FILM

Dennis Hopper. Matt Dillon. 94 mins. Electrifying expressionist visuals grace this rites of passage parable about the need to forge one's own identity and the

alienation it can bring. Intense and stylish.

Edinburgh University Film Society. I Santa Claus: The Movie (PG) (Jeannot Swarc. US. 1985) Dudley Moore.John Lithgow. 108 mins. Cuddly Dudley and Father C. himself in the same movie? One to entertain the younger viewers. or those with a high crassness threshold. Edinburgh: UCI. I Scrooged (PG) (Richard Donner. US. 1988) Bill Murray. Karen Allen. Robert Mitchum. John Forsythe. 101 mins. Umpteenth screen version of Dickens‘ Christmas Carol. with Murray as a miserly television exec determined to exploit the yuletide schedules for all they are worth. He learns the error of his ways just in time for a cringe-inducing finale demanding peace on earth and goodwill to all men. Despite lavish effects and a motley constellation ofguest stars. this isa formula comedy ofcontemporary cynicism whose uneasily vicious humour seems at odds with the spirit of the original. Alastair Sim. where are you now? Glasgow: Grosvenor. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. I The Secret Garden (PG) (Fred M. Wilcox. US. 1949) Margaret O'Brien. Helen Marshall. Gladys Cooper. 92mins. Sumptuous MGM adaptation of Frances I Iodgson Burnett‘s classic novel about a young orphan girl staying with her crotchety uncle. Director Wilcox later went on to make forbidden Planer. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I She-Devil (15) (Susan Seidelman. US. 1989) Meryl Streep. Roseanne Barr. Ed Begley Jr. 99 mins. TV comedy star Barr makes her screen debut in Seidelman’s heavily criticised version of The Life and Loves ofa She Devil. When her husband (a marvelloust slimy Begley) falls for romantic novelist Mary Fisher (Streep making Miss Piggy seem a model of thespian restraint). the dispossessed spouse decides to enact a fiendishly cunning revenge. The macabre feel ofthe original has been ditched in favour ofa stylised slapstick farce. but the film still leaves you rooting for the world's next housewife superstar. Edinburgh: ('ameo. I Sleeper ( IS) (Woody Allen. US. 1973) Woody Allen. Diane Keaton. John Beck. Mary Gregory. 88 mins. Vintage early Allen. as our paranoic hero finds himself two hundred years in the future. challenging the evil machinations ofa totalitarian regime in his accustomed manner. Some great sight-gags and one-liners from the days before soulfulness impinged on the laff—a-minute routines. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I Some Like It Hot ( PG) (Billy Wilder. L's. 1959) Tony Curtis. Jack Lemmon. Marilyn Monroe. 120 mins. Two impecunious male musicians inadvertently witness the St Valentine‘s Day Massacre and take refuge in Florida with Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators. an all-female band. Brilliant. brittle. crackerjaek farce with all concerned at a peak in theircareers. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I The Spirit Oi The Beehive (15)(\'ictor Erice. Spain. 1973) Fernando Fernan Gomez. Teresa Gimpera. Ana Torrent. IsabelTelleria. 98 mins. In rural Spain after the Civil War. the people‘s resigned apathy is thrown into contrast with the frenzied activity of bees. Meanwhile. a young girl is alone in dreamingof liberation. through the gentle giant figure of Frankenstein. Whom she identifies with a young but doomed soldier. Moody and haunting. Erice's debut is a calmly moving masterpiece. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I ATaIe 0i Springtime (PG) (Eric Rohmer. France. 1990) Anne Teyssedre. Florence Darel. Hugues Quester. 112 mins. Kicking off his new FourSeasons series. Rohmer tells the intimate tale of

Jeanne and Natasha who spend a weekend in the country with Natasha's pa. Igor. each exposingtheir delicate psyches. Subtle characterisation cannot overcome a sense of rctreading old ground. but Rohmerophiles will enjoy it nonetheless. Glasgow: GFT.

I Teenage Mutant Ninia Turtles (PG) (Steve Barron. US. I990) Judith Hoag. Elias Koteas. Josh Pais. Michelan Sisti. LeifTilden. David Forman. 93 mins. You've read the hype. played the video game. seen the trailers. used the toothpaste. played with the toys. eaten the pizza. What the hell —- go treat yourselfto the real garbage. Made cheaply. made millions. Glasgow: Cannon Clarkston Road. Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh: Dominion. Odeon. UCI. Central: Allanpark. Caledonian. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Kelburne. Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. La Scala. UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.

I The Three Of Us (U) (Pupi Avati. Italy. 83) 88 mins. At the age of fourteen. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was studying three-part counterpoint in Pallavicini near Bologna. At the same age. Avati holidayed nearby. and later he developed art obsession with the teenage experiences Mozart must have had in this rarified atmosphere. This is his speculative account of the young composer‘s relationships with his two fellow students. Glasgow: GF'I'.

I Three Sisters (12) (Margarethe Von Trotta. Italy/France/West Germany. 1988) Greta Scacchi. Fanny Ardant. Valeria Golino. 112 mins. In the north Italian town of Pavia in the late 19705. three sisters seek emotional and professional fulfilment. in a starry soap opera with Chekhovian overtones. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

I Torch Song Trilogy (15) (Paul Bogart. US. 1988). Harvey Fierstein. Anne Bancroft. Matthew Broderick. 1 19mins. The story of Arnold. a New York drag queen's search for acceptance of his sexual orientation from his mother (Bancroft) and a steady relationship with his lover (Broderick). Adapted from the hit stage show with writer Fierstein taking the lead role. its theatrical roots lead to a sucession of sharp one liners and knock ‘em dead musical numbers. The result is a heady mixture of laughter and tears. Edinburgh: Cameo.

I Total Recall ( 18) (Paul Verhoeven. US. 1990) Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sharon Stone. Michael Ironside. 109 mins. In Verhoeven‘s hugely expensive rollercoaster ofviolence Arnie plays an ordinary construction worker whose trip to vacational fantasy implant service Rekall Incorporated is to pitch him into an unpredictable netherworld of murderous

assassins and femmes fatales before

unleashing the full truth about his nightmares of life on Mars. The crazy Dutchman‘s Martian chronicle. teeming with sicko incident. is powered along by burstsofgee-ain‘t-this-fun-brutality but scores points for the playful ingenuity of the plotting. and Arnie looks like he's enjoying himself. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride.

I 2001: A Space Odyssey (U) (Stanley Kubrick. US UK. 1968) Keir Dullea. Gary Lockwood. 141 mins. Celebrated visionary epic about the history and future of the human race. superbly crafted and directed by Kubrick. It needs the big screen to do real justice to the famous sequences on the development of man and the landing of the mysterious monolith. ()ne of the great classics ofmodern cinema. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

I Vampire's Kiss ( l8) Nicolas Cage . Maria Conchita Alonso. Jennifer Beals. Elizabeth Ashley. 103 mins. Bitten on the neck during rumpy-pumpy with a mysteriousfemmefarale (Beals). literary agent Peter Loew (Cage) develops the certainty that he‘s become an unwilling blood donor. Taking the idea seriously. he

begins to live out a Gothic nightmare. in which modern New York takes on the stark. shadowy qualities of German expressionism. Cage‘s acting is ludicrously overwrought. but in the context it serves a spicy blend of satirical comedy and horror beautifully. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street.

I Vincent And Me (U) (Michael Rubbo. Canada/France. 1990) Nina Petronzio. 100 mins. Quirky film from the Quebecois series Tales ForAlI. in which ayoung woman follows the myth of Van Gogh to Montreal and Amsterdam. and finally the man himself to 19th century Arles. First instalment of the Vincent Van Gogh on Screen series to tie in with the Burrell exhibition. Glasgow: GF'I‘.

I Wlld AI Heart (18) (David Lynch. US. 1990) Nicholas Cage. Laura Dern. Diane Ladd. Willem Dafoe. 127 mins. Lynch‘s much-hyped Cannes prize-winner turns out to be weird and wondrous in its own way. if not qtiite as cohesive as the earlier Blue Velvet. Cage and Dern are the energetic young lovers on the run. pursued by ultrastrange hitman Dafoe on

a sometimes comic. sometimes disturbing.

trail towards the ultimate rendezvous with Elvis and the Wizard of Oz. Aside from lovingly detailing the pernicious influence of pop kitsch upon our very consciousness however. the movie isn‘t really about anything. even if it is a helluva trip. Glasgow: GFT.

I The Wizard Of Oz (PG) (Victor Fleming. US. 1939) Judy Garland. Frank Morgan. Ray Bolger. Bert Lahr. Jack Haley. Margaret Hamilton. Toto. 102 mins. Miserable Dorothy runs away from home but is soon whisked up into a magical land where her adventures teach herthat happiness is to be found in her own back yard. Classic stuffindeed. just chockfulof great songs. characterisation and memorably garish design. Perhaps marginally less enjoyable for the curmudgeonly element rooting for the

Wicked Witch Of The West though. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

I Women On The Verge 0t Ahervous Breakdown (15) (Pedro Almodovar. Spain 1988) Carmen Maura. Antonio Banderas. Julieta Serrano. 98 mins. When Pepa‘s illicit affair with an older man is abruptly terminated. she sets out for revenge. but is distracted by a succession of offbeat visitors seeking her calming influence. A splendidlybizarre character comedy from the maker of Law ()fDesire. with some off-the-wall acting and a plot that pays ironic but affectionate homage tothe classic Hollywood comedies of the 19505. Glasgow: GFT.

I Young Frankenstein (15) (Mel Brooks. US. 1974) Gene Wilder. Gene IIackman. Peter Boyle. 108 mins. A splendidly accurate James Whale pastiche. choc-full of memorable one-liners and crazy situations. Brooks' most affectionate and consistently humorous film. Edinburgh: Cameo.

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The List21 December 1990- IOJanuary 199i 25