Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits. brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
The Adventures Of Pinocchio (U) (Steve Barron. US. 1996) Martin Landau. Jonathan Taylor 'l'homas. Udo Kier. 96 mins. More faithful to the original novel than the Disney cartoon. this mix of animatronics. computer animation and live action still falls short of the mark. Landau is a sympathetic (ieppetto and the period detail gives a nice fairytale mood. but the sentimentality and moralising (and the shoddy cricket animation) undermine its good elements. (ialashiels. Kirkcaldy.
Alaska (l’(i) (Fraser Heston. US. 1996) 'lliora Birch. Vincent Kartheiser. Charlton Heston. 109 mins. A young brother and sister go searching in the Alaskan wilderness for their father. missing in a plane crash. 'llieir adventures bring them into contact with a grizzled hunter (Heston) and acute polar bear cub. (iood wholesome family entertainment with some tense action scenes. Dunfermline.
Antonia's Line (15) (Marleen (iorris. Netherlands/Belgiuni/UK. 1995) Willeke van Ammelrooy. Els Dottermans. Dora van der ()verloop. 10-1 mins. The Best Foreign Film ()scar winner for 1996. Antonio 3‘ Line is the family saga of five generations of women from a rural Dutch community. The story. told with magic realist elements. is fragmented and incidenet-driven. btit it's uplifting in its engagement with the sexual politics (iorris has explored in previous films. St Andrews.
Badlands (18) ('l'erence Malick. US. 1973) Martin Sheen. Sissy Spacek. 94 mins. A young girl and her garbage collector boyfriend leave a trail of murder across the American Midwest. Literate. beautifully judged and impressiver performed study of small town torpor and youthful rebellion. Edinburgh: Film Guild.
Beautiful Girls (15) (Ted Demme. US. 1996) Matt Dillon. Timothy Hutton. Uma 'l‘hurman. l 13 mins. In a Big (‘Iii/l-ish scenario. the young men of a small New England town have a weekend reunion in order to indulge in some psychological navel-gazing. Even the women of the title can't enliven the proceedings. Kirkcaldy Adam Smith.
Betty Blue (18) (Jean-Jacques Beineix. France. 1986) Jean Hughes Anglade. Beatrice Dalle. 120 mins. 'l'empestuous love gone mad as an older handyman and a free- spirited woman embark on a passionate. peripatetic fling that ends in tragedy. Filmed with a dazzling technique and an irritating emptiness by the maker of Dir-u. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (15) (Ridley Scott. US. 1982/92) Harrison Ford. Sean Young. Rutger Hauer. l 16 mins. Out go the pseudo-noir narration and the tacked- on happy ending; in comes a more defined sense that Deckard himself may be a replicant. The look and feel remain as powerful. and the acting is superb. A flawed masterpiece is now a restored masterpiece. Glasgow: (il’l'.
Blood And Wine (15) (Bob Rafelson. US. 1996) Jack Nicholson. Michael Caine. Stephen Dorff. 100 mins. A Miami wine merchant turns to crime when his business is about to go belly-tip. dragging in his wife. his stepson and the Cuban housemaid he and the boy unwittingly share for a lover. A twisty thriller populated by characters you believe in and emotions that cause real hurt. See preview and review. Glasgow: ABC Film Centre. ()deon Quay. Showcase. UCl Clydebank. Virgin. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCl. Bound (18) (Larry and Andy Wachowski. US. 1996) Jennifer Tilly. Gina Gerson. Joe l’antoliano. 97 mins. Ex-con Corky ((iershon) is seduced by Violet (Tilly) into helping steal $2 million from mob money- launderer Caesar (Pantoliano). but the sting doesn‘t go smoothly. After a slightly cliched opening. oozing with steamy lesbian sex. the Wachowski's neo-noir thriller truly comes into its own. Tightly plotted and full of stylish quirks. its story takes unpredictable twists to keep any of the characters holding
all the cards at one time. Glasgow: GFT. Odeon Quay. UCl Clydebank. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Odeon. UCl. Others: East Kilbride UCI.
Brassed Off (15) (Mark Herman. UK. 1996) Ewan McGregor. Tara Fitzgerald. Pete Postlethwaite. 105 mins. When the local pit is due to be closed down. it‘s the end of the day for the eolliery brass band as well. even though they‘ve got a chance at winning the national competition. Politics are the bean of the story. but writer-director Harmen has created a film that balances nicely between pithy humour and heartbreaking poignance. Performances are excellent. particularly Ballykissangel's Stephen Tompkinson. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Central: MacRobert. Bravebeart (15) (Mel Gibson. US. 1995) Mel Gibson. Patrick McGoohan. Sophie Marceau. 177 mins. Mel Gibson's long and bloody account of the life of Scottish warrior hero William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great performances. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate Rob Roy. Bruveheurl's Scottish passion is tempered by a few Hollywood moments — touches of sentimentality and ‘dramatic‘ historical inaccuracy. Nevertheless. it’s a fine. full- blooded attempt to tap into the spirit that fires Scotland's history and heroes. Edinburgh: Odeon.
Breaking The Waves (18) (Lars von Trier. Denmark/France. 1996) Emily Watson. Stellan Skarsgard. Katrin Cartlidge. 158 mins. In a close-knit Calvinist community in the north of Scotland. at young woman faces banishment from the church when she makes a self-sacrificing pact with God in order to save her husband's life. Unlike von Trier's austere arthouse works (Europa). this intimate melodrama is raw and exposed. Emotional connection transcends everything else in one of the most moving films ever made. Kirkcaldy Adam Smith.
Burnt By The Sun (15) (Nikita Mikhalkov. Russia. 1994) Nikita Mikhalkov. Oleg Menchikov. lngeborga Dapkounaite. 134 mins. Mikhalkov‘s Oscar-winner is a genuine masterpiece. The gradual slide from the glory of the Revolution into the terror of the Stalin dictatorship is concentrated into the events of a single summer‘s day in 30s Russia. as the country household of a popular Soviet officer is disrupted by the return of his wife's former lover. now a government informer. The sense of tragedy is immense. as the sunny. idyllic Opening gives way to a darker. more uncertain reality. Edinburgh: Film Guild.
Can't Stop The Music (PG) (Nancy Walker. US. 1980) Village People. Valerie Perrine. Steve Guttenberg. 124 mins. Those disco dudes The Village People made a dire stab at cinema glory with this musical comedy. which suffers from a terrible score and too many in-jokes. The butch gay guys fall for Valerie Perrine and use this as an excuse for some dance routines that no amount of retro-kitsch can forgive. Kirkcaldy Adam Smith.
The Crucible (12) (Nicholas Hytner. US. 1996) Daniel Day Lewis. Winona Ryder. Paul Scofield. 124 mins. Arthur Miller adapts his classic stage play based on the 17th century Salem witch trials and. although the relevance to the McCarthy hearings has drifted into history. it still questions many of today's irrational and hysterical belief systems. The finger- pointing is done by a spurned young woman. who accuses her ex-lover‘s wife of witchcraft. and soon an all-cosuming tide of evil and hypocrisy is devastating their village. Deception becomes a stronger force than the truth in a truly compelling and important film. Glasgow: Odeons. Showcase. UCl Clydebank. Virgin. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCl. Others: East Kilbride UCl.
The Day The Earth Stood Still (PG) (Robert Wise. US. 1951) Michael Rennie. Patricia Neal. Hugh Marlowe. 92 mins. When a friendly alien is shot by trigger- happy soldiers. his ten-foot tall robot shows its destructive powers. The theme of this classic sci-fi film. however. is essentially pacifist. as mankind is eventually blackmailed into calling a halt on war. Good performances and an intelligent script raise this above almost all other 50s spins on the
genre. Glasgow: GET.
Dead Man (18) (Jim Jarmusch. US. 1995) Johnny Depp. Gary Farmer. Lance Henricksen. 121 mins. After heading out west for ajob vacancy that's already been filled. accountant Bill Blake (Depp) finds a posse on his tail after the shooting of his would-be employer‘s son. With a bullet in his own chest. Blake hooks up with an Indian called Nobody ( Farmer). who reckons this is the spirit of the poet Blake and so prepares a proper funeral. Glorioust shot in black and white. meticulously paced and imbued with a spiritual transcendence. Jannusch's existential Western is innovative and unexpected. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Dear Diary (15) (Nanni Moretti. ltaly. 1994) Nanni Moretti. Renato Carpentieri. 100 mins. An intimate journal. captured with both narrative and technical freedom. Moretti's Cannes award-winner sees him zip around Rome on his Vespa. visit the Aeolian island home of a friend. and come up against the doctors who are having problems diagnosing his possibly malignant illness. What may seem loose and unordered is actually very carefully structured. with a level of intimacy rarely achieved in the cinema. Glasgow: GET.
Dr Who: Robot (12) 120 mins. Tom Baker made his debut as The Doctor in this four- parter (shown in one sitting) from 1974. in which the world is threatened by a rampaging giant robot. Glasgow: (il-‘l‘. Dragonheart (PG) (Rob Cohen. US. 1996) Dennis Quaid. Sean Connery. David Thewlis. 103 mins. Disillusioned but noble knight Bowen (Quaid) teams up with the last of the dragons (voice and mannerisms by Connery) to free the land from a tyrant king (Thewlis). Dungeons and dragons for all the family in a film that is only fun when the expertly animated. fire-breathing beast is on screen. Otherwise the storyline lumbers along. Glasgow: Virgin. Edinburgh: Odeon. The English Patient (15) (Anthony Minghella. UK/US. 1996) Ralph Fienncs. Juliette Binoche. Kristin Scott Thomas. 162 mins. A mysterious stranger. suffering from horrific burns. is cared for by a Canadian
index FILM
nurse during the final days of WW2. In flashback. we discover more about the great romantic affair whose tragic climax brought him to this state. Anthony Minghella alters the focus of Michael Ondaatje‘s Booker Prize-winning novel to concentrate more db boiling passions in the North African desert. Spectacularly filmed on location. the film boasts magnificent performances from each and every one of the leads. See feature and review. General release.
The Evening Star (15) (Robert Harling. 1996) Shirley MacLaine. Miranda Richardson. Bill Paxton. 129 mins. The sequel to Terms Of Endeurnwnr reaches for another bumper box of tissues. but misses the success of the original by a huge margin. MacLaine returns as eccentric Houston widow Aurora Greenway. who now invests her emotions in the lives of her grandchildren and a laid-back therapist (Paxton). Destnictively sentimental and manipulative without adding anything we haven't seen before. See review. General release.
Evita (12) (Alan Parker. US. 1996) Madonna. Antonio Banderas. Jonathan Pryce. 135 mins. Parker's genuine epic. based on the Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. boasts huge crowd scenes (up to 40.000 extras. according to sources) and stars on top form. 'lhe film belongs very much to Madonna in a gift of a role. which follows the rags-to-riches life of Eva Perén from poverty to her place in the hearts of a nation. It's narrated in song by sardonic revolutionary Che Guevara (Banderas). but once the audience becomes accustomed to the style. the sheer scale of the movie should take effect. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Showcase. UCl Clydebank. Edinburgh: UCl. Others: East Kilbride UCI.
The Exorcist (18) (William Fn‘edkin. US. 1973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. 110 mins. Earnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scary. dead priest. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon.
Fallen Angels (15) (Wong Kar-Wai. Hong
FROM THE SlAR 0F RESERVOIR DOGS AND FARGO
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“rim GOOD!”
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One man’s search for...
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1 STEVE BUSCEMI CHLOE SEVlQNY
NOW SHOWING Cameo Edinburgh & Glasgow Film Theatre
7—20 Mar 1997 mama?