FILM INDEX
FILM
Films screening this fortnight are listed belovr vvith certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I The Adventures or Pinocchio (U) (Steve Barron. US. 1996) Martin Landau. Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Udo Kier. 96 mins. More faithful to the original novel than the Disney cartoon. this mix of anirnatronics. computer animation and live action still falls short of the mark. Landau is a sympathetic Geppetto and the period detail gives a nice fairytale mood. but the sentimentality and moralising (and the shoddy cricket animation) undermine its good elements. General release.
I Alaska (PG) (Fraser Heston. US. 1996) Thora Birch. Vincent Kartheiser. Charlton Heston. 109 mins. A young brother and sister go searching in the Alaskan wilderness for their father. missing in a plane crash. Their adventures bring them into contact with a grizzled hunter (Heston) and a cute polar bear cub. Good wholesome family entertainment with some tense action scenes. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Virgin. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: ABC. Odeon Ayr. UCIs.
I The Andromeda Strain (PG) (Robert Wise. US. 1970) Arthur Hill. David Wayne. James Olson. 131 mins. An early screen adaptation ofa novel by Michael Crichton about a group of self- sacrificing scientists who work against the clock to contain a lethal organism that's spreading from the site of a satellite crash in New Mexico. Good. tense direction from veteran Wise. Edinburgh: Film Guild.
I The Anniversary (18) (Roy Ward Baker. UK. 1967) Bette Davis. Sheila Ilancock. Jack lledley. 95 mins. More over-the-top comic melodrama from the Hammer stable. with Davis in Baby Jane form as a one-eyed woman keeping a terrifying hold over her three sons. Iler star power is still very much in evidence. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Apocalypse llorv! (18) (Francis Coppola. US. 1980) Martin Sheen. Marlon Brando. Robert Duvall. Dennis Hopper. 153 mins. Vietnam as
The Ultimate Trip. We follow US Army assassin I
Sheen downriver and deeper into the Heart of Darkness ruled over by Brando's mad Colonel Kurtz. Alternater pretentious and visually overpowering (the Valkyries helicopter attack. for example). its grandiloquent folly somehow pierces right to the bone of the conflict. Central: MacRobert. I Beaumarchais ( 15) (Edouard Molinaro. France. 1996) Fabrice Luchini. Michel Serrault. Michel Piccoli. 100 mins. Playwright.judge and spy Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais gets up the nose of 18th century Parisian aristocracy while meddling in political intrigue and various sexual feats. This hugely entertaining romp moves at a frantic pace. centring on its charismatic central character. a sort of James Bond precursor. Ilistory as spectacle. Glasgow: GFT. I Beautiful Thing (15) (llettie Macdonald. UK. 1996) Glen Berry. Linda Henry. Scott Neal. 90 mins. Jamie. a teenager having a hard time at the local comprehensive. falls for neighbour Ste. who himself is on the receiving end from his ex- boxer dad. First-timer Macdonald‘s direction is unflashy. but attuned to the inner lives of these motley individuals. and the cast work wonders. Bright. summery and full of life's possibilities. Glasgow: GFI‘. I Blood For Dracula (18) (Paul Morrissey. Italy/France. 1973) Udo Keir. Joe Dallesandro. Maxime McKendry. 103 mins. Delightfully gory and at times extremely funny. Morrissey's distinctive take on the vampire myth has Keir's surprisingly sympathetic bloodsucker searching for virgin blood in Italy. but thwarted by Dallesandro's efforts as an over-sexed Marxist gardner. Watch out for Vittorio De Sica and Roman Polanski in cameo roles. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Brassed Off (15) (Mark Herman. UK. 1996) Ewan McGregor. Tara Fitzgerald. Pete Postlethwaite. 105 mins. When the local pit is due to be closed down. it‘s the end of the day for the colliery brass band as well. even though they‘ve got a chance at winning the national competition. Politics are the heart of the story. but writer-director Harmen has created a film that balances nicely between pithy humour and heartbreaking poignance. Performances are excellent. particularly Ball_vkissangel's Stephen Tompkinson. See feature and review. General release. I eraveheart (15) (Mel Gibson. US. 1995) Mel Gibson. Patrick McGoohan. Sophie Marceau. 177 mins. Mel Gibson‘s long and bloody account of the life of Scottish warrior hero
William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great perfomtances. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate Rob Roy. Bravehearr‘s Scottish passion is tempered by a few Hollywood moments — touches of sentimentality and 'dramatic‘ historical inaccuracy. Nevertheless. it‘s a fine. full-blooded attempt to tap into the spirit that fires Scotland's history and heroes. Edinburgh: Odeon.
I BrazilUS) (Terry Gilliam. US. 1985) Jonathan Pryce. Kim Griest. Robert De Niro. Peter Vaughan. 142 mins. Extravagantly designed and blackly humorous Orwellian vision of the future. as modest bureaucrat Pryce battles the forces of totalitarianism and fights for his dream girl. feisty trucker Griest. Overlong and ramshackle fantasia. with moments of sheer creative adrenalin and a classic ending. Glasgow: GFT.
I Breaking The Waves (18) (Lars von Trier. Denmark/France. 1996) Emily Watson. Stellan Skarsgard. Katrin Cartlidge. 158 mins. In a close-knit Calvinist community in the north of Scotland. a young woman faces banishment from the church when she makes a self- sacrificing pact with God in order to save her husband‘s life. Unlike von Trier's austere arthouse works (Europa). this intimate melodrama is raw and exposed. Emotional connection transcends everything else in one of the most moving films ever made. Glasgow: GFT. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCI.
I Broken Blossoms (PG) (D. W. Griffith. US. 1919) Richard Barthelmess. Lillian Gish. Donald Crisp. 95 mins. London's Limehouse. and Barthelmess plays an oriental who protects frail waif Gish from the unpleasant attentions of nasty landlord Crisp. Badly dated now. this remains one of Griffith’s most understated and undervalued movies. though the melodramatic acting style can grate after a while. Glasgow: GFT
I Bullets Over eroadvtay (15) (Woody Allen. US. 1994) John Cusack. Dianne Wiest. Chazz Palminteri. 105 mins. Self-absorbed playwright David 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 streetwise bodyguard. Allen’s emphasis is on witty dialogue and strong performances. which gives the film a slightly theatrical feeling. Glasgow: FT
G . I Burning life (15) (Peter Welz. Germany. 1994) 105 mins. Two women meet for the first time. hold up a bank. begin a series of robberies and give out the proceeds to the needy. becoming popular folk heroes in the process. A twist on both Robin Hood and Thelma & Louise. set in the world of the modem media. German Film Festival. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The Cabinet or ooctor oalipari (PG) (Robert Wiene. Germany. 1919) Werner Krauss. Conrad Veidt. Lil Dagover. 90mins. A landmark of expressionist cinema. feasting the eyes with bizarre. angular visuals despite its technical crudity. The acting and directing are superb. and the story of a fairground hypnotist who uses a Sleepwalker to carry out murders still retains a unique sense of horror. A new. brilliantly atmospheric soundtrack is played live by In The Nursery. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I ohain lleaction (I2) (Andrew Davis. US. 1996) Keanu Reeves. Rachel Weisz. Morgan Freeman. 106 mins. Reeves is a scientific genuis (it‘s the movies. remember) whose discovery of a cheap. clean energy source finds him being framed for murder by shady government types and big business congolmerates. Cue some lame on-the-nrn cliches. not surprisingly from the director of The Fugitive. Occasional action set pieces and fast pacing can‘t disguise the flaws of 510 py filmmaking. General release. I hicano - Struggle In The Fields (PG) A documentary chronicling the fann workers movement in Mexican America. directed by Sylvia Morales. Glasgow: Hetherington Building. University. I The Confessional (18) (Robert Lepage. Canada/UK/France. 1995) Lothaire Bluteau. Patrick Goyette. Kristen Scott-Thomas. 100 mins. Acclaimed theatre director Lepage makes his film directorial debut with a complex. but marvellously visual tale that clashes past against present. Pierre (Bluteau) returns to Quebec and his quest for identity merges with flashbacks to the time Hitchcock came to town to shoot I Confess. Central: MacRobert. I countess Dracula (18) (Peter Sasdy. UK. 1970) Ingrid Pitt. Nigel Green. Sandor Eles. 93 mins. Pitt gives a memorable performance as the decadent vampire inspired by Countess Elisabeth Bathory. although the other actors around her aren‘t in the same class. Blood. virgins. depravity - all in a day's work for Hammer. Edinburgh: Cameo. I courage llnder Fire(15) (Edward Zwick. US. 1996) Denzel Washington. Meg Ryan. Lou Diamond Phillips. 116 mins. Washington gives a superb performance. hinting at dangerous
vulnerability. as an army officer assessing a fellow soldier‘s nomination for a posthumous award and then has to face his own nightmares over a friendly fire incident. Slightly slushy in some areas. but otherwise an intelligent. understated film. Glasgow: Odeons. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCls. I The Craft (15) (Andrew Fleming. US. 1996) Robin Tunney. Fairuza Balk. Neve Campbell. Rachel True. 101 mins. A newcomer to an LA school falls in with a trio of misfits - ‘the bitches of Eastwick‘ - who turn out to be a teenage witches coven. Revenge on their tormentors begins to backfire however. as queen goth Balk goes out of control. Scarier than a lot of teen horror. particularly in the slimy. creepy-crawly department. but only for an adolescent audience. See review. General release. I The Crossing Guard (15) (Sean Penn. US. 1995) Jack Nicholson. David Morse. Anjelica Huston. 114 mins. When the drunk-driver (Morse) who killed his young daughter is released from prison. a distraught father (Nicholson) decides to shoot him. Penn‘s second feature as director is filled with truth and compassion. but he is prone to over-emphasis when dealing with the weighty theme of masculinity in crisis. Nicholson gives a raging howl of a performance. his best in years. Glasgow: GFT. I oyclo (18) (Tran Anh Hung. FranceNietnam. 1995) Le Van Loc. Tran Nu Yen Khe. Tony Leung Chiu Wai. 129 mins. A teenage pedal-cab driver has his vehicle stolen by a rival gang and. in order to pay back the owner. falls in with a group of criminals. Unlike the director's sensitive debut The Scent Of Green Papaya. this is an uncompromising look into a moral abyss that builds to a ferocious plane of violence. Edinburgh: Film Guild. Central: MacRobert. I Cyrano be Bergerac (U) (Jean-Paul Rappeneau. France. 1990) Gerard Depardieu. Jacques Weber. Anne Brochet. Vincent Perez. 135 mins. A stirring adaptation of Rostand's classic. romantic tragi-comedy. Full of grandly mounted. bustling crowd scenes. it revolves around typically superb performance from Depardieu as the large-nosed hero. Although performed in rhyming verse throughout (with subtitles by Anthony Burgess). and a touch overlong. the film's dramatic and cinematic qualities are outstanding. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The Day Of The Dead (12) An afternoon of screenings and discussion. including the documentary Mexico: Day Of The Dead. which charts the development of lndo-Hispanic custom celebrating the continuance of life and community. Glasgow: GFT. I Deltalop 1-5/6-10 (Krzysztof Kieslowski. Poland. 1989) Kieslowski‘s remarkable set of hour-long films. loosely based on the Ten Commandments. form a diverse and profound look at the lives of ordinary people in a Polish housing block. The original versions of A Short Film About Love and A Short Film About Killing are to be found here. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Dragonheart (PG) (Rob Cohen. US. 1996) Dennis Quaid. Sean Connery. David Thewlis. 103 mins. Disillusioned but noble knight Bowen (Quaid) teams up with the last of the dragons (voice and mannerisms by Connery) to free the land from a tyrant king (Thewlis). Dungeons and dragons for all the family in a film that is only fun when the expertly animated. fire-breathing beast is on screen. Otherwise the storyline ltrmbers along. General release. I The UN Day (15) (Jaco Van Dormael. France. 1996) Daniel Auteuil. Pacal Duquenne. 114 mins. The follow-up film by the director of Toto Le News will disappoint most. annoy many and win over only a few. Auteuil plays an uptight businessman whose life is transformed when he comes into contact with a man with Downs Syndrome (Duquenne). The film shifts its styles boldly from sentiment to comedy to drama. and its moments of bizarre magic realism give it a lift. but ultimately it falls into the dreadful ‘handicapped people are touched by God‘ cliche beloved of Hollywood. Glasgow: GFI‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I E“ (U) (Douglas McGrath. UK/US. I996) Gwyneth Paltrow. Jeremy Northam. Toni Collette. 111 mins. Austen-iris continues as Emma Woodhouse (Paltrow) meddles 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 (Northern). 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-part TV adaptations. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Edinburgh: Dominion. Odeon. Borders: Pavilion. Central: Allanpark. Strathclyde: WMR. I Escape Fran u (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 haekneyed sequel. which finds anti-hero Snake Plissken hunting down the President‘s renegade daughter and
HIT LIST I
IBI‘eeeedIBIIBy. tums‘funny,’ , k touching and politically damning. this” (wannghearted tale of a colliery brass lban'd—struggling for survival asthe
' local pitcloses isvone of the year’s best. feature and review. General releaseffl " ‘ '
I The Plllorv Boolt Peterz ' ' g Greenaway’s visual style reaches its . zenith'in this somptuou‘s tale bf ‘ ' revenge, sex-and calligraphy. See feature and review. Glasgow! OFT . Edinburgh:_Cameo. ' " 1 ‘ I Michael collins Neil Jordan's , stirring historical epic about the Irish _ Nationalist never glosses 'over the brutality of the violence at the expense of political idealism. See
feature. General release.
I Breaking The 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. Glasgow: GF'II Edinburgh: Cameo. I When Thejcat’s' llvvay A lightly
' comic and insightful view of Parisian A. life‘disguised as a search by a whole ‘communityfor a missing cat. '
Glasgow: .GFTI Edinburgh: Cameo. I Jude Terrific performances by Christopher Eccleston and Kate . . Winslet are the dual backbones, of this [hard-hitting version of Thomas
' Hardy’s novel. Glasgow: ABC Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cameo.
BEPEBTOIIY
I Touch Of Evil Crime, corruption .
i and underlying racism make a heady mix in Orson Welles’s classic thriller,
I llorrorPreezy A day of gory glories - including Dario Argento's The Stendhal Syndrome - at the Filrrrhouse, plus lashings of Hammer and other late night goodies at the Cameo: it must be Hallowe’en. Edinburgh: Cameo, Film/rouse.
encountering various oddballs en route. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Strathclyde: Magnum.
I Em (PG) (Vrctor Saville. UK. 1934) Jessie Matthews. Ban'y Mackay. Sonnie Hale. 91 mins. Matthews takes on the dual roles of a music hall star and the struggling chorus girl who impersonates her. Strong Rodgers and Hart score lends weight to this vehicle for one of Britain‘s most popular singing stars of the 305. Glasgow: GFT.
I The Flt (18) (Tony Scott. US. 1996) Robert De Niro. Wesley Snipes. Ellen Barkin. 117 mins. De Niro is back in Rupert Pupkin/I‘ravis Bickle territory as a hunting knife salesman obsessed with the star player (Snipes) of the San Francisco Giants baseball team. A crude. hateful. mean-spirited film with an overly sadistic streak
34 The List 144 Nov 1996