Elvis in rehearsals for the last great performances of his career as seen in the re-mastered 1970

documentary Elvis: That’s The Way It Is - Special Edition

I‘Nb’i Nanako Matsushinia. Miki Nakatani. lliroyuki Saiiada. 95 units. A horror lilm phcnomcnoii in southcasl Asia. thc story turns on an cscalating urban myth with a body count. It bcgins with a tccnagc girl tclling hcr lricnd about a mystcrious \‘itlcolapc that works Iikc a \‘cry nasty chain lcttcr. l'nplcasantly. myth turns out to bc l‘act. 'l‘hc original iiidtistrial-clcctronic scorc by Kcnii ls'awai dcliycrs its sharc ol thc chills. w liilc the sudden flashbacks and moinciits ot‘ spiritual coniicction bctwccn thc murders in thc modcrn day and the past conic at you hard and out the bluc. A lcrril'ying joy to behold. ('amco. lidinburgh. Ring 2 i ll) 0.. tNakata llidco. Japan. lelll ) Mikt Nakalani. Kyoko liukada. Yuko 'l'akcuchi. 05 mins. Part two of the Ring horror trilogy a phenomenon in the liast that's achicycd dcscry'cd cult status in thc \Vcst dcy clops thc original urban lcgcnd i‘cy‘oly ing around a \‘itht) tapc containing a cryptic image ol a haunting young woman which Visits a terrifying dcath upon anyone who watches it. More is rcy'calcd about the woman in white on the tapc. and it hills to a schoolgirl and a young boy with tclcpathic powcrs to solyc thc mystci'y. Ring 2's plotting is nicssy. but thc mix ol~ modcrii and traditional myths is wholly original. and thc scarcs arc hair- raising. ('amco. lidinburgh.

The Road Home (H 00. chang Yimou. (‘hina. 3000i [hang Ziyi. Sun llonglci. /.hao Yuclin. 100 mins. ('ity businessman l.uo returns to his homc yillagc in Northcrn (him for thc i‘uncral of his l-illllL‘l‘. thc local schooltcachcr. \Villt his

w ccping niothcr adamant that hcr husband's corpsc bc carricd by hand rathcr thaii driycn back from hospital. l.uo rccalls thc story of

his parcnts‘ courtship scycral dccadcs carlicr. Shifting from black and w hitc tthc prcscnti to colour tthc past I. lhc bulk ol thc lilm consists ol a ralhcr scntimcntal recreation of thc loy c-al‘l‘air bctwccn l.uo‘s parcnts. told lrom thc pcrspcctiy c ot thc tcmalc character. Though in thc radiant Ziy i. Yimou has perhaps uncarthcd a musc lo riyal his lasourcd actrcss (iong l.i. 'l‘hc l,umicrc. lidinburgh.

Rocky t P( ii 0... tJohn (i. Aly idscn. l'S. l‘)7(ii Sy lycslcr Stallonc. Burgcss Mcrcdilh. 'l'alia Shirc, ll‘) mins. Back to thc days w hcn Stallonc tiscd to makc good lilms (well. one and this is it». It‘s thc old rags-to- richcs saga drcsscd tip by w ritci' Sly as a htNlllg drama about a dim-w ittcd Philadclphia lad who makcs it good in gloycs. 'l'his oiic took thc bcst Picturc ()scar. the tour that l'ollow cd adhcrcd to thc law of diminishing returns rulc. Pay ilioii. (ialashicls.

Salo t l8) moo (Picr Paolo Pasolini. Italy. l‘)75i Paolo Bonacclli. (iiorgo (litaldi. l'mbcrto P. ()uintayallc. I ll iuiiis. laicist ltaly. I‘M-l. l‘our w calthy libcitiiics gather in an abandoned mansion w hcrc thcy' hay c asscmblcd a group ol young men and womcn whom thcy subjcct to a scrics ol- scxual torturcs. 'l'hcsc abominations arc dcpictcd in graphic. rcpctitiyc and unflinching detail. To what purposc'.’ l‘or thc w'calthy hosts. because they can. l‘or Pasolini. it's a comment on thc nature ol Miissolini's liacist statc. That's why this film is art. not iucrc gratuitous cxploitation. In fact. it's a iiiilcstonc in film history. 'l‘hc l.umicrc. lidinburgh.

Salt Water t l5) COO. t('onor McPherson. lrcland. Zillll ) Pctcr McDonald. Brian ('ox. Brcndan (ilccsoii. ()7 mins. Playwright McPherson makes his dircctorial dcbut. al'tcr scycral wcll rccciycd play s and scrccnplays including The lli'ir and I ll'uil Down. with this blcak yct ol'tcn amusing takc on life in a small lrish scasidc town. The story. adapted from a scrics ol stagc monologues. rCVolVCs around the Bcncy'cnti lamily. owners of the local chippic. By tising an oil-season rcsort thc l‘ccling ol- waiting for something to happcn tccltoCs ol(iodol'.’l. with the locals' liycs mirroring thc rcsort anticipating summcr. is conycycd with subtlc stylc. Adam Smith 'l'hcatrc. Kirkcaldy. Sexy Beast t 13) 0000 (Jonathan (ila/cr. l'K. 2000) Ray Winstonc. Bcii Kingsley. lan McShanc. 88 inins. When rctircd criminal (iary l)o\‘c (Winstonci gets a Visit from liast lind hcadcasc l)on Logan (Kingsley). who‘s to persuade l)o\'c to leave

his ('osta dcl Sol \‘illa to do onc last ‘job' for

crimc boss 'l'cddy Bass tMcShanci. the sparks fly. Doyc stuttcrs a nervous ‘.\'o thanks': Logan screams ‘ch. you c" "'tl'. At length. The back and forth bctwccn the hard man who‘s lost his bottle and thc ot‘l'icious littlc psychopath is nothing short of Pintcr- esquc. altcrnatcly' menacing. hilarious and terrifying. ('ast against type. the leads arc supcrb. (ila/cr rigorously maintains contcnt oy‘cr style. and thc result is a razor sharp drama that's no mcrc gangster lilm. ()dcoii. Dunl'crmlinc.

Shoot The Pianist (Tire: sur la pianiste) t l5i O... tliraiicois ’l‘rut‘iaut. lirancc: I‘Nitti ('harlcs A/na\our. .\laric l)ubois. Nicolc Bcrgcr. S0 nuns. lis- conccrt pianist .-\/na\our. now working sccdy Parisian bars. gcts imolycd with \ciigctul gangsters whcn hc trics to hpr his two pctty crook brothcrs cscapc l'rom thc hcat. Noni ('l/(’ \iigiit' adaptation of Day id (ioodis conccntratcs morc on a brcc1y camcra sty lc than on thc dcspondcncy ol thc original sourcc. l‘illlllltflhL‘. lidinburgh. Singin’ In The Rain on com i(icnc Kclly tk Stanlcy l)oncn. l'S. l‘)501 (icnc Kclly. l)ona|d ()'('onnor. l)cbbic Rcynolds. ('yd (‘harissc l0: inins. llollywood undcrgocs thc transition from lhc silcnl cra to thc talkics and rcputations risc and tall. Absolutely woiidcrl'ul musical cntcrtainmcnt. with thc slickcst oi snappy dialoguc. cnduringly catchy numbcrs. a cast of gcnuinc charisma. and an cngaging picturc ol' the industry in transition into thc bargain. ()uitc splcndid. Brunton 'l‘hcatrc. lidinburgh.

Some Like It Hottl’(ii 0.... (Billy \Vildci‘. l'S. WSW 'l'ony (‘urtis. Jack l.cmiiion, Marilyn .\lonroc. l20 lllllls. Two impccunious malc musicians iiiadycrtcntly witncss thc St \'alcntinc's l)ay Massacrc and takc rcl'ugc in l‘lorida with Swch Sue and hci' Socicty Sy ncopators. an all-l'ciiialc band. Brilliant. brittlc. crackci‘jack larcc with all cotlL‘L‘l‘llL‘tl tll ti pcak in [licll' curL‘L‘i‘s. Bathgatc chal. Bathgatc.

Songs From The Second Floori IS) 0.. (Roy Aiidcrsson. Sw cdcn. 200! ) |.ars Nordh. Stclaii l.arsson. 'l‘orbjorn l‘ahlstroiii. 08 nuns. .-\ndcrsson‘s (‘anncs pri/c-winning lirsl l‘caturc film in 25 ycars compriscs a scrics ol bcautil'ully composcd \‘igncttcs. cach sccnc shot in a single long takc. l'nscriptcd and using lirs‘t‘timc actors. it offers a snapshot of thc liy'cs of Various charactcrs. A long scrs ing cniploy cc clings dcspcratcly to his boss's lcg. pleading for his

job back; a man with thc wrong skin colour

falls yictim to a racist attack; whilc a magician unintentionally saws an unsuspecting Volunteer in ball. A witty obscryalion on thc absurdin and yulncrability ol' the human condition. Songs From 'I'Iii' Si'r'oiirl I‘loor is at its bcst intclligcnt. moying and funny. Supportcd hy 'l‘raccy limin's short film. .S‘onit'ti'mm 'I'lit' /)I't'.\.\ Is lliH'I/l .llort' .lloiit'y 'Iilimi I'Iti' .llom'y'. Scc rcy‘icw. l-‘ilmhousc. lidiiiburgh. Space Cowboys 1P0) 00 i(‘lini liastwood. l‘S. 2000i ('lint liastwood. Jamcs (iarncr. Tommy Lee Jones. Donald Suthcrland. H0 mins. 'l'hc lirst hall' of Sprlt‘i' ('ou'lioyzs could be callcd l'our (irumpy' ()ltl .llt'ii. as wc‘rc introduccd gradually to cach ageing mcmbcr oli'l’cam Dacdalus. an abortcd spacc project in thc 50s. 'l‘hcn hallway through the film liastwood flicks a switch and it becomes Apollo I}. cxccpt full of old lolks. And a million tinics morc dalt. 'l'hc first part works bcttcr. l.ct’s lacc it. this acting combo has got a low miles on tltc clock. but not cycn this cast can salyagc much respcct from this lamc duck iii a film. ()dcon. Ay'r.

index Film

10 Things I Hate About You i l3) 0... t(ill Jungcr. l'S. 19‘”)! Julia Stiles. Joscph (Bordon-Icy itt. llcath l.cdgcr. ‘38 nuns. It could has c bccn horrible But this hiin school-sct rcworking ot' Shakcsiwarc's I'Iit' limimc ()t I'ht' Show is not only faithful to its source. but is a funny. charming and cnioyablc film in its ow it right. Purists may bc aghast at the lllltlc‘klllg ol‘ such a literary icw cl. but tilms likc this offer easy acccss to grcal storics. (‘amco. lidinburgh.

Thirteen Days I ll) .00. (Roger Donaldson. l'S. 200| i Key in Costner. Bruce (ircciiwood. Stcycn ('ulp. HS mins. Anicrica and Rtissia w cut hcad to head oy er lhc (‘0le Missilc (‘l'lsls w hcn thc Soy‘lcls placed nuclcar w capons on ('astro‘s island 'I'lii'rit't'ii I)tl\'.\ dramatiscs thc prcssurcs l‘or all-out war cscrtcd by thc l'S military on President John [5 Kcnncdy. his brother Robcrt and his tcam ol adyisors. led by special aidc Kcnny ()'l)onncll t('ostncr). lior (‘ostnciz thc film is a w clcomc rclttrn to form. to mos ics ol thc staturc ol .II‘K and 'I'lii' ('Iilout'liolilt's. 'l‘hci‘c‘s a littlc bit of polisli bcing applied to thc Kcnncdy myth. but that docsn‘t diminish the lilm's dramatic pow cr. Rarcly is llollywood as intclligcnt and as gripping in a singlc sitting. Scc

t‘L‘\ icw. (icncral rclcasc.

Thrill Ride tP(ii thii Stasscn. l'S. 200“ units. A mix ol’ computcr graphics and liyc action. pt‘oy idiiig a scicntilic. btit l'un look at thc history ol' ridcs. from their early origins in l7th ccntury Russia to today‘s ridc simulators. lMAX 'l'hcatrc. (ilasgow. Titanic t ID C... (James ('amcron. l'S. l‘)‘)7i |.conardo l)i('aprio. Katc Winslct. Billy '/.anc. I‘M mins. ('amcron tacklcs the story of thc doomcd occan liiicr through a touching loy c story that isn't iwcrwhclmcd by the awcsomc special cl'l'ccts. Rich girl Rosc tWinslctt is unhappily engaged to arrogant (‘al (Zane) but falls lor third-class passciigcr Jack tl)i('apriot: loyc blossoms as the ship hits an iccbcrg in the .\oth Atlantic. In all its on- scrccii glory. liltllllt‘ docs indccd look like thc most cxpcnsisc liliii cy‘cr iiiadc. cony'cying both thc scale of thc disastcr and thc liccling ol' claustrophobia as the water l‘tscs. (‘ircuit (‘iiic-iiiii. Livingston.

Tom’s Midnight Garden (PG)

0 (Willard ('ai‘roll. l'K. 2000) Anthony Way. (ircta Scacchi. Jamcs Wilby.

- l07 mins. Bascd on Philippa Pcarcc's IQS‘)

iioycl. this adaptation is a mix of Huck To The Future and .N'iirniu. An old grandfather clock that chimcs thirteen times at midnight is 'l’oin's passpon to the Nth century. where hc bcl'ricnds orphan girl llattic. The storyline is exciting enough. but with acting more woodcn than the trees in the garden. Joan Plowright‘s liy'c iiiiiiutc camco is the film's only saying grace. 'l'he l.umicrc. lidiiiburgh.

Tora-san, My Uncle t lit) .00

(Yoji Yamada. Japan. l‘)‘)0) Mins tbc. llas'ing starred in upwards of 50 films in Japan. thc eponymous 'l‘ora-san hcrc attempts to play ('upid and save his nephew- from a broken hcart. (iilmorchilKi l 2. (ilasgow.

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15—29 Mar 2001 THE LIST 37