FILM INDEX
BACARDI BLACK
Catch the best Fllrn this fortnight.
FIRST RUN I La Scorta Edge-of-seat tension never abates when the police bodyguards of a magistrate on Sicily come face to face with the mafia. Glasgow: GFT.
I What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Johnny Depp is the face of normality amongst some strange people in smalltown Iowa. Director Lasse Hallstrom casts an intelligent and sympathetic eye on romance and American neuroticism. Glasgow: MGM Sauchiehall Street.
I Four Weddings And A Funeral A very British style of romance hits batchelor Hugh Grant as he keeps meeting Andie MacDowell at church ceremonies. General release.
I Schindler’s list Spielberg’s talents mature with this multi-Oscar winning story of a German industrialist who saved 1 100 Jews from certain death during World War II. General release.
REPERTOIIY
I Whisky Galore The late Alexander Mackendrick’s Ealing classic, about wartime Scottish islanders boarding a shipwrecked cargo of whisky, has a charM, that is much imitated, never equalled. Edinburgh Film/rouse.
I Passion Fish Perfect performances and a magnificent script light the fire of John Sayles’ tale of a former soap star coming to terms with disability in the deep South. Glasgow: GFTI
follows mute Scotswoman Ada (Hunter) as she travels to 19th century New Yealand with her piano and daughter to enter into an arranged marriage. Soon she begins a passionate and erotic affair with her illiterate neighbour as the means of regaining her treasured instrument. Irnpeccable perfonnances lift this highly charged piece to the realms of classic cinema. undoubtedly one of the best films of the 90s. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse.
I Plates, trains and Automobiles t 15) (John Hughes. US. 1987) Steve Martin. John Candy. Laila Robbins. 92 mins. Hughes relinquishes his position as the most pertinent commentator on teenage woes and graduates with honours in the side-splitting adult comedy stakes. Martin is a harassed Chicago businessman desperate to return home from New York for Thanksgiving. After missing the last flight home he undergoes a series of fraught misadventures. reluctantly enduring the accident-prone Candy as travelling companion. Predictable and sentimental Odd Couple road movie which is nonetheless genuinely funny. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. I Primate (15) (Fred Wiseman. US. 1974) 105 mins. Research done on apes. chimpanzees and gorillas is. perhaps. only a step away from sticking electrodes on humans. Master documentarist Fred Wisernan captures the cold efficiency with which these experiments are carried out. forcing us to ask ourselves whether they achieve more good than bad. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Remains of the Day (U) (James Ivory. UK. 1993) Anthony Hopkins. Emma Thompson. James Fox. 134 mins. A butler reminisces on the pre-WW2 days he spent in Darlington Hall.
when he turned a blind eye to his employer's dealings with the Nazis and his own feelings for the housekeeper. One of Merchant-Ivory's best. with Hopkins the epitome of English emotional repression. Glasgow: GET.
I Reservoir Dogs ( l 8) (Quentin Tarantino. US. 1992) Harvey Keitel. Tim Roth. Michael Madsen. 100 mins. A gang of hoods. known only to each other by colour-coded nicknames. meets at an abandoned warehouse to figure how out their rigorously planned heist went so drastically wrong. The best debut in years from writer-director Tarantino. whose stylish violence seduces the audience into complicity. Brilliant in every sense of the word. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Cameo. ()deon. Filmhouse.
I Rookie or the Year (PG) (Daniel Stern. US. 1993) Thomas Ian Nicholas. Gary Busey. Dan Iledaya. Daniel Stern. Having survived as one of the City Slickers trio. Stern now gets to try his hand behind the camera with that genre that always strikes out on UK turf — the baseball movie. This is very much a kid's movie. a modern fairytale about a lZ-year-old boy whose clumsiness on the field turns around when he breaks his arm. only to recover as a top pitcher. Really. why bother? See review. Glasgow: ()deon. MGM The Forge. Edinburgh: Odeon. lJCI. Strathclyde: both UCls.
I Russian Pizza Blues (15) (Michael Wikke/Steen Rasmussen. Den/Nor/Swe. I992) 87 mins. A midsummer night in Copenhagen that dwells on the affection felt by various duos — man and woman. father and daughter. two brothers — told with low-key dialogue in four intertwinging episodes. Edinbtrrgh: Filmhorrse. I Schindler‘s list (15) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1993) Liam Neeson. Ralph Fiennes. Ben Kingsley. 195 mins. Dtrring WW2. Gennan industrialist and Nazi Party member ()skar Schindler saved the lives of over a thousand Jewish employees by demanding they work in his factory rather than be sent to Auschwitz. Spielberg's magnificent movie and Neeson's performance capture this enigmatic brand of heroism. while depicting traumatic events in documentary-like black-and-white images. Psychologically complex. emotionally devastating and artistically irnpeachable. this is one of the best films ever made. General release. I La Scorta (18) (Ricky Tognazzi. Italy. 1993) Claudio Arnendola. Enrico Lo Verso. Carlo Cecchi. 95 mins. Inspired by the real life story of a magistrate who moved frorn nothem Italy to the Mafia stronghold of Sicily. this is a searing. edge-of-seat thriller concentrating on the bravery. dedication and comradeship of his personal police escort. The tension never lets off Glasgow: GET. '
I The Secret Rapture (15) (Howard Davies. UK. I994) Juliet Stevenson. Joanne Whalley- Kilmer. Penelope Wilton. Neil Pearson. Alan Howard. 95 mins. Adapted for the screen by David Hare from his own stage play. this violent family drama centres on the personal lives and business interests of two sisters (Stevenson and Wilton). which are disntpted when their father dies. leaving their young. glamorous and dangerously alcoholic stepmother behind. Chosen by The List and the Cameo for this month‘s readers’ preview. A Secret Rupture opens at the Cameo on Fri 3 June. and will be covered next issue. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Shadowlantts (U) (Richard Attenborough. US.
1993) Anthony Hopkins. Debra Winger. Joey Mazzelo. 131 mins. The true story of Oxford don and children's novelist CS. Lewis who. late in life. married feisty American divorcee Joy Gresham. only to lose her to cancer a few years later. Superlative acting from all concerned. with Hopkins opening his emotions more than trstral and Attenbororrgh showing that he can work effectively on a detailed. intimate canvas. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Dominion. Filmhouse. Borders: Pavilion.
I Shadows and Fog (15) (Woody Allen. US. 1991 ) Woody Allen. Mia Farrow. John Malkovich. 86 mins. Late release for Allen's homage to/pastiche of early Fritz Lang. Allen is the innocent Kleinrnan. forced tojoin a vigilante group when a serial strangler terrorises an anonymous mittel-European town in the 19
Os. A showcase for the writer/director's talents for dark tragedy and one-line slapstick. Glasgow: GET.
I Sister Act 2: Back in the habit (PG) (Bill Duke. US. .1993) Whoopi Goldberg. Kathy Najimy. Maggie Smith. 107 mins. Her Whoopiness is back as Sister Mary Clarence. helping Mother Superior Smith and the other nuns knock some knowledge into San Francisco's underprivileged. But the baddies are about to close the school down. and time is running out before the all-state choral championships . . . Chequebook cinema at its worst. predictably churning out a slew of
musical numbers. but absolutely no decent jokes.
Edinburgh: UCl.
I Sorcerer (IS) (William Friedkin. US. I977) Roy Scheider. Bntno Cremer. Franscico Rabal. 122 mins. William (Tlte Exorcist) Friedkin’s remake of C louzot‘s classic Wages ()th'ur is as gripping as the original. it just doesn't quite have the same style. Scheider heads the team of four men on the run through a South American jungle road in a lorry full of nitro-glycerine. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Spider's Stratagenr ( 15) (Bernardo Bertolucci. Italy. 1970) Cruilio Brogi. Alida Valli. Tino Scotti. Allen Midgett. 97 mins. Returning borne to investigate the defacement of his heroic father's memorial. Athos Magnani (Brogi) discovers a world of mysteries. omens and ambiguities. Bertolucci's version of the Borges' short story shows the director at the height of his powers. Glasgow: (ii-"1'.
I Stolen Spring ( l8) (Dentnark. I993) 93 mitts. A group of ex-pttpils meet at a school reunion. and flashback to the murder of their [arm teacher a few decades earlier. An impressive thriller that also touches on how age manipulates memory. Edinbtrrgh: Filmhouse.
I A Strange Place To Meet (15) (Francois Dupeyron. France. 1988) Catherine Deneuve. Gerard Depardietr. Nathalie Cardone. 97 mins. Debut director Duperyon‘s filrn has a certain appealing quirkiness. A man pulls into a lay-by. throws his wife frorn a vehicle and speeds off. It) the adjacent cafe Deneuve. certain that hubby will repent and return. remains and here she meets the lay-by's other resident. Depardieti. a doctor hiding frotn life. The two bring a gentrrne credibility to their rather odd roles in this emotionally intense yet curiously distanced movie. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Striking Distance (18) (Rowdy Ilcrr'ington. US. 1993) Bruce Willis. Sarah Jessica Parker. Dennis Farina. 101 mins. A fifth generation Pittsburgh cop (Willis) is demoted when he accuses the department of covering tip the murder of his father. Along with his new partner (Parker). he does a little investigation work of his own. It's all development and no pay-off as car and boat chases alternate with Broocie getting dtrffed up and some gratuitous snogging. A real disappointment. Edinburgh: l'Cl. Strathclyde: Magnum.
I The Tanner’s Tale 16 mins. A one-off screening of a new short by a collective of young Scottish film-makers. which tells the story of William Wallace and the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Made on location near Dunblane. the film has already been selected for the Third Madrid Arts Festival. and recently played to acclaim at the Leeds International Film Festival. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Three Colours: Blue (15) (Krzysztof Kieslowski. France. 1993) Juliette Binoche. Benoit Regent. Charlotte Very. 100 mins. A young woman tries to isolate herself from friends and any notion of affection following the
death of her composer husband and child in a car
crash. btrt she cannot escape from the fragments of his unfinished composition. in which she played a major part. An expressive and symbolic film that is also emotionally satisfying. Binoche's award-winning performance. in a film of profound beauty. is the best of her career. Fife: Robins.
I The Three Musketeers (PG) (Stephen Herek. US. 1993) Chris O'Donnell. Charlie Sheen. Kiefer Sutherland. Oliver Plalt. l()(i mitts. Young D'Attagnan (O'Donnell) learns up with a trio of the king‘s bodyguard and together they set otrt to foil the evil Cardinal Richelieu’s plans. save the rnonarcy. snog the wenches. drink their fill and do what 17th century French heroes have to do. (inpretenlious valtre-for-money entertainment that bears a passing resemblance to a novel by Alexandre Dumas. Fife: Adam Smith.
I Tombstone (15) (George 1’. (‘osmatos CS. 1993) Ktrtt Russell. Val Kilmer. Sam Elliott. Bill Paxton. 129 mins. Events before. during and after the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral with a reasonably big name cast depicting the actions of the Earp brothers. Doc llolliday et a1. Old-fashioned style western with familiar story and style places the emphasis on OK. Slrathclyde: Magnum.
I True Romance ( l8) (Tony Scott. US. 1993) Christian Slater. Patricia Arquettc. Dennis Hopper. | 19 mins. Comic bookstore assistant Clarence meets. sleeps with and marries novice hooker Alabama within a matter of hours. then the lovebirds find themselves on the run with an accidentally stolen case of cocaine. Limelight- stealing cameos and writer Quentin Tarantino's verbal set-pieces fire this excellent movie. the epitome of disposable pop culture for the fast- food generation. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I ZWII A Space Odyssey (If) (Stanley Kubrick. [IS/UK. I968) Keir Dullca. Gary Lockwood. 141 mins. Celebrated visionary epic about the history and future of the human race. superbly
sponsored by BAC A R DI B LAC K
crafted and directed by Ktrbrrck. It needs the big screen to do real justice to the famous sequences on the development of man and the landing of the mysterious monolith. One of the great classics of modem cinema. Slrathclyde: UCI East Kilbride. I Uncle Buck ( l 2) (John Hughes. US. 1989) John Candy. Amy Madigan. Gaby Hoffman. 100 mins. Ilughes’ prolific career as maestro of teenage angst continues. Candy's Buck initially appears to be an overweight. clumsy. tactless slob. the last person you'd cast as childrninder. btrt here he gets the chance to tend to his brother's kids for the weekend. The result is a typically well plotted llughesian fable. exploring the troubled relationship between rrriddle age arid confused adolescence. as the characters release their lempestuous frustrations before finally arriving at mutual understanding. Slrathclyde: 17Cl Clydebank. I Vanishing Point ( 18) (Richard Sarafian. US. 1971 ) Barry Newman. Cleavon Little. Dean Jagger. 107 mins. Road thriller. with Newman having to delrver a car frotrr Denver" to San Francisco in record time. alerted to police presence by a DJ churn. Vaccuous stttff. bttt the sltttlls satisfy. the 70s rock soundtrack thumps away and generally the mood is for entertainment. not substance Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I les Visiteurs (I’Ci) (Jean-Marie Poire. France. 1993) Christian ('lavier. Jean Reno. Valerie l.enrercier. 105 mins. Monty Python meets Don Quixote as a 12th century knight and his smelly servant are pitched forward in titne to modern- day litancc after drinking a magic potion. An enjoyable blend of buffoonery. action. romance and satire. it has broken all French box office records of the last decade. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The Wedding Banquet ( IS) (Ang Lee. l‘S/l‘aiwan. 1993) Winston ('hao. May Chili. Sihung lung. Ali-lea (itta. 107 mins. A successful naturalised American lives happily with his gay lover in Manhattan until pressure from his parents in Taiwan forces him to marry a young Chinese artist in need of a green card. But when tntun and datl jump on the next plane for the wedding celebrations. a farcical situation becomes emotionally tense. Funny and S":t()llS it) perfectly balanced measure. (ilasgow: (ii-'1'. I Whale Nation Second of Roy Hutchins‘ two performances of lleathcotc Williams' eco- poetry. directed by fonner stand-up comic John Dowie. This time. the theme is humanity's massive. unthinking and short-sighted slaughter of our marine fellow-mammals. The programme continues with a screening of Luc Besson's Atlantis. a documentary study which goes some way to capturing the beauty and mystery of the world below the seas. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I What's Eating Gilbert Grape? ( l2) (Lasse llallstrom.1'S. 1993) Johnny Depp. Juliette Lewis. Leonardo Di Capfio. 118 mins. For once. Depp is the sole figure of calm in an oddball world. the oldest son in a dysfunctional family who live in a neurotic Iowa backwater. ()nly when holiday-maker Lewis an‘ives does he begin to consider his own feelings. With one eye on detail. the other on the absurd. director Lasse (My Life At A Dog) llallstrorn delivers a sympathetic romance surrounded by American foibles. The acting is superb from all concerned. A low-key wonder. one of the films of the year. Glasgow: MGM Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Whisky Galore (PG) (Alexander Mackendrick. CK. 1949) Basil Radford. Joan Greenwood. Jean Cadell. 82 mins. Much-loved Ealing comedy by the late Sandy Mackendrick. A ship canrying a cargo of whisky is shipwrecked off a Scottish island during wartime. so the locals decide it's time to wet their thirst. Ftrll of wit and charm that others can only trope to erntrlate. Edinbtrrgh: Filmhouse. I Widows Peak (PG) (John Irvin. UK. 1993) Joan Plowright. Mia Farrow. Natasha Richardson. 101 nrins. The women-only enclave of Widow‘s Peak is thrown into disarray when glamorous American Edwina Broorne (Richardson) arrives in the quaint Irish village of Kilshannon. Suddenly the dominating rule of Mrs Doyle Counihan (Plowright) is under threat. Slightly stereotypical. Widow-fr Peak harks back to the witty charm of the Ealing comedies and those days when dialogue mattered. I Wild At Heart ( 18) (David Lynch. US. 1990) Nicholas Cage. Laura Dern. Diane Ladd. Willem Dafoe. 127 mins. Lynch‘s much-hyped Cannes prize-winner turns out to be weird and wondrous in its own way. if not quite as cohesive as the earlier Blue Velvet. Cage and Dern are the energetic young lovers on the run. pursued by ultrastrange hitrnan Dafoe on a sometimes comic. sometimes disturbing. trail towards the ultimate rendezvous with Elvis and the Wizard of 07.. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
28 The List 20 May—2 June 1994