FILM INDEX
l Geena Davis. Randy Quaid. Jason ! Robards. 89 mins. See review. Glasgow: i Cannon Clarkston Road. Cannon The f Forge, Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. UCI. Central: Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. I lied Sorghum (15) (Xhang Yimou. China. 1988) Gong Li. Jian Weng. JiuJi. : 90 mins. This completely startling piece of I New Chinese Cinema is a family saga set in a rural community during the 19305. and follows a young woman's adventures: finding a husband. setting up a brewery and repelling barbaric Japanese invaders. Conceived on a gloriously broad palette. Yimou‘s film controversially explores the ' stirrings of female sexuality. and includes some endearing knockabout comedy before the tone darkens for the final cataclysm. With a marvellously rich red ; colour scheme. this a magnificent debut. Edinburgh Film Guild. I Biff-Raff(15) (Ken Loach. UK. 1991) Robert Carlyle. Emer McCourt. Jimmy Coleman. George Moss. Ricky Tomlinson. 94 mins. See review. 5 Glasgow: GFT. I Rio Bravo (PG) (Howard Hawks. US. 1959) John Wayne. Dean Martin. Angie Dickinson. Walter Brennan. Ricky Nelson. 141 mins. Classicallysprawling western. in which the Duke plays a lawman trying to go it alone against the gang trying to spring their colleague from the local jailhouse. He‘s too proud to enlist support from youthful Nelson. alcoholic Martin or geriatric Brennan. but can he hold out without their help? A powerful and unforgettable epic. assembled with the assured drive. visual scope and attention to detail which typifies Hawks‘ best work. Edinburgh: Cameo. I The Russia House (15) (Fred Schepisi. US. 1990) Sean Connery. Michelle Pfeiffer. Roy Scheider. James Fox. 117 mins. Dated foray into Cold War espionage thrillerdom. which has Connery as a raddlcd British publisher. inexplicably engaged by the intelligence boys to smuggle some documents out from under the Ruskies‘ noses. His blase expectations of the whole business are thrown out of kilter by the appearance of lovely Ms Pfeiffer. and a familiar wish-fulfilment adventure ensues. Despite the strength of the original material (John Le Carre), the script (Tom Stoppard). the cast and the director. however. it all looks pretty outmoded now, no matter how much unperestroiking Gorby‘s up to. Edinburgh: Dominion. I Scenes From A Mall (15) (Paul Mazursky. US. 1990) Woody Allen. Bette Midler. Paul Mazursky. Rebecca Nickels. 88 mins. See review. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. I The Searchers (PG) (John Ford. US. 1956) John Wayne. Vera Miles. Jeffrey Hunter. Natalie Wood. 119 mins. ()ne of Ford‘s finest Westerns. and hence one of the greatest achievements of the genre has Wayne as the obsessive Ethan Edwards. a man whose five-year quest to hunt down the Indians who murdered his wife and
\ 3.. Quick Change (15) (Howard Franklin/Bill Murray, US, 1990) Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Duaid, Jason Robards. 89 mins. For Grimm (Murray), a disgruntled city planner, and his friends Phyllis (Davis) and Loomis (Duaid), committing the perfect robbery is easy compared to the problem of getting out of New York with the loot. A wrong turn during their getaway, a taxi driver who speaks no English and an obsessiver correct bus driver are just some of the obstacles they face while the police assume they must be long gone.
Much postponed since its planned release last year, Quick Change is Bill Murray’s first film since Scrooged and shares many of that films strengths and weaknesses. Inconsistency is one weakness, but there is a dry wit and easy charm that carry it through the slower moments, as well as a pair oi very watchable performances from Davis and Duaid. But, good as they are, it is Murray’s show throughout.
Perhaps consciously. Murray has moved away from the zany hit-and- miss style of his early films, Stripes being the biggest, to the safer but often less successful mainstream comedies such as this one — enjoyable enough but soon forgotten. What it lacks in anarchy is compensated for in a . homogenous slickness, the humour most often being derived from universally recognisable situations, with a few well aimed digs at New York belligerence along the way.
Offering much amusement but little hilarity, Quick Change is a pleasant, middle- of-the-road comedy that will do much for Murray’s bank balance, if not his comic reputation. (Anwar Brett)
From Fri 26 April. Glasgow: Cannon, Clarkston Road, Cannon The Forge,
Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: 5
Cannbn, UCI. Central: Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon, UCI Clydebank, UCl East Kilbride.
3 departures from the text are the source of the most intense cinematic images. And in f the central roles as the doomed American
couple seeking adventure. meaning and one another‘s souls in the north African desert. Winger‘s Kit maybe flawed. but Malkovich‘s Port is a superbly intuitive characterisation. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Sleeping With The Enemy ( 15) (Joseph
Ruben. US. 1990) Julia Roberts. Patrick ; Bergin. Kevin Anderson. 115 mins. Hollywood‘s hottest female star is once
again the centre of attention in this
effective thriller about a woman driven to
desperate steps to avoid her psychopathically violent husband. The
delicate — not to say socially important—
subject matter is approached with as much
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. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. WMR Film Centre.
I Texasville ( 15) (Peter Bogdanovich. 1990) Jeff Bridges. Cybill Shepherd. Annie Potts. Cloris Leachman.'l"imothy Bottoms. Randy Quaid. 126 mins. A melancholic sequel to 1971 ‘s Last Picture Show. which brings most ofthe original cast together after two decades and ages them all a further ten years. Bogdanovich's attempted comeback is subtle. intelligent. well acted and at times
Dominion. UCI. Strathclyde: UCI \l Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. IThree Sisters (12) (Margarethe Von j Trotta, Italy/France/West Germany. 1988) Greta Seacchi. Fanny Ardant. Valeria Golino. 112 mins. In the north Italian town of Pavia in the late 1970s. three sisters seek emotional and professional fulfilment. in a starry soap opera with Chekhovian overtones. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (18) (Pedro Almodovar. Spain. 1990) Antonio Banderas. Victoria Abril. Francisco Rahal. 101 mins. It‘s women on the verge ofexploitation time as Almodovar reveals his most provocative confection to date with a bare outline that reads like sexist trash: male loony Banderas kidnaps porno queen Abril. ties her to the bed. pumps her full ofdrugs and. lo, they fall in love. Look beyond the sordid details. however. and the film creates its own moral logic based on mutual need between two very damaged characters. In the end. Almodovar manages creditany to wring moments of emotional resonance out of the most unpromising material. Glasgow: . GFT. Q I Tilai (PG) (ldrissa Ouedraogo. Burkina ; Faso/Switzerland/France. 1990) Rasmane . Ouedraogo. Ina Cisse. Roukietou Barry. Assane Ouedraogo. 81 mins. Young Saga : (Rasmane Ouedraogo) returns to his rural village to find that his fiancee (Cisse) has I become his father‘s second wife. The young couple tryst in secret. but eventually the community finds out. and the law (Tilai) is intransigent: Saga must die at the hands of his brother Kuilga (Barry). In the adventure which follows. all three central characters must confront both received and instinctive ethics. Their internal and external struggle is so universal. and brought so vividly to life. that the film remains accessible despite its alien cultural origins. Glasgow: GFT. I The Time To Live and The Time To Die (PG) (I Iou Hsiao-I lsien. Tiawan. 1985) You Anshun. Shenghua. Mei Fang. 137 mins. In 1947, a Chinese familyseeking fresh opportunities moves to Taiwan and
L is forced to stay there when the revolution
hits the mainland. Understath domestic
' saga loosely based on the director‘s own
experiences. and very typical ofhis careful. detailed approach evident in the
earlier Summer/1! Grandpa '3. Both films
are charming. delicate. and highly recommended. Edinburgh Film Guild.
I To Sleep Willi Anger ( 12) (Charles Burnett. US. 1990) Danny Glover. Paul Butler, Mary Alice. Carl Lumbly. Richard
Brooks. 10] mins. An ambitiousand
charming attempt by black director
Burnett to confront racial tensions in the
US. Based on an old Georgian legend. it tells the story of traditionalist shit-stirrer Trickster. who visits friends in LA and
I causes everyone a lot of bother. Keenly political yet warm-hearted. this is a kind of
Southern/West Coast response to Spike Lee‘s [)0 the Right Thing. Glasgow: GFT.
i I Total Recall ( 18) (Paul Verhoeven. US.
1990) Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sharon Stone. Michael Ironside. 109 mins. In Verhoeven‘s hugely expensive
captured his young daughter has developed into a thirst for murderous
beautiful to look at. but there's no mistaking the absence ofthe spark that
sensitivity and responsibility as can be
_ rollercoaster ofviolence. Arnie playsa expected from Hollywood. and the film
construction worker whose vacational
revenge. Indeed. his drive is not only to murder the Indians but to kill hisown offspring because she‘s been tainted by her time with the Redskins. With Wayne at his most intense. this is one ofold Hollywood‘s darker. richer moments. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse.
I The Sheltering Sky (18) (Bernardo Bertolucci. UK/Italy. 1990) Debra
Winger. John Malkovich. Campbell Scott.
Jill Bennett. 138 mins. The criticism which has met Bertolucci‘s cherished adaptation of the psychologically complex Paul Bowles novel is only partly fair. The book's subtlety is not fully communicated. and Bertolucci‘s alterations have been
frowned upon. but ironically his
22 The List 19 April— 2 May 1991
3 I Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(PG) (Steve Barron. US. 1990) Judith Hoag.
has done very healthy trade at the US box office. launching director Ruben into the big league after a string of minor hits including The Stepfather and True Believer. Ultimately. though. the film is too light and glossy to be taken seriously as
; anythingotherthan gripping . entertainment. See preview. Glasgow:
Cannon Clarkston Road. Cannon The
‘ Forge. Odeon. Salon. Edinburgh: Odeon.
UCI. Central: Allanpark. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. La Scala. UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. WMR Film Centre. Elias Koteas. Josh Pais. Michelan Sisti.
fired the earlier film. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Three Men And A Little Lady (PG) (Emile Ardolino. US. 1990) Tom Selleck. Steve (iuttenberg. Ted Danson. Nancy Travis. Robin Weisman. 104 mins. Sequel to the dispensable but hugely popular Three Men And/1 Baby brings back our hunky trio and the child's mother Travis. together with Weisman as the horrid child. now five years of age. Family crises like which trendy primary school to attend and whether Selleck should marry Travis keep the action ticking along at a reasonable rate. and it's actually a lot of fun. lfyou like that sort of thing. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh:
crazy Dutchman's Martian chronicle,
fantasy (implanted by Rekall Incorporated) is to pitch him intoa
netherworld of assassins andfemmes
fatales before unleashing the full truth about his nightmares of life on Mars. The
teeming with sicko incident. is powered along by bursts of gee-ain't-this-fun-brutality. but scores 1 points for the playful ingenuity ofthe ’ plotting. and Arnie looks like he's 3 enjoying himself. Edinburgh: Cameo. l I Twins ( 15) (Ivan Reitman. US. 1988) 1 Danny De Vito. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kelly Preston. Chloe Webb. 107 mins. To create the perfect man. scientists impregnate a beautiful woman artist with