FILM INDEX
j HIT I. I s r I
FIRST Bill
I Breakingfl'he Waves When a young woman in a strictly religious Scottish community marries an outsider, the pact she makes with God leads to suffering and sacrifice. lntensely moving, brilliantly performed: one of the best films of this or any year. See preview and review. Glasgow: GF'IZ Edinburgh: Cameo. I When The Cat’s Away A lightly comic and insightful view of Parisian life disguised as a search by a whole community for a missing cat. See review. Edinburgh: F ilmhouse.
I Boston Kickout A tough but funny look in the Trainspotting mould at boredom and dead-end life in an English new town, lightened by a surprisingly romantic thread. See review. Glasgow: Odeon at the Quay. Edinburgh: UCl.
I lone Star Past and present clash in a variety of sub-plots as a Texan sheriff investigates a decades-dd murder in a border town. John Sayles’s thriller is a rich and resonant piece of filmmaking. Glasgow: GF7? Edinburgh: Filmhouse. . I Jude Terrific performances by Christopher Eccleston and Kate Wmslet are the dual backbones of this hard-hitting version of Thomas Hardy’s novel. Period filmmaking at its best. Limited general release. IIEPEIITOIIY
I Sweet Sweetbaclt’s Baadasssss Song Melvin Van Peebles’s groundbreaking ‘blaxploitation‘ movie gets a rare screening to tie in with the publication of the script. Glasgow: GET
I The Magnificent Arnbersons The studio might have tinkered with Orson Welles’s vision for his family epic, but a certain grandeur remains. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
God' cliche beloved of Ilollywood. Preview screening. Thurs 24 only. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Electra Glide In Blue (18) (James William Guercio. US. 1973) Robert Blake. Billy Green Bush. Mitchell Ryan. 113 mins. One-off foray into film by former record producer (Chicago. Blood Sweat & Tears) Guercio. has Blake as a diminutive motorcycle cop who has fantasies of becoming a comic-strip hero. but finds around him a world of corruption and despair. Oddly intriguing stuff and worth staying for the endlessly atmospheric final sequence. 'Mazin' man. Edinburgh: Film Guild.
I Ema (U) (Douglas McGrath. UK/US. 1996) Gwyneth Paltrow. Jeremy Northam. Toni Collette. 111 mins. Austen-iris continues as Emma Woodhouse (Paltrow) rneddles in other people's love lives while ignoring the fact that her own happiness is right under her nose in the shape of handsome Mr Knightley (Northam). An attractive and luscious-looking piece. but a lot
has been sacrificed for reasons of length. leaving fans of the book wishing for those six-partTV adaptations. Glasgow: Odeon at the Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo. Dominion. Filmhouse. Odeon. UCl. Borders: Pavilion.
I Enter Achilles(l8) (Clara Van Cool. UK. 1996) 50 mins. DV8 Physical Theatre's depiction of a harrowing night out with the lads takes in a pub crawl. with vomit and hatred spewed in all directions. The transfer from stage to screen has given it a frightening intensity. Not for weak stomachs. Also with Body Beautiful. A and Barry Purves's Achilles. which take the programme up to a running time of around 90 mins. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Escape Fro- ll (15) (John Carpenter. US. 1996) Kurt Russell. Stacy Keach. Steve Buscemi. 101 mins. Why bother to make the same film as the entertaining Escape From New York again. with more money but less satirical bite and no imagination? Carpenter and co severely disappoint with this hackneyed sequel. which finds anti-hero Snake Plissken hunting down the President's renegade daughter and encountering various oddballs en route. Glasgow: Odeon. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.
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 scary. dead priest. Glasgow: Odeon. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank.
I Flipper (PG) (Alan Shapiro. US. 1996) Elijah Wood. Paul Hogan. Chelsea Field. 96 mins. Difficult city teenager Sandy (Wood) doesn't warm to ex-hippy uncle Porter (Hogan) down in the Florida Keys until along comes friendly dolphin Flipper. The story brings to mind aspects of Andre and Free Willy. but there are only so many scripts that can accommodate an acquatic star. Predictable stuff in the heart-wamring category. Borders: Pavilion. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. UCI Clydebank.
I French Twist Gazon Mam/it (18) (Josiane Balasko. France. 1995) Victoria Abri1.Josiane Balasko. Alain Chabat. 105 mins. When her van breaks down outside the house of a conventional couple. cigar-chomping bull dyke Balasko brings a new variation of the menage-a-trois into the lives of Abril and Chabat. A naughty. fun and engagineg French sexual farce. filled with dynamic characterisations. Edinburgh: Film Guild.
I Ghost In The Shell (15) (Marnoru Oshii. Japan. 1995) 85 mins. It's 2029. and secret service cyborgs are battling with a megalomaniacal super-hacker. The philosophical tracts and techno jargon are a bit of a problem. but the visuals are undeniably impressive. The most expensive feature-length adaptation of a manga comic ever. it‘s worth catching on the big screen. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I A Booty Movie (U) (Kevin Lima. US. 1996) With the voices of Bill Farmer. Jason Marsden. Jim Cummings. 74 mins. After a school prank backfires. Goofy decides to take troublesome son Max off on a bonding fishing trip. Max is trying his best to be cool. but that isn't easy when your dad‘s this particular Disney star. An incident-packed journey provides plenty of laughs which should keep restless kids and accompanying adults amused. General release. I Gulliver's Travels (U) 60 mins. An old animated version of the first couple of chapters from Swift's satirical classic that deviates significantly from the book. Edinburgh: St Bride's.
I the Hunchback 0! Intro Dane (PG) (Gary Trousdale/Kirk Wise. US. 1996) With the voices of Tom llulce. Demi Moore. Kevin Kline. 90 mins. Young Quasimodo is kept prisoner in medieval Paris's great cathedral by the evil Judge Frollo. but when the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda comes on the scene. the boy's heroic instincts save the day. Strong vocal performances. stunning cityscapes. grand songs and an expertly mature handling of adult themes make this an instant classic with plenty to say about moral hypocrisy. Glasgow: Odeon at the Quay. Strathclyde: UCls.
I Independence Day (12) (Roland Emmerich. US. 1996) Will Smith. Jeff Goldblum. Bill Pullman. 150 mins. Day One: alien ships hover over the world's major cities. Day Two: they attack. Day Three: mankind goes into hokum overdrive and gears up to kick some alien ass. A SOs-style invasion B-movie with 90s state-of—the art effects. Independence Day is popcorn value- for-money at its very best. A gripping scare scenario that doesn't take itself too seriously. throws in some conspiracy theories and rounds it off with the most devastating disaster scenes ever put on film. General release.
I Jack (PG) (Francis Ford Coppola. US. 1996) Robin Williams. Diane Lane. Bill Cosby. 113 mins. Again playing a kid-in-adult‘s-body. Williams is this time thwarted by the movie‘s appalling central concept: the ageing disease suffered by his ten-year-old means he‘ll die
when barely out of his teens. Further implausibility is added by the way he wins his classmates onto his side. Well-meaning but embarrassing and sentimental piece from Coppola which might disturb young viewers and will irritate older audiences. General release. Ila-«Aniline Giant Peach(U)(Henry Selick. US. 1996) Paul Terry. Susan Sarandon. Simon Callow. 79 mins. From the director of Tim Burton '5 The Nightmare Before Christmas comes a wonderfully colourful adaptation of Roald Dahl's much-loved novel. Live action tops and tails the story. but for the most part. it‘s ftrn times with stop-motion puppets. By turns funny and scary. it stays true to Dahl‘s surreal and whimsical vision. Glasgow: Odeon at the Quay. Virgin. Edinburgh: UCl. Borders: Pavilion. Strathclyde: UCls.
I Jane Eyre (PG) (Franco Zeffirelli. UK/ltaly. 1996) William Hurt. Charlotte Gainsbourg. Joan Plowright. 113 mins. A decnet enough adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's literary classic which features weighty acting from Hurt and the British thesps in support. The atmosphere is effective. if not entirely remarkable. as Zcffirelli manages to tune into the darker. more brooding aspects of the novel. Edinburgh: Dominion. Borders: Pavilion.
I Jettrey (18) (Christopher Ashley. US. 1995) Steven Weber. Michael T. Weiss. Patrick Stewart. 94 mins. Single New Yorker Jeffrey decides that AIDS has made sex too risky. so he goes celibate -just as he meets Mr Right. Cinematic style is casr aside for moment-to- rnoment entertainment in a punchy. witty film that uses its lead character as an amalgam of AIDS era hang-ups. Resoluter upbeat and celebratory. Glasgow: GFT.
I Jude (18) (Michael Winterbottorn. UK. 1996) ChristOpher Eccleston. Kate Winslet. Rachel Griffiths. 120 mins. Based on Thomas Hardy's uncompromisineg bitter final novel. this tremendously powerful adaptation shares the novel's romantic tragedy between its two central characters. Determined and honest Jude (Eccleston) is snubbed by Victorian society as he strives for a university education. btrt worse is in store when he falls in love with his cousin (Winslet). Hard-hitting acting. a director and writer who truly understand Hardy's themes. and stunning photography elevate this to classic status. Glasgow: ABC Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Last Man Standing (18) (Walter llill. US. 1996) Bruce Willis. Christopher Walken. Bruce Dem. Hill ‘borrows' the plot of Kurosawa’s Yojimba and Leone's F istful OfDoIlarr. with Willis as the mercenary playing two warring factions against each other. Colourful characterisations come from Walken and Dern. but the overall production is a dire warning that classics should be left alone. particularly by a director whose career seems about to be added to the body count. General release.
I The last Supper (15) (Stacy Title. US. 1996) Ron Eldard. Courtney Vance. Cameron Diaz. 92 mins. A group of American grad students host a series ofdinners during which they pose various ‘PC or not PC?‘ questions to their guests — with fatal results ifthe answer is not to their liking. Described by the director as ‘an Arsenic And Old Lace for the 90s‘. this black comedy relies as much on vividly drawn characters as the bizarre situation that unfolds. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon.
I leaving Las Vegas (18) (Mike Figgis. US. 1995) Nicolas Cage. Elisabeth Shue. Julian Sands. 110 mins. Sacked from his job. Ben (Cage) drives to Las Vegas with the sole intention of drinking himself to death. but during his descent comes across hooker Sera (Shuc). another lost soul. Figgis's neon-drenched movie captures the irresponsible euphoria and mental pain of alcoholism from a subjective viewpoint. while the astonishing performances by the leads help it transcend the surface tawdriness and delve deep into underlying emotions. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I lone Star (15) (John Sayles. US. 1996) Chris Cooper. Elizabeth Pena. Kris Kristofferson. 135 mins. When a modern-day Texan sheriff investigates a decades-old murder. past clashes with present and local rnythologies have to be re-examined. Sayles's various sub-plots don't distract from each other: in fact. they re-inforce and counterpoint. building a complex social. historical and political backdrop to the rivetting thriller on the surface. Another masterpiece from America's greatest independent director. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Militant Anthem (PG) (Orson Welles. US. 1942) Joseph Cotton. Dolores Costello. Agnes Moorehead. 88 mins. The decline and fall of an American family told when Welles was at the peak of his cinematic power. Even studio tinkering can't lessen its impact. as the director takes an ambivolent view on how American life was changed by the industrial age. Unmissable. given the current re- assessment of Welles's talent as a filmmaker.
Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I May 01 Scotland (PG) (John Ford. US. 1936) Katherine Hepburn. Fredric March. Florence Eldridge. 123 mins. The melodramatic jealousy of Queen Elizabeth against Mary. Queen of Scots is slightly overplayed in this otherwise underrated RKO production. Ford's emphasis on performance pulls the film above mere costume fripperies. Preceded by an illustrated talk by journalist Alison Kerr on character actress Mary Gordon. who features in the film. Sat 26 only. Glasgow: GFT. I Mason 01 The lied Death (15) (Roger Connan. US. 1964) Vincent Price. Hazel Court. Jane Asher. 89 mins. The best of Connan’s Poe adaptations. this shows far more visual imagination than most 'B' horror movies. using a series of colour co-ordinated and expressionistic sets to mirror the mOral decay at the heart of Italian nobleman Price's household. A wonderfully stylised morality tale. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Mighty Aphrodite (15) (Woody Allen. US. 1995) Woody Allen. Mira Sorvino. IIelena Bonharn Caner. 95 mins. Sports writer Lenny (Allen) and his busy art dealer wife (Bonharn Carter) adopt a baby. btrt when the kid starts to show unusually high intelligence. dad goes searching for the real mother - a none-too-bn'ght hooker and porn actress (Sorvino). Oscar'- winning Sorvino is the best thing in the movie. even if her role is rather dubious. btrt Woody's a bit long in the tooth for his part. Funny. but a little tired. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I Mirrorball 3: 011 Factory presents . . . (15) 89 mins. Leading British directors Jamie Thraves. Wiz and Sophie Muller combine pop glamour with youth alienation. Bands featured include Blur. Therapy? and Weezer. Glasgow: GFI‘. I Mulhollantl Falls (18) (Lee Tarnahori. US. 1996) Nick Nolte. Melanie Griffith. Chazz Palminteri. 106 mins. A fictionalised tale involving LAPD‘s real-life tough guy ‘llat Squad'. Tamahori's US follow-up to Once Were Il’ttrriors strays too Closely to Chinatown territory to work in its own right. A murder leads to high-up conspiracies and corruption. bringing in personal difficulties for Nolte's morally compromised hero. Lacks the dread or paranoia that the 50s noirs so effortlessly evoked. Fife: Adam Smith. I My Beautiful laundrette ( 15) (Stephen Frears. UK. 1985) Daniel Day Lewis. Roshan Seth. Gordon Wamecke. Shirley Anne Field. 97 mins. A young Asian from South London is given the chance to manage his uncle's laundrette. which he and his ex-skinhead boyfriend transform into the latest word in laundromats. Made for TV. the film nevertheless attracted critical acclaim and was the first of Channel 4's cinema hits. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Nelly Et M. Arnautl (15) (Claude Sautet. France. 1994) Emmanuelle Beart. Michel Serrault. Jean-Ilughes Anglade. 105 mins. Sautet's first film after Un (new (in [liver is another delicate yet complex study of human relationships. A woman in her twenties. unlucky in love. meets a retired magistrate and friendship blossoms when she takes a job helping him write his memoirs. Strathclyde: East Kilbride Arts Centre. I New Visions Glasgow‘s third international festival of film. video and media embraces a variety of forms and venues. As well as the screenings below. there are residencies. exhibitions and installations worth checking out at the Glasgow Film and Video Workshop. Tramway. Java Internet Cafe arid Gallery of Modern Art. llevr Visions: Bottle Cross Click Click (15) (Lynn llershman. US. 1995) 30 mins. Cross- dressing on the Internet and other forms of cyber-cheating are the basis for this romance about gender confusion. Daily at 4pm until Sun 10 Nov. Glasgow: Java Internet Cafe.
'Ilew Visions: Fire Gallery Glasgow's Gallery of
Modem Art's Fire Gallery has been specially curated from open submissions. with sixteen works showing daily in five rooms. 1n GOMA 4. Paul Catttcron's Looking For Mr Rogers is an experimental documentary on the history of Castlernilk which uses family film. news articles. interviews and photographs. GOMA also plays host to New Visions' CD-ROM gallery. Until Sat 19. Glasgow: GOMA.
New Visions: Kinecraft (12) 90 mins. The Kinecraft M0vcment centred at the Glasgow School of Art in the 30s. where filmmakers collaborated on works of painterly expression. This programme consists of three collaborative pieces and four individual films by Norman McLaren. Stewart McAllister, Willie MacLean. Helen Biggar and Violet Anderson. Sat 19 only. Glasgow: GFT.
New Visions: lam: Castle hocmtary (PG) Filmmakers with learning difficulties from Lennox Castle Hospital present a documentary about the two animated films they made earlier this year. Fri 18 only. Glasgow: Project Ability. New More: htemational zeitgeist 12 (15) 64
34The List 18-31 Oct 1996