INDEX FILM
Produced and based on a story and characters by Tim Burton. this is a real imaginative treat - deliciously dark stop-motion animation on the big screen. With Burton‘s first short. Vincent. about a young boy with an unhealthy inclination to be horror icon Vincent Price. General release. I Nikita ( l8) (Luc Besson. France. I990) Anne Pan'llaud. Tcheky Karyo. Jean-Hughes Anglade. Jeanne Moreau. II4 mins. Another exercise in stylish tosh from Gallic maestro Besson. ParilIaud stars as a junkie waif resurrected from her dreary existence by the enigmatic Karyo. an agent for the goy'emnient's most secretive undercover organistaion. and pretty soon she‘s a topnotch assassin. But does this make her any more fulfilled? Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Only The Strong (l5) (Sheldon Lettich. US. I994) Mark Dacascos. Stacey Travis. Geoffrey Lewis. 99 mins. Muscle-bound Dacascos teams up with former teacher Lewis and old flame Travis in order to clean tip the drug-riddled neighbourhood using the art of Capoeira. Join the dots plot and atrocious dtrbbing aside. this martial arts movie provides a fusion of dance. acrobatics and physical contact that's fun to watch in a senseless sort of way. See review. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. I The DutlaW (PG) (Howard Hughes. US. I943) Jane Russell. Jack Beutel. Walter Huston. Thomas Mitchell. Joe Sawyer. l2I mins. Offbeat Western taking a new path along the well trodden story of Doc llolliday. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. There were personal tensions on set (Hughes is reputed to have stormed out). and the not-always-sublitninal eroticism upset the censors. but there's enough sly humour and stunning photgraphy at play to compensate for any misgivings about the plot or the acting. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Pagemaster (U) (Joe Johnstone/Maurice Hunt. US. I994) Macaulay Culkin. Christopher Lloyd. 83 mins. Child-nerd Richard Tyler (Ctrlkin) bumps his head in the local library and finds himself transported into an animated adventure with a trio of book friends - Adventtrre. Fantasy and Honor - to keep him company. The moral is that discovering a role for yourself in fiction helps you confront real life. Luckily. the plot episodes come and go at a pace that suits the skirnpiest concentration span. bttt that doesn't hide the fact the animation is particularly dull. See review. General release.
I Peeping Tom (18) (Michael Powell. UK. I960) Karl Boehm. Moira Shearer. Anna Massey. A movie studio focus puller equips his camera with a spike and sets out to murder young women while filming the fear on their faces. Utterly reviled upon its initial release. Powell's daring examination of voyeurism as a metaphor for the cinema itself is now regarded as one of the most intelligent British films ever made. See feature. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Princess Caraboo (PG) (Michael Austin. UK. I994) Phoebe Cates. Jitn Broadbent. Stephen Rea. Kevin Kline. 97 mitts. A mysterious girl. gibbering away in a language that is clearly not English. charms early l9th century society and is proclaimed an Eastern princess. Part fable. part satire on the pretentions of the aristocracy. the dark psychological side of this true story is ignored in favour of charming period comedy and a is-she. isn't-she Summmersby style plot. See preview. Glasgow: MGM Filtn Centre. All UCls.
I Pulp Fiction (l8) (Quentin Tarantino. US. I994) John Travolta. Samuel Jackson. Uma Thurman. Bruce Willis. I50 mins. Much more ambitious than Reservoir Dogs. the most awaited second feature of the 90s has many scenes that crackle with Tarantino wit. atrd a few others that fall flat as the writer-director bravely experiments. Interlocking stories in the pulp crime manner concern hitmen. ailing boxers. gang bosses and their molls. drug fiends. and assorted riff-raff. This year's surprise Cannes Palrne d'Or winner is a trip. all the way. Glasgow: Odeon. MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCI. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. WMR. UCIs.
I Reservoir Dogs (18) (Quentin Tarantino. US. I992) Harvey Keitel. Tim Roth. Michael Madsen. IOO 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. MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse. Odeon. UCI.
I The Secret Adventures or Tom Thumb (12) (Dave Bonhwick. UK. I993) 60 mins. In a world where Eraser/rem! meets the Brothers Grimm. little mutant baby Toni flees from the humans who would experiment upon him. and travels wide-eyed through a post-industrial world in search of his parents. British stop- motion animation at its best. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Serial Morn ( l8) (John Waters. US. I994) Kathleen Turner. Sam Waterston. Ricki Lake. 93
mins. Underneath the apple-pie ideals of the Sutphins' model suburban home. mom Beverly is going to deadly extremes to keep her family nest feathered. The sickest. funniest American comedy to hop the Atlantic for ages. Waters latest adds a zesty twist of cruelty to satire on family values. political correctness and America's adulation ofcriminals in the media. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Seven Samurai (PG) (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. I954) Toshiro Mifune. Takahashi Sirnura. 200 mins. A group of timid villagers seek protection against the excesses of a bnrtal warlord by hiring seven heroic samurai. Seminal Japanese action picture. with a slow-building dignity matching the best of John Ford. and in its stylishly aesthetic handling of screen violence a profound influence on the likes of Sam Peckinpah. Highly recommended. Glasg0w: GFt. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I A Shadow Di Doubt (IS) (Aline lsserrnan. France. I992) Mireille Perrier. Alain Bashung. Sandrine Blancke. 106 mins. Without the screaming and aggressive hysteria of Ixulybirtl. Ladybird. lsserrnan manages to approach the minefield subject ofchild abuse in a more subtle btrt equally devastating manner. Twelve-year-old Alexandrine‘s accusations against her father send shockwaves throughout the family: but. like the authorities. we too must piece together the cltres as the film works like a sedate thriller reaching towards its elusive truth. Glasgow: GFI'.
I Shallow Brave (18) (Danny Boyle. UK. I994) Kerry Fox. Ewan McGregor. Christopher Eccleston. 90 mins. Three Edinburgh fiatrnates find their new co-habitant dead with a stack of money under his bed. so after performing a little DIY on the corpse. they reckon all their worries are over. Btrt the cops are closing in. there are two thugs after the money. and the psychological tension is beginning to show. Filled with dark humour and cynical one-liners. this Scottish thriller is bloody and intelligent enough to please the cult audience while remaining accessible enough to be a mainstream hit. See feature. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCI. Fife: New Picture House. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. I Solo Sunny ( I5) (Konrad Wolf. E. Germany. I979) Renate Krossner. 103 mins. Sunny is a fiercely independent aspiring pop singer. finding that there's a price to pay for gleefully ignoring the conventions. for although she enjoys the freedom of her sexuality she‘s also looking fora real partner. An important milestone in the l980s renaissance of GDR cinema. this idiosyncratic filtn insists that socialist culttrre must find a place for the most marginal of characters. Glasgow: Goethe lnstitut.
I The Specialist (18) (Luis Llosa. US. I994) Sylvester Stallone. Sharon Stone. James Woods. I I0 mins. Crack explosives duo Stallone and Woods fall out when on the job. btrt soon find themselves going head to head once more when Stallone is ltrred out of retirement to provide a few bombs for Stone's revenge plot on the killers of her parents. Frequent loud bangs can‘t fool us into believing this is value for money. not can the steamy sex scenes hide the fact that there's no chemistry between the leads. As for the mess that is the plot - it‘s like chunks of raw meat flung onto a lazily tended barbeque. See review. General release.
I Speed (15) (Jan De Bont. IJS. I994) Keanu Reeves. Dennis Hopper. Sandra Bullock. II5 mins. A white-knuckle adrenalin ride that is the fastest. most finely tuned fairground attraction of the year. With LA SWAT man Jack Traven (Reeves) up against mad bomber Howat'd Payne (Hopper) in a tower-block elevator siege. a bus wired to blow if it drops below 50mph and LA's as-yet-unfinished subway. this is a movie that will leave you on a high for days afterwards. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse. Odeon. UCI. Fife: New Picture House.
I Strawberry And Chocolate ( 15) (Tomas Gutierrez Alert/Juan Carlos Tabio. Cuba/Mexico/Spain. I993) Jorge Perugotria. Vladimir Cruz. Mirta Ibarra. 110 mins. A straight Cuban sociology student becomes the object of affection for a older gay man. As their platonic friendship develops. they find themselves under pressure from the attitudes of other friends and ftorn the political regime. What begins — deliberately — in stereotypical fashion soon transcends sexual and social boundaries and assumptions. Glasgow: Gl-T.
I Tales Di The City ( IS) 150 mins. Your chance to see. on the big screen. the second half of the Channel 4/PBS TV adaptation of Armistead Maupin's novels about gay and straight life in 70s San Fransisco. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Taxi Driver (l8) (Martin Scorsese. US. I976) Robert De Niro. Cybill Shepherd. Jodie Foster. II4 mins. An alienated taxi driver in New York is so repelled by the squalor and the moral decay around him that he is driven to terrible violence. One of the key films of the 70s with the Scorsese-De Niro partnership at its peak. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I That's Entertainment III (U) (Bud Friedgen/Michael J. Sheridan. US. I994) II3 mins. Forget those sorry TV compilations of studio or star ‘highlights' - the third instalment of clips from MGM‘s vaults rediscovers a golden age of song and dance. Here is a selection of charming moments that didn‘t quite make the final cut. a bunch of set-pieces that will delight completists and rekindle memories for fans. Glasgow: GFT. .- Thelma & Louise (I5) (Ridley Scott. US. I991) Susan Sarandon. Geena Davis. Harvey Keitel. Michael Madsen. I29 mins. The buddy/road movie genres are trrmed on their heads as Sarandon and Davis grasp the steering wheel and head off leaving a trail of murder and mayhem in their wake. On one level. the film is the critical catalyst that had the feminists cheering and put the stars on the cover of 7ime magazine: just as importantly. it's an accessible piece of entertainment with excellent central performances. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould (U) (Francois Girard. Canada. I993) Colm Feore. Derek Keurvorst. Katya Ladan. 93 mins. Partly a homage to the 32 sections of Bach‘s Goldberg Variations. partly a radical approach to screen biography. this film tells the life-story of piano genius Glenn Gould without resorting to cliched archive footage. The acting is superb. the structure fascinating. the music as vibrant as ever. Rarely has the act of artistic creation been presented on screen with such creativity. Central: MacRobert. I Three Colours: Blue (15) (Kt‘zysztof Kieslowski. France. I993) Juliette Binoche. Benoit Regent. Charlotte Very. I00 rrrins. A young woman tries to isolate herself from friends and any notion of affection following the death of her composer husband and child iii 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. it) a film of profound beauty. is the best of her career. Edinbttrgh: Filmhouse. I Three Colours: Bed (15) (Ktzysztof Kieslowski. France/Switzjl’oland. I994) Irene Jacob. Jean-Louis 'I‘rintignatit. 96mins. Kieslowski's tricolour trilogy comes to a close with what may be his greatest masterpiece. A Swiss model (Jacob) discovers that a retired judge ('l‘rintignant) is listening in to his neighbours‘ phone conversations; bttt instead of denouncing him. she too opens up her innermost secrets. Superficial details are stripped away as the director concentrates on parallel lives and interwoven destinies. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Tunecop ( I 8) (Peter llyarns. US. I994) Jean- (‘laude Van Damrne. Rort Silver. Gloria Reuben. 98 mins. Van Damme and partner Reubens are cops keeping an eye on time itself: when the duo travel back to I994 to investigate the mystery surrounding a powerful senator. personal agendas emerge. llyarns. director of 20/0 and Ulllltllltl. can handle the sfx of large-scale sci-ft. bill the narrative and performances tend to be dwarfed by the design. Nevertheless. one of the few gentrinely robust sci-fi movies arottnd. See review. General release. I To Die For ( l5) (Peter Mackenzie Litten. lfK. I994) Thomas Arklie. Ian Williams. Dillie Keane. I()l mins. When Mark (Williams) dies of AIDS. he returns (i/rmt-like to haunt his lover Simon (Arklic) who continues to cruise the clubs. An unambiguous tale with an affirmative belief that love. if allowed to survive as fond memory. cannot be severed by death. this low btrdget UK feature transcends the ‘worthy‘ tag. Glasgow: Gl-‘I‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I To live (I2) (Zhang Yirnou. llong Kong/China. I994) Ge You. Gong Li. .\'iu Ben. I25 mins. With a gentle injection of humour alongside the tragedy. Zhang returns to the epic scope of his earlier films. following the effects of history on an ttnimposing family. The ironies thrown tip by political changes. taking in the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. may have bizarrely comic consequences. btrt they also inflict pain at a grass-roots level. Ge You is a magnificent lead. Edinburgh: Filrrrhouse. I Tom And Viv (15) (Brian Gilbert. (IS/UK. I993) Willem Dafoe. Miranda Richardson. Rosemary lian'is. I25 mins. Not the most favourable portrait of the author of The ll’ttite/utttl. as the film centres on Eliot‘s role in the unnecessary committal of his wife in a mental asylum. However. the dialogue is stilted. the direction flat and Dafoe gives art uncharacteristically poor performance. Richardson. however. is more powerful in another of the ‘slightlv mad' roles she has made her own. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I True lies ( I5) (James Cameron. US. I994) Arnold Schwarsenegger. Jamie Lee Curtis. Tom Arnold. 141 mins. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I True Romance (18) (Tony Scott. US. 1993) Christian Slater. Patricia Arquctte. Dennis
Hopper. I I9 mins. Comic bookstore assistant Clarence meets. sleeps with and man’ies 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. UCI. Strathclyde: UCls.
I The Unbearable lightness of Being (18) (Philip Kaufman. US. I987) Daniel Day-Lewis. Juliette Binoche. Lena Olin. I67 mins. Ambitious adaptation of Milan Kundera's complex novel about a wotnanising Czech brain surgeon who falls in love for the first time with a doe-like small-town beauty at the time of the Russian invasion of I968. A dawdling and rather austere narrative is given some spice and interest by an ovenvhelming eroticism. a beautifully judged evocation of Prague and gorgeous photography. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Violent Streets (18) (Michael Mann. US. I981) James Caan. Tuesday Weld. I22 mins. Morose safecracker Caan seeks to better his life by starting a family. and taking on one last lucrative job. bttt the mob have other plans in store for him. Excellent psychological heist movie with Caan convincing as the thief with a heart and a brilliant setpiece robbery sequence. Director Mann went on to create Miami Vit‘t’. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I War or The Buttons (PG) (John Roberts. UK. 1994) Colm Meaney. Gregg Fitzgerald. John Coffey. 94 mins. The rivalry between two villages in the south west of Ireland is taken up itt childish skirmishes between local schoolkids. bttt soon their battles escalate. Colin Welland's script oozes Irish charm and a love ofchildhood. btrt the repetitive structure begins to wear thin. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Wedding Banquet (15) (Ang Lee. US/l‘aiwan. I993) Winston Chao. May Chin. Silrttrrg Lung. Alt-Lea Gua. 107 mins. A successful naturalised American lives happily with his gay lover irt Manhattan trntil pressure from his parents in Taiwan forces him to tnatry a young Chinese artist in need of a green card. But when mttrn and dad jtrrnp on the next plane for the wedding celebrations. a farcical situation becomes emotionally tense. Funny and serious in perfectly balanced measure. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Wes Craven's New Nightmare ( 15) (Wes Craven. I'S. I994) lleather Langenkamp. Robert linglund. Wes Craven. l l2 mitts. A disturbing. [)OSI-lllOdClll take on the Elm Street series in which the original director reworks. reassesses and revitalises the moribund Freddy mythology by casting himself and other associates as themselves and their fictional counterparts. Don't be fooled by the certificate — there's some creepy. subversive sttrffgoing on here. See review. General release.
I What’s Eating Cilbert Crane? ( 12) (Lasse llallsttotn. I'S. I993) Johnny Depp. Juliette Lewis. Leonardo Di (‘aprio ll8 mins. For once. Depp is the sole figure ofcaltn in an oddball world. the oldest son in a dysfunctional family
u. ho live in a neurotic Iowa backwater. Only when holiday-maker Lewis arrives does lte begin to consider his own feelings. With one eye on detail. the other on the absurd. director Lasse (My Life As A Dog) llallsttotn 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: Gl-‘l‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Wings Of llonneantise (15) (lliroyuki Yamaga. Japan. I994) With the voices of Robert Matthews. Melody Lee. Lee Stone. 12] mins. The best (mime feature since Akirtt is neither a splatterfest nor a techno-thriller. but a space race satire. Set in a parallel Earth. familiar yet different. it tells of an idealistic young recruit's attempt to become his country‘s first astronaut despite the military's hijackipg of the project. Great anitnation. an absorbing story line and even a touch of character development. Edinburgh: ()deon.
I Wyatt Earp (I2) (Lawrence Kasdan. US. I994) Kevin Costner. Dennis Quaid. Gene llackman. I9l mins. A sprawling epic portrait of the legendary lawman that attempts to get beyond the myth of the OK Corral by showing Earp to be pig-headed in his determination that family matters above all else. Unfortunater Costner is just too one-note to create a truly ambivolent character. bttt the close quarter gunfights are probably the most realistic ever put on the big screen. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Central: MacRobert.
I Ziegrield Follies (II) (Vincente Minnelli. US. I944) Il0 mins. Fred Astaire. Lucille Ball. William Powell. The Hollywood stars shine when impressario Florenz Ziegfield goes to heaven and plans another show. A blend of film i musical and stage revue — featuring Judy I Garland. Gene Kelly. Esther Williams and Lena Ilornc — which succeeds despite the stylistic clashes. Glasgow: Gl’l'.
The List I6 December I994—l2 January I995 37