Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
Academy Awards Party The third. aitrtual Crusaid fundraiser boasts screenings of Bar Lulirmann's brilliartt Romeo .-lnt/ Jul/('1 (live stars iii our review section. by tlte way) and volcano actioner Dante's l’ea/t'. L'p for auction are some incredible items of memorabilia. including a one-off signed poster of [iv/Ia. donated by Madonna. Then you cart watch the entire ()scat' ceremony live iii the late licenced bar. All for only £15. Mon 24 Mar only. Edinburgh: ldlltllllfllSC. Amarcord i 181 tl-ederico Fellini. llaly/i't'a'tcc. 19731 123111i11s.l5cllitti's iovous. atttobiographical look back at life .111.l{llllllll iii the 1930s is the work of the master in his most outgoittg mood. A constant procession of remarkable images arid rtteiitor'able events. despite the looming shadow of 1talian fascism. (.ilasgow: (,il’l‘. Antonia’s Line ( 15) (Marleen Gorris. Netherlands/llelgitint/UK. 19951Wi11eke van Aniritelrooy. lils Dotternians. Dora van der' ()vei'loop. 104 mins. The Best liorcigti l'ilm ( )scar winner for 1996. .‘lll/(Hl/(lit line is the family saga of five generations of worttert front a rural Dutch coitiiritiiirty. The story. toltl with magic realist eletiteiits. is fragitiented and incidenet-driven. btit it's uplifting in its engageirtent w tilt the sexual politics (ioriis has explored iit previous films. Edinburgh: l-‘rlirthouse. Batman Forever (PG) (Joel Schumacher. LS. 1995) Val Kilittei‘. Toiitmy Lee Jones. Jitrt Cat'r'cy. 122 ittitts. A lightening of tone ltas followed the departure of Tim Burton from the director's seat. meaning that this third effort is. 111 contparisort. shallow. rtoisy arid rather by-tlie-nuitibers. That said. no orte will be askiitg for their mortey back. Added to the list of \ illaitis this tinte are ('arrcy is The Riddler and .lones's Two- 1'ace baddies of a truly hissable class - and another wannabe vigilante in the shape of orphaned l)ick Grayson (Chris ()‘Donriell i. Just don‘t expect the sartte dark forays into the shadows of the human tsy cite. Glasgow: Virgin. Beautiiul Thing ( 151 (llctlie Mactlonaltl. l'ls'. 19961(i1err Berry. Linda Henry. Scott Neal. 90 mins. Jamie. a teenager hay ittg a hard time at the local comprehettsive. falls for neighbour Ste. who himself is on the receiving end from his e\-lto\et' dad. l'irst-tiirrer .\1acdonald‘s direction is tiiillashy. btit atttrrted to the inner liy es of these motley indry idtials. artd the cast work wonders. Bright. summery arid ftill of life‘s possibilities. 1-1dinhurgh: ('ameo. The Beverly Hillbillies (PU) (Penelope Spit-certs. 18. 1993111111 \ar'ney. Cloris l.e.icl:itiaii. lzrrka lilertiak. 1113 mitts. A hunch of backwoods natiyes strike oil. bccoitte billionaires arid move to Beverly Hills. There are only a couple of almost w ry moments airtid the excruciatingly bad puns. desperate parodies arid iitarte slapstick. .iiid the writers seem to believe \\ c ttc‘t‘ll .t slttpitl face 01‘ post L‘\L‘t'y ()0 seconds. Thats a forrrttrla that iiiigltt work on T\' with constant commercial breaks. but not 111 a cinema feature. Glasgow: Virgin. Bicycle Thieves tl’(,i~ (\lllUl'ltl 1)e Sica. ltaly 194M latitberto Maggiorani. tin/o Staioia ‘10 trims. An trneriiployed ltaliait workman hashrs bicycle stolen.th badly needs it tor a rtew ~rob. so he arid his small son search the busy streets of Rome for it. The epitome of ltaliait neo- i‘ealrsni. with the Roman setting yiyidly sketched arid the performances corttpellrttgly natural. so that this unrotiiantic drama takes on an oyei‘whelriiirig power. .\1as'terly sttiff. (-ilasgow: (ii-'1‘, The Big Sky (PG) (Howard Hawks. L'S. 19531 Kirk Douglas. Dewey Martin. Elizabeth Thr'eatt. 122 mins. Hawks (Red R11 er: /\’/rtlll‘(1\‘t'1 heads on on the
Western trail again. with Douglas and Martin joining a trading party menaced by nature and hostile 1ndians. Good location work and some splendid set- pieces pep up what is principally a study of male bonding. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Bill Douglas Trilogy (12) (Bill Douglas. UK. 1972/73/78) 48/55/78 mins. This trio of films about a boy growing up in a harsh mining community represents perhaps the peak of Scottish filmmaking. Bare narrative. stark images. painful memories — the distillation of feeling on screen is as close to poetry as cinema gets. Edinburgh: Cameo.
The Birds (18) (Alfred Hitchcock. US. 1963) Rod Taylor. Tippi Hedren. Suzanne Pleshette. 119 mins. Brilliant macabre idea from a Du Maurier tale to have our winged friends turned into malevolent killers. this is Hitch at his most mischevous. ()h. and for the amateur psychologists among you. there is a glacial blonde leading lady. and she is mistreated. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Blood And Wine (15) (Bob Rafelson. US. 1996) Jack Nicholson. Michael Caine. Stephen Dorff. 100 mins. A Miami wine merchant turns to crime when his business is about to go belly-up. dragging in his wife. his stepson and the Cuban housemaid he and the boy unwittingly share for a lover. A twisty thriller populated by characters you believe in and emotions that cause real hurt. Glasgow: ABC Film Centre. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Bound ( 18) (Larry and Andy Wacliowski. US. 1996) Jennifer Tilly. Gina Gerson. Joe Pantoliano. 97 mins. Ex-con Corky (Gershon) is seduced by Violet (Tilly) into helping steal $2 million from mob money-launderer Caesar (Pantoliano). but the sting doesn’t go smoothly. After a slightly cliched opening. oozing with steamy lesbian sex. the Wachowski‘s neo-noir thriller truly comes into its own. Tightly plotted arid ftill of stylish quirks. its story takes unpredictable twists to keep any of the characters holding all the cards at one time. Glasgow: ABC Film Centre. ()deon Quay. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI.
Brassed Off ( 15) (Mark Hermart. 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
w titer-director Harmen has created a film that balances nicely between pithy humour arid heartbreaking poignance. Performances are excellent. particularly Brilly'kissangel's Stephen Tompkittson. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Cameo. Braveheart ( 15) (Mel Gibson. US. 1995) Mel Gibson. Patrick McGoohan. Sophie Marceau. 177 itiiits. Mel Gibson’s long arid bloody account of the life of Scottish warrior hero William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great performances. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate Rob Roy. Brai‘e/teai't'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 aitd heroes. Edinburgh: Cameo. ()deon.
Breaking The Waves ( l8) (Lars von Trier. Deniiiark/France. 1996) Emily Watson Stellart Skarsgard. Katrin Cartlidge. 158 mins. In a close-knit Calvinist community iii the north of Scotland. at young woman faces banishment front the church when she makes a self-sacrificing pact with God iii order to save her husband's life. L’nlike von Trier's austere arthouse works (Europa). this intimate melodrama is raw and exposed. Emotional connection transcends everything else iii one of the ritost moving films ever made. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Carla’s Song (15) (Ken Loacti. UK. 1996) Robert Carlyle. Oyanka Cabezas. Scott Glenn. 127 mins. A more
commercially viable outing for Loach. without a loss of political commitment. Carlyle plays Glasgwegian bus driver George. who gives up everything to help refugee Carla return to Nicaragua and find her boyfriend. The love story aspect of the first (Scottish) halfof the film is its strongest point; the revelations in Central America don‘t hold surprises but without Hollywood gloss. the war scenes seem more realistic. Carlyle is excellent — mildly tough and totally charming. East Kilbride: Arts Centre. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Conspirators Of Pleasure (18) (Jan Svankmajer. Czech Republic. 1996) 75 mins. Czech surrealist Jan Svankmajer‘s third feature is a live action black comedy that makes a wicked. slightly disturbing foray into the bizarre sexual fantasies that lurk in the human mind. Sparing in the use of his trademark st0p- motion animation. Svankmajer manipulates his actors instead and draws on the work of de Sade. Freud. Max Ernst and Bunuel to illuminate his characters' desires. See review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Stirling: MacRobert Arts Centre.
The Crucible (12) (Nicholas Hytner. US. 1996) Daniel Day Lewis. Winona Ryder. Paul Scofield. 124 mins. Leading Arrnerican playwright Arthur Miller adapts his classic stage play. based on the 17th century Salem witch trials and. although the relevance to the McCarthy hearings has drifted itito history. it still questions many of today's irrational and hysterical beliefsystems. The finger- pointing is done by a spurned young woman. who accuses her ex-lover‘s wife of witchcraft. and soon an all-cosuming tide of evil and hypocrisy is devastating their village. Deception becomes a stronger force than the truth in a truly compelling arid important film. Glasgow: Odeons. Edinburgh: Cameo. Others: Greenock.
Cruising (18) (William Friedkin. US. 1980) Al Pacino. Paul Sorvino. Karen Allen. 106 ntins. Pacino plays an undercover cop. posing in the Manhattan gay underworld in order to track down a killer. For years. Friedkin's thriller has been lambasted as exploitative and violent. but this rare screening of a print imported from the US may be a chance to reassess the movie. At the evening screening. writer and critic Paul Burston will argue the case for the defence. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Dante's Peak (12) (Roger Donaldson. US. 1997) Pierce Brosnan. Linda Hamilton. Charles Hallaltan. 109 mins. A volcanologist (Brosnan). haunted by the past. arrives in an idyllic town and tries to persuade the nice lady mayor (Hamilton) that a dormant volcano is about to erupt. In true Jars-x style. the bigwigs don‘t waiit to cause panic. and a couple of kids are missing up the mountain. Disaster of a huge scale. Dante '5‘ Peak works on its special effects level. btit the dialogue and characterisation is abysmal. See review. General release.
Daylight ( 12) (Rob Cohen. US. 1996) Sylvester Stallone. Amy Brennetnan. Viggo Mortensen. 110 mitts. After an explosion iii an underground tunnel traps a band of survivors. it's up to disgraced ex-emergency chief Stallone to lead them to safety and himself to redemption. Art obvious remake of The Poseidon Adventure in a different setting. Daylight has some decent special effects. but the characterisations and internal tensions are somewhat lacking. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
ll Deserto Rosso T/lc’ Red Desert (15) (Michaelangelo Antonioni. Italy. 1964) Monica Vitti. Richard Harris. Carlo Chiortetti. 116 mins. A woman who has recently suffered a nervous breakdown begins a tentative affair with a friend of her husband. Antoniorti uses muted colours and an industrial landscape to magnificent effect. as Vitti's fraught heroine becomes dislocated and menaced by her surroundings. A masterpiece of cinema as art. Glasgow: GET.
index FILM
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 lumbers along. Edinburgh: Odeon. Falkirk: ABC. The English Patient (15) (Anthony Minghella. UK/US. 1996) Ralph Fiennes. Juliette Binoche. Kristin Scott Thomas. 162 mins. A mysterious stranger. suffering from horrific burns. is cared for by a Canadian nurse during the final days of WW2. 1n flashback. we discover more about the great romantic affair whose tragic climax brought him to this state. Anthony Minghella alters the focus of Michael Ondaatje’s Booker Prize- winning novel to concentrate more on boiling passions in the North African desert. Spectacularly filmed on location. the film boasts magnificent performances from each and every one of the leads. General release.
Evita (12) (Alan Parker. US. 1996) Madonna. Antonio Banderas. Jonathan Pryce. 135 mins. Parker's genuine epic. based on the Tirii Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. boasts huge crowd scenes (up to 40.000 extras. according to sources) and stars on top form. The film belongs very much to Madonna in a gift of a role. which follows the rags-to-riches life of Eva Perén from poverty to her place in the hearts ofa nation. lt‘s narrated in song by sardonic revolutionary Che Guevara (Banderas). but once the audience becomes accustomed to the style. the sheer scale of the movie should take effect. Glasgow: Showcase. Edinburgh: Cameo. Odeon. The Exorcist ( 18) (William Friedkin. US. 1973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Vort Sydow. 1 10 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. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCl.
Fierce Creatures (12) (Robert Young/Fred Schepisi. UK/US. 1996) John Cleese. Jamie Lee Curtis. Kevin Kline. Michael Palin. 93 mins. The team from A F [3/1 Called Want/a team up again for a completely different story. Kline has dual roles as a crude media tycoon and the son he sends to turn the English zoo he's just bought into a profit-making machine by chucking out the fluffy animals and filling it only with ‘fierce creatures'. The film lacks bite. however. and the TV stalwarts in the smaller roles are often embarrassing. A light farce that doesn‘t match their earlier effort. lrvine: Magnum.
Flirting With Disaster (15) (David 0. Russell. US. 1996) Bert Stiller. Patricia Arquette. Tea Leoni. 92 mins. After the impressive Spanking The Monkey. writer- director Russell delivers a movie that‘s more contrived and less emphatic than his debut. but still pacy. funny and wickedly fond of its eccentric characters. The story is an offbeat road trip. with husband and wife Mel and Nancy trying to save their marriage and find his biological parents while having various affairs en route. Great performartces and a nicely ironic script. Edinburgh: Cameo. Fly Away Home (U) (Caroll Ballard. US. 1996) Anna Paquin. Jeff Daniels. Dana Delany. 107 mins. When her mother is killed in a car crash. young Amy (Tire Piano '3' Paquin) is sent to live with her estranged father in Canada. Soon they’ve hatched a plan to help a flock of baby geese migrate south for the winter by leading them in a modified glider. An orphaned kid. some fluffy animals — but this gets beyond the formula by injecting some credible emotional depth into the performances by the two leads. Glasgow: Odeons. Edinburgh: Dominion. UCI. lrvine: WMR. Stirling: Carlton.
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21Mar—3 Apr 1997 THELIST 25