FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Bullets Over Broadway (I5) (Woody Allen. US. I994) John Cusack. Dianne Wiest. Chazz Palminteri. I05 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: Gilmorehill.
ll Camorrista (l8) (Guiseppe Tomatore. Italy. 1986) I70 mins. American actor Ben Gazzara plays crime boss Raffaele Cutolo. who orchestrates a Neopolitan empire from behind prison bars. This is disrupted. however. when a councillor is kidnapped by the Red Brigade and police scrutiny falls on the town. A very rare screening indeed of a notorious film which brought Tornatore to the spotlight. Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: OFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Casablanca (PG) (Michael Curtiz. US. I942) Humphrey Bogart. Ingrid Bergman. Dooley Wilson. 102 mins. You must remember this . . . Bogart being impossiny noble. Bergman torn between two lovers. Claude Rains playing both ends against the middle. devious Nazis. a fogbound airport. a piano-player tinkling that tune. A wonderful hill of beans. Edinburgh: St Bride's. Chasing Amy (l8) (Kevin Smith. US. I996) Ben Affiect. Joey Lauren Adams. Jason Lee. III mins. The third film by the writer/director of C [er/cs is a wry and surprisingly mature look at twentysomething relationships. Comic book artist Holden (Affieck) falls desperately in love with Alyssa (Adams). but she prefers gals to guys. Sexual desire and a crisis of masculinity come under the microscope in a film that's bloody funny in a risque way. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Chunglting Express (12) (Wong Kar-Wai. Hong Kong. I994) Brigitte Lin. Takeshi Kaneshiro. Tony Leung. Faye Wang. 97 mins. Such a glorious concoction of
humour. energy. style and kookiness rarely comes our way. The two loosely overlapping stories are set around a fast food stall in Hong Kong. with mismatched romance and indulgent heartache the menu for today. The second segment is the stronger. but the film is so fresh and unusual that it more than survives this slight imbalance. A Bout Dc Souffle for our times. Glasgow: OFT. Contact (PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. I997) Jodie Foster. Matthew McConaughey. James Woods. ISO mins. Based on the Carl Sagan bestseller. this epic story of man's first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence is beset throughout by arrant nonsense and miscalculation. Foster is the researcher specialising in the monitoring of radio waves from the ether who picks up a communication signal from another planet. Zemeckis has inherently fascinating subject matter throughout. but shows a truly depressing lack of imagination in bringing II to the screen. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Cop land (I5) (James Mangold. US. I997) Sylvester Stallone. Robert De Niro. Harvey Keitel. Ray Liotta. l05 mins. Stallone plays sheriff Freddy Hefiin. bossed around by the NYPD men who make their home in Garrison. New Jersey. When he uncovers deep-rooted police corruption on his turf. he has a one-shot chance to win back his self- respect. Like LA. Confidential. Cop Lum/ has a stormer of a plot. but is essentially a character-driven movie. The acting is. unsurprisingly. in a league of its own. with Stallone's lumbering hero providing his best role since Rocky. Kirkcaldy: Adatn Smith. Deconstructing Harry ( l8) (Woody Allen. US. I997) Woody Allen. Kirstie Alley. Billy Crystal. 94 mins. Author Harry Block has writer's block. and his friends have all btit abandoned him due to his habit of recasting them as characters in his best-selling ‘fiction'. Allen plays with the received. perceived idea of ‘Woody Allen'. and Stardust Memories floats in the background. There are flaws in the film. but there are also many. many prime Woody throwaways. See review. Glasgow; (TI-T. Odeon Quay. Showcase.
Actor-director Sergio Rubini visits the Italian Film Festival with The Brides Journey
The Edge (I5) (Lee 'I‘amahori. US. I997) Anthony Hopkins. Alec Baldwin. Iille Macpherson. I IS mins. Hopkins and Baldwin respectively play an intellectual billionaire and a brash fashion photographer ss ho end up stranded miles from nowhere in the midst of brutal weather conditions. Cliched Iron John bonditig gives vsay to rivalry over Hopkins‘s lovely young wife (Maepherson). however. The characters are wafer-thin. the narrative ludicrous and the action laughable. Iidinburgh: Cameo.
The Empire Strikes Back (U) (Irvin Kershner. US. I980) Mark Hamill. Harrison I‘ord. Carrie Fisher. Anthony Daniels. Alec (iuinness. I24 mins. The second. darker instalment of the (leorge Lucas sequence (still a trilogy — so far). w ith readin recognized characters and predictably great special effects. But the intrigue of family riddles is otin really interesting in the light of the third serving. Return ()f The Jedi. Iidinburgh; St Bride's.
The End Of Violence ( IS) (with Wenders. US/Germany/lirance. I997) Bill Pullman.
.-\ndic MacDoys ell. (iahriel Byrne. Ill) mins. Reminiscent of those open-ended paranoia thrillers of the 70s (The
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0/ l’mlcncc casts a caustic eye on modern l.:\_ where reality and fiction are both most keenly experienced through the camera lens. The plot revolves around the city's Iii-tech
: surveillance system and a murder attempt on
a top film producer. but althouin the themes are intriguing. the overall effect is very patchy. Stirling: .‘ylaclhibert.
Event Horizon l l8) (Paul Anderson. I'S/I'K. l997) laurence l‘ishhurne. Sam Neill. Joel} Richardson. ‘)I mills. I'he crew of a rescue ship discover that hell has been unleashed inside a missing craft that reappears near Neptune. as their deepest Iears begin to terrorise them in physical form. Iiffectisely a haunted house movie set in space. live/i! HUI'IZHII hoasts stunning "lechno Medieval' design; but tight editing leaves the characterisation and story stripped to svithin an inch of their lives: (ilasgoyv; (‘in (‘entre (Ideon.
‘A SOMETIMES HILARIOUS AND SOMETIMES HEART-SEARING TALE...
ITI S IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO LOVE THIS MOVIE'...
‘HILAgIOUS'
EMPIRE
THE FACE
‘BRILLIANT'
‘OUTSTANDING'
Ill! GUARDIAN
‘BREATHTAKING, INSPIRED' ‘BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES'
*****
*****
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BBC Films 8. Scala Wit Scala Production t Shane Meadows a...
TWENTYFOURSEV
6 Bafta Nomination BEST BRITISH FILM
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