FILM
18The List 22 February — 7 March I991
Kidman. Billy Zane. 96 mins. A psychoon the seven seas disturbs a young couple trying to get away from it all on acruise along the Barrier Reef. First rate suspense follows. in this canny mix ofon-ship claustrophobia and wide open seascapes from Aussie new waver Noyce. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I December Bride (PG) (Thaddeus O‘Sullivan. Eire. I990) Donal McCann. Saskia Reeves. Ciaran Hinds. Patrick Malahide. 90 mins. Highly unusual romantic drama set in rural Northern Ireland at the turn ofthe century. Reeves plays a woman with two lovers. who happen to be brothers. Despite all social pressures. the three maintain a stable menage. but conflict is inevitable. Slow but beautifully shot on bleak location. this
, is a unique and absorbing feature debut
for O'Sullivan. Glasgow: OFT.
I DDll'l Look Now ( 18) (Nicolas Roeg. UK. 1973) Donald Sutherland. Julie Christie. 103 mitts. Restoration expert with second sight visits Venice. where he meets up with two old sisters who claim spiritual communication with his recently drowned daughter. Against a Mann-like backdrop of unexplained deaths. he becomes obsessed with a tiny. red-coated figure he spies scurrying through the city's dark alleys. Splendid supernatural suspense movie. as subtly textured and brilliantly edited as any of Roeg's work. with the added advantage that it's a rathergood yarn. Glasgow: (EFT.
I DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (L') (Bob I Iatchcock. US. 1990) With the voices of Alan Young. Terence McGovern. Russi Taylor. Christopher Lloyd. 90 mins. The first release on Disney's ‘Movietoons’ subsidiary is a feature-length development ofthe
Duck Tales
cartoon series seen on [IS television. It stars Scrooge McDuck. who. with his nephews Huey. Dewey and Louie. foils the evil Merlock and gains the long-lost booty of Collie Baba. One for the kiddies. Glasgow: Cantton The Forge. ()deon. Edinburgh: ()deon. UCI. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. ()deon Hamilton. UCI Clydebank. IICI East Kilbride.
I Dumbo (I!) (Ben Sharpsteen. US. 1941) 64 mins. The rest ofthe circttsanimals make fun ofthe little elephant with the huge ears. bttt he discovers they have a use after ali. Classic Disney: timeless entertainment. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Elvis — That’s The Way It Is ( L‘ ) ( Dcttis Sattnders. LS. 1970) Elvis Presley. 108 mins. A celebration of the King's return. after nearly a decade in the doldrttrns. to live performance. Saunders‘ largely uncritical documentary combines footage of Presley's I.as Vegas concerts with interviews with fans and entottrage. ()odlcs of material for Iilvisobsessivcs. bttt only the odd glimpse of former glories to enthttse the uncommitted. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank.
I Excalibur( 15) (John Boorman. US. 1981 ) Nigel Terry . Nicol W'illiatttson.
THE WORLDS END 2 HIGH STREET EDINBURGH
NOT SO MUCH A WAY OF LIFE MORE OF A BAR
PACIFIC HEIGHTS
Pacific Heights (15) (John Schlesinger, US,1990) Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton. 102 mins. Patty and Drake are a gooey unmarried couple of Californians, (Griffiths and Modine), who over-extend their bank balance to buy the tumbledown wooden house of their dreams, overlooking the Bay in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights. Patty is soon wielding that automatic nail gun, choosing the fittings and rewiring the whole house, while Drake handles the painting.
All this interior design scours out the fluff from the geeky couple's already empty pockets, forcing them to rent out the ground floor rooms while they make their home in the attic. Enter Carter Hayes, played by the menacing Michael Keaton, who's traded in the old Batmobile for a shiny new Porsche and who, with the dell flash of a few hundred dollar bills, quickly has Drake noshing from his sweaty little palms. Patty though, is a little more circumspect- and well she should be, as Hayes is the sort of thoroughly nasty peice of work who surely knows a sucker when he sees one. Soon he's managed to purloin the cat and infest the whole house with cockroaches, keeps himself busy hammering away day and night but still refuses to pay the rent. Not paying the rent? Tut tut. Surely he can be evicted? Not so, says
the law.
Pacific Heights has been described as ‘Hltchcockian', largely because of the Bates Motel vibe of the house, the casting of La Griffith's mum Tippi Hedren as one of Hayes’ victims, and the cameo appearance of the director in a lift. True enough, from opening shot to closing line, it’s a threatening piece of work but ultimately the nightmare is far too over-extended to deserve such an accolade. You can‘t help thinking there’s a lot less flesh on these bones than meets the eye, even if Keaton and Griffith more than adequately make up for the lapses. In the end our plucky heroine, quite out of character, will insist on going down those darkly-lit stairs several times too many, but you have to award an honourable mention to creepy-crawly wranglers Bugs Are My Business (whose handiwork was last seen in Arachnophobia) for their winning ways with the roaches. (Thom Dibdin)
From Fri 1 Mar. Glasgow: Cannon Clarkston Road, Cannon The Forge, Grosvenor, Ddeon. Edinburgh: Ddeon, UCl. Central: Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon, Ddeon Ayr, Ddeon Hamilton, La Scala, UCl Clydebank, UCl East Kilbride, WMR Irvine.
llelen Mtrren. (‘herie Ltmglti. 142 mins. The Boorman canon is cratntncd with references to the Arthttrtan legend. and this is his long cherished attempt to film the chronicle wherein he found so muelt fascination. The result is a film ofvisual splendour. melodramatic sweep. and in
the case of Williamson‘s Mcrlin.defiantly i
perverse acting. Edinburgh University Film Society.
IThe Exorcist ( 18) (William Friedkin. LS. 1973) Linda Blair. Iillen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. llllmins. Iiarnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little obsessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scarcy . dead priest. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr.
I Fantasia ( I! ) ( Bert Sharpsteen. I 'S. 194”) The voice of Deems Taylor; mttstc played by the Philadelphia ( )rcltcslra. conducted by Leopold Stokowskt. 135 mins. Fttlly restored to mark its Silth anniversary. Walt Disney'ssemi-abstract
feature remains a unique and astonishing achievement. Almost equally lattded and loathed. it contains sonte visually stttnning material as well as some rather embarrassing kitsch. bttt surely the most memorable sequence is ’I'leurct'rer's Apprentice starring Mickey Mottse tettdowed for the first time with pupils instead of button eyes). (ilasgow ; ()deon. lidinbttrgh: ()deon.
I Chost(12)((ierry-Zueker.t‘s. 1W“) Patrick Sway/c. I)cnti Moore. Whoopi (ioldberg. Tony (ioldwyn. llb mitts. An ersthw ile ltappy couple are split up w hen Patrick Swayze falls victim to a late night mugging. Not content merely topass-on
‘ however. he returns to try and get back lit
touch with I)cmi Moore. via medium \Vhoopi (ioldberg in order to warn her about some fittancial shenanigans. Jerry Zttcker's amiable supernatural. cotttcdy-drama ltas been the surprise box-office success of the year arid is
charming audiences here. Glasgow: Cannon Sauehiehall Street. Edinburgh: Central: Cannon.UCl. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. UCI Clydebank. L'CI East Kilbride.
I The Drifters ( 15) (Stephen Frears. LS. 1990) Anjelica l Iuston. John Cusack. Annette Bcnittg. I I9 mins. Hugely satisfying nm'r melodrama. centring on the relationship between three streetwise ‘grifters‘ — mob moll I.in (Ilttston). her estranged son. injured con man Roy (Cttsaek). and Roy‘s ambitious girl My ra (Bening). When Lily decides to visit Rm in hospital. skeletons start tumbling front closets. and their loose grip on security beginsto weaken. Rich. dark and very substantial. Glasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh Cameo. L'Cl. Strathclyde: L'CI (lydebank.
I Hamlet Does Business ( 15) ( Aki Kaurismaki. Norway. 1989) Pitkka-Pekl... Petelius. Kati ()utinen. Iilina Salo. Iisku Saltninen. 86 mins. Described by its idiosyncratic Finnish director asa ‘black-and-whitc underground B-movie classical drama‘. this bizarre version of Shakespeare‘s Scandinavian opus is set Ill the 20th century. and alongside Kaurismaki's customary offbeat humotii contains references to rockabilly. comic books and the world trade itt rubber ducks. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Iidinburgi: L'niversity Film Society.
I Hard Times (PG) (Joao Botelho. Portugal/UK. 1988) Luis EstrelaJulia Britton. Isabel de Castro. ()6 mins. Director Botelho has done an amazing dissection on Dickens to set Hard Tillll’l III a strangely timeless Lisbon largely composed of breathtaking monochrome tableaux. The tone is one ofdetachmcnt. with a daring use ofnarrative ellipsistltat will annoy literary bores. but the visual appeal. reminiscent of bothji'lm notrand David Lynch will endear the film tolovers of the truly cinematic. Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Heathers ( 15) (Michael Lehman. LS 1989) Winona Ryder. Christian Slater. l..isanne Falk. 102 mins. An ultrablack parody of the hiin school teenflick. Lehman's first feature film ntanagesto combine box office success with artistic merit. This cult hip hit of the year has Slater and Ryder starting a suicide craze to muscle in on the cliquey Heathers running the joint. Tune in. tttrn on. drop dead. (ilasgow: (if-T.
I Henry And June ( la) ( Philip Kaufman. IS. 1990) Fred Ward. L'ma Thurman. Maria de Maderios. Richard [3. (Brant. I37 mins. The triangular relationship between the erotic writers Ilenry Miller and Anais Nin and Miller's wife June isthe backbone of this well mounted biopic. which suffers from the slightly incongruous explicitness of Kaufman's previous I 'rtheuruhle Light/less ()fBetng and the same uncomfortably slow pace. (ilasgoyv: (irosvettor.
I Highlandert 15) (Russell Mulcahy. L'Is'. I986) (‘hristopher Lambert. Beatie Izdncy. Sean Connery. I I 1 mins. A handful of immortals battle through the centuries to win a mythical prize. A curious mixture ofromance in Ibth century heather arid car chases in present day New York. the film is aninelegant. often ludicrous. but enjoyany daffy adventure. Lambert seems ntore at home with the contemporary passages and only the ever wonderful Connery has the requisite style for the kitsch Scottish scenes. Iidinburgh: Cameo.
I The Hitcher( IS) (Robert Mandel. IS. 1930) Rutger I latter. C Thomas I Iowell. .lenniferJason Leigh. 98 mitts. Drowsy driyer l lowell gets more than ltc bargained for when lte picks up psycho-hitcher I latter in this genttincly cdge-of-the-seat suspense thriller. lidinburgh; Cameo. I Home Alone ( PU ) (Chris ( 'olttmbtts. t'S.
1990) Macaulay ('ulkin. Joe Pesci. Daniel Stern. John llcard. Catherine ()‘I Iara.