FILM INDEX
FILM
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I The Adventrues oi Priscilla, Dueen or The Desert ( l8) (Stephan Elliott. Australia. 1994) Terence Stamp. Hugo Weaving. Guy Pearce. 104 mins. Two transvestites and a mins-sexual team up for a trip across the Australian outback for a drag show in Alice Springs. Serious issues pop up from time to time. but the emphasis is on the camp humour of the in-bus bitchiness and outrageous musical set-pieces. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Fife: Adam Smith. New Picture House.
I Alien Trilogy (18) (Ridley Scott/James Cameron/ David Fincher. US. 1979/86/92) Sigoumey Weaver et al. 116/137/114 mins. The complete story of Ripley and friend. from Scott's edge-of-the-seat suspense thriller. through Cameron's Rambo In Space. to Fincher's dark.
around every comer. Edinburgh: MGM. I AmateurUS) (Hal Hartley. US. 1994) Isabelle Huppert. Martin Donovan. Elina Lowensohn. 105 mins. Isabelle. an ex-nun writing porn stories. meets amnesiac Thomas on the streets of New York: soon they find that his past is somehow linked to Sofia. a porn actress. and two violent corporate assassins. The patented Hartley dialogue and wit is ever present. brrt this time there are a few filmic jokes thrown in with references to specific genres and other movies. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I An American In Paris (U) (Vincente Minnelli. US. 1951) Gene Kelly. Leslie Caron. Oscar Levant. Nina Foch. 113 mins. Splendid - if sometimes garish — romantic musical. with Kelly on top form as a would-be artist kicking up a storm in la belle cite. Glasgow: GET. I An American Tail 2: Fievel Goes West (U) (Phil Nibbelink/Simon Wells. US. 1991) With the voices of Phillip Glasser. Dom DeLuise. James Stewart. John Cleese. 75 mins. 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 evil Cat R. Waul. Not really up to the standard of the original. Fife: Robin's. I Anchors Aweigh (U) (George Sidney. US. 1945) Frank Sinatra. Gene Kelly. Kathryn Grayson. 139 mins. Long for a musical with such lightweight material. brrt it's still chami all the way from the leads as a couple of sailors on shore leave. singing their way through a glut of Styne and Cahn songs. Kelly even has time to share a dance with cartoon mouse hero Jerry. Glasgow: GF'I'. I Asterlx and The Big Fight (U) (Keith lngham. UK. 1989) With the voices of Bill Oddie. Michael Elphick. Andrew Sachs. 82 mins. Asterix celebrates his thirtieth anniversary with this new animated feature in which he and his band of plucky Gallic mates take on the might of the Roman army. Central: MacRobert. 'The Ballad Of Little Jo (15) (Molly Greenwald. US. 1993) Suzy Amis. Bo Hopkins. Ian McKellen. 121 mins. An unusual western that redefines the genre through modem. politically correct eyes (feminism. anti-racism and homophilia raise their anachronistic heads). Josephine Monaghan cuts her hair and passes her off as cowboy Jo after her family disowns her for becoming an unmarried mother. The male- dominated society she comes up against. and ultimately defeats. is a mirror of today. Beautifully shot. the androdynous casting is interesting and a little unsettling. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Barcelona (15) (Whit Stillman. US. 1994) Taylor Nichols. Chris Eigeman. Tushka Bergen. 100 mins. As a follow-up to Metropolitan. writer-director-producer Stillman focusses on another group of young people who seem to converse solely through witty dialogue. The backdrop is interesting: a pair of American cousins get on each other's nerves in Barcelona during the 70s. a time when their countrymen were unpOpular because of anti-NATO tensions. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Beethoven (U) (Brian Levant. US. 1992) Charles Grodin. Bonnie Hunt. Dean Jones. 87 mins. A small St Bernard pup escapes from an evil vet and attaches itself to the Newton family. Soon it grows to enormous proportions and begins to wreck domestic havoc. Endless visual gags and good timing. particularly from Grodin. enliven what might have been a run-of-the-mill mutt movie. Glasgow: Cannon.
atmospheric finale. A variety of styles and scares
I Betty Blue: The Complete Version (I8) (Jean- Jacques Beineix. France. 1986) Jean-Hugues Anglade. Beatrice Dalle. Gerard Darmon. 180 mins. The story remains the same — boy meets girl. girl flips out - but the extra 60mins of unseen footage is a mixed bag. Some new scenes help give a creditable timescale to Betty’s descent into insanity. while others are distracting. the cinematic equivalent of monstrous carbuncles on the face of a well-loved friend. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Blues Brothers (15) (John Landis. US. 1980) John Belushi. Dan Aykroyd. Carrie Fisher. 130 mins. Bloated. Overlong anarchic Chicago comedy with the two stars on a mission from God to salvage the irnperilled fortunes of an orphanage. Lots of guest stars. musical numbers and automotive destruction in a typical product of over-emphatic contemporary American humour. Fife: New Picture House.
I Brighton Bock (PG) (John Boulting. UK. 1947) Richard Attenborough. Hermione Baddeley. William Hartnell. 91 mins. The pre- luvvie Atterrborough brings a menacing delinquincy tot Pinkie. vs ho has to sweet-talk a vvaiU'css who witnesses one of his murders. The seaside atmosphere is essentially English and somehow sordid in this fine adaptation of Graham Greene's novel. which has lost none of its power to thrill. Edinburgh: Filrnhouse.
I The Browning Version (15) (Mike Figgis. US/UK. 1994) Albert Finney. Greta Scacchi. Matthew Modine. 97 mins. An unpopular
classics teacher is given a surprise gift by a pupil
on the day of his retirement. unleashing a torrent
! of emotions. Finney. as the repressed man.
coming to terms with his failings and his wife's infidelity. is marvellous. But there'sjust enough
sense of deja vu — English repression. nice rrranners. pretty countryside - to make you think
you've been here several times before. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Captain America (PC) (Alelt Pyun. US. 1989) Matt Salinger. Ronny Cox. Ned Beatty. 97 mins. Super-hero action from the Marvel Comics series suffers this side of the Atlantic because of its patriotic protagonist and out-dated values. Former polio cripple Steve Rogers is transfomied by an eccentric doctor into Captain America and finds himself up against fellow human experiment The Red Skull. Far from the genre's best. brrt it will be succinctly put into
E context in the discussion that follows. which will
feature an appearance by graphic novelist Grant Morrison. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Chasing The Deer (PG) (Graham Holloway. Scotland. 1994) Brian Blessed. Lewis Rae. Matthew Zajac. Jacqueline Pirie. The Jacobite rising of the first half of the 18th century set Scot against Scot. and this low-budget native feature tells the tale through the story of Euan and Alistair Campbell. a father and son who end up on opposing sides. Tire religious and poltical background is roughly sketched. the acting - for the greater part — very amateurish. the dialogue often embarrassing. A brave effort that will hopefully lead to bigger and better things being made on home soil. Glasgow: GET.
I Citizen Kane (PG) (Orson Welles. US. 1941) Orson Welles. Joseph Cotterr. Agnes Moorehead. 119 mins. Sttrnningly successful biographical mosaic centring on a Hearst-like media tycoon. Welles' first filrn remains scintillating viewing for its sheer technical verve. narrative confidence and spellbinding performances. The best film ever made? Who‘s arguing? Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I The Client (15) (Joel Schumacher. US. 1994) Susan Sarandon. Tommy Lee Jones. Brad Renfro. 121 mins. Roundly superior to both The Firm and The Pelican Brief(which isn't saying much). this John Grisham adaptation has the benefit of credible performances by its leads. A young boy becomes the pawn in a legal battle when he finds himself on the run from both the Mob and the FBI. No masterpiece. but as a popcorn movie. there‘s more to savour than other airport novel fillers. Glasgow: MGM Film Centre. Fife: Adam Smith.
I The Clouded Yellow (U) (Ralph Thomas. UK. 1946) Trevor Howard. Jean Simmons. Ban'y Jones. Sonia Dresdel. 96mins. Engaging thriller in Hitchcock mould centring on a sacked secret service agent whose job tending a butterfly collection causes him to be caught up in a murder plot. Memorable for a wonderful performance by Simmons as the deranged woman who is the main suspect and for a suspenseful climactic chase acrOss the Lake District. Edinburgh: Film Guild.
I le Crime De Monsieur Lange (PG) (Jean Renoir. France. 1935) Rene Lefevre. Jules Berry. Odette Florelle. 90 mins. The employees of a publishing firm set up a collective when their lecherous and oppressive boss mysteriously disappears. Renoir's comedy-thriller-romance combines fantasy. politics and naturalism. making this one of his nrost completely enjoyable movies. Central: MacRobert.
I Doctor Strangelove (Dr How I Stopped Worrying And learned To Love The Bomb) (PG)
(Stanley Kubrick. UK. 1963) 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.jo|ly Brit captain. and demented teutonic boffin) and Slim Pickerrs the good ole boy heading for oblivion to a chorus of 'We‘ll Meet Again‘. Still alarmingly relevant. Central: MacRobert.
I Double Indemnity (PG) (Billy Wilder. ('8. 1944) Barbara Starrwyck. Fred McMurray. Edward G. Robinson. 106 mins. Cracking adaptation by Wilder and Raymond Chandler of the James M. Cain novel has insurance man McMun‘ay attracted by the alluring Stanwyck. who talks him into murdering her spouse. and all goes well until his boss lidward G. begins to suspect foul play. Sexual cherrristry. labyrinthine plotting. tart wordplay. it‘s all here. A classic. Glasgow: GF'I‘.
I Easy Rider (18) (Dennis Hopper. 178. 1969) Peter Fonda. Dennis Hopper. Jack Nicholson. 94 mins. Artless. archetypal road movie in which two dope-loving bikers travel the highways and by-ways of America. Dated ctrlt attraction with Nicholson stealing the show as a boozy lawyer persuaded to join up for the trip. lidinbur'gh: Carueo.
I Eat Drink Man Woman (PU) (Aug l.cc. Taiwan. 1993) Sihung Lung. Kuei Mei Yang. Chein Lien Wu. 123 rrrins. Aug Lee's 'l‘lu' ll’edding Banquet was a surprise international hit: Eat Drink Man Woman surpasses it on every level. Clru is the greatest chef in 'l'aipai. btrt for years his affection for his three grown-up daughters has been redirected into the lavish meals he prepares for them. When love unexpectedly enters into the lives of all four. their inability to corrrrrrunicate corrres to a head. Warm. ftrrlny. colourful. A joyful expcr icncc. Glasgow: GFI‘. iidinburgh: liillrrhouse.
I Enemies, A love Story ( 15) (Paul Malirr‘sky. US. 1989) Ron Silver. Lena ()lin. Aujclica Huston. 120 mins. Adapted from the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer. line/rues follows hapless philanderer Herman Broder who made it to New York after surviving the concentration camps. only to find his romantic life distr‘cssirrgly complicated by a new marriage to his ex-rnaid. a demanding affair with a fellow holocaust survivor. and the shock reappearance of his spouse. Mazursky presents a satisfying look at the conflict between the sexes to rank with his best work. A irrar'vellous picture. Glasgow: (il’l‘. I The Exorcist ( 18) (William Flicdkin. is 1973) Linda Blair. lillen Burstyn. Max \"oll Sydow. 110 mins. Iiarnest priest Von Sydovv steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scar‘efest. Dead good. dead scarey. dead priest. Glasgow: ()deon. lidinburgh: Odeon.
I Der Fall Cleiwitz ( 15) (Gerhard Klein. liast Germany. 1961) 70mins. The attack on a German radio transmitter in Poland was used by Hitler as one of the reasons for beginning WW2 — despite the fact that it was sragemanaged by the Nazis. Klein reconstructs the event with an almost documentary-like accuracy. using the bare facts to show how a country can be catapulted into a war rrol of its own making. Glasgow: Goethe Institut.
I The Flintstones (U) (Brian Levant. LS. 1994) John Goodman. Rick Moranis. lilizaberh Perkins. Rosie O'Donnell. 92 rrrins. lired is promoted to an executive post at the quarry. brrt only as a stooge for his boss's corporate rip-off; nevertheless. money and power go to the Flintstones' heads. causing friction with the Rubbles. The movie keeps to the TV series' prehistoric parody of modern suburban life. adds bright and chunky sets and a post-yuppie morality tale on greed that doesn't quite sit right. and comes out a little plot-heavy. The one-liners will be picked up by adults. kids will get bored. But it's no the yabba-dabba dodo it could have been. Glasgow: Cannon.
I Forrest Cump ( 12) (Robert Zerrreckis. LS. 1994) Tom Hanks. Robin Wright. Gary Sinise. 142 mins. Even those with the lowest le can rise to the top in the land of the free. as this picaresque tale sets otrt to prove. But despite its incurably sweet hero and its fairly standard love story core. Forrest (lump has a surprisingly dark-tinted view on recent American history — complete with racism. drug and child abuse. war and political assassination. There are some bitter tasting choices hidden among the soft centres. Glasgow: MGM Film Centre. Edinburgh: l‘Cl. Strathclyde: L'Cl East Kilbride.
I The German Sisters (15) (Mar'gar‘etlre Von Trotta. W. Germany. 1981 ) Jtrtta Lampe. Barbara Sukowa. Rudiger Vogler. 107 mins. Two contrasting sisters. feministjorrrnalist Lampe and Baadcr Meinhof activist Sukowa. are brought closer together when the latter is imprisoned and goes on hunger strike. Though possibly more meaningful at borne this absorbing film is a serious discussion of personal commitment and the means by which we bring about change in society. Edinburgh: liilmhouse. I Ceronimo: An American legend (12) (Walter
Catch the best Film this fortnight. r
FIRST RUN I Amateur Hal Hartley adds a bit more plot to his funny and clever
! dialogue. as pom-writing ex-nun
i Isabelle Huppert sets out to piece
1 together the past of amnesiac Martin Donovan. Glasgow: OFT. Edinburgh: Film/rouse.
I Shallow Grave Scotland more than holds its own with a sharply scripted. blackly comic thriller about three flatmates. a suitcase of money. a corpse. a hacksaw. a spade . . . General release.
I Eat Drink Man Woman A master chef diverts his love for his three grown-up daughters into the sumptuous food he prepares. but none of the fotrr is ready for the romance that enters their lives in Aug Lee‘s warrrr comedy. Glasgow: GF' 1‘. ; Iidinlmrg/l: Film/rouse.
i I The Road To Wellville Alan Parker's scatalogical comedy is set early in the 20th century at the spa- holel-sanatorium run by eccentric Dr Kellogg. Great ensemble playing.
General release.
REPEBTORY
I Peeping Tom Michael Powell‘s once reviled. now lauded. examination of murder and voyeurism receives a welcome re- release. Glasgow: CF]?
I Miller’s Crossing Irish gangsterism in America from the Coen Brothers finds Gabriel Byrne devising an intricate series of crosses and double crosses. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Zelig Cinematic inventiveness from Woody Allen as Leonard Zelig. the human charrreleon. tries to win affection by assimilating himself into key events of the 20th century. Edinburgh: Film/louse.
: llill.1'S. 1994) Wes Studi. Jason Patric. Gene
Hackman. 115 mins. It's clear that director Hill and co-writers John Militrs and Larry Gross see ' (ieronirrro. last of the Apache to surrender to the [’8 Army. as a proud. fearless and dangerous
rebel. Striving for authenticity and imbued with an unsentimental respect for its subject. the film shows deep understanding over one of the most .sharrreful episodes of 'ethnic cleansing' in American history. Glasgow: GI'T. Edinburgh: l’ilmhouse. Central: MacRobert.
I Gettysburg (PG) (Ronald F. Maxwell. US. 1994) Martin Sheen. Tom Berenger. Jeff Daniels. 259 mins. Despite the running time. the focus of the narrative is limited to the three days of battle at Gettysburg during the American Civil War. This allows. however. the personalities of the main protagonists to emerge clearly. By explaining tactical moves before and after the fighting. the action is heightened as we know not only why. but how the battles were fought. By no means an anti-war movie. yet it retains a certain masculine dignity. Central: MacRobert.
I Golden Balls ( 18) (Bigas Luna. Spain. 1993) Javier Bardem. Maria De Medeiros. Maribel Vcrdu. 95 mins. Benito Gonzales has three passions: fried eggs. building skyscrapers and having sex. When he marries for money. it seems that all his dreams could come true. especially when he's able to see his former girlfriend on the side. A sleazy take on ltrst and Spain‘s rrouveatr riche from the director of Jammr Janron. Fife: New Picture House. Robin's.
22 The List 27 Jan-9 Feb 1995