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Alien comes home to the mother ship
SPACE HORROR ALIEN THE DIRECTOR’S OUT (15) 117min 0.00
Ridley Scott has returned to his 1979 horror master work with the fury of a man possessed, armed only with the extra footage he’s had buried in his garden for the last 14 years and a big hard on for digital clean up technology. The gains are as negligible as the detractions but what this whole exercise does prove is just how remarkable Alien is.
Just in case you have been living in a cave for the last couple of decades, the plot goes something like this: commercial towing vehicle Nostromo is heading back to Earth when it intercepts an SOS signal from a nearby planet. The crew are under obligation to investigate, but by landing on the hostile planet they manage to invite a whole heap of trouble into their vessel.
So what has been added? A couple of extra scenes in the eating area as the (then) decidedly B listy cast try and act all naturalistic, plus a nice intro at the beginning of the film by Danny Boyle, but not a lot else, though. The film still looks and feels like nothing else. It started a revolution, in the hearts and minds of a new breed of filmmaker. (Paul Dale)
I General release from Fri 37 Oct
FESTIVAL
LONDON FILM FESTIVAL ON TOUR
GFT, Glasgow from Fri 7 Nov
The London FIIITT Festival has always done its best to represent the full spectrum of cinema. showmg films With a variety of styles from all over the world. Its selection of titles from this year's festival for its touring programme ably shows this diversity. grvrng tilmgoers the chance to see undiscovered treats as well as early prevrews of future hits. As a tribute to the late Katherine Hepburn, there is a screening of the newly restored print of Davrd Lean's sourly overlooked Summer Madness (aka Summertime. a 1955 Shirley Valentine prototype that marked a turning pernt for both director
Alison Peebles’ Afterlife
Also there is the enchanting coming
LESBIAN NOIR GASOLINE (18) 90min 0 0
Two lesbian lovers -— a butch motor mechanic and her femrne waitress girlfriend — are caught in a clinch by the unexpected arrival of the waitress' mother. In a heated argument. the sexually provocative mother is accidentally killed. The two women bundle the corpse into the trunk of a car. and drive wildly through Italy at night. pursued by homophobic youths armed with a video camera. On the road to oblivion the persecuted lovers encounter a moped-tlriving priest. a lost dog and a rave party.
Monica Stambrini's first feature has attracted plaudits on the queer film festival circuit. but that's because there is such a dearth of lesbian representation in movies. The main problem with Gasoline is its lack of a distinctive voice. It keeps referencing
SCI l'l lRll OGY HNAtl THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (15) 129min
No surprise here really. This is what
happens when big companies in this
case. Warner Brothers — feel they may have a donkey on their hands. The third part of Andy and Larry Wa(:ho\.vski's sci fi parable is clearly presenting them with a problem. They have refused to show it to the press
"I, ; «u. .2 kw?! . 4'5 28.3w...»-
Sniffing at the Gasoline
other. better ‘strong women' movies like The/ma and Louise and Heavenly Creatures as well as lesbian porn. instead of striking out on its own. It is a pity because the performances are uniformly strong — espeCially Maya Sansa as the mechanic. Next time. Ms Stambrini. can we request more originality please and a happy ending. iJohn BllllllCl
I GFT, Glasgow from Tue Ii Nov
The Matrix comes full circle
until four days before it is released so any publications that are not dailies are basically shafted. The Matrix Reloaded exposed the poverty and limitations of the brothers' cinematic vision. but we might all be surprised. This time the machines get into Zion and Morpheus and the gang are fighting to the death. There Will be a full post release review in the next issue of The List. iPaul Dale)
I General release from Fri i' Nov.
Ni w HIM SEASON AKIBIYORI
New Japanese Cinema, Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 31 Oct
What does the phrase ‘new Japanese cinema" mean to you? Do yeti think of Takeshi Kitano gangster rnovres? Or horror cycles like the Ring trilogy? Perhaps you prefer anime. or the cra/ed genre hybrids of Takashi lvliike?
How about Naomi Kawase? Jun lchika va. anyone? Seiiun Suzuki? No? Why IS it that while exploitation titles earn space on the DVD shelves at HMV. less genre- specific work from Japan rarely gets an outing in our crnernas? There is a wealth of films \‘Jllllllllg awards at international festivals that deserve a wrder audience.
Unlike the supposedly obiective lIZTI‘I‘ZIIlVO-(lerCII crnerna ol the West. the best Japanese films expect their audiences to use their imagination. to Join the dots
themselves.
It this all sounds a bit dry. then don't worry. Beautiful photography. rich performances and warm humour are staples of a good Japanese film diet. Let Akibiyouri be your gateway to a whole new world. lNimr'od Corduroy)
I For more detailed information on Akihivouri Visit lVIVLV.fl/lll/lOt/SOCIIIOHl0.(IO/Tl
and star. For the family audience WI” be Underground Chamber an Indian film based on a c assic childrens book. the film has been compared to the work of the Brothers Ouay. I‘m Not Scared is a new film from it/leditei'raneo director Gabriele Salvatores. while more tangential delights can be found in Rat O‘Neill's experiiriental The Decay of Fiction. and —- representing the UK strand — in the EIFF hit Afterlife. directed by Scotland's own Alison Peebles.
of age Argentine co—pr‘odution Valentin.
The hottest tickets are undoubtedly Lars von Truer's controversial and eagerly-anticii)ated epic Dogvrl/e, starring Nicole Kidman. and Mark and Michael Polisb’s magnificent l\lorthforl<. the conclusion to their trilogy on imaginary American towns. that features James Woods' fnest performance it years. Nick Dawsona I For more info/Irraf/o/i on the LH‘ on Tour visit ‘.'/‘.'./. i’i‘f. ( Mg 1 1k
Seijun Suzuki’s Pistol Opera
12411751 THE LIST 29