0| POLLOI are one of Edinburgh's pretniere punk bands. and a very atniable bunch of lads. No. really. Contrary to some folks' expectations. lidinburgh International City Of Punk Rock l‘)‘)(i. the festival they've helped organise. will be a very civilised affair. As the band's frontnian Deek explains. it's a chance to offer some hospitality to bands from the countries they’ve toured. Visitors to this year's event include about ()0 bands from as far afield as Israel. Poland and America. Activities planned for the ten-day event include political protests against such foes as fascism and burger chains. a mass visit to the Commonwealth Pool called Punks ln Trunks. and cider-drinking workshops for foreign friends unfamiliar with our quaint British ways. But had behaviour is not on the agenda. ‘The German punks organise a Kaos Day in Hanover. and they do stuff like mass urinations in car parks. but I can think of better things to get arrested for.’ says Deck. Concerts take place in five pubs and clubs. but a certain venue used last year has been boycotted following a collision between a bouncer's forehead and a bass-player's nose. ‘That was the only trouble we had last year.‘ says Deek. ‘Well. that and the anti- rnilitarist demo at the Tattoo. . .' (Andrew Burnet)
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BLOOD SIMPLE was the crazy Coen Brothers’ first (and some might argue best) lull-length movie. Undoubtedly bloody, it’s far from simple - a murderously dark noir comedy about two-timing, double-crossing, truth-twisting . . . in tact, almost every tom of betrayal and deceit you care to name. It you’ve seen the film, you’ll remember why the private detective (played by prince of sleaze M. Emmet Walsh) is looking so perturbed in this scene. It not, here’s a thought to intrigue you: how many tilms have you seen in which none of the characters quite make sense of what’s happening to them . . . ever? Curious? Well now’s your chance. Blood Simple is to be re-released in all its large-screen, gory glory. Blood Simple opens on Fri 2 Aug at Blasgow Film Theatre and the Cameo, Edinburgh.
THE PASSION 0F DARK” N00" is the jaw—dropping result of a collision course between a tnodern adult fairy-tale and an attack on fundatnentalist religions' fear of sexuality. No surprises. then. when we see that its writer-director Philip Ridley's follow-up to The Reflecting Skin. Author (for kids and adults). playwright (for stage and radio) and filmmaker. London Eastendcr Ridley first trained as a painter. which is why his work is filled with remarkable images. ‘I always think if you see my films like acid trips you're halfway to understanding them.’ he says. ‘Forget logic. accept that anything can happen and usually does. It‘s not a crossword puzzle. The meaning is in the feeling.‘ Ridley reckons that Dark/v Nmm‘s fairy- tale format isn‘t something new in his work. 'A lot of people thought my screenplay for The K mvs should be re-titled 'l'lu' Brut/mar (Jrinmr.' he jokes. ‘And The Reflecting Skin is very tnuch a dark fairy-tale ofchildhood. The language of the fairy-tale is. hopefully. just a framework on which to hang other ideas. And the most significant of these is the other language the film uses — the language of the horror lilm. Horror films are adult fairy stories. aren‘t they'?‘ (Alan Morrison)
The Passion Q/'l)urlrl_v Nmm is u! the I-‘iIm/rmrxc. Edinburgh. I-‘ri 26—MmI 29 August.
2 The List 26 Jul-8 Aug I996