McQueen. James Coburn. [Eli Wallach. I26 mins. Ever~popular Hollywood remake of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai ltas Brynner and Co hired to save a Mexican village from tlte unwelcome attentions of Wallach's bandits. 'Ihe plot became an archetypal movie narrative witlt a ltost of sequels and copies both offical and unofficial. Special screening of a new print. Iidinburgh: Cameo.
Mamma Roma (l8) (Pier Paolo Pasolini. Italy. I962) Anna Magttatti. Iittore (iarofolo, Franco Citti. Ill) ntins. Pasoltni‘s superb second film »- after the grimy. hoodlum tragedy Art'utnne — stars Magttatti as a prostitute escaping a cycle of poverty attd despair. ottly to have her past reappear iii the shape of a blackntailing pimp. 'lhe lilnt' encapsulates a doomed human condition by ttiarrying liiglt art attd then-influential Italian neo-realisnt. (ilasgow: (il’l'.
Mrs Brown (P(i) (John Madden. UK. I997) Jttdi Dench. Billy Conttolly. Antony Sher. l().‘~ mins. Queen Victoria's obsessive ntourttittg for Prince Albert is casting glootit over the entire country. so Highland gltillie John Browtt is called down from Baltttoral to shake tip the stuffy Iinglish court. Madden's filttt can't match the comic brio attd visual panache of The Madness ()fKing (Jeri/ye. bttt his understated direction tmdettiably suits the story. The performances are uniformly splendid. with Dench attd Conttolly (both perfectly cast) giving the filttt a surprising emotional depth. (ilasgow: (Iilmorehill. ()dcon Quay. Irvine: WMR. Kirkcaldy: Adam Sittitlt.
My Best Friend's Wedding (12) (PJ. Hogan. US. I997) Julia Roberts. Dermot Mulroney. Cattteron Diaz. I05 tttitts. The director of Attstralian hit Aflll‘ft'lh' ll'eiIi/ing takes .lulia Roberts otil of her usual. wide- eyed role of irritating innocence atid re-casts her as a two-faced career girl who tries to scupper the wedding of a former boyfriend whom she suddenly realises she is still very much itt love with. A wonderfully scripted film with a ftiti perfortttances all round. it ultimately affirms the enduring nature of friendship. (ilas‘gow: ()deon Quay.
October (P(i) (Sergei Iiisenstein. USSR. I928) Nikandrov. Vladimir Popov. Boris l.ivanov. lo-l ittitts. Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution. Iiisettstein's film is a pulsating expression of the power of montage. with a succession of dazzling images and the elaborate use of visual metaphor marking this otit as one of the Soviet cinema's great classics. (ilasgow: (ll-'l'.
Oh! What A Lovely War (l’(i) (Richard Attenborottgli. UK. 1969) Ralph Richardson. Meriel Forbes. John (iielgud. I44 tttitts. A stellar and very British cast — Richardson. (iielgud. More. Hawkins. Mills. Redgrave. ()livier -- turn out for .-\ttcnborough's first film as director itt this anti-war musical. Songs of the day pepper the action. whiclt attacks the upper-class officers who are indifferent to the deaths of their men. (ilasgow: (il’l'.
One Night Stand (18) (Mike l‘iggis. US. I997) Wesley Snipes. Nastassja Kittski. Kyle Macl.achlan. l()2 mins. A single noctural liaison between two ltappily married people is the trigger itt director Mike l"iggis's follow tip to Leaving his teens. lilccked with unexpected twists attd turns. the plot makes us sympathise with two-timer Max (Snipes). Whether this is it romantic story of fated coincidence or a moral about the consequences of infidelity. One Night Stu/til is an emotional rollet'coaster ride. brought to life by its distinctive directorial style. Iidinburgh: Cattteo.
Parfait Amour ( I5) (Catherine Breillat. l‘rance. I996) 115 tttins. Director Breillat comes to Scotland to introduce and discuss the film that split the critics at Cannes. In Dunkirk. a divorcee with two kids falls fora man tett years younger and their passionate affair that's doomed from the beginning. ‘My film is about a love story that ends in murder.‘ says the director. ‘and not the story of a crittte'. See if you agree. Glasgow: (il-‘I‘.
Photographing Fairies ( I5) (Nick Willing. UK. I997) 'I’oby Stephens. limin Woof. Bert Kingsley. |()7 mins. Worlds removed frottt the cinema of Merchant-Ivory. this British
pen'od fantasy film follows traumatised photographer Charles Castle (Stephens) exploit his technical knowledge to debunk supposedly authentic photographs of fairies. only to discover a picture he can't explain away. With an obvious affection for Powell and Pressburger. Willing taps ittto our current millennial angst. Stirling; MacRobert.
Picture Perfect ( l2) ((ilen (iordon Caron. US. 1997) Jennifer Aniston. Kevin Bacon. Jay Mohr. l()l mins. Advertising exec Kate (Aniston) fancies office ltunk Sam (Bacon). btit he's only interested in women w ho are spoken for. She then invents a fictional fiance based on a guy in a Polaroid (Moltr). but things get complicated when he turns tip and genuinely falls for her. Aniston plays close to type (ie Friends) btit that‘s perfect for this light-hearted romantic comedy. (ieneral release.
Quadrophenia ( l8) (lirank Roddattt. UK. I979) Phil Daniels. leslie Ash. Philip Davis. Sting. IZO mins. Mods attd rockers live it tip on Brighton beach by swapping buckets and spades for chains attd sticks. Lively first half has enough energy. music. violence and period flavour to carry it along. but all too soon it degenerates ittto sottte sort of treatise on the morality of youth. set to tunes by The Who. Iidinburgh: Cattteo. Rainbow (PG) (Bob Hoskins. UK. 1995) Bob Hoskins. 'l'erry I-‘inn. Jacob 'lierney. 9|
tttins. Four precocious kids front New Jersey
ride to the American midwest on a rainbow. btit when one pockets sonte gold. the safety of the world is in jeopardy. 'lhe characters lack warmth. the plot unfolds with little humour and minimal drama. Patchy. insubstantial and charntless. (ilzlsgow: (irosvenor.
Regeneration (l5) ((iillies Mackiitnon. UK/Canada. I997) Jottatltatt Pryce. James Wilby. Jotttty Lee Miller. ll} minutes. Faithful to Pat Barker‘s source novel. Mackinnon's film touches on trench life durittg WWI. bill is mostly confined within the walls of Edinburgh‘s Craiglockhart Hospital. where psychiatrist Dr Rivers (Pryce) nurses the shell-shocked back to mental fitness. It's a sober. tttourttful work. and ntost of the fireworks comes frotn the actors. all of whom excel. lidinhurgh: Cameo.
Richard III (l5) (Richard l.oncrainc. UK. 1995) Ian McKellen. Annette Betting. Jim Broadbent. I03 ntins. Updated to lingland during the 30s. Shakespeare‘s play is sensibly trimmed to concentrate fully on the crookbacked king's murderous rise to the throne. McKellen gives a cotttntanding perforntance amidst sottte wonderful supporting turns. while l.oncraine ensures that the bard has rarely been treated in such splendidly cittetttatic terms. The fascistic look of the costumes does help clarify sottte of the divisions iii the text. lidittburgh: I-‘ilm (iuild.
Romeo And Juliet (12) (Ball. l.ulirtttann. Australia/US. I996) Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes. Pete Postlethwaite. 120 tttitts. The Strictly [Ia/[mum director's treatment of the Shakespeare tragedy is a magnificent riot of colour. action attd sexy teen romance. without arty need to sacrifice the text. To call it ‘M'I‘V filtttmaking' misses the point that the camera tricks and iii-jokes don't iii any way distract frottt the fact that l.uhrntann has completely grasped the issues at the centre of the play. An intoxicating. breathtaking mix of Catholic iconography. high camp attd street violence that's both deliciously feverish attd sttidiedly cool. Iidinburgh: Cattteo. I-‘ilmhous‘e.
Sense And Sensibility (U) (Ang Lee. US/UK. 1995) Iimma 'Iltompson. Kate Winslet. Alan Rickntan. Hugh (irant. IRS mitts. Denied their inheritance when the father of the household dies. the female mentbers of the Dasltwood fatnin face a precarious future which complicates the romances of sensible lilinor ('l'hottipson) arid entolive Marianne (Winslet). 'Iliompson‘s adaptation keeps the wordplay ettgaginly tart and sharp-witted. btit never loses sight of the powerful frustrations simmering beneath the surface. Infinitely more satisfying than your typical fluffy period piece. Glasgow: (il’l‘.
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index FILM
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EDINBURGH
EEITIVAL THEATRE
HSNfl 97/38 NINIEH SEHSflN
Sun 25 Jan at 7.30 pm Tickets From £7
Children‘s classic Euneetts
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Tues 24. Thurs 26 & Sat 28 Feb
Eusi fan tutte
by Mozart
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Snatched tilt the Guns/Btuhen Stunts
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Fri 27 Feb
Samson i, its...
Scottish Opera in concert
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23 Jan-S Feb 1998 THE LIST“