FILM INDEX
Institut Lumiere in Lyon - gives an illustrated lecture on the innovations of the medium's founding fathers. the Lumiere Brothers. Includes footage of their films. French Film Festival. Glsgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
II (15) (Fritz Lang. Germany. 1931) Peter Lorre. Otto Wernicke. Gustav Grundgens. An undoubted classic filled with stunning sequences that build to a harrowing climax. A child murderer (Lorre) evades the police only to be caught and tried by his fellow criminals. Sordid subject matter treated with stunning artistic vision. with Lorre at his most chilling, yet strangely sympathetic. best. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I la Vie Est Un Enter (18) (Josiane Balasko. France. 1992) Josiane Balasko. Daniel Auteuil. Richard Berry. 105 mins. The Faust legend revisited as downtrodden Leah is offered the time of her life by minor league devil Abar. The humour is black . the special effects surprisingly good. the performances — especially Auteuil in diabolical mode - top class. Hellishly good fun. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Madame eovary (PG) (Claude Chabrol. France. 1991) Isabelle Huppert. Jean-Francois Balmer. Christophe Malavoy. 140 mins. The veteran of French cinema's latest is a beautiful. entirely faithful. but slightly dull version of Flaubert‘s classic. Emma (Huppert) is bored with social conventions and scandalises 19th century bourgeois France with her infidelity. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I The Mambo Kings (15) (Arne Glimcher. US. 1991) Armand Assante. Antonio Banderas. Cathy Moriarty. 111 mins. Musician brothers in mambo melodrama! Swinging siblings in seduction stand-off! Forget the plot — it just trots out some tried and tested notions of fraternal rivalries: and big band wannabees - and enjoy the colour. the congas. those hot beats and super-sexy. Almodovar regular Banderas in his English dialogue debut. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Mildred Pierce (PG) (Michael Curtiz. US. 1945) Joan Crawford. Jack Carson. Zachary Scott. 113 mins. Crawford excels (she won an Oscar) as the titular woman who turns her back on her husband and becomes a successful restauranteur. while fighting her own selfish daughter for the heart ofa playboy (Scott). Glasgow: GF'T.
I laiiler's Crossing ( 18) (Joel Coen. US. 1990) Gabriel Byme. Albert Finney. Marcia Gay Harden. John Turturro. 115 mins. A predictably quirky-but-stylish reworking of genre material — in this case the gangster flick. Set in an unnamed East-coast city in the 19305. it centres on the falling-out between mob-leader Finney and his right-hand man Byme when both take a shine to the same broad (Harden). {The best. most under-rated film of 1991. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Miracle Worker ( 12) (Arthur Penn. US. 1962) Anne Bancroft. Patty Duke. 107 mins. Convincing translation from stage to screen of William Gibson‘s play about Annie Sullivan and her deaf and blind pupil. Helen Keller. Never sentimental. it is a powerfully dramatic piece centring on the battle of wills between two remarkably strong women. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I raisery(18) (Rob Reiner. US. 1991) Kathy Bates. James Caan. Frances Stcrnhagen . Richard Famsworth. Lauren Bacall. 107 mins. Adapted from Stephen King‘s novel. this psychological chiller centres on a popular author with literary aspirations (Caan) who finds himself trapped. following a nasty car accident. with his psychotic ‘number one fan‘ (Bates. who won the Best Actress Oscar for the role). Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride.
I Mon Pere Ce Hares (PG) (Gerard Lauzier. France. 1991) Gerard Depardieu. Marie Gillain. Patrick Mille. 102 mins. Father and daughter go to the beach. where she spins a tall tale about him being her lover in order to win the affections ofa local hunk. Lightweight comedy redeemed by the easy comic presence of Depardieu. Glasgow: GF’T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Merriam ei i'Eniant (15) (Claude Mourieras. France. 1990) Mathilde Altaraz. Christophe Delachaux. Robert Seyfried. 75 mins. tMonochrome account of a boy's gradual awakening to the realities of adult life has little need of dialogue to realise the inherent passions of family relationships. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF‘T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I My Coesieiliney(15) (Jonathan Lynn. US. 1992) Joe Pesci. Marisa Tomei. Fred Gwynne. 119 mins. Two New York students visiting the Deep South are charged with a murder they most certainly didn‘t commit. Enter rookie lawyer Vinny Gambini (Pesci). and it‘s a test of can-do Italian-American guile against old-fashioned Southern gentility. Thoroughly recommended.
Fife: Adam Smith.
I My M Private Idaho(18) (Gus Van Sant. US. 1991) River Phoenix. Keanu Reeves. William Richert. 105 mins. Shakespeare‘s Henry I V Parts I and 2 are given a sleazy. contemporary twist in Van Sant's follow-up to the admirable Drugstore
i 3 blues and Graceland. Edinburgh: Cameo. l
Cowboy. Screen heart-throbs Phoenix and Reeves make brave career moves by playing a rent boy and the preppie layabout object of his affections. but to good effect. Edinburgh: UCI.
I Mystery train ( 15) (Jim Jarrnusch. US. 1989) Masatoshi Nagase. Nicoletta Braschi. Screamin‘ Jay Hawkins. Joe Strummer. 113 mins. Jarmusch‘s first colour feature. like his earlier films. draws heavily on a beat-inspired l road-movie genre. Three seperate groups of ill ; assorted people drift through Memphis. in a trio 1 of interlocking vignettes that examined their various experiences in the city that boasts of the
I Nashville (15) (Robert Altman. US. 1975) Ned Beatty. Karen Black. Keith Carradine. 161 mins. Altman‘s wonderful tapestry about the lives and I iongings of 24 protagonists is more than a country I music epic; it is an exhilarating experimentin l freeform filmmaking. aided by superlative i performances and an underrated soundtrack. 1 Glasgow: GET. 1 I Night On Earth (15) (Jim Jarmusch. US. 1992) Winona Ryder. iBeatrice Dalle. Gena Rowlands. 7 Giancario Esposito. 129 mins. Los Angeles. New York. Paris. Rome. Helsinki. Five cities. five taxi rides. five chance encounters. The director of Mystery Train and Down By Law pushes aside narrative and goes instead for visual uniformity in a claustrophobic setting. Fife: Adam Smith. I Nosferatu (PG) (FW Murnau. Germany. 1922 Max Schreck. Alexander Granach . Gustav von Wangenheim. 72 mins. Schreck is a truly terrifying figure as Bram Stoker‘s famous vampire. looking more like a skinned bat than a human being. A wonderfully visual movie. with twisted shadows and sexual undercurrents placing it well above the Kinski/Herzog remake. Glasgow: GI-‘T. I Numero Deux(18) (Jean-Luc Godard. France. 1975) Sandrine Battistella. Pierre Oudry. 88 mins. Experimental but lucid account ofthree generations of the one family living together. For the majority of the film. the screen is split intotwo sections where different images are seen simultaneously. thereby tieing political. social and sexual themes tightly to the medium in which they are expressed. Glasgow: GFT. I Omen IV: The Awakening (15) (Jorge MontcsifDominique ()thenin-Gerard. US. 1990) Faye Grant. Michael Woods. Asia Vieira. 97 mins. Don't be fooled by the certificate — there is absolutely nothing gory or even scary in this dreadfully inadequate American TV movie. An insult to fans of the original trilogy. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride. I Othello (PG) (Orson Welles. US/Francc. 1951) Orson Welles. Michael MacLiammoir. Fay Compton. 91 mins. Shakespeare‘s moor as interpreted by Welles. on a miniature budget and in various European locations. over several years. Now recently restored. allowing set-pieces like the murder in the Turkish bath to show flashes of brilliance. See preview. Glasgow: GFT. I Outrenier ( 12) (Brigitte Rouan. France. 1990) Nicole Garcia. Brigitte Rouan. Marianne Brasler. 100 mins. Three women grow up in Algeria under the stern eye of their father. Life and love are viewed from the perspective of each in this sensitive directorial debut. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Patrick Devraere (12) (Marc Esposito. France. 1992) Bertrand Blier. Miou-Miou. Alain Corneau. 85 mins. Documentary on one of France‘s most popular actors. who commited suicide ten years ago. Best known for his role in Blier‘s Les Valseuses. he lived a turbulent life and had a lasting influence on the French film industry. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Patriot Games ( 15) (Philip Noyce. US. 1992) Harrison Ford. Sean Bean. Anne Archer. Patrick Bergin. 121 mins. Follow up to The Hunt ForRed October finds Tom Clancy's hero Jack Ryan being tracked down by the brother of an Irish terrorist he killed while on holiday in London. Some good. tense set pieces - particularly the hi-tech ‘kill by satellite‘ sequence — but its unwillingness to condemn the IRA make it of slightly dubious merit this side of the Atlantic. General release. I The Phantom of Liberty ( 15) (Luis Bunuel . France. 1974) Monica Vitti. Michel Piccoli. Jean-Claude Briaiy. 104 mins. Bunuel links a series of episodes from the early 19th century to the present day by coiling them around Karl Marx‘s phrase. ‘the phantom of liberty“. A surreal portrait ofa world turned upside down and inside out. Glasgow: GF'T. I Phantom oitiie Opera (PG) (Rupert Julia. US. 1925) Lon Chaney. Mary Philbin. Norman Kelly. The best ever Phantom make-up by silent star Chaney haunts this early version of the classic story. Many creaky moments that are easily forgiven when the highlights come along. Tragic love. monster style. Glasgow: GFT. I Pink Floyd The Wall (15) (Alan Parker. UK. 1982) Bob Geldof. Christine Hargreaves. Bob Hoskins. 95 mins. An ambitious attempt by Parker and the Floyd‘s Roger Waters to turn the
band‘s album ‘I ‘he Wall into a Visual. almost dialogue-less story. in which a schoolboy named Pink grows up to be an isolated rock star. The result did not match the ambition. Strathclyde: UCI Ciydebank.
I Prague (PG) (Ian Seilar. UK/France/Czech. 1992) Alan Cumming. Sandrine Bonnaire. Bruno Ganz. 87 mins. A young Scot with Czech ancestry goes to Prague in search of a missing piece of newsreel that contains footage of his family. There he falls in love with a film archivist. despite
‘ her ongoing relationship with an older colleague.
An atmospheric. deceptively simple film with a truly European heart. See review. Edinburgh:
Cameo. I Preparer Vos Moucnoirs ( i8) (Bertrand Blier. ' France. 1978) Gerard Depardieu. Patrick
Dewaere. Carole Laure. 108 mins. Long unavailable in the UK. Blier‘s black comedy reunites the director with the male stars of Les
Valseuses. A disillusioned husband asksa handsome stranger to join him and his wife in a
menage-a-trois. Not without its tender moments. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
IThe Rapture (18) (Michael Tolkin. US. 1992) Mimi Rogers. David Duchovny. Patrick Bauchau. Will Patton. 102 mins. A telephone operator tires of unsatisfying casual sex and embraces a newfound belief that the world is facing imminent destruction. Tolkin‘s debut as writer-director is a flawed but provocative offering that never lets us dismiss the protagonist as a bible-bashing nutcase. Glasgow: GF'T.
I Rigoletto (15) (Jean-Pierre Ponnelie. Italy. 1989) Luciano Pavarotti. Ingvar Wixell. Edita Gruberova. 118 mins. Verdi‘s magnificent blend of lechery and revenge set in the court ofthe libertine Duke of Mantua is one ofthe world‘s most enduring operas. ‘La donna e mobile‘ sings Big Pav. effortlessly hitting that high B. and making his contribution to an all-round aural and visual assault. Opera meets cinema in a big way. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Rocky Honor Picture Show (18) (Jim Sharman. UK. 1975) Tim Curry. Susan Sarandon. Barry Bostwick. Meat Loaf. 100 mins. Thecult film to end all others. this rock spoof on old horror movies has created a breed of Rocky Horror crazies. and packs them in at late shows everywhere. The film has its moments. and Curry is splendidly camp as the bisexual Frank N. Furter. Fife: Adam Smith.
I Rosemary's Baby (18) (Roman Polanski. US. ' 1968) Mia Farrow. John Cassavetes. Ruth Gordon. 137 mins. In this fastidious. frightening adaptation of Ira Levin‘s novel. young housewife Farrow moves into a new apartment block where she comes to believe that her neighbours are witches and her husband is the Devil. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Ruby ( 15) (John MacKenzie. US. 1992) Danny Aiello. Sherlyn Fenn. Arliss Howard. 111 mins. Less an investigative treatment ofthe events in Dallas 1963 than an atmospheric character study of marginalised dreamers. helped by a gritty performance by Aiello as the club owner whose Mafia connections allow him one (literal) shot at glory. Proof that Scots-bom director MacKenzie (The Long Good Friday. A Sense of Freedom) is up there with the best ofthem. Glasgow: GF'T.
I Rush (18) (Lili Fini Zanuck. US. 1991)Jennifer Jason Leigh. Jason Patric. Sam Elliot. 110 mins. A sleazy tale. set in the 705. ofwhite cops on dope. An undercover narcotics duo find that. to bust the baddies. you‘ve got to play their game. and that line between criminal and crimcfighter is as fine as the strips of coke that fly up their noses. Despite a very unsatisfying ending. it‘s worth seeing for stand-out performances by Leigh and Patric. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride.
I S'En Foul La Mort (18) (Claire Denis. France. 1990) Isaach De Bankole. Alex Descas. Jean-Claude Briaiy. 91 mins. An African livingin France is strapped for cash and so gets involved in illegal cock-fighting. A grim feature from the director of 1988‘s Chocolar. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Some Came Running (PG) (Vincente Minclii. US. 1958) Frank Sinatra. Dean Martin. Shirley MacLaine. 136 mins. Sinatra goes on a voyage of discovery through the bars and gambling dens of small-town USA. torn between two women and his dream of becoming a writer. Marvellous melodrama populated by types rather than characters. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Strictly Ballroom (PG) (Baz iLuhrrnann. Australia. 1991) Paul Mercurio. Tara Morice. Bill Hunter. 94 mins. Dancefloor hopeful Scott Hastings incurs the wrath of the Australian Dance Federation by using his own steps in competition. loses his partner and his friends. but finds love and artistic integrity with the local wallflower. The ultimate feelgood movie. it is crammed with colour. glitter. music and spectacle. See review. Glasgow: Odeon. MGM. Edinburgh: Odeon. All
I tandem (15) (Patrice Leconte. France. 1987)
Jean Rochefort. Gerard J ugnot. Sylvie Granotier.
90 mins. Fitting in just before Monsieur Hire and The Hairdresser ’s Husband. Tandem shows director Leconte at the point of transition from light comedies to more stylish and mature works. It's basically a buddy movie about a radio celebrity and his driver-companion as they travel around France. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF’T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Thunderlieart ( 15) (Michael Apted. US. 1992) Val Kilmer. Sam Shepard. Graham Greene. 119 mins. A part-Indian FBI agent (Kilmer) is sent to South Dakota‘s Pine Ridge Reservation to investigate the unsolved murder of a local Sioux. Locals both help and hinder him. forcing him to come to terms with his heritage. The film shows the plight of Native Americans today rather than in some idealised Costnerland past. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. MGM. Strathclyde: La Scala.AllUC1s. I travels With My Aunt (PG) (George Cukor. US. 1972) Maggie Smith. Alec McCowan. Robert Stephens. 109 mins. Passable version of the Graham Greene story. with Smith undergoing an extensive make-up job to transform her into the eccentric old lady who takes her stuffy bank accountant nephew off on a series of continental adventures. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Tribulation 99 (15) (Craig Baldwin. US. 1991) Part 505 style sci-fi shocker. part political pastiche. Baldwin's assemblage of found footage is always startling. never boring. An audacious piece of political graffiti. With shorts. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Ternuites (15) (Bertrand Van Effenterre. France. 1990) Bruno Cremer. Nelly Borgeaud. Julie Jezequel. 89 mins. Four women are reunited at a family funeral in this well-observed. sympathetic exploration of female sensibilities. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Unforgiven (15) (Clint Eastwood. US. 1992) Clint Eastwood. Gene Hackman. Morgan Freeman. 123 mins. Clint returns to the saddle asa former killer. tamed by his late wife. but pressed into joining a bounty hunt which takes him to the town of Big Whiskey and into the presence of its sadistic sheriff (Hackman). A darkly disturbing western which destroys the genre‘s traditional notions of clear~cut good and evil. instead presenting violent acts as physically and psychologically painful for victim and perpetrator alike. General release. I Versaiile Rive Gauche (12) (Bruno Podalydes. France. 1991) Denis Podalydes. Isabelle Candelier. 47 mins. A romantic evening veersout of control in a heavily populated flat in this zany French comedy. With La Vie Des Marts. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I La Vie Des alert: (15) (Arnaud Desplechin. France. 1991) Thibault de Montalembert. Roch Leibovici. 54 mins. A bourgeois family is rocked by a suicide bid. Highly acclaimed short feature by the man many believe will be France‘senfanr terrible of the future. With Versaille Rive Gauche. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I White lee Can'tng (15) (Ron Sheldon. US. 1992) Wesley Snipes. Woody Harrelson. Rosie Perez. Tyra Farrell. 112 mins. The Hustler meets the Harlem Globe Trotters as basketball cons Snipes and Harrelson team up to win themselves some easy cash. rProblems of race. male ego and domestic happiness are there. but are never developed as writer/director Sheldon seems to prefer concentrating on the sweat building upon his stars‘ rippling muscles during the repetitive games sequences. General release. I Who's Afraid oi Virginia Woeii (15) (Mike Nichols. US. 1966) Richard Burton. Elizabeth Taylor. George Segai. Sandy Dennis. 132 mins. Vitriolic soiree chez Burton and Taylor is the content of this screen version of Edward Albee's stageplay. Great performances as the stars gear themselves up for heavyweight bouts of verbal pugilism. Strathclyde: Paisley. I Wetherieg Heights (U) (William Wyler. US. 1939) Lawrence Olivier. Merle Oberon. David Niven. 103 mins. The film that more than anything is responsible for misrepresentation of Bronte's novel. it's still a cracking good romance in itsown right. hie full passion of melodrama is unleashed in powerfully elemental surroundings. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Wetaerieg Heights (U) (Peter Kosminsky. UK. 1992) Ralph Fiennes. Juliette Binoche. Janet McTeer. 87 mins. A visually splendid version of Emily Bronte‘s classic. capturing the original's sense of destructive. violent love. The decision to follow the book to the end will split audiences, but in terms of costume. set design and the spark between the leads. it is a fine achievement that breaks from the stuffy British tradition of literary period dramas. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCI. I Young Genital Filmmakers A welcome attempt by Glasgow‘s Goethe Institute to find a wider audience for some of the diverse multitude of short films made by German film students every year. Free admission. Glasgow: Goethe Institute.
20 The List 23 October- 5 November 1992