHT LEG? from Eoling to Golder: Green"
“**** UTI'ERLY
I URGE YOU TO
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Produced and Directed by Gary Sinyor & Vadim Jean
Mark Frankel Janet Suzman Brian Glover Connie Booth David De Keyser Maryam ho Gina Bellman
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FROM FRI 2 - GROSVENER, ODEON GLASGOW ODEON, EDINBURGH
18 The List 26 March-8 April I993