Film Festivals 1993
A grand diversity this year with a great many stand-out offerings including Stephen Poliakoff's provocotive "Close My Eyes", Colin Nutley's Ealing Comedies-inspired "House of Angels", the superb "Close to Eden" and Sally potter's lavish "Orlando". On the darker side was Abel Ferrara's uncompromising "Bad Lieutenant"; Robert Rodriguez showed anyone can make a low budget film with his original "El Mariachi"; and also off the blocks was Quentin Tarantino with "Reservoir Dogs" (Right).
Simple Men (1992)
7.2/10
Director: Hal Hartley
Starring: Robert Burke, William Sage, Karen Sillas, Elina Lowensohn, Martin Donovan
A stylish, entertaining tale of brothers Robert Burke and William Sage, who set out in search of their fugitive father who in the late 60s became a bo... Read more
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1990)
6.5/10
Director: Simon Callow
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, Rod Steiger
A provocative adaptation of Carson McCullers' story about a plain, lonely woman (Vanessa Redgrave) in a small Southern town and the battle of wills sh... Read more
The Dark Wind (1991)
5.7/10
Director: Errol Morris
Starring: Fred Ward, Gary Farmer, Lou Diamond Phillips, John Karlen
From the director of 'The Thin Blue Line', Lou Diamond Phillips plays Navajo cop Jim Chee, who uses his tracking instincts and knowledge of tribal mys... Read more
The Honeymoon Killers (1969)
7.1/10
Director: Leonard Kastle
Starring: Shirley Stoler, Tony Lo Bianco, Mary Jane Higby
Based on the true story of American serial killers Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck who went on a spree of murder and mayhem in the late 1940s. Posin... Read more
The Long Day Closes (1993)
7.5/10
Director: Terence Davies
Starring: Leigh McCormack, Majorie Yates, Anthony Watson
A poignant slice-of-life remembrance by director Davies ('Distant Voices - Still Lives') picturing a postwar England which seems to be yearning for an... Read more
The Playboys (1992)
6.4/10
Director: Gillies MacKinnon
Starring: Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn, Robin Wright
An enchanting tale set in a small Irish village where a beautiful, young unmarried mother's involvement with an actor in a travelling theatre group se... Read more
The Searchers (1956)
8/10
Director: John Ford
Starring: Ward Bond, Vera Miles, Natalie Wood, John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter
In this revered Western, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns home to Texas after the Civil War. When members of his brother's family are killed or abdu... Read more
The Stolen Children (1992)
7.5/10
Director: Gianni Amelio
Starring: Enrico Lo Verso, Valentina Scalici, Florence Darel
A wonderful story of the friendship that grows between a young carbiniere and the two abused children he is escorting from Milan to a foster home in P... Read more
The Story of Qiu Ju (1992)
7.6/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Gong Li, Lei Lao Sheng, Ge Zhi Jun, Lui Pei Qi
In this beautiful and humourous film from the acclaimed director of 'Raise the Red Lantern', a peasant woman takes on the Chinese legal system when he... Read more
The Trial (1962)
7.8/10
Director: Orson Welles
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Orson Welles
An unnamed country. Joseph K. (Anthony Perkins) is awakened one morning by a man who tells him he is under arrest. Accused by everyone of a crime that... Read more