relationship with screen wife June
? Allyson. Dolbystereo enhances this ' particular reissue. Glasgow;(}F'l‘
; o Gorky Park ( 15) (Michael Apted.
3 UK. 1983) William Hurt. Lee
FILM LIST
stumbles on an international sable-smuggling operation Edinburgh; Filmhouse
o The Honorary Consul ( 18) (John Mackenzie. UK. 1983) Michael Caine. Richard Gere. Bob Hoskins. 104 mins. In Northern Argentina. Gere is the doctor incapable of love or commitment. Caine the booze-befuddled British consul. Glasgow; (iFI‘
o Jarman Home Movies Programme 1 (18) 117 mins. A selection of
sensuously strippingoff long black gloves. EdinburgthU Filmsoc
o The Glenn Miller Story (PG) (Anthony Mann. US. 1953)James Stewart. June Allyson. Harry Morgan. 113 mins. Affectionately realised. sentimental biopic of the big band leader and his quest fora distinctive sound. Stewart offers a well-modulated impersonation of Miller and there is a relaxed confidence and easy warmth in his
Jarman‘s work in the Super-8 format. including joyous experimentation with slow motion 4 and colour gelling to exquisite effect. and ‘lmagining ()ctober‘. a short partly shot in the USSR. which merges artistic and political concerns in true Eisensteinian tradition.
Marvin. Joanna Pacula. Ian Bannen. 128 mins. Investigating the discovery ofthree faceless corpses in (iorky Park. Moscow militiaman Hurt
Edinburgh; Filmhouse
O The Killing Fields ( 15) (Roland Joffe. UK. 1984) Sam Waterston. Doctor l laing S. Ngor. John Malkovich. [-12 mins. Oscar-winning true life drama of the friendship between journalist Sidney Schanberg and his guide-interpreter Dith Pratt and its endurance beyond the horror of war in (‘ambodia and
itsaftermath. Iidinburgh; Filmhouse I
a Kiss of the Spide'rwoman (15)
(Hector Babenco. US-Brazil.
1985)William Hurt. Raul Julia.
Sonia Braga. 119 mins. Two men share a prison cell victims. in their differing ways. ofan unspecified
3 fascist regime. One is a flamboyant é homosexual. the other a macho
revolutionary. The pain oftheir
confinement ultimately brings
mutual understanding. love and a
moving exchange of roles. Edinburgh; Filmhouse Edinburgh; EU Filmsoc
o Koyaanisquatsl (U) (Godfrey Reggio. US. l983) 86 mins. Eye-popping study of the chaos of modern city life compared to the tranquility ofnature. [idinburghziiL' Filmsoc.
0 Legend (PG) (Ridley Scott. UK. 1985) Tom Cruise. Mia Sara. Tim Curry. 9-1 mins. Wildly self-indulgent fairy tale in which good and evil clash once more. Pretty pictures help to distract the eye but nothing can stop the mind picking over the bones of a shambolic narrative. Strathclyde:Kelburnc.()deon (Hamilton)
' — . ‘ I I! z, .tr,
Once upon a time Sylvester Stallone‘s
. world. now in Rocky IV, he symbolises
' democracy as he takes on a monolithic ‘ Soviet opponent. Dubbed the ‘Siberian
' around his 6ft Bin frame Dolph is = undoubtedly Stallone’s most physically
' attend his press conference was therefore one offer I was inclined not to
' famed Zoli agency, a talent for languages, an American Rocky IV
'I an Adonis and the fact that he‘s only 26 z and it‘s enough to make us mere
mortals throw in the towel and head for ' the hills. Yet, despite everything he
NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE
who had coached people like Jessica Lange and Matt Dillon and Tom Hulce who was in Amadeus. Anyway, he seemed to think I had a lot of talents becuase I‘m musical as well, playing trombone and drums. Acting seemed a way of using all my talents in one field of work.’
Apart from Robertson the strongest influence on his showbusiness aspirations has been his lover Grace Jones. They met in Sydney where he was studying and have been together for almost five years, kickboxing their way to fitness and inner contentment. A mutual interest in acting developed at roughly the same time and Dolph secured a small role as a KGB thug in the last Bond extravaganza AView to a Kill in which Jones figured more prominently. Rocky IV however marks his bid for stardom.
For the role of Ivan Drago he was chosen from some 8,000 hopefuls, having been previously rejected bythe Stallone camp fora role in Rambo. ‘I just went through a cattle call in New York. Stallone‘s ex-wile Sascha was doing the casting and l was turned
down because I was too tall; they
wanted someone about 6ft am. But I
didn‘t give up; I sent some pictures to . Sly through people that had access to
him. I was in Paris shooting the Bond
film when he received the pictures and I flew back to do a screen test with two
others in December 1984. The others
did a kind of Russian Mr T. llelt that
opponents like Apollo and MrT. had
been loud and colourful so I played
Drago real quiet to make him more
mysterious.‘
Dolph's interpretation secured him the part and then the hard work began; he gained 15 pounds of muscle, perfected a Russian accent, worked out
, extensively with Stallone and spent months choreographing the gruelling fightsequences. Such was his enthusiasm that one bout lett Stallone hospitalized for two weeks.
With a $32 million budget at stake Dolph fully realises the paramouncy of commercial considerations, yet one senses his implicit disappointment with the finished film. ‘It has been
southpaw slugger Rocky Balboa represented all the underdogs of the
the superior might of western
Express‘ his rival Ivan Drago is played by Dolph Lundgren in his first major film role. ,
With 240 muscular pounds packed
daunting foe, giving the impression that he could quite easily be mistaken fora modest sized Alp. An invitation to
refuse.
On screen he may exude a menacing killer instinct butthat‘s just acting and, in the flesh Dolph is a charming, gentle giant, self-confident but not overbearingly so, good-humoured and articulate. Here is one instance of brain and brawn being evenly matched.
He holds a masters degree in chemical engineering having studied in his native Stockholm as well as at Washington State University and the University of Sydney. In 1977 he earned a first degree Black Belt in karate, going on to perfect his martial skills at kick-boxing, a sport at which he excels. His athleticism adds a grace to his bqu making his presence neither cumbersome nor ungainly. Add to this a successful modelling careerwith the
gross in excess of $100 million, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed good looks of
; still appears as sensible and ; level-headed as anyone in his position ' can be.
His early years, steeped in the groves of academe, seemed to presage a career in his father‘s line of work; engineering. The world of showbuslness only beckoned more recently. ‘I was never really a typical chemical engineer or a typical athlete,‘ he explains. ‘I met an acting teacher in
NewYorkCitycalledWarrenRobertson ' ~ ‘
w. . I"
more lines and Drago was a real tragic
% character. There is a paperback by
l Stallone, who is a real sensitive artist, 5 which shows more of the dimension
j there was to the characters. In that
3 Rocky had been Drago‘s idol and now
he has to fight him and that creates a
j conflict for him. Butthe bottom line is to make money. Picking a Russian
character was smart for the box-office
and Stallone is clever; he makes E himself look great by making me ; invincible and then beating me.‘
Rocky IV is the most successful
A sequel to a sequel to a sequel in movie
history and has already turned Dolph into a hot movie property. ‘I have been
heavily edited because I had five times
approached by 3 studios to make deals, '
l have 6 projects of my own that people are bidding for and l have a choice of 5 scripts on otter from Warner Brothers and am negotiating for another film.‘ He plans to write scripts for his own
1 company, Dolphin. His acting idols are
Dean and Brando and, although citing
’ a 1. ., :‘i '15 .”.
" “932,4, "BX i. ' m ‘y ,.
.fl : “k” i
action movies as his preference, he doesn't rule out comedy or something musical that might advance his career. On his film schedule are Warrant, a French Connection-style story of a former cup in New York, Code Blue, 3 Bond-style adventure, and his own script Interstate 10 slated to co-star Grace Jones. Set in the South it concerns ‘a bad guy, a criminal who buys a motorcycle and encounters some problems.‘
Next month he begins shooting his own work-out video, Maximum Potential. ‘More a mini-movie,‘ he claims, ‘It should have a pretty hip soundtrack of original music. It‘s about working-out, nutrition, positive visualisation; seeing yourself as a winner.‘ Dolph clearly has no problems in the latter department; be imagined himself a movie star and now he is. We mere mortals could find some solace in ordering a copy of the tape . . . (Allan Hunter)
The List 24'Janl‘6-‘chb 25 i