film
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Film screenings this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits. brief review and venue details. Film Index compiled by Alan Morrison
Abba The Movie (U) (Lasse Halstrom. Swe/Australia. 1977) ABBA. Robert Hughes. Tom Oliver. Bruce Barry. 95 min. Made at the height of their populatrity. the wafer thin plotline consists of the four Swedes being pursued across 02 by a Sydney DJ. ‘Dancing Queen'. ‘Waterloo'. ‘S.O.S.'. etc. Takes you back eh? Falkirk: Town Hall.
Air Force One (15) (Wolfgang Petersen. US. 1997) Harrison Ford. Gary Oldman. Glenn Close. 124 mins. Kazhakstani terrorists hijack the White House's private 747. so President James Marshall (Ford) has to put his own life on the line to save the day. There‘s no attempt to take the piss out of US gung-ho positivism. so instead we have an overextended excuse to show American resourcefulness triumphing once again. The whole ass-whupping jingoisrn of it all is particularly virulent. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
All Quiet On The Western Front (PG) (Lewis Milestone. US. 1930) 1x)uis Wohlheim. Lew Ayres. John Wray. 138 mins. An Oscar-winning adaptation of Remarque's pacifist novel daringly takes a German point of view. following a sensitive young man and his friends who are sent to the front lines of WW1. Realistic in its emotional impact. it is surely one of the greatest anti-war movies ever made. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Amistad (15) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1997) Anthony Hopkins. Morgan Freeman. Djimon Hounsou. 152 mins. After a revolt on a ship off the coast of Cuba in 1839. a group of slaves are captured by an American naval cutter and put on trial for piracy and murder. Spielberg botches this fascinating tale not because of historical inaccuracy. but through narrative incompetence — the film falls apart in the courtroom. where scenes come across as U1 Law done in period costume. Cumbernauld: Theatre.
Anastasia (U) (Don Bluth/Gary Goldman. US. 1997) Voices of Meg Ryan. Christopher Lloyd. John Cusack. 94 mins. With this widescreen romantic musical adventure. animator Don Bluth offers a film that rivals Disney. Rewriting history somewhat. evil magician Rasputin puts a curse on the Tsar's family and causes the 1917 Revolution. The child princess Anastasia survives. but grows as an orphan. unable to remember her past. With extraordinary action sequences. exquisite characterisations and beautiful songs. General release.
Apocalypse Now! (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 Sheen downriver and deeper into the Heart Of Darkness nrled 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. Edinburgh: Cameo.
As Good As It Gets (15) (James L. Brooks. US. 1997) Jack Nicholson. Helen Hunt. Greg Kinnear. 139 mins. Neurotic writer Melvin suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. but compensates for his lonely life by becoming a master of abuse. Carol. the waitress in a local restaurant. is the only person tough enough to take him on. As romantic comedies go. it's an odd pairing. but the match works thanks to a sharply witty script and spot-on performances from Nicholson and Hunt. General release. Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (15) (Jay Roach. US. 1997) Mike Myers. Elizabeth Hurley. Michael York. 94 mins. Austin Powers. the 60s' silliest superspy. is brought out of suspended animation and pitted him against his old nemesis. But the world has moved on three decades. so his un-PC catchphrases and behaviour create a bit of a comic time-clash. Written by and starring Wayne Is World's Mike Myers. Austin Powers has perfect detail. spot—on casting and a hilarious mix of clever pastiche and toilet gags. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Babe (U) (Chris Noonan. Australia. 1995) James Cromwell. with the voices of Christine Cavanaugh. Miriam Margolyes. Hugo Weaving. 92 mins. An orphaned pig falls under the eye of a kindly collie and begins to think he‘s destined for glory at the regional trials. Talking animals suggest that this is a kids' movie: to an extent it is — and a great one — but there's enough skewered humour (hail the psycho mice!) for adults to discover an unexpected cult hit. A triumph for the underpig. Irvine: Magnum. Bhavantarana (PG) (Kumar Shahani. India. 1991 ) 63 mins. Director Kumar Shahani will be on hand to discuss his part- fictional documentary on the Odissi dance. seen through the eyes of its foremost living exponent. Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. Here living traditions and modes of social interaction turn into classical forms. Glasgow: GET.
The Big Lebowski (18) (Joel Coen. US. 1997) Jeff Bridges. John Goodman. Steve Buscemi. 1 13 mins. The Coen brothers give their unique twist to a Chandler-esque LA noir. as 705 hippy throwback Jeff "lhe Dude' Lebowski (Bridges) is drawn into the sordid affairs of his millionaire namesake. Suddenly he has to sleuth his way through disorganised crime. Trademark oddball characters. surreal imagery and excellent performances grace this virtuoso comedy. See preview and review. Glasgow: Odeons. Edinburgh: Cameo.
The Blackout ( l8) (Abel Ferrara. US. 1997) Matthew Modine. Beatrice Dalle. Dennis Hopper. 99 mins. Modine plays a top Hollywood star whose addiction to drugs and alcohol is way out of control. In the heat of Miami. his substance binge enters tornado proportions. and later he becomes convinced that. during a blackout. he killed someone. Ferrara is back in the moral gutter. following the painful spiritual journey ofa single character. Modine gives his all in a film that spills off the screen like an anguished howl from a diseased soul. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (15) (Ridley Scott. US. 1982/92) Harrison Ford.
Sean Young. Rutger Hauer. 116 mins. Out go the pseudo-noir narration and the tacked- on happy ending; in comes a more defined sense that Deckard himself may be a replicant. The look and feel remain as powerful. and the acting is superb. A flawed masterpiece is now a restored masterpiece. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon.
Boogie Nights (18) (Paul Thomas Anderson. US. 1997) Mark Wahlberg. Burt Reynolds. Julianne Moore. 152 mins. Doing for porn filmmaking what Goat/fellas did for gangsters. Boogie Nights charts the rise. fall and redemption of a fictional porn superstar (Wahlberg) against the enormous changes wrought in the industry between the 70s and 80s. Large-scale social commentary and small-scale human dramas account for the film's epic feel. while the kitsch fashions and funky disco soundtrack create a film that is as ambitious as it is entertaining. Edinburgh: Cameo. Falkirk: Town Hall. Stirling: MacRobert. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
The Borrowers (U) (Peter Hewitt. UK. 1997) John Goodman. Jim Broadbent. Celia lmrie. 86 mins. At a height of only four inches. the Borrowers hide in wall cavities and living beneath the floorboards of the Lender household. When a nasty lawyer tries to swindle the humans out of their inheritance. families big and small join forces. The design and effects create a strangely familiar. oddly unplaceable world. and children will have little difficulty suspending enough disbelief to be spellbound by the magic of the film. Edinburgh: ABCs.
Breakdown (15) (Jonathan Mostow. US. 1997) Kurt Russell. Kathleen Quinlan. J.T. Walsh. 93 mins. When their car breaks down in the desert. a nightmare begins for yuppie Russell after his wife accepts a lift from truck driver Walsh. then disappears off the face of the earth. A solid. silly. amiably suspenseful romp that‘s stuck firmly within its particular corner of the suspense genre and is on first name terms with every cliche in the immediate vicinity. If you can bear the familiarity of thejoumey. then sit back and enjoy the ride. See review. General release.
Bride of Frankenstein (PG) (James Whale. US. 1935) Boris Karloff. Colin Clive. Elsa Lanchester. 75 mins. Marvelloust dry comic horror as Ernest Thesiger's gin- soaked Dr Praetorious persuades Clive‘s good Baron Frankenstein that his monster needs a mate. setting the scene for the hilarious climactic creation sequence where the stern Lanchester joins Karloff in the ranks of the living undead. Virtually remade by Mel Brooks as Young Frankenstein and badly abused by Franc Roddam's disastrous The Bride. nothing can quite match the outrageous piquancy of the original. Edinburgh: St Bride‘s.
The Buddha of Suburbia ( 15) (Roger Michell. UK. 1993) Naveen Andrews. Roshan Seth. 240 mins. A chance to see all of the television adaptation of Hanif Kureishi's novel in one sitting. Sex 'n' drugs ‘n' rock ‘n' roll in 70s suburbia. Glasgow: GFT.
Clubbed To Death ( 18) (Yolande Zauberman. France. 1997) Elodie Bouchez. Beatrice Dalle. Roschdy Zem. 90 mins.
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The Glasgow Film Theatre is delighted to invite List readers to a special preview screening of
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on Sundag 10 Hag. 11.30 for 12.00.
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See this summers coolest cult film - the latest offering from the flamboyant master of kitsch film. Classic Almodovar (7?: Me Up! Tie Me Down! d: High Heels), Spain's most famous director does it again. A man with a disaster prone life believes his luck has changed. after a dangerous liason (In a nightclub lavatorg) with the women of his dreams. He's prepared to follow her anywhere and does. stumbling back into her life and in the way of her drug dealer. which poses a small problem. However. when two policeman are added to the equation. even for him its catastrophic.
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index FILM
Falling asleep on the last bus home. Lola finds herself stranded in an unknown part of Paris. where she meets an enigmatic. Arab guy and is sucked into the city's techno nightlife. With its hand-held camera and techno soundtrack. the stylish C [ribbed To Death is more of an atmospheric portrait than a narrative piece. Edinburgh: Cameo. The Crucified Lovers (12) (Kenji Mizoguchi. Japan. 1954) 102 mins. A favourite of Japanese critics. this Mizoguchi work follows the doomed affair between a merchant's wife and a household servant in 17th century Kyoto. The handling and visual style looks rather stunted today. although the harsh price paid by the lovers still has an impact. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Deconstructing Barry (18) (Woody Allen. US. 1997) Woody Allen. Kirstie Alley. Billy Crystal. 94 mins. Author Harry Block has writer's block. and his friends have all but 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. Glasgow: GET.
The Edge (15) (Lee Tamahori. US. 1997) Anthony Hopkins. Alec Baldwin. Elle Macpherson. 1 18 mins. Hopkins and Baldwin respectively play an intelledtual billionaire and a brash fashion photographer who end up stranded miles from nowhere in the midst of brutal weather conditions. Clichéd lron John bonding gives way to rivalry over Hopkins's lovely young wife (Macpherson). however. The characters are wafer-thin. the narrative ludicrous and the action laughable. Edinburgh: Cameo. Irvine: Magnum. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Fairytale: A True Story (U) (Charles Sturridge. UK. 1997) Florence Hoath. Elizabeth Earl. Paul McGann. 98 mins. In telling the story of two Fxlwardian girls who cause a sensation when they capture a photographic image of fairies. Fairytale manages to be more coherent and less downbeat than the similar Photographing Fairies. A carefully judged film that provides moving entertainment for the family audience. Glasgow: UCl Clydebank. Cumbernauld: Theatre. Stirling: MacRobert. Fanny (PG) (Marc Allegret. France. 1932) Raimu. Orane Demazis. Pierre Fresnay. 125 mins. The second part of Marcel Pagnol’s ‘Marseilles Trilogy' picks up with Fanny's discovery that she is pregnant. Marius has gone to sea. so she is forced to marry the older Panisse to save her reputation. A touching love story that remains universally popular. Glasgow: GFT.
Faraway. So Close! (15) (Wim Wenders. Germany. 1993) Otto Sander. Nastassja Kinski. Bruno Ganz. 144 mins. Wenders's sequel to Wings Of Desire again focuses on the divide between humans and angels. and has one of the winged ones experience the joys and pains of terrestrial life. However. after an exhilerating opening and some stunning photography. the film falls apart when it attempts a 8 movie gun-running narrative. From genius to incompetence in a matter of frames. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
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30 Apr-14 May 1998 TIIEUSTZS