FILM INDEX
be cut UUI .u. nus tulc. but when the movie switches from him duping Bible Beltcrs to his ‘leap of faith‘ following real miracles. then it becomes nonsensical. Either satirise the Charlatans or say they have genuine powers -— to hop from one to the other mid-movie alienates believers and sceptics alike. Glasgow: MGMs. Edinburgh: Odeon. All UCls.
I Leon The Pig Farmer ( 15) (Vadim Jean/Gary Sinyor. UK. 1992) Mark Frankel. Brian Glover. Janet Suzman. 96 mins. A highly kosher comedy in which young Leon (Frankel) discovers that he's not the Nice Jewish Boy he thought he was. but the result of a botched artificial insemination experiment. His real daddy is a Yorkshire pig breeder. Funny independent British movie from a determined cast and crew. which picked up some decent festival awards last year. Edinburgh: Odeon.
I the little Gang (U) (Michel [)evilie. France. 1982)91 mins. A group of children stowaway on a cross-channel ferry and go exploring the countryside and villages of nothern France. But not everyone they come across is just what they seem. An unusual children's film. told without dialogue. Edinburgh: Filtnhouse.
I loaded Weapon 1 (PG) (Gene Quintano. US. 1993) Emilio Estevez. Samuel 1.. Jackson. Tim Curry. 83 mins. A new low in spoofery which is a good deal less funny than the Let/ml ll'eapun series it‘s supposed to be sending up. Sad. overstretched stuff with a welter of embarrassed looking guest stars. See review. General release. I Lorenzo‘s Oil ( 12) (George Miller. US. 1992) Susan Sarandon. Nick Nolte. Zack ()‘Malley Grecnburg. 135 mins. When the stubbornness of science meets the immovable object of parenthood. it's Augusto and Michaela ()done who win through in order to search for a cure for their dying son. Based on a true. on-going story. Lorenzu’s Oil has none of the cutseyness of many sick kiddies movies. mainly because the genuine emotion comes not from images of dying children but from the courage of the adults. Susan Sarandon is magnificent. Edinburgh: Filtnhouse.
I Man Bites 1109 ( 18) (Remy Belvaux/Andre Bonzel/Benoit Poelvoorde. Belgium. 1992) Benoit Poelvoorde. Remy Belvaux. Jenny Drye. 96 mins. Somewhere in the unexplored hinterland between Henry: I’nrlrul! Ufa Serial Killer and This Is Spinal Tap catne three young Belgians. who spruced up their graduation film. Horrilically comic mock-doc on a poetry-
quoting mass-murderer. it soon sharpens its serious edge and becomes truly shocking. A real chin-dropper of a film if ever there was one. Central: MacRobert.
I Manon Des Sources (PG) (Claude Berri. France/Italy. 1986) Yves Montand. Daniel Autcuil. Emmanuelle Bean. 1 14 mins. Ten years after the demise of Jean de Florette. the Soubcyrans run a prosperous carnation farm. Steering this epic rural saga towards the realms of Greek tragedy. this is a full and satisfying second half that explores the suffering of the guilty as they pay a crippling penance for man‘s greed and envy. The production values are as high as ever and Auteuii assumes Depardieu‘s mantle in his development from glaikit idiot to broken-hearted suitor. Strathclyde: L’Cl (Hydebank.
I Mldnlght Sting (15) (Michael Ritchie. US. 1992) James Woods. l.ouis Gossett Jr. Bruce Dern. 98 mins. Conman Woods sets up the scam of the century by betting his boxer partner cart knock out ten of a small town‘s inhabitants in 2-1 hours. Before long. it‘s bouts of bone-crushing violence as entertainment and a disturbing tendancy towards macho bullshit. Nevertheless. it‘s old-fashioned enough to pack a bit of a comic punch. Central: Cannon.
I Mlller’s Crossan ( 18) (Joel Coen. US. 1990) Gabriel Byme. Albert Finney. Marcia .Gay Harden. John Turturro. Jon Polito. J.E. Freeman. 115 mins. The Coen Brothers' latest opus is a predictably quirky-but-stylish reworking of genre material -- in this case the gangster flick. Set in an unnamed East-coast city in the 1930s. 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). Possibly the best. tnost under-rated film of 1991. Glasgow: GI‘T.
I Mona Use (18) (Neil Jordan. UK. 1986) Bob lloskins. Cathy Tyson. Michael Caine. 104 mins. Hoskins gives a heart-rending. much-lauded perfonnance as the ex-con with a battered heart in this outstanding thriller/film Itnir set among the seedy scatns and double-dealings of the l.ondon underworld. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Mr Nanny (PG) (Michael Gottlieb. US. 1992) Hulk Hogan. Shemtan Hemsley. Austin Pendleton. 84 mins. Hulk Hogan follows the successful Suburban ('mnmamlu with a film that owes something to Hume Alone. This time he's a bodyguard roped into looking after two
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destructive kids who like nothing better than setting booby-traps for their nannies. For the kids only. General release. I If Satire" light ( 15) (Billy Crystal. US. 1992) Billy Crystal. David Paymer. Julie Warner. 119 mins. The life of fictional stand-up comedian Buddy Young Jnr is full of laughter. tears. heartache. smiles and all that other sentimental on-stage crap. And that‘s the way it should be. as C rystal‘s directorial debut proves through a portrait of a lonely figure who lives for the applause — ‘Willy l.oman with laughs'. Assured direction. fine acting. but a tendancy to indulge in sentimentality. See preview. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. All UCls. I The Naked Bun/The Naked Gun 2'») ( )5) (David Zucker. US. 1988/91) Leslie Nielsen. Priscilla Presley. 85/85 mins. Nielsen plays a disaster-prone LA cop first assigned to find the men who shot his colleague in a drugs bust. and protect our dear Queen at the satne time: then he's up against the nasty leaders of the coal. oil and nuclear industries. Nielsen is on top form as he bungles through lame jokes. bizarre sight gags and lust for Priscilla Presley with a Clouseau-like efficiency. Edinburgh: Cameo. I light On Earth (15) (Jim Jarmusch. US. 1992) Winona Ryder. Beatrice Dalle. Gena Rowlands. Giancarlo Esposito. 129 mins. l.os Angeles. New York. Paris. Rome. Helsinki. Five cities. five taxi rides. five chance encounters. The director of Mystery Train and Down By Law pUsth aside narrative and goes instead for visual unifomtity in a claustrophobic setting. Character studies with a mildly philosophical aftertaste. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I Nikita ( 18) (Luc Besson. France. 1990) Anne Parillaud. Tcheky Karyo. Jean-Hughes Anglade. Jeanne Moreau. 114 mins. The latest exercise in stylish tosh from Gallic Imu's‘lm Besson. Parillaud stars as a junkie waif resurrected from her dreary existence by the enigmatic Karyo. an agent for the govemment's most secretive undercover organistaion. and pretty soon she's a topnotch assassin. But does this make her any more fulfilled? Glasgow: GET. I Nosferatu (PG) (FW Murnau. Germany. 1922) Max Schreck. Alexander Granach. Gustav von Wangenheim. 72 mins. Schreck is a truly terrifying figure as Brain 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. Edinburgh: St Brides. Central: MacRobert. I New Voyager (PG) (Irving Rapper. US. 1942) Bette Davis. Claude Rains. Paul Henreid. 117 mins. Classically cast. this archetypal tragic love story of the period is unadventurous and even bland. but its stars are more than charismatic enough to overcome its problems. Edinburgh: St Brides Film Festival. I Ollvter Olivier (15) (Agnieszka Holland. France. 1992) Francois Cluzet. Brigitte Rouan. Gregoire Colin. 105 mins. The latest from the director of Eumpa Europa is based on a true French newspaper story of a boy who went missing. only to turn up six years later as a Parisian rent boy. An intriguing. evokatively photographed depiction of family tensions. Bizarre bizarre. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Central: MacRoben. I One False Move ( 18) (Carl Franklin. US. 1992) Bill Paxton. Cynda Williams. Billy Bob Thomton. 106 mins. Tight li‘l cn'me thriller in the Jim Thomson mould begins with a brutal set of drugs-related slayings. but soon becomes a fascinating character study as a trio of crooks head towards a small town in Arkansas and the cops who await them. Excellent performances all round. particularly Paxton as the over-zealous. but not wholly innocent. Southem sheriff holding his own against the boys from LA. Glasgow: GF'I'. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Central: MacRoben. I Orlando (PG) (Sally Potter. UK. 1992) Tilda Swinton. Billy Zane. Quentin Crisp. 92 mins. A male Elizabethan eourtier begins a journey of self-discovery that involves four centuries and a sex change. Swinton‘s simple but unique beauty captures the androgyny of the perfect Everyman/woman. while director Potter creates from Virginia Woolf‘s novel a humorous and visually splendid succession of episodes that is a constant joy to watch. At last. a literary film rather than a literature substitute. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Othello (PG) (Orson Welles. US/France. 1951) Orson Welles. Michael Mac1.iammoir. Fay Compton. 91 mins. Shakespeare‘s moor as interpreted by Welles. on a miniature budget and in various European locations. over several years. Technical quality very variable. but set- pieces like the murder in the Turkish bath show flashes of brilliance. Central: MacRobert. I Peter’s Friends (15) (Kenneth Branagh. UK. 1992) Kenneth Branagh. Stephen Fry. Emma Thompson. 102 mins. A decade after their last performance together, a varsity revue team reunite for a New Year break and discover that
career security is no match for happy relationships. A highly assured. extremely funny and deceptively touching character drama. whose only fault is that it sends up Branagh‘s media image a little too knowingly. Glasgow: GFT.
I The Philadelphia Story (PG) (George C ukor. US. 1940) Katharine Hepburn. Cary Grant. James Stewart. 112 mins. Splendidly sophisticated Hollywood comedy with Stewart as a scandalsheet reporter covering the society wedding of recently divorced Hepburn. ex- hubby Grant lurking in the wings. and romance recurdling despite itself. Sparkling dialogue and charismatic performances all round make this one of the best of its kind. Remade as the musical. High .S'neiery. Glasgow: GET.
I Pink Narcissus ( 18) (US, 1971) 70mins. A swooning homo-erotic fantasy in tie-dyed psychedelic colours. unavailable for over a decade until recently rediscovered in a New Jersey attic. What more need we add'.’ Central: MacRobert.
I Polnt Break ( 15) (Kathryn Bigelow. US.
1991 ) Keanu Reeves. Patrick Swayze. Gary BUsey. l.ori Petty. 120 mins. Director Bigelow (Blue Steel. Near Dark) takes on Hollywood's action/adventure big boys at their own game and comes out on top. Reeves is the eager young FBI recruit on the trail of a group of latex-masked bank robbers who are known to be surfers. Board under arm. he heads for the waves. Bigelow tackles cliches of buddy partnerships. macho bullshit and thriller shoot-outs with fresh energy. creating a terrific movie that has one foot in reality. the other in an absurdist world. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Popeye (PG) (Robert Altman. US. 1980) Robin Williams. Shelley Duvall. Ray Walston.
1 14 mins. Doomed live action musical enlivened by William's verbal virtuousity and Altman‘s off-beat eye. Popeye courts ()live. etc. etc. all in a slapstick fashion and handled with such wackiness that you wonder what they put in the spinach. Strathclyde: Paisley Arts Centre.
I Predator/Predator 2 (181 (John McTiernan/Stephen Hopkins. lIS. 1987/90) Arnold Schwarzenegger. Carl Weathers/~Danny Glover. Gary Busey. 107/108 mins. Arnie and his dirty half-dozen are knocked off one by one in the jungle by an invisible alien. The sequel brings the monster‘s hunger for human flesh to l.os Angeles' gangsterland. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Prospero‘s Books ( 18) (Peter Greenaway. UK. 1991 ) John Gielgud. Michael Clark. Isabelle Pasco. Michel Blane. 125 mins. Greenaway transforms Shakespeare‘s The ramp...” into a visual feast by using groundbreaking High Definition Television technology. Gielgud delivers a near-definitive Prospero. backed up by an impressive European cast. and Michael Nyman‘s score is perhaps his best yet. A film like no other. itnmcrscd in illusion as both subject matter and form. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Public Eye ( 15) (Howard Franklin. US. 1992) Joe Pesci. Barbara Hershey. Stanley Tucci. 99 mins. Pesci adds another dimension to his varied repertoire as an ambulance-chasing 1940s press photographer who gets caught up in a gangland black market scam. The moody photography gives period authenticity and the film is at its best when showcasing the work of real-life snappers. but the crime plot seems tacked on and underwritten. Central: Cannon.
I The Quince Tree Sun (U ) (Victor Erice. Spain. 1992) Antonio Lopez. Enrique Gran. Maria Moreno. 139 mins. A grouchy old artist sets out to paint the quince tree in his garden and a couple of his mates come round. Sounds pretty deadly. but the viewer soon finds watching the artist at work utterly compelling. to the extent that the tiniest event becomes a crucial incident. A majestic film experience. ()r the Emperor‘s new clothes syndrome. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Reservoir Dogs ( 18) (Quentin Tarantino. US. 1992) Harvey Keitel. Tim Roth. Michael Madsen. 100 mins. A gang of hoods. known only to each other by colour-coded nicknames. meets at an abandoned warehouse to figure how out their rigorously planned heist went so drastically wrong. The best debut in years frotn writer-director Tarantino. whose stylish violence seduces the audience into complicity. Brilliant in every sense of the word. Glasgow: ()deon. Central: MacRoben. Strathclyde: Magnum.
I not-per Stamper ( 18) (Geoffrey Wright. Australia. 1991) Russell Crowe. Jacqueline McKenzie. Daniel Pollock. 89 mins. A group of Nazi skinheads in Melbourne find their numbers dwindling when they get caught up in a street war with local Vietnamese. Hand-held camera shots draw the audience into the frenzy. letting them reject the skinheads' views with moral certainty rather than blind emotionalism. A film that pressurises viewers into addressing the issues involved. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank.
I “m (18) (Oliver Stone. US. 1986) James Woods, Jim Belushi. John Savage. 122 mins. Raw. abrasive account of journalists under fire as sleazy ‘war junkie' photojournalist Woods
32 The List 23 April—6 May 1993