FILM INDEX
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I The Adventures Of Priscilla. Queen Of The Desert (18) (Stephan Elliott. Australia. 1994) Terence Stamp. Hugo Weaving. Guy Pearce. 104 mins. Two transvestites and a trans-sexual team up for a trip across the Australian outback for a drag show in Alice Springs. Serious issues pop up from time to time. brrt the emphasis is on the camp humour of the in-bus bitchiness and outrageous musical set-pieces. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I Alien Trilogy (18) (Ridley Scott/James Cameron/ David Fincher. LES. 1979/86/92) Sigoumey Weaver et a1. 116/137/114 mins. The complete story of Ripley and friend. from Scott's edge~of-the-seat suspense thriller. through Cameron's Rambo In Space. to Fincher's dark. atmospheric finale. A variety of styles and scares around every corner. Glasgow: GF'T.
I Amateur (15) (Hal Hartley. US. 1994) lsabelle Huppert. Martin Donovan. Elina Lowensohn. 105 mins. lsabelle. an ex-nun writing porn
New York: soon they find that his past is
dialogue and wit is ever present. btrt this time there are a few filmic jokes thrown in with references to specific genres and other movies. Glasgow: GET.
I Andre (U) (George Miller. US. 1994) Tina Majorino. Keith Carradine. Chelsea Field. 94 mins. This time it's the turn ()f a seal to keep the kids oohing and aahing. as the true story of Andre unfolds. Set during the early 60s in a small fishing town in Maine. the film has all the necessary elements — cute kid bonding with cute animal — and with a few adventure sequences in the plot that puts this fiippered hero in the Skippy/Champion/Rin Tin Tin class. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank.
I Angels (PG) (William Dear. US. 1994) Danny
Somehow “nde to SOfia‘ a pom ammqq‘ and t o ; night wandering around Vienna. '1 he actors give
violent corporate assassins. The patented Hartley 5
stories. meets amnesiac Thomas on the streets of
@‘@EON ‘
REN FIELD STREET, GLASGOW
WISE. Rob Roy (15) Muriel’s Wedding (15) Circle of Friends (15) Bullets Over Broadway (15) Dumb and Dumber (12)
Glover. Tony Danza. Brenda Fricker'. Released in the States as Angels In The Outfield. this particular baseball movie tells of a foster child named Roger who's the only person to hear and see the heaven-sent coaches who are helping his team rise from the bottom of the league. ‘The players and Roger discover the power of believing in dreams and finding the courage to never give tip hope.‘ says the press release. You‘ve been warned. All UCIs.
I Bandit Queen (18) (Shekhar Kapur. India. 1994) Seema Biswas. Nimial Pandey. Manjoj Bajpai. 119 mins. Using the story of Indian outlaw Phoolan Devi. Kapur savagely attacks the caste system and the way it allows men to continually abuse women. Hugely controversial in its home country (although it was funded by Channel 4). Bandit Queen is a major international film. and as far from normal lndian fare as Ken Loach is from an MGM musical. Central: MacRobeit.
I Barcelona (15) (“’hit Stillman. US. 1994) Taylor Nichols. Chris Eigeman. Tushka Bergen. 100 mins. As a follow-up to riletmpnlr'tan. writer-director-prtxluccr Stillman focusses on another group of young people who seem to converse solely through witty dialogue. The backdrop is interesting: a pair of American cousins get on each other's nerves in Barcelona during the 70s. a time when their countrymen were unpopular because of anti-NATO tensions. Glasgow: GET. Strathclyde: lfCI Clydebank.
I Before Sunrise (15) (Richard Linklater. US. 1995) Julie Delpy. Ethan llawke. Andrea Eckert. 101 mins. American lnter-Railer llawke and French student Delpy are the strangers 011 a train who strike up a chance conversation and spend a
career-best performances while director Linklater veers into Eric Rohmcr territory with a funny. sweet and fundamentally wise movie. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Beijing Bastards (15) (Zliang Yuan. China. 1993) 95 mins. Electric guitars. concerts.
music . . . youth culture expresses itself this way the world over. In China. however. it has a different twist. a political dimension. Nevertheless. [hang uncovers common concems with young Western adults. as he focuses more on minor life crises than the music itself. Glasgow: (iI'T.
I Bitter Moon ( 18) (Roman Polanski. L‘K/l-‘rance. !992) Peter Coyote. Hugh Grant. Errimanuelle Seigner. 134 mins. A wheelchair- botind novelist (Coyote) entraps a young
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9th Man of the House Kiss of Death 1 6th Bad Boys (18) 23rd Tank Girl (15) . Jefferson in Paris Clockwork Mice
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Englishman (Grant) with his tale of lust and perversion while on board a luxury liner. Polanski‘s dissection of the darker side of desire may not be to everyone's taste. but it certainly has its moments of outrageously black comedy. Glasgow: GET.
I Black Beauty (U) (Caroline Thomson. US/UK. 1994) Sean Bean. David Thewlis. Peter Cook. 82 mins. The most famous horse in children‘s literature retums in a faithful screen version by dcbtrt director Thomson. whose work as a screenwriter - The Secret Gan/en. Edward Seissorhands. The Nightmare Before Christmas — taps into a darker current of childhood vision. The pace sets off at a gallop. and should intrigue adults as well as younger viewers. Glasgow: Cannon. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Fife: Glenrothes.
I Black Rain (15) (Shohei lmmamura. Japan. 1989) Yoshiko Tanaka. Kazuo Kitamura. Etsuko 1chihara. 123 mins. lmmamtrra's adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Masuji lbuse liorrifyingly depicts the devastation of Hiroshima by the first atomic bomb. and explores the despair of the survivors uncomprehendingly condemned to a slow death by the contaminated black rain that falls shortly afterwards. Seriously interrtioned and extremely moving attempt at ptrttirig on screen events that. although they should never be forgotten. probably remain unfilmable. Followed by a discussion with Emmanuel ()liver of No More Hiroshima. Glasgow: GET.
I Boy Meets Girl (18) (Ray Brady. UK. 1994) Tim Poole. Danielle Sanderson. Margot Steinberg. 93 mins. Boy meets girl. Boy goes home with girl. (iirl drugs boy. Girl tortures. burns. maims. humiliates. kills boy — and does it all on video for her future enjoyment. A distressing. low budget British movie with a vicious humour. suggesting it's all a big. sick joke that also has serious questions to raise about sexual power-play and our never-ending
fascination with human cruelty. See preview.
Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Boys On The Side (15) (Herbert Ross. VS. 1995) Whoopi Goldberg. Drew Barrymore. Mary Louise Parker. 117 mins. Raucous black lesbian Goldberg anti shyly romantic ride-share Parker are off to discover a new life; en route they save abused Barrymore from her drug- dealer boyfriend. When Barrymore discovers she's pregnant. the trio show sisterly solidarity and set irp house together. Though the characters may sound like crude archetypes. the sheer strength of the performances invests them with humanity. Girls’ night out movie of the year. General release.
I Bram Stoker's Dracula ( is) (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. btit is a visual feast nonetheless. Oldman taps his own dark. sexy. stormy self to create a powerful btit 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: Carueo.
I Bullets Over Broadway ( 15) (Woody Allen. US. 1994) John Cusack. Dianne Wiest. Chazz Palminteri. 105 mins. Self-absorbed playwright [)avid Shayne (Cusack) compromises all the way down the line as he attempts to get his new masterpiece staged — he‘s willing to cast a gangster's girlfriend for the necessary funding and take writing tips from her streeiwise bodyguard. Allen‘s emphasis is on witty dialogue and strong perfonnances. which gives the film a slightly theatrical feeling. Glasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh: Odeon.
I Bye Bye love (PG) (Sam Weisman. US, 1995) Matthew Modine. Randy Quaid. Paul Reiser. 105 mins. Three-divorced fathers. their ex- wives. their current partners and. inevitably. the kids caught in the middle flesh glide through some formulaic comedy-drama in what could well be a hastily revised draft of a TV series that never got the green light. It's not that the acting and direction are bland. they‘rejiist so lightweight. they might as well not be there at all. General release.
I Cabaret ( 18) (Bob Fosse. US. 1972) Lin Minelli. Joel Grey. Michael York. 124 mins. ln divinely decadent early 1930s Berlin. singer Sally Bowles wows them at the notorious Kit Kat Klub. encounters the beginnings of Nazism and shares her pretty English boyfriend with a gay baron. Stylish and invigorating Broadway musical tumed Oscar-winning cinematic landmark. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Circle Of Friends (15) (Pat O'Connor. US/UK. 1994) Chris O'Donnell. Colin Firth. Minnie Driver. 102 mins. A group of friends meet and socialise together as a relief from their college studies in Dublin. with love and disappointment inevitably rearing their heads. A slice of life in 1957 Ireland — so parochial it might as well be another planet -— O'Connor's adaptation of Maeve Binchy‘s novel is faithfully
HIT LIST fl
Catch the best Film thi fortnight.
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I Rob Roy When he is betrayed by the Marquis of Montrose. Rob Roy MacGregor fights to win back the honour of his name. Alan Sharp’s script is a masterpiece; Michael Caton-Jones‘s film is intelligent. literate and entertaining. General release.
I Ed Wood Tim Burton’s biopic of Hollywood’s worst ever director is an affectionate tribute to artistic vision. boldly shot in black-and- white and enthusiastically acted by the entire cast. General release.
I Little Odessa Twentysornething writer-director James Gray’s debut is an elegaic. downbeat tale of a young hitman for the Russian Jewish mafia in New York. Edinburgh: Film/rouse. I Clerks Lewd. crude and very rude, Kevin Smith‘s hilarious take on slacker life and philosophy behind the cash register is a masterpiece of low-budget filmmaking. Glasgow: GI’T
I Muriel’s Wedding Upbeat fun from Australia as ugly duckling Muriel sets out to find her Prince Charming. while singing along to some Abba ditties. General release. HEPEHTORY
I Eyes Without A Face Georges Franju‘s 1959 horror masterpiece — which caused a scandal at the Edinburgh Film Festival 0fthat year - is reissued iii a new print. Glasgow? CF]:
I Black Rain The most recent film by Shohei lmamura — subject ofa major retrospeCtive at the 1994 Drambuie Edinburgh Film Festival -— is an almost unbearably sad vision of the atomic bombing of Japan. Glasgmr: GF]?
recreated but too lightweight. General release.
I Citizen Kane (PG) (Orson Welles. US. 1941) ()rson Welles. Joseph Cotten. Agnes Moorehead. 119 mins. Stunnineg successful biographical mosaic centring on a Hearst-like media tycoon. Welles' first film remains scintillating viewing for its sheer technical verve. narrative confidence and spellbinding per'foririanccs. The best film ever made‘.’ Who's arguing? Glasgow:
Cannon.
I Clerks (18) (Kevin Smith. US. 1993) Brian O'Halloran. Jeff Anderson. Man'lyn Ghigliotti. 90 mins. Just when you were sick of the very sight of the word ‘slacker'. along comes Clerks and gives the whole coriimercialisation of the Gen X lifestyle a good hard kick up the backside. Kevin Smith's hilariously foul dialogue peps tip the exchanges on life. sex and everyday living between bored convenience store check—out assistant Dante and equally bored video store manager Randal. Glasgow:
GET.
I Le Colonel Chabert (PG) (Yves Angelo. France. 1994) Gerard Depardieu. Fanny Ardant. Fabrice Luchini. 111 mins. 1n the post- Napoleonic years. a hero thought to be dead returns to Paris and tries to reclaim his rank and fortune from his now reman'ied wife. Angelo's directorial debut has strong similarities in its story to The Return OfMarti'n Guerre. but it
22 The List 19 May-l Jun 1995