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Film Masterclass: Sim Evan-Jones
Responsible for introducing Japanese cinetna to the world market. this extraordinary film recounts four people's versions of a violent incident involving a nobleman and a bandit. Part of Akira Kurosawa retrospective. l-‘ilrnhouse. Edinburgh.
Red Beard (PG) (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. I965) Toshiro Mifune. YUIO Kayatna. Yosio Tsuchiya. 185mm. 19th century Japan. and ageing doctor Mifune instils into his young and ambitious new intern Kayatna the rewards of working in the poorer sections of the comtnunity. Kurosawa‘s overlong and discursive medical drama sometimes lapses into sentimentality. but the period recreation and Mifune‘s towering central performance impress nevertheless. Part of Akira Kurosawa retrospective. l-‘ilrrrhouse. Edinburgh.
The Red Desert (ll Deserto Rosso) ( 15) O... (Michaelangelo Antonioni. Italy. 1964) Monica Vitti. Richard Harris. Carlo Chionetti. 1 16min. A woman who has recently suffered a nervous breakdown begins a tentative affair with a friend of her husband. Antonioni Uses tnuted colours and an industrial landscape to magnificent effect. as Vitti's fraught heroine becomes dislocated and tnenaced by her surroundings. A masterpiece of cinema as art. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Robin and Marian ([7) (Richard Lester. US. 1976) Sean Connery. Audrey Hepburn. Robert Shaw. Richard Harris. Nicol Williamson. l()7min. lilegaic and witty fresh approach to the myth has elderly Robin returning to Sherwood from the Crusades to find Britain in a bad way and Marian in a nunnery. First rate acting and a romantically sad ending lend it a sense of seriousness unusual to the genre. Part of Sean Connery season. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Ryan’s Daughter (PG) .000 Lean. L'K. I970) John Mills. Robert Mitchum. Sarah Miles. 206mm. Well staged. acted. written (by Robert Bolt) and directed romantic drama with a huge budget that‘s so verrrrrrrrry long. Set in a rural lrish community in NH). Miles is the schoolmaster‘s wife who falls for an
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If you want to know how Hollywood blockbusters such as Shrek and The Chronicles of Narnia come together, join film editor Sim Evan-Jones (whose credits include the first two Shrek and Narnia films) for a tell-all masterclass - with some top tips for aspiring filmmakers - on Saturday 23 August.
I Fa/kirk Town Hall
linglish army officer which causes all kinds of problems in the community. Part of David Lean retrospective. l-‘ilrnhouse. Edinburglt.
The Saddest Music in The World
( l5) 0... (Guy Maddin. Canada. 2003) Mark McKinney. Isabella Rossellini. Maria de Medeiros. l()(lmin. The weird and wonderful story of one woman‘s quest to find the saddest music in the world. in Killllt) lshiguro’s screenplay. beer mogul Lady Port-Huntly (Rossellini) hosts a competition to find this elttsive sound. with a prize so big that hoards of people travel frotn all across the globe to compete. Another truly mad homage to everyone from Robert Weine (The Cabinet ofl)r ('aligari) to Fritz. Lang. Salvador Dali and David Lynch frorn Canada‘s best kept filmmaking secret. Madder than a bag of depression era badgers. Cameo, Edinburgh. San Francisco Opera: Carmen (ii) (. CS. 2007) Anna Caterina Antonacci. Jonas Kaufmann. l70min. Anna Caterina Antonacci and Jonas Kaufmarm take the leads in Bizet's dramatic opera in a performance recorded by the BBC in January 2007. ('arneo. Edinburgh. Sanjuro (15) O... (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1962) Toshiro Mifune. Tatsuya Nakadai. Yuzo Kayama. 96min. A sequel to Yojimbo Kurosawa has the eponymous hero dancing a jig round the big would-be samurai boys and cleverly taking the mickey out of the action adventure movies of the titnc. A stunning climax however. Part of Akira Kurosawa retrospective. Eilrnhouse. Edinburgh.
Seven Samurai (PG) 0000. (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. I954) Toshiro Mifunc. Takahashi Simura. 200mm. A group of timid villagers seek protection against the excesses of a brutal warlord by hiring seven heroic samurai. Seminal Japanese action picture. with a slow-building dignity matching the best of John Ford. and in its stylishly aesthetic handling of screen violence. a profound influence on everyone from Peckinpah to iiastwood. Highly recommended. Part of Akira Kurosawa retrospective. Film/rouse. Edinburgh. She’s a Boy I Knew (15) (Gwen llaworth. Canada. 2007) 70min. (iwen llaworth here bravely documents her own gender identity transition with footage following the lives of her wife and family as they grapple with this difficult change. Part of the London Lesbian & (lay Film Festival On Tour. film/muse. Edinburgh.
Shoot First ( l5) (Various. Various. Various) 75min. Edinburgh‘s monthly short film slot that aims to unearth new talent by
making it easier for filmmakers to have their work shown. limail ed(a‘shtxitfirstfilmcom for tnore information. Film/rouse. Edinburgh. Shoot on Sight ( l5) (Jag Mundhra. CS. 2007) Brian Cox. Sadie Frost. Greta Scacchi. 109mm. A police thriller based on the London Police‘s ‘shoot on sight‘ policy intorduced due to escalating terrorist fears following the events of 7 Jul 2005. .S'hoit'ease ('inerna. ('oatbridge. Glasgow; Shatt't‘ase Cinema. Paisley; Paisley.
Singh is Kinng ( 12A) (Anees Bazmee. lndia. 2008) Akshay Kumar. Katrina Kaif. ()m Puri. l25min. Mischevious Punjabi Sikh Singh (Kumar) gets sent to Australia to bring back someone to his local village. L'nfortunately the former Indian village dweller has becomes a Don of the Australian underworld and Singh has to extricate him from there. Bollywood tnusical . Selected release.
Smart People (15) 00 (Naomi Murro. CS. 2008) Dennis Quaid. Sarah Jessica Parker. Thomas lladen Church. 95min. Dysfunctional American fatnin comedy that examines the improbable rejuvenation of widowed linglish professor Lawrence \‘l'etherhold (Quaid). Contetnptuous. irascible. narcissistic and detached from his children (Ashton Holmes and lillen Page). \‘l’etherhold's feckless adopted brother Chuck (Church) and FR doctor Janet Hartigan (Parker) attempts to rescue him frotn his isolation are scuppered by the lack of chemistry between the two romantic leads. Vue Edinburgh ()eean. I'fdinburgh.
Smiley Face (15) ((iregg Araki. CS. 2007) Anna Faris. John Krasinski. Adam Brody. 88min. After 2004‘s Mysterious Skin. Araki‘s latest is something of a departure. Faris is Jane. an out-of-work actress who fills her days with getting high and little else. After erroneously eating an entire batch of dope-filled cupcakes. Jane ventures out into the world on a drug- fuelled odyssey that can only end in disaster. Part of the London Lesbian & (iay Film Festival On Tour l‘lllllltrrllSl’. Edinburgh.
Somers Town ( IZA) 00. (Shane Meadows. CK. 2008) Piotr Jagiello. Thomas Turgoose. lreneusz Crop. 77min. ()riginally financed by liurostar as a short film to promote the service‘s new terminus at St Pancras. Meadows' has expanded his brief to tell a vividly drawn story of childhood friendship and to paint a vibrant portrait of a part of the big smoke that‘s in all likelihood soon to gentrifted out of existence. Selected release.
The Sound Barrier (t?) 00.. (David Lean. CK. 1952) Ralph Richardson. I l8min. Playwright Terence Rattigan‘s Oscar-nominated script sees aircraft designer Richardson realise his ambition to break the sound barrier. at the expense of his friends and family. Part of David Lean retrospective. Eilrnhouse. Edinburgh. Space Chimps (ti) 0. (Kirk De Micco. US. 2008) Voices of Andy Sarnber. Cheryl Hines. Jeff Daniels. 80min. ()n the whim of a sinister senator (Tucci). Ham Ill (Samberg) - the circus performer grandson of one of the first chimpanzees in space is sent into orbit to retrieve a missing satellite. With endless monkey and banana puns and bog-standard animation. Spaee Chimps is strictly for easily pleased little monkeys. General release.
Speed Racer ( PG ) .00 (Andy Wachowski/Larry Wachowski. LS. 2008) limile Hirsch. Nicholas lilia. Susan Sarandon. l3-lmin. A live action though C(i-heavy adaptation of a 1960s Japanese television anirne about a futuristic family of racecar designer-drivers who are pitted against a corporate fat cat. The film's message is: business bad. family good. winning best of all. Not that this matters in a film with migraine-inducing race sequences and stomach-churning thrill- rides. (.‘irreworld Par/dread. Glasgow; Cirteit'orld Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
The Spider’s Stratagem ( IS) (Bernardo Bertolucci. ltaly. I970) (iuilio Brogi. Alida Valli. Tino Scotti. Allen Midgett. 97min. Returning home to investigate the defacement of his heroic
father‘s memorial. Athos Magnani ( Brogi) discovers a world of mysteries. omens and ambiguities. Bertolucci's version of the Borges‘ short story shows the director at the height of his powers. Eilrrrhouse. Edinburgh. The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG) 0... (Mark Waters. US. 2008) Sarah Bolger. Freddie Highrnore. Nick Nolte. 95min. L'pon moving into the dilapidated Spiderwick listate. siblings Jared (Hightnore). Simon (Highmore) and Mallory (Bulger) find a guide to a fantastical world of faerics and creatures in this adaptation of Holly Black and Tony Di'l‘erlizzi‘s series. They must battle against Mulgarath. however. the evil shape-shifting ogre who is also after the key to the fantasyland of faeries. Grosi'enor. Glasgow; ( 'inewor‘ld Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
Star Wars: Clone Wars (PG) 00 (Dave Filoni. CS. 2008) Voices of Matt Lanter. Samuel L. Jackson. Christopher Lee. 98min. limperor Palpatine. Count Dooku and General (irievous are poised to rule the galaxy. The universe rests in the hands of the daring Jedi Knights. led by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. along with brand-new heroes such as Anakin's padawan learner. Ahsoka. Like the more recent Star Wars films. this is fairly tedious stuff. but it is nicely animated and fans will probably love it. General release.
Step Brothers ( 15) 0. (Adam McKay. CS. 2008) Will Ferrel. John C Reilly. Mary Stecnbergen. 97min. This sporadically funny but generally gross comedy features Brennan (Ferrel) and Dale (Reilly). two grown men who despite pushing forty are still living at home. An unlikely twilight romance between their parents brings them together. leading the step brothers to repel each other then team tip to form an alliance. General release from Fri 2‘) Aug.
The Strangers (15) .00 (Bryan Bertino. US. 2008) Liv Tyler. (lemma Ward. Scott Speedman. 85min. Kristen (Tyler) and aspiring beau James (Speedman) retire to a country house to lick their wounds after she rejects his wedding proposal. On arrival. they find themselves teased. tormented and eventually tortured by three unknown assailants. Straight. serious chills combined with an impressive directorial tum by Bertino make this taut thriller a deserving sleeper hit. General release from Fri 29 Aug.
Stray Dog ( l5) (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 19-19) Toshiro Mifune. Takasha Shirnura. Keiko Awaji. l22min. Classic police thriller in which Kurosawa describes a storm brewing in the Tokyo underworld. Part of Akira Kurosawa retrospective. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Summer Madness (PG) (David Lean. l'S. I955) Katherine Hepburn. Rossano Brazzi. 4min. Restoration of David Lean‘s adaptation of Arthur Laurent's popular play. The Time of the ( 'uekoo. about a middle aged secretary who pins all her dreams on a once in a lifetime trip to Venice. Moving. passionate and mature. Part of David Lean retrospective. l-‘ilrnhouse. Edinburgh.
it“:
Falkirk Town Hall Falltirk Council
The Orphanage (15) Wed 27th August 7:30pm Before the Devil
Knows Your Dead (15)
Mon 1st September 7:30pm
Tickets and further information from The Steeple Box Office or on
the door from FTH Cinema
0 1 324 506850
21 Aug-4 Sep 2008 THE LIST 35