BACARDI BLACK
INDEX FILM
FILM
Fibs screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review anti venue details. Full length reviews of new releases can be found in the Listings section wleh follows. Filth Index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I I'll. MI 0! m. (U) (Martin Scorsese. US. I993) Daniel Day-Lewis. Michelle Pfeiffer. Winona Ryder. I38 mins. Up-and-coming lawyer Newland Archer risks the wrath of l8705 New York society when he falls in love with the scandal-shrouded Countess Olenska. despite being already engaged. Scorsese is magnificently faithful to Edith Wharton's novel. while painting its troubled emotions with an eloquent camera. Opulent and richly detailed. with no release from the intemalised pain of passion. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI.
I m (U) (John Musker/Ron Clements. US. I992) With the voices of Robin Williams. Scott Weinger. Linda Larkin. 91 mins. Panto time. Disney style. as street-wise thief Aladdin woos Princess Jasmine with the help of the Genie of the Lamp and hindrance of the evil Jafar. Colourful. entertaining stuff that will be lapped up by children and adults alike. Williams's whirling dervish of a Genie inevitably steals the show. General release.
I mm (I8) (Federico Fellini. Italy/France. I973) l22 mins. Fellini's joyous. autobiographical look back at life in Rimini in the l930s is the work of the master in his most outgoing mood. a constant procession of remarkable images and memorable moments. despite the looming shadow of Italian Fascism. Glasgow: GFT. Ibhnuleanl’almflevelfieeelestw) (Phil Nibbelink/Simon Wells. US. I991) With the voices of Phillip Glasser. Dom DeLuise. James Stewart. John Cleese. 75 mins. Disillusioned with their New York tenement. the Mousekewitcz famin 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 evil Cat R. Waul. Not really up to the standard of the original. Edinburgh: MGM.
I BatlBirlsPtogra-Iet-llell'elelleuw) Bad girls across the generations. Interview With Lydia Lunch covers her taboo-breaking work in music and literature; Thanotopis and Black Box see Beth B. blasting America and looking at torture; and Girl Power and It Wasn 't Love marks a new talent in the making. Sadie Benning. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I III W (18) (Abel Ferrara. US. I992) Harvey Keitel. Frankie Thorne. Zoe Lund. 96 mins. A return to urban sleaze by master of the genre Abel Ferrara. A NYPD cop (Keitel). in debt due to drugs. alcohol and gambling addiction. is intrigued by a big money reward in the case of a raped nun. Harsh. powerful. but filled with a religious orthodoxy. this is a reminder of the director at his best (Angel of Vengeance. Driller Killer) and should be picked up by Reservoir Dogs fans. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride.
I Ml till the Beach (12) (Gurinder Chadha. UK. I993) Kim Vithana. Jimmi Harkishin. Sarita Khajuria. 100 mins. A group of Asian women from Birmingham leave their day-to-day cares behind them and head in a van for Blackpool. But the problems of culture clashes. a patriarchal community. domestic violence and generation gaps follow them onto the sand. A magnificently fresh. uplifting view of life in Britain through Asian eyes. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I III. (l5) (Derek Jannan. UK. I993) With the voices of Nigel Terry. Tilda Swinton. Derek Jannan. 76 mins. When you say that this personal reflection on living with AIDS sets a soundtrack of diary extractions. readings and music by Simon Fisher Turner against a blue monochrome screen - a film with no images - then the sceptics have a field day. But no one who saw it at its I993 Edinburgh International Film Festival screening. where it won the Powell Award for Best British Feature. failed to be deeply moved. A brave. absorbing cinema experience. With Jarman's Smiths short. The Queen Is Dead. Central: MacRobert.
I m lb Ill. (IS) (Tran Zhuangzhuang. China/HK. I993) Lu Liping. Zhang Wenyao. Chen Xiaoman. I38 mins. A mother and son struggle to survive the upheavals of the Mao regime and the violent turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. Tran's film tells it straight. where
others. such as Farewell My Concubine. have taken a more metaphorical approach. and the result is an honest and moving account of a still sensitive issue. Glasgow: GFI‘.
I MM (18) (Lawrence Kasdan. US. I98I) William Hurt. Kathleen Turner. Richard Crenna. "6 mins. Hurt has the hots for Turner so her hubby Crenna is set for an early grave and the insurance company for a big pay-out. Splendid update of Double Indemnity with a drenchineg
sweaty atmosphere (the sex has a lot to do with
it) and a script that leaves teethmarks. Edinburgh: St Bride's.
I M MUCH”) (Abel Ferrara. US. I993) Gabrielle Anwar. Meg Tilly. Terry Kinney. 87 mins. A terrific remake of the pods-from-space story that brings a touch of teenage alienation to the conformity themes. this time set within the confines of a airbase. The director's use of widescreen and screaming digital stereo sound effects means that this has to be seen on the big screen. See Screen Test. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Bride of Fratensteln (PG) (James Whale. US. I935) Boris Karloff. Colin Clive. Elsa Lanchester. Ernest Thesiger. 75 mins. Marvelloust dry comic horror as Thesiger's gin-soaked Dr Praetorious persuades Clive's good Baron Frankenstein that his monster needs a mate. setting the scene for the hilarious climactic creation sequence where the stern Lanchester joins Karloff in the ranks of the
Iivin undead. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I A Til. (15) (Robert De Niro. US. 1993) Robert De Niro. Chazz Palminteri. Lillo Brancato. l24 mins. After witnessing a fatal shooting. a young boy is taken under the wing of a local hood: but this bad angel‘s influence is balanced with advice from his honest. hard- working father. An atmospheric. subtly rendered coming-of-age tale set in the 605. with De Niro showing ample talent before and behind the camera. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: UCI.
I Cam (I5) (Atom Egoyan. Armenia! Canada/Gennany. I993) Arsinee Khanjian. Ashot Adarnian. Atom Egoyan. 72 mins. A Canadian-Armenian photographer and his wife travel on an assignment to take images of twelve Armenian churches. But as they learn about the history of their homeland. she falls in love with the tour guide. forcing her husband to face life at home without her. A personal but nevertheless engaging film by the director of The Adjuster. Glasgow: GFT.
I Cool Mb“ (PG) (John Turteltaub. US. I993) Doug E. Doug. Leon. John Candy. 99 mins. Speculative comedy based on the first-ever Jamaican bobsled team at the last Winter Olympics is harmlesst amiable. but unfortunately cranks up too many moralistic messages complete with appropriate accompanying music. Still. audiences seem to like its easy-going nature. making it an affectionate tribute to the late John Candy. General release.
I ll Olin (I5) (Colline Seneau. France. I993) Vincent Lindon. Patrick Timsit. Annick Alame. 95 mins. The director of Trois Hommes Er Un Corfi‘un and Romuald And Juliette plays for farce-style laughs the story of a man who loses his job and his wife in a day. A fistful of contemporary issues are thrown up. but one or two flashes of inspiration aside. these personal disasters are a pretty weary ride. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I llave(12)(lvan Reitman. US. I993) Kevin Kline. Sigoumey Weaver. Frank Langella. IIO mins. It‘s one of those eternal Hollywood myths: an ordinary Joe - or in this case. Dave - finds himself in the White House and. despite the powers that be. decides to give US politics a liberal hean. Kline is at his most appealing. Weaver nicely underplays the supporting role. Comfortable old-fashioned filmmaking that‘s a bit like soaking in a warm bath. Central: MacRobert.
I M I WK (l5) (John Ruane. Australia. I991) Sam Neill. Zoe Carides. John Clarke. I05 mins. Carl. a cook in a sleazy Melbourne dive. gets involved in a crazy mix of sex'n'drugs'n‘rock'n'roll when he falls for a fellow waitress. Falsely suspected of murder and arson. he ends up on the run in what has to be the strangest. blackest. most hilarious oddity to come from Down Under in recent years. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. ITltolIcclluollMWEQkflm) (Denys Arcand. Canada. I986) Dominique Michel. Dorothee Berryman. Louise Portal. l0l mins. If the only ‘safe' sex left is the pume verbal then this non-stop talking shop must be the safest film ever made. Eight beings. four per sex. eat. drink. work-out and talk endlesst about their sexual hang-ups. fears and frustrations. Sometimes witty. sometimes insightful. often truthfully close to home but ultimately this is an overogenerous dollop of interminable discourse. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Desperate lleIedles (l5) (Stewart Main! Peter Wells. New Zealand. 1993) Jennifer Ward- Lealand. Kevin Smith. Lisa Chappell. 92 mins. Hunk stumbles off boat into fin-de-siecle NZ town and is immediately set upon by a millner who reckons he could wean her opium addict sister from her nasty boyfriend. Melodrama? Stylised taffeta sets? Labyrinthine narrative? You‘ve got the lot here in this in-your-face exercise in flashy visuals. Edinburgh: Cameo. I lleeter 0r llew I mmwnmmmitm) (Stanley Kubrick. UK. I963) Peter Sellers. George C. Scott. Sterling Hayden. 93 mins. Devastating black comedy on the lunacy of the nuclear age with Sellers ideally cast in three roles (US President. jolly Brit captain. and demented teutonic boffin) and Slim Pickens the good ole boy heading for oblivion to a chonrs of ‘We'll Meet Again'. Still alarmingly relevant. With Scottish short. Marooned. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I if“ kill A liaif Otto E Mezzo (l8) (Federico Fellini. Italy. I963) Marcello Mastroianni. Claudia Cardinale. Anouk Aimee. I38 mins. Many regard this moody magnum opus as the Italian maestro‘s finest hour. Following a scenario not unlike the one that faced the director when he was under pressure to come up with a sequel to the massive international success of La Dolce Vita. it stars Mastroianni as a film-maker plagued by intellectual insecurtiy and Catholic guilt as a weird succession of actresses. financiers. writers and hustlers dog his every move. As ever with Fellini. it‘s all about spectacle rather than ideas. but the show is a sparkling one. Central: MacRobert. I The Exorcist (I8) (William Friedkin. US. I973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. IIO mins. Earnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scare . dead priest. Glasgow: Odeon. I A 3’. Off Place (PG) (Mikael Salomon. US. I993) Reese Witherspoon. Ethan Randall. Maximilian Schell. II6 mins. Based on two books by Laurens van der Post. this African adventure tells of two teenage friends who escape a gang of poachers by setting out on a thousand mile trek across the Kalihari desert with a Bushman. Old fashioned stuff filtered through the Disney live action style. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. I Farewell My Candice (15) (Chen Kaige. China. I993) Gong Li. Leslie Cheung. Zhang Fengyi. 156 mins. The story of two Peking Opera actors and the woman who comes between them provides an intimately detailed story which is set to a constantly shifting backdrop of Chinese politics during the 20th century. The Opera setting provides colour and spectacle. and questions how far a man will go for his art: the historical episodes give this Palrne d'Or winning film the flavour of a genuine epic. Glasgow: GFT. Central: MacRobert. Fife: Adam Smith. I The Fencing m (12) (Pedro Oleo. Spain. I993) Assumpta Sema. Omero Antonutti. Joaquim de Alrneida. 88 mins. Madrid in the I860s. and life is turbulent under the decadent Queen Isabella. particularly for swordsman Don Jaime de Astarloa. who is asked by the sultry Adela to be her teacher. A fully-fledged political thriller. with its romance and melodrama restrained by more elevated concerns. Highly recommended. Glasgow: GFT. I m Flt. (I5) (Sydney Pollack. US. I993) Tom Cruise. Jeanne Tripplehom. Gene Hackman. 155 mins. John Grisham's best-selling novel undergoes a few changes to become a star- studded. but somewhat overlong thriller. with Cnrise well cast and convincing as the young graduate lawyer. seduced by a Iess-than-legal Memphis law firm. However. a uniformly excellent supporting cast can‘t hide the lapses in pace and implausible narrative jumps that are made in the name of compact plotting. Fife: Adam Smith. I PM (15) (Werner Herzog. W. Germany. I982) Klaus Kinski. Jose Lewgoy. Claudia Cardinale. 158 mins. At the turn of the century. an eccentric Irish rubber-baron. known as Fitzcarraldo to the natives. decides to build an opera house in the Peruvian jungle. To this end. his massive steamship has to be hauled over a mountain. Detemtinedly realistic South American odyssey that proved punishing for director. star. and the unfortunate hordes sucked into making their dreams a reality. But the result is damned impressive. Edinburgh: Cameo. I E“ "m ON A Runaway Horse (Peter Beuavais. Germany. I984) Vadim Glowna. Rosel Zech. Dieunar Mues. 80 mins. An introverted teacher and a brash journalist meet at Lake Constance for the first time in twenty years. but tensions ensue as they go on a sailing trip with their wives. Precise and
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I Shim An intimate and unsensationalised account of the late life of academic and children's novelist CS. Lewis and American divorcee Joy Gresham. Glasgow: Odeon. Grosvemor. MGM Parkhead Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayt: UCIs.
I Schindler’s list \Vrth this, the story of a German industrialist who saved 1.100 Jews from certain death during WW2. Steven Spielberg gives usone ofthebestfilmsevermade. General release. IInThelaetlilheFatherDaruel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite excel as Gerry and Guiseppe Conlon in Jim Sheridan’s controversial rendering of the Guildford Four convictions. Glasgow: MGM Film Centre. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCI. Fife: New Picture House. Strathclyde: Cannon. UCls. m
I Sweet Snell Ill Success After Ealing comedy success. the late Sandy Mackendrick turned up in the States with this darkly hued exploration of ambition and deceit amongst newspaper columnists. Glasgow: GFI‘.
I Jesse M W An unknown actor comes into conflict with the church when Ire revitalises a Canadian version of the Passion Play. Entertainineg allegorical. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Bride of Frankenstein James Whale’s I935 Universal classic is even better than the original. adding a touch of bizarre humour to the courting rituals of Boris Karloff and Elsa Lancaster. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
restrained. Glasgow: Goethe-lnstitut.
I kafllS) (Todd Browning. US. I932) Harry Earles. Olga Baclanova. Wallace Ford. 64 mins. A rare screening ofa totally unique film that some may find in dubious taste. although it has to be said that. despite the title. it treats its cast without resorting to voyeurism. A beautiful trapeze artist sets out to cheat a circus midget out of his fortune. only to face a terrible revenge from his fellow performers. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Free lllly (U) (Simon Wincer. US. I993) Jason James Richter. Lon' Petty. Michael Madsen. “2 mins. After moving from one set of foster parents to another. young Jesse finds himself helping out with chores at a marine amusement park where Willy the orca whale has also been separated from his family. Land and sea rebels become soul-mates. and the plot heads down a distinctly ET -like path. Easy-toograsp adventure for the kids: a little too simplistic and manipulative for a more sophisticated audience. General release.
I Fried Green Ten-tees at the Whistle Step Cele(12) (Jon Avnet. US. I99I) Kathy Bates. Jessica Tandy. Mary Stuart Masterson. Mary- Louise Parker. I30 mins. After the local Ku
Klux Klan threatens the busy cafe in Whistle
The List ll-24 March [99419