FILM INDEX
FILM _ .1111]?-
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I Alphavllle (15) (Jean-Luc Godard. France. 1965) Eddie Constantine. Anna Karina. Howard Vernon. 98 mins. Enjoyable mid-()Os Godard caper which turns contemporary Paris into Alpha 60. a chilly city of the future frortt which such concepts as love and tenderness have been banned. Enter Constantine's grizzled gumshoe Lemmy Caution and we‘re set for an extended and highly idiosyncratic homage to comic strip heroism. Glasgow: GFT. I Angels (PG) (William Dear. US. 199-1) Danny Glover. Tony Danza. Brenda Flicker. Released iii the States as Ange/s In The Orrtfielrl. this particular baseball m0vie tells of a foster child named Roger who‘s the only person to hear arid 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 up hope.‘ says the press release. You've been warned. Edinburgh: MGM. I Apollo 13 (PG) (Ron Howard. US. 1995) Tom Hanks. Bill Paxton. Kevin Bacon. 140 mins. ()ri 13 April 1970. an oxygen tank exploded on the service module of the Apollo 13 spacecraft. leaving three astronauts stranded some 200.000 miles from borne. Howard‘s screen retelling is a big. epic adventure with a proudly patriotic stance. The space photography is just fantastic and the acting as good as it gets. Great entertainment. if a little rich iii the apple pie department. General release. I Assassins (15) (Richard Donner. US. 1995) Sylvester Stallone. Antonio Banderas. Jtrliarttre Moore. l25 mins. Reflective Stallone is the best professional killer money can buy. but when he notices that an equally deadly rival (Banderas) is starting to ‘steal' some of his jobs. so begins a long. breathless and bloody chase. The familiar elements are in place. but given that the director is Lethal Weapon helmer Richard Donner and the producer is Joel Silver. you can be sure of plenty of explosive action for your money. See review. General release. General release. I The Bait L'Appat ( 18) (Bertrand Tavernier. France. I995) Marie Gillain. Olivier Sitrtrk. Bruno Putzulu. l 15 mins. Middle-class also-rans Nathalie and Eric. along with shady pal Bruno. try to get the cash to open up a fashion store iii America by robbing appartments of the rich. Tavernier's portrait of the iniquity of contemporary youth is repetitive and unconvincing; he labours the issue even while his cast give decent naturalistic performances. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Barnabo Of The Mountains ( 12) (Mario Brenta. ltaly. 1994) Marco Pauletti. Alessandra Milan. Marco Tonin. 124 mins. Ayoung forest ranger in the Dolomite mountains attempts to avenge the murder of his boss by a gang of smugglers. One of the most tedious filtns around. crippled by its agonised humanism and stretched out by pointlessly prolonged close-ups of natural details. like a bird hopping along a ledge. Yawn. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Batman Forever (PG) (Joel Schurnacher. US. 1995) Val Kilmer. Tommy Lee Jones. Jim Carrey. 122 mins. A lightening of tone has followed the departure of Tim Burton from the director‘s seat. meaning that this third effort is. in comparison. shallow. noisy and rather by-the- numbers. That said. no one will be asking for their money back. Added to the list of characters this time are Carrey's The Riddler and Jones's Two-Face — villains of truly hissable class — and another wannabe vigilante in the shape of orphaned Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell). Just don't expect the same dark forays into the shadows of the human psyche. Glasgow: Odeon. MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: UCl. Strathclyde: UCls. WMR. I The Big Sleep (PG) (Howard Hawks. US. 1946) Humphrey Bogart. Lauren Bacall. John Ridgely. Martha Vickers. l 14 mins. Marlowe gets caught up in the peccadilloes of the Stemwood family as he tries to stop a spot of blackmail. Needless to say. the broad knows more than she lets on. Witty. suluy. atmospheric. mainstream film noir with Bogey and Bacall doing their excellent double act. Glasgow: GFI‘. Fife: Adam Smith. I The Brady Illicit Hoyle (12) (Betty Thomas. US. 1995) Shelley Long. Gary Cole. Michael McKean. 98 mins. The makeshift Brady household is caught in a 703 timewarp of flares. groovey chicks and parental homilies. so while trying to pay off their back taxes. their
anachronistic attitudes clash with the moral ambiguities of the 90s. Kirsch and absolutely hilarious. this is the one ‘l‘V-to-big-screetr transition that has worked a treat. Showing witli an episode of cult T\’ series Delhi/turn” 5. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Braveheart ( 15) (Mel Gibson. 1'S. 1995)Me1 Gibson. Patrick McGoohan. Sophie Marceau. 177 mins. Mel Gibson's lottg arid bloody account of the life of Scottish warrior hero William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great performances. particularly McGoohan's merciless King Edward. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate Rob Roy. Brave/learns Scottish passion is tempered by a few Hollywood moments -- touches of sentimentality and ‘drarnatic' historical inaccuracy. Nevertheles. it’s a line. full-blooded attempt to tap into the spirit that fires Scotland's history and heroes (ietteral release. ‘
I the Bridges at Madison County r I 3 ) r( 'ltnt Eastwood. ['S. 1995) Clint Eastwood. Meryl Streep. ()4 lllllts‘. Robert James \Vallet is book maybe literary tripc. btil oile's adrirrtatlorr for director-star Eastwood increases a thousand fold. as he conjures one of ltrs llllt‘sl achievements as a filmmaker. It's a classic lotc story between a passing photographer and a woman whose husband attd children are oll' at the state fair. and Eastwood has created a work with real tear-stirring potency despite its ttltcr lack of sentiertlcntal gnshiness. General release. I Bullets Over Broadway ( I St (woody- Allen. US. 199-1) John Ctisack. Dianne Wresl. (‘ha/l Palrninteri. 105 mins. Self-absorbed playwright
David Shayne (Cusack) comproiirises all the way
dowtt the line as he attempts to get his new masterpiece staged — he‘s w illitig to cast a gangster's girlfriend for the necessary funding and take writing tips ftotrr her sttectw isc bodyguard. Allen's emphasis is on w ill) dialogue aitd strong perfot manccs. w Inch gives the film a slightly theatrical feelittg. Strathclyde: East Kilbride Arts Centre. ()deort :\)l. l'( 'l Clydebank.
I Butterfly ltiss ( 18) (Michael \\'rnleiboltom. UK. 1995) Saskia Reeves. Amanda Plummet. 88 mins. Winterbottom's striking road movie about two lesbian killers is clever. atmospheric and boasts sharp performances. btit it lacks errrpatlty at its core. There are tender moments between the two characters. btit they're botlt too w'acko for us to share any elcrnenls of htrrttanity w itlr them. If only more time ltad been spent setting things up. then we might have had a very haunting film indeed. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Captives (15) (Angela Pope. l'K. l995l'1’irn Roth. Jtrlia Ormond. Kettlt Allen. 99 mins. Despite its BBC roots (writer l‘dilllk Deasy also scripted the award-winning 'I‘lre (fl'th \ Arena and director Angela Pope has art impressive television CV). this British feature certainly deserves a big screen airing. not least for the excellent performances of its stars. ()rrnortd is a dentist who falls in love with a prison itrrttate (Roth). but finds herself caught between romance and thriller suspense when she sets about uncovering the details of his crime. Strathclyde: East Kilbride Arts Centre
I Barrington (18) (Christopher Hamptotr. CK. 1995) Emma Thompson. Jonathan Pryce. Steven Waddington. 123 mins. Hampton‘s debut as writer-director concentrates on the deeply loving. platonic relationship between Bloomsbury Group writer l.ytton Sitaclrey (Pryce) and painter Dora (‘ar'r'ington (Thompson). The film takes an episodic approach to their life together. letting the performances flourish. but providing some extremely funny arid literate one-litters to lighten the moments when tragedy looms. Darker arid more intriguing than the typical British period piece. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Casper (PG) (Brad Silberling. CS. 1995) Christina Ricci. Bill Pttllrnart. Cathy Moriarty. 100 mins. Everyone‘s favourite friendly ghost has been living with his three bad-tempered uncles in an abandoned mansion. When it's bequeathed to a money-grabbing heiress who thinks it‘s filled with hidden treasure guarded by unquiet spirits. Casper comes into contact with ghost psychologist Pullman‘s tomboy daughter (Ricci). A very messy amalgam of (i/tmtbrrttert efiects. Addams Family gothic humour and the sort of overblown feelgood Spielbergiana that revels in funny gadgetry and faintly values. General release.
I making Express ( 12) (Wong Kar-Wai. Hong Kong. 1994) Brigitte Lin. Takeshi Kaneshiro. Tony Leung. Faye Wang. 97 mins. Such a glorious concoction of humour. energy. style and kookiness rarely comes our way. The two loosely overlapping stories are set around a fast food stall in Hong Kong. with mismatched romance and indulgent heartache the menu for today. The second segment is the stronger. but the film is so fresh and unusual that it more than survives this slight imbalance. A Boat De Soaflle for our times. Glasgow: GET.
I D'Artagnan's Daughter ( 15) (Bertrand
t 'l'avernier. France. 199-!) Sophie Marceatr.
' Philippe .\'ottet. ('lattde Rich. 136 mins.
Originally a project for director Riccardo Freda
(who then fell ill). tltts lacklustre swashbuckler
was picked tip by 'l'avcinier. btit his approach
lacks pizza/1 and good old cttt-and-tht'trst. Whett
a dastardly duke attacks her convent. young titrri
Marceatr is forced trrto action. and so she drags
dad D'.-\it;tgnan arid his mttskelecr mates otit of retrieirrcnl. .\ few diycilrng flourishes aside.
Dick 1 cslet probably did it better life Adam Smith.
I Dazed And Confused ( 18) (Richard 1.rnk|ater. 1'S, 199-l) Wiley Wiggins. Jason London. Rory Cochranc. 95 mins. The last day of the 1976
terrrt for a bunch of CS schoolkrds. and. for
some. it's time to face the initiation huntiliattons
as they move from junior to senior high.
l.ink1alcr abandons the baton-passing itari'ittvc
sly 1c of his seminal work. Slacker. and show s
rirasleiftrl skill as he w cat cs together a multitude
of plot strands a la xlrrrr-r'rt'trrr (irtrrtitr ('oo-ttl
lidrnbtrlgb. l-rlrrrltotrsc
I The Dead ( l r r John Huston. l’K/W (ictiriany. l9.‘s'7r \ntelrca lluston. Donal McCartn. llelcrta
Carroll Si llllll\, lltrston's lrrtal ltlitt is a superb
adaptatrorr ol one of James Joyce's I’ll/)fttlt’r \
stories, Sct during a traditional festive
celebration. tts skill arid mellow perception draw
you trrlo another world w lterc the dinner
conversation and general rner‘tlmcnt reveal urtryeisal truths about death and the beauty of
true loyc. (ilasgow; (il'l'.
I Die Hard With A Vengeance ( l5) (John Mc‘l‘rcrriail. 1S. 1995) Bruce Willis. Jerenry lions. Samuel 1.. Jackson 138 mins. Basically an extended cal arid mouse game. Mc'l'rcrnan's sequel to lll\ owtr original has w ashed-up anti- ltclo erlrs .trtd pissed-off. gotxl-heatted sidekick Samuel 1., Jackson dashing across New York (‘in lrotrl pay phone to pay phone. solving
'cllrldish riddles ttr time to deactivate a stash of lttddcrr bombs lirraginc S/tet'r/ with a hangover.
with plenty ol corrtcdy. the best buddy pairing in years. but a curious lack or satislytng set pieces. (ilasgow'()tleon.lidinbrrrglt:1'('|.Str'athclyde: l'Cl ('lydcbarrk.
i I Easy Rider ( 1S) (Dennis Hopper. LS. 1969)
1 Peter l'oirda. Dennis Hopper. Jack Nicholson. 94
imins. Aitless. archetypal road movie iit which itwo dope-loving bikers travel the highways and 5by-ways of America. Dated ctrlt attraction with iNicltolson stealing the show as a boozy lawyer Iper'suaded tojoirr up for the trip. Glasgow: Gl’l‘. in Ed Wood (15)(Tim Burton. us. 1994) Johnny EDepp. Martin Landau. Patricia Arquette. I23 fimins. Burton‘s fondly atmospheric homage to Ethe so-called ‘w'orst director of all time‘ is his ;best film to date. It's more than a biopic pastiche. however: the emotional heart of the film is found in the genuinely caring relationship between Wood arid the dying. drug-addicted
Bela Lugosi (a marvellous Martin Landau).
Depp plays Wood as a bundle of energy and nnoeent romanticism. capturing the spirit of logged determination that makes the subjeCI arch an appealing character. Glasgow: MGM ’at'khead. Strathclyde: l'Cl Clydebank.
I Eraserhead (18) (David Lynch. US. 1976)
lohn Nance. 90mins. You may never eat jelly
; babies again after the repellent bttt compelling tale of Henry. his haircut. his girlfriend. his
strange offspring and a sizeablc quantity of pus. Disturbing sttrff. mercifully filmed in black arid 1 white. Showing with Hunger Artist. Glagsow:
1 GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
'; I The Exorcist (18) (William iii‘iedkin. (:3.
i 1973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von
Sydow. l 10 trrirrs. Earnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl iri this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scary. dead priest. Glasgow: Odeon.
I Far From Home (PG) (Phillip Borsos. US. 1994) Mimi Rogers. Brtrce Davison. Jesse
on the shores of the Pacific Northwest and. separated frotir his family. relies on The Yellow Dog for help. A live action kids' movie in the ‘one boy and his dog' mould. with ingenuity under pressure shown by the young teen hero and canine courage front the four-legged co-star. Fife: Robin's.
I Forget Paris ( 12) (Billy Crystal. US. I995) Billy Crystal. Debra Winger. Joe Mantegna. 101 mins. When his dad's corpse is lost on a funeral flight to France. Mickey (Crystal) meets and falls in love with apologetic airline employee
the story goes beyond the honeymoon period to the times when the relationship has to be worked at. Told via dinner table reminiscences. Crystal's second movie as director is an unashamedly old‘ fashioned romantic comedy that treads a fine line between captivating shaggy dog story and indulgent ramble. General release.
I The Fox and the Hound (U) (Frank Thomas. Ollie Johnston. Cliff Nordberg. US. 1981) With the voices of Mickey Rooney. Kurt Russell and Pearl Bailey. 83 mins. Sluggish. unimaginative Disney cartoon in which an orphaned fox cub
Bradford. Fourteen-year-o|d Angus is washed up
Ellen (Winger). The intriguing aspect here is that
arid a loveable hunting hound puppy spend an idyllic childhood together until their traditional roles and enmity are reawakened. Cute in a very familiar fashion. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCl. Strathclyde: l'Cls. I Free Willy 2 (PG) (Dwight Little. US. I995) Jason James Richter. Michael Madsen. Jayne Atkinson. When his real mother dies. Jesse (Richter) discovers that he has a half-brother. who their joins hint atrd Jesse's foster parents on an island holiday. Killer whale Willy‘s also there w tilt his family. as is an oil slick (and. of course. a convenient cco-message). A tad too anodyne arid uiiinventtve to really justify its existence. the movie does ltave its familiar charms. General release. I Fresh ( 18) (Boaz Yakin. US. 1994) Sean Nelson. Giancat'lo Esposito. Samuel L. Jackson. I 15 mins. Twelve~year-old Fresh (Nelson) is reckoned by all-arid-s‘undry to be the rtetghbotithotxl gopher: he'll l'tlll heroin arid crack for local drug-dealer's. btrt he'll also make sure he gets to school on time. Because Fresh ltas a maturity beyond his years. coupled with a necessary delachiitent for life around him. and that's what‘s going to get him clear of trouble before he's dragged in further. Air excellent debut by Yakin. with an extremely moving performance by Nelson. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Friday ( 15) (Gary Gray. US. 1995) lce Cube. Chris Tucker. Bernie Mac. 92 mins. Don't expect the frowning. gun-tottin' Cube here: this is an attempt to find his lighter side. as he plays the rtnlikeliest victim of peer and parental pressure you could imagine. A different take on the 'hood. with the cliches slightly inverted and a script that keeps plugging away in search ofa laugh. lt‘s pleasant enough. even when the pace sags. Strathclyde: l'Cl East Kilbride. I Funny Bones ( 15) (Peter (‘helsotn UK/US. 1995) Lee Evans. ()liver Platt. Jerry Lewis. 128 rrrirts. Chelsorrt's tragtcomedy has funny moments. btrt its main interest lies in its seriousness. Tommy (Platt) leaves Las Vegas and comes to Blackpool in search of new material; there he meets Jack (Evans). an instinctively funny man. who’s linked to him by more than professiotr. Art honest and sensitive portrait of the deep sorrow that often underlines comic genius. See review. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCl. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebartk. I Getting Even With Bad (PG) (Howard Deutch. US. 1994) Macaulay Culkin. Ted Danson. Glerine lleadley. 109 mins. Danson is a small- time crook doing one last job to help set him up iii the straight world: Culkin is his estranged son who rumbles his dad's plan. takes the loot and blackrnails him ittto doing the bonding good- titne thing. A hotch-potch movie. stirring elements of caper. heist. romance and travelogue into something that is not the sum of its parts. The gags are set up well. but fall to the obvious at the punchline. Strathclyde: Cannon. I Heavenly Creatures (l8) (Peter Jackson. New Zealand. 1994) Melanie Lynskey. Kate Winslet. Sarah Peirse. 98mins. lri 1952. New Zealand was shocked by the murder of Honora Parker by her teenage daughter and a schoolfriend. Despite director Peter Jackson‘s back catalogue in slapstick gore — [Indra/earl. Ball 72Lrte — Heaven/v Creatures does not dwell on the more lurid details of the crime. instead. it examines the itiraginative fantasy worlds of the girls and the strength of their friendship in a sympathetic light. Edinburgh: Cameo. I lligher Learning (15) (John Singleton. US. l995) ()mar Epps. Kristy Swanson. Laurence Fishbtrrrie. I28 mins. Racial tensions dominate the timetables at Columbus University in John Singleton's third movie. which. like Poetic Justice. fails to build on the promise of his debut. (for: N The Howl. The actors do reasonably well with a fragmented and stereotyped script. while the director labours his worthwhile messages. See review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Hobson’s Choice (U) (David Lean. UK. 1953) Charles Laughton. Brenda de Banzie. John Mills. l()7 mins. The daughter of a gruff bootrnaker decides to marry his simple-minded assistant in this popular adaptation of Harold Brighouse's play. The late 19th century period is nicely captured. and Laughton gives one of his best performances. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Hunger Artist ( 15) (Bernard Rudden. Scotland. 1995) 45 mins. Based on a Kafka story. Hanger Artist concerns a young man who treats his fasting as an artform and the female journalist who searches for him when he is kidnapped. Rudden‘s approach is more stream of consciousness than linear narrative. and as a result. the film is raw. gn'tty. metaphysical poetry on screen. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I ll (18) (Lindsay Anderson. UK. I968) Malcolm McDowell. David Wood. Richard Warwick. 1]] mins. The kids are alright as anarchy and rebellion erupt with all the passion of an explosion at a stuffy English public school. Symbolic. allegorical stuff about the breakdown of society which didn't seem that far off twenty years ago. The final moment of machine-gun fire
22 The List 6- 19 Oct 1995