FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Saving Private Ryan (l5) (Steven Spielberg. US. I998) Tom Hanks. Tom Sizemore. Matt Damon. I70 mins. Like no film in recent memory. Saving Private Ryan focuses its attention squarely on the brutalities endured by American soldiers in World War ll. Central to this impact is the already legendary opening half hour. detailing with remorseless brilliance the carnage ofthe D-Day landings. The actual meat of the story. in which Hanks is sent off with the remnants of his unit to locate the eponymous Ryan. is built on rugged rather than subtle lines. A landmark piece of moviemaking. General release.
Schools Showcase (U) 90mins. Celebration of filmmaking output from Greater Glasgow’s schools and youth groups. Glasgow: GET.
Scream (18) (Wes Craven. US. 1996) Neve Campbell. Couneney Cox. Drew Barrymore. l l lmins. The teenagers of Woodsboro know they're typical stalker fodder. so when a killer hits town. they gather in an enormous house to watch horror movies as the real bad guy gets closer. Self- conscious references are good fun. the opening sequence is genuine white-knuckle material. and — if you know the rttles - you'll find it perfectly scary and funny. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Scream 2 (l8) (Wes Craven. US. [998) Neve Campbell. Courtney Cox. l.eiv Schreiber. 120 mins. Two years after the Woodsboro murders. Sidney Prescott (Campbell) is now a college student. trying to piece her life back together. But when an audience member is slashed to death during the premiere of horror movie Slab. the nightmare begins again. The film fails to fully integrate the many in-jokey references to horror sequel conventions. but it's still streets ahead of what passes for horror nowadays. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Shaft (l5) (Gordon Parks. US. 197]) Richard Roundtrec. Moses Gunn. Charles Ciofft. 100 mins. Not really as blaxploitative as it's reckoned to be. this hardboiled private eye thriller has a decent cast. a tight plot. and that cool Oscar-winning title song from Isaac Hayes in its favour. Better than its two sequels. the plot centres on the kidnapping of a gangster‘s daughter. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Shine (12) (Scott Hicks. Australia. I996) Geoffrey Rush. Noah Taylor. Armin Mueller-Stahl. 105 mins. Winner of nine top awards at Australia's equivalent of the ()scars. Shine is a remarkable and devastating film about the life of child prodigy and pianist David Helfgott. who was forced to retire from the stage due to a mental breakdown. but returned later in life. The performances show real love. while the recital passages are presented with a conviction that underlines the quality of the film as a whole. Falkirk: l’l‘H.
Silent Running (U) (Douglas Trumbull. US. l97l) Bruce Dern. Cliff Potts. Ron Ritkin. 89 mins. Pioneering effects boffin Trumbull comes tip trumps with this warme affecting sci-ft feature. Dern stars as the scientist in charge of a spacecraft experiment that‘s literally another Garden of Eden and is apparently intended to renourish old mother Earth after the ravages of nuclear war. When orders come through that the plan is to be ditched. Dern and his team of robots head off into hyperspace. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Small Soldiers (PG) (Joe Dante. US. 1998) Kirsten Dunst. Gregory Smith. Denis Leary. 110 mins. Dante plttnders his anarchic live action cartoon tale. Gremlins. substituting toys for little devils and adding state-of—the- art computerised effects. Unfortunately. Small Soldiers displays none of the sadistic mischief. nor the knowing Capra-esque whimsy of its antecedent. Sanitised. bland and banal. See review. General release. Soylent Green (l5) (Richard Fleischer. US. I973) Charlton Heston. lidward G. Robinson. Leigh 'l'aylor Young. 97 mins. l-‘ilm adaptation of Harry Harrison's highly- regarded novel Make Roum.’ Make Roam.’ sets up a plausible vision of a future world teeming with hungry millions. Heston is a tough cop trying to discover exactly what are the ingredients of Soylent Green. a synthetic foodstuff that's been cooked up to
58 THE UST 22 Oct—S Nov 1998
Playing the stooge: Ewan McGregor in Velvet Goldmine
help feed the planet. The final revelation might be obvious from a long way off. but it's very logical in a vaiftian sort of way. Edinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse.
The Spanish Prisoner (15) (David Mamet. US. l998) Campbell Scott. Rebecca Pidegon. Steve Martin. 1 ll mins. A clever. cold study of the art of the confidence trick. Cryptic and playful. Mamet's vv riting - which has been compared to that of Harold Pinter - is perfectly suited to the illusionary nature of the con. 'lhe insubstantiality of everything is deliciously maddening. l’alkirk: l’l'H. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Spiceworld: The Movie (PG) (Bob Spiers. UK. I997) The Spice Girls. Richard l2. Grant. Alan Cumming. 93 mins. "The story chronicles the hectic live days in the lead-up to the girls' first live concert at the Royal Albert Hall and. on the way. erams in so many celebrity cameos. you get the sense this could be the big screen equivalent of Nae/iv House Party. Of Course. plenty of hit songs are included too. Kirkcaldy: ABC. Still Crazy (l5) (Brian Gibson. LTK. I998) Jimmy Nail. Bill Nighy. Timothy Spall. 95 mins. Like in The Full Monty. a disparate bunch of guys come together. suffer strife. but triumph against the odds. This time. however. the pants stay on as it's a reformed 70s rock group that‘s centre of attention. TV stalwarts Dick Clement and lan l.a lirenais deliver a script that's jtist a little episodic. btit never less than funny. proving you don't need special effects to produce a hit movie. See preview and review. General release. Taxi Driver (18) (Martin Scorsese. t’S. l976) Robert De Niro. Cybill Shepherd. Jodie Foster. 114 mins. An alienated taxi driver in New York is so repelled by the squalor and the moral decay around him that he is driven to terrible violence. ()ne of the key films of the 70s with the Scorsese-De Niro partnership at its peak. Edinburgh: Cameo.
There's Something About Mary ( 15) (Peter and Bobby Farrelly. US. 1998) Cameron Diaz. Matt Dillon. Bert Stiller. “8
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mins. The third l-‘arrelly brothers movie. following their supremely fun. but dumb debut. Dumb Ant/ Dumber and bad taste extrav'agan/a. Kingpin. with an even niore outrageous comedy. The concept says it all: Small tovv n geek Ted never makes it to the high school prom with gorgeous Mary. because he ‘Iips himself up.‘ Years later and all grown tip. Ted remains obsessed with the date that never was. General release.
The Thief ( l5) (Pavel ('hukhrai. Russia. I997) Vladimir Mashkov. likaterina Rednikova. Misha Philipcltuk. 97 mins. When six-year-old Sanya's widowed mother is seduced by an officer aboard a train crossing a war-torn country. the father-less family thinks their ll\‘t.‘s are about to improve. Tough luck then. that the seducer turns otit to be a thief. dumps mother and son and moves onto his next v ictim. Chukhrai's allegory of Yeltstn's Rtissia. deserved its ()scar-nomioation and more. l-‘alkirk: l’l‘H.
The Thing ( IS) (John Carpenter. l‘S. 1983) Kurt Russell. Wilford Brimley. David Clennon. 109 mins. Scientists on an Antarctic research station thaw out an alien creature able to change its shape and horribly murder humans. lixtraordinary effects in this tense shocker. which utilises the central gimmick from the original short story in a way the l95] version did not. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Through Roses ( IS) tJtIi‘gen l-‘limm. Germany. l99(v) Maximilian Schell. 74 mins. Haunting story of Jewish violinist ('arl Stern. a survivor of Auschwitz. where he was forced It) play as his fellow inmates vv ere herded into the gas chambers. Part of the German l‘ilm l‘estival. Glasgow. Gl-‘l'. lidinburgh; l’ilmhouse.
Titanic ( l 3) (James Cameron. l'S. I997) l.eonardo DiCaprio. Kate \Viiislet. Billy Zane. I94 mins. (.‘ameron tackles the story of the doomed ocean liner through a touching love story that isn't overwhelmed by the awesome special effects. Rich girl Rose (Winslet) is unhappily engaged to arrogant (‘al (Zane) but falls for third-class
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passenger .lack (DiCaprio): love blossoms as the ship hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic. In all its on-screen glory. Titanic does indeed look like the most expensive film ever made. Falkirk: f-TH.
The Truman Show (PG) (Peter Weir. US. 1998) Jim Carrey. Laura Linney. Ed Harris. l()3 mins. Truman Burbank leads a life of sublime banality in the picture perfect island community of Seahaven.. but is the unwitting star of the world's longest-running documentary soap opera. The Truman Show (the movie) is flawlessly ptit together. with script and direction perfectly judged. Carrey. still a schmuck btit less ingratiating titan tisual. surprisingly gives the movie its heart. General release.
Velvet Goldmine ( l 8) (Todd Haynes. US. I998) Jnathan Ryhs-Meyers. liwan McGregor. Eddie lzzard. I23 mins. Using the very British glam phenomenon. the young American director examines more universal themes: sexuality. identity. non- conformity. There's much fun to be had watching the charismatic performances in this ‘long player‘ which demands (and deserves) to be appreciated with a keen ear and eye. See review. Glasgow: ()deon Quay. Showcase. Edinburgh: ABC Multiplex. UCl. Paisley: Show-case.
La Vie Révée Des Anges (The Dream Life Of Angels) (l5) (lirick Zonca. l-‘rance. I998) lilodie Bouchez. Natacha Regnier.
l 13 mins. '/.onca's first feature follows Bouchez's young backpacker who arrives in Lille without a job. Managing to wrangle a menial job. she strikes up a friendship with fellow worker Regnier. who offers her a place to stay in the flat she’s looking after. Top heavy with precedents. but there's always room for films in acute sympathy with their leading characters. See review. Edinburgh: l‘ilmhousc.
The Warriors ( 18) (Walter Hill. US. 1979) Michael Beck. James Remar. 'Ihomas Waites. 94 mins. Stylised gang warfare flick that avoids the temptations of graphic violence and instead lifts the subject matter to something approaching medieval myth: the New York streets are labyrinths. the gangs are decked out in tribal dress. and a dangerous nightime journey across the city becomes an heroic quest. Moments of humour and a great soundtrack add to the enjoyment of what is one of Hill’s best achievements. Edinburgh: l’ilmhouse.
The Wicker Man ( 18) (Robin Hardy. UK. I973) lidvvard Woodward. Britt likland. Diane Cilento. Ingrid Pitt. Christopher l.ee. l()2 mins. A devoutly celibate policeman (Woodward) arrives at a remote Scottish island to investigate a schoolgirl disappearance and becomes involved in local pagan rituals. A Hammer classic. with some extremely scary and erotic moments. lidinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse.
Wittstock Wittstock ( I 2) Walker Koepp. Germany. I997) ll9 mins. .»\vvard-vvitming documentary filmmaker Koepp charts the lives of three women. textile workers living in a provincial town in the former GDR from l97-1 to present day. Now unemployed. the women attempt to cope with relocation. retraining and the drudgery of endless job hunting. Stirling: MacRobert.
Yasemin i ll) (Hark Bohm. Germany. l988) so mins. A Romeo and Juliet story about a Turkish girl grow ing tip in Germany. which incorporates contemporary issues such as immigration and modern vs traditional values. Stirling: MacRobert.
Zero Effect (15) (Jake Kasdan. US. I997) Bill Pullman. Ben Stiller. Ryan ()‘Neal. l()5 mins. Pullman's brilliant. btit reclusive private eye keeps clients at a distance. observing all through front man Stiller. However. when ()‘Neal's powerful businessman hires Zero to retrieve his keys. the detective is drawn into one of those tangled webs of intrigue that threatens his Howard Hughes-like reclusive state. A fine oddin of a film. lidinburgh: ()deon. Zwickel Auf Byzickel ( l5) (Reinhard Kahn/ Michel l.einer. Germany. 1969/ 97) 85 mins. I968. At the peak of the student revolt. seven graduates from l'lm liilm School begin work as a collective on a film. The result remained half-finished until 1997 when two of the original makers completed the editing of the piece. Professor Kahn will attend the screening. Glasgow: Gl-T. Edinburgh: l‘ilmhouse.