FILM REVIEW
I Small Faces: (iillies \lackinnon's tale of growing tip in (.ilas‘gow' at the tail end of the (dis has its charity prenriere at the MGM cinema in Sauchiehall Street on \\'ed 27 at 7.30pm. 'l‘ickets are available to the Public. Pt'iced 127.511. $1th litter. which stars ttp-attdcottiing Scottish actors Stephen Duffy and Key in McKidd t’l'ommy in 'l'Iiinix/m/I/ngi. won the Michael l’ow ell .\ward for Best New British l'catur'c l’ilm at last year's l)rambtiie lidinburgh l‘ilm l‘estiyal.
I Real to Reel: ('ardonald ('ollege's competition for young filmmakers enters its second year with a call for entries in fotrr categories drama. documentary. animation and open. (her 201) works were subtrritted in 1995. with the trophy for overall
w inner going to (ilasgow -bascd filmmaker l.ucinda lir'oadbent. w ho is
SCOTTISH FILM
currently working on a doctnnentary
for (‘hannel J. The closing date for
applications is .\1on 25 and the final
w ill be held at the (1171' as part of
.\1ayfcsl. Details are available frotn
.-\dam Macllwaine or Jocelyn Burnside
on ()1-11 SSS (i151. ext 247.
I Centenary of Cinema: ‘s‘ritl Moving
After 100 Years" is the title of a British
film lnstittitc exhibition which makes
its only \ isit to Scotland frotn 28
.\1a:' 2() .-\pr at the .\1acl{obcrt .-\rts
(’entre. Stirling. 'l‘hc foyer displays trse
\ itlcos‘. stills and memorabilia to chart
the history of British films.
I Patricia Plattner: 'l‘he swiw director
comes to (’dasgow' later this month for
a l'niyersity of Strathclyde conference
on women in Switzerland arid will find
time to stop off at the (ilasgow' Film
'l‘hcatre to present her film I’M/m
‘ I’d/tier on 'l‘lttlt's 28. Made itr 1989.
: Planners first feature is a bittersweet sentimental conredy abotrt the
friendship between two women.
Northern exposures
The hub of the growing Scottish film industry may be centred in Glasgow, but for the second year in a row, one of the Tartan Shorts has been made in the Highlands. Dead Sea Reels, written by Sergio Casci, marks the first move into drama for director Don Coutts, formerly one half of Big Star In A Wee Picture alongside Stuart Cosgrove. The name of Coutts’s old production company could apply equally well to his latest project, as the director managed to secure the talents of Ian Bannen to play an elderly priest who meets a man whose daughter has just been killed in a road accident.
‘When I first read Sergio’s script last year, I said, “It would be brilliant if Ian Dannen did this”, because the priest is such a rooted person,’ Coutts remembers. ‘I describe the character as somewhere between an angel and a car salesman. It was just fantastic when Bannen said yes because, to be
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. em Ian Bannen stars in Dead Sea Reels
absolutely honest, I couldn’t think of another Scottish actor. We were seriously thinking of writing to Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris.’ 1 The film shot in early March on the Black Isle, using locations in Cromarty, Fortrose and on the edge of the Reauly Firth. It’s in this area that Coutts has decided to base his new production company and where the film has now reached fine cut stage, with ‘Satie-esque’ music being added by Capercallie’s Donald Shaw. ‘There’s nothing about the story that’s Highland or not,’ reckons the director. ‘It just happens to be rooted in the topography without being drenched in views. It’s good to do something that isn’t in Central Scotland and isn’t about a crofter or a fisherman or a teuchter policeman.’ (Alan Morrison)
RENTAL
I Braveheart ( 15) still packing them iii at your local cinerrra. Mel (iibson‘s epic take on the life and legend of William Wallace trow hits the video sltops. l’liss the bastard tinglish. cheer the hairy Scots and cry ‘frecdom' III the corrrfort of your own home this is a rollicking piece of entertaimnerrt that can easily be forgiven its historical inaccuracies. tl’ox (iuild)
m |
I The Shawshank Redemption 1 15) .-\n unexpected hit at the box office. l-‘rank l);rrabont's Stephen Kitrg adaptation is citretnatic storytelling at its textbook best. 'l‘im Robbins plays an innocent man sent to an unjustly harsh prison. w ho plots a slow and ingenious revenge on the system. Robbins dcliy ers a wonderfully quiet performance. imprisoning lllL‘ clt;tt';tc‘1c‘l'.s emotions until his determination is as hard and pure as the geological specimens that provide his hobby. (\’(‘l £ 12.99; w idescreen £14.99)
I A City Of Sadness t 15) Before he reached wider international acclartn with The Puppet/mtxlt'l'. llott llsaio-Hsien made this filrn about the turbulent years after WW2 when Taiwan shifted from Japanese to Chinese rule. By filtering events through the lives of four brothers. the director stresses the spark of humanity that survives dtrrirrg a time of Confusion. Nattrralistically photographed in long and medium shots. it's a slow and controlled piece. bttt one that draws the viewer in neyertheless. (Artificial liye £15.99)
I F For Fake (ch) Orson Welles. the trran who tricked America w ith his ll’ur ()f'T/te lliirli/s radio broadcast. casts his eye on two fellow forgers: an artist and a biographer. lissentially. however. this dual portrait is an excuse for Welles the master raconteur to deflate the critics and perform his own cinematic sleight of hand. If this is Welles as illtrsionist. The Immortal Story shows him as alchemist. ttrrnirrg an old legend into reality. A wealthy merchant in Macao who trusts only ‘fact' decides to enact the old sea myth of the sailor hired by a rich man to make his wife pregnant. Jeanne Moreau also stars in this adaptation of lsak Dinesen's novella.
‘1““50
l t'c‘lltlt‘t't'tl \y'tllt sly‘ltsltc‘ restraint. t(‘onnoisscur
t; l 2.99 each)
I Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed t is) lit llammcr's fifth outing.
: the barmy liaron tl’etcr
; (Wishing) is presented in
his most otre-drmensional | format: a rapist and nrurderer utterly beyond salvation. w ho corrupts a young couple by blackmailing them into helping hirir w ith llls brarrr transplant experiments. Much better is :he follow up. Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell r :5). m which the doctor rises the coy er of at) as} lttttt to
create a super—creature from the best aspects of the inmates. ‘l'he monster's uncony rtrcrrrg ape-like suit is the only flaw 111 a well—written. multi-layer'ed film that. like l-‘rankenstem's best work. is a strong assembly of interesting parts. t'l‘et'ror Vision £10.99 each) I The Double Headed Eagle 11'.) l.trt/. Becker's . chronicle of Hitler’s rise It) power from l‘)lH 1t) lllc’ i porrrt he became i(‘lr;irrce11oi'in 1933 makes
good use of rare footage from the \Veimar years. The decadence of Berlin club life is seen to be at odds w ith increasing unemployment. and so the growth of .'\'a;Iism is given a clear economic foundation. The country's swing to the Right is. therefore. portrayed as terrifyingly plausible: the final scenes of anti- semitic speeches and book burning are disturbingly inevitable. (Academy £12.99)
Peter Cushing l as Baron Frankenstein
' Crazed genius:
The Shawshank Beuempiion
I Encounters Of The Spooky Kind ( Is) More lratrr than Hammer. Satno Hung‘s fiaster‘n lfi'i/ Dem! set the pattern for llong Kong cinema's supernatural tales. The director also makes for art amiable hero. battling against hopping Iombies and the peculiar ghosts of (‘hincse legctttl. 'l'o western eyes. it’s perhaps a bit ritualised to have the flow of a typical horror movie. btrt at least it‘s scary and funny in eqtral parts. (Made ltr llong Kotrg £13.99)
I Death And The Maiden (IS) Theatrical origins shine through in Roman 1’olanski's version of .-\rre1 l)orfman‘s play. particularly given the director's rise of long. interrupted takes. This technique actually increases the sense of claustrophobic tension that's essential to the story of .i woman tSigourncy \Veay er) who believes the man (lien Kingsley) she has just met was her torturer it) a Latin American prison. A thriller. certainly. btrt not to the extent of relaxing its grip on the intelligent issues raised. t1’oly(irarn/blectric £15.99)
I Winsor McCay: Animation legend (ti) ()nly ten shorts arid a few fragments remain of the work ofcartoon pioneer Winsor .\1c('ay. btrt they‘re all collected on this tape. Born in America to Scottish immigrant parents. be combined his drawing techniques with music hall tricks resulting in a playfulness that still charms today. (Academy £15.99)
I Monty Python’s Flying Circus Series 2 (PG)
lt's . . . "l'he Ministry of Silly Walks‘. "l‘he Spanish Inquisitiorr' and "l‘he Semaphore Version of Wuthering lleights' on Volume 1. and "l‘he Attila 'I‘he lltrn Show" and ‘The Epsom Furniture Race' on Volume 2. Deliciously surreal. btit rerrrember - there's method in these guys‘ madness. (BMG £10.99 each)
The List 22 Mar-4 Apr 1996 27