FILM LIST
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I Agnes 01 God ( 15) (Norman Jewison. LS. 1985) Jane Fonda. Anne Bancroft. MegTilly. 98 mins. When a new-born infant is found strangled in the room ofa novice nun. court-appointed psychiatrist Fonda is dispatched to uncover the truth behind the grisly events. Based on a Broadway hit. this is both a teasing detective story and a clearly defined theological tussle. lntelligently crafted. grandly acted middlebrow fare. Glasgow: GFT.
I Alien ( 18) ( Ridley Scott. L'S. 1979)
Sigourney Weaver. Ian Holm. John 1 1urt.
116 mins. Agatha (‘hristie in outer space as a freighter lands on a mysterious planet
and is ingeniously invaded by a ravenous intruder which proceeds to chomp its way through the cast list. Glasgow: GF'T
I Aliens ( 18) (James (‘ameron.US.1986) Sigourney Weaver. Michael Biehn. 137mins. Revived front a 57-year snooze in deep space. Warrant Officer Weaver is cajoled into joining a marine rescue mission to the planet that is home forthc original alien heastie. Unrelentingly paced with a terrifically gutsy performance from Weaver. this nerve-shredding sequel not only matches its predecessor but cannin surpasses it. An Oscar winner for special effects. Glasgow: GFT
I Anne Devlin (PG) (Pat Murphy. Eire. 198(1) Brid Brennan. 96 mins. Impressive biopic concerning the female associate of 18th century Irish republican Robert limmctt. A dedicated performance by Brid Brennan marks what has been called
SIGN ’O'THE TIMES
Sign ‘0' The Times (15) (Prince, US,
J 1987) Prince, Sheena Easton, Sheila E.
85 mins. Prince may not be playing Scotland on his current British extravaganza but tor the disappointed thousands Sign ‘O’ the Times will probably suttice as the next best thing.
Concert movies as such hardly deserve
a reputation as edilying cinematic spectacle but this is deliniter better than most perhaps because Prince's live show is better than most.
Filmed in Rotterdam and the Paisley
Park Studios in Minnesota, Sign '0' The Times captures one at the most talented at contemporary pop composers in lull
tlight during a tour that was destined ’ never to reach our shores. The
high-decibel soundtrack leatures ‘I Could NeverTake the Place at Your
: Man', ‘Slow Love', ‘U Got the Look’, a
version ol Charlie Parker’s ‘Now’s The
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Time', a snatch of ‘Little Bed Corvette’ and a handlul of others. There is a special appearance lrom wee Sheena, Sheila E. is on awesome term as the set’s energetic drummer and latest
protege Cat is allowed centre stage throughout the many sly sexual routines.
Whilst there is little in the presentation or content to woo the general public, who may quickly succumb to boredom, devotees ol the purple one will delight in the
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‘the towering achievement of(‘e|tic cinema to date'. Glasgow: GF'I‘. I Babette's Feast (U) ((‘iahriel Axel. Denmark. 1987) Stephane Audran. Jean-Philippe Lafont. Bibi Andersson. 103 mins. The Jutland peninsula during the late 19th century. Exiled French housekeeper Audran wins 10.000 francs in a lottery and uses the money to prepare a sumptuous banquet marking the centenary of the birth of a Lutheran dean whose surviving spinster daughters carry on his good works among the poor and needy. However. when a shopping list of quail. turtle. champagne and vintage wine arrives the sisters begin to wonder ifsuch pleasure is compatible with their piety. .. A delicious gastronomic experience and an exquisite slice of cinematic narrative this is a boisterous. exemplary literary adaptation full ofpleasurable surprises and real feeling. A worthy Oscar winner. Edinburgh: Filmhouse I Bellman And True ( 15) (Richard Loncrainc. UK. 1987) Bernard Hill. Kelran O‘Brien. Frances'I'omeIty. 121 mins. Hill is a computer expert persuaded into taking part in a bank robbery by the criminals‘ kidnapping of his small son in this intermittemtly exciting but occasionally rambling British stab at a psychological caper ntovic. Edinburgh: Cameo. I The Big Easy ( 18) (Jim McBride. 1 'S. 1987) Dennis Quaid. Iillen Barkin. Ned Beatty. 101 mins. Pretty smart and sexy cop thriller set in a sweaty. atmospheric New Orleans where local lieutenant ()uaid tries to clear up a series ofgangland
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experience. Capturing every tongue-in-cheek screech, expertly choreographed gyration and pelvic thrust at a consummate showman and skilled songsmith, it should also stand as a delinitlve time capsule archive lor future generations. Hot stutl. (Allan Hunter)
4 August 1988
murders. all the while falling in love with Barkin‘s attorney. in town to investigate police corruption. Glasgow: GF'I". Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse.
I Black Narcissus (PG) (Michael Powell. UK. 1947) Deborah Kerr. Sabu.Jean Simmons. 1()()mins. Kerr‘s colony ofnuns in the Himalayas find their faith tested by the desiresofthe flesh.
An unlikely subject matter. astonishingly evocative studio settings and affectingly controlled performances are combined in a beautiful. unique film. Glasgow: GFT.
I Blade Runner( 15) (Ridley Scott. US. 1982) Harrison Ford. Rutger Hauer. Sean Young. 117 mins. A tough cop tracks down a group of malfunctioning androids in this gritty hi-tech retread of Raymond Chandler. Glasgow: GFT.
I Blind Date ( 15) (Blake Edwards. US. 1987) Bruce Willis. Kim Basinger. 95 mins. Excruciatingly contrived screwball farce with yuppie Willis coming a cropper when he stupidly plies blind date Basinger with champagne. Flat and insulting with tv star Willis displaying all the charisma ofa 1980s George Lazenby. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Blue Velvet ( 18) (David Lynch. US. 1986) Kyle Maclachlan. Dennis Hopper. Isabella Rossellini. 12(lmins. Lumberton.middle-America. Would-be boy detective Jeffrey Beaumont findsa severed ear on some waste ground and when the police shoo him away he decides to do some investigating of hisown.
A singular fusion of the cosy and the terrifying which blends kitsch and nightmare. B-movie detection and brutal sexual perversion to deconstruct our complacent vision of what passesfor normal society. This is filmmakingof remarkable imagination and skill that places its director in the front rank of contemporary American cinema. Edinburgh: ('ameo I Bright Lights. Big City ( 18) (James Bridges. US. 1987) Michael J. Fox. Phoebe (‘ates. Kiefer Sutherland. Dianne Wiest. 108 mins. Would-be literarytalent Fox responds to the painful death ofhis mother and the break-up of his seemingly perfect marriage by going on a binge of booze. drugs and bad company in the shape of Sutherland‘s Lucifer-like buddy. Eventually he crawls out ofa self-made pit and rediscovers his integrity.
Although Fox seems a little too cute and youthful to portray the tormented protagonist ofJay Mclnerney‘s novel he struggles valiantly to shrug offhis inadequacies and. like the movie. rewards the patient viewer. Along the way there is a splendid series of cameos from the likes of Wiest and Jason Robards as a booze-cmbalmed editor who has seen happier days and more conducive drinking companions. Glasgow: Salon I Can't Buy Me Love ( PU) (Steve Rash. US. 1987) Patrick Dempsey. Amanda Peterson. (‘ourtney Gains. 94 mins. (‘ollege nerd Dempsey is so concerned to be in with the cool clique that he hires cheerleader goddess Peterson to dangle on his arm for a month. However. socool