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PROFESSOR ABRONSIUS'S ROBUSTLY RANDOM, ECCENTRICALLY INQUISITIVE, GARLIC-INFUSED MID-SUMMER BACK-TO-SCHOOL QUIZ
The classroom has been dark and dormant for far too long, dear and loyal and trustworthy friends. It's time to get back to the business of sharpening your #2s, putting your head in your hands and submitting to yet another quiz from the hallowed halls of SLIFR University!
As kids start getting ready to go back to school (mine head back to high school tomorrow-- what in the hell ever happened to the concept of summer vacation?), we turn inward, hoping as always to learn something about ourselves, our beliefs, our shared assumptions, the legends and tales we tell ourselves to stave off the despair and terror that lurks in the night, amongst the shadows. And the perfect guide through such a journey can be none other than one of SLIFR U's brightest stars, a fellow who has been around the fringes of academia for what seems like centuries-- he'll admit to having navigated only three of them, but you have a look at that face and tell me if you think he might be being a tad modest. Prepare to turn yourself over to SLIFR's latest adventure in learning at the hands of the esteemed head of the SLIFR U Folklore and Mythology Department, formerly of the University of Konigsberg and just back from an invigorating field trip to the mountains of Transylvania, Professor Abraham Abronsius.
Professor Abronsius asks only, in a longstanding tradition of SLIFR U quizzes past, that you copy your answers into the comments section accompanied by the questions so that readers may more easily access the queries to which your responses refer.
So while there's still time, put away your belongings, sit up straight and prepare yourselves. The sun is starting to sink to the horizon. We haven't much time. Behold, Professor Abronsius's Robustly Random, Eccentrically Inquisitive, Garlic-Infused Mid-Summer Back-to-School Movie Quiz!
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1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
2) Favorite movie feast
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
17) Your favorite movie snack
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
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30 comments:
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
Beyond The Time Barrier. Killing American Style. Dirty Grandpa. That Guy Dick Miller. Plan Nine (2016). Dangerous Men. Samurai Cop. Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey. The Warriors. They Came Together.
2) Favorite movie feast
Blood Feast
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
Rear Window
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
Get Back
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
Reservoir Dogs
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
Vampyr (1932)
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
American Graffiti
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
Little Big Man
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
Two Lane Blacktop
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
Lacrosse
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
I'm hungry right now, so Wild Strawberries.
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
Brazil
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
Timothy Carey vs. Sid Haig
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Never seen
17) Your favorite movie snack
Kroger No Sugar Added Rocky Road Ice Cream
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
never seen
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
The Maysles brothers
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
Godfather
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
The Bronson caves
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
The Doors because it did not undermine the political landscape for the indeterminate future.
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
Mad Max:Fury Road was horrible.
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
Vertigo
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
Jaws
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
WarGames, but Blue Thunder is unjustly forgotten
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
I'll put The Magnificent Seven here instead of question number 31.
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
Unfortunately I did not do too many when I was a kid...maybe five times? But the best one was probably Brian DePalma's "Blow Out." If you're talking about a stupid drive-in movie, then "Caveman" with Ringo Starr would have to qualify.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
There were some?
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins) I'll go off the board, and say The Seven-Ups.
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Traffic
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
Silly
Awesome, Dennis! Good to see this feature again. You can find my answers here: https://quietbubble.wordpress.com/2016/08/07/back-to-school-film-quiz/
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
In no particular order:
Gun Crazy (1950)
Super-Inframan
The American President
Song Street
Smokey & the Bandit
Ride Lonesome
Tootsie
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Save the Tiger
The Last Detail
2) Favorite movie feast
The pie-eating contest in Stand By Me.
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
Rear Window, far and away.
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
The Band playing "Don't Do It" in The Last Waltz.
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
Oliver Stone's U-Turn - Two trapped-in-messed-up-Western-town movies
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
Valerie and her Week of Wonders - Surreal horror, visually stunning
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
Diner - A character study of five young men at crucial turning points in their lives in a small town in Italy. I mean, Baltimore.
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
Lost in America - A couple's marriage is tested as they travel the country in a trailer
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
McCabe & Mrs Miller - Man takes advantage of location, teams w/prostitute; end of Western era
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
Gas-s-s-s - absurdist comedy of the West
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
Gotta go with The Princess Bride.
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
I'd say tennis. The movie that focus on the sport tend to be turkeys, and even when it's not the focus and good stuff is done with it - I'm thinking of Strangers on a Train - the essence of the sport is never the point.
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
I think the former is the Greater picture, but the latter makes me feel better.
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
Dazed and Confused, for recognizing that it's so much more than a stoner flick.
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
Raquel Welch, Claudia Cardinale, Senta Berger, and Tuesday Weld.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Throne of Blood.
17) Your favorite movie snack
I'm a Junior Mints kinda guy.
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
I can't say no to '70s Robert Altman.
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
I'd have to say Errol Morris, for asking questions that lead to remarkable answers and for framing them in a way that entertains as it instructs. Runner-up: Frederick Wiseman, for being so prolific for so long and dwelling on subjects that seemed mundane at the time and became/will become more fascinating as the years go by.
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
Good as the former is, it's not better than the latter.
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
Just last month I climbed the steps from Laurel & Hardy's The Music Box, in the Silver Lake district of LA.
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
I'd direct Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men, the scene leading up to "You can't handle the truth!" I'd tell him that his questions should be bullets, not bombs, and to save the bomb for the climactic "Did you order the Code Red?!!" question. It's always bugged me how much he yells in that scene and how he can't take it any higher - as opposed to Jack Nicholson, who's got another level to go to even after his "truth" line.
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
JFK - at least in that one, I don't feel like an idiot is being glorified.
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
Rock Hudson gave a better performance in Giant than James Dean. Not a mannerism in sight.
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
Poland makes the best one-sheets in the world. Any of the pre-70s in this link would be a fine choice; my favorites are The Graduate (#42) and The Birds (#28).
https://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/45-amazing-vintage-polish-posters-of-classic-american-films?utm_term=.db7PxoJ6K#.fcJY3jX1E
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
See #21, Return of the Jedi, in the above link.
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
WarGames, which opens with a young John Spencer and a young Michael Madsen.
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
Imagine my surprise to learn that Some Like It Hot is a remake, of 1951's Fanfaren der Liebe (itself a remake of 1935's Fanfare d'amour). I can't not nominate a candidate that's obliterated any memory of its inspirations.
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
N/A. Sigh.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
Hound of the Baskervilles, I guess.
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
A tossup between Seven Men From Now and The Seven Per Cent Solution. Today it's the first.
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
If somebody loves Patch Adams, I can feel my judging gene kick in big-time.
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Traffic, far and away.
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
Nonsense. Even Leonard Maltin upped his Classic Movie Guide cutoff year to 1965.
My answers here:
http://mythicalmonkey.blogspot.com/2016/08/professor-abronsiuss-robustly-random.html
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
2) Favorite movie feast: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)? Rear Window
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film “Quarter to Three” by Bruce Springsteen. “No Nukes”
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)? Reservoir Dogs
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)? The Craft
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)? Diner
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)? Lost in America
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)? There Will Be Blood
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)? Save the Last Dance
11) Favorite movie fairy tale. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement? Rollerball
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?Seventh Seal
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release Blow Out
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight? Dick Miller, Jack Nicholson, Anna Karina, Nastassja Kinski, Humphrey Bogart.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?Throne of Blood
17) Your favorite movie snack Popcorn in a gallon of rich creamery butter
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no? Oh Hell Yes
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable Jonathan Demme
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)? Godfather II by a hair
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person. Union Station staircase from “The Untouchables”
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins). Any of the rooftop scenes from “The Room”—have the actors sing the lines.
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)? JFK
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette) I think To Kill a Mockingbird sucks runny eggs.
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet. King Kong.
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet. Cat People
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)? Blue Thunder 4-EVAH
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made. The Maltese Falcon
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie. I programmed U-Turn as part of a festival screening at a drive in. When the third reel came on, it was evidently rewound improperly as it came on upside down and backwards. No one noticed for a couple of minutes.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film. Kiss Me Deadly
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins) Seven
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship? A relationship once crumbled in no small part because she laughed hysterically through Ace Ventura but thought Cabin Boy was stupid
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)? Traffic
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960. Every once in a while, something silly lands on the internet.
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
2) Favorite movie feast: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)? Rear Window
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film “Quarter to Three” by Bruce Springsteen. “No Nukes”
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)? Reservoir Dogs
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)? The Craft
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)? Diner
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)? Lost in America
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)? There Will Be Blood
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)? Save the Last Dance
11) Favorite movie fairy tale. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement? Rollerball
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?Seventh Seal
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release Blow Out
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight? Dick Miller, Jack Nicholson, Anna Karina, Nastassja Kinski, Humphrey Bogart.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?Throne of Blood
17) Your favorite movie snack Popcorn in a gallon of rich creamery butter
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no? Oh Hell Yes
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable Jonathan Demme
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)? Godfather II by a hair
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person. Union Station staircase from “The Untouchables”
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins). Any of the rooftop scenes from “The Room”—have the actors sing the lines.
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)? JFK
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette) I think To Kill a Mockingbird sucks runny eggs.
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet. King Kong.
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet. Cat People
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)? Blue Thunder 4-EVAH
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made. The Maltese Falcon
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie. I programmed U-Turn as part of a festival screening at a drive in. When the third reel came on, it was evidently rewound improperly as it came on upside down and backwards. No one noticed for a couple of minutes.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film. Kiss Me Deadly
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins) Seven
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship? A relationship once crumbled in no small part because she laughed hysterically through Ace Ventura but thought Cabin Boy was stupid
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)? Traffic
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960. Every once in a while, something silly lands on the internet.
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
Red Dust. The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window & Disappeared. Inside Out. Kim. Straight Out of Compton. Sinister 2. Bone Tomahawk. Topkapi. The Walk. Mistress America.
2) Favorite movie feast
The eating scene in “Tom Jones.”
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
Dude. Rear Window!!
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
Louis Jordan’s “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby?” in “Follow the Boys.”
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)? Hellzapoppin’ (1941)
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)? Naked Lunch (1991)
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)? Barbershop (2002)
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)? Vanishing Point (1971)
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)? Strange Days (1995)
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)? Bedazzled (1967)
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
The Douglas Fairbanks ‘Thief of Bagdad.’
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
(American) Football.
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
The Seventh Seal, although I think Wild Strawberries is better. (And there’s twice as much Bibi Andersson) But that last shot in Seal!
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
A Hard Days Night.
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
Rondo Hatton, Tor Johnson, Akim Tamiroff.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Throne by default.
17) Your favorite movie snack
Before the bridgework it was Milkduds.
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
The only way I would vote “Yes” would be if I had to sit through it again if I voted “No.”
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
I’m going with Werner Herzog, for “Encounters at the End of the World” and the 3-D cave painting movie, mostly.
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
I’ve seen the latter half a dozen times and the former (which is great, don’t get me wrong) exactly once. That’s not entirely a function of GF II being in heavy rotation on five different movie channels for 40 years.
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
When I was in California a friend of mine took me to an auto scrap yard where he said the end of “Charley Varrick” was shot, but Wikipedia says it was shot in Sparks, Nevada so I’m back to the New York Transit Museum, which used to be the Court Street subway station where “Taking of Pelham One Two Three” was shot. It’s still a Matthau!
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
“This isn’t working. Somebody find a real baby.”
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
Bride of the Monster.
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
I will never willingly sit through another Douglas Sirk movie unless the title includes the word “Mecha-Godzilla.”
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
Mad Love (1935)
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
Pretty much anything from Ghana.
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
Never saw Blue Thunder, so WarGames it is!
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
The 1941 Maltese Falcon.
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
I believe I’ve already used my Drive-in marquee scrambling stories in a previous quiz, so I must go with the story of my 7th grade class mate, David Stickle. Throughout the year he delivered a bunch of oral book reports on a (non-existent) series of books about a pair of tweens called the Knobb Sisters, written by a (non-existent) lady author with three names. The books were very edifying (“…so I guess the point is, you should just be yourself…”). Mrs. Ruthkoff loved his reports. But his book report on “The Knobb Sisters Take a Vacation” took a left turn around Chapter 3 when Grampa took the girls to see Joan Crawford in Berserk at the local drive-in (which happened to be playing currently at our local drive-in as well). The book report went into insane detail about Michael Gough getting a spike through the head and Diana Dors being sawn in half. The jig was up.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
I checked out the Wikipedia list of same, and I’ve actually seen a handful of them, but none of them made much of an impression. (Totally wish I’d thought of Peter Sobczynski’s answer, Kiss Me Deadly).
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Seven Men from Now.
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
Nope.
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Tho I like Soderbergh, I deliberately avoided both of these (for entirely different reasons).
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
Oh fer fuck’s sake.
Tried and failed to put this up on Sunday. Gave up, till I got the bright idea to break it up into chunks. Actually, got the idea by copying off another student above, who also happens to have a similar answer to "favorite movie feast" but I promise that wasn't stealing, sir.
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
Casualties of War
Deliverance
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
Café Society
The Jane Austen Book Club
Canadian Pacific
The Cariboo Trail
The Big Heat
Monsters
Mr. Holmes
2) Favorite movie feast
Hot dog eating contest, Meatballs. "C'mon, Fink, this is weenie war!"
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
Both great one-room joints, but by far the more entertaining is Rear Window. And Grace Kelly gets more adoring screen time of course. I see something new in RW every time. But I think every time I see DMFM, I see just about the same thing: a room.
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
That's easy: David Byrne/Talking Heads, Once in a Lifetime, in Stop Making Sense.
5-10) Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
It'll probably fail me, but I have to exclude these since I've seen none of those titles.
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
It's a toss-up between two rather pretentious titles (which I hope earns me extra points)… Cocteau's Beauty & the Beast, which I did not expect to knock me out so handily when I saw it for the first time earlier this year, and The Red Shoes, which I expected to knock me out after all I'd heard, but instead it only completely killed me. In a pinch, The Red Shoes.
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
About the only sport I really like is tennis, and it's never been captured well in film. You'd think the essentially 1.85 aspect ratio of the court would make it a shoe-in. The only possible exception I can think of is the intercutting toward the end of Strangers on a Train, but that's mostly cause it's Hitchcock doing what he does well, not because tennis is being presented in all its man-vs-man/man-vs-the elements intensity. I'd love to see a live-action film version of the anime cartoon The Prince of Tennis, which, with its colorfully over-the-top, 90 mph backgrounds seems to be, to me, the visual foundation for any approach filmically.
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
You'd think since I'm getting older, I'd appreciate Wild Strawberries more than when I was in college, and you'd think the heady, late-night-dorm-rap trappings of much of The Seventh Seal would make it seem shallow and tinny by now. But no, WS is great, but The Seventh Seal is just a better movie. More uncannily and indelibly visual, funnier, starker, and for my money, more universally/individually relatable.
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
There are surely many that are more stoked with great extras or are more lofty international titles or what have you, but the one that I own that I would keep if I could only keep one is: Playtime. How it gives me life.
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
I don't know if I've captured the spirit of the question properly, but I would love to see a bloody test of physical prowess to match the ego-intellect prowess displayed by the Cyril Hume-penned character Dr. Morphius from Forbidden Planet and the Cyril Hume-penned character Ed Avery (James Mason) from Bigger Than Life. Let's settle this once and for all, gentlemen.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Never seen a Shakespeare adaptation quite like Throne of Blood, with all the visceral, nads-out white knuckling. It's otherworldly and dense with a weird mythology that feels not just extra-cultural, but downright alien.
17) Your favorite movie snack
Call me a traditionalist, a purist, or boring… but it's popcorn.
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
Man, I gave it a shot a couple years ago. I came away thinking, what an interesting experiment, but I think that was the I-know-it's-Altman talking. Standing alone, by itself, unadorned with a director's name, and only my sensibilities in play, it's a resounding no.
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
The name that screams to mind is Errol Morris, but I know there must be many more "valuable" than he. Maybe, in another sense, Murrow's See it Now exposé of McCarthy, or those Herzog docs that I've not seen but know must be great, or the WW2 docs made by Capra, Huston, et al, which contained dubious footage but were nevertheless highly instrumental in stoking morale back home. I'm out of my element on this topic, so I should move on…
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
An unqualified vote for The Conversation. The Godfather sequel is great by every metric, but it hasn't grown on me yet. Confession: I only saw it for the first time this year. (Its omission was a secret shame for decades.) So I have to allow that it'll settle into me over time much as The Conversation has over the many years it's sat in my nervous conscience and metastasized as the world around me caught up to its paranoia.
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
Once I was driving my uncle and grandmother on I-35 outside of Waco, TX, near Hillsboro, where the motel is that made up the bulk of the middle of the Bottle Rocket, still one of my go-to comfort movies. They never understood why, and my grandmother had to take her confusion to the grave, but I pulled us off the highway, rolled into a parking spot, and I stared at the angle I'd seen a hundred times on screen. I know it sounds silly, but I had to hold back some real emotion. "There we go, there we go. A great place to lie low while the heat cools down."
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it?
I'd love to re-do the line of dialogue delivered by sweet little Newt in Aliens when Ripley's interviewing her about her experience and Newt shouts, "They're dead, okay? Can I go now?!" First of all, the line is written all wrong, and maybe there's only one way to deliver it and that's sarcastically. But even if the writer was standing on the set and he was Paddy Chayefsky and he had a no-line-change policy with the studio, the least you could do is whisper to Newt, "Okay, you have to say this asinine line, but at least can you say it while thinking about the horror of watching your parents mutilated by an alien?"
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
I'm a JFK man, myself. I don't find anything intrinsically interesting about The Doors as a band or Jim Morrison as a person, even though I like some of the music. The assassination, however, will never not be a fascinating rabbit hole. Placate me with a J. at Nuremberg-style cavalcade of actor's doing actor things to boot, and I'm in for the full 3 hours.
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
Funny, I was just thinking about this today over a sink full of dirty dishes, but I really do wish I could like The Third Man. The moments everyone talks about are fantastic (essentially all the Welles stuff), and the post-war setting should be an instant in for me, but I really do need someone to sit down with me and explain why it's so high on so many lists. (But you'll have to wait till I finish the dishes.)
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
WarGames, and it has everything to do with two things: 1) my abject fear of/fascination with nuclear war in 1983 and 2) Blue Thunder didn't have a kid in it to make me want to see it. That was where I was as a moviegoer in 1983… Blue Thunder seemed too serious, cause it was all adults.
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
First one that comes to mind and so probably my purest vote: His Girl Friday. Not just because it's a clever reconstitution of the characters from the original(s), but because on its own terms, it's one of the most fun, most thoroughly satisfying comedies I've ever seen.
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
I have never been to a drive-in movie. But my favorite stuff from Grease is and will always be the drive-in sequence. That is not the answer you were looking for.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
Does Room To Let count as non-horror? I have a vague memory of liking it, but an even more vague memory of what exact genre it was.
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Very huge fan of Frankenheimer's Seven Days in May, as I am of the several other awesome political films of that era: Advise & Consent, The Best Man, The Manchurian Candidate, and their all-out satirical flip-side Dr. Strangelove.
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
My love for Wes Anderson during the first half of the '00s was probably the prickliest, most precarious time for my friends. I just couldn't see how anyone could look at what he was doing and not be at least impressed, at best enthralled and enchanted by it all. But years later, a friend's lack of enthusiasm is miles from being a barometer of their worth.
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Honestly, not a fan of either one. So many others of his I'd watch first, The Limey, Out of Sight, even Schizopolis. EB and Traffic both rather annoyed me, frankly.
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960.
First I'm hearing of this. Sounds silly. I'm a DNA-deep lover of the older stuff, the noir, the B-movies, the less-seen gems… I assume that will always be the life blood of what they do. But expanding out into more recent fare seems as natural, if as how-old-am-I-anyway??, as hearing "Every Breath You Take" on the oldies station. I say deal with it, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the movie.
My answers are here: http://moviebot.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-slifr-quiz-mid-summer-back-to.html
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
Jason Bourne's magic source of income.
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
The answer is eluding me.
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
Ahh, but the strawberries that's... that's where I had them.
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
Two Lane Blacktop.
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
Orson Welles vs. Studio Executives.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Never seen 'em.
17) Your favorite movie snack
Hummus, guacamole, veggies, pretzels.
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
Never seen it.
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
Martin Scorsese.
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
Part II. The Conversation kind of drags for me in places.
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
Every time I drive past a nondescript stockbroker's office near where I work, I always remember that it was the site of Junior's Diner in Body Heat. Where Danson and Hurt talked about heat and murder and madness.
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
I can't imagine thinking I could make a movie better than any filmmaker.
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
The Doors. I love that movie. Seinfeld did JFK better.
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
Hey, that's a great question. Whoever inspired that question is, in the words of Marlene Dietrich in Touch Of Evil, some kind of man.
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
Impossible to pick one.
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
Ditto.
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
God, neither.
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
His Girl Friday,
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
Well, it was a Russ Meyer triple feature and my girlfriend was with me and, well, we didn't see the second two movies. And only about half of the first.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
A toss up between Black Caesar and Hell Up In Harlem.
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Seven Men From Now.
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
No.
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Brockovich.
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
Those millennials...
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home:
Jason Bourne; Tumbledown; Smokey and the Bandit II (don't judge me); To Each His Own; Captain Blood;
Woman On The Run; The Thomas Crown Affair (the Brosnan or should I say Russo); The Country Girl; Never Say Never Again ("Now write this: "The greatest rapture of my life was afforded me on a boat in Nassau by Fatima Blush," and sign it "James Bond, 007."); The Silence
2) Favorite movie feast
The steak in Liberty Valance.
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
I prefer Dial M. I've never liked Rear Window that much. And I think Kelly is hotter in Dial M.
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
Maria McKee and Lone Justice singing "Fortunate Son" in "Live At The Ritz."
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
Drag Me To Hell.
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
The Witches of Eastwick?
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
Graffiti is the obvious choice, but I can't think of a less obvious one.
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
Lost In America.
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold.
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
Vanishing Point.
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home (as of Aug 6, 2016
3 Bad Men (John Ford, 1926, BD), Last Days in the Desert (Rodrigo Garcia, 2016, DVD), Saving Mr. Wu (Ding Sheng, 2016, BD), Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (Shunya Ito, 1972, BD), Confirmation (Rick Famuyiwa, 2016, BD), Our Kind of Traitor (Susanna White, 2016, theatrical), The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthmos, 2015, BD), Star Trek Beyond (Justin Lin, 2016, theatrical), Deadline-U.S.A. (Richard Brooks, 1952, BD), Southside 1-1000 (Boris Ingster, 1950, theatrical)
BTW, the next 12 are all film noirs made between 1940 and 1950s, screened on 35mm at Noir City Seattle.
2) Favorite movie feast
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
Rear Window
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
800 Bullets
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
Day of Wrath
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
Mean Streets
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
Shortbus (only for the marquee listing)
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
Once Upon a Time in the West
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
Greaser's Palace
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
The Fall (Tarsem Singh, 2006)
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
Ice hockey – only one film has ever gotten it: Miracle
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
The Seventh Seal
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
Are you kidding me? If I can only go for one, it is The Complete Jacques Tati
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
Humphrey Bogart and Burt Lancaster vs. Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Throne of Blood
17) Your favorite movie snack
Peanut M&Ms
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
No
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
cont in next post
[cont]
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
The Conversation
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
The Bradbury Building
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
Can I say neither? In that case, 'The Doors'
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
Apparently my belief that "The Reckless Moment" is the greatest film that Max Ophuls ever made makes me a contrarian. So be it. He connected with and expressed beautifully the anxieties and challenges and sacrifices of people in the real world rather than exploring the heartbreaks of the rich and entitled, and he did it with a visual subtlety that is not as obviously elegant and rapturous as "The Earrings of Madame de…" but is just as expressive and resonant, if not moreso.
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
Jacques Tati's Playtime
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
John Boorman's Excalibur
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
WarGames
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
There was that time my mates and I snuck a bunch of us in the trunk, but when the show was over we weren't allowed to leave and we found ourselves in a prison camp for unemployed youth with gangs running the show with… wait a minute, that wasn't me, that was "Dead End Drive-In."
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
Does Quatermass and the Pit / Five Million Years to Earth (1967) count?
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Seventh Heaven (1927)
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
Ingrid, it's only a movie
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Traffic
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
Absurd and misguided
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
Only Angels Have Wings
The Frisco Kid (1935)
Zatoichi and the Chess Expert
Spy
The Secret Life of Pets
Charley Varrick
The Cavalry Trilogy (Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Rio Grande)
Gulliver’s Travels (Fleischer Bros.)
2) Favorite movie feast
I may not be clear on what you mean by feast, but my first thought is my annual Thanksgiving marathon. This tradition runs along themes, and goes back to the days of VHS. I’m not sure if the first one was the adventure marathon (Gunga Din, Treasure of the Sierra Madre and I forget what else) or the detective marathon (The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon and again I forget what else), but though I don’t remember the exact titles I do remember the feeling of rediscovery I had. There’s also the 4th of July marathon, which is more strictly thematic, which is what the Cavalry Trilogy this year, but which most frequently includes Young Mr. Lincoln, Yankee Doodle Dandy and Stagecoach. And then of course there’s the Columbus Day screenings of The Godfather I and II.
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
The question would seem to be is there any possible reason that you could rate Dial M for Murder over Rear Window, and the answer is no.
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
Never much cared for concert films. Seems like a boring thing to watch canned; I’d rather just listen to a recording. I don’t know if this counts, but something that sticks in my mind is Shel Silverstein and Dustin Hoffman singing “One More Ride” in Who is Harry Kellerman.
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
Sukiyaki Western Django.
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
Rosemary’s Baby.
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
Once Upon a Time in America, if time weren’t an issue.
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, ditto.
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
Cat Ballou.
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
Americathon.
(11) Favorite movie fairy tale
That’s a pretty rich vein for me: Miracle in Milan, La Belle et la Bete, The Man Who Could Work Miracles, Thief of Baghdad, The Wizard of Oz, Les Visiteurs du Soir, Groundhog Day, The Devil and Daniel Webster, the Nazi Munchausen, Pinocchio – any of these could be favorites. But if I have to pick I think I’d have to go for Time Bandits. I think I’ve found the theme for this year’s Thanksgiving marathon.
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
I don’t know, cockfighting? I think just about every sport has been done justice sometime or other. I guess basketball has been the least well served.
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
The Seventh Seal. Not a Bergman guy.
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
Still Four Lubitsch Musicals. In my dreams Christian Marclay’s The Clock.
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
Toshiro Mifune, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Victor McLagen, Ward Bond, Bruce Willis.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Throne of Blood. One of these days I’m going to have to take a more serious look at non-samurai Kurosawa.
17) Your favorite movie snack
Can’t beat popcorn. It’s what lets you know you’re at a movie.
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
No, I haven’t seen it. I’d count myself an Altman fan, but there a spots in his oeuvre that just give off a bad movie vibe, and that’s one of them.
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
This is going to sound like naming Norman Rockwell as your favorite illustrator, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say Ken Burns. The Civil War is another recurring Thanksgiving marathon.
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
The question would seem to be is there any possible reason that you could rate The Conversation over The Godfather Part II, and again I say no. What you could say is that the Godfather pictures were practically a catalog of American movie acting in the 70s, and The Conversation catches up with one of the two major exclusions (the other being Nicholson).
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
The corner where I lived once in Hollywood is in one of the chase scenes in Busting. That was when I was living at the Lido, the apartment building where the gatefold picture in the Eagles’ Hotel California was taken, which I never knew until I read it somewhere because I’ve never seen the inside of that album. I worked in a building that was a location in both Heat and Mad Men, and I also worked in the Die Hard building for a while.
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Not really the question you’re asking, but I’d force the dumb fuck producers of Suspicion to use Hitchcock’s ending. I’ve just watched Only Angels Have Wings, and I kind of thought it would be better if they’d ended it where Jean Arthur sees the coin is two-headed and says “Hey!” But far be it from me to second guess Howard Hawks.
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
Haven’t seen either. Really, I have no time for that guy.
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
I think Barton Fink is a better L.A. movie than The Big Lebowski. On the Coen theme, I kind of like The Hudsucker Proxy and Intolerable Cruelty.
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
The French Grande for La Belle et la Bete: http://tinyurl.com/j6nd42g
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
The French Grande for Ran: http://tinyurl.com/n5nuuo7
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
Blue Thunder I saw when it came out and I enjoyed it well enough, but I’ve never felt the least urge to see it again.
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
The Coen Bros. True Grit.
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
Not really a story or even a concrete memory, but more of a sense memory of being a little kid in a station wagon in my pajamas, with my brothers and sister and the giant bag of Styrofoam tasting popcorn from White Front.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
I’m afraid it’s never been Hammer Time for me. I suppose the idea of Christopher Lee as Sherlock Holmes is intriguing.
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Seven Samurai. Fear not the obvious, I say.
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
No, that’s silly.
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Seen neither.
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
Particularly when I finally got to see Charley Varrick again in its proper aspect ratio there just recently (the only video available was pan and scan), I’d say it was idiotic. The last thing that channel needs is less variety, and anyway, the whole question will be irrelevant when they start up that streaming service.
Hi Dennis!
I posted answers (and questions!) over at my blog: http://bubblegum-cinephile.blogspot.com/2016/08/notes-on-auteur-theorizing-in-2016-or_55.html
Thanks for another great quiz!
Pencil is down! Comments are up! http://coolbev.blogspot.com/2016/08/film-quiz.html
After he publishes nothing for weeks, I can't believe that Dennis almost buries his quiz posts under two more posts.
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
The State I am In, Ghosts, Yella, Jerichow, A Woman in Berlin, A Coffee in Berlin, The Onion Field, Finding Dory, The BFG, Silk Stockings
2) Favorite movie feast
Dinner with the family on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
Both (I'll make up- for this at question 23)
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
"Girlfriend is Better," David Byrne, Stop Making Sense
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
Django Kill (Giulio Questi, 1967)
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015)
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
Perche no?
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
The Solid Gold Cadillac (Richard Quine, 1956)
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, 1957)
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
Why?
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966)
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
Swimming
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
Both (I'll make up- for this at question 27)
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
La Jetée and Sans Soleil (Chris Marker)
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
I'm not cool enough to understand the question.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Throne of Blood
17) Your favorite movie snack
Good 'n' Plenty
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
Both
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
Sandor Krasna
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
The Godfather II
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
The Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco (couldn't find "Portrait of Carlotta" anywhere, though)
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
The Shining, montage of Jack Torrance writing at the big table; no instructions for the actors, just for the crew: Put that chair where it belongs and leave it there.
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
Neither
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
I really like Baz Luhrmann's Australia and The Great Gatsby
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
Psycho
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
Chinatown
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
Neither
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
Used to go to drive-ins with a couple who always brought an empty Mason jar with them so they wouldn't have to walk out on the film to trek to the restroom.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
Stop Me Before I Kill!
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Seven Samurai
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
Denial of the divinity of Hitchcock
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Traffic
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
If it's true, it's ridiculous. Maybe 1980. After all, there should be a certain age requirement before one gets the right to be called "classic".
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
The State I am In, Ghosts, Yella, Jerichow, A Woman in Berlin, A Coffee in Berlin, The Onion Field, Finding Dory, The BFG, Silk Stockings
2) Favorite movie feast
Dinner with the family on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
Both (I'll make up- for this at question 23)
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
"Girlfriend is Better," David Byrne, Stop Making Sense
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
Django Kill (Giulio Questi, 1967)
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015)
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
Perche no?
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
The Solid Gold Cadillac (Richard Quine, 1956)
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, 1957)
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
Why?
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966)
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
Swimming
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
Both (I'll make up- for this at question 27)
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
La Jetée and Sans Soleil (Chris Marker)
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
I'm not cool enough to understand the question.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
Throne of Blood
17) Your favorite movie snack
Good 'n' Plenty
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
Both
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
Sandor Krasna
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
The Godfather II
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
The Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco (couldn't find "Portrait of Carlotta" anywhere, though)
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
The Shining, montage of Jack Torrance writing at the big table; no instructions for the actors, just for the crew: Put that chair where it belongs and leave it there.
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
Neither
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
I really like Baz Luhrmann's Australia and The Great Gatsby
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
Psycho
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
Chinatown
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
Neither
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
Used to go to drive-ins with a couple who always brought an empty Mason jar with them so they wouldn't have to walk out on the film to trek to the restroom.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
Stop Me Before I Kill!
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Seven Samurai
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
Denial of the divinity of Hitchcock
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Traffic
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
If it's true, it's ridiculous. Maybe 1980. After all, there should be a certain age requirement before one gets the right to be called "classic".
Greetings! As always, I love these quizzes and posted my answers on my blog:
http://kaedrin.com/weblog/archive/003389.html
Thanks again for posting these, already looking forward to the next one!
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
James Brown in “The T.A.M.I. Show,” with the Who in “Monterey Pop” second.
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
“Easy Rider.”
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
Lumiere’s “A Trip to the Moon.”
17) Your favorite movie snack
Sno-Caps and a Coke.
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
He hasn’t been mentioned yet, so I’ll say D.A. Pennebaker, for “Don’t Look Back,” “Moneterey Pop,” and “The War Room.”
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
When my wife and I saw “Safety Last” at one of the old theaters in downtown LA, during the annual Last Remaining Seats series sponsored by the LA Conservancy, we walked out at the end of the movie and walked past the building that Lloyd scaled in the movie’s most famous scene. That was pretty neat.
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
“There’s Always Tomorrow” is a nearly great movie that’s diminished by the tacked-on happy ending demanded by the studio (or at least that’s my understanding). I’d end it when the toy robot falls off the table and keeps mindlessly trying to walk as it lies on its side on the floor. My direction to the actors would be “Thank you, go home. “
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
I can’t stand Jean-Luc Godard. Lou Reed is supposed to have said about Bob Dylan, “He’s the kind of guy you’d tell to shut up at a party.” That’s a perfect description of Godard.
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
I might have missed it, but I don’t think anyone has mentioned “Seven Chances.”
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
Oy vey.
1) Name the last 10 movies you've seen, either theatrically or at home
I’ve been on a Tour de France and Olympics binge, so haven’t seen a lot of movies lately, but here are the last ones I remember seeing:
Premium Rush
Hail Caesar!
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
The Italian Job (2003)
Gypsy
Funny Girl
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (trying to educate myself on musicals I’ve never seen)
My Fair Lady (not part of the educational series)
Speed Racer
Deadpool
2) Favorite movie feast
Besides popcorn with a bunch of movie theater butter on it? Oh, that comes later – you mean a feast within a movie! Hmm … probably Big Night.
3) Dial M for Murder (1954) or Rear Window (1954)?
Rear Window is one of my very favorites. Dial M is awfully close, though!
4) Favorite song or individual performance from a concert film
I love musicals, but I’m almost always disappointed with concert films – I make no sense, even to myself. The best I can come up with is “Nessun Dorma” from the original The Three Tenors (1994). Three great singers, three different styles, one great aria.
Excluding another film from the same director, if you were programming a double feature what would you pair with:
OK, I haven’t seen any of these movies, so my answers here are gonna be pretty odd!
5) Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986)?
Jim Jarmusch, Down By Law (1986)
6) Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Throughout the Ages (1922)?
Amy Berg, Deliver Us From Evil (2006)
7) Federico Fellini's I vitteloni (1953)?
Edgar Wright, The World’s End (2013)
8) Vincente Minnelli's The Long, Long Trailer (1953)?
Albert Brooks, Lost in America (1985)
9) Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)?
Percy Adlon, Bagdad Café (1987)
10) George Englund's Zachariah (1971)?
David Lynch, Dune (1984)
11) Favorite movie fairy tale
Pan’s Labyrinth strikes me as being a sort of fairy tale, if an unusual one, and dark. For something more conventional – maybe Beauty and the Beast (1991).
12) What is the sport that you think has most eluded filmmakers in terms of capturing either its essence or excitement?
Probably more an indication of which sport I care most about, but baseball always seems to come across oddly. It’s played on such an expansive time scale, with a fair amount of time where little happens outwardly, and yet there is great suspense. And moments of intense action. And swaths of time where you could have gone and got a hot dog, except you never know when that action or suspense is going to happen. Maybe Kurosawa should have made a baseball movie. : )
13) The Seventh Seal (1957) or Wild Strawberries (1957)?
I’d like to see them both, but that hasn’t happened with either one yet.
14) Your favorite Criterion Collection release
Thank you, Criterion Collection, for getting Mon Oncle out there!
15) In the tradition of the Batley Townswomen's Guild's staging of the Battle of Pearl Harbor and Camp on Blood Island, who would be the featured players (individual or tag-team) in your Classic Film Star Free-for-all Fight?
Maybe the cast and crew of Apocalypse Now, actually in Vietnam.
16) Throne of Blood (1957) or The Lower Depths (1957)?
See answer to # 13.
17) Your favorite movie snack
Besides popcorn with a bunch of that movie theater butter on it? Popcorn with a little bit of movie theater butter. Was really into Flicks when I was a kid.
18) Robert Altman's Quintet-- yes or no?
I wouldn’t say no, but I’m not in a hurry to see it.
19) Name the documentarian whose work you find most valuable
The only ones I’ve seen enough of to think of in those terms are the Maysles Brothers -- Salesman, Grey Gardens, Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic.
20) The Conversation (1974) or The Godfather Part II (1974)?
So I finally bucked up and watched The Godfather a few years ago – an excellent movie, though I have no particular interest in seeing it again, and so haven’t gone on to Part Two. Mafia films always seem to leave me cold, even when they’re really well made. So, I guess it’s The Conversation for me.
21) Favorite movie location you've visited in person
I’ve hardly visited any! Actually, just got back from Jacksonville, OR, where The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid was filmed – but I haven’t seen the movie. I guess the one I got the biggest kick out of was the Denny’s in Glenwood, OR, where the “toast” scene from Five Easy Pieces was filmed.
22) If you could have directed a scene from any movie in the hope of improving it, what scene would it be, and what direction would you give the actor(s) in it? (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
I thought Schindler’s List was a magnificent film, but I’ve always thought the scene near the end where Schindler finally breaks down emotionally didn’t work right. I mean, it would seem to make sense to have that scene, but it was jarring juxtaposed with the rest of the film. I think it might have worked better with the emotion dialed back a little more. Maybe just mention one object, and how many people could have been rescued. Let the rest be played visually, and with some time for the audience to contemplate.
23) The Doors (1991) or JFK (1991)?
I’ve seen JFK.
24) What is your greatest film blasphemy or strongest evidence of your status as a contrarian? (H/T Larry Aydlette)
I can’t stand The Quiet Man -- one ugly Irish stereotype after another.
25) Favorite pre-1970 one-sheet
Vertigo -- http://www.limageriegallery.com/Vertigo_Original_US_One_Sheet_p/onesheet1203.htm
26) Favorite post-1970 one-sheet
Just for variety’s sake, I’ll change up my answer from an earlier quiz.
Being There -- http://store.walterfilm.com/images/BeingThere042014OS.jpg
27) WarGames (1983) or Blue Thunder (1983)?
Never seen Blue Thunder. I like War Games, though, in spite of all the silliness.
28) Your candidate for best remake ever made
I guess The Maltese Falcon (1941) is technically a remake.
29) Give us a good story, or your favorite memory, about attending a drive-in movie
When I was, hmm seven or eight, my folks took my sister and me along to a double feature of Tora! Tora! Tora! and The French Connection. I got frustrated because I couldn’t read the white subtitles superimposed on the white uniforms of the Japanese naval officers – soon fell asleep, missed the battle, and all of French Connection. I’m kind of thinking that was my parents’ plan.
30) Favorite non-horror Hammer film
I don’t think I’ve seen a one. : ( But I would like to see Song of Freedom.
31) Favorite movie with the word/number "seven" in the title (question submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Probably still The Magnificent Seven (I’ve still never seen Seven Samurai all the way through), although Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens was pretty good!
32) Is there a movie disagreement you can think of which would cause you to reconsider the status of a personal relationship?
Certainly not on aesthetic qualities. Perhaps on content (Triumph of the Will or something like that).
33) Erin Brockovich (2000) or Traffic (2000)?
Brockovich sticks in my mind more. I remember being quite impressed with Traffic at the time , but not anxious to revisit it at the moment. Maybe my fellow students will change my mind …
34) Your thoughts on the recent online petition demanding that Turner Classic Movies cease showing all movies made after 1960
For heaven’s sake, leave TCM alone. I think channel 508 is free – they should start up their own cable movie channel.
As usual, I'm late getting this in, Dennis, and posting it over on my blog. Many thanks, my friend.
https://le0pard13.com/2016/09/09/yes-ill-have-the-garlic-a-slifr-mid-summer-back-to-school-movie-quiz/
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