INDEX FILM
US. I940) Katharine Hepburn. Cary Grant. James Stewart. ll2 mins. Splendidly sophisticated Hollywood comedy with Stewart as a scandalsheet reporter covering the society wedding of recently divorced Hepburn. ex- htrbby 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. Rernade as the musical. High Society. Glasgow: GI'T.
I The Plano ( I5) (Jane Campion. Australia/New Zealand. I993) Holly Hunter. Sam Neill. Harvey Keitel. l20 mins. Jane Campion's masterpiece follows mute Scotswoman Ada (Hunter) as she travels to 19th century New Zealand with her piano and daughter to enter into an arranged marriage. Soon she begins a passionate and erotic affair with her illiterate neighbour as the means of regaining her treasured instrument. Irnpeccable performances lift this highly charged piece to the realms of classic cinema. undoubtedly one of the best films of the 90s. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Psycho ( I5) (Alfred Hitchcock. L'S. I960) Anthony Perkins. Janet Leigh. Vera Miles. John Gavin. Martin Balsam. John McIntire. I09 mins. Hitch's misogynistic masterpiece has a young secretary take off to hicksville with a bagful of her boss's money. Unfortunately for her she chooses to ptrt up at the Bates' Motel. run by that nice Norman boy. The ironic dialogue (‘Mother's not quite herself today") make it a joy to catch anytime around. We liked it didn't we mother . . . mother“? Glasgow: GIT.
I Pulp Fiction ( I8) (Quentin Tarantino. I’S. I994) John Travolta. Samtrel Jackson. I'ma Thurman. Brrrce Willis. ISO mins. Much more ambitious than Reservoir Dogs. the most awaited second feature of the 90s has many scenes that crackle with Tarantino wit. and a few others that fall flat as the writer-director bravely experiments. Interlocking stories in the prrlp crime manner concern Iritrnerr. ailing boxers. gang bosses and their molls. drug fiends. and assorted riff-raff. This year's surprise ('annes Palme d‘()r winner is a ti ip. all the way. General release.
I Reservoir Dogs (18) (Quentin Tarantino. LS. 1992) Harvey Keitel. Tim Roth. Michael Madsen. 100 mins. A gang of hoods. known only to each other by colour-crxled nicknames. meets at an abandoned warehouse to figure how out their rigoroust planned heist went so drastically wrong. The best debut in years from writer-director Tarantino, whose stylish violence
seduces the audience into complicity. Brilliant in every sense of the word. Glasgow: Odeon. MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: Cameo. Odeon. UCI.
I Rohocop (l8) (Paul Verlioeven. LTS. I987) Peter Weller. Nancy Allen. Ronny Cox. 103 mins. Slick and stomach-chmnineg violent frrtrrristic thriller blending elements of Dirty Harry. Frankenstein and The Sit Million Dollar Mun. When diligent policeman Weller is shot to pieces by vieiorrs hoods. his remains are mechanically reconstructed into a hi-tech law enforcement officer. brrt the human desire for
revenge still beats beneath his mechanical
exterior. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Rocky Honor Picture Show ( I 8) (Jim Sharman. UK. I975) Tim Curry. Susan Sarandon. Barry Bostwick. Meat Loaf. I00
mins. The cult 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 Crrtry is splendidly camp as the
bisexual Frank N. Putter. Central: Allanpark.
I Schindler's list ( 15) (Steven Spielberg. US.
I993) Liam Neeson. Ralph l-‘iennes. Ben Kingsley. 195 mins. During WW2. German industrialist and Nazi Party member ()skar Schindler saved the lives of over a thousand Jewish employees by demanding they work in his factory rather than be sent to Auschwitz. Spielberg's magnificent movie and Neeson's performance capture this enigmatic brand of heroism. while depicting traumatic events in drx‘umentary-Iike black-and-white images. l’sychologically complex. emotionally devastating and artistically impeachable. this is one of the best films ever made. Strathclyde: L‘Cl Iiast Kilbiide. I Scrooge (U) (Ronald Neame. UK. 1970) Albert l’inney. Michael Medwin. Alec Guinness. I I3 mins. Think of this a pantomime version of Dickens's A ('hriirmus (‘um/ and you'll be set for some seasonal fun as bah-humbugging liinney is visited by three ghosts. The sets and songs are pretty lively. Edinburgh: St Bride‘s. I The Shadow ( l2) (Russell Mrrlcahy. US. 199-1) Alec Baldwin. Jone Lone. Penelope Ann Miller. 107 mins. The prrlp radio hero now battles his way onto the 90s big screen. btrt it can‘t pull off (Ire sombre tones of the Batman movies. Here. the mysteriorrs crime fighter finds himself up against the last surviving descenan! of Genghis Khan. while his playboy alter-ego finds time to romance the dame. Director
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Mrrlcahy shows the same visual aplomb he brought to the set pieces in Highlander. btit the storyline is too simplistic to take hold. Glasgow: MGM Film Centre. Edinburgh: UCI.
I Shadowlands (PG) (Richard Attenbororrgh. US. I993) Anthony Hopkins. Debra Winger. Joey Mazzelo. I31 mins. The true story of Oxford don and children's novelist CS. Lewis who. late in life. married feisty American divorcee Joy Gresham. only to lose her to cancer a few years later. Superlative acting frorn all concerned. with Hopkins opening his emotions more than usual and Attenbororrgh showing that he can work effectively on a detailed. intimate canvas. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Sleep With Me ( IS) (Rory Kelly. US. 1994) Eric Stoltz. Meg Tilly. Craig Sheffer. 94 mins.
(‘o-written by the directorial team behind The
Bitten/once and Bodies. Rest & Marion. this is
another independent American movie that concentrates on contemporary twentysomething
relationships. Quentin Tarantino makes an odd appearance. spouting his new reading of the homo-erotic subtext of 72)]; Gun — it reassessment to rival the Madonna speech in
T Reservoir Dogs. Glasgow: (ii'T. I Speed (I5) (Jan De Bout. US. I994) Keanu Reeves. Dennis Hopper. Sandra Bullock. IIS
mins. A white-knuckle adrenalin ride that is the fastest. most finely ttrned fairground attraction of the year. With LA SWAT man Jack Traven (Reeves) up against mad bomber Howard Payne (Hopper) in a tower-block elevator siege. a bus wired to blow if it drops below 50mph and LA's
as-yet-unfinished subway. this is a movie that
will leave you on a high for days afterwards. Edinburgh: ()deon. UCI. Fife: New Picture
f House. Strathclyde: r'cr Clydebank.
I Strawberry And Chocolate ( IS) (Tomas
Gutierrez Alea/Jrran Carlos Tabio. Cuba/Mexico/
Spain. I993) Jorge Perugoiria. Vladimir Cruz.
Mirta lbarra. I 10 mins. A straight Cuban sociology student becomes the object of affection for a older gay man. As their platonic
friendship develops. they find themselves under pressure from the attitrrdes of other friends and from the political regime. What begins —
deliberately — in stereotypical fashion soon transcends sexual and social boundaries and
assumptions. Edinburgh: l‘ilmhouse. I Strictly Ballroom (PG) (Baz erhrmann. Australia. l99l ) Paul Mercrrrio. Tara Morice.
: Bill Hunter. 94 mins. Dancetloor 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. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Sweetie (IS) (Jane Campion. Australia. I989) Genevieve Lemon. Karen C olston. Tom Lycos. IOO mins. Controy'ersial debut feature from New Zealand born Carnpion follows the fortunes of two sisters. the quiet. nervy Kay (Colston) and the rrnpredictably psychotic Sweetie (Lemon). whose behavioural eccentricities involve eating china ornaments and painting herself blue. Boldly scripted and composed. the film brings a dreamlike qtrality to the everyday. but beneath all the self-conscioust challenging camerawork. there breathes a very simple tale of common humanity. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I take That You cannot be serious! But yes: subtitled ‘The Meaning Behind The Image'. the Filmhouse hosts an assessment of the Take That teen appeal by Marie Brennan. Lecturer in Cultural Studies at De Montford University. See Days Out Listings. p66. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Tales Of The City (15) (US/UK. 1993) ISO mins. Your chance to catch the Channel 4 TV version of Amristead Maupin's celebrated novels. showing over two consecutive Saturdays. Straight and gay life in San Francisco of the 70s — great telly that deserves to be seen again. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Taxi Driver (18) (Martin Scorsese. US. 1976) Robert De Niro. Cybill Shepherd. Jodie Foster. 114 mins. An alienated taxi driver in New York is so repelled by the squalor and the moral decay around him that he is driven to tem'ble violence. One of the key films of the Seventies with the Scorsese-De Niro partnership at its peak. Glasgow: GET.
I la Testament D’Orphoo (15) (Jean Cocteau. France. 1960) Jean Cocteau. Edouard Dermithe. Jean Marais. Maria Casares. Yul Brynner. 83 mins. The enfunr terrible‘s second dip into the Orpheus legend was also his last film. and pretty obscure it is too. unless you're familiar with his earlier work. This time. there's little but recycled imagery to see as Cocteau allows himself to be overwhelmed by a barrage of fantasy and pessimism. eventually giving up on the real world altogether. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I That’s Entertainment Ill (U) (Bud Friedgen/Michael J. Sheridan. US. I994) 113 mins. Forget those sorry TV compilations of studio or star ‘highlights' — the third instalment ofclips from MGM's vaults rediscovers a golden
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The List 2—15 December 1994 33