FILM INDEX
hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scary. dead priest. Glasgow: Odeon. Fife: New Picture House. I The F.1(18) (Tony Scott. US. I996) Robert De Niro. Wesley Snipes. Ellen Barkin. 117 mins. De Niro is back in Rupert Pupkin/Travis 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 that’s filled with unsympathetic characters and flashy images: the ugly. unacceptable face of Hollywood. Glasgow: Odeons. Showcase. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI. Strathclyde: UCls. I For Fm The Modding Crowd (U) (John Schlesinger. UK. 1967) Julie Christie. Terence Stamp. Peter Finch. Alan Bates. 175 mins. Some of the Swinging Sixties' beautiful people gather for Thomas Hardy's tale of a girl from a sheep farm and the three men fighting for her affections. The Wessex landscape is lovingly shot by Nicolas Roeg. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I F390 (18) (Joel Coen. US. 1996) Frances McDonnand. Steve Buscemi. William H. Macy. 97 mins. Hoping to make sonte bucks. a car salesman attempts to have his wife kidnapped by hitmen: but quickly blood is spilt. As the pregnant police detective on the case. McDonnand provides a wann-hearted centre for the movie. while the absurdist plot and weird local colour gain momentum. It'll be considered a classic. given time. Edinburgh: Cameo. Fife: New Picture House. I FiestauS) (Pierre Boutron. France. 1996) Jean-Louis Trintignant. Gregoire Colin. Marc Lavoine. 108 mins. During the Spanish Civil War. a war-mongering colonel comes into conflict with the son of a nobleman ordered to join one of Franco’s units. A very classy production indeed. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I to File Du Ilequln (15) (Agnes Merlet. France. 1993) Sandrine Blancke. Ludovic Vandendaele. Eric Da Silva. 90 mins. Two rebellious brothers cause trouble across Northern France in this hard-hitting tale that's based on a true story. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFI'. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The First Wives Gilli (PG) (Hugh Wilson. US. 1996) Goldie Hawn. Bette Midler. Diane Keaton. 102 mins. When their husbands dump them for younger. firmer flesh. a trio of well-off. middle-aged ladies get together for revenge. Laugh-out-Ioud lines follow each other iii rapid succession as Hawn. Keaton and Midler play it. respectively. sexy. ditzy and ballsy in parts that fit each like a glove. Upbeat and well-crafted in a way that will make boyfriends cringe while the women in the audience cheer. See preview and review. General release. I Fled(18) (Kevin Hooks. US. 1996) Lawrence Fishburne. Stephen Baldwin. Will Patton. 98 mins. Two convicts escape from their prison work detail carrying information about a valuable computer disc: now the Feds want them alive and the Cuban Mafia want them dead. Basically just a succession of fast cuts. unnecessary violence and nudity that doesn't hold any sense of pursuit. Stupid and cliched. Glasgow: ABC Sauchiehall Street. Odeon Quay. Showcase. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCls. I Four Boone (18) (Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez/Alison Anders/Alexandre Rockwell. US. 1995) Tim Roth. Antonio Banderas. Madonna. 105 mins. Tarantino and friends concoct a quartet of stories set in a hotel and linked by Tim Roth's bell boy. Clumsy story- telling. duff acting and a sense of too much self- satisfied smugness. particularly in the QT section. A lesson for us all. Glasgow: GFT.
I Front Dusk Till Dawn ( 18) (Robert Rodriguez. US. 1996) George Clooney. Harvey Keitel. Quentin Tarantino. 108 ritins. For its first third. this Tarantino-scripted movie is a suspenseful kidnap thriller as two killers on the rtrn (Clooney and Tarantino) hole tip with three hostages in a Mexican strip club. Then the tone changes into an sfx-heavy vampire western as the clientele spring fangs. Repetition abounds in a rttessy. tedious affair that's neither scary nor ftrnny. Glasgow: GFT.
I l.e Barctr (15) (Matrrice Pialat. France. 1994) Gerard Depardieu. Geraldine Pailhas. Antoine Pialat. 100 mins. The director of Lori/rm and Under Satan '.v Sim trims his attentions to family life. as Depardieu suffers a mid-life crisis watching his young son grow tip. Delicater constructed and well acted. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filnthouse. I Genial. Mes Parents Divorcent (12) (Patrick Braoude. France. 1991) Patrick Braoude. Sonia Vollereaux. Jean-Paul Lilienfeld. 96 rrtins. Actor and writer Braorrde looks at divorce from the viewpoint of a group of children. some of whom come from broken homes. others from 'happy' marriages. The youngsters deliver terrific performances. French Film Festival. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Bet Shorty (15) (Barry Sonnenfeld. US. 1995) John Travolta. Danny DeVito. Gene Hackrnan.
Rene Russo. Il() rttirts. Loan shark Chili Palmer (Travolta) shifts from Miami to LA and. being a rttovie btrff. decides to get irrto the film business. Witlt its sharp dialogue. quirky characters arid offbeat hurttour. this is probably the best adaptation yet of an Elmore Leonard n0vel. Travolta shows his true star quality - he's as cool as milk and as deadly as a rattlesnake. lidinburgh: Carrteo.
I Glimmer Man (18) (John Gray. US. 1996) Steven Seagal. Keener) Ivory Wayans. Bob Gtrrttort. 90mins. This formulaic action pic front Seager is different frortt Iris past work iii a couple of ways: he's lightened up a bit arid he's got a buddy in tow. The misrrtatched cop team of a clean-living Buddhist (Seagal) arid a tough joker (Wayans) are ltrrrttirtg a serial killer who might be linked to the Russian Mafia. Briatt Cox adds a touch of ster as a Special Ops boss. Glasgow: ()deon Quay. Show-case. Fifc' Glenr'othes. Strathclyde: WMR.
I The Godlatherr I8) (Frartcis Ford Coppola. US. 1971) Marlort Brando. Al Pacino. James Caart. I75 rttirts. Mafia epic that follows the collapse of the Corleone empire under the old Don (Brando) arid the struggle for power this causes between rival families arid his owrt sorts. Al Pacino is magnificent as the good sort who has to turrt bad in order to regain farrtily honour. Ilugely enjoyable. violent movie is a landmark iii American filrrtrnakirtg. Central: MacRobert. I The Godfather. Part II t 18) (Francis Coppola. CS. 1974) Al Pacino. Robert De .\'iro. Robert Dtrvall. 200 rttirts. Still the ortly sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Coppola‘s extertded gangster epic looks at the life of the Corleone family before arid after the events of the first movie. De Niro is superb as the young \v'ito. rtewly arrived from Sicily arid making Itis mark iii the Land of the Free: Itis sort Michael (Pacino). now ftrlly corrupted by absolute power. extends his crime empire. htrt at the expense of killing famin arid friends. A magrtificent achievement. Central: MacRobert.
I Gone To Earth (PG) (Michael Pow-elI/lirrter ic Pressbtrrger. I'K. I950) Jennifer Jones. David Farrar. Cyril Cusack. I l I mins. Christopher Challis‘s magnificent photography of the Shropshire countryside is reason enough for catching this strange melodrama on the big screen. The btxlice-ripper elements of wicked squire. beautiful girl. Itrst and adultery are played to the full by those masters of the British cinema. Powell arid Pressbtrr'ger'. Iidinburgh: Filrnlrotrse.
I A 60on Movie (1?) (Kevin Lirtta. 1S. 1996) With the voices of Bill Far’rrter. Jason Marsdert. Jim Cummings. 7-1 ntins. After a school prank backfires. Goofy decides to take troublesome son Max off on a bonding fishing trip. Max is tryirtg his best to be cool. bill that isn't easy when your (kid's this particular Disney slat. Art incident-packed journey provides plenty of laughs which should keep restless kids and accompanying adults arrttrsed. General release. I les Grandes Manoeuvres .s‘mnnm- Munm’lrt'rr't (PG) (Rene Clair. France. 1955) Gerard Pltilipe. Michele Morgan. Yves Robert. I()() rrtirts. A dragoon who fancies himself as a bit of a Don Juan makes a bet he can seduce a divorcee. but ends up fallrrtg it) love with lter. Art ironic comedy with rttore emotional commitment than mtrclt of Clair‘s work. Iidinburgh: I‘ilrrihotrse.
I les Grands nucu I 5) (Patrice Leconte. France. 1995) Jean-Pierre Marielle. Philippe Noiret. Jean Rochefort. 85 rttins. An all-star cast ttrrrt out for the film that Leconte made between Le meum D'l’r-unm' and the forthcoming Ridicule. A riotous comedy set in the theatre world. it's an excuse for the actors to indulge themselves gloriously. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFI'. Edinburgh: Filrrthouse.
I Grease (PG) (Randal Kleiser. CS. 1978) John Travolta. Stockard Cltartning. ()livia Newton John. 110 mins. The long-running Broadway show arrived on screen dripping with Fifties‘ nostalgia. cheery ttrnes. :1 hiin camp valtre arid the winsome charms of the plastic Newton-John and the toothy Travolta. A nice collection of old timers enhance the cast. Fife: Adam Srititlt.
I la Ilaine ( 18) (Matthieu Kassovitz. France. 1995) Vincent Cassel. Iltrbert Kotrnde. Said Taghmaorri. 85 rrtins. This edgy. black-and-white portrait of racial tension and police brutality on a run-down estate outside Paris won twentysomething Kassovitz the Director's Prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. Three ethnically mixed lads come tip against the cops when one of their pals is hospitalised after a raid. Urgent. compelling filrrtrttaking that's as punchy as a blow to the head. Glasgow: (il‘osvenm’.
I lleat (18) (Patrl Morrissey. US. 1972) Sylvia Miles. Joe Dallessandro. Andrea Feldman. 100 mins. Junkie sttrd Dallessartdro takes up with fading Hollywood actress Miles irt this most accessible instalment of the Warhol-sponsored Monissey sleaze cycle. notorious at the time for its explicit treatment of male sexuality. The bastard son Sunset Boulevard never knew it had. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Homes. Features: Mode ll’Ernploi ( IS) (Claude Lelouch. France. 1996) Fabrice Luchini. Bernard Tapie. Alessandra Martines. 122 rttins. Disgraced politician and former owner of Marseilles football club. Bernard Tapie plays a well-to-do lawyer whose fate becomes intertwined with a policeman. Lelotrclt. an Oscar winner in the ()0s with A Man And A Woman. had his Career rejuvinated last year with the strccess of Ln Miserables. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GI’I'. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Hunchback of Ilotre Dante (PG) (William Dieter'le. CS. 1939) Charles Laughton. Maureen ()‘llara. Cedric llardwicke. 117 rttins. Not exactly pin-up material. Laughton woos his gypsy love iii and around the Notre Dante aitd wins rtttrch audience sympathy in the process. Stylisth and atmospherically directed. You might not remember Quasirttodo‘s name. btrt his face rings a bell. Glasgow: CrF'I'.
I The Hunchback 01 llotre Dante (PG) (Gary 'I‘rousdalc/Kirk Wise. US. 1996) With the voices of Tout Iltrlce. Demi Moore. Kevin Kline. 90 rttirts. Young Qtrasimodo is kept prisoner irt medieval Paris's great cathedral by the evil Jtrdge Frollo. btrt when the beautiful gypsy lisrtteralda comes on the scene. the boy's heroic instincts save the day. Strong vocal performances. stunning cityscapes. grand songs arid art expertly mature handling of adult themes make this an instant classic with plenty to say about moral hypocrisy. Glasgow: Showcase. lidinbtrrgh: UCI.
I I Confessufi) (Alfred Ilitchcock. IS. 1953) Montgomery Clift. Karl Malden. 95 mitts. Quebec priest Clift hears a confession front a murderer. btrt discretion arid duty leads Ititrt to beconte the prime suspect. At last Hitchcock's sttrdy on the nature of gtrilt is available iii a sharper print. Central: MacRobert.
I Independence Day ( I 2) (Roland Emitterich. US. 1996) Will Smith. Jeff Goldblurtt. Bill Pullman. 150 rttirts. Day ()rte: alien ships hover over the world‘s major cities. Day Two: they attack. Day Three: mankind goes irtto ltoktrrtt overdrive and gears tip to kick some alien ass. A 50s-style invasion B-mo\ ie with 90s state-of-the art effects. ’Ilt/(‘lu’lltlt‘llt't’ Duv is popcorn value- for-rnoney at its very best. A gripping scare scenario that doesn't take itself too seriously. throws irt some conspiracy theories arid rounds it off with the rttost devastating disaster scenes ever ptrt on film. Glasgow: ()dcon Quay. Showcase. Iidinburgh: I'Cl. Strathclyde: l'Cls. I The Island 0f Dr Moreau ( I3) (John I-‘rankenheirtter. LS. 1996) Marlon Brando. Val Kilmer. David Thewlis. 95 mins. A stranger stumbles ortto art island where a geneticist is playing God by splicing together a race of htrrttan-animal hybrids The HG. Wells rtovel is updated to the near future. but falls flat due to a lack ()f scares and sortie ridiculously over -the- top perforrttances — with Brando as the prime ctrlpit. General release.
I Jack (PG) (Francis Ford Coppola. IIS. I996) Robirt Williams. Diane Lane. Bill Cosby. I I3 rttirrs. Again playing a kid-in-adtrlt's-btxly. Williams is this tirrte thwarted by the movie's appallirtg central concept: the ageing disease suffered by his ten-year-old means he'll die
w hen barely out of his teens. Further irttplatrsibility is added by the way he wins his classmates onto his side. Well-meaning btrt embarrassing arid sentimental piece from Coppola which might disttrrb young viewers and will irritate older audiences. General release.
I James And The Giant Peach (U) (Henry Selick. LS. 1996) Paul Terry. Susan Sarandon. Simon Callow. 79 mins. From the director of 77m Buth '\ T/le' Nig/rnrrurr' Before Christmas comes a wonderfully colourftrl adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s rritrch-loved rtovel. Live action tops arid tails the story. btrt for the most part. it's ftrn times with stop-rttotion puppets. By turns funny arid scary. it stays true to Dahl's surreal and wltintsrcal vision. Glasgow: ()dcon Quay. Showcase. Iidrnbrngh: ABC. I’Cl. Central: MacRobert. Strathclyde: l'Cl Clydebank.
I Jude (18)(Michacl Wirtterbottom. L'K. 1996) Christopher Iiccleston. Kate Wirrslet. Rachel Griffiths. 120 mins. Based on Thomas llar'dy's uncompromisirthy bitter final novel. this tremendously powerful adaptation shares the novel's r'orttantic tragedy between its two central characters. Determined arid honest Jude (liccleston) is snubbed by Victorian society as he strives for a trniversity education. btrt worse is ilt store when he falls iii low with his cousin (Winslet). IIard-hitting acting. a director and writer who truly understand Ilar‘dy's themes. and stunning photography elevate this to classic status. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Juntanii (l') (Joe Johnston. CS. 1995) Robin Williams. Jonatltan Hyde. Kirsten Dunst. 101 rttirts. Trapped for 26 years in a jrrngle board game. Alart Parrish (Williams) is released only when two modern-day kids throw the dice themselves. But they also unleash a stampede of monkeys. crocodiles. elephants. rhinos and other unfamiliar beasts into small town America. The
story manages to get beyortd its repetitive limits with a brilliantly original central idea and post. Jurassic Park computer effects that make it state-of—the-ait cinema spectacle. Strathclyde: ABC.
I Kids ( 18) (Larry Clark. US. 1995) Leo Fitzpatrick. Justin Pierce. Chloe Sevigny. 93 rtrins. Photographer Clark brings a gritty yet hip approach to his portrait of urban youth overdosed on sex arid drugs. V'rbally. btrt not visually. explicit. the filrtt is as bleak as it gets. as IIIV positive Jennie spends a day tracking dowrt arrogant ‘virgin surgeon' Telly. Serious issues are touched on iii an trriadorned fashion. btrt it‘s up to us to discuss a way to find the solutions. Central: MacRobert.
I The Killing (PG) (Stanley Kubrick. US. 1956) Sterling llayden. Coleen Gray. Vince lidwards. 83 mins. Kubrick's partially abstract vision of Jim 'I’hompson‘s rtovel creates classicjilm rruir with its perfectly cast arid rawa vivid depiction of greed and corruption. An ex-con recruits the help of small tirrte crooks to rob two million front a race track. arid the tiglttly structured narrative follows the ensuing chaos as the plan falls apart. A harsh. clinical piece that did the director's growing reputation no harm at all. Iidinburgh: Film Guild.
I The lite and Death of Colonel Blimp (U) (Michael Powell & Iimeric Presshtrrger. UK. 1943) Roger Livcsey. Deborah Kerr. Anton Walhrook. I()3 mitts. ()ne of the great British films. this is art ecstatic. uplifting celebration and. paradoxically. critiqtre of the essence of Britishness. ()utwitted through ‘cheating' iii a 19-12 Ilorrte (iuar'd exercise. General Clive
Wy tine-Candy reflects on his life. military career arid love of a special woman. concluding that his gerrtlernartly rtotiorts of ‘fair play' Irave become outmoded. Magnificent. Iidinbtrrgh: Film Gtrild. I lone Star (15) (John Sayles. US. 1996) Chris Cooper. Iilizaheth Petra. Kris Kristofferson. I35 rrtirts. When a rrttxlerrt-day Texan sheriff investigates a decades-old murder. past clashes with present and local mythologies have to be re-examined. Sayles's various sub-plots don't distract front each other: irt fact. they re-inforce and counterpoint. building a complex social. historical arid political backdrop to the rivetting thriller on the surface. Another masterpiece from America's greatest independent director. lidinburgh: Canteo. Strathclyde: Magnum.
I Maborosi (PG) (Ilirokaztr Koreeda. Japan. 1995) Iisurtti Makiko. Naito Takeshi. I 10mins. When her Ittrsbartd commits suicide. a yotrng Japanese woman becomes convinced she's some kind of Angel of Death. while her fantin try to obliterate this social shame by arranging a new marr iage. Slow and contemplative. with minimal dialogue. former (ltX‘tllllClllilliSI Koreeda fills his feature debut with frames shot irt sertti-(Iarkness. Arthotrse tradrtronalists w ill delight at its Iirtgerrrtg pace. Central: MacRobert.
I la Machine ( l5) (Francois Dupeyron. France. 1995) Gerard Depardieu. Didier Botrrdon. Nathalie Baye. 9-1 rrtins. Depardieu stars as a psychiatric sor'cerer's apprentice who experiments with a secret machine that can transfer the souls and sensibilities of dangerous patients. A sci-fi thriller that's deliciorrsly over- the-top. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'I'.
I le Maitre Des Elephants (PG) (Patrick Grandperret. France. 1995) Jacques Dutronc. Erwan Baynaud. llalilou Borrba. 95 mins. When his mother dies. thirteen-year-old Martin joins his father on an African game reserve. where he makes friends with a local boy with a gift for controlling elephants. The African backdrop allows for several of the country's contradictions to come to the fore. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFI'.
I les Menteurs ( 15) (Elie Chouraqui. France. 1995) Jean-Hughes Anglade. Valeria Bruni- Tedeschi. Lorraine Bracco. 107 ntins. Two scriptwriters get together to make love and make movies irt this filrtt btrff's delight. The story develops when big-time director Anglade is found homeless on the streets of Paris. with his producer trying to discover the secret of his disappearance. French Film Festival. Glasgow: OFT. Edinburgh: Filnthorrse.
I le Mepris ( 15) (Jean-Luc Godard. France. 1963) Brigitte Bardot. Jack Palance. Michel Piccoli. 103 mins. Godard's comment on international filmmaking is re-released in a new print. A scriptwriter is increasingly despised by his wife as he tries to setup a film in Rome to be directed by Fritz Lang. The breakdown of a marriage contrasts with the chequcbook wedding that marked so rrtuch collaborative filmmaking dtrring the 60s. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Michael Collins ( 15) (Neil Jordan. US. 1996) Liam Neeson. Julia Roberts. Alan Rickrnan. I32 rttins. Winner of the Best Film and Best Actor awards at the Venice Film Festival and the cause of knee-jerk criticism front the right-wing press. Jordan‘s stirring historical epic is an honest portrayal of a ragged and bloody conflict between the British imperial power and idealistic Irish Nationalists early this century. The action is
34 The List 15-28 Nov 1996