FILM INDEX
FILM mm:-
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 Accidental llero (15) (Stephen Frears. US. 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 picking 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. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Alice (15) (Jan Svankmajer. Switzerland. 1988) 84 mins. Radical new version of the Lewis Carroll classic by brilliant Czech filnunaker Svankmajer. which has the protagonist as the only live action character making her way through a harsh dreamscape vividly conveyed through puppet animation and trick photography. Atmospheric treatment of cruel. childlike fantasies. which makes for absorbing viewing. but Disney it definitely ain‘t. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The American Friend (PG) (Wim Wenders. West Germany/France. 1977) Dennis Hopper. Bruno Ganz. 123 mins. Based on the Patricia Highsmith novel Ripley's Game. this excellent. existentialistfilm nm'r centres on an alienated Hopper at large in Germany. where his task is to locate and motivate a killer without a track record. Stining stuff. with all that eloquent desolation that typifies Wenders' work. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The Arabian lidrts (18) (Pier Paolo Pasolini. italy. 1974) Ninetto Davoli. lnes Pellegrini. France Citti. 130 mins. The last of Pasolini's medieval trilogy recounts several of the Thousand and One Nights stories framed by the tale ofa slave girl who becomes ‘king' of a great city. Liberal doses of sex. violence and anti- establishment blasphemy. Edinburgh: Cameo. I The Assassin (18) (John Badham. US. 1993) Bridget Fonda. Gabriel Byme. Dermot Mulroney. 108 mins. Scene-for-scene remake of 1990's Nikita. with emphasis on the action rather than moody contemplation. Fonda brings depth to her character (a teenage drug addict turned government killer). making this a Hollywood thriller with more emotional sympathy than most. in its own terms. easily as good a movie as the original: it‘s a case of same song. different singers. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: MGM. A11 UCls. I Bad WWUS) (Les Blair. UK. 1993) Stephen Rea. Sinead Cusack. Philip Jackson. 104 mins. North London life for an irish family and their friends is not exactly domestic bliss. but it brings to the surface gentle humour and genuine intimacy. An improvised drama with an intelligent eye for detail and a refreshingly relaxed viewpoint on the chaos of real life. Edinburgh: Cameo. I I.” (U) (David D. Hand. US. 1942) 69 mins. Disney at his cutest. purest best. A baby fawn enjoys life in the forest with his friends (Thumper the rabbit is surely one of Disney's most memorable creations). grows up. has a run- in with Man. and becomes Great Prince of the Forest. Nice animation. with touches of extreme
423293 F
13 Hyde Park Corner, Leeds L86 lAF. Tel (0532) 743753. Open 9.30-5.30 Mon-Sat and until 7.00 on Thursdays
SOFIE
The inheritors of lngmar Bergman are finally daring to poke their heads above the ramparts. After a long and distinguished career as a cinematographer, Sven ifyltvist steadied himself and pushed out an impeccably Scandinavian first film, The 0x. flow, one of Bergman’s lead actresses, l.iv llllmann, has got in on the act, with her own debut behind the lens. like liyltvist, she takes no chances, and plants herself firmly in period art-house territory for a family chamber piece centring on the gentle, put-upon woman of the title.
Sofie is a wistful exploration of a closed world: that of a Jewish spinster in tum-of-the-century Copenhagen, whose loyalties are claimed exclusively by her ageing parents. Although love comes calling in the shape of artist lioiby, Sofie suffers the fate reserved for the submissive - a dutiful marriage to unglamorous parental favourite Jonas. As you would expect from a film made by a top- calibre actress, much attention is paid to the minutiae of gesture and
Sofie: ‘wistful exploration of a closed world’
expression, to the precise depiction of characters and their relationships. It’s a thoughtful, reflective piece - hardly a show-stopper - and of considerable emotional depth. (Andrew Pulver) Sofie (15) (liv llllmann, Swe/llor/lien, 1992) Karen-Use Mynster, .lesper Christensen. 92 mins. From Fri 6: Glasgow Film Theatre. From Sun 8: Edinburgh Filmhouse.
tweeness. and a massive hankie count when Bambi's mum dies. General release.
I Benny and Joon (l2) (Jeremiah Chechick. US.
1993) Johnny Depp. Mary Stuart Masterson. Aidan Quinn. 98 mins. This off-centre romance between a mentally ill young woman and an eccentric who thinks he's wandered out of a silent comedy would have us believing that anyone with mental problems is a ‘loveable loony'. At times the film seems little more than an excuse to show off Depp‘s mime versitility. but by stressing kookiness instead of genuine confusion. it's patronising and misleading. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead.
I The Big Heat (18) (Fritz Lang. US. 1953) Glenn Ford. Gloria Grahame. Lee Marvin. 90 mins. Muscular thriller as ex-cop Ford tries to track down his wife's killer and nab a crime ring with the assistance of Grahame's sympathetic moll. Marvin is a blisterineg vicious villain. stubbing out cigarettes on a human ash-tray and scalding Grahame with the contents of a coffee pot. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Blade lit-met: The Director's Cut (15) (Ridley Scott. US. 1982/92) Harrison Ford. Sean Young. Rutger Hauer. 116 mins. Out go the pseudo-noir narration and the tacked-on happy ending: in comes a more defined sense that Deckard himself may be a replicant. The look and feel remain as powerful. and the acting is superb. A flawed masterpiece is now a restored masterpiece. Eidnburgh: Filmhouse.
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 ear 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: Filmhouse.
I Item (18) (Peter Jackson. New Zealand. 1992) Timothy Balme. Diana Penalver. Elizabeth Moody. 104 mins. You won‘t believe the fun that can be had with a rotary blade lawnmower. a cast of slobbering zombies and several hundred gallons of blood. Peter (Bad Taste) Jackson wrenches the King of Gore title away from Sam Raimi with this outrageous slapstick classic in which our nerdy heroes battles it out with the undead population of Wellington. Tremendous. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Broken Mirrors (18) (Marleen Gor'n's. Netherlands. 1984) Lineke Rijxman. Henriette Tol. Edda Barends. 116 mins. A murderer chains and starves his victims while taking photographs of their demise. In another part of town. a woman joins a brothel. These two plot strands come together in this frightening tale with a feminist slant (which is not allowed to overwhelm the genre thrills). Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Cliffhanger ( 18) (Renny Harlin. US. 1993) Sylvester Stallone. John Lithgow. Michael Rooker. Stallone returns to top form as a guilt-
ridden mountain rescue pro battling it out amongst the peaks in Colorado with a gang of hijackers. Spectacular vistas and stunt sequences ensure a white-knuckle. vertiginous experience from the comfort of your cinema seat. General release.
I m (18) (Louis Malle. UK/France. 1992) Jeremy irons. Juliette Binoche. Miranda Richardson. Rupert Graves. 111 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: Filmhouse.
I Ilarrcefllith Wolves: Special EditiontiS) (Kevin Costner. US. 1991) Kevin Costner. Grahame Greene. Mary McDonnell. 235 mins. New material adds surprisingly little to the overall impact of the story. although some more confusing issues - the abandonment of Fort Sedgewick — are cleared up. On the whole. however. it has nothing that the three-hour long Oscar winner didn't have already. Central: MacRobert. Fife: Adam Smith.
I newts (PG) (Nick Castle. US. 1993) Mason Gamble. Walter Matthau. Joan Plowright. 98 mins. He's blond. he's cute. he's American. his dog isn't a fluffball with teeth. At least the stripey jumper remains the same. But. then again. the Dennis of the US cartoon strip never was related to The Beano's arch-menace. When Dennis's folks go off on business. the mischevious little brat is left in the hands of his elderly neighbours: Home Alone scenario from the John Hughes stable. General release.
I ET (U) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1982). Dec Wallace. Henry Thomas. Peter Coyote. l 15 mins. An alien creature gets stranded on earth (the opening sequence of threatening legs and flashing torches is beautifully done). where he is adopted by some kids. who help him construct a communication device to summon back his spaceship. Glasgow: Odeon.
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. Glasgow: GFT.
I Falling Down (18) (Joel Schumacher. US. 1992) Michael Douglas. Robert Duvall. Barbara Hershey. 112 mins. A sacked defence worker abandons his car in a traffic jam and goes on an escalating rampage across Los Angeles. No mere vigilante movie this. but the zeitgeist movie of the 90s. drinking deep of White Middle-Class America's fears about its future. Actor Douglas and director Schumacher deliver their finest wgrk to date. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. All
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I The Fencing Master (12) (Pedro Oleo. Spain. 1993) Assumpta Sema. Omero Antonutti. Joaquim de Almeida. 88 mins. Madrid in the 1860s. and life is turbulent under the decadent Queen lsabella. particularly for swordsman Don Jaime de Astarloa. who is asked by the sultry
Adela to be her teacher. A fully-fledged political thriller. with its romance and melodrama restrained by more elevated concerns. Highly recommended. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Brotmdhog Dav (PG) (Harold Ramis. US. 1993) Bill Murray. Andie MacDowell. Chris Elliot. TV weatherman Phil Conners (Murray) finds hitnself in the back of beyond. trapped in an ever-repeating single day. Partying and babe- chasing leads to serious romancing as he goes after his producer (MacDowell). Murray‘s cuddly sarcasm stops the movie from becoming the kind of moralising mush that surrounds so many of his contemporaries. At last. a Hollywood comedy that is really funny. Edinburgh: Cameo. Odeon. UCl. I iiidden Agenda (15) (Ken Loach. UK. 1990) Frances McDonnand. Brian Cox. Brad Dourif. Mai letterling. 103 mins. One of Britain‘s most respected political film-makers takes on the big one — the security forces in Northern lreland. When an American lawyer is killed. details begin to emerge which are neither palatable nor — in the view of the British government - suitable for public consumption. Loach's research has revealed some unsavoury facts about Britain's record on civil and human rights. and he's not keeping them to himself. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I llouse of Angels (15) (Colin Nutley. Sweden. 1992) Helena Bergstrom. Rickard Wolff. Sven Wolter. 126 mins. A rural community's suspicions are aroused when the hip grand- daughter of a deceased landowner am'ves from the city with boyfriend and motorbike to take over his house. Englishman abroad Nutley effectively dissects the racism and bigotry of a small comtnunity with much humour. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I in The llealm at The Senses At No (‘urridtt (18) (Nagisa Oshima. Japan. 1976) 'l'atsuya Fuji. Eiko Matsuda. 105 mins. At last deemed fit for certification. Oshima's shockingly erotic film can now be publicly screened. in the militarist Japan of 1936. a couple enclose themselves in their own sensual world. their passion escalating until only death can provide the next orgasm. Masterly though necessarily extremely explicit look at the power of sexual arousal. which has attracted controversy throughout the world. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Incident At Oglala (PG) (Michael Apted. US. 1991 ) Apted's absorbing documentary. narrated by Robert Redford. examines the events surrounding the murder of two FBI agents at Wounded Knee in 1975 and the subsequent jailing of American lndian Movement activist Leonard Peltier. Because it lacks footage of certain key witnesses. however. the result is eye- opening but unsatisfying. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Indecent Proposal (15) (Adrian Lyne. US. 1993) Demi Moore. Robert Redford. Woody Harrelson. 117 mins. Suave bastard Redford offers poverty-stricken yuppies Moore and ilarrelson a million dollars if he can sleep with the lady and dilemma ensues. Killer base material. but Lyne makes a toweringly abominable film out of it. (.‘avemously empty stuff. a worse film than even The Bodyguard and likely to be every bit as successful. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: UCl. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank. I lndochine ( l2) (Regis Wargnier. France. 1992) Catherine Deneuve. Vincent Perez. Lihn Dan Pham. 156 mins. Lush. irresistably romantic tale of a French colonial (Deneuve) running a rubber plantation in 1930s Vietnam. who falls in love with a naval officer while the country borders on rebellion. Reminiscent of Gone With The Wind and the great epics of David Lean. its music is by Glasgow-born composer Patrick Doyle (Henry V). Central: MacRobert. I Jungle Book (U) (Wolfgang Reitherman. US. 1967) With the voices of George Sanders. Louis Prima. 78 mins. Growing up in thejungle. young Mowgli learns from the animals around him. Enjoyable Disney. a long way after Kipling. but the songs are wonderful. I Jurassic Park (PG) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1993) Sam Neill. Laura Dem. Jeff Goldblum. A group of scientists are invited to give their approval to a theme park filled with genetically engineered dinosaurs. but the giant reptiles are soon running amok. Unsurpassed computer effects ensure that the dinosaurs themselves are ten'ifyingly believable (moreso than the PG certificate would suggest). but by the halfway point. it's more or less a chase movie with superior technology. General release. I Just Another Girl on the 1111 ( I8) (Leslie Harris. US. 1992) Ariyan Johnson. Kevin Thigpen. Ebony Jerido. 90mins. The life and traumas of a Brooklyn fiy-girl. and the first major feature by an African-American woman. The film is certainly brassy enough. but less sure of its moral dimensions. dialogue and narrative flow. as heroine Chantel juggles relationships on a daily basis. See review. Glasgow: GF'l‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The Last Action Hero (15) (John McTieman. US. 1993) Arnold Schwarzenegger. Austin
18 The List 30 July—l2 August 1993