Glasgow festival CAGE-A-RAMA celebrates Nicolas Cage
The wild-eyed actor is celebrated with a two day celebration, ranging from his batshit dual roles in Face/Off to his more tender turn in Moonstruck
Nicolas Cage has one of the most bizarre careers in Hollywood. Having started out with small parts in teen movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Rumble Fish (directed by his uncle Francis Ford Coppola), he’s gone on to be one of the biggest film stars on the planet despite – or maybe because of – trading in one of the most eccentric acting styles to grace the silver screen.
Matchbox Cineclub rightly describe Cage as both an “international treasure” and a “batshit crazyman”, and the Glasgow-based programmers are paying tribute to the actor with a weekend-long film festival that shows off Cage’s unique screen charisma.
Day one of the festival looks to explore the more batshit end of the Nic Cage filmography. Dubbing the day one programme as the day of “Cage the Fighter”, it’ll cover the Holy Trinity of Cage as mid-90s action star. First there’s Alcatraz-set thriller The Rock, where Cage teams up with Sean Connery to stop Ed Harris from firing nerve gas at San Francisco. Then there’s Con Air, the endearingly daft actioner with a mulleted Cage going toe to toe with John Malkovich and a group of hardened criminals. Finally Cage faces off against John Travolta in the delirious Face/Off, John Woo’s bonkers ballet of bullets in which Cage’s criminal mastermind literally switches faces with Travolta's FBI officer.
On day two of the festival, we see Cage’s gentler side. First up is Martha Coolidge’s funny, sweet teen romance Valley Girl, in which a baby-faced Cage plays a dopey punk who steals the heart of the eponymous Valley Girl. Cage is also in romantic mood in Moonstruck, in which sparks fly between his charming schlub and his widowed sister-in-law, played by Cher. Finally there’s Raising Arizona, which sees another goofy, sweet, romantic turn from Cage in one of the Coen brothers’ funniest movies.
We’re promised that both days will feature lots of exciting Cage-related bonus features. What might that be? A bunny in a box? His lucky crack pipe from Bad Lieutenant? A whole load of bees? Head along to find out.
6-7 Jan 2018, CCA, Glasgow. Tickets: £4 per film; day pass: £9; weekend pass: £18 – more details here