Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder.
the Adventures Of Robin Hood it'i «Michael (.ltflil. I'S. l‘JJb’l Iinol I'Iynn. Olivia I)e Ilaiillaiid. Iiasil Rathbone. It)! iitittx Sparkling. ()xear-xsiittiing excitement ax I-Iynn and his merry itteii light tlte ein Prince and tlte \tteked Rathbone to help ttte poor aitd capture the hand ol the tart I)e lla\tJI.tlld I’cerlexx xtxord-play and an titteettotix sense ot Itiglt xpiiitx (ilasgoix' (iI’I Ilditiburgh. illllllltllhc‘,
Amistad t |5i (Steven Spielberg. I'S. l‘)‘)7l -\iithony llopkitix. Morgan I‘reeitiaii. I)jimon Iloiirixou I‘I iitittx Alter a re\ttll on a xltip oh the coast ol (‘ttba iii I539. a group ol xlasex are captured by art :\iiierican natal cutter and ptit on tnal Ior piracy attd murder Spielberg botchex this taxeinating tale not because ol historical inaccuracy. biit through narrative itieoittix-tettee ~ the tilm tallx apart itt tlte couniootit. tiltcre scenes L‘titttc .‘tcttixx as [A [Jill done ill period (tixltlttte. (iitixgoxt’ (it’l-
Anastasia tI'l tI)on IiIuth/(iaiy (ioldiiiati. I S. I‘)‘)7i Voices ot Meg Ryan. (‘Iirixtopher I ond. John ('tixack ()4 iitittx With this \\ tdexcreert roittantic musical adventure. antttiator I)oit “Iltlll otters a liIm that ti\.iIx I)istte.\ Restritittg history xotttexthat. CHI magician Rasputin puts a ciirxe on tltt‘ 'l'xar'x lattiin and causes the WI? Retoliitiott "I he child princess :\tl.t\l.tsi.t xiii- \ixex. btit gioitx ax art orphan. unable to reittetitber Iter past \\ttlt extraordinary action sequences. C\t|lll\ ite charactertx.‘itiottx attd beautttttl songs Ildittbiirgh. ()deon Kiliitarttoek ()deon. Kitkealdy Adam Stititlt Angel I l5l tNeil Joidaii. I'K. l‘Jh‘Il Stephen Rea. Ray McAnaIly 95 mitts llte xaxophoittxt iii a touring N Ireland xItotxbattd xtttnexxes the bnital killiitg ot a deal mute girl. .itid Itix lite begins to dixitttegtate as Ite gets dtattti itito tlte coittltet lirilltattt debut Icatttre trom Jordan. an .‘tclitetetitent lie Itax yet to xiirpaxx. notable lot a true quality oI poetic realism that the Ilritixh cinema all too iater achieves Iidittbitrgh (‘ameo
Armageddon t Ill thehael Ila). l'S I‘JSSI Iiiticc Willis. lJiIIy Ilob 'l'ltotntoit. Steie Ilttxcemi NJ Illitt\ llilled as "liti- Dun [Joan iit xpaee'. Michael Iiay 'x xei-ti moxie dclnerx tiltat this year's other meal "times - Hit/t [Input 1. (int/.‘rlltt. Imt In .S/rtrii promised $I35 iiitlliott \xonh ot relentless. retina scorching. Itiin-textoxteroite action lintce \\ illtx leads a team ot toughnetk oiI drtIIerx vtho must save the “mid Ilt'lll .‘tll .hlc'litltl lllc‘ \l/c' t'l lc‘\.l\ Ill.t!.\ ttll till lixioii couixe \ttth I.arth \\e are not talking reality here. “e are talking xiipeitoi lotmitla tiliti making See teatiiic and texiest (ieneial release
As Good As It Gets I lit ilainexl tin-nix l's‘ l‘l‘fll Jack Nicholson. lIeIett llttitt. (iieg Klttlls'dl I i‘) iitittx Neurotic \xtiter Melvin xultetx Itottt obxexxtxe eoiiipulxixe disorder. biit coitttx'itxatex tor Ittx Ioner lite by becoming a master ol .ibitxe (’atol. the nail- texs in a Ioeal restaurant. ix the otin peixon tough enough to take ltttit oti Ax toittaittic cotitcdtex go. it‘s art odd pairing. but the match xtorkx tliaiikx to a sharply \titty xeitpt attd spot-on |\'tlt'ttlt.tllct'\ ltotii Nicholson and llttttt (ilaxgovt. (il’l
Barney's Great Adventure an 7: lllltlx .-\ knlx t\ plteitoitieiioii. Ilartiey the purple diitoxaui'x big screen debut tittdx Ittiii dottit on a tarm “till a trio ol kidx in
only
xeaich o: a magic We all xitigttt'. all dancin' llaiiiey xtnitx litx \\a_\ through the simple story \xtth regular xitigaloiigx. tttaktttg the lilm peitett lot uitdet lites (ilaxgott I (‘I ('lydebaiik. \ttgttt lditibtirgh (ltlc‘t'll. l ('i (ltit‘t‘lt
Bent t lSi iSeatt .\I.tthi.ix.l K I‘M‘i ('Iite ()txeti.
I othatte IlIttteait. Mick Jagger Ilb ttttttx '\llllsltt:..‘ll the story is about hiding _\ottt real identity the cinema \erxiott ot Martin Shettttaii'x play iiexet dtxovtitx tlx theatrical tootx llte exptexxiotttxtie xetx xttggex art ctlttnalettt mood rather than Iitxtoiieal teaItxitt .ix decadent (ietmati Max 1(l\\c'tllu‘ltct‘.tl\ hix Itomoxe\ tiality txheti sent to a .\a/i \t‘llsk‘lllldllt‘ll camp ||o\\e\et. the blur only ttiidx lI\ etttottonal \k'llilk' “hen IlItitcatt ix on screen (ilaxgovs (iI'I
the Big Lebowski t is» tit-er (ken. t‘s. twin IeII Bridges. John (ioodtiiaii. Steve Ilttxcemi ll: tttitix I'he (‘oett brothers gi\e their unique Not to a (‘handlet-exitue | -\ tioir. ax ‘tlx hippy thtoxxback lett
' ‘I'lte Dude l.ebo\txkt illridgext ix tit.t\\tt into the \x‘l‘
did attairs ot Itix itiilliotiatre namesake Suddenly Itc has to sleuth his “as through dixorgaitixed ettme ll.tdc‘ltl.tlk oddball characters. xtitieaI iittagery and excellent [‘L‘Ilt‘llltatlcc'S grace thtx \iitttoxo comedy I'.dtnbitrgh (’ameo
the Butcher Boy t lit ixeil Jordan. t‘tx’. WU Stephen Rea. Iiaiitotiii (list-itx. -\ixliiig ()‘Stillixatt ItlS iitittx Jordan liixex .iti obItaite. nigItttttartxh \rexs ot Itte iii .i xittaII tit.il Iiixh toss it during the early btlx \ttth a brutally honest. patttltilly ttittny coming ot age story Ikerythrng tx xeett throuin the eyes ol txsebc
year Glut I-rancte illiteiixi. txlto blots out the cruel reality wt Itix home Iile \sith increasingly leroetoux flights at taney. Iixtraordtnary. lidmburgh: ('atiteo. the Castle t. |5l lRob Sitch. :\trxtra|ia. l‘J‘l7l Michael (Itton Anne l‘enney. Stephen (’itrry. .Sb iitittx In this tough and ready but xtirprixtngly eitgagtrtg comedy. a naive \iixtralian family take oti the ttttgltt ot' a taeelexx corporation xthen their suburban home is threatened by art airpon dewloptttettt 'l'he l‘iltti ix dratttattcally .ivskstard iii places arid rtinx ottt ol' steam bet'ore ttx .idttiittedly briet running time is itp. bttt the t'iliiimak- erx‘ .itt'cetton it" their characters pulls it through. (iettetal release
City Of Angels t l_’t tIJrad Siberling. l'S. I‘Mh‘t Meg Ryan Nicolas (age. lleitnix I-ranl. ||7 iitittx ('age plays an angel \tho tallx iii Iote \ttth bean surgeon Ryan in this earnest btit unintentionally Ieadett remake oI th Wenders' xttblime llirtei (it I)('\H('. Moments oI high emotion are oh set by llaxhes ot liiiiiioiir. btit the ( iothie Ittllgltllic‘c‘lis‘c‘ ot \Venderx' t'iltit ix replaced by a soil locus. t'iltered earnestness that pushes the xtoiy tonards soapy melodrattta (iaIaxhieIx‘ l’atilton. the Cook, the thief. His Wife And Her Lover t lsi tI’eter (ireenatxay. I'K WWI Michael (iatiibon. Helen Mirren. .\la:t Ilovsard. Rieliard Itoltrtnger. I'im Roth I30 mtns :\ superb tiltii xthteIt ttonetlielexx- cori- tainx xoittething te ollclld everybody Beautifully plio- lttgtapllcd, directed ttrtttett. acted arid art-directed I\\Illl l.|\l\ll eoxtiitttes by Jeati I’aitl (iaultieri. its xtib tett matter is at once bt/aire. repulsive. romantic aitd coiiipelliitg ('entritig oit (ireetiavuiy'x obsessions \tith tood. decay and infidelity. it'x art tiitlorgettably xtylixh tale ol' loibiddeii loie arid brutal re\etige lidtiibiirgh: l‘llllllltlthc.
Dance Of the Wind tl’(it tRaiait l'x'hoxa. (ierittatty/l ‘K/Ittdzzi. I'J‘J7l Kitti (iidvsant. Ilhaxecn (ioxaiit ll (‘ Sanya! XS miiix When her mother dies. traditional singer I’a'laxt beeotttex xo dis- tiaitght that xlie onex her voice She \xtthdrattx attd xtarlx xeetitg .. Iitzf.‘ girl. llira. \s Ito has a beattttttil voice hetxelt' I'he .tiit-tltextx ot' lumbering. (iod/tllatsood culture thix idea-laden tiIiii relates itx myxtery by haunting music and lingering images rather than special et'teetx trickery lidiriburglt. I-tlttiliotixe.
the Daytrippers i lSt ((itc‘g Mottola. I'S. lW7i llope I)axix. I.!e\ Scltretber. I’at'ker Rose) 87 mitix Strained as .i lattiin iiittt. the Mannex pull together \xhen daughter lilt/a xtixpeetx her husband is It.l\ tiig an attarr. So begins a chaotic arid dixptita- tioiix tt.i\\| through .\'e\t York iii a station xxagon. Motlola'x \\ ript ix .ix pam'it Iy iiteixi\e as it ix Ititttty aitd cotttpaxxiotiate I‘ha'. tt xttceeeds ax a ttliti ix tltaiikx to its talented eaxt. vs Ito revel iii the pxythologieal xlll‘llc'llc“ it their partx. lzdiiibttrgh: (‘ttlllc'tl
Deep Impact t ! ?l t\li;ti: I ede.’ l'S. l‘l‘lbl Morgan I'lc'c'ltlall tea I earn. Robert I)ti\aII I_‘| iitittx .t\ max \|\C U‘lltx'l l‘ teatatg tot-.ardx Izaith at extinction-level \peed l’texident Morgan l‘teeittan reiealx that an underground xheher he been built to house a chosen lets. arid a national lottery 'vsll' deer-.Ie vs Ito gets to tom the btgvxigx tIt‘\\ll belatt flit/r Int/rut 1 ix a perfectly respectable dtxaxter :pte. rather like they used to make em. otin llaxher \x lottt- te.ei rage» the liilll eonA \e)\ dixutuxolatiott more than desperation Mt‘lllc'Hu'lI .\it‘\lc'lltttl\'.'
Deconstructing Harryt!>~'ii\\‘o.xty Allen l'S I‘J‘J7I Woody Allen Kristie -\lley. IlilIy ('ryxtal ‘tJ iitittx Author lIairy IlIoe k hgtx \titter \ block .itid Iiix lrteitdx have all but abandoned Itttti Joe to his liabt! ol recast- ttig them as tItaiacterx il‘t lltx l‘ext \L'JlIllg' 't'ictioti' :\llc‘ll plays “till the let ei'. ed. perceived idea ot '\\'oody \IIeri'. attd \I'ardrtt.’ lli Ili't'llt \ tloatx iii the background [here .iie il.l\\\ iii the blur. biit there are also many many prime \Lxxlx tItrovttxtayx Kiikcaldy. Add”: Smith
Dr Dolittle iI’(ii illelly “It'llin I S. I‘NM Izddle \Iitrplty ()xxie Ila‘-|C\, (JJHJI I’Iatt h,‘ itiitix .\ turkey \\llil Rex lIaitixori tit ll~ ~r:gt:‘..iI lorm .ittd xtill pretty due this time round Ilttx ittld lartizly adteiituze llerx x tttde bottom ll‘t!llli'tll lt-t the b‘. It audience but the talking atittttaIx grittititek ".ittIex Mill cheesy morality aitd ttotltttig come\ together Hierall. the ltlrtt might have bettetitted ltt Il‘. .i simpler. lexx \llapt‘) and more l.tlllll\ orientated !.ile ‘.\il2lt' \Iutphy x toittte tttdge iitent ltax .ig.t;t: omt .Iet tiledlx questionable (ic‘ltc’tal release Eraserhead ix. .tt.t.;.i ' on! t s 1‘,‘".il.mi \aitce ‘lll iitittx Yoz. ".'..:} :t:.:: ,- atter the repellent “.:t e. tri;‘-.-".:".g tale at lir'itl). !tt~~
ill xt‘llllg and .i '/e
at t-lly babies .tg.ttit ltattc-at Ittx g"‘.trt.':: ‘. lt!\ -t..-:‘g .il‘lc iii..ititity .! ;‘.;~ I).xt"'l‘.t‘.g 't'lt itrc‘lcll'lll) tiIttied itt black and .xIttle I dizi‘utrgl‘ Itlztthotrxc the Exorcist I‘ t\\.tI:.:ii. l ilc'tJlJtl, t s. raft. I iitda Illazr I lIer‘ litirxtyri \Iax \ort Sxdott Iltl iitittx I .itrtex'. pttext \on SI. toss steps in to x.i\e poor
JIIIJC rt'\\c'\\c'\i
girl .11'Itthztgely i'l"'-."l‘-" xcarelexl .\ovx re ie‘teaxed in temax'e'c-I tort". xs'tlt a xttpet xtetet xotiridttatl. ix you .11! hear those obxcettrttex tn ltiIIl Ilead gt .x! dead \xdl). dead priest (iIaxgoxx (‘rty ('.-ti'.:e J‘tlfio" 'Jde-nt I‘ltlm l ('l Iatrtbtttgh Ildc‘t-lt I'(”I
Fetishes ‘\ \ I lit-t. :rttteld. I S. l‘l‘l'w .\JI\IIC\\
Raxen. Mistress ('athentte. Mistress Natasha. 84 turns.
I5trst I'K screening outside its I‘J‘Jb luJittbtirgh Iritentattoital I'lltll l-‘extti'al premiere. lirooiitt'teld's doetitttentary is a candid portrait of the ‘mistresses' of a Nets York (‘ity SthM parlour. 'l‘xpically. Iirttiiiittieltl breaks the rules ot‘ access he agreed \tith the mistress- es. revealing depravity beneath the eotnie veneer. (ilasgott: (ill
the Full Monty I."l tl’eter (‘attatteo. l‘K I‘J‘l7l Robert ('arlyle. Tom Wilkinson. Mitrk Add); 0.‘ Il‘ltls. ('arlyle plays (iaty. art unemploy ed SJ‘L'll-tc‘ltl xteel- xtotker \\ Ito. along \\ ttli an odd lttt\ ot' tormer col- leagues. decides to go one better than the (‘hippeitdale troupes that till the local Italls ('attaneo's laugh-out- Iottd tiltn comes trom the saute tradition ax [initial UH. mixing comedy \tith a xtrottg social conscience and xhott trig tiiteittploytitent as art emascttlating expe- rience. It‘s the ordinanitex‘s of these blokes that gives the tiliti both its humour attd its depth. I-‘alkirk: I’I'II. Stirling: MaeRobett
the General t I5) tJohit Iioorman. I'I's'. I908) Brendan (ileeson. Adrian Dunbar. Jott \'oight I.‘~l mitts ('ontroterxy arid ambiguity surrounds the story ol' one of Ireland’s most notorious gangsters. Martin (‘ahill. On one Itaitd. he's :1 Robin Hood t'tgitre \sho shares oitt the spoils of Itis thett; on the other. Ite is \ lc‘tt‘lls‘. brutal arid amoral. (ileeson's twrt'orittattce ix coittpelltng. “title the black and “bite pltotograplty Iiardetts the edges ol' the Irish landscape by tttakttig very xiiitple tltiitgs xtark arid beauttt'til. (ilaxgots: (iI-‘I‘.
the Gingerbread Man I lit (Robert Altman. t's‘. IWh‘l Kenneth liraitagh. Iztnbeth l)avidt/. Robert I)ii\a|| ll-I units The cotttbtnatioit of director Altman arid \trtter Joliit (irixhattt seems like art obtiotis mis- match. and the too masters do seem to get tit each others my liraitagh plays art eittottonally naive Iavtycr \tlto xltdex into a ttigItttttare \tbeit he talls tor \ttItterabIe \\;llltc‘\\ I)a\ ItIll. liccentrie characters arid tittprotised dialogue bittig :i loosenexs to the film xtltteh counters the tortxard tiiotiieittutii ot the plot. and \\ ell bet'ore the end this has become a baggy thriller. (ilaxgovt: ()dcon. Iidinburgh: Iiilitthoitxe. Paisley: Shoxiease.
Godzilla tl’tit (Roland l-.iitttterieh. I'S. I‘J‘Jh‘l Matthe“ IJrodenck. Jean Reiio Marta I’ittllo. Ht) tttitix \tielear texltttg causes a hand to gross to art enormous xt/c. reproduce ase\iially arid Itead to Next York to lay some eggs \Vhen the military take the Hllt‘lt\t\'c'. it's time tor the ratitpagittg reptile to demol- ixlt Manhattan (hills/[Iii goes beyond tttxttlttitg its
index FILM
audience and makes the grave error of t'oreing our syttipathy away from the mons'er and onto the non- descn'pt humans. When a film like this fails to thrill vxtth its eft‘ectc — it's Jurassic Park all over again - it can only fall flat on its over-sized Ilollytvtxxl ass. (ieneral release.
Grease (PG) (Randal Kleiser. IiS. l‘)7til John Travolta. Olivia Newton John. Stockard ('Itanning Ill) mitts. the colourful goings-on at Rydell lItgh — particularly the romance of square out-ot-to‘vner Sandy and tough guy Danny — is the slut! ot'classtc movie escapis'tt. In additiott to a plot which groan.s xtith t'nistrated passion. bristles \xith gang tensions and sit iiigs vxith teen verve. the songs are the sound- track for a generation. 'I'sxenty years on. (ireuse is still the \tord. arid still the way xse are feeling. (ieneral release.
Happy Together t l5! (Wong Kat-Wat. Iloitg Kong. I097) Leslie (‘heiing. Tony Letittg. (‘hang (‘heit ‘Jo mitts. 'l‘vvo gay guys ltnttt Iloitg Kong try to make a fresh start irt Iiiienos Aires and disrupt their routine of breaking tip and getting back together again. Narrativer simpler than Wong's previous movies ((‘litingki'ng Express. Fallen Angels). btit certainly not devoid ot‘ distinctive directorial style. Hap/iv 'liigerlier features a colour l'iil collage of amazing cinematography. A truly thrilling piece of cinema. Stirling: MaeRobert. Hearts of Darkness t I St (has liahr/(ieorge IIickeiilooper. ITS. I‘J‘Xll Francis ('oppola. Iileanor (‘oppolzt Martin Sheen. Marlon Brando. 97 turns. ('oitipelliitg mixture of doetiitientary footage arid recent intervievss cottcenting the troubled production of Francis ('oppola's rt/tm tl/\Il.\(' Note. Antsttc vtxtoii battles vs itli escalating budget. typhoons aiid heart attacks deep iii the Philippine jungle. As mtponant and fascinating as the Nut it portrays. Iidiitbiirgh: ('ameo
Hitchcock Study Day Ilitch's inlItieitces \\ ere com ple\. and various. ranging ltt‘ttt Hollywood itielodrama to liiiropean art cinema and the tingliin popular novel Sheldon Ilall of Sheffield lIalIant l'niversity exam- ines some of the iitost distinctive features of Hitchcock's style. including the realtiortships between realism and espressiortisiit. as it developed throughout his l‘areer. Includes a screening ol Vertigo. (ilasgtm' til-'I'.
Jackie Brown t l5) (Quentin 'l'arantitto. l'S. I‘J‘J7l l’am (irier. Samuel l.. Jackson. Roben De Niro. I571
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“0 DENNIS UUAID
ZS Jun—9 Jul I998 THE LIST 122