PROFESSOR ARTHUR CHIPPING’S MADDENINGLY DETAILED, PURPOSEFULLY VAGUE, FITFULLY OUT-OF-FOCUS BACK TO SCHOOL MOVIE QUIZ

Well, that familiar autumn chill is in the air-- except here in Los Angeles, of course, where the only chill you’re likely to get during the current hellish heat wave is from leaving the A/C on all night or from your body’s convulsive internal overcompensation due to excess heat exposure. And here at SLIFR University, where the curriculum has been if not exactly dense, then certainly diverse and controversial in 2012 so far, that chill means that school is back in session, which means it’s time for yet another movie quiz. This semester we've called upon the services of one of the university's most beloved instructors to guide us through the process of learning about our own unique responses to the vagaries and amusements of film culture. He is none other than the esteemed doctor of social sciences Professor Arthur Chipping, affectionately known to the student body and staff, of course, as Mr. Chips. It was a bit of a challenge to get Mr. Chips to assent to heading up this term's quiz, as he has a tendency toward recessive behavior in social situations and was none too confident in his ability to marshal a discussion of film, which he still rather quaintly refers to as "that confounded new toy of technology of which the likes of low comedians such as Mack Sennett and Roscoe Arbuckle seems so enamored." But this shape-shifting teacher, who morphs between alternate physical appearances seemingly at will (the picture seen above, taken in 1969, is of his second incarnation, or as he likes to say, "the husk I prefer these days"), has, despite his own reservations, managed quite a charming and challenging questionnaire for this go-round, and it is our pleasure to present it to you today.

Unlike the last two quizzes, there is no overriding theme, just a series of posers intended to stimulate your thinking and sate your appetite for entertainment. But the learned professor would like to emphasize, by way of the customary preamble to all SLIFR quizzes, that in posting your answers you be as elaborate and loquacious in your responses as possible, all the better for the reader who is ready to indulge in them. But most importantly, please copy and paste the questions into the comments column and provide your answers underneath those questions so that referencing the post above will not be required to remind the reader of what query it is that is being answered.

With those formalities out of the way, it is now time to sharpen your number twos, put all materials unrelated to study underneath your desks, and prepare to undergo your journey through Professor Arthur Chipping's Maddeningly Detailed, Purposefully Vague, Fitfully Out-Of-Focus Back to School Movie Quiz. Ready? Begin!

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            1) What is the biggest issue for you in the digital vs. film debate?

2          2)  Without more than one minute’s consideration, name three great faces from the movies

            3)    The movie you think could be interesting if remade as a movie musical

            4)      The last movie you saw theatrically/on DVD, Blu-ray, streaming

            5)      Favorite movie about work

            6)      The movie you loved as a child that did not hold up when seen through adult eyes

            7)      Favorite “road” movie

            8)      Does Clint Eastwood’s appearance at the Republican National Convention change or confirm your perspective on him as a filmmaker/movie icon? Is that appearance relevant to his legacy as a filmmaker?

            9)      Longest-lasting movie or movie-related obsession

           10)   Favorite artifact of movie exploitation

           11)   Have you ever fallen asleep in a movie theater? If so, when and why?

           12)   Favorite performance by an athlete in a movie

           13)   Second favorite Rainer Werner Fassbinder movie

          14)   Favorite  film of 1931

          15)   Second favorite Raoul Walsh movie

          16)   Favorite film  of 1951

          17)   Second favorite Wong Kar-wai movie

    

          18)   Favorite film of 1971

   

          19)   Second favorite Henri-Georges Clouzot movie

    

          20)   Favorite film of 1991

          21)   Second favorite John Sturges movie

          22)   Favorite celebrity biopic

          23)  Name a good script idea which was let down either by the director or circumstances of production

          24)   Heaven’s Gate-- yes or no?

          25)   Favorite pairing of movie sex symbols

  

          26)   One word that you could say which would instantly evoke images and memories of your favorite movie. (Naming the movie is optional—might be more fun to see if we can guess what it is from the word itself)

          27)   Name one moment which to you demarcates a significant change, for better or worse, on the landscape of the movies over the last 20 years.

          28)   Favorite pre-Code talkie

          29)   Oldest  film in your personal collection (Thanks, Peter Nellhaus)

          30)   Longest film in your personal collection. (Thanks, Brian Darr)

  

          31)   Have your movie collection habits changed in the past 10 years? If so, how?

          32)   Wackiest, most unlikely “directed by” credit you can name

          33)   Best documentary you’ve seen in 2012 (made in 2012 or any other year)

          34)   What’s your favorite “(this star) was almost cast in (this movie)” anecdote?

          35)   Program three nights of double bills at a revival theater that might best illuminate your love of the movies

          36)   You have been granted permission to invite any three people, alive or dead, to your house to watch the Oscars. Who are they?

          37) Favorite Mr. Chips. (Careful...)

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