Film INDEX
PREVIEW FESTIVAL HIPPODROME FESTIVAL OF SILENT CINEMA Eddie Harrison looks at the highlights from this year’s celebration of silent film taking place at the Hippodrome in Bo’ness
Shhh . . . ! Whisper it quietly, but it’s fair to say that 2012 is likely to be the biggest year in silent cinema for nearly eight decades. The global success of Michel Hazanavicius’ glowing tribute The Artist means that silent films currently have their biggest audience share since the 1920s, providing an ideal taster for the second annual Hippodrome Festival Of Silent Cinema. A weekend of rare classics, together with live musical accompaniment, the festival celebrates the centenary of the Bo’ness cinema and also serves as a useful primer for anyone with a freshly acquired interest in the silent era. ‘It’s true that The Artist, and also Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, which
features clips from the films of Harold Lloyd and George Méliès, have definitely contributed to the growing public perception of silent films,’ says festival director Allison Strauss. ‘So while some of the audience are cinema aficionados enjoying nostalgia, many are also experiencing silent films for the first time, and are on their own personal voyage of discovery.’ In the climate of 3D, IMAX and seat-shaking D-Box auditoriums, the
silent revival is a throwback to the original values of cinema-going. Fans of The Artist’s lovelorn George Valentin and Peppy Miller will find plenty to enjoy in the opening night film, 1920 hit Show People, in which the rise to stardom of Marion Davies’ ingénue Peggy Pepper neatly predates the story of Hazanavicius’s film. With the Hippodrome restored to its 1920s heyday and a retro dress code to match for the screening’s champagne reception, it’s a perfect way to channel nostalgia for the sartorial and cinematic glories of the past.
Further introduction to the joys of silence come in the form of newly restored The First Born, co-written by Alfred Hitchcock’s wife and collaborator Alma Reville, while there’s also a chance to catch up on familiar comedy classics like Another Fine Mess with Laurel and Hardy and Harold Lloyd in Safety Last! There’s also an early film from Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu I Was Born, But . . ., vintage thriller A Cottage on Dartmoor, and the closing gala is Douglas Fairbanks Sr in The Black Pirate, one of the first feature films to screen in two strip Technicolour and recently restored by distribution company Park Circus.
‘Part of this year’s festival programme specifically looks back to 1912 because it’s the Hippodrome’s centenary, but I think that what generally captures people’s imagination is that silent films offer a very different kind of storytelling from today’s cinema,’ says Strauss. “It’s great to see today’s audiences laughing, gasping or just getting caught up in the glamour of great films which they’ve never seen before.’ (Eddie Harrison) ■ The Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema, Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Fri 16 Mar–Sun 18 Mar.
72 THE LIST 1–29 Mar 2012
widow learns to rebuild her life in this tale adapted by first time directors David and Stephane Foenkinos. Part of the Rendez- vous with French Cinema season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Descendants (15) ●●●●● (Alexander Payne, US, 2011) George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer, Beau Bridges. 115min. When his wife is seriously injured during a boating trip with her lover, a Hawaiian land baron takes his daughters on a trip to confront her beau. General release. The Devil Inside (18) ●●●●● (William Brent Bell, USA, 2012) Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Suzan Crowley. 85min. See review, page 69. General release from Fri 16 Mar. Dickens Before Sound (U) (Various) 85min. This selection of short films features a recorded score by Neil Brand. Part of the Dickens on Screen season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Dirty Dancing (15) ●●●●● (Emile Ardolino, US, 1987) Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes. 100min. Sure it’s full of stereotyping, bad dialogue and a pre-teen sugar coated prurience, but decades on Dirty Dancing still has the ability to send a generation of women all gooey. Ghillie Dhu, Edinburgh. Dr Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) (PG) ●●●●● (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1963) Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Sterling Hayden. 93min. Devastating black comedy on the lunacy of the nuclear age with Sellers ideally cast in three roles. Still alarmingly relevant. Part of the GFT’s Dark Days season. Glasgow Film Theatre. Dolphin Tale (U) (Charles Martin Smith, US, 2011) Harry Connick, Jr, Nathan Gamble, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Morgan Freeman, Jim Fitzpatrick, Winter. 113min. Freeman and Judd lend their talents to this family story about a boy’s relationship with the ocean’s friendliest mammal. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Dreams of Darkness and Colour (U) (Various, Various) 80min. This collection of colour silent films explores journeys into darkness. Glasgow Film Theatre. Duck Soup (U) (Leo McCarey, US, 1933) Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx. 65min. Classic Marx Bros fare, as the four of them go to war over an insult directed at their President (Groucho). Superb sight gags and a healthy irreverence for all the reasons people fight wars. Part of Glasgow Comedy Festival. Vespbar, Glasgow. Electric Man (12) ●●●●● (David Barras, Scotland, 2011) Toby Manley, Mark McKirdy, Jennifer Ewing. 98min. A blend of romantic comedy and hectic chase thriller, set in Edinburgh, as a pair of struggling comic shop owners come by a valuable first edition and have to fend off advances from a clutch of sinister characters. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Encounters at the End of the World (U) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, US, 2007) Werner Herzog, Scott Rowland, Stefan Pashov. 99min. Extraordinary, Oscar-nominated documentary about the life and landscape around the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Enter the Void (18) ●●●●● (Gaspar Noé, France/Germany/Italy, 2009) Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, Cyril Roy. 142min. A metaphysical exploration of pre- and post-mortem life from the perspective of teenage drug dealer. An odd combination of astonishing cinematography and crass imagery make this a missable experience. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Eternity and a Day (Mia Aioniotita kai mia Mera) (PG) (Theodoros Angelopoulos, Greece/France/Germany/ Italy, 1998) Bruno Ganz, Isabelle Renauld, Fabrizio Bentivoglio. 137min. This Palme d’Or winner fuses poetry and politics as a man embarks on a journey of discovery and meets an Albanian orphan. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (12A) ●●●●● (Stephen Daldry, USA, 2011) Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock. 129min. Oskar (Horn) is a precocious youngster whose father (Hanks) died in the 9/11 attacks; he finds a mysterious key and tries to discover where it fits. Despite radiant cinematography and a striking performance from Horn, it’s a contrived tearjerker that is neither poignant nor profound. Selected release. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (15) ●●●●● (John Hughes, US, 1986) Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck. 103min. Characteristically Hughes teen comedy that scores with fresh dialogue and appealing characterisations, but has the drawback of some laboured farce and the need to make meaningful statements. Part of Glasgow Comedy Festival. Vespbar, Glasgow. FGM Event (tbc) The Scottish Government present two short films about female genital mutilation, a practice that, shockingly, still goes on in the UK today in some families, despite a 2005 act making it a criminal offence. The films are the Kenyan Abandon the Knife and Bristol-set Silent Scream. Followed by a panel discussion and Q&A. Part of International Women’s Day.. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ The First Born (tbc) (Miles Mander, UK, 1928) Miles Mander,
Madeleine Carroll, John Loder. 88min. Silent movie reminiscent of early Hitchcock (co-written by Hitch’s wife), dealing with the philanderings of a passionate aristocrat. With live accompaniment by Stephen Horne, Janey Miller and Martin Pyne. Part of the Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. 50 First Dates (12A) ●●●●● (Peter Segal, US, 2004) Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Dan Aykroyd. 99min. Charmless reunion of Sandler and Barrymore after their appealing pairing in The Wedding Singer. St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh. The First Grader (12A) ●●●●● (Justin Chadwick, UK/US/Kenya, 2010) Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge. Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge (Oliver Musila Litondo) is an old man who decides to attend school in his Kenyan homeland, taking up the government’s promise that education should be free for all. Seeks to inspire and uplift, but succeeds only in neutering the story. Double bill with A Screaming Man. Cameo, Edinburgh. Fly Me to the Moon (U) ●●●●● (Ben Stassen, US, 2008) Nicollette Sheridan, Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd. 84min. A 3D film describing mankind’s first trip to the moon. Moments provide genuine wow-factor, but majority of this film focuses on the uninteresting plight of three houseflies who stowaway onboard. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. The Forgotten Space (12) (Allan Sekula, Noël Burch, Netherlands, 2010) 72min. Allan Sekula and Noël Burch’s award-winning film essay offers a lucid and lyrical document of the world of seaborne trade, including worker’s conditions, the secret lives of port cities, and the vast scale of it all. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Four Horsemen (tbc) (Ross Ashcroft, UK, 2012) 97min. See Also Released, page 70. Selected release from Wed 14 Mar. Free Men (Les Hommes Libres) (15) (Ismaël Ferroukhi, France, 2011) Tahar Rahim, Michael Lonsdale, Mahmud Shalaby. 99min. In World War II, a young Algerian immigrant joins the French resistance in this controversial fable, inspired by true events of cross cultural compassion. Part of the Rendez-vous with French Cinema season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Friday Night (Vendredi Soir) (15) ●●●●● (Claire Denis, France, 2002) Valérie Lemercier, Vincent Lindon. 90min. A chance encounter turns into a joyful one- night stand. Accompanied by an excellent string score from Dickon Hinchliffe of the Tindersticks. A warm, tender and wonderfully romantic film. Introduced by Dr Pasquale Iannone. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.