FILM INDEX
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RS. 2 I BP Expo 92 The
International Festival of New Short Film and Video comes to Glasgow Film Theatre on Tue 11 and Wed 12 Feb. Three programmes of British and international shorts are supplemented by a screening of Edward I] and a discussion with director Derek J arman. I Coupe de Ville ( 15) Three mismatched brothers deal with dented fenders and bruised egos as they drive a ‘54 Cadillac from Detroit to Florida for their mother‘s birthday. Highly recommended nostalgic comedy. See review.
I Cross My Heart Jacques Fansten‘s touching comedy follows the adventures of a boy and his schoolfriends who try to keep his mother‘s death a secret. A special preview on Thurs 6 Feb at Edinburgh Filmhouse in the presence of the director. I Double Impact ( 18) In a feat matching by Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers. the Jean-Claude Van Damme brothers team up to get the baddie who killed their dad. Twice as much action, twice as many badly delivered lines. I For The Boys (15) James Caan and Bette Midler entertain the troops in Mark Rydell‘s wartime song-and-danoe movie. Five decades of backstage bickering and showtime magic make for a leaden love story. See review. I the Four Feathers (PG) Restored British imperialist adventure centring on a man accused of cowardice but redeeming himself through heroic acts. Politically outdated but rousing yarn showing only at Grosvenor, Glasgow. I tiers La We (15) A French photo- journalist faces war in Lebanon in close-up when he is taken hostage by an Arab faction. Gritty drama based on the real-life experiences of Roger Auque. See review.
l FILM
I Films screening this fortnight are listed
below. with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Pull-length reviews of selected new releases can he found close to the appropriate entry. Programme details appear in the Listings section which Iollows. Film Index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I The Abyss ( 15) (James Cameron. US. 1989) Ed Harris. Michael Biehn. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. 140 mins. An estranged couple get caught up in a tense drama on the sea floor in this movie made almost entirely underwater. Though Cameron has opted for a more contemplative exercise in tension. the intertwining of plots leads one to feel that he's crammed too much into the film‘s length. It may not go down as a great artistic
: achievement. but it does push back a few
boundaries of the possible in movie-making. so it won‘t sink without trace. Iidinburgh: Cameo.
I The Addams Family ( PG) (Barry Sonnenfeld. US. 1991) Anjelica Huston. RaulJulia. Christopher Lloyd. Dan Hedaya. 100 mins. When long-lost Uncle Fester returns from 25 years in the Bermuda Triangle. it disrupts the idyllic lifestyle ofthe Addams clan. But is this Festera fortune-grabbing imposter'.’ Big budget movie has all of the macabre sense of fun of the TV seriesand the original New Yorker cartoons. as well as set designs that any self-respecting ghoulish household would die for. Literally. General release.
I An American tall 2: Flevel Goes West ( U ) (Phil Nibbelink/Simon Wells. US. 1991 ) With the voices of Phillip Glasser. Dom Del.uise.James Stewart. John Cleese. 75 mitts. Disillusioned with their New York tenement. the Mousekewitcz family head out to the Wild West. where Fievel teams up with Sheriff Wylie Burp and his friend Tiger in order to clean up the town run by evilCat R. Waul. Not really up to the standard ofthe original. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Edinburgh: Dominion. UCl.
I Andrei Ruhlev ( 12) (Andrei Tarkovsky. USSR. 1966) Anatoly Solonitsyn. Ivan Lapikov. Nikolai Grinko. 185 mins. Tarkovsky takes the life ofa little known 15th century icon painter and turns him into a Christ-like figure suffering the pains of a divided Russia under the Tartars. A true epic told in visually stunning set pieces. with an uplifting sense of the strength of the human spirit. Glasgow: GFI‘.
I Apocalypse NOW! (18) (Francis Coppola. US. 1980) Martin Sheen. Marlon Brando. Robert Duvall. Dennis Hopper. 153 mins. Vietnam as The Ultimate Trip. We follow US Army assassin Sheen downriver and deeper into the Heart of Darkness ruled over by Brando‘s mad Colonel Kurtz. Alternately pretentious and visually overpowering (the Valkyries helicopter attack. for example). its grandiloquent folly somehow pierces right to the bone of the conflict. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Beiore the Revolution ( 15) (Bernardo Bertolucci. Italy. 1964) Francesco Barilli. Adriana Asti. Allen Midgette. 112 mins. Bertolucci‘s second feature concerns a young man from a middle-class background who discovers Marxism and tries to change his life. Packed with digressions. it provides an interesting window on Europe during the 60s. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The BFG (U) (Brian Cosgrove. UK. 1989) 105 mins. Animated version of the Roald Dahl favourite has young Sophie battling against evil. aided and abetted by the Big Friendly Giant. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Big Blue (15)(Luc Besson. France. 1988) Rosanna Arquette. Jean-Marc Barr. Jean Reno. 120 mins. Barr and Reno. friends since they were children. are divers competing to reach the greatest depths without the aid ofbreathing equipment. and also rivals for the romantic attentions of Ms Arquette. A commercial smash in its native France. Besson‘s film is a stunningly photographed visual experience in varying shades of blue. Even if the plot is a load of tosh. the dolphins are nice. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I 811M Ted's Bogus Journey (PG) (Peter Hewitt. US. 1991) Keanu Reeves. Alex Winter. George Carlin. Joss Ackland. 93 mins. Evil robot versions ofthat most excellent duo totally kill our heroes. causing them to take on the Grim Reaper at party games. make a quick visit to Heaven and eventually win the day. A triumphant sequel. slightly more coherent than the bodacious original — in Bill and Ted terms. at least. General release. I Billy Bathgate ( 15) (Robert Benson. US.1991)
Dustin Hoffman. Lorin Dean. Nicole Kidman.
Bruce Willis. 107 mins. Fairly dull adaptation of the Doctorow novel has local kid Lorin Dean suitably impressed by the sophisticated evil ways of gangster Dutch Schultz (Hoffman). Flashesof violence. but suffers from a little too much Grey Suit Syndrome. Strathclyde: La Scala. All UCls. I Blame it On The BeIlhoy ( 12) (Mark Herman. UK. 1991) Dudley Moore. Bryan Brown. Richard Griffiths. Patsy Kensit. Alison Steadman. 79 mins. Three men — mild mannered clerk Mr Orton. lecherous Mr Horton and hit man Mr Lawton -— are confused by the bellboy at their Venetian hotel. Hilarious premise. huh'.’ Strained comedy is the cinema equivalent of the local amateur dramatics group‘s production of the heaomaster‘s third-rate farce. General release. I Boyz N The Hood ( 15) (John Singleton. US. 1991) Cuba Gooding Jr. Larry Fishburne. Ice Cube. Morris Chestnut. 112 mins. A poignant depiction of life in the rundown suburbia of South (‘entral Los Angeles by debut director Singleton. A group of teenage friends try to keep their headsabove the never-ending flood of reprisal killings. but find that it is all too easy to get sucked intothe violence. Ultimately moving and emotionally harrowing. Edinburgh: Cameo. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. I 8P Expo 92 Programme 1 ( 15 ) The first programme consists of nine shorts from British film schools and includes Lucy Enfield‘s Salome. made at Edinburgh's Napier Polytechnic. Glasgow: GI’T'. I 3P Expo 92 Programme 2 ( 15) International short films from Europe and North America. Glasgow: GFT. I 8P Expo 92 Programme 3 ( 15) A package of eight British and International shorts showing a diversity of subject matter and styles. Glasgow: GFT I Cahirla (PG) (Giovanni Pastrone. Italy. 1914) 93 mins. Taking as its theme a young girl caught up in the Second Punic War. this silent spectacle has lost none of its visual power. With live piano accompaniment. Glasgow: GI’I‘. I Cinema Paradlso (PG) (Giuseppe 'l'ornatore. Italy’France.l988) Phillipe Noiret.Jacques Perrin. Salvatore Cascio. 123 mins. 'l‘old largely in flashback. the winner of the 1990 Oscar for Best Foreign Film traces young Salvatorc‘s infatuation with his village cinema. and his growing friendship with its projectionist (played to perfection by Noiret). Essentially. it'sTornatore's lament for the joyous movie-going experience of his youth and a recognition of the price we pay for our maturity. Glasgow: GFT. I The Commitments ( 15) (Alan Parker. L'K. 1991) Robert Arkins. Michael Aherne. Angeline Ball. Maria Doyle. 118 mins. Sod U2 - when would-be manager Jimmy Rabbitte (Arkins) puts together The Commitments. soul comes to Dublin and the band become the force to really put Irish music on the map. Alan Parker delivers a hilarious. down-to-earth. close-to-home movie. stuffed full ofgood music and with some relevent social comment to boot. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. UCI. Strathclyde: WMR Film Centre. I Coupe De Ville ( 12) (Joe Roth. US. 1989) Daniel Stern. Ayre Gross. Patrick Dempsey. Alan Arkin. 98 mins. See review. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Cross My Heart (Jacques Fansten. France. 1991 ) Sylvain Copans. Nicholas Parodi. Cecilia Rouaud. 100 mins. In a plot vaguely reminiscent of Iain McIiwan's novel The Cement Garden. a young French schoolboy lives at home with the body of his dead mother. afraid to tell anyone in case he is sent to an orphanage. Fansten squeezes an odd sense of humour out ofthe situation. particularly through the group of children who decide to ‘help‘ their friend in his predicament. A special preview screening on Thurs 6 Feb. in the presence of the director. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Curly Sue (PG) (John Hughes. US. 1991)James Belushi. Kelly Lynch. Alisan Porter. John Getz. 102 mins. Father and daughter con team (with hearts of gold. naturally) trick an uptight lady attorney into taking care of them and end up mending everybody‘s wicked ways. Toweringly predictable. with a leading lady who's the best advert for infant euthanasia since the good ship Lollipop weighed anchor in Peppermint Bay. General release. I Dark Star (PG) (John Carpenter. US. 1974) Brian Narelle. Dre Pahich. Cal Kuniholm. Dan O‘Bannon. 83 mins. Carpenter's excellent. low-budget debut has four 22nd-century astronauts and their extra-terrestrial pet freaking out on an interminable journey through space. Witty and ironic. it satirises US society. popular culture and 2001: A Space Odyssey while providing solid entertainment. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Dead Again (15) (Kenneth Branagh. US. 1991) Kenneth Branagh. Emma Thomson. Andy Garcia. [01 mins. A notable shift away from the Bard for the golden boy of British theatre in his first Hollywood outing. Branagh plays cynical. Los Angeles-based private detective Mike Church. whose latest case involves discoveringthe identity of a beautiful young woman who has no
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I II. . . ( 18) Lyndsay Anderson‘s I968 classicis a stylised account of a rebellion at an English public school. This screening. courtesy ofthe Edinburgh University Film Society. will be followed by a discussion in the presence ofthe director. Ventte: George Square Theatre. Time: 6.45pm on Thurs 6 Feb. £2.50 (free to EUFS members).
I Jacquot de Nantes ( PG) Unsentintental account of the early life of French filmmaker Jacques Demy. the director of Lola and Les I ’arapl ales of ('lierbourg who died last year. One-offscreening on Sat 1 Feb is Scottish premiere. and is doubled withJean Renoir's La Reg/e 011 Jon.
I K2 ( 15) Two friends take on the second highest and most difficult to climb mountain in the world. Man versus nature. but ends tip fighting against himself. See preview.
I Little Man Tate (PG) Jodie Foster's directorial debut comes in the shape of a sensitive and well acted depiction of an academically gifted seven-year-old. See review.
I Mississippi Masala ( 15) An exiled Asian family find themselves caught up in racial disharmony in the Deep South when the daughter falls fora struggling Afro-American carpet cleaner. Second feature from the director of Salaam Bombay!
I My Girl (PG)Summer lovin' for eleven-year-old Anna Chlumsky when her best friend Macaulay Culkin sorts out her life and that of her widowed mortitian dad. Dan Aykroyd. Sounds like my worst nightmare.
I Rhapsody In August (U) The shadow ofthe bombing of Nagasaki lies over Akira Kurosawa’s latest (and possibly last) movie. Poetic and elegiac. it contrasts the memories of a survivor with the preoccupations of her grandchildren and Westernised in-laws.
I True Love ( 15) Wedding preparations put strain on Italian-American couple Mikey and Donna. A charming blend of romance versus reality marks NYU graduate Nancy Savoca's feature debut. See review.
14 The List 31 January - 13 February 1992