FILM INDEX
FILM maz-
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Full length reviews of new releases can be found in the Listings section wich follows. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I The Abyss ( 15) (James Cameron. CS. 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 tnade almost entirely underwater. Though Cameron has opted for a more contemplative exercise in tension. the intertwining of 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: Catneo.
I Accidental llero ( 15) (Stephen Frears. LS. 1992) Dustin Hoffman. Geena Davis. Andy Garcia. 117 mins. Professional loser Bernie LaPlante (Hoffman) becomes a national hero when his fuzzy image is captured on TV while saving lives (and pickitig pockets) after a plane crash. But it‘s fellow bum John Bubber (Garcia) who finds fame. fortune and a guilty conscience. Consistently funny satire on heroism with a stand-out performance by Hoffman. See review. Glasgow: Odeon. MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: Odeon. All 13(‘ls.
I Alter 08k, My Sweet ( 18) (James Foley. LS. 1990) Jason Patric. Rachel Ward. Bruce Dem. 114 mins. A faithful film version of the book by cult 50s novelist Jim Thompson. The plot centres on an infernal triangle of passion and deceit. involving an ex-boxer. his devious lover and her side-kick. Foley‘s intensely physical lilm is skilfully choreographed throughout. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Airplane (PG) (Jim Abrahams. Jerry and David Zucker. CS. 1980) Robert Hays. Julie Hagerty. Peter Graves. Lloyd Bridges. 87 mins. Ted Striker endeavours to overcome his problems and fly again when the pilots Rodger and Under flake out on him in this liilarious spoof of every old cliche in every old disaster movie ever made. The laugh-a-minute pacing keeps it flowing along and helps keep the groaning to a minimum. Fife: New Picture House. I Alive ( 15) (Frank Marshall. CS. 1992) Ethan Hawke. Vincent Spano. Josh Hamilton. 126 mins. Based on the true story of a 1'raguayan rugby team who survived a plane crash in the Andes by eating the ice-packed corpses of their fellow travellers. After a hair-raising crash sequence. the film loses its way with with too much ‘triumph of the spirit‘ TV movie stuff. Come back Cannibal Holomuxt. all is forgiven. See review. Glasgow: MGMs. Edinburgh: Cannon. All UCls. I [as Amants do Pont-lleut ( 18) (Leos Carax. 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. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbridc.
I Amazing Grace (18) (Amos Gutman. Israel. 1992) 95 mins. A teenage boy living in Tel Aviv becomes attracted to a handsome visitor. who is HlV+. A study of dysfunctional families and
brief moments of love set in Israel‘s gay tnilieux. Seventh Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT. Central: MacRobert.
I Beauty and the Beast (U) (Gary Trousedale/Kirk Wise. US. 1991) With the voices of Paige O‘Hara. Robby Benson. Richard White. 8-1 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. Central: Regal.
I Belle lie Jour ( 18) (Luis Bunuel. 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 btit 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. \‘l'onderfully amoral comedy of manners. Fife: New Picture llotise.
I The Big Blue ( 15) (Luc Besson. France. 1988) Rosanna Arquette. Jeai)-.\larc 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 Arqtiette. A commercial smash in its native France. Besson‘s film is a stunningly photographed visual experience in varying shades of blue. liven if the plot is a load of tosh. the dolphins are nice. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I eig Wednesday (PG) (John Minds. 178. 1978) William Katt. Gary Btisey.Jan-Y\1ichael Vincent. 120 mins. Re-release of Milius‘s autobiographical surfing movie. which follows the lives of three buddies riding through the 60s and early 7()s on the crest of a wave. The director‘s most audience- lriendly work has gathered something of a cult reputation: here‘s your chance to see it as it was originally intended. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I eigloot and the Hendersons (PG) (William Dear. CS. 1987) John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon. Don Ameche. 111 mins. Disneyesque family adventure in which the all-American Henderson family crash into the legendary Bigfoot and adopt the suprisingly genial beastie as a domestic pet. Predictable complications ensue. involving the neighbours and bloml-hungry hunters. Edinburgh: St Brides Film Festival.
I Blue Black Permanent (PG) (Margaret Tail. Scotland. 1992) Gerda Stevenson. Celia lmrie. Jack Shepherd. 86 mins. Poetic but painfully obscure portrait of three generations of women. tied over the decades by love and death. As an art movie. 74-year-old Tait‘s feature debut has some beautiful images. based around water. sea and rain; but its muddled narrative is so distracting that much of the impact is lost. See preview and Screen Test. Glasgow: GFI'.
I Blue Collar ( 18) (Paul Schrader. CS. 1978) Richard Pryor. Harvey Keitel. Yaphet Koto. 114 mins. Downbeat slice of life set in the Detriot car industry as manual workers Pryor. Keitel and Koto discover that it's not the management but their own corrupt union that‘s responsible for their poor working conditions. Schrader‘s debut as director is a typically angry and cynical example of his early style. and the central twrformances have real credibility. Edinburgh: St Brides Film Festival.
I Body of Evidence ( 18) (Lil) tide). us. 1993) Madonna. Willem Dafoe. Joe Mantegna. 100 mins. 1)) her latest bad career move. Madonna is a woman accused of using her body as the lethal weapon that killed her wealthy lover. Dafoe is the lawyer trying to prove her innocence. but soon he‘s more interested in her areolae than her
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alibis and the only legal loopholes necessary are the ones she uses for bondage. The camera does not fall under Ms Ciccone's spell. her acting is terrible. and the movie seems destined to become a risible cut classic. General release.
I A Bout de Souffle Breathless ( l5) (Jean-Luc Godard. France. 1959) Jean-Paul Belmondo. Jean Seberg. 90 mins. A chic Parisian petty criminal (Belmondo) and his American ex- patriate girlfriend (Seberg) drift through a world of stolen cars and aimless romance towards an inexorable downbeat finale. Godard‘s debut feature provoked quite a stir in its day for its carefree arrogance with the conventions of filmic grammar. but today it stands as a casual love letter to the American B-movie crime picture. Glasgow: GFT.
I Bram Stoker‘s Dracula ( l8 ) (Francis Ford Coppola. US. 1992) Gary Oldman. Winona Ryder. Anthony Hopkins. 128 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 frotn the ineffectual to the overbearing. A rich and
substantial vampire movie for our times. Central:
MacRobert. Fife: Adam Smith.
I Candyman ( 18) (Bernard Rose. trs. (992) Virginia Madsen. Tony Todd. Kasi Lemmons. 93 mins. Writer/director Rose (who brought us the memorable Paper/muse) transplants Clive Barker's short story ‘Thc Forbidden‘ to a run- down Chicago housing block where a series of killings are blamed on Candyman. a hook- handed boogietnan 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‘s bidder. Edinburgh: UCl. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbride. WMR.
I Catwash ( 18) (Michael Schultz. US. 1976) Franklin Ajaye. Antonio Fargas. Richard Pryor. 97 mins. A day in the life of a car wash seen through the eyes and mouths of the underprivileged employees. Hip 7()s fun with funky soundtrack and clothes that should carry a health warning. Sat 1 May only. with disco. Edinburgh: Filmbouse.
I Changing Our blinds ( )5 ) (Richard Schmiechen. US. 1992) 77 mins. A tribute to the work of Dr Evelyn Hooker. who was instrumental in establishing that homosexuality was not a mental disorder. Using archive footage. this documentary shows her battles against a medical establishment that preferred ‘cure‘ homosexuals with lobotomies and electric shock treatment. With 17-minute short mUsical The Fairy Wilt) Did!) '1 Wall! To 81' xi Fairy Anymore. 7th Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Glasgow: Gl’l‘.
I Cheb ( 12) (Rachid Boucharb. Algeria. 1990) 82 mins. A teenage second-generation immigrant living in France is deported to Algeria. a country whose language and customs he knows nothing about. In the hostile environment of desert military service. he discovers what discrimination really means. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Claire of the Moon ( 15) (Nicole Conn. US. 1992) 106 mins. Stereotyped soap with a sexual twist as lesbian liaisons threaten to boil over at a writers‘ retreat. Groans and giggles aplenty. Seventh Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filtnhouse. Central: MacRobert.
I Un Coeur En iiiver A Heart In Winter (12) (Claude Sautet. France. 1992) Daniel Auteuil. Emmanuelle Beart. Andre Dussolier. 105 mins. A withdrawn violin maker becomes the object of desire for a young violinist who herself is the amour of the former‘s business partner. An elegantly trenchant chronicle of triangular relationships which moves with such graceful fluidity that it‘s easy to miss the toughness at its core. See review. Glasgow: GFT.
I The Coolt, The Thief. ills Wile And Her lover (18) (Peter Greenaway. UK. 1989) Michael Gambon. Helen Mirren. Alan Howard. Richard Bobringer. 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. Ccntring on Greenaway‘s obsessions with food. decay and infidelity. it‘s an unforgettably stylish tale of forbidden love and brutal revenge. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Creature From The Black Lagoon (18) (Jack Arnold. US. 1954) Richard Carlson. Julia Adams. Ricou Browning. 79 mins. Fifties‘ monster movie classic has a party of scientists on an Amazon expedition discovering a strange amphibious creature. the gill man. who proceeds to threaten the safety of the entire group. lmpressive underwater camerawork and some sympathy for the big green fella mark this out as
far superior to tnost of the genre. Edinburgh: St Brides Film Festival. I Crush ( 15) (Alison Maclean. New Zealand. 1992) Marcia Gay Harden. Caitlin Bossley. William Yappa. 97 mins. After trashing a car and placing literary critic Christine in a coma. femme finale 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. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Central: MacRobert. I The Crying Came ( 15) (Neil Jordan. UK. 1992) Stephen Rea. Forest Whitaker. Jaye Davidson. 112 mins. A disillusioned lRA terrorist strikes up a friendship with the black British soldier he has kidnapped. and subsequently finds himself in London and in love with the latter‘s girlfriend. A bold. unpredictable film that has plenty to say about notions of personal and sexual identity. lfonly all British movies were as good as this. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse. I Damage ( 18) (Louis Malle. UK/France. 1992) Jeremy lrons. Juliette Binoche. Miranda Richardson. Rupert Graves. 1 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. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. WMR. I Death Becomes ller (PG) (Robert Yemeckis. US. 1992) Meryl Streep. Goldie Hawn. Bruce Willis. 103 mins. An actress in decline and a frutupy author discover the secret of eternal life. and so are able to carry their mutual jealousy to outrageous extremes. A comedy that is surprisingly black. giver) the stars involved and the pressures on its $40 million budget. but which tends to get carried away with its distractingly impressive special effects. Glasgow: lvlercat. I Un lllmanche a la Campagne Sunday In The Country (PG) (Bertrand Tavernier. France. 1984) Louis Ducreux. Sabine Azetna. Michel Aumont. Genevieve Mnich. 94 mins. In rural France at the turn of the century. an ageing painter invites his family to his house. and in the course ofone summer day. their relationships. griefs and fleeting moments of happiness are explored in tender detail. as is the hoary question of life‘s relationship to art. A lilting. contemplative movie which reveals a good deal about Tavernier‘s own outlook on his life and work. Without subtitles. Edinburgh: French Institute. I The ulstlnguished Gentleman ( )5) (Johnathan Lynn. CS. 1992) Eddie Murphy. Lane Smith. Sheryl Lee Ralph. 112 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 rolls over all subtlety in this star vehicle. headed ever onward to a land of predictability. General release. I The Doors ( 18) (Oliver Stone. US. 1990) Val Kilmer. Meg Ryan. Kyle Maclachlan. Kevin Dillon. Frank Whalley. 141 mins. From the moment Jim Morrison joins a band and transforms himself into the Dionysus of the Love Generation until his bathtime demise as an overweight alcoholic. Kilmer‘s superb characterisation dominates to such an extent that the other actors struggle to assert themselves even one-dimensionally. Still. Stone's ‘tits ‘n' acid‘ version of The Doors‘ history. while selective and highly inaccurate. is never boring. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Edinburgh On Screen (U) One programme consists of two fascinating documentaries from the 60s the building of the Nicholson Street Co-op and a fashion show put on by employees of the Bread Street store. The second programme also features local shorts. including [an Rintoul's dramatisation of a German bombing raid on the Forth Rail Bridge. Thurs 29 and Fri 30 only. Edinburgh: St Bride‘s Film Festival. I The Exorcist ( 18) (William Friedkin. US. 1973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. 110 mins. Eamest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scarey. dead priest. Central: Regal. I The Fabulous Musicals (U) 90 mins. A compilation of some of the greatest song and dance moments from cinema's golden age. Wed 28 only. Edinburgh: St Brides Film Festival. I A Few Good Men (15) (Rob Reiner. US. 1992) Tom Cruise. Jack Nicholson. Demi Moore. Keifer Sutherland. 138 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. Strathclyde: WMR.