FILM LIST
BIG
Big (PG) (Penny Marshall, US, 1988) Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins. Robert Loggia. 104 mins. Among many other cinematic oddities, 1988 has been the year of the body swap; George Burns is currently trading in his octogenarian frame to be 18 Again. and it's not that long since Judge Reinhold cruelly revealed his limitations in the execrable role reversal farce Vice Versa.
Such pathetic attempts to milk the situation for easy laughs and gaudy special effects are completely eclipsed by the arrival of Big. a wonderfully warmhearted slice of Hollywood whimsy that knocks the opposition out otthe ball-park.
Josh Barkin (David Moscow) is a pint-sized 12 year old frustrated by his lack ol success with the school beauty. The linal straw comes when he is
. unable to ride the lerris wheel with her
because of his diminutive stature. In another part ol the carnival he discovers an apparently disconnected
are stops tor various skits on the Japanese attitude to food arid culinary etttquette. as well as a lllll} sexy scene involving anegg yolk.
for sustained comic impetus this is a splendid elforl. to be heartily recommended to arty one w ho enjoy s food. or se\. or both. (ilasgow : ( il’l'. I The Terminator ( l.\' ) (.lames ( 'ame ron. [8. Nut Arnold Schw ar/enegger. \lrchael Biehn. l tnda llantilton lll" nuns. ln 3H,“) machines have all btrt conquered lltc plattet but a say rotrr' isal hand lll tlte lorrn ofa new lturttarr leader. l’ar t-ntan. part-machine. Seliwar/enegget”s cyborg is sent back from the tuture to 1984 on a mission tokill the luture leader's mother.
lnyenttye. c\citingly-paced science-tiction ady enture with a notable Performance from .>\r me in ltis first \illainotis role. (ilasgow : (il’l'. ladinburgh: ('arneo. I Three Men And A Baby ( l’( i l ( l.eonard Nirttoy. 1’8. l‘lVl’l'om Selleck. Steve (iuttertberg. 'l’ed Dartsort. (‘elesle l lolm. llll mins. .\ trio ot smug. womanisinglads share a bachelor apartment. but the arrival on their doorstep of tlte offspringol one of their careless affairs is soon to wreak havoc with their chic macho lifestyle.
l'ine ll you have a sentimental. undeniartding critical lacttlty artd a love of lavatoi tal humour. otherwise forgettable mainstream todder and a tarrly unacountable box office success. ('entral: Regal. ITHX1138t13ll(ieorgel.ticas.l'S. Ill-I'll) Robert Duy all. Donald l’leasance. 05 mins. In a future society . the poulatiort is computer programmed and controlled by drugs. while se\ is forbidden. One man how ever begins to break the rules.
(ieorge I.ucas's debut film is a sliceol politicised sci-ti heavily influenced by (ieorge ( )rw ell. and bertelittirtg from inyenttye design work. (ilasgow : (il’l‘.
I Top Gun t l’(i)('l‘ony Scott. t'S. lusts)
'l‘om ( ~rttise. Kelly Mc(iillis. Val Kilmer. lltl mins. Say what you like about ltirtt. ‘l‘ony Scott undoubtedly has tltegoldert touch at tlte box office. This emotionless formula ady erttttre abotit ntert being
grandly upstaged by very last. very cspensiy e and very dangerousaircralt. witlt llte splendid Kelly .\lc(iillisthroyvnin
as loy e interest tor (‘ruise. made a lorttrrte. especially in the 1'8. It had to be tltose planes. or may be the rampant ‘America the strong' etltos ot tlte film. because it
about his identity and suddenly he has
wishing machine and asks to be big. Next morning Josh leaps out of bed and stares into the mirror at the tall. lanky, boyish adult that hehas become. Somehow his wish has been granted. but instead of solving his problems it merely exacerbates them; his mother assumes he is a prowler, his best lriend takes some convincing
to lace the traumas ot the adultworld with only the experience at a schoolboy.
What distinguishes Big from its rivals is its decision to take the premise seriously. Instead 01 having a wacky time, Josh is lonely and contused. unable to function with confidence and cut otllrom the security at his family.
The intelligent script otters many delightful moments along the way, particularly when Josh secures a job at a toy company and his unspoilt ideas triumph over cynical marketing plays of hisjealous rivals.
Big is also better because of Tom Hanks who convinces as a boy trapped
in a man's body without resort to
doesn't hay e muclt rttore to olter irt its displacedwestern plot about rivalry between pilots tor the coy eted title of'l‘op (iun. lzdrnburgh: Cannon.
ITrack 29( Is) lNic Roeg. its. was) 'l‘heresa Russell. (iary()ldman. (‘hristopher l.loyd. Ull mins. Middle .-\ntertca. bored housew ile Rtissell becomes increasingly lortely lter marriage with eccentric surgeon l.loyd. a man with more time lor his train set than his unltappy spouse. One day however. tltere appears strange Britisher ( )ldrnan. w ho ittight be lter long-lost sort from a brutal teenage sexual encounter at a lair. ()r lie could simply be tlte product of her lrustrated imagination.
Brash but untruitful psychodrartta. which doesn‘t really go anyw here despite art oy er-abundartce ol y rsual arid verbal trickery arid the artistic cred til director Roeg and w riter Dennis Potter. (‘oming from these two maior talents. this isa prolourtd disappointment. (ilasgow: (il’l.
I The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre t l’( i) l.lohrt l lirston. [8. 1948‘) l lumphrey Bogart. Walter l litston. 'l'im llolt. 126 mins. ’I'hree gold prospectors strike lucky btit cortte to grief because of thetrgreed. lcortic. sweaty pelormartce for Bogey irt lltrston's classic portaryal of human unscrupulousness. but grizzled old-timer llustort Stirstill steals the show. ltdinburgh: lzdmburgh l-‘ilm ( iuild.
I The Untouchablest IS ) ( Brian De l’alma. l'S.1987)Keyin(‘ostner.Sean(‘onnery. Robert DeNiro. 11‘) mins. The best American drama of IUH7 as naive Treasury officer ( ‘ostner. gritty Irish cop(‘onnery ltlte part that won him. as best supporting actor. his first Oscar). and a groupol incorruptibles tackle tlte bloated criminal empire of Prohibition kingpin Al ('apone. (ilasgow'; (‘annort Sauchiehall Street.
I Umberto D t l’( i) ( \‘ittoria DeSiea. ltaly. 1953 )('arlo Battista. 8‘) ntirts. Anelderly i cry il sery ant can ltardly afford to pay his rertt. btrt refuses to part with ltis pet dog. Writer artd director team ('esare Zavattini and DeSiea from Bicycle 'I‘lir‘e't't’s‘ here produce another moving film lrorttart everyday human drama. tlte plight ofthe old in a society that tails to adequatelycare for them. (ilasgow : (il'vl'.
I The Unbearable Lightness ol Beingt 18) (Philip Kaufman. [’8. 1987) Daniel
Day -l.ewis. .luliette Binoche. Lena ()lin. l(t7 mins. Ambitious adaptation of Milan ls'undera's elliptical. complex rtovel about a wornanisirtg (‘zech brain surgeon who
mugging, cuteness oroveracting. His sweet, dopey innocent at large is a very appealing characterisation and should bring him a well deserved Oscar nomination.
With an excellent supporting performance from Elizabeth Perkins as the career woman charmed by Hanks' lack of sophistication or calculation, Big is an unarguable tonic that deserves to be a smash. (George Bailey).
falls in love for the first time with a doe-like beatity from a small spa tow n. Abandoning his lreew helling lormer existence. he faces contntitrttertt and togetherness at the time ol tlte l’rague Springand Russian invasion ot l‘lttb‘.
A daw dltrtg arid ratlter atistc re rtarratiy e is git en some spice and interest by art overwhelming eroticism. a beautifully judged evocation of Prague andgorgeous photography . otherwise y astly over'long and urtinyolving. lidinburgh: (‘ameo. l‘lllllliUllsL‘.
I Vertigo t P( i l t Alrretl l litcltcock. t 's. l‘lfib‘Hames Stewart. Kim Noy ak. Barbara Bel (ieddes. llb‘ mins. Detective Stewart. a man with a tear of heights. lalls irt love with a wontart who apparerttly falls to lter deatlt. Yet w ltert he meetsher double. lie becorttes obsessed witlt the possibility that site is stillaliy e. listaordinary plotting in this undervalued l litcltcock study ol romantic mania. with Stewart rttcntorably cast agairtst type as tlte distinctly ort-the-edge cop. 'l‘he Berrtard llerrntartn score is simultaneously ltrslt and disturbing. lzdinburgh: l‘ilmhouse. IVice Versall’UHBrian (iilhert.t'8. 1‘)HH).ludge Reinltold. l-red Savage. Swoo/le Kurt]. UH units. A mystical easterrt \asc enables yuppie businessman Reirthold to chartge places with his precocious schoolboy son for the day , with near disastrous consequences for his career arid his love lile.
Modern variatiort on a w ell-worn comic tlteme that manages little but predictable farce and a resistible exercise iii desperate mugging from Mr Reirtlrold. Perhapsil your mind had beert takert over by art eleven year-old this might be your kirtdof movie. (ilasgow: ()deon I Wall Streett 15) '4": (()liy er Stone. 1'5. 1987 ) (‘harlie Sheen. Michael Douglas. Daryl Hannah. Terence Stamp. 12‘) mins. Returnirtg to the trenches. unabashed rttoralist Stone again presents a flawed hero with character-definirtg dilemmas and invites us to observe as he isexcited. seduced. overwhelmed. abartdoned and ultimately redeemed by the wrong turns arid twistsol' ltis encourtters with malfeasance. ('ontemporary robber barort and stockmarket legend ( iordon ( iecko (Douglas) takesa shine toambitious
yuppie Bud Fox (Sheen ) arid eventually offers him tlte cltoice ol becoming a rtitltless player like himself . or maintaining his self-respect and irttegrity.
Wall Street finds Stone's fire tempered
by a ntore seductively arttbivalent incarnation ofevil. but the result is stillart impressive. ertgrossing drama. lidinburgh: l‘ilrtthouse. I Who's That Girl? (.lames Foley. [8. 108m (iril‘tin Dunne. Madonna. 97 ntirts. Dreadtully dire alterttpt at 'l‘hirties-style screwball comedy with Madonna pretty resistible as a young wontart who may well be possessed by a leopard. The normally reliable ( iriflin Dunne should have given this one a w ide berth. (ilasgow : (’annon ('lal'kslttn Rd. I Wings Of Desire t 15) t with wentlers. W. (ietmany .WH“) Bruno ( ianx. ()tto Sander . Soly erg Dommartin. l’eter balk. ll" mins. Restless angel ( ian/ on duty in er Berlin takes a tip lront .-\ntericart ntoy ie star arid lorrrter angel l’eter l‘alk on the possibilities of crossing oy er. and follows his mentor‘s path toconsurttrttate his relationship w itlt beautrttrl circus acrobat Dommartin.
(iorgeous black-and-w ltite. and art attractively sensitive feel for the people arid places ot Berlrrt grace this thematically rich and uncharacteristically optimistic slice of Wenders movie enchantrnent. Highly recommended. (ilasgow : (il’l.
I Wish You Were Here i 15) ( David Leland. (R, 1987) lintin l.loyd. 'l'om Bell. (ieoltrey' l lutchirtgs. 92 mins. Antatory rnisady enttrrcs of a precocious teenager iii a drab l‘JSll's seaside town.
l€rtjoy able. bittersweet comic treatment ot the sexual mores of times gone byuwith art energetic perlorrttartce frortt perky newcomer Ms l.loyd. lidirtburgh: (’ameo. I Witches of Eastwick t 13) ((ieorge Miller. 18. 1‘)H7)Jack Nicholson. (her. Susan Sarandon. llb’ mins. Suffoeating iii the prim tranquility ol a small tow ii iii New langland. three single women set their collective brains towards conjuring tip the perlect Mr Right. Next rttorrtinga my stcrious stranger suddenly appears. as it in answer to their prayers. arid beginsto charm the pants off them. But the ripe. randy aitd rakish Daryl van l lorne isthe devil in disguise. arid tltcre is a price topay for their pleasure . . . A Joyous.diabolical romp. with Nicltolsort ltaving the timeof his life. lidinburgh: lidinburgh L'niversity Film Society.
I Withnail And I ( 15) ( Bruce Robinson. l'ls'. 1987) Paul Mc(iann. Richard E. (irant. Richard (iriffiths. lll7 ntirts. 1969. Two out of work actors surviving through I.ondon giro squalor take a break in a pictureseque Lake District cottage. where one of them suffers the attentions ofthe ageing homosexual owner.
Reasonably entertaining British comedy with a tendency to rely on the all-too-easy targets of drug-taking and gay stereotyping for much of its humour. lidinburgh: lidinburgh l'niversity Film Society.
I A World Apart ( l’( i ) ((hris Menges. UK. l‘Ils'H) Barbara I lershey . .lodlti May. David Suchet. See caption review. (ilasgow : ()deon. lidinburgh: ('ameo.
I Young Sherlock Holmes ( l’( i ) ( Barry l.evinson, l'ls'. 1‘)H(t)Nicholas Rowe. Sophie Ward. Anthony Higgins. ltl‘)mins. Spielberg-produced Barry Levinson film gives tis l lolmes first case whilst still a schoolboy and has him getting involved with a murderous underground cult of ligyption origins. (ienerallyquite entertaining stuff for older children. blending Victorian backgrounds with WHtls' special effects. lidinburgh: l-ilmhouse.
I Your Contemporary( 15) (Yuli Raizman. l'SSR. was) lgor Vladimirov. l4llmins. l’ersonal turmoil tor a prominent ertgtneer. on a trip to Moscow to put
torw ard a proposal for the closure of acoal processing plant. who also has tocope
w itlt the news that his sort is about tomarry a sirtgle mother. Fine tableau of Russiart society . w itlt a strong impression ofthe way people everywhere get on with their lives. (ilasgow: (if’l‘.
18 The List 14— 27 October 1988