terms, The Phantom Menace stands alone in the cinematic universe. At times you’d think there was more animation than live action on screen - and maybe it’s this toning down of the human element that has left the film lacking soul. Ayr: Odeon. Kilmarnock: Odeon.
Stigmata (l8) **~k (Rupert Wainwright, US, 1999) Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne, Jonathan Pryce. 102 mins. Portentous, religious-themed supernatural thriller that‘s rips off the obvious genre classics: The Exorcist and The Omen. Pittsburgh hairdresser Frankie Paige (Arquette) is afflicted with wounds that resemble those suffered by Christ on the cross. Her increasingly torturous condition comes to the attention of the Vatican, where devious Cardinal Houseman (Pryce) despatehes investigator Andrew Kiernan (Byrne) to check on the validity of Paige‘s case. Glasgow: ()deon At The Quay.
The Straight Story (U) ***** (David
Lynch, US, 1999) Richard l-‘arnsworth, Sissy
Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton. 111 mins. Midwestern old timer Alvin Straight is hellbent on re-uniting with his estranged, terminally ill brother so he takes to the road aboard his motorised lawnmower. Farnsworth's lead performance is honest, heart-felt and credible, while Lynch maintains his fascination with the inherent strangeness of smalltowns and lost highways. But, in this sublime snail’s pace odyssey, modern psychosis is replaced by old time decency. Edinburgh: Eilmhouse. Falkirk: 17TH Cinema. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Stirling: MacRobert.
Strangers On A Train (PG) ***** (Alfred llilchcock, US. 1951) Farley Granger, Robert Walker. 101 mins. Hitch's appropriation of Patricia Highsmith's novel, the conceit for which is two strangers who get chatting aboard a long train journey and both’admit to people they would like to kill — one is joking, the other is deadly serious. With it‘s climax aboard an out-of-control fairground ride and two superb central performances, this is one of Hitchcock‘s best. Glasgow: Gl’l'.
Summer Of Sam (18) **** (Spike Lee, US, 1999) John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino. 142 mins. Summer 1977 in New York. Disco is the hottest new sound in the clubs, while the punk rock revolution has crossed the Atlantic. The city is also melting down under a record—breaking heatwave, causing blackouts, looting and riots. Out in the Bronx, however, New Yorkers are concerned about something else: a murder spree by a serial killer dubbed by the media the ‘Son Of Sam'. Lee tackles intolerance once more, and it’s his best shot at the subject since Do The Right Thing. St Andrews: New Picture House.
Sumo Do, Sumo Don't (no cert) *** (Masayuki Suo, Japan, 1992) Set in a Japanese university this comedy follows the problems facing a student attempting to graduate who is forced to join the Sumo wrestling team. Happens all the time. Glasgow: GilmorehillG12.
The Talented Mr Ripley (15) **** (Anthony Minghella, USxUK, 2000) Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow. 139 mins. Tom Ripley (Damon) befriends then adopts the life of rich kid Dickie Greenleaf (Law). Ripley being an infamous literary murderer, it‘s no surprise how he goes about claiming Dickie‘s ex pat lifestyle in late 50s Italy, but Minghella's film — and Highsmith's novel — is so much more than a tale of murder; it's also about lust, love and the interchangeability of identities. Classy all the way. See review. General release. Tarzan (U) *rkti (Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, US, 1999) Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Nigel Hawthorne. 88 mins. Disney has finally turned its attention to the second most filmed character in Western cinema (Dracula is the first) and has created some astonishing images. Storytelling-wise, Tarzan remains reasonably faithfully to Edgar Rice Burroughs original. Shipwrecked on a tropical island, baby Tarzan looses his human parents to a terrifying tiger and is adopted by an ape clan. All grown up, the Ape Man is reunited with man and womankinu when a trophy hunting/anthropological expedition arrives
and Tarzan meets Jane. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
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Thief (aka Violent Streets) (18) *** (Michael Mann, US, 1981) James Caan, Willie Nelson, James Belushi. 123 mins. In his debut film Mann displays the ice cold handling of narrative that would later become his trademark in films such as Heat. This is also a crime caper, but it's about a safe cracker (Caan) attempting to retire from the business. Edinburgh: Cameo.
The Third Man (PG) ***** (Carol Reed, US/UK, 1949) Joseph Cotton, Orson Welles. 100 mins. Set in an unstable post- World War 11 Vienna, Holly Martins has been invited to the city by his old chum Lime, who is now in the grand-scale drug- dealing business, only to discover that he is dead. Except, he isn’t of course, and a multi- layered cat and mouse scenario is triggered. So, what’s so good about it? Well, you have a stirring zither score by Anton Karas, the Ferris wheel and the ‘cuckoo clock’ speech yet possibly it’s greatest triumph is to cram so much wonder into so little time. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
This Gun For Hire (15) iii (Frank 'l‘uttle, US, 1942) Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, ’l‘ully Marshall. 81 mins. Early conspiracy/murder drama with Freudian overtones, loosely based on Graham Greene's A Gun For Sale, in which Ladd plays the unsmiling hired killer who finds himself involved in political subversion. Downbeat and atmospheric. Edinburgh: Film Guild at the Filmhouse. Three Kings (15) ***** (David 0. Russell, US, 2000) George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube. 114 mins. At the butt end of the GulfWar, four US soldiers who have seen no action whatsoever and don‘t even understand what the war is about,
follow a treasure map to where Saddam
Hussein has hidden stolen Kuwaiti gold. A masterpiece of inhumanity, Russell’s witty script and super sharp direction captures the futility of the situation. This film begs some of the most pertinent political questions ever asked in an American movie — it's amazing it got passed congress. See feature and review. General release.
Time Regained (18) ***** (Raul Ruiz, France/Italy, 1999) Marcello Mazzarella, Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Beart. 162 mins. Marcel (Mazzarella) lies in bed thinking about his life, and reflects back less on his own actions than of those in the wealthy late l9th/early 20th century salon culture in which he moved. Ruiz‘s adaptation of Proust's final volume of Remembrance Of Things Past captures brilliantly the tenuousness and subjectivity of memory — aided and abetted by his trademark lateral tracking shots, technical correlatives to Proust's thinking. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Topsy-Turvy (12) **** (Mike Leigh, UK, 2000) Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduncr, Martin Savage. 159 mins. At the film's core is the turbulent creative partnership between Victorian opera writer Gilbert (Broadbent) and playboy genius composer Sullivan (Corduner). But preparations for their greatest show, The Mikado, involve a whole cast who give flawless performances. This might be Leigh‘s first period drama, but it‘s another excellent ensemble piece engaging with his usual preoccupation: people at work, rest and play. Glasgow: GET, Odeon At The Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo, UCI, Virgin Megaplex.
Toy Story 2 (U) Adrift (John Lasseter, US, 2(X10) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack. 95 mins. 'lhc new film expands on the original settings and themes: When Woody is not taken to Cowboy Camp by his owner Andy, he begins to question the meaning of his life‘. When he‘s subsequently stolen by a collector —- who plans to sell him to a Japanese toy museum — Buzz and the gang travel across town to rescue their pal. The emotive range of the animated characters is extraordinary; they say that computer generated images will never replace the real thing, but Toy Story 2 makes you wonder. General release. Tsugumi (no cert) *** (Jun lchikawa, Japan, 1990) Not the extended X-Files episode but a coming of age tale about a young girl discovering love in a small seaside town. Based on the novel by cult author with great name Banana Yoshimoto. Glasgow: (iilmorchillGlZ.
W1. ~tewr l'. :ppened To Harold Smith?
(15) ** (Pete Hewitt, UK, 2000) Tom Courtenay, Michael Legge. Laura Fraser. 95 mins. Messy concoction of teen romance, working class comedy and 705 kitsch which plays like a lame television sitcom spin-off. Mild mannered retired dad, Harold (Courtenay), possesses Uri Gellar-like mind powers which ultimately aid his son, Vince (Michael Legge), who is desperately trying to cop off with workmate Joanna (Laura Fraser). Ironically, Courtenay, the titular star, has the weakest role in a film swamped
by a plethora of cameo parts. See review. Selected release.
The Wicker Man (18) ***** (Robin Hardy, UK, 1973) Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilcnto, Ingrid Pitt, Christopher Lee. 102 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. Edinburgh: Virgin
Megaplex.
The Winslow Boy (U) *‘k‘k‘k (David Mamet, US, 1999) Nigel Hawthorne, Rebecca Pidgeon, Jeremy Northam. 110 mins. It has surprised many that David Mamet should adapt Terence Rattigan‘s very British period drama, based on an event which caught the public's imagination in 1912. The boy in question is expelled from naval academy for allegedly stealing a postal order, much to the consternation of his upper middle class family. At father‘s insistence, the Winslow's spare no expense to clear the boy's name. The cast are roundly superb, evincing as much control as their director. Although the proceedings seem a little cold, that's Mamet‘s way. What astonishes is the sheer style and skill on display. Dunfermline: Carnegie Hall. Withnail 8: I (15) ***** (Bruce Robinson, UK, 1987) Paul McGann, Richard E. Grant, Richard Griffiths. 107 mins. TWO out-of-work actors surviving 1969 London giro squalor take a break in a picturesque Lake District cottage, where one of them suffers the attentions of the ageing homosexual owner.
listings FILM
Entertaining British comedy has a second stab at glory, and it‘s the bleaker cnd-ofthe-decade
elements that have lasted best. St Andrews: New Picture House.
The World Is Not Enough (12) *Hr (Michael Apted, US/UK, 1999) Pierce Brosnan, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards. 128 mins. A nuclear scientist with shapely
to pain, a slick British spy who delivers his innuendo with a touch of apology in his voice. The nineteenth Bond movie is
involvement with the peripheral characters. Paisley: Showcase. Year Of The Horse (15) **** (Jim
()f The Horse fails to comprehensively tell
three-decade career is littered with drugs,
of-focus, the lo-fi style is appropriate for a band who create ear-bursting epics out of
bum notes, and heart-piercing ballads from strained throats. Edinburgh: Lumiere. You And Me (PG) *Hr (Eritz Lang, US,
liberal in a large department store. Kurt Weill provided some of the songs, while Lang borrowed from sources as diverse as
Edinburgh: Filmhouse. You Only Live Once (PG) **~k* (Fritz Lang. US, 1937) Henry Fonda, Sylvia Sidney, Barton Maclaine. 86 mins. Hugely influential lovers-on-the-run movie that
and Clyde, Godard's Pierrot I.e Fort and even David Lynch's lliltI/‘lt Heart, as petty criminal Fonda and wife Sidney's attempts to go straight result in them being framed for a bank robbery, hounded by police and the media, and desperately looking for an escape. Edinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse.
10th ANNIVERSARY TOUR
he
Factor
o a C9 comQ
"Intriguing ‘t...extremely accessible .jmhighly original work"
Dance Europe
umspbkem
EDINBURGH
Traverse Theatre Sat 4/ Sun 5 MAR 7.30pm £8/ £4
0131 2281404
PAISLEY
Paisley Arts Centre Fri 10/Sat 11 MAR 7.30pm £7/£3
0141 887 1010
he
Alli-.RlN-hN
2—16 Mar 2000 THE lIST 31
curves, an international terrorist impervious
distinguished by a number of plot twists not usually squeezed in between spectacular but uninspired action set pieces, which increases
Jarmusch, US, 1997) 105 mins. While Year the story of a band whose ragged, glorious, deaths and classic albums, Jarmusch delivers jaw-dropping live footage which goes some
way to capturing the band dynamic. Shot on Super-8 and looking suitably grainy and out-
1938) George Raft, Sylvia Sidney. 94 mins. A pair of ex-cons are employed by a benign
The Three/)enny Opera and his own film, M.
looks forward to the likes of Penn‘s Bonnie