Film index
with ,. Brian cox
A magnificent new version of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya by the writer of The Slab Boys Trilogy
Evenings at 7.65pm. matinees at 2.30pm Students: HALF PRICE FREE PREVIEW: Friday 16 April at 7.45pm
Special events: Pre-sbow talk — Tuesday 20 April at 6pm
The Guardian's Michael Billington in conversation with The Scotsman's Joyce McMillan.
FREE - tickets available from the box office.
The Arts Show — Thursday 22 April at 6pm
Janice Forsyth presents a special edition of BBC Radio Scotland '5 daily Arts Show live from the Lyceum. The show will feature an interview and 0 & A session with Brian Cox on his return to the Scottish stage.
£2 / E‘I concession .
Box Office: 0131 248 4848 Groups 8+: 0131 248 4949
Scottish Arts C(iuncil
Grindlay St, Edinburgh «granny ion-
32 THE LIST ‘Iw-lf; At)" 206/)
Notes Towards an African Orestes (Appunti per un’Orestiade Africana) (the) (Pier Paolo I’asolini. Italy. 1070) (finiin. Another I’asolini documentary. this one an improvised shred of a story for Italian television that covers his trip to Tanzania and l'ganda where be singled out characters and places and combined contemporary material including wars. revolts and massacres. Part of the I’asolini season. l’f/Hl/IUILV’. Iidin/mreh. Oedipus Rex ( IS) (I’ier I’aulo I’asolini. Italy. I067) I-‘ranco (’itti. Silvana Mangano. (‘armelo Bene. Julian Beck. Ill-tinin. Visually strong reinterpretation of Sophocles' tail which matches period scenes filmed in .\'orth Africa with a modern Italian setting: ('itti is marvellously earthy and animalistic as the king. while the dazzling sunshine provides a stark background. Part of the I’asolini season. (il’i. (i/usgmv: I-i/nihnust’. Izdinbureh. Open Range ( IZA) .000 (Kevin (‘ostnetz l'S. 200-1) Kevin (‘ostner. Robert I)uvall. Michael (iambon. H‘hnin. ('ostner rides tall in the saddle again as director and star of this magnificent Western which tackles a number of the genre's big themes freedom. itisticc. loyalty. the cost of violence. (‘ostner's ('harley Waite. a former gunman haunted by his violent past. now roams the Midwest. herding cattle with veteran cowboy Boss Spearman (I)uval|. terrific). 'I heir practice of free grazing brings them into conflict with (iambon's tyrannical rancher. Some may find the movie slow. corny ey en. but sympathetic viewers will find themselves gripped and mm ed as the narrative unfolds. and the bloody gunfight that spectacularly climaxes the film. in its fusion of the mundane and the brutal. could not be more grimly authentic. (ir’m'ru/ I't’ll’lIH’. Orphée ( 15) .0... (Jean Cocteau. I’rance. l‘)50) Jean Marais. Marie I)ea. Maria (‘asares. 95min. ('octeau creates an unrivalled cinema fantasy iii this stunning modern version of the ()rpheus legend. replete with surprising technical tricks and the director's personal brand of poetry. A masterpiece. Film/muse. lidinbureh. PBSOIiDI Shorts 1 I5) (I’ier I’anlt) I’asolini. Italy/I‘rance. twin 1070) Variousfl‘he master Italian neo-realist also tried his hand at shorts Packaged here: "I‘he Iiarth Seen from the Moon'. '\\'hat are the ('Iotids‘.". "I‘hc Sequence of Paper I‘Iower‘ and "file Walls of Sana'a'. Part of the I’asolini season. I'i/inhouyr. ifdinbureh. The Passion of the Christ ( ls') . (Mel (iibson. IS. 2004) James (‘ay'ie/el. Monica Belltlcct. Maia Morgenstern. IZomin. As subtle as a spear
iabbed under the ribs. and more boring than
a Iifetime's worth of sanctimonious sermons. (iibson's sado-felishistic account of the last 13 hours of ('hrist's life is a crude. unedify ing mess. Featuring more gratuitous violence than the average ‘video nasty '_ it presents a pick‘n'inix selection of the four gospels, plus a pedestrian stumble- through of The Stations of the ('rms all in the baroque. blooddrenched style of a horror movie. What believers w ill make of this. (iod only knows. As an atheist I longed for the radical vision of I’asolini‘s ’I‘ht' (itM/N’I According In S! .Uullllt’u' ()I‘ the clever ironies of I)cnys Arcand's Jesus of .Wnnll‘r'ul. (it’ltr'ru/ I'(’/(’ll.\('.
Pete’n’Tillie (PU) (Martin Riu. t‘S. 107-) Walter Matthau. ('arol Burnett. (ieraldine Page. Scripted by Julius J lipstein. this hard-boiled romantic drama sees Matthau and Burnett's lovers graduate from affair to marriage. with plenty of grudging wisecrackery along the way. loses the plot later. though. as the film descends into soap opera-sly lc dramatics. SI Bride 's (‘t'ninz Iz'dinbureh.
Pigsty (Porcile) ( t8) (Pier I’aolo I’asolini. Italy/I‘rance. l‘)()‘)) I’ierre (‘lementi. Jean—Pierre l.eaud. Alberto I.ionello. l'go 'I‘ogna/Ii. 08min. I’ier I’aolo I’asolini intertw ines two stories of metaphysical violence: one in which a young man lives alone and starving in a volcanic dessert with a small band of devotees who hunt down passers-by. the other in which the lather of a family living
comfortably in Bonn plots a political alliance with his war criminal rival while his son discovers a secret passion for a sow in the family pigsty. Part of the I’asolini season. l'i/mhuuse. Ifdin/mreh. Pinocchio (t') .0000 (Hamilton Luske/Ben Sharpsteen. l'S. 19-10) Voices of Mel Blane. Don Brodie. Walter ('atlett. Frankie Darro. (‘liff lidwards. Dickie Jones. (‘harles Judels. (‘hristian Rub 88min ('lassic. brilliant and quite wonderful musical animated feature about a little puppet boy who had no strings to hold him tip. l’inou'hiu really does highlight how far ahead of the competition Disney were in Iii-t0. you have to wonder what happened‘.’ 5'! Bride's ('enlre. Edinburgh.
Red, White & Blues (t') (Mike I‘iggis. (S. 2003) IZomin. Filmmaker and composer Mike Iiiggis gets to hang around with some of his musical heroes. noticeably Jeff Beck. Tom Jones. Van Morrison. Iirie Clapton. Lonnie I)onnegan and (ieorge Melly. as he revisits the sounds of the 1960s British musical invasion that took inspiration from and effectively reintroduced the American blues sound to the States. This fascinating insight in to the cross pollination of transatlantic rock sounds is part of a series of specially commissioned films on world roots music. ('unu'n. Edinburgh.
Rivers and Tides (I’(i) 0000 (Thomas Riedelsheinier. l'K/( ierniany. 2001 ) 90min. ‘Art for me is a form of nourishment.‘ suggests sculptor Andy (ioldswonhy at the start of this meditative documentary. Audiences on the continent and in the IS have certainly found 'I‘homas Riedelsheimer's film a rewarding chew: it‘s picked up awards at the (icrman Film Awards. the San Francisco Iiilm Festival and the Montreal International of Hints on Art. It is not difficult to see why: his works have a staying power because they are ephemeral. And while (ioldsworthy 's speech is festooned with purple patches. he is also thoroughly down-to-earth. His work is concerned with nature and process and life. and it is hard to watch a carefully woven string of leaves slip from their pattern and snake downstream without feeling your soul lift. ('(I't. (i/uxemv. Runaway Jury ( 12A) 000 ((iary I‘leder. IS. 2003) John (‘usack. (icne Ilackman. I)tistin Hoffman. Rachel Weisz. Bruce I)avison. l27min. Jury man Nicholas Iiaster ((‘usackl. together with his accomplice Marlee (Weisll. is working a scam to secretly hold a jury to ransom in a multi-million dollar trial. With the jury led by a blind man. and both the prosecution (Hoffman) and defence (Ilackman) in thrall to his power. Iiastcr soon sets about manipulating his fellow jurors to his own ends. Above average (irisham adaptation with strong. if slightly haminy. playing to the gallery and some really great twists. .S-It’l' ('t'niurv. Ifdinbm'eh.
Salo l lb'l ..... (I’ier I’aolo I’asolint. Italy. l‘)75) I’aolo Bonacclli. (iiorgo ('ataldi. l'inberto I’ ()uintavalle. l llniin. I‘acist Italy. I‘LH. I‘our wealthy libertines gather in an abandoned mansion where they hay e assembled a group of young men and women who they subject to a series of sexual tortures. 'I‘hese abominations are depicted in graphic. repetitive and unflinching detail. To what purpose? For the wealthy hosts. because they can. l-‘or I’asolini. it‘s a comment on the nature of Mtissolini's facist state. That‘s why this film is art. not mere gratuitous exploitation. In fact. it's a milestone in film history. I'i/nihnusr'. lidinbureh.
The School of Rock (PG) 00.. (Richard Linklatcr. l'S/(ierniany. 2003) Jack Black. Mike White. Joan ('tisack. Sarah Silverman. Joey (iaydos Jr. Miranda ('osgrove. l09min. Dewey I-‘inn (Black)
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