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PROFESSOR VAN HELSING’S JUST-BEFORE-SUNRISE WOODEN-STAKE-THROUGH-SPRING-BREAK QUIZ
Spring break? What spring break? Professor Van Helsing, senior professor emeritus at the SLIFR U School of Vampirology, has driven a stake through the entire conception of an April vacation and issued another quiz designed to keep you clothed, off the beaches and stone cold sober while all around you students destroy brain cell after brain cell on the hunt for cheap thrills and fresh meat. As proctor of these quizzes, I make a vow right now not to make you wait until September to see the answers to this quiz—the Professor Brainerd turnaround should be considered an aberration, not the rule (this is why I’m not going on spring break either).
And here's a special shout-out to any longtime or newbie lurkers who regularly check out the goings-on at SLIFR-- we all want to hear from you. If you're logging on for the first time, or especially if you've hung around for a while and never commented or participated in one of our quizzes before, I hope you'll take some of your valuable time and let us know what your answers are to these pressing cinematic questions. As much as I hope to see many, if not all of the past participants check in, I know I'd love to have more company in the comments column as those answers start coming in. So join us, won't you?
Just submit your completed list of answers in the comments column. In a month or so, I will compile all of the answers in a digested format for easy pickin's. The questions tend not to be yes-or-no, so short, terse answers may not always be easy to formulate, nor are they necessarily preferred. Personally, I like to read the ones with lots of verbiage, so if you feel like going off on a tangent, feel free to do so!
All right, the hour is now upon us. Sharpen your stakes, sharpen even further your No. 2s, sit up straight and open your blue books… now!
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1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
2) Favorite sidekick
3) One of your favorite movie lines
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
6) Favorite John Ford movie
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
19) Favorite political movie
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
113 comments:
You are a stern taskmaster, Prof. Van Helsing. I hope it's okay if I do this test as a take-home, as though some of the answers pop immediately to mind, I'll want to think carefully about others.
hey, prof, where do we send the answers? i presume you don't want them posted here before you give the final grades.
Ack! The hour was late, and I knew I'd forgot something! Yeah, go ahead and just post them to the comments column. I like to have everybody's complete list here, and then in a month or so (I promise), I just make a new post out of what I've gathered up-- what's in the final "answers" post is not everyone's complete answers. It seems kind of redundant, but after a little time has passed I've found, and people have told me, that it's fun to revisit the answers again in a digested format-- you may not have forgotten what your own responses were, but everyone else's may have receded a bit, and this seems to be a good way to get them to pop back up. I'll fix the main post so it has this sort-of important instruction included. Thanks, TLRHB!
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I can't escape the cliche in the now pick, Crash. It's such a terrible unrealistic take on race and the racial tensions in Los Angeles. It also takes the name of a Cronenburg movie and that really sticks in my craw. In short the film gives the ignorant that have invaded the earth something to intellectualize. The film should have a promotion quote on the cover that says "Thought provoking without having to think". It's increasingly aggravating when very good movies like, A History of Violence perculating with important issues to think about, are misunderstood by the ignorant Crashites.
2) Favorite sidekick
I think this is the wrong way to interpret this question but I'm going to do it for the sake of giving the better answer. Tyler Durden is one of my favorite characters of all time, not because he is right in his nihilistic dogmatic view of the world but because he questions those authorities. I'll cite that character both in the movie and the book for turning me onto post-modernism or questioning traditions or common thought/practices.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
In A History of Violence, when the gangsters have the son,Viggo Mortensen tells Maria Bello, " I'll get em". Maria Bello's character thinks he means thier son but Tom Stahl really mean's he's going to kill the people after him. It's such a brilliant line that has so much subtext and information about the characters.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
No knowledge of either.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
In Cinderella Man, James Braddock ( Russell Crowe) has to ask his peers for money, in order to turn the energy back on and he is such an incredibly prideful man and he's so defeated by the circumstances and the interaction between the great Sir Russell Crowe and Sir Paul Giamatti is magical.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Haven't seen any.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Steven Spielberg has gotten on my list for War of the Worlds, I have to admit most of his movies are great, yet they are limited to his own formula. You can see this in both War of the Worlds and the first Jurrasic Park and it's almost painful to see the Spielburg cliche again and again. I think since we are talking about big studio pictures, I won't replace spielburg with the smaller budget directors like Nolan, Fincher (Big but small), Cronenburg,Payne or Aronosky. I'm going to go with Peter Jackson who's recent string of big blockbuster movies have been absolutely wonderful despite the influences of the genre. Also because his earlier movies albeit small budget, are absolute masterpieces but more importantly bring something unique to Jackson's resume. Call it a personal preference but I love that every peter jackson movie is extremely different than all the others, I sort of associate that with talent, and that to me atleast, is what seperates a great director like Jackson and a sometimes great- sometimes terrible director in Spielburg.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Not familiar with either.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No, but I haven't seen it since Dennis' piece about it. He brings up some poignant things that i never considered while watching the horrid acting that was taking place. I mentioned Dennis' opinion to my movie companion and was laughed at but I argued that, while I don't know how it would possibly be good, I trust Dennis enough for another viewing.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I made a deal with my fiance that if she let me watch a movie during sex, she could go on for hours without me ever needing to stop. However, after a while I think she became disinterested in my lack of interest.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
I CAN'T Believe you guys have let me go this long without watching a Altman movie!!!! I'm such a horrible person.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies.
I'm forced by lack of knowledge to say House of a 1000 corpses, but I did like that movie alot.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
The Al Pacino version of Merchant of Venice is great because of the pivotal pound of flesh scene with shylock. Pacino plays that character as in my mind the most sympathetic character in any film (maybe my opinion is skewed), but it gets me every time.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Niether.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Never seen one.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed.
I have to go Deniro here, but I'm not positive on where to go. Ah ha, I know exactly, it may be small but its one of the best clips of all time. I would want to be watching the scene in Taxi Driver where Travis Bickle is teetering the t.v. with his foot until finally it falls and breaks.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?1
No knowledge.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
The only one I've ever walked out of was THE PACIFIER.
19) Favorite political movie
The term political movie has been so overused for so many films that you could say most any film is a political film. I think I associate myself with BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN because gay civil rights and gay marraige is an issue for my generation to conquer.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges is the man, nothing against Goldblum but he isn't in the same league.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Never seen any.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
It's gotta be Deniro, He didn't do his best movies during this time period but it set him up for something incredible.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
No opinion.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I know people will probably cringe at this but I think the original Dirty Dozen left something to be desired. It's such a great concept for a movie and I really despised most of the acting in it. I know QT has talked about it and it has been rumoured to be trashed by people like Eli Roth but with the right cast and the right director, it could give the audience what lacked in the first one.
1) What film made you angry, etc.
Well, the only film I've ever walked out of the theater during was THE SHADOW with Alec Baldwin...just a terrible botch of great source material. Also, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH pissed me off, not sure why exactly -- just a knee-jerk response to its smug "look how clever we are" preciousness.
2) Favorite sidekick (s).
Dean Martin, Walter Brennan and Ricky Nelson, helping out the Duke in RIO BRAVO. That sing-along scene in the jailhouse is priceless.
3) A fave movie line
The final line from THE PROFESSIONALS:
Lee Marvin (after Ralph Bellamy yells "You bastard!"):
"In my case, an accident of birth. You, sir, are a self-made man."
4) Holden or Lancaster?
Burt Lancaster, hands-down. (Though Holden is good, especially in THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI and THE WILD BUNCH). Lancaster could do it all: good guys, bad guys, sensitive guys, action man roles, anything. A class act all the way.
5)A perfect movie moment.
Too many to count, but here's one: The long sequence tracking through Rick's in CASABLANCA, leading up to the fabulous Bogart entrance, as the camera first moves in on his hands, signing checks, etc., then pans up to the inimitable craggy, world-weary face.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Glad you said "favorite," not "best." Love most of Ford's movies, esp. THE QUIET MAN, but the one I watch the most, strangely enough, is DONOVAN'S REEF. Something about it's laid-back, breezy style, its self-contained island paradise feel, the cast, etc. just appeals to me.
7) What film artist has the least deserved reputation, etc.
I've always thought Meryl Streep was terribly overrated. Don't get me wrong, she's good, but come on! By contrast, I think Jessica Lange is consistently great, but often underappreciated.
8) Stanwyck or Lupino?
Ooooh, tough one. Lupino is far prettier, and also a hell of an actress, but gotta go with Barbara on this one. She's just really, really good in far too many classic films like DOUBLE IDEMNITY, BALL OF FIRE, THE LADY EVE, MEET JOHN DOE, etc.
9) SHOWGIRLS, yes or no?
Uh, that would be no.
10) Most exotic place to see a movie.
I've seen movies in Taipei, Bangkok, Manila, Seoul, Osaka, Perth and other colorful places, but the most interesting was probably watching the Patrick Swayze slugfest ROADHOUSE in an (appropriately) crowded and rowdy theater in Tralee, Ireland on a cold, rainy evening in late November 1989.
11) Favorite Altman movie.
McCABE AND MRS. MILLER, definitely. (Also my favorite Warren Beatty performance.)
12) Best argument for the participation of a rock star in making movies.
Hmmm, got me there. Guess I'll go with Sting, who's a rock (ha!) solid actor.
13) Describe a transcendant moment in an up-till-then normal or so-so film.
Here's a recent example: the final sequence in ABOUT SCHMIDT. The whole movie is an amusing but nothing-special build-up to the surprisingly moving final moment when Jack Nicholson, previously underplaying to near catatonia, breaks down and weeps after receiving a letter (and drawing) from his African penpal N'dugu. At that (belated) point, the movie became special.
14) Gershon or Tilly?
Neither, really, but I suppose if pressed I'd cop to a mild preference for Gershon.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie.
Love, love, love MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and am very fond of LOST HORIZON, but have to be predictable here and champion Xmas perennial IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Simply brilliant, esp. due to James Stewart's multi-faceted performance and Capra's leavening of the sweet Americana with darkness and despair.
16) Scene you wish you could have seen filmed.
Off the top of my head, any of the scenes with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in drag, interacting with the luscious Marilyn Monroe in SOME LIKE IT HOT.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Both good, but will give the edge to Widmark. Not his best performance, really, but I've always loved him as the wrongly accused he-manly outlaw who leads a group of youngsters to safety after an Indian attack in THE LAST WAGON.
18) Movie that inspired a walk-out.
As already mentioned, THE SHADOW. Though there have been several that I maybe SHOULD have walked out on...
19) Favorite political movie.
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.
20) Favorite movie poster.
Any of the 1960s James Bond posters.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Oh, man, Bridges is a god. THE most underrated actor of our time. Always great. The Dude abides, man.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie.
THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM. Not a big Russell fan, though he is (was?) an ace cinematographer.
23) 1970-1975 Golden Age high-point?
The high-point for me in this period was the emergence of the new breed of auteurs like Scorsese, Friedkin, Spielberg, Coppola et al, and the freedom to deal with truly adult subject matter in authentic ways.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Ava's an earthy goddess but I must annoint Grace as High Priestess of Cinematic Sex Appeal. Stunningly beautiful, poised and stylish, with an undercurrent of passion always lurking beneath her icy-cool exterior. Her slow-mo move-in to kiss Jimmy Stewart in REAR WINDOW -- bliss.
25) Movie that actually deserves to be remade.
Someone needs to do right by Richard Matheson's sci-fi opus I AM LEGEND. THE OMEGA MAN holds a treasured place in my heart, and THE LAST MAN ON EARTH has its merits, but a more faithful adaptation would be most welcome. Come on, Hollywood...the third times the charm!
Wonderful site, thanks!
Forgive the double (triple?) post...the Blogger machine munched my first attempt.
Good grief! That Little Round Headed Boy is so excited. He has sharpened up his thick yellow pencil, fed Snoopy, told Sally to write her own letter to Santa, skipped baseball practice (Lucy didn't seem too disappointed) and sat down at the kitchen table to take the test.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Don't worry, Dennis, no more screeds on V FOR VENDETTA. I'll go for FORREST GUMP. I don't mind a crowd-pleasing movie, but I object to one with airs, as we say down South. FG thinks it has something philosophical to say about out times, and it doesn't, except for "run, moviegoer, run!"
2) Favorite sidekick
John Goodman, THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Sure, Walter Sobchak wouldn't shut up and he had some issues with pedophile bowlers and nihilism, but if you absolutely, positively must have a toe by 3 p.m. in the afternoon, Walter's your man. I'm also fond of Walter Brennan and his rummy persona in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. Was you ever stung by a dead bee?
3) One of your favorite movie lines.
Just one? SLIFR, a cruel taskmaster! OK: "I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen." John Cusack in SAY ANYTHING. Who else is going to pick that line, and who is going to argue with its essential, bitter truth?
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Lancaster. No contest. Holden couldn't swashbuckle, Holden didn't act for Visconti or Bertolucci or Altman, Holden didn't produce great movies on the side, Holden didn't play J.J. Hunsecker or Elmer Gantry or marvel at the wonder of Susan Sarandon's lemon-scented breasts. Of course, Holden did act for Peckinpah, Lean and Wilder, and got the talking of a lifetime from Faye Dunaway in NETWORK, but still...Lancaster just had more ambition and more of a yearning to create art.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
I'll pick a recent one: the ending of BEFORE SUNSET. Julie Delpy dances to Nina Simone in her Boho Paris apartment, and tells Ethan Hawke that he's going to miss that plane. And Hawke says he knows he is. And the film just fades sublimely to black, and we have to wait another 10 years to find out what happens next with them. Exquisite ending, which leaves you with more delightful possibilities than frustrating, spelled-out answers.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
More intolerable cruelty! I love VALANCE, CLEMENTINE, THE QUIET MAN, THEY WERE EXPENDABLE, the calvary trilogy, THE SEARCHERS, the silent HANGMAN'S HOUSE, THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT, THE LAST HURRAH. But if I had to pick one (and I guess I do), it's YOUNG MR. LINCOLN. I have waxed on my site that I believe Henry Fonda's performance as young, green lawyer Abe may be the finest American male acting ever, with elements of silent, visual humor and riveting drama, and it doesn't hurt that he's portraying the man who may be the single most important American of all time. The film has all of Ford's strengths (pictorial elegance, heartfelt conviction, nostalgic patriotism) and weaknesses (silly, cornpone humor and bad secondary acting), but it has this towering, laconic, deeply felt performance by Fonda, who just IS Lincoln from the moment he unwinds his long, gawky body out of a chair in his first scene. American moviemaking simply doesn't get much better than this.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Among actors, Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and Tom Hanks are all lionized, and I just don't see it. They're OK, but great? No. Who I'd like to see back on the pedestal? Clark Gable. An actor you don't hear much talk about anymore, and I think he mixed a star's virile luminosity with an actor's craft. Go watch his drunk scene in THE MISFITS. When he's on screen, the screen comes alive. Among directors, I'd like to see more love for Robert Aldrich. What a varied resume, a director who could do any kind of picture, and do it remarkably well. The Michael Curtiz of his era. KISS ME DEADLY. Mike Hammer. Vroom, vroom, vroom!
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck. For THE LADY EVE, MEET JOHN DOE, for the chain around her ankle and the icepack around her heart in DOUBLE INDEMNITY and for Capra's underrated art movie, THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN. Four better movies than Ida Lupino ever appeared in or directed, by the way. Really no comparison.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No. Even as camp, it's pretty rank. And as sex, it's antiseptic. And if you can't watch SHOWGIRLS for sex or camp, why are you watching it?
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Well, there was the time I took my college girlfriend to a drive-in triple feature of Russ Meyer movies, and...well, you know how that story goes. How about this one? ANNIE HALL, subtitled, at an outdoor Mediterranean theater in Monte Carlo in the early '80s. A beautiful summer night, and bugs the size of a Buick, as Woody would say. Oddly enough, the French and Italians didn't get all of Woody's jokes and I was practically alone laughing uproariously on the back aisle. The one time that the whole audience burst into laughter? When Woody made the joke, after having sex with Diane Keaton, "As Balzac said, there goes another novel." Balzac, they understood, I guess.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
I know I should say MCCABE. But I'll go with THE LONG GOODBYE. Because I love film noir, I love detective fiction, I love Southern California-based movies, and I love the way Altman deconstructed the genre. And for casting Jim Bouton, Henry Gibson, Nina Van Pallandt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Rydell and Sterling Hayden in one movie. For Altman testing our patence with that intro with Elliott Gould and the cat, and for the HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD ending, which I think is hilarious, not cynical. And Marlowe's hippie girl neighbors weren't bad, either. I love Altman.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. Interviewer: Are you a mod or a rocker? Ringo: I'm a mocker. Groucho couldn't have done it better.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
The "Cool Rider" sequence in GREASE 2 when I realized Michelle Pfeiffer was hot beyond belief, a major star in the making and that this movie was much better than the original. And had better songs. Oh, you think I'm joking, do you?
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Neither, really. But especially not Tilly. And Gershon always seems to be posing with that lip of hers.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. One of the best screwball comedies, and one that created the standard template for most that followed. Brilliant performances by Gable (see No. 7) and Claudette Colbert. The walls of Jericho, the hitchhiking scene. One of the rare times Oscar got it absolutely right.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Gene Kelly in SINGING IN THE RAIN. Or any of the scenes at Rick's in CASABLANCA.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark. But neither is a particular favorite. Blasphemy?
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Ah, the last LORD OF THE RINGS movie. It was about 90 minutes to go and I just couldn't wait for those morons to get a damn ring up a mountain. So, I walked out, walked into the beginning of SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
19) Favorite political movie
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. Deep Throat in the parking lot: "Just...follow the money."
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, again. Gable and Colbert clinching on a half moon, with that lovely blue background.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Please. The Dude, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing. By the way, this question isn't somehow implying that Bridges and Goldblum operate on the same level, is it? Because they don't. Jeff Bridges is one of the great American actors, Jeff Goldblum is a moderately entertaining character actor, when he's not being a totally annoying character actor. There is no comparison.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
ALTERED STATES. William Hurt and Blair Brown, hot and sweaty with strange animal vision sex; lots of talky, silly, entertaining Chayefksy blather; drug scenes that Oliver Stone could only dream of.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The trend of directors-as-stars, putting the name back above the title, which isn't a terribly original thought, but is still true. Coppola, Scorsese, Spielberg, Polanski, Bogdanovich, Ashby, all making movies that will ring down through the ages. I hope.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Kelly. For TO CATCH A THIEF, when she does the "breast or leg" routine with Cary Grant. And for REAR WINDOW, when she sweeps in and gives Jimmy Stewart a kiss to build many a man's dream on.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
THE FABULOUS BAKER MAN. Beau's character dies in the first reel, because we never cared about him anyway, and we finally find out: Did Jack and Susie really get back together, or did he just end up a self-pitying drunk and she a local morning-show personality?
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
A: Too bad we’re not open to live theatre, because I almost threw a fit during Cats on Broadway.
2) Favorite sidekick
A: Barney Fife.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
A: “My name is Pussy Galore.”
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
A: Holden was more versatile, Lancaster was more dynamic. A weird choice. Holden in either Sunset Boulevard or The Wild Bunch is probably better than any single Lancaster performance, but there’s The Sweet Smell of Success to consider, and The Swimmer is a fascinating misfire.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
A: The travelers proceeding over the hill in the mist of the clouds toward the end of La Vallée. Also, the horses of Andrei Rublev. And Mariangela Melato watching Giancarlo Giannini skin the rabbit in Swept Away.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
A: Perhaps not his best, but the rightwing vs. leftwing polemic of Liberty Valance is intriguing.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
A: If you pay me enough money and give me at least six months to write, I could go on about Stanley Kubrick.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
A: Ida in High Sierra was quite good. Stanwyck was a more polished actress. But Ida also had the weird breakdown in They Drive By Night (“The doors made me do it!!”) and directed some interesting b-pictures.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
A: After having seen it six or seven times, I’m unfortunately biased. Elizabeth Berkley is god!
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
A: In the basement of a crazy filmmaker. The place was lined knee-deep with tapes and reels of 16mm film. And his dehumidifier wasn’t working. And we both chain-smoked. And there was no ventilation. And we sat there for days staring at the screen.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
A: The interview he gave in A Decade Under the Influence; his audio commentary (shared with others) on the California Split DVD.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
A: Neil Young was still using super-8 silent film for Greendale. Now that’s devotion!
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more)
A: Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse dancing among the stage props in Silk Stockings could probably prevent suicides.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
A: Now there’s a fleshy pair. Ask me again later, I’m too distracted.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
A: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. If only real politicians would follow Claude Rains’s example.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
A: Shatner feeling up Angie Dickinson in Big Bad Mama.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
A: Deke Thornton or Tommy Udo? Man, you crazy!
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
A: I walked out fifteen minutes into the James Bond movie, Octopussy; I walked out an hour into The Age of Innocence. I walked out an hour and fifteen minutes into Tim Burton’s first Batman movie.
19) Favorite political movie
A: La Guerre est finie.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
A: You Only Live Twice style ‘A’ (the helicopters over the volcano).
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
A: Jeff Goldblum??? Now there’s nostalgia. If just for The Last American Hero, Fat City and Cutter’s Way, I’ll go with Jeff Bridges. I don’t think Goldblum’s done anything that comes remotely close to any of those.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
A: Dude!
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
A: The last truly great adult film made in America was Chinatown. I haven’t seen anything since that carries its breadth, wisdom, or beauty.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
You should put Ava up there with Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon. Are we talking actress or sex fantasy? If we look at Mogambo, it seems pretty obvious that the horny, doughy guy with the thinning hair (me) would undoubtedly gravitate toward Ava, who looks like she knows how to use any and all equipment. Grace was a bit of a panty-waist in that. Then again, Grace was beyond compare in To Catch a Thief. (“Do you want a breast or a leg?”) My goodness! I’m stumped!
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
A: Halle Berry in Catwoman 2. They go and make a super hero movie that I liked and everyone trashed it and, poof, the franchise is kaput. There is no justice in this world.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I was angry all the way through About Schmidt, but the last scene really pissed me off. I think I threw my empty soda cup at the screen as soon as the credits started.
2) Favorite sidekick
Peter Lorre in the series of films he did with Sydney Greenstreet. I guess he wasn't always the sidekick, but his small stature makes him seem like one.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
Prince John (Nigel Terry) in The Lion in Winter: "You stink! You're a stinker and you stink!"
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Burt by a landslide, because he was great as a young man as well as an old man, while Holden had to grow into his body. Those films (like Picnic) where he's the young turk are embarrassing.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The last scene in Stroszek. "We have a 10-80 out here, a truck on fire, we have a man on the lift. We are unable to find the switch to turn the lift off, can't stop the dancing chickens."
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Quiet Man, I think. It has John Wayne's best performance, and I think it's Ford's loosest film. I don't care for most of his westerns aside from The Searchers.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least-deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Otto Preminger, if indeed he has a good reputation. I think he does. Most of his movies were self-importantly stodgy, especially things like Anatomy of a Murder. I'd take, say, Phil Karlson over him any day. Most people don't know who Karlson was, of course, but his Scandal Sheet and The Phenix City Story show that he had twice the talent of Preminger.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Why must I choose? Stanwyck, for The Lady Eve, Baby Face, and Double Indemnity.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Emphatically not.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I run the projector at a revival house hidden inside a bank building, which is pretty unusual.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
The Player. It's the one I've seen the most often; it's one of my "comfort movies" to rewatch when I need to relax.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
I'll include rap in the category of rock and say Sean "P. Diddy" Combs in Monster's Ball, Mos Def in everything I've seen him in, Ice Cube in Boyz in the Hood and some of his action movies, Tupac Shakur in Gridlock'd, and Queen Latifah in most of her roles.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
The last, whirling shot in Don McKellar's Last Nigth right before the light overwhelms everything.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly for Bullets Over Broadway.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
It Happened One Night, the least philosophically muddled and least treacly film he ever made.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The heist scene in Jules Dassin's Rififi.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark: Pickup on South Street, No Way Out, Panic in the Streets, Night and the City, and of course Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I vowed long ago that I would never walk out of a movie, but I nearly broke it during Domino.
19) Favorite political movie
I have nothing to add here. All the President's Men.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I own it: it's a Russian poster for Buster Keaton's The General.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges, of course. The best actor of his generation. Take two roles: The Dude and the President. Yowza.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
The only Ken Russell movie I've seen is Tommy, which I hated.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The rivalry, if I can call it that, between Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel. Sure, De Niro got the acclaim, but there were so many times where, even though they weren't in the same movie, they seemed to be playing off each other, pushing each other to be better.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
This is a tough one. It's usually one performance that clinches it, and I'm going with Ava Gardner for The Killers.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I'll go with a recent one: Serenity. I'd dearly love to see more of that crew.
1. Star Wars - It's way over-rated, and most of the people who love it get offended when I explain that Lucas was remaking Kurosawa, even though Lucas admits as much.
2. Andy Devine, both for "Stagecoach" and the "Wild Bill Hickok" series.
3. Nicole Kidman's final word in "Eyes Wide Shut".
4. I like them both, but I'm going with Burt Lancaster. He was one of my favorite stars in the early Sixties with his films with John Frankenheimer.
5. Anna Karina and company dancing "The Madison" in "Band of Outsiders".
6. Just one? I guess it would be "The Searchers" with "My Darling Clementine" close behind.
7. Julia Roberts is over-rated as an actress. I prefer the occassionally snarky humor of Angelina Jolie, plus her gorgeous legs.
8. Babs is in a couple of films I love such as "40 Guns". But I also got to give props to Ida for being a director of some note when there were no other female directors in Hollywood.
9. No. Ultimately, it's not a very good film.
10. I watched part of a Japanese porno film in Tokyo.
11. "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"
12. Aside from acting, I can't think of a good reason.
13. "Best of Youth", six hours long - as the film continued, it got better and more absorbing.
14. I'm bound to Gina.
15. "Bitter Tea of General Yen" starring Barbara Stanwyck.
16. Marilyn Monroe swimming nude for George Cukor.
17. I like them both, but I'll go with Widmark. By the way, I should note that I have done blogs on Stanwyck, Lancaster and Widmark.
18. "Blood Fued" by Lina Wertmuller.
19. "The Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks" by Lev Kuleshov
20. "Bonjour Tristesse", poster by Saul Bass. I like his work for Preminger.
21. Jeff Bridges makes it look all so easy.
22. The Devils
23. The first generation debut or make their first important films. My studying film in NYC during those years.
24. Ava Gardner! I plan to write about her in a favorite film. Sounds like the Prof has "Mogambo" on his mind.
25. Jean-Pierre Leaud doing one more film as Antoine Doinel. With Claude Miller writing and directing in his best imitation Truffaut.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
MAGNOLIA enraged me, because I felt like I was being tortured with having to endure one scene after another of miserably unhappy, annoying people going through endlessly unresolved painful experiences—and there seemed to be no “flow” to the story, just episodes. I felt I was supposed to appreciate all the fine acting, and indeed the actors were all fine, but in service of a pointless, wretched exercise which yielded no enlightment for me of any kind. Oh yeah, and though I later came to appreciate the Aimee Mann songs, on the soundtrack they were loud, insistent, and inescapable, just compounding the agony of watching the film. And to really make me want to jump off a roof, the sickening ending, with the frogs dropping from the sky: I knew they were CGI, but to see all those creatures splatting to earth was, to me, repulsive and horrific; add to that poor William H. Macy’s physical traumas, and I walked out of the theater at the end unable to stop myself from exclaiming, “Thank GOD that thing is over!” Whew…I feel better.
2) Favorite sidekick
Father Karras’s sidekick, Father Dyer(Rev. William O’Malley), in THE EXORCIST. He’s almost as enjoyable as Lee J. Cobb’s Det. Kinderman.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
I’m glad you asked for “one of” my favorite lines; one I love is the last line of DAYS OF HEAVEN, when Linda Manz concludes her speech about the Brooke Adams character (and, unexpectedly but beautifully, the movie) with (I hope I have this right):
“I was hoping that things would work out for her. She was a good friend of mine.”
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Nothing against Lancaster, who’s awesome, but I am a big fan of Holden. I used to say he was my favorite actor, but then I saw PICNIC, in which he appeared to actually be drunk, and lost some respect for him. But in NETWORK he’s just unforgettable; ditto for SUNSET BOULEVARD. How about STALAG 17? Or BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI? He’s a real star, and a fine actor. Too bad that booze got ahold of him.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The scene near the end of THE SIXTH SENSE, where the kid tells his mom about how her deceased mother talked to him, and gave him a message for her, while they’re sitting in the car after an accident has occurred ahead of them. Toni Collette’s face reflects such a range of shifting emotions—both she and H.J. Osment give such beautiful performances—and for me the emotional impact is huge. It’s such a complex moment, and everything that came before in the movie adds to its impact and beauty. Urgh…I can’t do it justice in words, nor should I try, but for me it’s perfect.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
MY DARLING CLEMENTINE is pretty wonderful, as I remember, but it’s been a long time…this is too hard! STAGECOACH is just great, and a contender for the top spot, for me. THE SEARCHERS, of course…but I think I’ll have to say THE GRAPES OF WRATH.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Tarantino…knock him off the podium and replace him with David R. Ellis.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
I would like to see more of Ida’s stuff—I always liked her, especially in FOOD OF THE GODS, when she said, when asked why there were only giant mutant chickens on the farm, and no regular ones: “They got et by the bigger ones.” But I love Stanwyck, and she was a tremendously talented, smart actress. Yeah, BALL OF FIRE, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, etc., etc. Even THE BIG VALLEY was fun to watch because of her.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Believe it or not, I’ve never seen it! But it’s in my queue.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
When I worked a summer, at age 20, at a remote salmon cannery in Togiak, Alaska, there was no TV or radio, no phone (except a radio phone which you could pay to use if you took a skiff across the channel and waited in line), nothin’ except once a week they’d bring in a 16mm movie and show it in the mess hall. The movies we watched varied wildly in quality: from MCHALE’S NAVY JOINS THE AIR FORCE to COMING HOME to RYAN’S DAUGHTER (except someone had snipped out the sexy parts), but it was such a treat to see any movie in that desolate environment.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
I think I like GOSFORD PARK best lately—but if were to watch a bunch of them again, I’d probably find a new favorite.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
Well, I saw 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY with my older brother at the Hollywood theater in Portland when it was new, and I don’t think it seemed at all routine or merely interesting, but it did seem transcendent, and I remember, even though I was about 9 or 10 at the time, that I enjoyed trying to figure out what it was saying, and liking the ambiguity of it—presumably my dad had prepped me in some way not to expect clear information from the movie. But it was really trippy onscreen: the image took up virtually my whole field of vision, and it was overwhelming, especially the “groovy” light show, which now looks kind of silly.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
I think Gina’s lips are kind of freakish, but she’s still sexy; Jennifer Tilly used to seem like a space alien to me, but I like her more and more, especially since SEED OF CHUCKY, so I’ll pick Jennifer.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Sorry I can’t pick something less obvious, but I just love it too much not to pick it. And yes, as Mr. Chance said, Stewart’s performance is so multifaceted and memorable—but there are so many others. Donna Reed’s, for one. I appreciate her more each time I see it (and as I said in the Christmas quiz, I try not to watch it too often, but we did have a very enjoyable Christmas Eve viewing this year, up in that cabin in Bolinas).
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
I’m with those who’d choose to be on the CASABLANCA set, though maybe it would spoil some of the magic for me. So, if I’m to pick something else, how about if I could be there for the shooting of the scene in JAWS where Dreyfuss, Shaw and Scheider compare scars (well, two of them do anyway) and sing “Show Me the Way to Go Home.”
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
I’m coming to appreciate Ryan, not having seen many of his movies but recently having seen BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, thanks to you. I always thought Widmark was a strong presence, if a bit stiff, so at this moment I go with Ryan.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
ERASERHEAD, as you know, since you walked out with me—we were just too young, and couldn’t handle it. Of course we both came to appreciate it later!
19) Favorite political movie
ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN. Honorable mention to MASCULIN FEMININ.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I already own the one I’d most want, thanks to you: my one-sheet for THE EXORCIST, personally autographed to me by Linda Blair!
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
I know, I know, Bridges is such a great actor, blah blah…I’ve heard it for years, just the way I used to have to hear how great Michelle Pfeiffer is (though that’s died down over the years). I do think Bridges is damned good, and I like him, though he does a weird thing with his mouth which drives me crazy. I’m gonna pick Goldblum for his early stuff, when he was funny, charming, annoying and wonderful in a unique way. I think he lost it somewhere along the way, though, when he got all muscular and fancied himself a stud.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
That’s a tough one. TOMMY, probably, though I would like to see THE MUSIC LOVERS again. Jeez, I’m wishy-washy in this quiz. I finally read the book WOMEN IN LOVE, and it was great, so maybe I can brave that movie again…and listen to endless blah blah blah!
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
I’d have to choose the emergence of a whole bunch of actors: Gene Hackman, Ellen Burstyn, Robert Duvall, etc., etc., who were not necessarily glamour pusses, but who became stars and deserved to become them, because of their presence but also because of their abilities. Not that movie stars before them didn’t have abilities, but I think we saw a lot of really brilliant actors come to light in that period.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Here, I’m not wishy-washy: Grace Kelly is it.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
Ugh…I hate sequels. Maybe ANIMAL HOUSE, with all the surviving old geezers (including us) tottering around the campus, wreaking whatever geriatric havoc they’re still capable of.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I'm going on a limb and say Fantastic Four because I loved the comics so much and couldn't wait for the movie and then bam, evrything turned and it sucked so bad. I felt heart-broken everything was worng from the casting to the scenes and dialogue. All Wrong!!!
2) Favorite sidekick
Ke Huy Quan in Temple of Doom. Indiana Jones is such an unusual character, he can go through temples and tribes but if he's near a snakes he freezes. Such a special character like this doesn't need a huge bodyguard or a spy or the usual bafoon he needs some kid he picked up in Asia. And this kid did it so great.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"People can be very stupid"-The Squid and the Whale. This line describes the Berkman character so much who blames everyone if he fails or doesn't get any recognition. The best line for a chracter since my favorite quote "The stuff that dreams are made of" from Maltese Falcon but I'll get into that some other time.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
When a actor can turn a speech that said by anyone else whould be really stupid but because this actor is saying it anc can pull it off is to me movie magic.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck, just because of Double Indemnity.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Suprisingly, yes.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I once saw Top Gun on a toilet at a fancy building. Does that count?
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Nashville-Accept no substitues.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
They could make a killer light show.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
The Sixth Sense seemed going in the direction. A kid probably pssesed or cursed sees dead people, then it started showing these ghosts and I unserstood the "suprise" ending before I saw the film. I also guesed the ending of House of Games but only because there were a hundred wannabes.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Tilly hottest babe in movies next to Portman, Moore, and Rossum.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite film of all time so I'm going to stick to that but Smith and Take it With You are great too.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The death of John Coffey from the Green Mile.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Neither.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I never walked out of a film in a theatre but after 10 minute sinto Jaws 2 I just got so bored I popped in Animal House just to feel something.
19) Favorite political movie
Either Mr. Smith goes to Washington or Primary Colors. Smith is a great film not for it's politic but for it's honesty and Primary Colors is great becuase it takes politics and turns it into something more.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own.
What I wouldn't give for an original It's a Wonderful Life poster.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges just because Goldblum is a pure Hollywood actor. I only give it to Bridges cause of his steady and balanced career from LAst Picture Show to K-Pax and The Contender.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Tommy.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
I think films like Jaws or Dog Day Afternoon that started a trend of bank robbery and man-eating monster movies.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Hard, but Grace Kelly for her Hitchcock work.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I'm not interested in many sequels. In fact there are only 2 I actually want. Wayne's World 3 and another Tyler Perry movie hopefully next year I can see Madea again. Maybee...
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I’m thinking this may be a popular choice for this question, but this year’s Oscar winner for best picture, CRASH, made me cringe both during and after for a variety of reasons. The hypocrisy and incompetence inherent in the flawed screenplay should have been enough to keep this from being made, but its nearly unanimous reception both with audiences and (mainstream) critics is what truly irks me.
2) Favorite sidekick
Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) in John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, for he fools himself into thinking that he’s the real hero of the piece, when it’s really Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) and the rest of the characters that do all of the hard work. Russell doles out the perfect amount of braggadocio in a performance that seems to be a modeled after John Wayne at times.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
“I want my two dollars!” from BETTER OFF DEAD… with a sinister paperboy attempting to collect what’s owed for two weeks of newspapers.
I recently re-watched it after many years and found it to be an agreeable enough teen comedy. Apparently, John Cusack isn’t as fond of his two “Savage” Steve Holland films.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Truth be told, I’ve never been big on Lancaster, apart from some early noir work (Siodmak’s THE KILLERS) and his turn in SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (though my love of that film is mostly due to MacKendrick’s superb direction, Odets’ jazzy dialogue, and James Wong Howe’s stark photography). Holden easily has the edge because of two later pictures that I adore: THE WILD BUNCH and WILD ROVERS.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
Maybe seeing the next question conjured up the final moments of THE SEARCHERS, with Wayne framed in the doorway, referencing an old Harry Carey arm gesture, slowly turning around and leaving the homestead after having reunited Natalie Wood to her family. I can’t think of anything more perfect or profound in all of cinema.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
He’s one of my favorite filmmakers, so boiling it down to one is difficult, so I’ll simply say the last one I watched: THE WINGS OF EAGLES. I’m looking forward to the Warner Bros. – Ford love this year.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Sydney Pollack means more to me as an actor than a filmmaker, so that may tell you something. W.D. Richter could easily replace him on that pedestal; here’s a screenwriter who is undeservedly maligned and unfairly relegated to the sidelines (witness the last script he worked on: STEALTH). He’s worth more than this.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
I’m tempted to say Stanwyck, but I’m a big fan of Lupino’s directorial work. I’ll say Stanwyck, because she’s phenomenal with comedy -- a tough racket.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Sure, but with the provision that I would never be caught watching it alone.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Seeing DR. STRANGELOVE projected on a barn-door at summer camp many moons ago.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
THE LONG GOODBYE impresses me like no other Altman movie, but I haven’t seen it in a long, long time. Elliot Gould’s an unlikely Marlowe, but that’s Altman’s way of reconfiguring this archetype for his own purposes.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Mick Jagger’s mannered ‘performance’ of “Memo from Turner” in PERFORMANCE.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
Seeing John Cassavetes waving goodbye in the final minute of LOVE STREAMS -- his real last film, besides the disowned BIG TROUBLE -- affects me severely whenever I watch it and serves to work on a number of planes, but particularly as a farewell. I realize that this is anything but routine, but this is the best example of a transcendental moment that I can think of.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Why, Cristal Connors of course!
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE holds a special place for me, but on a different day, I would probably answer MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON or THE STRONG MAN, the Harry Langdon silent that marked his feature debut.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The “wink” at the end of FAMILY PLOT, especially because Hitchcock called everyone back after finishing the last shot that was to scripted. It was if Hitchcock wasn’t ready to say goodbye, and had to think on a dime to come up with something more meaningful to close the picture.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Robert Ryan for one performance: ON DANGEROUS GROUND
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Eddie Murphy and Jeff Goldblum in HOLY MAN, though to be honest, that was only because some other friends inspired the walk-out.
19) Favorite political movie
Philip Baker Hall as Nixon and his feature-length diatribe in Altman’s SECRET HONOR continues to astonish me.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I’ve long wanted to own a poster for THE SAVAGE SEVEN, but I’ll have to settle for the one biker one-sheet I own: Burt Topper’s THE DEVIL’S 8 and its rather embarrassing copy of ‘Fabian as Molester!”
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
I’m fond of both, but I’ll vote for Goldblum, considering he’s not getting any love. My favorite performance of his is in Cronenberg’s THE FLY, of course.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
THE MUSIC LOVERS, with Richard Chamberlain as Tchaikovsky, and Glenda Jackson. It’s been some time since I’ve seen any of Russell’s films, but images from this one remain potent in my mind, particularly Chamberlain’s shock realization that he’s had a glass of poisoned water during an otherwise mundane discussion between two friends.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Taking it all into consideration, the high point for me would be the co-existing of New Hollywood (Scorsese, Bogdanovich, Friedkin, Coppola, De Palma) and Old (Hitchcock, Aldrich, Siegel, Cukor), with all of the resulting masterpieces.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
While Ava’s a great beauty, I’d easily choose Grace Kelly, especially for her work with Hitchcock and MOGAMBO.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
A proposed sequel to BUCKAROO BANZAI was announced in a cocky manner at the end of ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENISION, but the disastrous box office prevented it from ever advancing to production. The second installment was re-worked for BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, but I’d still care to see a true sequel with as many of the original cast members as possible.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
- CRASH made me want to hurl objects at the screen, but the one that made me angriest overall has to be Marleen Gorris' A QUESTION OF SILENCE. Here's a scene that pretty much sums up the movie- after three female strangers kill an unsuspecting male department store clerk (because he caught one shoplifting, no less), the other women in the store look on, solidarity in their eyes. I'm no anti-feminist, but jeezus.
2) Favorite sidekick
- Gary Farmer as Nobody, DEAD MAN. Of course, one could just as easily say that it was Blake who was Nobody's sidekick. Either way, Nobody is so awesome.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
- Only one? Hm... maybe something from THE BIG LEBOWSKI: "Let me tell you something, pendejo. You try any of your crazy sh*t with us, flash a piece out on the lanes, I'll take it away from you and stick it up your ass and pull the f*cking trigger 'til it goes... click." Although it's hard to choose, even from that movie.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
- Holden was great, but Burt has the edge for me due to his infectious joy of performance, especially as he grew into comfortable middle age.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
- DO THE RIGHT THING. Sal has just smashed Radio Raheem's boom box. In a movie full of music and dialogue, the loaded silence is almost deafening. And then Sal speaks. "I just broke your f*ckin' radio. What are you gonna do about it?" Uh-oh...
6) Favorite John Ford movie
- Sorry for being so conventional, but STAGECOACH is the one I've enjoyed most over the years.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
- Cameron Crowe has amassed a loyal following with his overwritten dialogue, a knack for choosing just the right 70s-rock hit to do the heavy emotional lifting for him, and an overwhelming "up-with-people" message in his work (SAY ANYTHING... is still his best work, if only because he allows a character to become morally compromised without necessarily being a bad guy). In lieu of Crowe's smiley-face stylings, I'd submit Elaine May, one of the great American misanthropes of the cinema. MIKEY AND NICKY seems justification enough, as it's one of the most nihilistic portraits of friendship and loyalty ever put on the screen.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
- Seems unfair to me to factor in Lupino's directorial work when Stanwyck stayed in front of the camera. But then that was where she belonged- not quite the looker many of her contemporaries were, but it hardly mattered, since this was a woman with brass and (dare I say?) balls. And heaven knows she could turn on the sex appeal- the seduction scene in LADY EVE, anyone? So I guess I'd have to say Stanwyck.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
- Sure, why not?
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
- Don't know if I'd call it exotic, but I did get to see THE THIRD MAN in Vienna at a theatre not far from the Prater's famed Ferris wheel.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
- NASHVILLE. Although there are so many great to choose from.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
- How about Bowie in THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH? Not so much stunt casting as a perfect match between performer and character.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
- SEVEN, when John Doe calmly walks into the police station. That isn't supposed to happen, right? For me, the moment when a damn fine police procedural became a classic of its time.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
- I enjoy Tilly's endless lampooning of her image, but as far as sex appeal goes I'd give the edge to Gina. So I'd have to call it a tie.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
- IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. One of my favorite screwballs, and a great entertainment overall. Nice to see that the Oscars don't always get it wrong.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
- How to answer a question like this? I wouldn't want to watch some amazing camera setup or a great visual moment, since I prefer to believe in cinematic magic. So what are my alternatives? I propose three: (A) watching a perfect comedic scene unfold, such as the first Pontius Pilate scene in MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN; (B) observing inspired insanity, like the Brando scenes in APOCALYPSE NOW or Jon Voight's curtain call in ANACONDA; or (c) bearing witness to something that has been lost forever, for example any of the now-missing scenes in THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
- PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET notwithstanding, Widmark has never done much for me. So Ryan it is. His performance in THE WILD BUNCH kicks my ass every time.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
- CREMASTER 3. It's not that I didn't get it. I just didn't want it. I don't ask for movies to work overtime to engage me, but when I feel like the director wouldn't care if his work played on a screen in front of an audience of zero, well, I can't help but want to make this dream a reality.
19) Favorite political movie
- Does WEEK END count?
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
- I love the design of the CENTER OF THE WORLD one-sheet.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
- Goldblum has his moments (ANNIE HALL, THE FLY, THE LIFE AQUATIC), but pound for pound Bridges is as talented as anybody in Hollywood, and more versatile to boot.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
- I haven't seen a lot of his classics (notably THE DEVILS), so of the ones I've seen I'd have to go with WOMEN IN LOVE. Though admittedly I'm the wrong one to ask.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
- For all the great filmmakers to come from the period, I'd have to say that the emergence of Robert Altman really changed the cinematic landscape of the era. In contrast to tidy, mannered Hollywood films, Altman brought a sprawling feel to the table, finding room for observe real human behavior for a change.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
- Grace was elegant and sophisticated- perfect qualities for a star of her day- but Ava's more earthy appeal feels more timeless to me, and sexier too.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
- Since someone already mentioned BUCKAROO BANZAI, I submit another once-promised but never-made sequel: "The Tropical Adventures of Odile and Franz," a globetrotting follow-up to BAND OF OUTSIDERS. I can't even imagine how it might turn out.
1. The Mirror Has Two Faces.
2. Hmmm...That's a toughie. Does James Gregory in The Manchurian Candidate count?
3. "It's just like riding a bicycle -- it's just a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes."
4. That's a toughie. Holden by a nose.
5. A despondent Mia Farrow finding hope again watching Fred and Ginger at the end of The Purple Rose of Cairo.
6. The Searchers
7. Jean-Luc Godard. I'm not sure who my replacement would be though because most of the ones who should be revered have been revered.
8. Barbara Stanwyck -- not even close.
9.No.
10. On a cruise ship/ferry sailing from the Netherlands to England.
11. Nashville.
12. Courtney Love in the People vs. Larry Flynt I suppose.
13. When Dil's drawers are dropped in The Crying Game.
14. Jennifer Tilly, I guess, but only for her skill at Texas Hold Em.
15. It's a Wondeful Life.
16. The Copacabana scene in GoodFellas
17. Close, but I think I have to go Robert Ryan.
18. Brian DePalma's "Snake Eyes"
19. So many include politics but aren't exclusively political, that I guess I'll cop out and go with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
20. Sunset Boulevard.
21. Jeff Bridges.
22. Ugh -- do I have to pick one? Crimes of Passion, only for Kathleen Turner.
23. 1975 -- Nashville, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, Cuckoo's Nest and Rocky Horror to boot.
24. Ava Gardner.
25. I admit that when Altman once proposed a follow-up to Nashville, I was intrigued, but that's the only one that springs to mind.
I think I overthought a number of these answers; perhaps I'd have been better off with a strict deadline to adhere to.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Most recently the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which was packed with mind-numbingly bad directorial choices, hasty-looking cgi and a depressingly patriarchial outlook. I was as angry at myself for letting the film taint my memories of reading the book decades ago as I was at the filmmakers.
2) Favorite sidekick
Dirk from Rushmore must be one of the all-time greatest
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are." - Repo Man
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Having seen only the iceberg-tips of their bodies of work, I gotta go with Burt.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
People (including me) throw around the word "perfect" a lot when describing films, but I'm not sure I really believe in perfection when it comes down to it, and I don't think I want to. Somehow it implies not only that the film, scene or moment couldn't have been effective if a single thing had been done differently, but also that experiencing and understanding it differently upon different viewings is impossible or pointless, and I really don't think that's true. That said, I think Kubrick aimed for some kind of perfection in his movies, and in many scenes of 2001: a Space Odyssey (the waltzing spacecraft comes to mind first) he achieved it.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
On most days it's Fort Apache and on the others it's the Searchers.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Almost impossible for me to come up with an answer as I'm hesitant to pick someone who's made films I haven't seen and therefore can't judge, and I'm hesitant to watch films by filmmakers whose work I don't respond to. I'm also hesitant to pick on currently-working filmmakers with only a few films to their credit because it seems like a form of playa-hating.
But pressed for some sort of answer, I'll submit a cartoon character. Actually a pair of 'em, that rarely found themselves starring in anything more than an average film. I'm speaking of Tom and Jerry, who for some reason were the flagship characters for MGM's animation studio pretty much from their first appearance in 1940, and have coasted on that rep ever since even though the formula got stale pretty quickly.
As a replacement submission, Droopy Dog comes to mind; he doesn't have a DVD set yet while T&J are very well represented. But Tex Avery wasn't at MGM in 1940 yet to create him, so for the 1940-1942 period how about Hugh Harman's 1940 cartoon cowboy character called the Lonesome Stranger? I'm not sure he could ever have sustained the appeal of the cat and mouse team, but I sure wish he'd starred in more than the one eponymous film he's in, which is absolutely sidesplitting.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
It's a case of exposure; I've loved Stanwyck in numerous films from Night Nurse to Forty Guns, and she's as big a draw for me as any golden age actress. Lupino on the other hand is a treasure I've barely begun to discover; I've only seen her act in one film (though its a real doozy: On Dangerous Ground) and I've yet to see any she's directed. She was also great in the "Twilight Zone" episode the Michell Leisen directed. For now, Stanwyck.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
yes indeed.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
After taking an 8-hour ride on the back of a Pickup Truck from the Thai border to Siem Riep, Cambodia, the pack of Lonely Planeteers I'd shared the journey with was plopped down in fron of a television at the guesthouse we were to sleep at during our visit to Angkor Wat, to watch a copy of what else but Joffe's the Killing Fields. I'd seen it before but of course it had a much greater impact on me in this context. A good reminder to tourists looking for spirituality and beauty that politics trumps all that in a broken country.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Cruel question, and therefore no simple answer. I'd say Three Women except that I've only seen it a single time, several years ago. California Split is my favorite one newly seen this year. But the one I can watch again and again and love more each time is the Company.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
George Harrison's Handmade Films production company
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
I don't know if this is really the kind of answer you're looking for, but just the other night I finally watched (on your recommendation more than any other's) Birth. SPOILERS: the second bathtub scene kindof amazed me. It's not that the film seemed "routine or merely interesting" before this, as Jonathan Glazer, with major assists from Harris Savides and Alexander Desplat, had weaved some kind of magical scenario far removed from either the kind of ultrahip reality or thrill-based fantasy dominant in most films made today. In this moment, the "spell", as the film calls it, is broken for Anna and the audience, but though I started to feel a sense of disappointment I also realized the parallels between what Kidman's character experienced and what we moviegoers experience when we believe in the fantasy world of a film for a couple hours. The way she and Cameron Bright play this scene is perfect (see question 5) and it's the most recent example I've had of feeling like I've undergone a great revelation (one that I'm noticing I'm falling short of being able to describe) while watching a film.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
You sure I really can't have both? Professor Van Helsing, you are a cruel burster of other people's bubbles. Forced to choose at the point of a sharp impliment of pain, Gershon has the slim edge.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
I think War Comes to America, the seventh film in the Why We Fight series, is probably my favorite straightforwardly patriotic film ever.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The opening shot of Aguirre: Wrath of God comes to mind.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
This is a real, real tough question. It's hard as hell for me to vote against the man who was so perfect in some of my favorite films of the era, like the Naked Spur and Day of the Outlaw and the aforementioned On Dangerous Ground. But Widmark was an incredible presence whether in a mini-masterpiece like Night and the City or an average programmer like the Law and Jake Wade, so I'm picking him. This time.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Very, very few. Perhaps this is finally the time to discuss my C.S.A.- the Confederate States of America experience. I brought a friend to see it a few weeks ago on a free pass and though the film seemed like it might have a really fascinating take on the current state of race relations and prejudices in this country, I'm not sure if it was wise to start with a quote from Shaw: "If you are going to tell people the truth, you’d better make them laugh. Otherwise they’ll kill you.” Whether it was this quote, the fake-documentary genre (which, Blair Witch aside, is mostly associated with comedy) the film inhabits, or simply people's discomfort with the material, but certain audience members felt they were given permission to laugh at what to me and my friend seemed like the most inappropriate places; for example there's footage of an altenate-universe D.W. Griffith film the Hunt For Dishonest Abe which features the former President hiding in blackface, and it's about as funny to me as the Birth of a Nation's scenes of Reconstruction-era legislators putting their bare feet up on their desks and getting drunk while in session. That is, not at all, even if Griffith was going for humor in the first place. In other words, the makers of C.S.A. got the satire exactly right, but when the people in the row behind us were laughing at it as if it was straight slapstick comedy it made me feel very uncomfortable. Trust me, nobody laughed during the museum screening of Birth of a Nation I attended a year or so ago. My friend (who also rarely walks out of films) and I just had to leave. I'd like to engage the film again sometime in the privacy of my own home; interesting that it's part of IFC's First Take series of films simultaneously available in theatres and on VOD. As much as a cinema cheerleader I as I am, based on my experience I'd recommend the latter method for seeing this particular movie.
19) Favorite political movie
Videodrome
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you'd most like to own
There were a number of really good ones made for the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari that I wouldn't mind hanging somewhere in my home.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Goldblum by a Fly-speck margin.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
so far, Lair of the White Worm. But there's lots I've yet to catch.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age's high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The trend of American filmmakers unabashedly looking to the formal experimenters inf Europe (and to a lesser extent Japan) for stylistic and aesthetic cues (not just for story ideas and borrowed talent as had been the main thrust of foreign influence before this period, I'd argue.)
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Haven't seen them head-to-head in Mogambo yet but Kelly's work for Hitchcock makes her pretty hard to touch.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you'd actually be interested in seeing?
I'd love to see another Babe movie, but since that would technically be a three-quel I'll provide an alternate answer: Pootie Tang II.
i'm new to this blog, so bear w/ me...
1. The Matrix. i remember seeing it opening night and thinking it was so obviously vapid that it'd be quickly forgotten, only to be horrified that people loved it so much. watched it again and hated it even more
2. Felix Bressart
3. "What is the guy so upset about? You'd think nobody was ever compared to Mussolini before." (Crimes and Misdemeanors
4. Holden
5. That tiny hint of sympathy in Bill Murray's eyes in Rushmore when he meets Max's father.
6. The Searchers
7. if Joel Schumacher's got any credibility left, then it would be him. Terrance Mallick really needs Schumacher's name recognition.
8. Stanwyck
9. No
10. i saw Startup.com in a theatre that was a converted Elk's Lodge, complete with the antlers on the wall
11. M*A*S*H*
12. Jeff Tweedy's score for Chelsea Walls
13. when we discover Pacino's gay in Dog Day Afternoon
14. Gershon
15. it wouldn't have been my answer a year ago, but i saw It's a Wonderful Life all the way through w/o commercials for the first time in years this Christmas and was shocked at how good it was.
16. the airport scene in Casablanca
17. Widmark
18. i was working in a movie theatre when Corky Romano came out and had to watch the print to check for errors. when the opening credits gave away the identity of the undercover cop, i put it on a short leash. 20 minutes later i decided I'd rather clean the projection booth.
19. All the President's Men
20. The Graduate
21. Goldblum, because he's saved the world from aliens
22. huh, I haven't seen any of them. another addition to the Netflix queue.
23. it seems obvious, but when Scorsese made Mean Streets in 73, and really introduced not only himself, but DeNiro and Keitel, that was pretty close to a peak.
24. Kelly
25. I got my wish w/ Before Sunset and Saraband.
What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
“JFK.” I kept thinking, “How is Oliver Stone going to manage to film naked women’s bodies-- specifically framed so that they are cut off at the neck-- in THIS picture?” Well, the misogynist motherfucker managed to do it in the strip club scene, didn’t he? I should have given him more credit…
Favorite sidekick
Morgan Freeman is just the best, and he deserves first billing immediately if not sooner, BUT… in light of his recent passing (and my niece’s discovery of “The Andy Griffith Show” on Nick at Nite), I have to admit to a soft spot for Don Knotts’s genius.
One of your favorite movie lines
…in an otherwise pointless movie: “They FUCK you at the drive-thru!” (Joe Pesci in “Lethal Weapon 2”)
William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Ooh, that’s tough… and so were they, both of them. I’m initially inclined to say William Holden, but then I remember “Elmer Gantry” and have to give it to Lancaster. Plus, was there ever a more mesmerizing torso than he revealed in “The Crimson Pirate”?
Describe a perfect moment in a movie
In “Prelude to a Kiss” when Alec Baldwin realizes that Meg-Ryan-as-old-guy read her diary. The way emotion washes across his face is just amazing.
Favorite John Ford movie
Hardest question EVER. Probably “My Darling Clementine,” but I admit I love “Mister Roberts,” too.
The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Oliver Stone (writer/director), John Williams (composer), and “Last Tango in Paris” (film)… replaced with Andrew Bergman (writer), Jeff Daniels (actor), Robert Zemeckis (director)… remember “Used Cars”? Forget “Forrest Gump,” rewatch “Roger Rabbit,” my choice for best non-Pixar Disney animated pic ever (okay, maybe tied with “Pinocchio”). And when are we going to see more good stuff from Richard LaGravenese? Talk about spinning gold from shit-flecked straw-- he took that no-account book “Bridges of Madison County” and made a beautiful script from it. His “Walter Mitty” remake has been rumored for years, and I understand there’s a Tobey Maguire movie lurking as well, but COME ON ALREADY, DUDE!
P.S. Where the hell is W.D. Richter lately? Are Sharon and I the only ones in the world who loved "Late for Dinner" (which he directed, as well as "Buckaroo Banzai")? His writing credits are equally stellar-yet-quirky: the "Body Snatchers" remake, "Big Trouble in Little China," the BRILLIANT "Slither," etc.
Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
As an actress, Barbara Stanwyck. This last holiday season I saw “Christmas in Connecticut” for the first time and was reminded all over again how she could do ANYTHING.
IMPORTANT P.S. Ida Lupino deserves SERIOUS props for her role as a pioneering producer, female division. Let us not take this lightly.
FRIVOLOUS P.S. I HIGHLY value my original movie poster from the film “Jennifer,” starring then husband-and-wife Howard Duff and Ida Lupino; it’s got gloriously cheesy colors, poor visual perspective, etc., everything you could want from a ’40s/’50s poster, PLUS the immortal tag line, in lurid script: “Did Jennifer fear his fingers at her throat… Or the burning caress of his lips?”
A question I ask myself every day.
Showgirls-- yes or no?
No, thank you. I can intellectually understand Dennis’ and others’ defense of it, but I think it really just boils down to it being a guy thing.
Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Hmm, my first two thoughts in response to this question were: I once watched an episode of “Rocky & Bullwinkle” dubbed in Italian on the TV in a hotel room in Rome; AND… I once had sex on the golf course on Catalina Island after snoring through the middle third of “Gandhi,” viewed at the Avalon Theatre on self-same Catalina Island. Not sure that qualifies, but it’s a story I don’t get to tell NEARLY enough as I get older…
Favorite Robert Altman movie
“The Player,” for many, many reasons, not the least of which is that I was working in “The Industry” at that time (in a below-the-radar-position, mind you), and I LOVED that every big macher I knew thought the movie was about someone else. One day I was talking with some officemates about how subversive I thought it was, and of my fellow liberal colleagues disagreed furiously, saying that there was nothing subversive about it-- you’ve got your protagonist getting the job, the girl, all the goodies! I gently suggested that there was nothing more subversive to the Hollywood norm than a MURDERER not only getting away with it, but getting the girl.
As a side note, I took my mom to see it, and, about 15 minutes in, she leaned over to me and asked, “This is meant to be broad satire, right?” I patted her hand, shook my head sadly, and passed her the popcorn. Later I reminded her of the producer who came in to ABC Motion Pictures pitching the all-white version of “The Wiz.”
As the brilliant Jane Wagner wrote, “No matter how cynical you get, you can’t keep up.”
I’ve got two other Robert Altman stories to tell (one an actual personal encounter), but I’m saving them for Dennis’ (inevitable) NEXT Altman quiz question…
Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Debbie Harry and Sonny Bono in “Hairspray.” Also Ric Ocasek, now that I think about it…
Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
This is going to sound flippant, but in “The Ref,” after Judy Davis describes to a marriage counselor a dream she had in which her husband’s penis is served to her on a platter at a restaurant, the shrink (B.D. Wong) asks the husband (Kevin Spacey) what he thinks about the dream; Spacey answers “I think she should stop telling it to our friends at dinner parties.” I instantly sat forward in my seat and thought “Now THAT’S a line I wish I’d written.” It’s far from a perfect movie, but in that instant I knew we were going to some unexpected places with it.
Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly. She’s a poker champ.
Favorite Frank Capra movie
I’m not a fan of his “Goes to Town/Washington” ham-handedness, but I really love “It Happened One Night.” Tho’ the first half of “It’s a Wonderful Life” is surprisingly tough-minded, considering its treacly reputation. Donna Reed’s pretty underrated, I think.
The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Just about any scene in any Marx Brothers movie, with the obvious choice being the stateroom scene in “A Night at the Opera.” Or maybe the mirror bit in “Duck Soup.” Or anything with Harpo pulling absurd items out of his coat…
Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Salo.” While I’m a fan and proponent of most things extreme, this film taught me that even I have a limit.
Favorite political movie
“Children of the Revolution.” Geoffrey Rush was SO good. It starts to take itself FAR too seriously in the last ½ hour, but up until then it’s a wonderful black comedy.
Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I own a couple I like very much, and I’m sure as soon as I submit this I’ll think of THE one I most covet…
Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges, NO CONTEST! Although I do admire Goldblum, there is just no touching Bridges; I think he may very well be our best living American actor… and Pauline Kael thought so, too. So there.
Favorite Ken Russell movie
While Ken Russell annoys the living shit out of me, I have to admit that I quite admired “Crimes of Passion” and truly LOVED “The Boy Friend.” I found it online last year and bought it for my dance-loving niece for her birthday.
Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Without a doubt, “Klute” 1971. It and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” are not as revered as some of the more testosterone-fueled “high points” of that golden age, but “Klute” came first and really cracked it all open. I could do about five pages on this subject, but I won’t. I’ve been windbaggy enough in this survey as it is… and isn’t that really Dennis’ job?
Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly for “Rear Window” and “High Society,” but I mean no disrespect to the faboulous-in-every-way Ava Gardner.
With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
Personally? I greatly regret we never got to see the continuation of the saga of “Buckaroo Banzai.”
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward? "American History X". I couldn't watch much of it, because its effect on me was pretty intense. But I was thinking about it just the other day.
2) Favorite sidekick? Peter Sarsgaard in "Garden State".
3) One of your favorite movie lines? Oh, Lord! It's more of a monologue. It's the speech Rosie O'Donnell's character makes to Tommy (Matt Dillon) and Willy (Tim Hutton) about how God gave "the fatties big beautiful tits and the skinnies little tiny niddlers. God's a fair guy, he doesn't fuck around." Cracks me up EVERY time.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster? Oooh. Burt Lancaster, based solely (for me) on his role as Moonlight Graham in "Field of Dreams".
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie. It's that moment that you instinctively know you're connected to every person in that theater, that you're sharing an event with them, and that all of you will leave that room different than you were when you walked in. Doesn't happen often, but when it does: magic.
6) Favorite John Ford movie? I've never seen a John Ford movie (gasp!) but just looking over his filmography, I'd have to say "Sex Hygiene" (1942) would have to be pretty damn entertaining 64 years later.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal? I really don't know directors well enough to weigh in with any sense of reverence at all. And I'm not coming up with anything irreverent enough to be worth anyone's time. ;)
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino? Stanwyck.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no? I've never seen it, although based on your recent reassessment of it, BigD, I'd probably give it a chance.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie? I pretty much see movies in theaters or at home. It's sort of the missionary position of movie viewing, I suppose.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie? Probably M*A*S*H. There's a lot of Altman movies I've been MEANING to see, but not many that I actually HAVE seen. Sadly.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies? I have to think that a rock star could have directed a better version of "Rent" than Chris Columbus did. Hell, I'D have directed a better version of "Rent" than Chris Columbus did.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)? I think the moment when Samuel dies in "Legends of the Fall". I had gone in expecting a Pittapalooza (and got that, certainly) but I wasn't expecting the depth that movie had. It remains one of my favorites, even after I had moved on my from Pitt-loving days.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly? Jennifer Tilly, all the way!
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie? "It's a Wonderful Life". I'm so crushing on Jimmy Stewart...
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed? None, really. For me the attraction of a movie scene is in the finished product--I really don't care to see movies being filmed.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished? "Smurfs and the Magic Flute" comes to mind. Plenty of movies in jr. high and high school,but we didn't leave because we'd spent hard-earned money on the ticket or *ahem* we weren't there to watch the movie anyway.
19) Favorite political movie? There's something sweetly wonderful about "Dave". I get sucked into that movie everytime it's on cable.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own? I don't know. Some of them are so beautiful it's hard to choose just one. Others aren't especially beautiful, but the movie meant something to me. So it's a tough call.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum? Jeff Goldblum. Add him to the list of "Jewish Men I Find Inexplicably Attractive".
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie? I've never seen a Ken Russell movie.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)Um, I didn't exist until 1975 and I'm not enough of a film buff to have explored this era in cinema on my own, so can I please be excused from this question?
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner? TOUGH call. But I think Grace.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing? I don't know. There's something so perfect about a well-told, well-acted, stand alone story, you know?
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward? Magnolia. Despite the terrific cast, those stupid frogs were the final nail in the coffin.
2) Favorite sidekick Don Cheadle as Mouse in Devil in a Blue Dress.
3) One of your favorite movie lines “I don’t know. I’m making it up as I go.” Indiana Jones from Raiders of the Lost Ark
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster? Bill, please. Stalag 17 is one of my all-time favorite movies. Plus, it always seemed to me that Burt was ‘acting.’
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie In deference to those who have not seen it yet, I’ll be discrete -- At the end of Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner finally figures out what’s been going on. Just sublime.
6) Favorite John Ford movie It has to be The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal? Peter Jackson. Okay, now that you’ve stopped screaming, please allow me to explain. His films have truly set the standard for technical achievement. They are unmatched in the look and the use of special effects. Where they fall short for me is in heart. I have yet to find myself emotionally connecting to any of his films.
Who would I replace him with? Well, prior to this last Oscar season, I’d probably have said David Strathairn. I’ve been a big fan since The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. It’s nice to see that he’s finally getting some acknowledgement.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino? Barbara. I’m just more familiar with her work.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no? Don’t know, but in honor of this quiz, I’ve added it to my Netflix queque.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie Beautiful downtown Tokyo. I saw Man of La Mancha with my high school class.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie Gosford Park.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies For lack of a better answer -- Gavin Rossdale. I don’t know anything about his music, but he was one of the only good things about Constantine.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more) See #5 above
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly? Gina. Sorry, J.T., but that voice!
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie It seems that the only one that I’ve seen is It Happened One Night. So I pick that one!
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed Well, the actors in Ocean’s Eleven all seemed to be having a good time so I’d bet any scene would be great to see. But I think I’d either pick the scene where George(!) and Brad lay out the plan or the scene at the end next to the Bellagio fountain. Everyone was there in both scenes.
Oh, who am I kidding? There’s no way to top George Clooney naked in the bathtub in Out of Sight.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark? Widmark, ‘cause I’m more familiar with him.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished Count Yorga, Vampire. I didn’t even make it past the opening credits!
19) Favorite political movie The American President (thank you, Aaron Sorkin!!). Plus, Dave holds a special place in my heart too.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own. The original poster from the original Star Wars.,
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum? Jeff G. And not JUST because my friend Carol is convinced that he’s quite well endowed. She claims to have no first-hand knowledge, but I’m not so sure.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie Sorry, haven’t seen any.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever) I don’t feel that I have a substantive grasp of the era in moviemaking to offer anything of value here.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner? Grace.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing? Once again, I can’t think of an answer. Should something occur to me, I’ll amend my list later.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Identity. Ifrickindentity. Worst. Ending. EVER. I couldn't do much more than curse for about ten minutes after seeing it, and I still refuse to trust the opinion of anyone who says they like it.
2) Favorite sidekick
Choda Boy from Orgazmo. Indefatiguable, brilliant, horny as hell and the introducer of Parker & Stone's best non sequitor gag ever. What's not to love?
3) One of your favorite movie lines
It's tough to beat Russ Meyer for great pulpy dialogue, and there are few lines that occupy a place in my heart like Z-Man's immortal line near the end of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls: "You will drink the black sperm of my vengeance!"
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Tough call -- I don't think I've seen enough Lancaster to honestly pick him over Holden. Yeah, he was in Sweet Smell of Success... but Holden was in Sunset Blvd. AND The Wild Bunch. I'll give it to Holden for now.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
So many to choose from! I'll cite two: The flood in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Mimi Rogers's final choice in The Rapture.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Only one I've seen thus far is The Searchers, which I didn't like. (I know, I know...) Ask me a couple years from now.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Danny Boyle somehow has this reputation as the great white hope of daring British filmmaking, which baffles me, as the man has yet to demonstrate that he can make a tonally consistent movie. I don't know if this is a suitable replacement, but Antonia Bird's next film is also written by Irving Welsh, and her Ravenous is one of the great ignored films of the '90s.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
I bloody LOVE Barbara Stanwyck. She's the tits.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Dunno yet -- just picked it up used the other day.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I watched a Spanish-dubbed Starship Troopers in a Mexican hotel room. There were no subtitles, and there was also no nudity -- it had been cut out by the network's S&P division. The hyperbolically gory violence, to my amusement, had been left untouched.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
McCabe & Mrs. Miller in a walk.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Alan Price creating the soundtrack to O Lucky Man! on camera as part of the film.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
In Krzysztof Kieslowski's Camera Buff, there's a scene where the film-drunk protagonist gets into an argument with his wife over his incessant use of the camera (she thinks it's unhealthy). AS she storms off, he petulantly thrusts his fingers up and frames her as though setting up a shot. That moment right there sends the film spiraling into amazing directions.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Tilly's got the large breasts going for her. She's also, as someone else pointed out, a great poker player. But she and Gershon essentially play variations on one character every time they go out, and I think I like the character Gershon plays a bit better. Also, Gershon isn't currently on a shitty sitcom, so there's that.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
I will, like so many before me, cite It Happened One Night. God, that movie's so irresistible.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The lawnmower scene from Dead Alive must have been a sight.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Richard Widmark is one of my favorite character actors. He's impressed me in everything I've seen him in thus far.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I've walked out of one-and-a-half movies in my life. I left the Sri Lankan feature Mansion by the Lake with twenty minutes left in it, and I also walked out of Scary Movie 2. The latter, though, I had to walk back in after a ten-minute respite -- I didn't have a ride home. Most recently, I was really tempted to walk out of Sangre at New Directors/New Films. And I would have walked out of George Bataille's Story of the Eye if Primer had started fifteen minutes later than it did.
19) Favorite political movie
Who was it that said Videodrome? That's awesome, and so the correct answer.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I'm not really a poster collector -- nowhere to hang 'em. I do have an old Apocalypse Now one-sheet that I'm fond of.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges -- Goldblum's gotten too mannered.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Anything that's not fuckin' Tommy.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The gradual darkening of the horror landscape that started with Night of the Living Dead, mushroomed with Last House on the Left and reached its full flowering with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the meat movie in full. Sure, it was a great time for American cinema, but the '70s were also an unparalleled time to be a fan of exploitation cinema. Rob Zombie notwithstanding, I doubt we'll ever see an age like that again.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Well, I just bought The Killers on DVD. Hi Ava!
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I'd like to see the continuing adventures of Anthony Wong's character in Ebola Syndrome. That'd be hilarious.
Sharon, re: sidekicks-- I can't believe I forgot Don Cheadle in "Devil in a Blue Dress." That performance is on my list of biggest Oscar robberies EVER!
And Clooney nakers in the tub in "Out of Sight"? Again, I'm such a forgetful fool to have chosen something as frivolous as a Marx Brothers scene when a naked CLOONEY was on the table, as it were. Silly, silly me...
Steve, thank you for reminding me of "O Lucky Man"! It's one of my favorite movies of all time, and it's been FAR too long since I've seen it or listened to the wonderful Alan Price soundtrack-- one of the essentials of my high-school years (I was very deep when I was young)...
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I remember being in a rage after seeing Sophie's Choice. I wanted to kill those who would force anyone to make such a choice. I hated mankind.
2) Favorite sidekick
I'm thinkin' I gotta go with R2D2 although there are so many other great ones to choose from.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"I'm hard to get, Steve. All you have to do is ask me." -- Slim (Lauren Bacall) in To Have and Have Not -- love that line. Howard Hawks put it in a couple different films (also in Only Angels Have Wings) - so obviously it really resonated for him ...
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden. Love Burt ... but Holden's got something extra. For me.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
There's a scene in Running On Empty (one of my favorite movies ever made) when Martha Plimpton comes over to the house for the mother's birthday party. Martha is River Phoenix's character's girlfriend. He's never had one before. His parents are fugitives. They are suspicious of outsiders. Judd Hirsch plays the protective father ... who ... is subtly won over by this unassuming young woman. Just watch his face when he sees the present Martha Plimpton brought for his wife. So subtle, tells the whole story. After dinner - they start to clear the table ... and someone puts on James Taylor "Fire and Rain" ... and just watch the following scene. It's all in one shot. There's no cutaways. If you've seen that scene, you will know the one I'm talking about. The clearing-away-of dishes and the singing-along-to-James-Taylor scene. The movies don't get more perfect than that. That's why people MAKE movies ... to capture moments like that one.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
I'm gonna go with Grapes of Wrath. Tough choice. Either that or Stagecoach.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Well ... Guy Ritchie immediately came to mind ... but I think his "good reputation" has pretty much plummeted already without my help.
So I now must go with: Renee Zellweger. I've been following her for years, merely because the whole thing confuses me. She had some charm in Jerry Maguire but other than that? She seems WAY over-praised to me. Especially in Chicago where I thought she was especially terrible. Don't even get me started on the travesty that was Down with Love. She simpered and flounced her way through it, I didn't believe a word, and yet ... she was in an untouchable phase at that point. Nobody called her on her bullshit. The industry was too pleased with itself for having anointed her. But mark my words, her time is coming. Her work is too self-conscious, too pleased with itself, and too NERVOUS-looking. It's like she understands that she's on thin ice as well.
I'm not sure about who to replace her with:
One thing I will say: I think Sandra Bullock is a fantastic actress and I wish she got better parts. I mean, hell, her career is fine ... but still. I wish she got to REALLY show her stuff. I think she's one of the most solid actresses working today.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck Stanwyck Stanwyck. She's just about the very best there is.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Hell, yes. LOVE that unintentionally campy trainwreck. HYSTERICAL. I love it when Elizabeth Berkley "acts". Omigod. Glory.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Nothing comes to mind, although I first saw Empire Strikes Back at a drive-in movie - piled in a huge station wagon with my cousins.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Oh boy. I kinda love them all. Even Dr T and the Women, which everyone else in the entire galaxy despised. What can I say. I'm a diehard fan. But in terms of impact? And sheer loving EVERY STINKIN' SECOND on the screen? I'm gonna go with Gosfard Park. But ... Nashville too ... I love them all. But Gosfark Park has a real special place in my heart, so I'll stick with that one.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Hard Days Night.
Also: Jon Bon Jovi's ass. More of that, please.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
Sean Penn's entire performance in the otherwise formulaic and rather boring Carlito's Way. I would love to hear the story behind what happened there - because I wonder if the power of what Sean Penn was doing kind of took everyone by surprise ... Penn was supposed to be the sidekick ... but he's pretty much all I can remember about the film. I watched the movie - whatever - I like Al Pacino - it's okay - nothing I haven't seen before ... and through the course of the movie, something kind of amazing happens: You suddenly start to realize that Sean Penn is giving the performance of a LIFETIME. It's a performance that deserves its own film. It's completely beyond anything he's ever done (in my opinion - and I'm a huge fan of his acting) and it makes it look like Al Pacino was phoning in his performance from down the block. It's not a good movie, I don't think ... not totally ... but every time it's on, I have to watch it ... just to watch how Sean Penn's work totally transcends the entire film. I'm tellin' ya - it's his best work. It sneaks up on you ... because he's not even in that many scenes ... but he's the only reason to see that movie. SEE it. The guy is a master, and roles like that are why.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
I kinda love them both. But on the power of my sheer undying LOVE for the movie Liar Liar - I'm going with Tilly.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
It Happened One Night. Hands down.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Paul Henreid making the crowd sing La Marseillaise to drown out the Germans in the nightclub in Casablanca. It gives me goosebumps every time I see it. It's a cliche, it's a formula, but no matter how many times I've seen it - and no matter how much I think Viktor Lazslo is a big stick-in-the-mud bore, I am moved almost to tears by that scene. It just flat out WORKS, and I would have loved to have been there that day. Apparently, all of the extras (many of whom were real-life refugees from Europe) were in tears as they sang. And if you notice -- Hal Wallis (producer extraordinaire) knew that this scene needed one extra punch - and so he made the music director have the Rick's Cafe band suddenly SOUND like a full symphony orchestra. It's not realistic - no bar band would ever sound that huge ... but when you hear that orchestra kick in ... it hits you, the audience member, on a visceral level. You want to stand up and sing with all of those people. One of the most purely powerful scenes ever filmed, in my opinion
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
hahahaha Tough choice. Going with Richard Widmark.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Only one. 36 Fillette. My boyfriend and I watched 20 minutes of it, looked at each other, and without a word stood up and left. Catherine Breillat has gone on to MUCH better things (I liked Romance a lot) after that horrible movie.
19) Favorite political movie
Election
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
This one
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
BRIDGES. Best (and most under-rated) actor in America.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Tommy
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Not only do I accept "conventional wisdom" in this case, I REVEL in it.
So I'm gonna give my answer as this: the fact that Jack Nicholson made the following films in between 1970 and 1975, films which helped cement his reputation:
Five Easy Pieces
Carnal Knowledge
Last Detail
Chinatown
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ...
I mean, that is one HELL of a run. And the 70s boom in American film-making completely suited the emergence of a star like Nicholson ... It might not have happened at any other time. Thank God he got his chance and ran with it. He's one of my favorites.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
I must go with Grace Kelly even though I think she is a bit over-rated (ducking!!)- although she is clearly the better actress. The only performance where I really forget that Grace is an actress, is in Rear Window. I love that movie, and I love her performance in it. She is sensuous, smart, loving, teasing ... It's a wonderful mix. Everything else is a bit STIFF and self-conscious for my taste. Cary Grant loved her, said that working with her was like working with Buddha (yes, those were his words) ... and I can see her appeal - but Ava just seems more comfortable in her own skin, and I prefer that kind of persona to the other. But I'll give the acting props to Grace.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
First and foremost: The Breakfast Club. WHAT HAPPENED ON MONDAY????
Next choice: Lost in Translation. The ending was perfect as it was ... I loved its ambiguity ... its bittersweet taste ... but I have thought more than once: "I wonder if their paths ever crossed again ..." I try to imagine it out in my mind, what such a meeting would be like.
Prof. van Helsing’s quiz
1) What film made you angry, either
while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
George Lucas finally plumbs the greatest possible depths of soulless, emotionally sterile, misanthropic, anything-Ewan-can-do-CGI-can-do-better “filmmaking.” If there’s ever been a more criminal squandering of acting talent and epic mythology, I haven’t seen it.
Even now, thinking about it makes me angry. Very, very ANGRY [/Marvin the Martian voice]
The thing that’s so galling is how, if you watch The Empire Strikes Back and parts of Return of the Jedi, you see glimpses of what might have been, had Lucas not been sucked into the quagmire of his own hubris. Take his characters and his broad-strokes vision and let real artists—or at least craftsmen—take over filling in the details that give it life and authenticity. Hire someone like Lawrence Kasdan to transform Georgie’s bloated prose into actual dialogue. And let someone with real people skills direct; hell, a trained gibbon could probably get better performances out of actors than Lucas did.
2) Favorite sidekick
The Sundance Kid
Jack Ridley in The Right Stuff (See question 12)
Buddy (Ving Rhames) or Glen (Steve Zahn) in Out of Sight (see question
3) One of your favorite movie lines
I’m trying really, really hard not to come up with one of the usual suspects (“I’m shocked, SHOCKED…”)
“Ooh, Rhapsody has two mommies” from Best in Show. Has the added benefit of being improvised.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden, mostly for The Bridge on the River Kwai. Yes, I’m biased. Let he who’s without sin cast the first stone. Heh.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
I know it’s a little cliché, but the Houston hoedown/fan-dance scene from The Right Stuff really ties up all the themes of that film in a way that I consider perfect. (I should point out that it is my favorite movie of all time, bar none.) What makes it so special is the cross-cutting that contrasts the celebration of Mercury Seven’s not-quite-earned fame with Chuck Yeager’s survival of another test flight into faceless obscurity. Even as Cooper tries to wax philosophic and give Yeager his props, when he’s lobbed the custom-made softball: “Who was the best pilot you ever saw?”, he has no choice, no control over the trajectory his life has taken. He has to fall back on his aw-shucks, rat-racer schtick: “You’re lookin’ at him.”
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Quiet Man (It’s the only John Wayne movie my wife will deign to watch. We’re all about the compromises over here at Casa Middlebrow.)
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Julia Roberts. I’m convinced she gives off some pheromone that makes directors and critics, to say nothing of Joe Sixpack, see her in this hallowed light. But I just don’t get it. I guess I have some kind of Juliammunity. I don’t think she’s a bad actress, per se, and she’s not unattractive. I just don’t consider her the ne plus ultra of leading ladies.
The hard part of this question is offering a superior substitute. Sandra Bullock? I know she’s kind of on everybody’s (at least everybody taking this quiz) shit list, on account of Crash, but I’m almost always enamored of her performances, particularly in comedic roles. Bridget Fonda, maybe? Or, how about Janine Garafolo? She probably couldn’t have pulled off Pretty Woman, but would a world without that movie really be so bad? I think a Janine Garafolo Erin Brockovich would have been really interesting. ‘Course, I don’t begrudge Julia EB; I just wish Soderberg hadn’t been so smitten with her that he miscast her—and tainted—an otherwise outstanding Ocean’s 11.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck. I know there’s something I should appreciate about Lupino, but color me ignorant. Plus, Barbara Stanwyck was so, so bad—in the best possible way—in Double Indemnity. The original femme fatale. (Probably not, but she made a hell of an impression on me.)
9) Showgirls--yes or no?
I don’t know why, but every time I read this question, the following exchange from Monty Python’s “Bookshop Sketch” comes to mind:
“Do you have ‘A Sale of Two Titties’?”
“Definitely NOT.”
So, I’m gonna go with that: No.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
The best I can come up with is Platoon, dubbed in Italian, in a theatre in Vicenza, Italy, where I was stationed. That said, reruns of the original Star Trek in Italian were far more entertaining:
Spock: Interessante, Capitano.
Bones: E mordo, Geem!
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Gosford Park. I really liked Short Cuts, too, but that could be the Julianne Moore sans-panties scene talking. Also, that film confirms my thought from the previous quiz: Andie MacDowell is poison to any movie. Great director? Awesome script? Fabulous co-stars? Doesn’t matter. The minute she opens her mouth, the spell is broken.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
My first thought was Sting. Playing opposite Meryl Streep in Plenty gives him enough big-screen cred to balance out the stunt-casting roles (Dune, The Bride).
But I’d be remiss in my duty if I didn’t call attention to Levon Helm’s outstanding (and very un-rock-star) turns in Coal Miner’s Daughter and, especially, The Right Stuff.
With Sting, you always know you’re watching a rock star; yet, watching Jack Ridley crack wise with Chuck Yeager, it never even enters your mind that this is the voice of rock standards like “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down.”
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more)
My read on this question is: what is it about some movies that makes them enduring, classic, etc. And when did you realize that you were experiencing something over and above 100 minutes of banal diversion? It’s hard to do because I sort of give myself over to the experience while I’m watching, and try not to be to analytical of it until after. But here goes:
When Jack Foley (George Clooney) comes out of an office building and jerks his tie off and throws it to the ground, in Out of Sight, I knew this wasn’t just another by-the-numbers Elmore Leonard adaptation. During the scene, there’s a lens flare, and a this cool, funky, Lalo Schifrin-esque track comes up under the action, all of which is punctuated with a freeze frame so perfectly retro it could have come from the opening credits of a 1970s private-eye drama.
There are many more transcendent moments that add up to a film that’s so much more than I ever expected from the one sheet or the previews. Which says as much about the casting as the writing or the direction; every character that’s introduced is just pitch-perfect. All the proof you’ll ever need to support the old saw about how there are no small parts, only small actors. The chemistry between the leads is crackling. And the whole thing is peppered with just the right amount of cinematic seasoning—a jump cut here, a blue filter there, and lots of non-linear narrative—to remind you that there’s a movie lover making a movie for movie lovers. The more I watch it, the more satisfying it becomes. It’s always my first recommendation when the conversation turns to movies that surprise you with how unexpectedly good they are.
OoS was also my first inkling that George Clooney was going to be more than a pretty-boy TV actor (cough*DavidCaruso*cough) making the leap to the big screen. Quite the opposite, in fact. Out of Sight proved to be the beginning of one of the most fruitful and interesting collaborations in the last ten years. Not always perfect, but never boring. For me, Soderberg and Clooney are the Scorcese and Deniro of the late ‘90s/early ‘00s.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Gina Gershon. But only in an anybody-but-Jennifer-Tilly sort of way.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Since the question is ‘favorite,’ I have to say It’s a Wonderful Life. It Happened One Night is artistically superior, but I truly never tire of the former. Meaning no matter how many times I watch it, it just owns me. Especially now that I have a young ‘n.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed.
This might sound like a cop-out (and it might very well be) because I simply can’t think of one. But, while I’ve never been on a movie set, I have worked on enough commercial and music video productions to know the excruciating ratio of shooting time to screen time, not to mention the pervasive drudgery of setting up and waiting. And waiting. And really, what I like most about watching movies is that suspension of disbelief, letting the wonder play out. I love the magic; I don’t really want to know how the trick is done. So I’m going to choose blissful ignorance. Or, as Iris Dement sings/says, “Let the mystery be.”
All that to one side, I’d love to have hung around during any scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This is why I love commentary tracks and “making of” documentaries. Because you get to see how a scene came together, without it being spoiled in the context of the finished film.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
It may be because my intro to Widmark came in Coma, but I’ve just never liked him. He’s always seemed really creepy and unpleasant somehow. That said, I couldn’t name a single Robert Ryan picture without consulting IMDb. Having done that (and having the requisite “Oh, that guy!” moment), I’ll definitely go with Ryan.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Highlander II: The Quickening; Wild Wild West (Barry Sonnenfeld, what were you thinking? And even more vexing: how did you get Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branaugh to participate in such a fetid dung heap of a movie? My guess is something involving compromising photos with farm animals. Shame on you all.)
19) Favorite political movie
Monty Python’s Life of Brian.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
Star Wars; Mother, Jugs and Speed
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Even though Goldblum should be a shoe-in for his participation in The Right Stuff, I’ve gotta give Bridges the nod for breadth and variety.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Lair of the White Worm. Amanda Donohoe topless in tighty-whities. Need I say more?
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman both peaked during that period—or were still on the ascent, anyway. Hoffman became, I think, the more rounded, versatile character actor, whereas Pacino sort of turned everything into an Al Pacino role. Not necessarily bad, but not as actor-ly, in my opinion. Each has had his share of missteps and I’ll always maintain—Best Actor Oscar be damned—that Pacino was miscast in Scent of a Woman. But whatever. If you eliminated either of their bodies of work from ’70 to ’75 (or ’69, so you could include Midnight Cowboy), the film world would become a pretty bleak and desolate place.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Ava Gardner. She was good enough for Frank, that’s good enough for me.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
Well, just to tie the whole thing up in a nice little bow, I’ll refer back to question one and say remake the Star Wars prequels done properly with a director (or directors) who can balance epic storytelling without 3-D character development and genuine intimacy. Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, and Steven Soderberg, maybe?
Thanks, Dennis! This was fun. Hard, mind-bending fun.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
5th Element -- I wasted $5.50 and two hours of my life on that steaming turd.
2) Favorite sidekick
Mouse in Ladyhawke.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Inigo Montoya in Princess Bride after about the 82nd time Vizzini cries "Inconceivable!" when his plans go wrong.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Crimson Pirate. 'nuff said.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
In Tombstone, the last confrontation between Doc Holliday and homicidal bully Ringo. There's a point when it finally strikes home to Ringo that the fey carelessness Holliday's manner isn't feigned. Ringo's only real power, fear of death, is useless against a man already dying slowly, painfully, and inexorably. You can see the fear in his eyes as Ringo realizes that he's the only one with something to lose, and that's the moment when he loses.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Never seen one.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Head of the Naked Emperor School of Cinema, David Lynch. Replace him with Joss Whedon.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Barbara Stanwyck all the way.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
What?
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
More ironic than unusual, I saw Dune at a drive-in in the pouring rain.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Who?
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Mick Jagger's total theft of "Freejack" right from under the nose of dyspeptic hamster Emilio Estevez.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more)
Sixth Sense, when the wedding ring dropped from Anna Crowe's hand and the penny finally dropped in my head.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Who and who?
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Never seen one.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The duel at the end of "Cradle 2 The Grave" ... Jet Li and Marc Dacascos half naked, dripping wet, live, and in person.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark, beyond a doubt.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
5th Element.
19) Favorite political movie
The Last Supper
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
The one for "Best Seller" with James Woods standing behind a seated Brian Dennehy.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Tough choice, but I have to go with Bridges. Goldblum can be more inspired at times, but he's very uneven and Bridges is consistently good.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
I almost said "Escape from New York." Who's Ken Russell?
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
When?
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
"Serenity," but only if Joss Whedon did it.
Achillea
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
"Enemies: A Love Story" (on two different occasions)
2) Favorite sidekick
Professor who succumbs to American soap operas in "Caro Diario"
3) One of your favorite movie lines
How about making me Vice President in charge of cheering you up? - "Charade"
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Burt
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
Max casting Margaret in his next play, in the school hallway in "Rushmore"
6) Favorite John Ford movie
"The Searchers"
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Julia Roberts ... Kate Winslet
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
No interesting answer.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Nashville
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Subtituting rap for rock, LL Cool J's work for Renny Harlin
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
The moment in "Something Wild" when Jeff Daniels at the reunion meets people he knows from his office.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Gershon
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
"It's a Wonderful Life"
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
"Lost Highway"
19) Favorite political movie
"Three Kings"
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
"Simple Men"
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges (tough call)
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
"Tommy," by default
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
"Godfather" 1 and 2
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Ava
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
"Topsy Turvy"
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I believe I’ve never felt angrier than at the moment I watched a drill chew its way through a woman’s body on down through the floor (or ceiling), dripping blood into the first floor room in De Palma’s “Body Double.” The details, the sounds, the glee with which this scene was filmed made me hate De Palma to this day. I wanted to blow chunks... at him!
2) Favorite sidekick
Michelle Yeoh in “Super Cop: Police Story 3" You’ve got to see her to believe her! Go, Asian girl, go!
3) One of your favorite movie lines
“The doctor explained that her insides were a rocky place, where my seed could find no purchase.” Hang-dog Nicolas Cage in “Raising Arizona.”
And from “Blue Velvet,” Kyle MacLachlan’s naive Jeffrey doesn’t yet really understand when he says, “It’s a strange world,” but he soon will.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Holden always strikes me as being 4 or 5 high balls over the limit, and his presence disturbs me. Lancaster is kind of a cornball, but he made a lot of great films and nobody can smash a bottle of beer into an instant weapon like Burt can.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
Of course, Gene Kelly singing and dancing in the rain, the purest expression of uncomplicated joy I’ve ever seen.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Ashamed to say I haven’t seen many Ford films, so I went to IMDb. I wish I could say it was “Chesty: Tribute to a Legend,” but it’s probably “The Searchers” or “Stagecoach,” because I know I saw and respected both films, but honestly, I barely remember anything about them.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
I must apologize to my good friend Virgil Hilts for this one, but John Sayles may be the dullest filmmaker alive today. I have rarely felt like I would even live through one of his films, and all the scenes have the visual excitement of an episode of “Charles In Charge.” Sure, “Lone Star” and the first 15 minutes of “Silver City” have some nice moments, but come on! Replaced with who? I can’t think of anyone comparable.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck’s toughness and square shoulders appeal to me, though having to watch “Big Valley” at work kind of put me off her. I’m sorry to admit I have no real concept of Lupino, except as a kind of scary older actress I’d see on TV sometimes as a child. So, Stanwyck by a shoulder pad.
9) Showgirls– yes or no?
Never ever again.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Not very exotic or unusual, but my first drive-in experience was at Mount Shasta with snow on the ground. Or seeing a double feature of “The Shining” and “The Fog” projected on the cafeteria wall at my UCLA dorm.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
“The Long Goodbye.” I remember first seeing it on network TV years ago and not knowing it was an Altman film. I remember shock and awe and happiness at how perfect the movie was (even when censored).
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Two great documentaries about reluctant, cranky, brilliant rock stars– Bob Dylan in the genius “Don’t Look Back” and Radiohead in the ironically named “Meeting People Is Easy.”
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
I wouldn't call this transcendent at all, but I remember a real shocker in "To Live and Die In L.A." when 2/3rds of the way through the movie, the annoying lead played by William Peterson, suddenly gets shot in the face. For about 10 minutes I couldn't believe the lead character was dead, just like that, and I remember thinking, "Wow! Good thing I hated that character. And wow! I've never seen that happen before!"
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Tilly because she’s silly. And I demand more beefcake in these comparison questions. Lots of cheesecake, but there are some women out here, you know, Dennis!
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
“It Happened One Night” Also seen on TV as a teenager. My husband, the blogger will hate hearing this, but watching this movie was the first time I recall actually thinking, “Hey, some of these old black and white movies with mostly dead people in them can be pretty good! And even funny!” Sad but true. But don’t get me started on the Christmas movie.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
My younger sister Angie made me think of this one– the titanic fight scene between aging ham icons Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier in “The Boys from Brazil.” Probably even more ridiculous in person than on film!
Also, for unpure reasons, the scene in “Pillow Book” where Vivian Wu paints calligraphy on Ewan McGregor’s naked body.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
See what I mean by lack of beefcake? My first clear memory of Widmark is as a sour, annoyed old man with a twisted face in “Rollercoaster.” He doesn’t want to close the park down, wouldn’t you know? I’ve seen him in many older, much greater films since then, but I’ll have to pick Ryan only because I just had to work on “The Tall Men,” and he was interesting and likeable in a very thankless role.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
A French movie in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s whose name I cannot remember. So pretentious, my friend and I both simultaneously agreed a half an hour in that we didn’t care if we got our money back or not. We had better things to do.
19) Favorite political movie
“Winter Kills.” Conspiracy, satire, John Huston AND Sterling Hayden foaming at the mouth. Underrated and wonderful, especially the uncut version. Go rent it, please!
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
A hard one. Either “Star Wars,” but not the musclely Mark Hamill one, or “Wings of Desire.”
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
I find this question unfair to Goldblum. His peak has long passed. “The Fly” “Buckaroo Banzai,” “The Tall Guy,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “Tenspeed and Brownshoe.” Just joking about that last one. I’ll pick him partly because practically everybody else gave proper props to the great Jeff Bridges, and partly because of Goldblum’s disoriented, poignant speech to a terrorist holding a gun to Michelle Pfeiffer’s head in “Into the Night”– “I can’t sleep at night. I don’t know why.” A heartfelt moment that shockingly leads to the terrorist turning the gun on himself and committing suicide.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
I’ve always been afraid of Russell’s scary early films, and his “biographies” of classical composers, as well as “Tommy,” make me feel like the only one at the party not passed the blotter of acid. So I have to say “Altered States” because I saw it and felt totally...altered afterwards. I also respect the strange “Crimes of Passion.”
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The embrace of the antihero as central character. Also endings open to interpretation or just plain sad or puzzling. I want that back.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
I just had to suffer through Ava Gardner in two dull as dirt Hemingway adaptation films in the last month– - “The Sun Also Rises” and “Snows of Kilimanjaro.” She’s beautiful, but I found nothing there. Grace Kelly wins just for “Rear Window.”
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
Most films I love seem pretty complete within themselves. I like Blaagh’s suggestion of an “Animal House” sequel. Perhaps a 30th reunion where all the extras get the lead parts.
I always enjoy your quizzes, Professor Dennis. Keep up the good work, honey.
I took this home and worked on it over the weekend.
1. Sgt. Pepper’s freakin’ Lonely Hearts Club Band. It made Robert Stigwood rich (I think this was well before Michael Jackson owned his piece of the Beatles catalog) but it only made me rant, rave, swear, and kick cars in the parking lot for half an hour, scaring my girlfriend. A travesty. Not that the Beatles themselves didn’t – in their day – participate or endorse other spuriously linked-to-their-songs storylines (in Yellow Submarine, and the animated series too). But this is like hijacking all of Picasso’s works and letting hacks repaint them for “safe” public consumption – and to make a quick buck. I refused to watch it this month on Sundance. I recently saw a blogger refer to ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’ as an Earth, Wind and Fire song, clueless about the original! Aaarrrrgggghhh. 28 years on, I’m still fuming.
2. Gary Farmer, as Filbert in Powwow Highway and as Nobody in Dead Man.
3. Two. “Do we look like dicks?” – David Strathairn in John Sayles’ “The Brother from Another Planet”- the best spoken joke in a mostly wordless movie, and “There’s nothing but trouble and desire” in Hal Hartley’s “Simple Men” – it’s become HH’s signature phrase, codified geek-love for his cult of admirers. Runner-up: “No hay banda – There Is. No. Band!!” in “Mulholland Dr.,” my faaaavorite movie.
4. I SOOOOO wanted to give it to Bill Holden. Good God, he’s a giant – for Sunset Blvd., The Wild Bunch, Network, Stalag 17 (prisoner-of-war movies are my FAVORITE war movies), and even S.O.B., all of which I loved. But Burt … even though you could see through much of his acting, Burt often transcended his own persona to build a memorable, versatile and towering career in his characters. I remember seeing ‘Trapeze’ on TV as a kid and although it’s hardly a great film, I REMEMBER it well, thanks in no small part to Burt. Rocket Gibraltar -- same thing. But he wins for all his truly great roles … let me count the ways … Sweet Smell of Success. The Swimmer. The Birdman of Alcatraz. Local Hero. Atlantic City. Field of Dreams. Whether the flawed antihero, pure evil incarnate or comic relief (you could say he was all three in Local Hero), Burt is an icon, forever. In a different way from Holden… sorry, Bill.
5. Define perfect. Too many to even think about. No one’s mentioned … Lady and the Tramp eating spaghetti. It’s on a giant French poster in a building down the street from here.
6. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. OK, I really need to see The Searchers, Stagecoach and countless other Ford classics all the way through, I confess. But Liberty is quintessential Americana, put ‘Pilgrim!’ in the lexicon, is thought-provoking and wildly entertaining, has a great story and acting, and it’s definitely not your average oater.
7. Steven Spielberg. He’s such a blasted child, and that perspective, his sentimentality and being too much in love with his own wide-eyed wonder, drags down otherwise solid dramatic work like ‘The Color Purple,’ ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ ‘Schindler’s List,’ and ‘Minority Report.’ Plus I blame him for Richard Dreyfuss. Who I’d elevate? At first I was gonna say Mike Figgis. But how about someone with next to NO reputation? Spielberg’s fellow Corman alumnus Dick Miller, a sublime (to me) average-Joe character and B-movie actor.
8. Stanwyck, for Double Indemnity.
9. Hell yeah. Not exactly in that ‘so bad it’s good’ Ed Wood category, but there are a rarified few movies so campily entertaining that it doesn’t matter that you don’t’ care a whit what happens to the characters, you’re enjoying the trashy ride. ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’ is even better by that measure, as pop-culture artifact and for being much less cynical than Joe Eszterhas’ celebrated ballyhoo-cum-titfest.
10. Wayne Wang & Paul Auster’s “Smoke” video-projected in a small-town bar, which the owner let us use on his one night off just for our little film society of friends. “Kill Bill 2” on my friend’s raillingless second-story outdoor deck, also video-projected. And “The Thing” (1951) while snowed-in after a blizzard.
11. The Player. I love Short Cuts, and several others. If only he’d known Lyle Lovett back when he made Nashville! The Academy finally gave Bob some love, too.
12. David Bowie in ‘The Hunger,’ ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth,’ ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’ and ‘Basquiat.’
13. Again, too many to think about… But I had an epiphany once that forever made me aware of the significance of visual detail in REAL films, and that was the wave machine in ‘Diva’…
14. I’d do them both, but on screen it’s Gina all the way for me. Rent “Prey for Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Not a great actress, but a trouper; she sure could have been given more to work with in ‘Face/Off.’ I pray for the perfect badass femme fatale role to come along for her (not just a stylistic romp like ‘Bound’ – true grit, like ‘The Last Seduction’, say).
15. ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ I’m GLAD it wasn’t a hit when it came out. (‘A Christmas Story’ too, come to think of it.) That reinforces, for me, how much of what we see now – every movie is an EVENT -- is soulless, empty hype.
16. My favorite scenes I’ll always love as SCENES, with the movie magic on the screen. But If I wanted the ATMOSPHERE … I think I’ll pick the “Guitartown” sequence in ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico,’ for the set design, and the chance to hang out with Rodriguez and Banderas (and Hayek!) and all the extras. There’s also the fact that I still want to go to San Miguel de Allende (where that scene was filmed) to drink cervezas and play guitar all day.
17. Not big on either. Widmark always seemed like the guy Frank Sinatra the actor was playing…
18. I once turned off ‘Charlie’s Angels’ in disgust; but never have walked out of a theater. I WISH I had, on ‘Simon,’ ‘You Light Up My Life,’ and a few others.
19. ‘Bob Roberts.’ I also like ‘The Parallax View,’ ‘Silver City’ and ‘The Candidate’ – “What do we do now?”
20. The Italian poster for “Contempt” – “Il Disprezzo.” Nice rendering of Bardot. Also one of my favorite movies.
21. The Dude! Tucker! Bone! Billy the Kid! Lightfoot! He’s ... Fearless! Even for the BAD movies he’s been – erm, like the ‘Vanishing’ remake. Goldblum, not so much. Other than Max Orloff in ‘Between the Lines…’ I never have LOVED him like I love Jeff B.
22. Not a fan. Too weird and distracting. I’d have to give it to ‘Tommy’.
23. ‘The Longest Yard.’ (Ok, ok, I can only be totally irreverent when faced with lofty questions like this. The high-and-mighty critic in me should say ‘The Last Tycoon’ or ‘Love and Death,’ two of my faves of the period.)
24. Grace.
25. The Day After Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
MS. THOM...
God love you for appropriately taking to task your (albeit wonderful) husband on the subject of cheese/beef-cake. Just between you and me, I can't even BEGIN to address the Angie D. horseshit that has hijacked the blog lately.
Christ on a cracker...
ANYWAY... sometimes, when I look over my answers to the (collective) quiz questions, I realize that I MIGHT come off as one of those humorless feminists so easily mocked by the military-industrial boy band that is "Hollywood." And then I read your well-composed, agenda-free, absolutely personal comments, and my fists unclench.
You're a woman after my own heart. Long may you wave!
xoxo
Jen
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
In general, I love history and like watching movies that are based on actual events though some of them leave me sad and angry to think that we as a human race at times can be so sadistic and inhuman. At the top of my list is “The Passion of Christ” which left me shook to core with emotions that I had never before felt, and still leaves me with very vivid emotions months after walking out of the theater. Other movies that have made me angry include, “JFK”, “Shindlers List”, “Saving Private Ryan”, “Band of Brothers”, all are good movies, but they definitely stir my emotions while watching them or thinking about them afterwards. And on the lighter side, any film that does not have a conclusive ending good, bad, or otherwise, that leaves you hanging at the end of the movie pisses me off. I do not like to be left at the end of a movie with a dangling at the end, fill-in-the-blanks, make-your-own-ending such as “Broken Flowers” with Bill Murray, which was a fine movie until the end that just left you hanging, flapping in the wind wondering whatever happens conclusion that just drives me nuts and makes a 3 or 4 star movie into a zilch star movie.
2) Favorite sidekick
Joe Pesci as Leo Getz in the “Lethal Weapon” series. He absolutely cracks me up in this series.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
I fondly remember taking my daughter Stephanie to “Land Before Time” in 1988/89 when it came out, she was nine or ten, and we walked out of the movie saying Ducky’s words “YEP, YEP, YEP” all the way home. To this day, we still say “Yep, Yep, Yep”
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Burt Lancaster. He is one of the few actors that if he was on the movie cast I would watch the movie regardless of the movie genre.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
A perfect moment in a movie for me happens when I have settled into a groove of a movie, and then in a single scene every about the movie changes. One of the most memoriable such moments is at the end of the “Sixth Sense” when you finally realize that it is Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) who is the spirit. This is one of those single moments that totally blows me away.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
I have watched only a select few of John Fords movies, but every movie I have watched I have liked. Of the ones I have watched so far, my favorite is his West Point classic “The Long Grey Line”.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal? Nothing comes to mind.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
I have to go with Barbara Stanwyck because I know more of the movies she has been associated with. I cannot name one Ida Lupino movie or show.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no? YES!, NO!, YES!, NO!, YES!, NO!,……..maybe!
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Those of you who know Oregon will appreciate this. I lived in Christmas Valley, Oregon in Northern Lake County in the mid 1960’s and went to Elementary School in Fort Rock a very, very, very rural, desert, sagebrush, population 25, where the nearest theater was at least a 2 hour drive away. For a fundraiser, our school presented Walt Disney’s “Pollyanna” in the Christmas Valley Lodge to the community. I remember all of the planning, getting the movie, projector, snacks, and especially getting to help run the projector. If I remember right, we sold out all seats, probably 25. Great Fun, Great Memory of a movie.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
“McCabe and Mrs. Miller”, “Cookies Fortune”, and “Popeye” are the Altman movies I am most familiar with my favorite being “Cookies Fortune” as I am sucker for stories like this.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
I am not much on rock stars, but David Bowie in “Labrinith” is my best argument for participating in the making of movies.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
See number 5 above…
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
I recognize Gina more than Jennifer.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
“It’s a Wonderful Life”
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
After watching some of the filming of “The Way West” in Christmas Valley, Oregon, I found it quite boring to watch, as it seemed to take forever to get things setup and the action was over before it started. I do think it would have been fun to have been a mouse in the corner watching Dennis and Bruce do their scenes in Animal House though.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Robert Ryan has played in more movies of the genre that I typically watch.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I did not see this movie at a theater, but I would have walked out after the first 5 minutes just like I quit watching it after 5 minutes. “This is Spinal Tap”
19) Favorite political movie
“The American President” with Michael Douglas tops my list and “Dave” with Kevin Cline a close second are my favorite movies about politics
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I don’t collect movie posters, but if there was one poster that would have any real special meaning to me, it would have to a original movie poster of “Animal House” that has been autographed by Mr. Dennis Cozzalio and Mr. Bruce Lundy, a pair of young actors that give this movie a very special meaning to me.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges is in my opinion one of the most underrated but versitile actors today.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
I have only seen a couple of his films. “Lady Chatterley” is my favorite of these.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
This period brought to us many memoriable movies, “Jaws”, “The Godfather”, “The Exorcist”, “One Flew Over the Cockoos Nest”, “Dirty Harry”, “The Towering Inferno”, “Earthquake”, “Airport”, and “Airport 75” just to name the ones off the top of my head. I think the trend that sticks out in my mind about this period is was a period of very high action disaster or scary type movies that gave start to a new age and breed of directors who used more and better special effects that wowed us all and kept us coming back for more. This was also a period that seemed to spawn more sequals (Airport series, Godfather series, Jaws series, Dirty Harry series, etc) than any period I can remember. This was my high school age period, and for me the high point and most impressional period of my movie going life was at this time of a new age action movies which seem to set the standard for even todays action films.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Ava gets my vote here, I have seen more of her movies.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I hate to copy answers, but I absolutely agree with BLAAGH and THOM that a sequel to “Animal House” cast with the extras as main characters would be an absolute kick.
I love everybody's lists so far. And, Jen, thanks for your kind comments. I've been keeping sort of quiet lately on D's blog due to feeling a bit intimidated by the knowledge level of most of the regular commentators. And don't sell yourself short-- feminist, definitely; humorless, never!
Hi Dennis! I wanted to thank you for stopping by my own blog which is still in it's infancy. I'm just getting the kinks worked out now. I enjoy your blog a lot, but I've only lurked. While I'm here, I thought I'd take part in your Professor Van Helsing quiz since I can't resist Peter Cushing so here goes nothin...
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Most recently the movie Phone Booth made me really angry. I caught it playing on TV and thought it was really awful, but for some reason I couldn’t turn it off because I had to see how it ended. I was angry for myself for wasting 2 hours of my life watching it and I was angry that an actor as good as Forest Whitaker had to play second fiddle to the overrated Colin Ferrell in it. I got even angrier after it ended when I visited IMDB and discovered that 27,318 voters had managed to give this film a 7.3 rating.
2) Favorite sidekick
There’s a lot of great sidekicks, but I’ll go with Dwight Frye as Renfield in Dracula. I personally think he almost steals the film from Lugosi.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
“Maybe all there really is is just the next thing. The next thing that happens. Maybe you're not supposed to remember anybody's promises.” said by Marilyn Monroe in The Misfits
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden. I really love Holden in films like Sunset Blvd., Picnic and The Wild Bunch. He just has that extra “something” that’s hard to put my finger on, but as a woman I’ve got to add that his smile can make my knees weak. His sex appeal makes him an easy choice for me.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The first double-murder in Suspiria.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Searchers
7) What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
I’d replace Quentin Tarantino with any of the directors he’s borrowed from.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Barbara Stanwyck. I respect Ida Lupino, but I have not seen enough of her work to really compare her to Stanwyck who’s made some great movies like The Lady Eve & Double Indemnity. I also have to give Stanwyck props for making Golden Boy with William Holden and in turn kick-starting his career.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
I’m afraid not. I’m not a fan of Elizabeth Berkley and find her hard to watch and I just found Showgirls plain boring, but I can understand why it has fans.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I visited Japan for the first time in 1976 when I was just a kid (about 9 yrs.old) and my mom took me to see Love Is A Many Splendid Thing which happened to be playing in a theater near our hotel. That was an unusual film to see as a kid in 1976 while in Japan. It also happened to star William Holden (I’m seeing an unintentional William Holden theme happening with my answers...)
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
I’m going to say Images, but I still need to see The Long Goodbye and I have a gut feeling that I’m going to like it more than Images.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Tom Waits. More specifically, Tom Waits in Down By Law but Waits is always fun to watch no matter what movie he’s in.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more)
Most recently I watched North By Northwest again after not seeing it for 10+ years and I was really stunned by how brilliant the movie was. It’s always been one of my favorite Hitchcock films and I’ve always thought of it as a beautifully filmed suspenseful thriller, but it never seemed to carry the same weight as his other films made during the 50s such as Vertigo & Rear Window. While I was watching North By Northwest again I was really bowled over by it. It’s hard to pick one moment, but I’d have to say that watching Cary Grant chat with the stranger on the road right before the infamous crop dusting scene just took my breath away. Maybe it was because I knew what was coming, but that moment is filmed so perfectly and Cary Grant seems so wonderfully unaware of what’s coming that I was totally swept up in the moment. Something magical happened then and the movie suddenly transcended any conventional ideas that I had held about it before.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Arsenic and Old Lace
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
That’s a tough question. I would have loved to have witnessed some of the battle scenes in Lawrence of Arabia being filmed for the sheer spectacle of them and I’d would have loved to have seen Alain Delon film some love scenes in the 60s. I also wish I could have watched Bava or Fellini film just about any of their movies really.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Richard Widmark is an easy pick for me. See Kiss of Death, Night and the City, Panic in the Streets and Pickup on South Street for a few reasons why I love him. He just so good in everything and has some special quality that really appeals to me a lot.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Highlander 2. The ticket was free so it was no loss for me to leave early and the movie was appallingly bad.
19) Favorite political movie
At the moment it’s a tie between The Manchurian Candidate (original) & Dr. Strangelove.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
My favorite poster I own is an original Japanese poster for Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter. I would love to own an original poster for Frankenstein, Le Samourai or Danger Diabolik.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
I like Jeff Bridges a lot, but Jeff Goldblum is my choice. Sadly Goldblum seems to have been wasting away in bad movies for the past 10+ years, but I’m holding out hope for him. See The Fly, Twisted Obsession, Mister Frost and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai to find out why I like Goldblum.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
That's easy - The Devils. Oliver Reed is just amazing in it and it's a really beautiful & disturbing film. One of my all-time favorites really, but I happen to like a lot of Russell's movies.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American film making in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
That’s a really tough question and I can’t choose just “one thing” because so many great things happened to American cinema in the early 70s, but I guess I’ll go with the international star power of Bruce Lee who almost single-handedly brought martial arts films to America and changed the way we view Asian cinema forever.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Ava Gardner is an easy pick for me. She was the quintessential Hemingway heroine. Ava could be really funny as well as sexy & seductive. She was incredibly gorgeous and without a doubt one of the most beautiful actresses that was ever in front of a movie camera. I think Grace Kelley’s range was extremely limited in comparison. See The Killers, The Barefoot Contessa, The Sun Also Rises and The Night of the Iguana for proof of Ava’s acting abilities as well as her stunning beauty.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I’m looking forward to the follow-up to 28 Days Later which is already scheduled to come out with the title 28 Weeks Later.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Fahrenheit 9/11: George W. Bush reading the children’s book still haunts me to this day, especially after seeing United 93.
2) Favorite sidekick
Walter Brennan played a lot of them, memorably. But my fave is Eddie in To Have and Have Not: “Have you ever been stung by a dead bee?”
3) One of your favorite movie lines
In Touch of Evil, Tana (Marlene Dietrich) says about Quinlin (Orson Welles): "He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
This one’s close—Holden delivers more than once, most notably in Sunset Boulevard and The Wild Bunch—but it has to be Burt Lancaster. He was more athletic, darker, stronger, unpredictable, with a solid core of integrity. He could be an action hero (Gunfight at the OK Corral) as well as romantic leading man (From Here to Eternity) and character actor capable of being a villain (Sweet Smell of Success). He became his own indie producer. My other faves are The Rainmaker, The Leopard, 1900, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, The Swimmer and Birdman of Alcatraz.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
In Notorious, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, two people who are under constant threat, are for one moment perfectly and wholly and unabashedly in love, silently, passionately kissing—for some three onscreen minutes—even during a phone call.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Rio Grande, because the mature John Wayne (the soldier of the western frontier) and Maureen O’Hara (the emotional, civilizing woman from back east) are battling over their lost marriage and possibly lost son. The rules of war clash with the rules of love.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Those nice recent obits aside, the late Richard Fleischer was never great. ("Amityville 3-D, Mandingo, Conan the Destroyer, Red Sonja, Dr. Doolittle, Fantastic Voyage, Barabbas, The Vikings, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.) How did he ever get work? He defined Hollywood Hack. Meanwhile John Huston, perhaps because of his bon vivant reputation, has never gotten his just due as a bonafide member of the pantheon of greats. Even his last films are wonderful, including The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Under the Volcano and The Man Who Would be King. "Detriments, are we?" The list of classics goes on and on: The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Reflections ina Golden Eye, The Night of the Iguana, Moby Dick, Moulin Rouge, The Red Badge of Courage, Across the Pacific, Key Largo.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck was the real deal. Sexy, earthy, witty, funny, gorgeous—and real. She worked her way up to stardom and was a good old girl until the end. She was adored by crews as well as moviegoers. Ball of Fire. The Lady Eve. Double Indemnity. Lupino gets points for High Sierra and directing. But it’s Stanwyck all the way.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
During the Cannes film festival, a group of reporters was ferried by bus down the Cote d'Azur to a surreal premiere and party at the Monte Carlo opera house of a ballet movie, attended by Princess Stephanie of Monaco.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
It’s between A Wedding and Gosford Park—two very similar movies, actually. But I’ll give the edge to Gosford Park for the masterful cutting between the upstairs people in the well-lit parlor listening to Jeremy Northam singing at the piano, the downstairs folks watching from the hallways in the dark, and the murder happening behind the scenes.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth and The Hunger.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more)
My first Buster Keaton film, Sherlock Junior, when Buster walks into the screen.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Even in the oh-so-delicious Bound, while both women are sexy, Tilly is the deeper and more interesting actress, and continues to be. She has legs.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
The Bitter Tea of General Yen. Viva La Stanwyck!
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Sam Peckinpah directing the final shootout in The Wild Bunch.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark. (Despite my love for The Wild Bunch.) Because of Pickup on South Street. No matter how dark he could be, he was also a sexily dangerous leading man.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Gummo.
19) Favorite political movie
The Sorrow and the Pity.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I used to own it, but it wound up in tatters: A gigantic one-sheet in French: Le Bon, Le Brut et Le Truand. I still have the French poster of Buster Keaton's La Croisiere du Navigator.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
No contest. Bridges is still interesting, sexy and deepening with age. The Door in the Floor was extraordinary. Goldblum was great in The Fly, but mostly he plays brainy supporting nerds. Bridges has far more range.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Women in Love. It’s even more amazing now.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Paramount movie czar Bob Evans never got the credit he deserved for leading the way at that studio by green-lighting both The Godfather and Chinatown.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly. For her two Hitchcock movies alone: To Catch a Thief and Rear Window.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Fahrenheit 9/11: George W. Bush reading the children’s book still haunts me to this day, especially after seeing United 93.
2) Favorite sidekick
Walter Brennan played a lot of them, memorably. But my fave is Eddie in To Have and Have Not: “Have you ever been stung by a dead bee?”
3) One of your favorite movie lines
In Touch of Evil, Tana (Marlene Dietrich) says about Quinlin (Orson Welles): "He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
This one’s close—Holden delivers more than once, most notably in Sunset Boulevard and The Wild Bunch—but it has to be Burt Lancaster. He was more athletic, darker, stronger, unpredictable, with a solid core of integrity. He could be an action hero (Gunfight at the OK Corral) as well as romantic leading man (From Here to Eternity) and character actor capable of being a villain (Sweet Smell of Success). He became his own indie producer. My other faves are The Rainmaker, The Leopard, 1900, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, The Swimmer and Birdman of Alcatraz.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
In Notorious, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, two people who are under constant threat, are for one moment perfectly and wholly and unabashedly in love, silently, passionately kissing—for some three onscreen minutes—even during a phone call.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Rio Grande, because the mature John Wayne (the soldier of the western frontier) and Maureen O’Hara (the emotional, civilizing woman from back east) are battling over their lost marriage and possibly lost son. The rules of war clash with the rules of love.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Those nice recent obits aside, the late Richard Fleischer was never great. ("Amityville 3-D, Mandingo, Conan the Destroyer, Red Sonja, Dr. Doolittle, Fantastic Voyage, Barabbas, The Vikings, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.) How did he ever get work? He defined Hollywood Hack. Meanwhile John Huston, perhaps because of his bon vivant reputation, has never gotten his just due as a bonafide member of the pantheon of greats. Even his last films are wonderful, including The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Under the Volcano and The Man Who Would be King. "Detriments, are we?" The list of classics goes on and on: The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Reflections ina Golden Eye, The Night of the Iguana, Moby Dick, Moulin Rouge, The Red Badge of Courage, Across the Pacific, Key Largo.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck was the real deal. Sexy, earthy, witty, funny, gorgeous—and real. She worked her way up to stardom and was a good old girl until the end. She was adored by crews as well as moviegoers. Ball of Fire. The Lady Eve. Double Indemnity. Lupino gets points for High Sierra and directing. But it’s Stanwyck all the way.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
During the Cannes film festival, a group of reporters was ferried by bus down the Cote d'Azur to a surreal premiere and party at the Monte Carlo opera house of a ballet movie, attended by Princess Stephanie of Monaco.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
It’s between A Wedding and Gosford Park—two very similar movies, actually. But I’ll give the edge to Gosford Park for the masterful cutting between the upstairs people in the well-lit parlor listening to Jeremy Northam singing at the piano, the downstairs folks watching from the hallways in the dark, and the murder happening behind the scenes.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth and The Hunger.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more)
My first Buster Keaton film, Sherlock Junior, when Buster walks into the screen.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Even in the oh-so-delicious Bound, while both women are sexy, Tilly is the deeper and more interesting actress, and continues to be. She has legs.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
The Bitter Tea of General Yen. Viva La Stanwyck!
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Sam Peckinpah directing the final shootout in The Wild Bunch.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark. (Despite my love for The Wild Bunch.) Because of Pickup on South Street. No matter how dark he could be, he was also a sexily dangerous leading man.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Gummo.
19) Favorite political movie
The Sorrow and the Pity.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I used to own it, but it wound up in tatters: A gigantic one-sheet in French: Le Bon, Le Brut et Le Truand. I still have the French poster of Buster Keaton's La Croisiere du Navigator.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
No contest. Bridges is still interesting, sexy and deepening with age. The Door in the Floor was extraordinary. Goldblum was great in The Fly, but mostly he plays brainy supporting nerds. Bridges has far more range.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Women in Love. It’s even more amazing now.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Paramount movie czar Bob Evans never got the credit he deserved for leading the way at that studio by green-lighting both The Godfather and Chinatown.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly. For her two Hitchcock movies alone: To Catch a Thief and Rear Window.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing
Titanic. Not as a disaster spectacle. But what ever happened to Rose?
Responding to your quiz
responding to your quiz
1. Movie that made me angry? Friends with Money, recently, when Jennifer Anniston after showing her moral supremacy in not caring about money and status is arbitrarily rewarded with a milionaire. Booh hiss.
2. Walter Brennan sidekicking to John Wayne in Red River. 'You was wrong Mr. Dunson."
3. Jean Renoir as Octave in Rules of the Game "The
trouble is everyone has their reasons"
4. Lancaster for variety, and because between the early fifties and The Wild Bunch Holden didn't appear in one decent film. Because Holden couldn't do comedy. And because Lancaster's performance in The Leopard is one of the glories of cinema.
5. Jeanne Moreau's face in sudden stop motion freeze frames, as she addresses Jules and Jim in Jules and Jim, having said, "You have taught me how to laugh."
6. My Darling Clementine. The biopic, the genre western, the historical reconstruction, all functions are fused flawlessly, and basically every shot is about as economical, expressive, and startlingly beautiful. It's very rare to encounter perfection at this level of depth both in conception and execution.
7. Not of course that he's untalented, but the most "overrated" film maker almost of all time is Andrei Tarkovsky. Yes, there are isolated glorious images, yes he was an admirable soulful martyr to the communist system--but his movies are an unbelievable hodgepodge of narcissistic grandiosity,
self-congratulatory slavophlic mysticism of the most reactionary kind, and--for such a purportedly deep thinker, bathetic sentimentality. Again, every one of his movies has a shot or passage of genius in it, but the bullshit factor in this guy's work is HUGE. Those he influenced from Kieslowski to Von Trier are better.
8) Stanwyck for the same general reason as Lancaster--a longer career of steady accomplishment across a wider range of roles.
Lupino was marvelous but gave essentially the same performance over and over.
9. No. Simulating dehumanization however willfuly is not the same as artfully commenting on it. Just because it's intentional doesn't make it good.
10. In a newly designed several thousand feet cinema viewing space in Belgrade in the late lamented Yugoslavia 1984 or l985, they were showing Flashdance to packed audiences.
11. The Long Goodbye is the most original, McCabe and Mrs. Miller is the most emotionally gratifying, but Nashville is still the best--the one where Altman says and does everything, or as close to everything, that's been on his mind.
12. Tempted as I am to say, Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo, I realize he was not really anyone's notion of a rock star--so I'll go with Mick Jagger in Performance.
13. The moment in Best of Youth when the two brothers are separated by the cops from the girl they've broken out of an insane asylum, Their idyllic idealistic road trip has suddenly collapsed. And all the film's themes about the failure of radical values in the sixties begin crystallizing in this moment and then reverberate throughout the rest of the film.
14. Gina Gershon because I've worked with her and I like her. And Tilly is a one trick pony whose trick is pretty thin. (great in bullets over b'way tho)
15. It's A Wonderful Life, (see Nashville above) because as wonderful as so many of the others are
(It Happened in one Night is technically "better" in some respects) this is the one where Capra says everything he has to say, and where the insoluble contradictions in his view of American life are most powerfully rendered.
16. This is so tough. The one that would have been most enjoyable to watch--is the multi-voiced dialogue scene in Philadelphia Story on the patio after Hepburn gets drunk, where every character has something sensational and witty to say--Hepburn, Grant, Stewart and several otehrs--on the other hand in purely technical terms--what would have been better than to have hung around downtown Venice Cal. and watched Welles do the crane shot at the start of Touch of Evil (though to see it you'd have to have been up in the crane with him.)
17. Obviously Widmark see Stanwyck/Lancaster--but it's a bit of a trick question, because all though Widmark had the by-far superior more-important carerer, Ryan may technically have been a superior actor--it's just that he was not used anywhere near as much as he should have been--he was trapped in playing heavies until it was too late--and he should have had the great "late" career of someone like Robards but somehow the parts just didn't come his way.
18. Troy
19. Eisenstein's October, an attempt to depict a political event as an historical intellectual process while at the same time, trying to articulate a cinematic language precisely designed to articulate political arguments.
20. The original Italian poster for 8 and a Half.
21. Bridges. Goldblum is a talented supporting player. Bridges has had one of the most complete acting careers of anyone alive today.
22. The under-appreciated Altered States, which set the template for head-trip horror movies like the Nightmare on Elmstreet movies, that featured one of Hurt's greatest performances, and had the benefit of a strong script not too tampered with by Russell (who can't write scripts to save his ass) and superb high studio-quality cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth
23. An 18 month period in 73-74 when Badlands, Mean Streets, The Conversation, The Long Goodbye and Chinatown all happened at once. WOW.
24. Gardner. Kelly was a model who was transfigured a couple few times, but couldn't act.
25. It can't happen for lots of reasons but it would have been fabulous to have seen a sequel to Animal House.
YOURS,
LG
Crud. I screwed up my answer to #5. I neglected to mention what is possibly the greatest moment I've ever seen in a movie, from Shoot the Piano Player. It's the scene with the young boy in the car with the two hoods. One of the hoods says something (it's been several years since I've seen it), and the boy asks him if what he's said is true. The hood says that he swears it's true on his mother's life. Cut to: a quick, unexpected and perfectly timed shot of an old lady dropping dead.
Now, isn't that the essence of cinema? An old lady dropping dead. It's just such a burst of maniac invention that I feel remiss in not mentioning it. Is it too late to change my answer?
1. Crash - Just drove me crazy for weeks. Family Ties did better special episodes than this
2. Dude from Rio Bravo
3. Rushmore - "these are OR scrubs", "O RRRRRR they"
4. Burt - hell of a chest
5. Wonder Boys - When Michael Douglas and Tobie Maguire are in Grad Tripp's ex -wife's parents house. Funny and just perfect
6. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
7. Spielberg - I'm not cine-literate enough to understand his technical abilities but I haven't enjoyed more than 3 or 4 of his films and honestly was bored by almost all the others
8. Barbara Stanwyk
9. Nope
10. This backyard in Madrid - beers all round and a homemade 10 footwood wide screen
11. MASH
12. I aways though Bowie brought something worthwhile
13. When John Wayne loses it in "Red River".
14. Jennifer Tilly
15. Mr Smith Goes to Washington
16. Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson singing away in "Rio Bravo". I know it's dubbed etc but still
17. Robert Ryan. Tough choice though.
18. Ace Ventura 2. Liked the first one..this was just upsetting.
19. All the Presidents Men
20. The white Rio Bravo poster thats looks down from above
21. Jeff Bridges
22. Not going to say I hve seen a lot. Oliver Reed nude wrestling I guess
23. Accepting very begrudgingly - The Conversation
24. Grace - just for that shot of Jimmy Stewart waking up to her - I think I would wake up 10 times a day if she were around
25. Whatever happened after the end of "The Secret of My Success"?
1) Passion of the Christ
2) Eduardo Roel from The Limey
3) "Dave's a killer!" "Dave's a mess", from Slap Shot
4) William Holden
5) The end of The Third Man
6) Stagecoach
7) Jim Jarmusch blows. Replace him with the Coens
8) Barbara Stanwyck
9) Showgirls no
10) In a building that would later collapse
11) The Long Goodbye
12) Mick Jagger - nuf said.
13) In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where Joel tries to hide Clementine in his childhood memory of being bullied into smashing a bird with a hammer. Why don't more movies show childhood like this?
14) Jennifer Tilly
15) It Happened One Night
16) The final walk in The Wild Bunch
17) Robert Ryan
18) The Machinist. Only one to date
19) Punishment Park or Vanishing Point. Can't decide.
20) Saw a poster once for Battleship Potemkin, had a highly stylized Russian soldier standing above a dead naked revolutionary.
21) Jeff Bridges
22) Tommy
23) The high point would be all those movies Robert Altman made between M*A*S*H and Nashville, inventing a new way of seeing movies, like the war movie, western, buddy picture, and gangster movie. Then he made Nashville, which pretty much summed up the political/musical/assasination comedy up to that point.
24) Princess Grace, of course.
25) How do you answer that question? Five years ago I would've said Slap Shot, Blues Brothers, and the Graduate. Be careful what you wish for, right? If I had to pick, I hear tell of some freaky sequel planned for Easy Rider. That'd be it.
1. What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Most recently, the film that made me angry was Garden State. I had a strong dislike for all of the characters and thought that the whole experience came off as extremely phony and contrived. I particularly hated the cast of wacky side characters who were weird for no reason other than to have weird people in it. There's nothing wrong with weird people, but these had a very "made up" feel to them.
2. Favorite sidekick
I'll say John Cazale as Sal in Dog Day Afternoon.
3. One of your favorite movie lines
Too many great ones to decide, so I'll just pick the first that comes to mind, from Unforgiven: "That's right. I've killed women and children. I've killed just about everything that walks or crawls at one time or another, and I'm here to kill you Little Bill for what you did to Ned."
4. William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Only seen each in one film, I think, and Burt Lancaster was more impressive.
5. Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The moment at the very end of Kill Bill Vol. 2, right before the credits roll, when The Bride and her daughter are sitting on the bed watching cartoons and the song "Malaguena Salerosa" starts up. Perfect ending.
6. Favorite John Ford movie
The only one I've seen, The Searchers, and it wasn't really my cup of tea. Thought it was just okay.
7. The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
I'll say Steven Spielberg, not because he is all that bad, but because he is often rated so incredibly highly. I've seen many of his films and the only one that I would consider great is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. However, he has many films that I find to be below average in quality, such as Jaws, ET, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jurassic Park, and Saving Private Ryan(other than the beach storming scene, which is great).
8. Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Haven't seen any films in which they appear.
9. Showgirls-- yes or no?
Yes for a laugh, no for any other purpose.
10. Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
An airplane?
11. Favorite Robert Altman movie
Short Cuts.
12. Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
George Harrison helped to save The Life of Brian after the original backers dumped it, so he's a hero for that in my book.
13. Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
The final downfall sequence at the end of Requiem for a Dream when all of the main characters finally hit rock bottom and end up simultaneously in the fetal position, all with the fantastic Kronos Quartet score pounding away.
14. Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly.
15. Favorite Frank Capra movie
It's a Wonderful Life.
16. The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The scene in Silence of the Lambs when Starling and Lector meet for the first time.
17. Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Have not seen either in a film.
18. Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I have never walked out of a movie in a theater because I choose those movies very carefully, but I have turned off several when watching at home. Dracula: Dead and Loving It comes to mind. Just awful.
19. Favorite political movie
Not completely sure what this question is going for, because pretty much all movies are politcal in some way or another, but I'll say The Great Dictator. It's a favorite that is most obviously making a political statement.
20. Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I don't get very excited over movie posters and probably will never own one, but I like the Silence of the Lambs one with the moth in Jodie Fosters mouth.
21. Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Gotta go with The Dude, Jeff Bridges. Don't care for Goldblum at all.
22. Favorite Ken Russell movie
Never heard of him.
23. Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
I'll go with the emergence of Martin Scorsese.
24. Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly.
25. With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I'd like to see a Kill Bill Vol. 3 some day. Most of my favorites wouldn't be served by having a sequel or have had too much time pass for a sequel to make any sense(not a big fan of sequels in general).
1) The Patriot. I was okay with it at the time, I think, but every single day afterwards for two weeks straight I got angrier and angrier, especially with its depicition of the just-happy-to-be-there slaves. I'm 50/50 on Mel Gibson, but this one definitely falls on the "bad" side.
2) Short Round. Shut up, he kicked ass.
3) "It's lonely being a cannibal. Tough making friends." - Jeffrey Jones, Ravenous. A movie full of great dialogue.
4) For the Wild Bunch alone, William Holden.
5) The final scene in A History of Violence. No one says a word, but body language, facial expressions, and camera direction speak volumes. A book could be written about that scene.
6) I'll go ahead and be obvious. The Searchers.
7) Quentin Tarantino is a hack. A colorful hack, but a hack. The only time he's made of film of genuine emotion -- Jackie Brown -- was when he was working from someone else's material.
8) Stanwyck was in Double Indemnity. Next.
9) No. No, no, no, no, NO. When Joe Eszterhas is finally hung by his intestines from Mann's, the world will be a sane place.
10) A drive-in. Hey, what can you do? I'm 25 and the damn things are impossible to find these days.
11) I, uh, I'm not really a big Altman guy. (Don't kill me.) But I could watch The Player till the day I died.
12) The Last Waltz. I don't care if it doesn't count.
13) Dark City. I saw this alone on opening day at 11am in a theatre of, like, 5 people. The experience allowed me to be entirely sucked into the movie, and never has a film's sheer force of imagination stuck with me for so long, so vividly.
14) Tilly for a night. Gershon for a lifetime.
15) Can't. Saccharine overdose.
16) That oft-talked about scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indy just up and shoots the swordsman. Maybe the situation is only comedic in hindsight, if Ford was indeed as afflicted as indicated... but the whole filming of that movie had to have amazing energy to it. That, or the "Turkish prison" discussion in Airplane!
17) Unfamiliar.
18) I'm embarassed to admit I was even there, but it was a movie picked by committee and my cries of reason were drowned out: Event Horizon. Sweet god in heaven, never again.
19) The Fog of War. It's not a "political" film in the sense that it wants to say something in particular, but rarely have I ever been so fascinated by the process and narrative of politics.
20) Either Night of the Living Dead or the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There's such crazy energy to the posters for these movies, who the hell can resist?
21) I'd say Goldblum was in danger of becoming a caricature of himself a la Christopher Walken, but that would require him to occasionally be in movies. So, Bridges.
22) "Favorite" is relative here, I take it. I'm gonna go with Lair of the White Worm because, even by his standards, it was a total mess. And I love it.
23) Whoever it was that traced the arc from Night of the Living Dead to TCM -- right on. Also, Scorsese, but that's a gimme.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner? Ava Gardner, for the totally noble reason that she's way hotter.
25) Star Wars.
I kid. No, but I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel to White Men Can't Jump. Recent hackwork aside, Ron Shelton is one America's best writer-directors.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Many, but one of the more recent ones is MILLION DOLLAR BABY. I don't think Clint Eastwood and I get along, and his music alone drives me nuts. I actively despised this movie, almost from the beginning.
2) Favorite sidekick
A random thought, but: Van Johnson in BRIGADOON. He feels like he's in a different movie than everyone else, I love it.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"Come and have a bathe" - A Room with a View
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Definitely William. Does that make me stodgy?
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
Air escapes my lungs and goosebumps go up all over - happens in many films, but the first one I thought of is when Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright are clowning around on the floor in PRIDE OF THE YANKEES
6) Favorite John Ford movie
I'm a classicist - STAGECOACH
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Sticking with the MILLION DOLLAR BABY theme, I'll go with Hilary Swank (I'm basing supposed good rep on number of oscars alone). In her place... Zooey Deschanel, because I love her.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Oh, dear. Ida because she managed to independently direct films. I love them both though.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No, but I'm glad other people enjoy it.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Does watching STAR TREK GENERATIONS lying down in front of the first row of seats count as exotic? How about watching CITIZEN KANE for the first time on French TV with French subtitles running along the bottom?
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
I haven't seen as many as I should have - MASH
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
It's fun to watch drunk people act.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
Too many! The moment in the CATCH-22 flashback when the guts spill out of the guy Yossarian's trying to save.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Gina.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
So mean to make me choose... IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Oh, it should be something exciting... but all I can think of right now is the Gene Kelly rollerskating number from IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Richard. He's so weird, I love it.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Beyond Borders, a movie so forgettable and bad I had to look up the title
19) Favorite political movie
Bob Roberts
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
It's hanging behind me - BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges, he's aged so intriguingly.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Um, no.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
I'd say the trend of directors making movies that meant something to them-- the love that pours onto the screen for their story and for films in general, it's just wonderful.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace, hands down. Does that make me stodgy too?
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
A completely girly shout-out for a mostly unseen film: I CAPTURE THE CASTLE. I love Romola Garai and feel like the heroine had more to tell us.
1. Film that made me angry:
Titanic. I am a total history geek, and each historical inaccuracy just made me angrier. My friends, most of whom had never even heard of the Titanic, enjoyed it much more than I did.
2. Favorite sidekick:
Kato (Bruce Lee, not the comic version from the Pink Panther films). Way more interesting than the hero.
3. One of my favorite movie lines (an imperfect paraphrase, from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, after God tells King Arthur to find the Grail):
Arthur: Good idea, oh Lord!
God: Of course it is! I thought of it!
4. Holden or Lancaster? William Holden all the way.
5. Perfect movie moment: In The Joy Luck Club (a movie that deserves a lot more respect), Ming-Na's character learns the true reason her mother abandoned her twin half-sisters. Her preconceptions, and ours, are shattered, and everything she thought she knew about her mother (and therefore everything we knew) now has a completely different interpretation than it had before.
6. Favorite John Ford: Stagecoach. Probably his most ripped-off film. Pitch Black was one, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much.
7. Overrated artist: Oliver Stone. I wish he would just retire.
8. Stanwyck or Lupino: Barbara Stanwyck all the way.
9. No to Showgirls. It wasn't sexy, and it wasn't funny. What's the point?
10. I've had a boring life. I've only seen movies in theaters.
11. Favorite Altman: Gosford Park.
12. Can't think of a good reason for musicians to be involved in films. Keep thinking of Under the Cherry Moon -- no! MAKE IT STOP!
13. Trascendantal film moment: Okay, it may not be original, but The Matrix. (It is the only one of the three that I like). I forgave all it's failings just for the moment when we found out everything is an illusion.
14. Gershon or Tilly? Showgirls or Haunted Mansion? Well, I liked Haunted Mansion better, so I'll go with Tilly.
15. Favorite Capra: Arsenic and Old Lace. One of the funniest movies ever made.
16. Scene to witness: The scene of the Exodus in the 10 Commandments. Thousands of extras, no CGI.
17. Ryan or Widmark: Definitely Richard Widmark.
18. Movie walk out: Riders of the Storm, starring Dennis Hopper. A movie trying to be a cult film. When will they realize that "cult films" never set out to be cult films? They set out to be comedies, adventures or dramas?
19. Favorite political movie: 1776. The Revolutionary War period is my favorite. If you want one without singing and dancing, I'll pick Bulworth -- both politically honest, and funny.
20. Movie poster -- don't really care. I don't need more stuff.
21. Bridges or Goldman: Bridges is the better actor by far, but I have a tendency to like Goldman's movies better (lighter fare).
22. Ken Russell movie: Altered States. I only saw it and Tommy, and I thought Tommy was one of the stupidest movies ever.
23. Golden Age: The Godfather Saga.
24. Kelly or Gardner: Ava Gardner. Grace Kelly has always seemed wimpy to me.
25. Movie sequel: The Abyss. What happens to the world now that there are aliens among us?
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
This is kind of an open ended question. See my answer to Q18 for when I was angry at a film.
Do the Right Thing angered me, but in a very good way. I disagreed with much of the politics, but I admired how it challenged my beliefs through passionate, provocative and inspired filmaking. A terrific movie.
2) Favorite sidekick
Tuco in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is one of my all-time favorite movie characters. I count him because he is part sidekick, part nemesis to Blondie.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
“These go to 11.” –Spinal Tap. Not as funny on its own, but delivered perfectly by Christopher Guest.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Both are great. I’ll give a slight edge to Bill Holden because of The Wild Bunch and Stalag 17.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
Easy. Judy’s transformation back into Madeline in Vertigo. Kim Novak gives the most underrated performance in movie history IMHO. Watch her face when she walks out from behind the curtain. There are 1000 different emotions on that stunningly beautiful face of hers. I could go on and on about this emotionally devastating scene, but anyone who has a serious interest in film must see it for themselves.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Searchers (minus the uneccesary wedding side story)
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
I might anger some people, but Micheal Moore. I think much of his praise is not so much for his artistry, but because he’s preaching to his choir. Furthermore, just because he might pick deserving targets shouldn’t give him the excuse to be as downright mean as he is (see Charlton Heston).
Errol Morris is the greatest living documentary filmaker. He doesn’t need to rant like Moore, but simply lets his camera speak for him. The Thin Blue Line is not only one of my favorite films ever, but it literally helped to save a man’s life (or at least get a wrongful conviction overtured). See also Gates of Heaven, Mr. Death, Vernon, FL.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Barbara, but I liked Ida too (beautiful, pouty lips).
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
I like female nudity as much as the next hetero male, but no.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
This is not really exotic, but I loved watching cult movies at a small theatre on South Street when I lived in Philly.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Because my tastes venture into Lynchian territory, I’ll go with 3 Women. It’s haunting, eerie film that leaves which with more questions than answers (which I don’t mind at all).
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Tie: David Bowie and Ice Cube
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
This is a tough call. I’m going to go with the ending to Crimes and Misdimeanors. In his conversation with Woody Allen, I finally realized that Martin Landau’s character was a cold-blood murderer who had gotten away with it, yet I had just sympathized and identified with him through the whole movie. It made me very uncomfortable to know that, yet I have much admiration for this underrated film for that revelation.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
I’ve been smitten with Jennifer for quite awhile.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
It Happened One Night is wonderful, but I have to go with It’s a Wonderful Life.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The D-Day Invasion of Saving Private Ryan. The logistics, planning and technical aspects must have been incredible.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Ryan, because of The Wild Bunch.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I am much more angered when I think no one is trying than when a film is ambitious, but fails. I can give a million examples, but one that comes to mind is Beverly Hills Cop 3. I’ve never walked out on a movie, but I could not wait until it ended. The audience was groaning all around me. Eddie Murphy and, in particular, John Landis have and could do so much better. This was a by-the-book Happy Meal of a movie.
19) Favorite political movie
Does Kane count?
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
Eraserhead
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
I’ll go with Bridges.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Altered States-it runs out of steam and doesn’t really know how to end, but it is amazing up until then.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Nominees for Best Picture 1974: The Godfather Part II, Chinatown, The Conversation, Lenny, The Towering Inferno. Even with Tower, I think this is the best Best Picture category ever.
Crowd pleasers and cult favorites from that year that have held up well include That’s Entertainment, The Longest Yard, Blazing Saddles and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace is beautiful, but Ms. Gardner is the one you want to bed.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
And Then There Were None. I’d love to see a modern, more explicit and truly faithfull retelling of the Christie classic (minus the film’s unfaithful “happy” ending). Christopher Nolan or Danny Boyle might be my choice of director.
I answered the last question wrong. I'd like a remake of And Then There Were None, not a sequel (which would obviously be improbable-LOL).
As far as a sequel, the rumored sequel to Taxi Driver would be intriguing.
1) "The Crucible", mainly because Winona Ryder's character was extremely irritating and I just HATED her.
2)Chris O'Donnell's Robin in "Batman Forever", cheesy as it was
3)"Stell-laaah!" by Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire", but coming in a close second is "Liking both Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel is like supporting both the Israelis and the Palestinians." by John Cusack in "High Fidelity" (hil-arious)
4) I hate to say it, but Burt Lancaster, and only for "From Here to Eternity".
5)The end of "Annie Hall". Enough said.
6) Oh God. Weeeellll.... "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", since it's a classic and I wasn't about to put down "Stagecoach" because, for reasons unclear, I cannot stand to watch more than fifteen minutes of that movie.
7) Hmmm. Director James Cameron (as in, Titanic). That's kind of lame, but I couldn't think of anyone else off the top of my head. Tom Hanks is rather overrated, actually. I'd replace him with Chistopher Nolan, the up-and-coming genius. Although he already has a good reputation. Wow, I just suck at answering this question.
8)Stanwyck.
9)That'd be a big fat NO.
10)A cruise ship.
11) "M*A*S*H", probably only because I haven't seen "Nashville" yet. (the shame! the shame!)
12) Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects", which allowed itself to be more than a slash-and-gore horror flick and actually developed its villains.
13) In "Platoon", which I watched on television, where Willem Dafoe's character is left behind and shot while the helicopter leaves above him. I thought it was going to be another one of those 'real-grit' Vietnam War type movies, but that was such a powerful scene it changed my perception of the entire film.
14) Don't know 'em.
15) "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", and I think that's a film that will be relevant any decade, any era.
16) L.O.L., that scene in "Jerry Maguire" where he says "help me help you!!" just because I think that is SUCH a RIOT.
But on a serious note, definitely the "I wish I knew how to quit you" scene in "Brokeback Mountain"; awesome, awesome acting.
17) Don't know 'em.
18) HA. I try to stay as far away as possible from bad movies, but I had the bad luck of watching "Master of Disguise," which is ingrained in my memory as the worst film experience ever.
19) Does "Clear and Present Danger" count? ...I'll go with the oldie and goodie "All the President's Men", which, by the way, is an excellent journalistic book as well.
20) "Fight Club" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
21) Jeff Bridges is okay. I only ever see him in sappy roles like in "Pleasantville" and I think "Gettysburg".
22) Can I say none?
23) Critical war films like "MASH" and "Patton" that were made as a side effect of the Vietnam experience
24) Grace Kelly for her Hitchcock stuff
25) Oh I'm so tempted to say "Titanic". Hmm... "Fight Club".
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
There can be so many. Cabin Fever, Titanic, Hostel, When a Stranger Calls.
2) Favorite sidekick
Doc Holiday, Harvey.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"I'm your Huckleberry"
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden for sure.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie:
There have been so many for me. The perfect moment in a movie that really made me gaze wide eyed would have to be Flyboy's emergence as one of the walking dead.
This character made all the wrong moves, was constantly in a corner, and basically paled in comparison to the others, pun not intended, but he was really only trying to help for the cause, and sadly paid for it.
But then there's also Doc Holiday's confrontation with Johnny Ringo, in which we watch a man's sacrifice for his only friend.
And then in "La Dolce Vita", in which the actress takes a dip in the fountain and we discover she's lost all sense of reality and fantasy.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
That would have to be "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" which was sort of referenced later in "Tombstone". Stewart's character, the man who prefered to use brains to brawn being forced to use brawn was a great film.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Eli Roth, without a doubt. Being touted as the future of horror, the king splatter is something he does not deserve. Give it to Alexandre Aja. The man holds that title and more.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck without a doubt.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No. I truly hate that film.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie?
That would have to be on a train. With a portable DVD player I borrowed.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
I'm not sure I have one, since I haven't seen much from him.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies:
Documentaries. Very few of them can act, so let them act like themselves in a documentary.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more):
Waking Life, ironically. I've never felt that I was watching something that was much more than a film than with that film.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
One is so weird looking but so sexy, the other is so annoying but so sexy. Hard to choose.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Tough sell, but I'm optimistic about choosing.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed:
Indy shooting the shiek.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
They're different people?
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Cabin Fever. No question.
19) Favorite political movie
So far it's Good Night and Good Luck, but I'd have to say The Candidate stands as one of the best. I imagine its how Dubbya Bush came about.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own:
McQueen standing against a wall in "The Getaway"
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges is the rock star without a guitar. So you know my answer.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
I have none.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The fact that filmmakers were filmmakers, and not tools of the studios.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Ava Gardner was prettier.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
One more go arund for Snake Plisken would be nice.
Mine are here.
1) Boxcar Bertha
2) Tony Curtis and Roger moore sideckicking each other in "The Persuaders"
3) This shark, swallow you whole. (Jaws)
4) William Holden.
5) In "Play It Again, Sam" Dick Christie is in bed, comforting his somewhat estranged wife Linda. His affectionate words are abruptly interrupted by an unexpexted phone call: he answers immediately with a sudden pavlovian shift of verbal tone and content.
6) I think "Stagecoach" but not a great Western fan here.
7) I don't think you can build a reputation if you're not good to begin with. I suppose the question should be more like 'whose reputation has not lived up to a promising (or even great) start?'
8) Not a big fan of Stanwyck and I can only remember Lupino in "They Drive by Night".
9) Showgirls is not fun. It is dull.
10) In a small Club Med-like holiday resort arena.
11) M.A.S.H.
12) I suppose David Bowie was ok in "The Man Who Fell to Earth". Bette Midler proved she could act in "The Rose": that film was a wreck because of direction and script.
13) Tony Manero's angry words near the end of "Saturday Night Fever", after he and Stephanie undeservedly win the dancing contest. But no, make it the whole opera scene at the center of "Moonstruck".
14) Gina Gershon.
15) The only one I do remember clearly is "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". I must have seen them all but so many years ago.
16) It would have to be the dancing scenes in "Saturday Night Fever".
17) I could relate better to Robert Ryan's looks.
18) It happened but I won't name it. Suffice it to say, I walked in expecting a boxing match and it felt like wrestling.
19) Klute.
20) It would have to be something stylized. Anything by Richard Amsel or Drew Struzan.
21) Jeff Bridges. He could really play in something as flawed as "The Morning After". Goldblum would have sunk it.
23) Spielberg with "Jaws", Pacino with "Dog Day Afternoon".
24) They were both great.
25) Nothing comes to mind.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark," in which Bjork's character experiences torment after torment with no rhyme or reason, except to emotionally rape us and shatter the delightfulness that the film previously set up in its first act, which was a delightful postmodern musical with interesting characters and clever editing. I cannot emphasize the cruelness of this film enough; it has no discernable motive except for a superficial moral that hardly does the protagonist justice and in no way compensates for the dramatic and draining shift that the film takes.
2) Favorite sidekick
Zeppo Marx. Often considered the least important Marx Brother, but watch carefully how he is seemingly the only person in the early Marx Brother films who has any influence/control over Groucho. Zeppo’s onscreen relationship with Groucho has always been tricky to ascertain; Zeppo is generally Groucho’s aloof secretary in their films, but he is seemingly capable of reducing Groucho to stunned silence with simple, plain-English rebuttals (see "Animal Crackers") when Chico’s snappy comebacks only fuel Groucho’s insults all the more. "Duck Soup" explores the Groucho/Zeppo relationship in more depth than any of the other films by plainly revealing how influential the soft-spoken Zeppo is over the madcap Groucho: Bob Roland alone suggests the war, and we have the feeling that only Bob could convince Firefly to back down. Zeppo’s parts are usually small, but he performs exactly what is required of him as an outwardly wooden fellow who is incapable of being rattled by a man whose business is to rattle.
3) One of your favorite movie lines.
"You know, I'll never forget my old dad. When these things would happen to him, the things he'd say to me: 'What the hell are you doing in the bathroom day and night? Why don't you get out of there and give someone else a chance?'" Young Frankenstein
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Lancaster, who can play both Moses and Elmer Gantry. Holden could play Gantry, but probably not Moses.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie.
Hugh Hudson gives us an image early in "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes" that is one of the most mesmerizing moments in cinema. The trick for me will be to explain the image without it sounding absolutely absurd, due to the B-grade associations it is likely to create. The image comes after Tarzan (Christopher Lambert), an orphaned human baby raised by apes in African jungles, has killed the malevolent leader of the apes in a spectacular fight in a murky lake and has emerged as the new King of the Jungle. The apes, who are incredibly all humans in spectacular costumes by Rick Baker, gather around him to sing, chant, and holler his praises, practically lifting him off of his feet and carrying him into the foliage.
The way I have described it —indeed, the way anyone could ever describe it — makes the scene come across as a pulpish moment of machismo that drips with cheese. Yet it is one of the most poignant, stirring images ever created in the movies — on par with the epic, sweeping shot of the fallen soldiers in "Gone with the Wind" and Martin Sheen rising out of the misty swamp in "Apocalypse Now." It is a moment of complete and true cinema, in which a boy who we have been following for an entire act has finally gained his confidence and grown into a man, thus claiming his rightful title as the king of his tribe. We are deeply moved at the spectacle, and at the same time, we are amazed that we are moved because of the very nature of the scene, and because we do not expect such touching moments of self-actualization to be found in a film with the name “Tarzan” in its title.
6) Favorite John Ford movie.
"The Searchers." It is the very essense of a "tip of the iceberg" film, in which everything is implied and nothing is spoken, to the point of both frustration and fascination. It’s not what is said and done in the film that makes it so effective. It is what is not said and done — the actions that are implied but never seen, and the dialogue that is thought but never spoken.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Writer/director Lars von Triers, whose films are consistently an excuse for his cruel domination over female leads. See Bjork's comments on why she feels "Dancer in the Dark" is such rubbish. I would replace him with Bille August, who makes very good films about similar topics (oppressed people, poverty, etc), and who consistently hits the right notes. His adaptation of "Pelle the Conqueror" is one of the most underrated classics of the 1980s. Just look at how Von Sydow's performance is allowed to saturate and spill over into every scene - something Von Triers, so obsessed with his own ego, could never allow an actor to do.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No. Eroticism is best served as a tease. I think it was Roger Ebert who noted that the most sexy parts of "Showgirls" was when the characters were wearing clothes. This is a good indication of how this film failed.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie.
The trenches of "Apocalypse Now," when Sheen looks for the commander "in charge" of the Bridge. As one character puts it: "You're in the asshole of the earth." And we believe it.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie.
Nashville. Pure, cinematic jazz.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies.
Two:
1. "Highlander." Imagine this film without the Queen soundtrack. It would hardly be a film at all. They set the mood and serve as commentary throughout, elevating the film from B-grade cheese to cult classic (often interchangable terms, to be fair, but not so here).
2. "The Leading Man." Jon Bon Jovi was chillingly good here, revealing that the stage presence found in the rock icon is enough to carry specific roles.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more).
Romero's "Dawn of the Dead." The moment when the heros turn on all the mall's facilities, and we watch the zombies stumbling about the mall with all the lights on, the fountain running, and the music playing. The first time watching this, I suddenly felt myself elevated into almost a dream-like state. Holy Cow, I actually GOT it: This wasn't a film about zombies - it was a film about last minute Christmas shoppers, and I saw myself in the face of the Hare Krishna zombie!
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Gershon.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. We're not licked yet.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed.
The first appearance of Henry Fonda in "Once Upon a Time in the West." It must have been like watching Tom Hanks do a rape scene. I would have liked to have seen the look on Fonda's face between takes. Here was the nicest guy in Hollywood playing total slime, shooting an entire family with that trademark, do-gooder grin on his face. I wonder what Fonda what thinking throughout.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished.
"Pearl Harbor." I walked out when Harnett said, "I think World War II just started."
19) Favorite political movie.
"Duck Soup." It rings frightfully Rumselftian today, doesn't it? ("I say we get a standing army, so we don't have to waste money on chairs.")
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own.
The old 1931 "Frankenstein" promo noting that Bela Lugosi will soon play the Monster. The picture is even more fascinating: A twenty-foot high Monster shooting lasers out of his eyes at an incoming army. He's got a victim in his hand. Very bizarre; I wonder if this poster inspired "King Kong" more than it did the final version of "Frankenstein."
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh...... Bridges. But that's a close one. I can see him nailing every role that Goldblum played, but I'm not sure Goldblum could have done "Starman."
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie.
Gothic. Bizarre, dream-like film. Strange, discomforting, but very good.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
"Aguirre: The Wrath of God." Totally eclipses Vietnam-inspired bleakness, about man's ambitions ultimately revealing madness, and humanity's role in the universe as utterly insignificant in light of the universe's hostile weight. For all our efforts, we remain mad men on rafts drifting down the river, with monkeys as our only companions.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Kelly. "Rear Window." Nuff said.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
"The Last Temptation of Christ." How about an exploration of the Book of Acts, with all of the disciples as tough, Bickle-esque bullies who carry on the legacy of their teacher out of an act of despiration instead of out of devotion? You could really do something interesting with Paul - flesh his role out a bit in a way that "Temptation" only had time to hint upon.
Dennis, it took awhile, but I couldn't pass up another quiz:
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
When I was younger, I’d get angry at films, usually for being either too slow or too enigmatic (I was far more obtuse in those days), or for just wasting my time… I don’t get so angry now, even at things I probably should. Most of the films I see nowadays really aren’t worth getting angry over, which says something about the quality of what we’re watching now.
2) Favorite sidekick - Tonto
3) One of your favorite movie lines -
it’s been mentioned already, but it’s the best: Lee Marvin’s last exchange with Ralph Bellamy in THE PROFESSIONALS.
Best burn line EVER.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster? –
Burt, hands down.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie –
KISS ME DEADLY – when Hammer (Ralph Meeker) is stalked by a goon in L.A. at night – he notices the goon in a reflection, walks away, the goon in pursuit – he hears the footsteps and the flick of a knife opening, then lets loose on the guy, smashing him repeatedly into a brick wall, and liking it – the guy makes one last attempt on Hammer, and Hammer sends him down a stairway… the last shot is Hammer watching him, then he disappears into the dark. Everything – sound, music, lighting, editing – comes together in one of many moments from this film.
6) Favorite John Ford movie –
THE QUIET MAN. I’m not a huge Ford fan (heresy!) but QUIET MAN and THE SEARCHERS I can watch over and over again.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
George Lucas – he may be a brilliant guy, but calling him a ‘visionary’ is bullshit – he’s merely someone who hit the super-lottery, and he finally decided to give in and give the people what they want from him, which is pretty much “Star Wars” and “Raiders” films. A much better candidate would be Walter Murch – who already has a good rep as a gifted technician – if RETURN TO OZ hadn’t been screwed over by Eisner & Co. at Disney, we’d probably be seeing some more films from him.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino? –
Ida Lupino. Ida had class both in front of and behind the camera. ON DANGEROUS GROUND and ROAD HOUSE is what made me fall in love with her.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
I’ve not yet seen SHOWGIRLS – not for any particular reason, it’s one of those numerous things I’ve not yet gotten around to.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie –
I can’t think of any thing that sticks out in memory – sorry.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie –
I don’t have a ‘favorite’ Altman film… THE LONG GOODBYE, 3 WOMEN and BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS are my personal favorites… I’d put THE PLAYER and POPEYE with that bunch, also.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies –
George Harrison and Handmade Films
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more.)
ON DANGEROUS GROUND – when Robert Ryan heads upstate and ends up in pursuit of a murderer. The mix of silence and Bernard Herrmann’s score on the trip up signal that things are different from the city prologue that we’ve just watched – when Herrmann’s score for the pursuit kicks in, we’re in a whole other movie.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly? -
Jennifer Tilly. She’d be a handful, but there’s a playful intelligence lurking underneath all that pulchritude, once you get past the bimbo defense mechanisms. (see THE CAT’S MEOW). She could choose her roles a bit better, however.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie –
I’m not a Capra fan.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed –
The “Pinball Wizard” sequence in TOMMY
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Tough choice… both extremely good actors – but I’ll have to go with Richard Widmark. Both made really good villains, but Widmark could be convincing as a hero as well.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished –
I can name two: CONDORMAN and ANNIE
19) Favorite political movie –
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (Frankenheimer directed films)
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own.
I’d like to own a one-sheet of BRAZIL, for the American release, but have never been able to track one down as of yet.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges… his choices of roles is better than Goldblum’s and he has a tangential connection to FORBIDDEN ZONE. (his wife is a dancer in the film.)
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie –
ooh, tough one – I’m inclined towards the rock operas (TOMMY & LIZSTOMANIA) just because of the imagery alone, but I also like THE MUSIC LOVERS, THE DEVILS, ALTERED STATES & LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM too… Russell’s one of my filmmaking heroes; a very active imagination and “too far” doesn’t exist in his vocabulary.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Having watched a bunch of films made in the 70’s, a high point for me was realizing that the filmmakers weren’t afraid of down-beat or ambivalent (read: realistic) endings. That’s kind of refreshing nowadays.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner? –
Ava, of course. She could break Grace in two with just a look.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
This will never happen, but I wouldn’t mind seeing another Richard O’Brien musical with the characters of Brad and Janet in continuing adventures – note I didn’t say “Rocky Horror 2” – but that didn’t work the first time around with ‘Shock Treatment’, so there’s no reason to go down that road again.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
'Howard's End'; it was two hours of boring that led up to a slap!
2) Favorite sidekick
Wang chi in 'Big Trouble In Little China' or Kyoami in 'Ran'
3) One of your favorite movie lines
'How do you like your ribs?!' - Action Jackson
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Holden all the way 'The Wild Bunch' is one of my favorite movies.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie.
Just after the good defeats the bad and the blows every thing up. Burt Reynold in 'Malone' comes to mind.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
'The Searchers'
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Tom Cruise; he plays very different characters all in exactly the same way compare 'Top Gun' to 'Magnolia' to 'Eyes Wide Shut' to "Jerry Maguire'. I would have to replace him with Mickey Rourke, after seeing him in 'SIn City' I was sold.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Babs although I must ask where is Rita Hayworth!
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Um, maybe if it had Jen Tilly.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
At a waterslide park on the side of a bathroom wall the showed Superman. The sound was off so Lois was speaking all of Clark's lines.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
M.A.S.H.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Mick Jagger in 'Free Jack'
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
'King Kong' my expectations were LOW but once they got to the island and Kong started kicking some dino butt I was cheering the whole way.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Tilly of course not only does she play poker, her sister is Meg Tilly!
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Arsenic and Old Lace; mad capness at its best.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The scene in 'Ran' when Hidetora played by Tatsuya Nakadai walks down the steps out of that buring palace.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Not familiar with either.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
None, however the Quick and the Dead inspired to turn off the TV. Why did Gene Hackman try to reprise his 'Unforgiven' role, I mean it was basically the same guy.
19) Favorite political movie
'JFK'; no matter how many times I watch it, it new find it old or boring.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
'Logan's Run'or something from the b-movie sci-fi genre.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Goldblum did the sequal to Jurassic park so it's no contest Bridges is better.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Hmm... haven't seen any.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Shaft
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Kelly, she was a princess and in 'Rear Window'.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
'Krull'; at the end the promised a sequal.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Dead poet's society. It's pointless in the extreme and the first movie Robin William became unnerving in. Seeing it together with an ex-girlfriend I was still in love with at the time did not make things any better.
2) Favorite sidekick
Walter Brennan.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
Too many to count. Maybe Brennan during the fistfight at the end of Red River: "For fourteen years I have been afraid, but now everything will turn out fine!"
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Lancaster. Many reasons have been given in other postings, but let's not forget Visconti's "Il Gattopardo (The Leopard)".
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The final moment of "kind hearts and coronets". The hero (who has just been released from jail) notices that he forgot the manuscript in which he confesses half a dozen murders (he has never been suspected of) in his cell.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
"They were expendable." No one seems to remember that it's maybe the greatest film about WW II.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Barry Levinson and Tim Burton spring to mind (anyone remember his dreadfully boring Batman with sheepish - looking Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne?).
At the same time, someone who's completely underrated is Walter Hill who's wrote, directedand/or produced a string of clever, tough action movies in the seventies and eighties and has to work for TV today.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck. Lupino is strictly B-List compared to her.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No; and why should there be any other answer?
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
The French military's movie hall in the small german town of Trier (they screend exactly the kind of movies young recruits several hundreds of miles away from home in a foreign country want to see, including a subtitled and uncut version of "The wild bunch" - as late as 1986!)
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
"Nashville". It defines what Altman does.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
"Handmade Films", a british production company co - founded by George Harrison that produced many fine films, including the unforgettable "Life of Brian".
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
Yves Montand's death in both "Le salaire de la peur" and in "Le cercle rouge"; both moments tell us that there is no god, there is only a grim irony...
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Neither.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
"Arsenic and old lace".
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
I have read about the fights between Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh during the filming of "Gone with the wind" - that's something i'd like to have witnessed.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark. Someone else already remembered "The last wagon".
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
"Interview with a vampire". Overproduced, boring, terribly miscast, full of stupid, pompous dialogue and does anyone els remember Tom Cruise's hair?
19) Favorite political movie
"Black box BRD" - a german documentary researching the histories of a left - wing terroris and his victim.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
There's an old poster for Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" eith the skyline of the citiy...
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges of course.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Saw only "Gothic" and found it terrible.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Taxi Driver
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Nobody seems to have mentioned Gardner in Frankenheimer's "Ten days in May" (which by the way is a lot better than the overrated "Manchurian Candidate").
Yet it's still Kelly, if only for the Hitchcock movies.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
When I was a small boy, I always fantasized about a "Star Wars" prequel, the first meeting between Obi Wan-Kenobi and Annakin Skywalker and wondered what the reason for his fall was. I still do.
In my humble opinion, one should erase episodes I -III from the face of the earth and replace them with the movie that any decent fan had been waiting for for more than a decade.
I decided to retake the test and change some of my answers because I feel I rushed through the last one and made it unfufilling:
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I'm going on a limb and say Fantastic Four because I loved the comics so much and couldn't wait for the movie and then bam, everything turned and it sucked so badly. I felt heart-broken everything was wrong from the casting to the scenes and dialogue. All Wrong!!!
2) Favorite sidekick
Ke Huy Quan in Temple of Doom. Indiana Jones is such an unusual character, he can go through temples and tribes but if he's near a snake he freezes. Such a special character like this doesn't need a huge bodyguard or a spy or the usual baboon he needs some kid he picked up in Asia. And this kid did it so great.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"People can be very stupid"-The Squid and the Whale. This line describes the Berkman character so much a a person who blames everyone if he fails or doesn't get any recognition and sees a good portion of people as philistines. The best line for a character since my favorite quote "The stuff that dreams are made of" from Maltese Falcon but I'll get into that some other time.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Holden, definitely Holden I mean Network, Sunset Boulevard, Bridge on the River Kwai, I mean he has a large list of great films and amazing performances.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
I think a perfect scene was in Night of the Hunter when the two kids took the canoe and glided across the river where anything could have happened to them and while all of that was happening they could sleep and we here singing as the float down the river. Another perfect scene was in Love Actually when the kid was running down the airport to say goodbye to his true love. Corny? A little, but that’s what films are all about, making anything possible.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Grapes of Wrath is probably the best of all his films. I think Jane Darwell and Henry Fonda both gave the performances of their lives and truly made films memorable for that year.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
I don’t know. It says that Johnny Depp is a great actor (NOTE Premiere Magazine did put him on the on the Top 100 Performances of all Time for Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands. He did one great performance for Ed Wood but that’s all. That’s all.) I think Josh Harnett is a good actor, you note in The Virgin Suicides and his two brief appearances in Sin City that he has the heart, just a really bad agent. He’s a good actor just appears in some bad films (40 Days and 40 Nights, Hollywood Homicide, Wicker Park). Note there are plenty of actors with that problem (William H. Macy, Catherine O’Hara, James Woods, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, all Cusacks, etc.)
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck for Double Indemnity only.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Yes
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I once saw Top Gun on a toilet at a fancy building. Does that count?
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
There would be a killer light show.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become became something much more)
The Sixth Sense seemed going in the direction. A kid probably possessed or cursed sees dead people, then it started showing these ghosts and I understood the "surprise" ending before I saw the film. I also guessed the ending of House of Games but only because there were a hundred wannabes.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly, I mean she was so hot in Liar Liar.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
It’s a Wonderful Life is my favorite movie of all time, so…
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The death of John Coffey in The Green Mile.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
I don’t know either.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I never walked out of a film in a theatre but after 10 minute sinto Jaws 2 I just got so bored I popped in Animal House just to feel something.
19) Favorite political movie
Mr. Smith goes to Washington shows the heart of the political world, while Primary Colors shows political ethics.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
What I wouldn't give for an original It's a Wonderful Life poster.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges just because Goldblum is a pure Hollywood actor. I only give it to Bridges cause of his steady and balanced career from LAst Picture Show to K-Pax and The Contender.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
I was raised on Tommy.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
I think films like Jaws or Dog Day Afternoon that started a trend of bank robbery and man-eating monster movies like Open Water or Inside Man or Heat or Deep Blue, etc.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Hard, but Kelly for her Hitchcock work.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I'm not interested in many sequels. In fact there are only 2 I actually want. Wayne's World 3 and another Madea movie hopefully next year I can see Madea again. Maybe...
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
One Hour Photo, because the movie was so perfect and spoiled everything with its final 5-10 minutes, just for cliché's sake
2) Favorite sidekick
Joe Pesci in the Lethal Weapons
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"I'm always home. I'm uncool." - Almost Famous
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
Miranda July and Richard Hawkes walking down the street in 'Me and You and Everyone We Know'
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Ashamed to say: none
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Stanley Kubrick. Put Tom Tykwer up there instead.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Barbara Stanwyck
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
A cinema in Bangkok
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Gosford Park
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
They're only human
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
From the moment the first little walking spirit appears in "Totoro" to the point where the real Totoro is found, I suddenly felt like I was somewhere else, watching something else, becoming someone else.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Gina Gershon
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Make that a double-none, please
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The opening explosion of "Swordfish"
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Robert Ryan
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I never walked out, but Boat Trip came closest
19) Favorite political movie
All The President's Men
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
Jaws
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Goldblum
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Altered States
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The earnestness with which directors created their movies and the fame it brought them and their trade.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
A serious sequel to The Matrix. Or The Abyss 2.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I was going to say Pearl Harbour, but I’m going to go with The Village. After viewing it, a friend and I made a list of the 25 most irritating things about it, with the intention of mailing it to the studio. I don’t think we ever got around to the second part.
2) Favorite sidekick
Blood, the dog of A Boy and His Dog.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
“You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.”---The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Burt Lancaster gets my vote, because of my love for Judgement at Nuremberg.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
Also a tough one, but the “scream for ice cream” singalong in Down by Law is one of the closest to perfection that I’ve ever seen.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Stagecoach.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
This question reminds me of when I saw Hostel. Takashi Miike has a 10 second cameo, and it made me think that anyone who thinks Eli Roth is doing anything interesting should just rent Ichi the Killer instead. Afterwards, Roth becomes null and void.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
I didn’t have an answer until I realised that Lupino starred in the 1976 masterpiece Food of the Gods. So she gets my vote.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Never saw it.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
My hometown of Barrie, Ontario Canada has held its own film festival for several years. When this was just starting out, they didn’t have much publicity so means of presenting films was limited. I remember they had a showing of short works, but had to present them on VHS in some guy’s living room. That’s the only time I’ve watched a movie in the home of someone I never actually met, and I still find it curious.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Short Cuts. If you wanted to know why, I’d have to elaborate endlessly, which no one wants to happen.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Stop Making Sense. I don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for but that’s my answer and I’m sticking to it. Oh, and The Man Who Fell to Earth was pretty good too.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more)
The first time I watched My Life to Live I found it a reasonable curiosity until Nana (Anna Karina) puts a song in a jukebox and begins her dance that just makes you fall in love.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly is the epitome of beauty.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
It’s a Wonderful Life.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Any of the scenes I’ve previously noted. I’ll throw another one in: Buster Keaton’s ride on the cowcatcher in The General.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of a movie in the theatre, but the last I turned off whilst watching at home was Argento’s Suspiria.
19) Favorite political movie
I’m not sure if you mean actually involving politics or political as in opinionated/controversial. Assuming the latter I’m going to cheat and name a few: The Day After, Good Night and Good Luck, Judgement at Nuremberg, American History X, All the President’s Men, Dr. Strangelove, Traffic, JFK, etc…
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
M.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges. The Dude abides.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Altered States.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Although Apocalypse Now Taxi Driver are outside those dates, I would say the emergence of Coppola (The Godfather 1 and 2, The Conversation) and Scorsese (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Mean Streets), plus all of the great actors who emerged from those films.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Kelly, absolutely. No man, not even a fictional one played by Jimmy Stewart, would be able to resist her.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I would’ve loved another Man With No Name film, although at this point that’s completely impossible. Of recent films, Wolf Creek is one that I could see continuing to interesting places.
Okay, here we go real rapid-fire, since you'll have to do the round-up soon or you'll displease all the new entrants.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Point Break. No reason Swayze should get to die his dream death. He has not earned it. Should have been brought in to face justice! On an angry scale of 1 to 10 that's only about a 3. I wasn't really angry. I usually only get angry at improper projection of films or when they leave out a whole reel or something.
2) Favorite sidekick
"How do you know he's not my sidekick?" 'Nuff said, Mr. Lee!
Or maybe enough was said with that story about his uncle and the airplane. Or about the farting while being "xxxx" hypothesis for his breakup with his girlfriend. Who knows? And who really is the real sidekick anyway? Clearly an indication that we are on the right track for the best sidekick of all time.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"If they move, kill 'em."
You know.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Holden. I really don't like Lancaster that much. True, the likes of Towering Inferno might make me reconsider my choice, but when Holden's in excellent movies I love him, whereas I am finding fault even in Lancaster's best movies/performances. Not big faults, just minor. He's obviously pretty good too. Perhaps Holden's above-quoted movie line tipped the scale in his favor!
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
You need to watch the whole film and not get caught up in the wisps of little "moments."
6) Favorite John Ford movie
A very fair question. I'll go with The Quiet Man. It's pretty brilliant.
Special mention goes to Gideon's Day AKA Gideon of Scotland Yard, which I forgot I had seen until perusing his filmography just now and is the sole reason I get a warm feeling whenever Jack Hawkins is on screen in any movie. An absolutely wonderful film that needs to be more accessible! A really delightful Scotland Yard investigation movie.
You should have added "Favorite Silent John Ford movie" as a bonus question! I'd probably just go with the obvious The Iron Horse, although I think I saw one of his Harry Carey westerns that was pretty good. Although it might not have been a Ford film. I can't remember the title. In any case, the Iron Horse is a lot better. Excellent film.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
I don't like this question. As you know, I hate almost all those who are put on the pedestal in the current mainstream film world, so I'd be looking for a wholesale changing of the guard with my favorites mentioned in answers to past quizzes as the replacements.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck. What a career. Dynamite always. Ball of Fire. You name it.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Absolutely not. Why would you even ask.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Paris? I think I saw something there. I had a good one for this that I made a note of somewhere, but I can't remember. How about sitting on lawn chairs at the Mission Tiki drive-in out the back of Dennis's caravan?
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Another fair question!
It's always "Buffalo Bill and the Indians."
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Mick Jagger - Performance. (I saw somebody already beat me to this one, darn it!) More for the existence of the incredible film itself overall which in a big way his "performance" made possible. Ooh, bad unintended pun there.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
I don't go in for these whimsical questions.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Bleccch. Oh, you mean who do I hate more? Tilly.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Okay, now you're padding your quiz with obvious questions!
I have seen comparatively fewer Capra movies than the others, because I don't love him anywhere near as much. My enduring favorite of his is always It's a Wonderful Life.
Again, you could have had a bonus question for favorite silent Capra film.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
I don't sit around wishing for any such silly nonsense.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Wow. Tough one. Widmark. No, Ryan. Widmark. Ryan. Widmark. Definitely Widmark. I'm going to give it to him for Panic in the Streets and Night and the City and countless others. If I gave it to Ryan I'd give it to him for The Naked Spur and Andre de Toth's Day of the Outlaw. I'm almost always satisfied with Widmark, but sometimes Ryan can be just only okay in an okay movie. He does really shine in great films, but Widmark is almost always a delight, even in cheese!
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I usually try to give every movie a chance right through until the end. There's been a couple, but I can't recall them. Usually I only leave if I'm fighting sleep, not because I'm hating it that much. There was something though. I'll get back to you if I can recall it in time.
19) Favorite political movie
Godard. No, wait, Marker. Man, so many Godard movies qualify. Also many excellent Resnais ones, such as "La Guerre est finie" that someone mentioned. But I'll go with "Le Fond de l'air est rouge/The Grin Without a Cat" by Chris Marker for now. A very interesting and critical dissection of Communism from one of its own-- with a really rip-roaring (original) ending. He messed with the ending after the fact on the current re-release. I'd like to see the original ending as it was.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
Get out of here, you materialist!
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
They both really, really suck. I am bewildered at all the praise Bridges has been getting here and it makes me want to disassociate myself from this site altogether. He is a really boring actor with a very limited range within different glittering shades of boring. Goldblum is just a jackass. Oh, you mean, who do I hate more? Goldblum.
He wouldn't need a pass, but Bridges would get one if he needed it for being the Dude in the Big Lebowski, which is one of the few films I've liked him in. He's such a depressing wet blanket in almost any movie he's in.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Okay, now you're getting carried away. Man, this guy made a lot of movies. I'll give it to The Devils. Many of the others people mentioned are excellent too-- even Crime of Passion! Women in Love is great too. But it's The Devils. Really amazing.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Since I wasn't alive during most of those years I cannot pinpoint anything chronologically, except if I ignore the historical chronology and look at it from my own chronology of how I experienced them. I'd say it really came together for me at some of the American Cinematheque's '70s filmmakers festivals. I'd already seen quite a few before that, but seeing Sweet Sweetback's Baaadaaasss Song, Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie (brilliant!), and last but not, least, the incredible Zabriskie Point, all in quick succession was a tremendous high point. That last one is from 1970, so I guess it reached a high point pretty quick! So much great Altman was going on at the same time as well. (My high point here is defined as a large number of films of extremely high artistic quality all going on at the same time, usually with much freer "form"/style than standard narrative filmmaking was employing, in this case largely under the influence of the French New Wave.)
That Egyptian festival I mentioned would be the 2000 festival, not the more recent ones:
http://tinyurl.com/jbbys
Actually Zabriskie Point was part of some other festival, so I'm not sure when that was. But anyway. And no, I didn't even see even half of the films they screened. As I look at the full list, some of them are less of what I would consider great from that era than the others.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
I don't really like either of them.
So sue me. They've both been in some excellent films though.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
Psycho again. Every 10 years a shot-for-shot remake by a different director. Come on!
I had another great answer for this that I appear to have lost. Oh, well
- The Mysterious A)dr(ian B(eta(max
By the way, with the ridiculously large number of responses, a well-done recap is more in order than ever before. There's no way anyone but complete nerds, itinerant vagabonds, or unemployed ne'er-do-wells will have time to read all of these elaborate responses. You must expertly digest it for us once again! Otherwise the exercise is just a big muddled hodgepodge. You must mold it into a palatable, pleasing shape for us all to re-enjoy!
And in case you haven't learned your lesson: Next time, less questions!!
- The Mysterious A)dr(ian B(eta(max
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Bowling For Columbine
2) Favorite sidekick
Gollum
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"Cue the sun."
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Holden
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The perfect moment in a movie is the one where emotion will not be denied. I recently saw "Brian's Song" for the first time. I knew the story, knew that Billy Dee Williams was going to make that speech. I thought I might be the first guy not to cry at the end. I was wrong.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Seachers, by default. My Diet is lacking in westerns.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
It pains me to say this, but Woody Allen. His recent films are all viewed for signs of his past successes, but those successes seem to be dating badly.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No. It may not be the worst movie ever, but why would I want to even watch Verhoeven's worst movie?
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Well, there was the drive-by drive-in. When I was a kid, there was a drive-in just off the Garden State Parkway at the base of a tall bridge. Heading south at night, starting from the apex of the bridge a few hundred feet up, you could see (but not hear) about one minute of whatever movie was playing as you motored past.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
"M*A*S*H". I haven't seen any of his other early work yet, but most of his work from "The Player" on is, to me, technically brilliant but increasingly cold emotionally.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies.
"Purple Rain" Every Prince movie afterwards, save the concert film "Sign O' the Times" was an argument against.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
"Night of the Living Dead" is bookened by two. The first occurs when Barbara and her brother are attacked by a zombie in broad daylight: no one is safe; the living are subject to the callousness of the undead. The second occurs when the sole survivor is shot dead in broad daylight: HOLY SH!T- NO ONE IS SAFE!; the living are subject to the callousness of THE LIVING!
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
I'll go with Gina Gershon.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
"It's a Wonderful Life"
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed.
Robert Altman's uninterrupted tracking shot from "The Player"
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Richard Widmark
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
I've never walked out of a movie. Bad ones become more of an endurance contest/dare. The closest I came was Roman Polanski's "Pirates".
19) Favorite political movie
"The War Room"
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
"Star Wars," for sentimental reasons mostly
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
I like Jeff Goldblum but Jeff Bridges probably could have handled most of Goldblum's roles better than the reverse. They both have great skill, but I don't think Jeff Goldblum would have been as adept in Bridges's roles in "American Heart", "Fearless", and "Stay Hungry". That being said, only Goldblum will EVER be New Jersey in "Buckaroo Banzai".
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
I saw "Altered States" when I was 13 and it burned itself into my brain. Sometimes when I see William Hurt in another film, looking sleepy and older, I imagine he is still recovering from making "Altered States".
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
One cannot discount the quality of directors, writers, even studio heads in that era. However, the art of film is centered around the person in the frame that the audience reacts to, the actor. While Al Pacino may be the easy answer, the right one is Jack Nicholson. After the starmaking "Easy Rider" in 1969, here's the highlights of Jack 1970-75: "Five Easy Pieces", "Carnal Knowledge", "The King of Marvin Gardens", "The Last Detail", "Chinatown", and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". If that's not the quintessence of the early 70s American antihero film canon, I'd like to know what is.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Pass.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
"Taxi Driver" What is Travis doing in the 21st century? Are freaky kids following him around after finding out about his killings in the 1970s, a la Manson?
What did he think of Bernie Goetz?
In a weird self-reference, what did he think about Hinkley? Does violence still crowd his thoughts? Is in control of his actions? What was 9/11 like for Travis Bickle? Seems like there would be lots to explore, but it would never happen, and even if it did no one would be happy with the result.
1) Arlington Rd..
2) Phanton Phreak from Hackers
3) "Go check it out, Wendy" from the Shining
4) Burt Lancaster.
5) The bellmaker breaks down an the end of Andrei Rublev.
6) Stagecoach.
7) Let's take down Aronofsky and replace him with David Gordon Green.
8) Barbara Stanwyck.
9) No.
10) New Zealand.
11) 3 Women.
12) Down By Law.
13) Moonwatcher smashes bones with his new tool in 2001.
14) Pass.
15) Mr. Smith goes to Washington
16) The final scene of Nostalghia.
17) Richard Widmark.
18) Highlander.
19) Brazil.
20) Chinatown.
21) Jeff Goldblum.
22) Altered States.
23) The Killing of a Chinese Bookie,
24) Grace Kelly.
25) Hackers.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Too many to count but the first one that popped into my head was Deep Blue Sea. Just because you made a shark's brain bigger it will not defy the laws of physics and be able to swim backwards.
2) Favorite sidekick
Steve Buscemi's character Buscemi in Desperado. He's the man.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"You gotta think of it like the first time you got laid. You gotta go 'Daddy, are you sure this is right?'" from Tank Girl makes me giggle for hours every time I hear it.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Have not seen either.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
In Ever After the scene when Drew Barrymore finally arrives at the ball in her breathtaking costume, everyone is staring at her in awe and she says to herself "Just Breathe."
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Haven't seen any.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Tie: Stanley Kubrick and Quentin Tarentino.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
I have not seen either.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Saw Evil Dead played on a big screen at a Goth Club.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
I havent seen any.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Rock Stars can do amazing things for the soundtrack and score of a movie. The guy from Korn did a fantastic job writing the songs for Lestat in Queen of the Damned. The movie was awful but the soundtrack was incredible! It's exactly what I pictured Lestat's music to sound like.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
I was ambivalent towards Fight Club until the twist. Made me do a 180.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Reluctanly Gershon.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Haven't seen any.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Actually the concert scene from Queen of the Damned, that would have been so much fun to watch.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Haven't seen either.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
A Clockwork Orange. I walked out after 15 minutes, and it was at my house.
19) Favorite political movie
Not big on politics. I'm going to say Farenheit 9/11.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own.
The Crow.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges. Goldblum mumbles too much.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Haven't seen any.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
De Niro.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Kelly.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I would like to say Memnoch the Devil as I am a fan of Rice's Vampire Chronicles but I am far too afraid that they will destroy it like they did with Queen (with the exception of the soundtrack of course). I am going to have to go with UHF. I would give anything for Weird Al to make another movie, he's sooooo funny!
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
The Fighting Temptations. I mean, for the love of God, take that Oscar back and beat the hell out of Cuba Gooding Jr. with it.
2) Favorite sidekick
Thelma Ritter in Pillow Talk
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"I'd rather have 15 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special."Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias You'd be surprised how often you get to pull that line out.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The sequence in
Back To The Future when Crispin Glover punches the bully while Marty McFly is running around trying not to disappear. Moviemaking at it's most escapist and thrilling.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Quiet Man
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Jeff Bridges as the "most under-rated actor of his generation." For real, he's a fine actor, but he's certainly NOT under-rated. How can a man who everyone calls under-rated be under-rated? Aren't they the people RATING him? Anyway, I'd give an actor like Jeff Daniels that mantle. Or, Jim Carrey.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck ALL THE WAY
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Yes, again please.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
The Drafthouse in Austin, TX
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Gosford Park
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
David Bowie in "The Hunger"
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
When Amy Adams appears in "Junebug"
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Mr.Smith Goes to Washington
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Meryl Streep leaving Dustin Hoffman in Kramer Vs.Kramer
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Richard Widmark
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
PCU
19 Favorite political movie
Fahrenheit 9/11
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
Pretty Woman I can't help it. Don't judge.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Funny, I like Jeff Bridges, but because of my earlier tirade- must say Goldblum.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Women In Love Not a lot of things are better than naked wrestling.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The anti-hero as protagonist.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
I love to look at Ava Gardner, but Grace Kelly made a handful of terrific movies. Ava Gardner? Not so much. Win-Kelly
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
Honestly, I'd see Scream 4
1) SIGNS. Runner-up: VANILLA SKY.
2) John Bigboote
3) "What do you mean... Flash... Gordon... approaching?"
4) Burt.
5) The last 30 seconds of THE INNOCENTS
6) MY DARLING CLEMENTINE
7) John Ford. Replace with: William Cameron Menzies.
8) Barbara.
9) Absolutely yes.
10) NEW YORK STORIES, projected on a sheet in a tent during a thunderstorm
11) MCCABE & MRS. MILLER
12) THE PHYNX
13) The entrance of the gorilla in POOTIE TANG
14) Gina
15) MEET JOHN DOE
16) The finale of BRIDGE / RIVER KWAI
17) Widmark
18) SINGLE WHITE FEMALE
19) STARSHIP TROOPERS
20) The French one-sheet for FELLINI-CASANOVA (which I actually just purchased on eBay after years of searching)
21) Um.... for what?
22) LISZTOMANIA (for the way the guy in the wig shouts, "Incarcerate them!")
23) Brian DePalma's turn to Hitchcock (after the blow-up-the-Capitol rhetoric of the late 60's films)
24) Grace Kelly
25) EXORCIST II, part II
Signed, Dr. Astronaut Body
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Memento. Loved it, but the Carrie Ann Moss character was so terrible that it catches in my throat everytime we get to the pen hiding scene.
2) Favorite sidekick
Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"All of these memories will be lost in time, like tears in rain...Time to die."
-Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner)
Such a true line about death
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
There are so many, but the Layla death sequence in Goodfellas has got to be one of my top faves.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Searchers
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Peter Jackson, I mean I like the guys movies his old gory comedies and I loved King Kong I thought it was just amazing, but I was not overly awed by the Lord of the Rings movies, I know I'm in the minority and I appreciate that but you asked. Alejandro González Iñárritu, 21 Grams and Amores Perros escpecially were particular favorites of mine.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Yes, its stupid fun that anyone can do a decent MST3K on.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I'm afraid I havent had that many unoriginal movie watching.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Nashville
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Bieng a rock star is just there job, granted I'm sure they enjoy it but its still just a job, there doesnt seem to be any problem with a video clerk or a carpenter doing films and those are just jobs, why cant a rock star participate as well.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
Fargo. When Peter Stormare and Steve Buscemi are driving in to town and you can see that Stormare is a psychopath and Buscemi is an idiot.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Gina Gershon. Love those lips.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
The wedding scene in The Godfather. Pacino, Caan, Duvall, Cazale, Keaton, & Brando being directed by Francis Ford Coppola back when he was awesome, I'm sure it was amazing.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Robert Ryan
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Ultraviolet and Fear Dot Com, I didnt leave but I definetly wanted to.
19) Favorite political movie
JFK
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
The Appocalypse Now poster that just has the river snaking away from camera with the helicopters flying across the blazing sun, amazing in its subtlety and frightening after you've seen the film.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges, Godlbum hasnt done anything good in awhile.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Altered States, granted I have seen only a handful of Ken Russell films.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The Godfather
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
The Aviator, I'd like to see if Scorsese could pull of Hughes being stuck in a room.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Pulgasari, the Alamo Draft house promissed Kim Jung-il would be there and he wasn’t. Damn you Kim Jung-il, damn you!
2) Favorite sidekick
Banky Edwards in Chasing Amy.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
“Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining” Outlaw Josey Wales. I get to use that at least once a week, sometimes correctly.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Burt Lancaster.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
“Now Spit” Chief is watching Josey Waless star down a troop of Commancheros, really brings the character in line with the audience, he’s watching Josey the same way the audience is.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, John Wayne’s best performance on film. And Jimmy Stewart wasn’t bad either.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Clint Eastwood over-rated, Lance Hendrickson under-rated.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Barbara Stanwyck.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No, no no, no no no, no.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Tour bus headed for a Marching Competition in my freshman year of High School, Mission:Impossible.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Gosford Park.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
DUNE.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
In Garden State, when the main character talks about why he was sent away.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly. One word against Gershon: Showgirls.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
I abstain from Capra, he gives heartburn.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
None, filming a scene does not make a scene great, and would be boring to watch. Although the scene in American Psycho where Bateman is about to slam the axe into the guys face while talking about Huey Lewis and the News would be the closest I like to watch.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Neither
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Never walked out of a movie, I might try that some time.
19) Favorite political movie
Dave.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
Evil Dead II, Marquee Poster
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges, he makes better movies.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Tommy, but even this one sucks.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
I reject the basis of this question.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
A really well writen and realised sequel or even a prequel to The Village.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
In The Name Of The Father, it pissed me off so much that a government could have such a disregard for innocence, truth , and human rights
2) Favorite sidekick
Walter Sobchak, Goodman was robbed of the credit he deserved for this role
3) One of your favorite movie lines
tough to say i have so many but i'll go with jules in pulp fiction, Well I'm a mushroom-cloud-layin' motherfucker, motherfucker! Every time my fingers touch brain I'm SUPERFLY T.N.T, I'm the GUNS OF THE NAVARONE.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
burt
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
Pacino holding deniro while he dies in HEAT
6) Favorite John Ford movie
n/a
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal? Tom hanks comes to mind he's not bad but to have two best actor oscars, i just don't see it. I think someone like billy bob thorton deserves more credit for his work
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
n/a
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
absolutely not, any saved by the bell episode is better than this piece of shit
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie, missouri
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
gosford park
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
meatloaf in fight club
sting in anything
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
under the tuscan sun when the workers finish building the wall
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
tilly
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
n/a
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
the bank robbery scene in Heat
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
na
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
i've toughed them all out but i fell asleep through all of the league of extraordinary gentle man and the rock, sorry sean
19) Favorite political movie
wag the dog
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
Akira
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
is this a joke? the dude wins by a landslide
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
altered states
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
deniro, he was in so many great films of this time period, you could even go a little further and talk about scorsese if i had more time
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
ava
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
masters of the universe, still waitin' on that one guys
To save some space, I'll just link:
http://psychedelicatessen.blogspot.com/2006/05/professor-van-helsings-movie-quiz.html
1. What film made you angry?
For me it was Mississippi BUrning-to know that this was a chapter of American History and what they did to those people and the cover-up that ensued...I still get angry now, racisim is a topic that makes me irritated more than anything.
2.Favorite sidekick
My favorite sidekick in a movie would have to be Samwise Gamgee (sp?) from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Never, and I do mean NEVER, in the history of cinema do I remember friendship being portrayed so powerfully and passionately as Sean Astin did in those movies. I have a gripe with the Academy, how did he not earn Oscar nominations for each movie? Why did he not win one for The Return of the King? Why? Why? WHY?
3. One of my favorite movie lines is:
From Get Shorty Dennis Farina, who is fantastic, utters to me the best line ever: "F**k you, you f***ing f**kball." Classic.
4. Burt Lancaster or William Holden?
Burt Lancaster
5.Perfect moment in a movie?
Ending of The Return of the King, all I am going to say is this: "If I can't carry the ring then I will carry you."
6. Favorite John Ford movie?
The Grapes of Wrath.
7. I personally believe that Bryan Singer should be not given as much credit as he has right now, granted he did make The Usual Suspects, but what else other than the X-Men movies (first two) did he do? I know that he is trying to resurrect the Superman franchise, but does he deserve all of this credit? I personally think that David Fincher should be in the realm of directors that are very influencial. Watch Usual Suspects and make me believe that it was not inspired by any of Fincher's work....
8. Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Barbara Stanwick
9.Showgirls-yes or no?
Vehemntely NO!!!!!!!! Biggest waste of anything. It doesn't even warrant guilty pleasure status...
10. The most unusal place that I have ever watched a movie would be on the side of abuilding, outdoors in a movie in the park type of thing....it was Twister, and it rained during the showing.....
11. The Player is my favorite Altman movie, althought I know that I am supposed to enjoy Nashville more, I can't. The Player...awesome movie.
12. Best argument for rock stars to participate in movies?
One word....Tommy
13. The ending of The Usual Suspects blew me away. I actually watched the movie all the way through a second time to see what I had missed, and I discovered the clue earlier in the film.
14. Watch Bound, I cannot decide, so I will say that I choose both.
15. Favorite Frank Capra movie?
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
16.Scene I wish I was witness to would have to be Martin Sheen's mental breakdown in Apocolypse Now, knowing that he really did punch the mirror and was not scripted to, seeing the raw emotion he was feeling and not acting....
17. I do not have any knowledge of either actor, other than knowing they were actors from the Golden Age, so I have no comment for you.
18. I walked out of The Blair Witch Project. I didn't care if they lived or not. My only wish was that I was the one tormenting them because then I would have had an enjoyable movie experience.
19. All the President's Men ties with JFK for my favorite political movie, runner up the original Manchurian Candidate.
20. I would love to own the original Godfather one sheets. Framed and hung in my living room.
21. Jeff Bridges trumps any and all of Jeff Goldblum's work, and that is something because Goldblum is good.
22. Without thinking at all, my favorite Ken Russell movie is Tommy, always will be.
23. High point of the "Golden Age" of the 70's? Easily the pairing of Scoresese and De Niro. What other pairing has been as accepted and successful as those two?
24. Grace Kelly.
25. Say what you want to about this, but I would love to see what else happened to Forrest in his life along with his son. I always thought they should have continued that a little bit more.
1.the prince and me
2.Chewbacca
3."heres looking at you kid"
4.Holden
5.The greastest moment happens when the camera and characters are cauhgt ina standstill,frozen in time, with the music being the only thing moving
6.The Grapes of Wrath(1940)
7.Tarantino gets just a little bit too much attention, though he is talented.I would probalby replace him with Peter Wier
8.stanwyck
9.no
10.the set for The Truman Show
11.M*A*S*H*
12.they will sell tickets
13.the hospital flashback scene from Matchstick Men
14.tilly
15.It Happened One Night
16.the fruit stand, assasination scene from The Godfather
17.ryan
18.The Legend of Zorro
19.All The Presedents Men
20.The Shawshank Redemtion Poster
21.bridges
22.don't like any
23.The emergence of Speilgerg and Coppolla
24.kelly
25.being john malkovich
What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Star Wars ep1, Batman and Robin
Favorite sidekick
Peter Lore in Arsenic and Old Lace
One of your favorite movie lines
Quint: Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into her side, Chief. Happended just after midnight. We was coming back from the island of Tinian to Leyte. We'd just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half-hour. Tiger. 13-footer. You know how you know that in the water, Chief? You can tell by looking from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know, was that our bomb mission was so secret, no distress signal had been sent. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin' by, so we formed ourselves into tight groups. It was sorta like you see in the calendars, you know the infantry squares in that old calendar over there like the Battle of Waterloo and the idea was the shark come to the nearest man, that man he starts poundin' and hollerin' and sometimes that shark he go away... but sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark looks right at ya. Right into your eyes. And the thing about a shark is he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, he doesn't even seem to be living... 'til he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then... oh then you hear that terrible high-pitched screaming. The ocean turns red, and despite all your poundin' and your hollerin' all those sharks come in and... they rip you to pieces. You know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I don't know how many sharks there were, maybe a thousand. I do know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On thursday morning, the third day Chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player. Boatswain's mate. I thought he was asleep. I reached over to wake him up. He bobbed up, down in the water in his lifejacket, he was like a kinda top. Upended him into a nearby raft... well, he'd been bitten in half below the waist. At noon on the fifth day, a Lockheed Ventura swung in low and he spotted us, a young pilot, lot younger than Mr. Hooper here, anyway he spotted us and a few hours later a big ol' fat PBY come down and started to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened. Waiting for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went into the water. 316 men came out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Holden
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The Indianapolis scene in Jaws
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Searchers
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Robert Rodriguez _ work on two films with him and he is not the all-knowing talent that he says he is.
Guillermo Del Toro – should do more and bigger movies
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Lupino – The first woman director
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
In a pool for 6 hours (yes I peeded in the water) at my friend Everett’s house watching 2twocool/cheesy horror flicks.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Too many but M.A.S.H. and Brewster McCloud
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
David Bowie – The Hunger, The Man Who Fell to Earth
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become something much more)
In the Original Cape Fear when Robert Mitchum hits at Raping the daughter of Gregory Peck, that made the film and the character darker then I even thought it could go.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Gershon
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
It’s a Wonderful Life and Arsenic and Old Lace
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Anything in Citizen Kane, Lawrence of Arabia, The Wild Bunch, The Godfather, The Shining
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Batman and Robin
19) Favorite political movie
The Original Manchurian Candidate
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
The Godfather, Original King Kong, Lolita, 2001, Too many to name
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges – The Dude
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
The Devils
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Harold and Maude
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Gardner
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
The Return of Dr. Phibes with an actor in the Vincent Price Make up and not moving his lips (The character was dead with a mask of Vincent Price but the lips never moved, we just heard his voice) and have a star cast that is killed off in funny ways like in the first two. This would not be a remake but a continuation of the story and how he is trying to resurrect his long dead wife.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
So many talented people conspired to create such an insulting, inane p.o.s. in DREAMCATCHER that it actually made me ill. I had a migraine by the end.
Anything by Uwe Boll makes me angry. He's found a level beyond "so bad it's good" and yet is still allowed to make films.
I loved CITY OF GOD, but avoid watching it again because there is one scene that sucker punches me and wrecks me for days.
2) Favorite sidekick
Crow and Tom Servo
3) One of your favorite movie lines
First one that comes to mind (of far too many):
Inigo: Let me 'splain... No, there is too much.
Let me sum up.
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden. SUNSET BLVD. and WILD BUNCH.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
It looks/feels something like --
The dirty cops crest the hill as they come to the Amish farm in WITNESS. Yeager walks away from the wrecked plane in THE RIGHT STUFF. The madness and malice as T.E. Lawrence screams "No prisoners!". Bruce Willis trades up from chainsaw to katana. Will Munny's barroom vengeance. Gandalf versus the Balrog. Li Mu Bai's dying words. John Ritter post-shock treatment in SKIN DEEP. Red in SHAWSHANK -- "maybe I just miss my friend." Carmina Burana carries Arthur's knights to their last battle. "I know kung fu." / "Show me." The gunfire, the stillness, the dusters, the guitar theme and the ultimate reveal of icy, calm, murderous Henry Fonda.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Searchers
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Michael Bay and Stephen Sommers are both hacks of the first order -- not that they have a good artistic reputation.
I think Oliver Stone has disappeared completely up his own ass and Woody Allen hasn't made a good movie in ten years.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Stanwyck. DOUBLE INDEMNITY
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Recently saw it again and laughed my ass off. The secret -- see it with a buddy.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
New Beverly revival house in LA. Obviously I need to get out more.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
n/a
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Tom Waits in DRACULA. Sting in LOCK, STOCK. Rob Zombie.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
AUDITION, for me the definition of taking a hard left turn. If you've seen it, you know exactly what I mean. If not, I refuse to ruin it.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Used to be Gershon. Now it's Tilly. SEED OF CHUCKY and poker? No brainer.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Indy's "duel" with the swordsman.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Ryan in a close race.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
LEGEND. Technically a "drive out" since it was at a drive-in.
19) Favorite political movie
JFK?
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
A tie. EXCALIBUR and EVIL DEAD II. Own 'em both.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Love THE FLY, but The Dude abides...
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
GODFATHER I & II and the emergence of Pacino.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Gardner, indelibly imprinted as Guinevere in KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
Just can't think of one
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Star Wars I and II, these movies are just George Lucas abusing his power and destroying a work of art.
2) Favorite sidekick
Robin, Gollum and Tyler Durden
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"Don't tease me about my hobbies, I don't tease you about being an asshole." -Garden State
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Lancaster, no contest.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
The ending of Fight Club, the scene where Russel is on the roof in Almost Famous
6) Favorite John Ford movie
Grapes of Wrath
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
I could never stand Julia Roberts, she's not very talented or pretty and she's the only female actress on the same playing field and making as much money as all the guys. Replace her with Kate Winslet.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Barbara Stanwyck
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Hell no
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I watched Spider Man 2 in a graveyard on my friend's laptop.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
MASH!!
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Two words: David Bowie
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
The scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where Barbossa is giving his "curse" monologue.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
I know it's cliche of me, but It's a Wonderful Life.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
One of the battle scenes in the Lord of the Rings series, "Stonehenge" in This is Spinal Tapp
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Richard Widmark
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
Ella Enchanted, terrible movie, nothing like the book.
19) Favorite political movie
Brokeback Mountain
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
Original Star Wars, Blade Runner, Pirates of the Caribbean
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges!!
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
Tommy
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
Woody Allen and Monty Python
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Ava Gardner
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
Pirates of the Caribbean and Sin City
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Runaway Jury - I don't know when I've ever felt more manipulated by a film in my life. I needed a shower after this one.
2) Favorite sidekick
David Johanssen as Looney in 'Let It Ride', an underrated comedy.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
The first one that came to mind was the last line in 1972's 'The Candidate', where Robert Redford's Bill McKay has just won the election and says, "What do we do now?" Brilliant!
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Lancaster for the scope and volume of work.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
In 'Lorenzo's Oil', the scene where Susan Sarandon's Michaela Odone is rocking with her son and essentially giving him permission to give in to death. This scene never fails to tear me up.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Grapes of Wrath. Although I see it differently than I did when I first watched it, the performances of the actors, escpecially Jane Darwell, ring true. UNlike a lot of Ford's other work, none of the actor's performances seem false to me (with the possible exception of John Carradine's Casy).
Mister Roberts is a very close second. People make much of the John Ford/John Wayne dynamic, but how about the John Ford/Henry Fonda combination?
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Terence Malick. Yes, the pictures are pretty, but I haven't seen one yet that holds together as a movie. I watched 'The New World' hoping to enjoy it and failed. It was an overlong jumble of pretty images, confusing edits, stream-of-consciousness narration and a story that flowed like peanut butter. As for who should take his place on the podium, Sam Raimi, if he's not already there. Forget his 'Evil Dead' stuff (I can!) - watch Raimi's 'The Gift', either Spider-Man film (two of the best comic-based movies ever), 'A Simple Plan' or the underrated 'For Love Of The Game'.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Ida Lupino.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No, but I really wanted to like it!
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
I watched 'Help' in my bedroom closet as a child, because it was on late past my bedtime and my parents wouldn't let me stay up. I was busted as my mom was coming in to relent and allow me to watch it (I didn't see it that night).
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Although I've enjoyed most of Altman's movies, the one that I think best uses his directorial style to create mood and serve the story is 'Gosford Park'.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Danny Elfman soundtracks. They're not all gold, but the 'Ed Wood' and 'Beetlejuice' soundtracks are cool.
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
Janet Leigh's death scene in Hitchcock's 'Psycho'. I'm not old enough to have seen it in the theaters, but when I saw it on DVD for the first time, I was struck about how it must have impacted moviegoers to see the principal character die so early in the film, only to realize that the principal character, Norman Bates, has been introduced mid-movie!
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Tilly, because she gets it. Gershon has disdain for her sexuality, but Tilly embraces it.
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
'It's A Wonderful Life'. This movie hits on just about every thing it attempts.
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
For purely prurient reasons, the Julie Christie/Donald Sutherland sex scene in "Don't Look Now". Otherwise, the opening scene in the Godfather where Don Corleone holds court on Connie's wedding day.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Widmark.
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
A true story - I got talked into seeing Cannonball Run II for 50¢ in a theater in Iowa by a friend. I didn't walk out, but I did ask for my 50¢ back at the end of the movie!
19) Favorite political movie
1972's 'The Candidate'.
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
The simplistic black background with white hand pulling strings for 'The Godfather'.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Bridges, and it's not even close. I can't recall a Jeff Goldblum performance where he wasn't playing Jeff Goldblum.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
'Altered States'
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
'Chinatown' was probably the high-water mark for 70's cinema. A classic that deserves it reputation.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Kelly. My dad told me that Ava Gardner was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in movies, but Kelly had those perfect features.
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
'The Incredibles'.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
Well there's a bunch of them out there but the most recent i can think of is THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. And no comments when vomets. Thanx.
2) Favorite sidekick
Marty Feldman in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. He kind of reminded me of an old friend, Abby Normal.
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"Don't run, we are your friends". Take that Martians! (MARS ATTACKS!, 1996)
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
William Holden, absolutely. He's one of my all-time favorites, anyway.
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie
"-Hold me... -I can't" Johnny and Winona get the feeling. And so do I. (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, 1990)
6) Favorite John Ford movie
THE SEARCHERS. But I've seen only a few of his.
7) The inverse of a question from the last quiz: What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
Clint Eastwood, especially as a director. He can't act either, but I feel that all his behind-the-camera work is a tad over-talked. He has nothing special in his way of directing, most of his movies could easily be parts of a boring soap opera held every night for boring prime time.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Barbara Stanwyck. And who's Ida Lupino?
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
Yes! Absolutley YES! A miracle of camp, an original bad-movie-we-love. It will always be in my heart and pants.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Almost every inch in Lynch. Bizarre, grotesque, trully cinematic and poetic. Like nightmares.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
I kind of fancy MASH better, but I would go for SHORT CUTS in this one.
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies.
Hmmm... Take Rob Zombie. And i think that's enough!
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
Don't you have the feeling that this happens with almost any good film?
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Gee... Jennifer Tilly. An extra credit for BRIDE OF CHUCKY, my chubby goddess!
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
Such a clishe... IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (didn't see that coming, huh?)
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed.
The shower scene in PSYCHO. Or, perhaps, anywhere Hitchcock went and did his magic.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Richard Widmark. I even thought his work in the SWARM was swell...
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
A lot! All of Spielberg's latest films, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, MILLION DOLLAR BABY...
19) Favorite political movie
MARS ATTACKS! Yes, it's the most political of them all. Only one who's afraid to think would describe this as "trash sci-fi".
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
I own a wonderfully designed poster from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE that's not on the loose any more.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Can't choose. I like them both.
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
The one with Hugh Grant fighting a giant worm...
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
I think of THE GODFATHER. It had them all: entertainment, dark atmosfere, brilliant performances, a marvellous script and the emergence of Al Pacino. Everything.
24) Grace Kelly or Ava Gardner?
Grace Kelly. I got this thing for blondes...
25) With total disregard for whether it would ever actually be considered, even in this age of movie recycling, what film exists that you feel might actually warrant a sequel, or would produce a sequel you’d actually be interested in seeing?
I can't think of any. Some of them have already been shot!
1.)
AHHH, Ocean's Twelve (george clooney et al). Ocean's Eleven was just an excellent film, what can i say? After watching Ocean's Twelve for an hour I just looked at my partner, and we were both thinking 'what the hell?' No discernable plot, no point, just an excuse to put as many famous names into one film as possible. Nice locations, mind, but a load of tripe nonetheless.
2.)
Jack Lemmon in SOME LIKE IT HOT
3.)
4.)
Burt Lancaster
5.)
The scene in ORLANDO just after Tilda Swinton has just been told she will die alone, a spinster. As she runs through the garden maze, the mist swirling around her and the music lifting the viewer as Orlando runs out of the maze into the 1880's...the most breathtaking scene I have ever witnessed and solely responsible for making it my favourite film of all time.
6.)
Mary of Scotland, I'm a sucker for historical epics.
7.)
George Lucas, sure, the origional STAR WARS trilogy are timeless, and he might have picked the prequels up with REVENGE OF THE SITH, but just think what Peter Jackson could have done...I shudder to think. This thought really occurs to me, as i recall arguing with a friend in a Film Studies class over Lucas being claimed as a 'visionary' (as mentioned in a porevious post). othewrwise, i'd say Tarrantino, just for the sheer pompocity of the man. Replaced with the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.
8.)
Stanwyck, solely for her femme fatale in DOUBLE INDEMNITY
9.)
I havn't seen it, nor do i ever anticipate watching it.
10.)
Watching THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS in my friends garden shed at night.
11.)
Ha ha, I havn't seen many, so I will have to say COOKIE'S FORTUNE
12.)
I can certainly think of a good reason not to have a rock star in any6 film: Jon Bon Jovi
13.)
The crop field scene in NORTH BY NORTHWEST
14.)
Jennifer Tilly, by far.
15.)
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, one of my all-time favourite films.
16.)
I'm not sure, but I would definitely rather not have witnessed the last scenes of AUDITION (and i also anticpate feeling the same with HARD CANDY.
17.)
I'm going to have to say Richard Widmark, mainly for the fact that I barely remember Robert Ryan, and have at least seen COMA and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (and in my opinion, the weakest of the Poirot films)
18.)
I've already stated my utter disgustr at this film, but OCEAN'S TWELVE
19.)
ELECTION, by far and away.
20.)
I have an exceptional origional STAR WARS poster. I saw a poster for LA DOLCE VITA, i just fell in love with.
21.)
As much as I loved ARLINGTON ROAD, I definitely agree with an early post, Goldblum for his early work.
22.)
I don't have one.
23.)
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, absolute pleasure!
24.)
I can honestly say, I have never watched an Ava Gardener film, so Grace Kelly it is. Plus her work with Hitchcock was fantastic
25.)
I would have said ROCKY HORROR...no comment.
1) What film made you angry, either while watching it or in thinking about it afterward?
I spent a great deal of Mr and Mrs Smith seething like a feminist at an I Spit on Your Grave / Dog Day Afternoon double feature.
2) Favorite sidekick
Uncle Tio in Gilda. “You smoke too much. I noticed only frustrated people smoke too much and only the lonely people are frustrated.”
3) One of your favorite movie lines
"Make it 300 yards, Motherfucker, and we'll have ourselves an automobile race” – Two-Lane Blacktop
4) William Holden or Burt Lancaster?
Burt Lancaster
5) Describe a perfect moment in a movie.
The opening sequence and frankly just about everything that follows in Once Upon a Time in the West is about as perfect and pure as cinema gets, but for a single moment the water drops on Woody Strode’s head.
6) Favorite John Ford movie
The Searchers. This is the exact opposite of the later Ken Russell question. For Ford I feel bad about not naming Stagecoach, Clementine, Donovan, Liberty Valance, The Calvary Trilogy, and on and on, but with Russell I’m picking a turd that stinks the least.
7) What film artist (director, actor, screenwriter, whatever) has the least–deserved good reputation, artistically speaking. And who would you replace him/her with on that pedestal?
James Cameron and Ron Howard both come to mind as over-praised, but as far as “artist” with a rep I’d say I’ve never really grasped the appeal of Peter Greenaway. Who get’s his spot? Walter Hill.
8) Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino?
Onscreen I go Barbara Stanwyck, but as an overall artist Ida Lupino is great onscreen and she directed a solid flick or two as well.
9) Showgirls-- yes or no?
No. Just no.
10) Most exotic or otherwise unusual place in which you ever saw a movie
Back in ’95, I saw Get Shorty for a second time in a theater in Ashland, OR. I don’t really travel much.
11) Favorite Robert Altman movie
Short Cuts
12) Best argument for allowing rock stars to participate in the making of movies
Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo. “Now, Sheriff, if it's the two guns that
bother you, I could give you one of them.”
13) Describe a transcendent moment in a film (a moment when you realized a film that just seemed routine or merely interesting before had become become something much more)
During John Goodman’s “First Monster Movie” speech in Matinee I realized this wasn’t just Joe Dante doing a Wonder Years knock off.
14) Gina Gershon or Jennifer Tilly?
Jennifer Tilly
15) Favorite Frank Capra movie
It’s A Wonderful Life with Meet John Doe as a close second
16) The scene you most wish you could have witnessed being filmed
Brian Cox drunkenly destroying his nemesis’ lawn in Super Troopers.
17) Robert Ryan or Richard Widmark?
Richard Widmark
18) Name a movie that inspired you to walk out before it was finished
The only time I’ve ever left a movie before the projector shut down was when the rampant sexuality (it was too poorly done for me to say sexiness) in Whispers in the Dark made my then girlfriend uncomfortable so we left only to end up parked and screwing in my car within a half hour. Odd Chick.
19) Favorite political movie
Parallax View
20) Your favorite movie poster/one-sheet, or the one you’d most like to own
The Day of the Triffids is a great one, but I’ve gotta go with Forbidden Planet.
21) Jeff Bridges or Jeff Goldblum?
Jeff Bridges, You gotta respect a dynasty
22) Favorite Ken Russell movie
I have to go with the severely flawed, but still oddly fascinating Altered States.
23) Accepting the conventional wisdom that 1970-1975 marked a golden age of American filmmaking in which artistic ambition and popular acceptance were not mutually exclusive, what for you was this golden age’s high point? (Could be a movie, a trend, the emergence of a star, whatever)
The high point of the so-called “Hollywood Renaissance” Would probably have to be when Coppola does Godfather part II and The Conversation in the same year and actually get noms for both. It’s this ra