Film
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (15) 0.... (Terry Jones. UK. 1979) Graham (‘hapman. Teny Jones. John (‘lecse. Michael Palin. liric Idle. 93min. The Gospel According to Monty Python offended a whole host of religious dominations upon its initial release. which rather obscured the fact that behind the controversy lay their most stistained hutnour to date. A host of very funny setpieces and smart cameos from all the team climaxes in a rather fetching musical crucifixion. Grosi-enm; Glasgow. Mr Bean’s Holiday (PG) .0
(Steve Bendelack. UK. 2007) Rowan Atkinson. Willem Dafoc. 89min. Wordless misfit Mr Bean (Atkinson) goes to the French Riviera and becomes ensnared in a broad liuropean adventure. A silly. occasionally funny. mildly xenophobic slapstick feature. Jacques Tati did it so much better. General release.
My Ain Folk ( l2) 0.... (Bill Douglas. UK. l97-l) Stephen Archibald. Hughie Restorick. Jean 'l‘aylor-Smith. Bernard McKenna. 48min. The second of three highly personal films from Douglas. tracing his early life in a mining village near lilinburgh through to his emancipation during his National Service in ligypt. Human warmth in the face of awful hardship is beautifully preserved. A Scottish masterpiece. .'l( '15. I-fdinbmgh.
My Best Friend ( I 2A) 0.0 (Patrice l.econte. France. 2000) Daniel Auteuil. l)any Boon. Julie Gayet. 94min. See review. page 3‘). Glasgow I'll"! Theatre. Glasgow; I'ilmhouse. Edinburgh.
My Childhood (PG) no. (Bill Douglas. UK. 1972) Stephen Archibald.
The Innocent
Hughie Restorick. Jean 'l‘aylor-Smith. Bernard McKenna. 48min. The first instalment of Maxim Gorky's trilogy of autobiographies. all of which Douglas filmed over a period of seven years. The setting is transported from l‘)th century Russia to Scotland in the l‘)-l0s. but the picture of grit. determination and human warmth in the face of awful hardship is beautifully preserved. /l( '15. Edinburgh. Next ( l 2A) .0. (Lee 'l‘amahori. US. 2007) Nicolas (‘age. Julianne Moore. Nicolas Pajon. 95min. Moderately successful Philip K Dick adaptation about l.as Vegas-based magician (‘ris Johnson ((‘age) who can see into the future and thus is co—opted into lighting terrorists by (‘allie Ferris (Moore). Solid direction and good perfonnances make this an entertaining if over familiar thriller. General release. Oklahoma! (U) 0... (Fred '/.inunerman. US. l055) Gordon MacRac. Rod Steiger. Gloria Grahame. l-l2min. l’ine film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein inusical about a cowboy who wins the hand of his gal despite the best efforts of a bad ‘ole hired gun. It won an Oscar for the music. and quite rightly so. Yce-hal. Film/rouse. Izdinlnugeh.
The Painted Veil ( DA) .00. (John Curran. (‘hina/US. 2007) Naomi Watts. lidward Nonon. I.iev Schreiber. 125mm. The third screen adaptation of Somerset Maugham's novel about an linglish couple (Norton and Watts) in 1920s ('hina. (‘o- produced with the (‘hincsc government. the production manages to step outside the domestic lives of the protagonists to become a genuinely touching romance and
And it’s farewell to the truly great British cinematographe
breathtaking piece of cinema. Selected release.
The Philadelphia Story (t’( I) 0.... (George (‘ukor. US. l‘)40) Katharine Hepburn. (‘ary Grant. James Stewart. I l2min. Splendidly sophisticated Hollywmxi comedy with Stewart as a scandalsheet reporter covering the society wedding of recently divorced Hepburn. ex- hubby Grant lurking in the wings. and romance recurdling despite itself. Sparkling dialogue and charismatic performances all round make this one of the best of its kind. Remade as the musical. Iliin Soeietv. Scotsman Screening Room. Ifdinbtugh. Pilton Video: Streetwise Films (IS) (Various. UK. 2007) ()0min. Two low budget. HI) films about the streets of lidinburgh: Kevin McMullen‘s My S/utdmi‘lunds and Drew McLean's Dead Man 's (Indies. The programme also includes The Postman by (‘hico Pereira. Film/muse. Edinburgh.
Poland Through Animation: Programme 2 ( 12A) 0”. (Various. Poland. Various) 108mm. A programme of Polish animation entitled ‘Golden Age'. including work by Jan Lenica and Ka/imier/ Urbanski. film/muse. It'dinbumdt.
Poland Through Animation: Programme 3 (12A) .000 (Various. Poland. Various) l07min. A plethora of Polish animation under the title ‘Avant- Garde and Experimental. Satire and Grotesque'. Film/rouse. Ink/inbuI-gh. Poltergeist ( 15) “0. US. l982) JoBcth Williams. (‘raig T Nelson. Beatrice Straight. Dominique
(Tobe Hooper.
r and director Freddie Francis who died on Thursday 17 March. Aside from making a considerable contribution to British cinema with some of the better Hammer Horror films of the 605 and 705
Dunne. ()liver Robbins. l l4min. All American ghost story with the unmistakable stamp of Spielberg. though it's credited to Hooper. Deep within the family telly there's a restless spirit trying to get out. Perhaps the scriptwriters came up with the idea of something hideous invading your sitting room through the TV after watching Beadle 's About. Superny crafted scarefest with the family unit trying to withstand the powers of evil. ('ameo. Edinburgh.
Reno 911!: Miami ( t5) 0.
(Robert Ben Garant. US. 2007) Thomas Lennon. Ben Garant. Kerri Kenney. 84min. The big screen version of a I’oliee AmuleInv-like (‘omedy ('entral series in which dumb Reno cops are at a convention at Miami Beach when a terrorist attack strikes. There's about half an hour of good material here. The rest is filler that seems to have been written by a prepubescent simpleton. .S'eleeted release. Scooby-Doo (PG) 00 (Raja Gosnell. US. 2002) Freddie Prinze Jr. Sarah Michelle Gellar. Matthew l.il|ard. 87min. Seoobv the tnovie starts well. pitching itself somewhere between tribute and send-up of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. The casting is astute: best of all is Matthew [.illard as stoned slacker Shaggy. liven the computer— gencrated Scooby himself isn't lacking in charm. Btit .S'eoobv-Ihm sadly fails to live up to the promise of its opening reel. Admittedly. the film's bold playpen colours are fun and there are some clever gags that will score with the show‘s pothead following. But the jokes soon wear thin. (omen. Ifdinlmrgh.
(The Evil of Frankenstein, Dr Terror's House of Honors and The Ghoul), Francis is probably best known as David Lynch’s favourite director of photography. By Lynch’s own admittance it was Francis who helped the (then very green) Lynch finish The Elephant Man, the pair going on to make Dune and The Straight Story together. This commemorative screening of Jack Clayton and John Mortimer’s seminal 1961 adaptation of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw shows Francis at the height of his powers, working in a B&W scope format to create unforgettable dream sequences and much more. You were one of a kind Freddie and will be much missed but never equalled. I Fl/ITI/IOUSQ, Edinburgh, Wed 23 8 Thu 24 May only.