Tuesday, December 10, 2013

PROFESSOR LARRY GOPNIK’S POST-HANUKAH, PRE-CHRISTMAS, POST-SCHRODINGER, PRE-APOCALYPSE SLIFR HOLIDAY MOVIE QUIZ



Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a while since Miss Jean Brodie asked you firmly but politely to put your pencils down and seal off your answers to the last SLIFR movie quiz. But we here at SLIFR University know that even if you, as a student body, have not been as rigorously tested of late as you may have become accustomed to in previous sessions, your education has most certainly gone on, the inexorable accrual of knowledge and experience as impossible to deny as it is impossible to justify your outrageous tuition bills.

And after all, what is a ridiculously expensive education good for if not for flaunting all that knowledge, which probably seems at best trivial to those outside the grueling scrutiny of academia, in semester-ending exercises such as these exams? For those inside the confines of that intense world, the incessant intrusion of such a bombardment of book-learnin’ simply must coexist with the pleasures of art and music and the occasional bacchanalian beer blast. The awareness of this apparently paradoxical coexistence creates, for the distanced yet interested observer, a consideration of conditions that have become standard operational procedure for the typical SLIFR student, that is the condition of being simultaneously both dead-- crushed by oppressive forces within academia like, you know, Dean Wormer or somebody-- and alive to the possibilities of life opened up by exposure to the likes of Vermeer, Whitman, the Renoirs and, of course, a seemingly endless supply of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

We here at SLIFR U feel that there is no one better to guide you through the challenges of this year-end testing experience than one who is well acquainted with this sort of quantum physics-derived philosophical conundrum, the sort of challenge which you may face in this new quiz when forced to choose between two art film sex bombs of the ‘60s, or to justify wanting to put a ballpeen hammer upside the head of some guy in line at the hardware store when you overhear him start to diss Last Year at Marienbad, which just happens to be your favorite movie. Yes, there is only one man on the teaching staff here who we feel is up to that Herculean, or perhaps more appropriately that Schrodingeresque task. He is, of course, Professor Larry Gopnik, head of the mathematics department here at SLIFR U, an esteemed educator, master scribbler of figures, amateur philosopher and occasional dabbler in the niche arena of religion-based hauntings. Professor Gopnik has concocted, for your delectation and frustration, with all awareness toward the multiple religious festivals and perspectives being celebrated during this season, his very own Post-Hanukah, Pre-Christmas, Post-Schrodinger, Pre-Apocalypse Holiday Movie Quiz, which he assures us is imminently finishable well in advance of the end of the world.

The usual request applies as much to this quiz as to all the ones previous. For each query, copy and paste the question into the comments field and provide the question along with your answer, so the reader will be able to more easily track which question it is you are answering without having to constantly scroll back up to the top of the post. There are no other restrictions or guidelines. And there are, of course, no wrong responses. Short answers are, of course, quite acceptable, though the more detailed your answer, the more entertaining it is likely to be for the scholars who hold your grade, and thus your fate, in their hands. And if you have your own blog, please feel free to post your answers there and leave a link below to your own page.

So let’s get crackin’. Blue Books open, spit out your gum, sharpen your Metzenbaum scissors (we think outside the box here at SLIFR U), and for God’s sake, get that Schrodinger’s cat out of here! You may have as much time as you need to finish, or until that twister blows through town. Have fun!


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1) Favorite unsung holiday film

2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved

3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?

4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?

5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past

6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere

7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie

8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?

9) Explain your reaction when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)

10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?

11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping

12) Second favorite George Cukor movie

13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)

14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction

15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover

16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?

17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)

18) Director with the strongest run of great movies

19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?

20) Second favorite Tony Scott film

21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?

22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy

23) Video store or streaming?

24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter

25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?

26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?

27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest

28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it

29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree

30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014



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44 comments:

  1. Yay! Thanks for this, Dennis. My answers are here: http://bloody-terror.blogspot.ca/2013/12/professor-larry-gopniks-post-hanukah.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film
    L'Assassinat du Pere Noel
    2) A movie you were surprised to have liked/loved
    Die Hard
    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?
    EEH's more versatile.
    4) Convoy--yes or no?
    No-ish
    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past
    Ron Perlman: German mountain films of the 30s (could play a mountain)
    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere
    7 Samurai, Rashomon
    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie
    Vaghe stelle dell'orsa...
    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?
    Nebraska. Madadayo.
    9) Why do you react the way you do when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies?
    Shrug
    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?
    Blondell, though GF is beyond great too
    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping
    Prince Randian
    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie
    Gaslight
    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)
    Gravity X10
    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction
    Bad Timing, and it still alternates
    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover
    The Shanghai Gesture
    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?
    Hmm. Delon, for his eagerness to play shits.
    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5wUr1Ty_R8
    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies
    Charles Laughton
    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?
    Good/inevitable
    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film
    Deja Vu
    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?
    The Mayor of Hell. Friend's recommendation.
    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy
    Prince Randian
    23) Video store or streaming?
    Video store
    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter
    Once Upon a Time in America, maybe
    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?
    AK
    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?
    Playtime. My wife was, like, Meh.
    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest
    I've seen all of Richard Lester's films A LOT, but have yet to watch tthe substantially remastered How I Won the War DVD
    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it
    The Shining
    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree
    "Crusader," CF Kane's OTHER sled
    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014 To get another movie into production.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film

    L'il Abner. What other movie celebrates Sadie Hawkins Day?

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have
    liked/loved

    Broken Circle Breakdown A movie about bluegrass singers in Belgium? One of my favorite films of this year.

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?

    The ever cheerful Mr. Sparks.

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?

    No.

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past

    I'm starting to think Justin Timberlake should have been around when original musicals were a viable genre.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere

    Track of the Cat. All that snow.

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie

    The Stranger (1967).

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?

    Theatrically: Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Sion Sono - 2013) DVD: Inside Llewyn Davis *Coen & Coen - 2013) Blu-ray: The Big Gundown (Sergio Sollima - 1968)

    9) Why do you react the way you do when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies? (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)

    It depends on the person, their argument, and platform for presenting said argument.

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?

    Ann Dvorak.

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping

    I think there's a joke somewhere here, most likely involving Edward Everett Horton.

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie

    Dinner at Eight

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)

    The year ain't over yet, bub!

    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction

    I didn't like The Big Lebowski the first time.

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover

    Luchino Visconti's The Stranger, with commentary track by Anna Karina.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?

    I'm going with Marcello because he had a better sense of quality control.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)

    Walk on the Wild Side

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies

    I think Akira Kurosawa comes closest.

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?

    I'm not sure if it's elitism as much as clubbiness between some people.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film

    Domino, although I wish liberties were not taken regarding aspects of Miss Harvey's life.

    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?

    Madonna of the Seven Moons. I purchased the Eclipse set of films from Gainsborough Pictures on impulse. By Arthur Crabtree, visionary director of Fiend without a Face.

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy

    That argument got settle when I saw a photo of Maggie Cheung in her little Santa suit.

    23) Video store or streaming?

    Streaming killed the video store.

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter

    Seth Holt's Blood from the Mummy's Tomb. Alternate choice: Antonioni's Beyond the Clouds.

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?

    Mike's muse - Monica.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?

    I don't understand this question.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest

    I would like to see Frank Borzage's final film, The Big Fisherman.

    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it

    Santa gets killed in David Cronenberg's Rabid.

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree

    Maggie Cheung giftwrapped.

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014

    More good DVDs to review.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My answers are posted here: http://filmicability.blogspot.com/2013/12/yet-even-more-answers-for-good-professor.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film

    Two of my favorite holiday films are The Ref and Bad Santa, but I can't really call them unsung. I'll interpret this to mean a film that doesn't necessarily bring a holiday to mind the moment it's mentioned. With that in mind, I'm going to say The Thin Man, just for the look Myrna Loy gives William Powell while he shoots ornaments off the tree. (Also, that's the scene where she says "I heard you were shot five times in the tabloids" and he responds pricelessly.

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved

    When Fight Club first came out, I wasn't predisposed to see it - I generally stayed away from violent movies, and a number of critics whose opinions I respected (Roger Ebert among them) came out against it. Then I went to a party where a friend of a friend, after gaining my assurance that I wasn't planning to see it, told me the entire plot, twist included. Which, I have to say, piqued my interest. Later, it was showing at the Nickelodeon for $1.99 (this is 1999, y'understand), so I decided I was okay with seeing for myself. As I knew the plot twist beforehand, I could see it more analytically than I usually see a movie the first time, and I wound up loving the hell out of it. I'm sure I would've caught up with it sometime later (who knows when - I still haven't seen The Game, and I've owned it on DVD for a year), but I'm glad I saw it under the circumstances that I did.

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?

    EEH for being in the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons AND getting a shout-out from Yosemite Sam in Hare Trigger.

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?

    Oh, a hundred percent yes. It's a kickass song, for one. For another, Peckinpah was having fun with his reputation in a way directors can't or won't these days - why do you think the exploding ketchup bottles were shot in slow motion? Wish that Ali didn't have that Afro going, though...

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past?

    I think Brendan Fraser would have been HUGE in the '40s, in either the Joel McCrea or Errol Flynn roles.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere

    I'll say 12 Angry Men, which has a heavy rainstorm that postpones a ballgame and prompts a memorable monologue from Martin Balsam. Come to think of it, it also has the oppressive heat that you can see in everyone's faces.

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie

    Pass.

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?

    Theatrically, Dallas Buyers Club - I take back any jokes I ever made about Matthew McConaughey. On DVD, The Laughing Policeman. Did Walter Matthau set a foot wrong once in the '70s?

    9) Why do you react the way you do when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies? (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)

    (takes humble bow) I react with confusion, sympathy, and jealousy. I can't understand how someone couldn't have seen it, I'm sorry they haven't, and I wish I could see it for the first time, like they're about to do.

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?

    Neither one of them made a major impression on me, I'm sorry to say.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping

    Why, Noel Coward, of course!

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie

    Keeping in mind that Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind weren't his visions, I'll chose Born Yesterday as a worthy runner-up to The Philadelphia Story.

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)

    I can only speak for the movies I've seen, and I haven't seen very many at all (plenty on the agenda, tho, including All Is Lost tomorrow night!). But here's what I did see in order of preference:

    1) Before Midnight
    2) Dallas Buyers Club
    3) Gravity
    4) Room 237
    5) Blue Jasmine
    6) Bad Grandpa
    7) This Is The End

    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction

    I don't think that's ever happened. What can I say? "A little red wagon, a little red bike / I ain't no monkey, but I know what I like..."

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover

    Fearless just came out on Warner Archive Blu-Ray, which is a shame because that was always my go-to for this question. So even though it has no bonus features to speak of, I'll have to move past it and vote for California Split, with the original music, with interviews with George Segal and Elliot Gould while they're both still alive. HURRY!!

    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?

    Mastroianni. You can't deny the Fellini connection. You just can't.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)

    I could watch the movie promised by the opening of Beavis & Butthead Do America over and over and over again.

    http://youtu.be/gzBuWOZGcuc

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies

    This is tough. Let's say a minimum of three movies constitutes a run. I have to go with Preston Sturges. Not only did he have seven way above average movies, three of which regularly show up on all-time-best lists (The Great McGinty (1940), Christmas in July (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Palm Beach Story (1942), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)), he directed them all in a five-year timespan. That's twice as many as Kubrick back when he was prolific, for heaven's sake.

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?

    It's inevitable in the sense that a cineaste will seek out films that escape John Q. Redbox, but a true cineaste will also take the time to profess joy about trash. Maintain the balance and it's all good.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film

    Crimson Tide. I'm not proud.

    ReplyDelete
  8. 21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?

    A Thousand Clowns is one of those films that you hear about and hear about and finally make the time to see. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it - witty as all get-out, with bad guys who weren't all bad, a child actor I actually enjoyed, supercreative editing, and more more more. I bought it on a hunch and watched it with a guy who remembered enjoying it back when it came out; he was as delighted with my delight as I was delighted with the movie.

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy

    Greta Garbo.

    23) Video store or streaming?

    Mommy, what's a video store?

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter

    John Huston's The Dead. It's one of the great achievements of cinema, bringing a James Joyce story to the screen and doing it justice, and I don't think a man of younger years of lesser accomplishments could have done it with these results.

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?

    Pass.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?

    I once dragged my college roommate to see a revival of Singin' in the Rain with me. His favorite part was the footage of the plane taxiing into the building that later showed up in the opening credits to The Fall Guy. Every time a song ended, the audience would applaud, and he'd say, louder and louder over the course of the movie, "They can't hear you!!" To be honest, it's one of my fonder memories of him.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest

    Too many answers. All Marx Brothers post-Day at the Races, half of Robert Altman's catalog, more than half of Billy Wilder's, A Serious Man by the Coens, Fast Food Nation by Richard Linklater, and a couple movies William Goldman wrote that I own but just haven't gotten around to watching. For openers.

    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it

    It's a Wonderful Life. Yes, I'm serious.

    http://www.uproxx.com/gammasquad/2012/12/its-a-terrifying-life-three-reasons-the-christmas-classic-is-actually-a-horror-movie/

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree

    Does Mila Kunis count? If not, I think it would be pretty freakin' awesome to own Sam Raimi's '73 Oldsmobile Delta 88.

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014

    I got that when Eveningstar Cinema, my local art house movie theater, successfully raised enough money to buy a digital projector and not have to shut down. Anything I see there in 2014 will be gravy.

    ReplyDelete

  9. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film

    LA BUCHE (1999).

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved

    Since 'tis the season, LOVE ACTUALLY (2003).

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?

    Guelph's own Ned Sparks!

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?

    Yes.10-4, good buddy!

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past?

    George Clooney in a 50s big bug scare flick.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere

    Rain, APOCALYPSE NOW (1979).

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie

    Next question...

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?

    Theatrically, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 (2013). On DVD, HORROR EXPRESS (1972). On Blu-ray, THE FLY (1958).

    9) Explain your reaction when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies? (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)

    Say nothing, usually. Walk away. Then give them the gift of my home-made shaving lotion and tell them to rub it on the tender part of their neck, and also their genitals.

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?

    Glenda, photo finish.

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping

    Aline MacMahon.

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie

    ADAM'S RIB, I guess. Are we counting uncredited work?

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)

    If I saw 10 movies from this year I'd be very much surprised.

    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction

    Hate to love: TOWER OF EVIL, aka THE HORROR ON SNAPE ISLAND (1972)

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover

    ISLAND OF TERROR (1965). Minority opinion.

    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?

    Mastroianni pre-1960, Delon post-1970.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)

    I still remember, with affection, the effect the opening reel of DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) had on me. I wanted to scram. Glad I didn't.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cXW6gADeSY

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies

    Herk Harvey.

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?

    This question degrades the both of us.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film

    I only really like MAN ON FIRE (2004).

    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?

    Arch Oboler's BEWITCHED (1945). Nick McCarthy, writer-director of THE PACT (2012), gave me a copy and importuned me to watch it. Importuned!

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy

    Aline MacMahon

    23) Video store or streaming?

    Video store.

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter

    John Huston, THE DEAD (1985).

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?

    Monica Vitti.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest



    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it

    SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT (1970).

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree

    Aline MacMahon

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014

    Better eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  10. In case my original answer is rejected as not applying to a specific wintertime holiday, than my alternate answer is Crooks Anonymous with multiple Santas and the gift of big screen newcomer Julie Christie running around in a nightie.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My answers:

    http://mythicalmonkey.blogspot.com/2013/12/professor-larry-gopniks-post-hanukah.html

    ReplyDelete
  12. Are you even reading these, Dennis? How about a comment on the sites, or as a response?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Like two ships that pass in the night...

    I was planning on doing just that, Dean, but I won't get a chance until tomorrow. I'm trying to keep up with reading the lists, but I really haven't had much time for anything other than moderating and posting the comments today. (The holidays are trying to catch up with me, but I refuse to allow it.)

    But I'm loving what I've seen so far, and I do appreciate the extra mileage from you all who post on your own sites. A more full round-up of what one student has called the most sadistic SLIFR movie quiz yet tomorrow! (Is it? Really?)

    ReplyDelete
  14. That's nice. Sorry if I sounded demanding, there. I forgot it was the holidays (not for me, really, but for other people it is).

    ReplyDelete
  15. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film
    Christmas Evil. Though this has the support of John Waters, who calls it his favorite Christmas movie, the bandwagon needs to be much larger.

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved
    Up in the Air. I have a knee-jerk prejudice against the children of celebrities, and Juno drove me berserk, but I was completely charmed by Jason Reitman’s third film.
    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?
    Horton, mostly because I’ve seen a lot more of his work.

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?
    I’ve seen only parts of this film on TV as a kid, but I could never say no to Sam Peckinpah.

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past
    Denis Lavant would be fantastic in any silent film genre, especially horror, comedy, and melodrama.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere
    McCabe & Mrs. Miller

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie
    Rocco and His Brothers

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?
    Theatrically: Nebraska DVD: All Is Bright

    9) Explain your reaction when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)
    I politely make my case and then silently hold a small but permanent grudge for the remainder of my life.

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?
    Joan Blondell, for holding her own, and then some, alongside James Cagney, Jayne Mansfield, John Cassavetes, and Won Ton Ton, the dog who saved Hollywood.

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping
    W.C. Fields. If he’s as lousy a camper as I am, disaster would ensue, but we’d have plenty to drink. He would probably also share my sour outlook on the current holiday season.

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie
    Adam’s Rib

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)
    I have yet to see potential contenders from the Coens, Claire Denis, Scorsese, David O. Russell, etc., but at this particular moment, my top 10, in the order I saw them: 1) Not Fade Away (Chase); 2) Like Someone in Love (Kiarostami); 3) The We & the I (Gondry); 4) Mud (Nichols); 5) Post Tenebras Lux (Reygadas); 6) Before Midnight (Linklater); 7) Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (DeNicola, Mori); 8) Computer Chess (Bujalski); 9) The Grandmaster (Kar Wai); 10) Nebraska (Payne)

    ReplyDelete
  16. 14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction
    Probably the closest thing to a dramatic reverse in opinion was seeing Oliver Stone’s The Doors as a Morrison-obsessed 14-year-old the year of its release and loving it, then seeing it a second time in college and finding it hysterically overblown and laughable.

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover
    Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural

    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?
    This is brutal. Marcello’s got a bit more range, but Delon gets the nod, thanks to his appearance in a handful of my favorite movies of all time.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)
    There are too many to have just one favorite, but the opening scene, including credits, of Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch is definitely near the top. Probably my favorite director credit moment.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjjowF-CT1g

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies
    This question is killing me. Right now, I have it narrowed down to Cassavetes: Faces through Love Streams, Hitchcock: Strangers on a Train through Marnie, Howard Hawks: Bringing Up Baby through Man’s Favorite Sport?, Joe Dante: The Howling through Matinee, and Bresson: Diary of a Country Priest through L’Argent. That’s where I’m going to stop before I remember other directors’ names. (Oh, how about Fassbinder and John Carpenter and Lubitsch and Altman and George Romero and …)

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?
    I think cineastes have an unfair reputation as elitists because most mainstream taste is confined to such a tiny niche of recent, expensive Hollywood films. That narrow focus is the real elitism. We’re open-hearted, open-minded explorers with a wide range of cinematic interests.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film
    Crimson Tide

    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?
    Charles Burnett’s The Horse, an incredible short film I watched when I finally started exploring the extras on my DVD copy of Killer of Sheep.

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy
    I don’t know if a Santa suit would work for Emmanuelle Beart, but I’m absolutely willing to give it a try.

    ReplyDelete
  17. 23) Video store or streaming?
    Streaming has its advantages, but I’m so happy a few great independent video stores are still thriving in my home city of Austin, Texas, and I visit them often.

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter
    Bunuel’s That Obscure Object of Desire and Hitchcock’s Family Plot

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?
    Monica Vitti is no slouch, but it’s Anna Karina by a mile for me.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?
    I prefer to see movies either by myself or with my wife because I like to think about them for a few days before having to talk about them, so I don’t really have an answer for this one.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest
    John Cassavetes is my favorite filmmaker, and I’ve seen all his movies, but Big Trouble is the one I’ve seen only once. I think it’s a funny movie with a great cast, but it’s his least characteristic, and it sure has some pacing issues. I’m confused by the conflicting reports about how much of the film was directed by Andrew Bergman and how much by Cassavetes when he took over after Bergman was fired or quit. I’d like to see someone do a detailed article about the making of the film to clear up the many questions I have about it.

    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it
    I already mentioned Christmas Evil in the first question, but it’s worth a second mention. Black Christmas (the original) follows closely on its heels.

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree
    I’d love any prosthetic limb or pile of guts from Romero’s zombie films.

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014
    More black and white films from contemporary directors.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks as always, Dennis, for supplying such entertaining questions! Here are my answers.

    ReplyDelete
  19. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film
    The dancing, the costumes, the romance: Of course, I'm talking about Eyes Wide Shut.

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved
    Recently, I liked The World's End much more than I thought I would.

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?
    No Astaire or Bullwinkle fan would dare pick anyone but Mr. Horton.

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy -- yes or no?
    That's a negatory, good buddy.

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past?
    Tough one.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere
    Singing In The Rain.

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie
    Another of my many gaps.

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?
    Theater: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. DVD: Elf.

    9) Explain your reaction when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)
    As Elvis Costello said: "I used to be disgusted. Now I try to be amused."

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?
    Blondells have more fun.

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping
    What weird fantasies you have, Dennis.

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie
    Holiday.

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)
    I hope you didn't mean released in 2013. So far, not in order: Maidstone, The Seventh Victim, La Parisienne, Spaceballs, Man of the West, The Trial, The Spy In Black.

    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction
    Gone With The Wind. Hated it as a kid, loved it as an adult.

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover
    Do people still buy Blu-rays? (See question No. 23).

    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?
    Marcello. The eyes.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)
    Backward reels the credits of Aldrich's Kiss Me Deadly.

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies
    Hard to top Ford, Hitchcock or Hawks. Though, in modern times, Woody Allen is often overlooked. As is Francis Ford Coppola.

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?
    I'm not a cineaste, so i would not know.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film
    Domino.

    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy?

    23) Video store or streaming?
    Streaming.

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter
    See No. 1.

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?
    Anna.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?
    I never go to the movies with friends.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest
    Still haven't seen so many by Hawks, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it
    See No. 1.

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree
    One of those swirling newspapers with bold headlines from a film noir montage scene.

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014
    Cheaper prices and wider seats.

    ReplyDelete
  20. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film
    I’m going to say “The French Connection,” since it kicks off with Gene Hackman rousting a sidewalk Santa Claus.

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved
    Nothing comes immediately to mind, although I was recently *surprised* to see two (unrelated!) movies in the same week in which a character cuts off his own tongue. If anybody out there would like to manage my Netflix queue for me so this sort of thing can be avoided in the future, please contact me. [BONUS POINTS if you can name the two movies]

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?
    I’m almost tempted to give the nod to Ned at this because I feel bad about the shellacking this excellent character has taken here. *Almost*.

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?
    Never seen it, but very fond memories of being in a diner in Caldwell New Jersey while somebody pumped about 15 bucks worth of quarters into the juke box to keep the song going all night.

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past
    Michael Badalucco would have been an asset to any campus comedy of the thirties, or as an annoyingly cheerful clerk working for W. C. Fields. And surely he would have made the ideal next-to-last opponent in a Wallace Berry wrestling movie.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere
    “Bride of Frankenstein.”

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie
    “The Leopard.” I started fast forwarding after about 20 minutes through no fault of Visconti’s, I just wasn’t in the mood. Number one is “Rocco and His Brothers” and that is the only other Visconti movie I’ve seen.

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?
    Theatrically: Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? DVD: Berberian Sound Studio.

    9) Explain your reaction when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)
    Well, my reaction is generally indifference. My explanation: unless I made it myself, which I probably didn’t, what’s it to me?

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?
    I think Joan has to get the nod if we’re looking at the whole career. If we’re looking at their early thirties incarnations, whichever one is wearing the culottes today. (Which would probably be Joan).

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping
    The main thing to remember when choosing a tent mate for camping is, “you don’t have to out run the bear, you just have to out run your tent mate.” So I pick Herbert Marshall. He had a wooden leg.

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie
    “Adam’s Rib,” with “Holiday” at number one.

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)
    I’ll be caught up with 2013 by early 2015, with luck. For now, here are five of the movies I remember liking (with 2013 US release dates according to the imdb):

    Mama (too explain-y, but some very creepy stuff anyway)
    The We and the I
    Pain and Gain (too long, tho)
    Francis Ha
    Room 237
    Not Fade Away (one of the Aussie actresses playing a Jersey girl mispronounces the name of my home town, which David Chase should have caught since he grew up in the next town over. If I were dealing out stars I would deduct a full star for this)
    I see that Holy Motors, which I didn’t see till well into 2013, belongs on last year’s list. So I initially had it down as my favorite picture of the wrong year.

    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction
    I wouldn’t say ‘hated,’ but I am very sad that “Sharknado” did not hold up so well on the second viewing.

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover
    I just have no idea what’s been done and what hasn’t.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?
    I’m going to have to say Marcello. Maybe I really mean Anita Ekberg and Nino Rota.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)
    “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeNqlxESDBA” I guess.
    That would be the animated credits for “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” for those disinclined to look.

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies
    “Run” suggests consecutive to me. I’m going with Buñuel’s last ten movies, “Viridiana” to “That Obscure Object of Desire”

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?
    I dunno. Probably good and inevitable (assuming you mean the same things I do by those terms). In general think it’s bad to be a dick about movies and I try not to be one. I don’t try very hard, though.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film
    I really ought to pass. I’ve only seen one, “The Hunger,” which boasts a love scene between Catherine Denueve and Susan Sarandon, both either nude or semi nude. I’m not sure which because the whole goddamn thing is photographed from behind billowing drapes and potted plants. One does not wish to speak ill of the dead but goddamn it.

    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?
    “The Seventh Victim,” which turned out to be nuts in many ways I did not anticipate. I was browsing the Val Lewton movies on Netflix and there it was.

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy
    The Bride of Chucky herself, Miss Jennifer Tilly, in the skimpy one. Even now, Jennifer, even now.

    23) Video store or streaming?
    My local video stores all bit the bag (and are all gone). But if we are talking about my platonic ideal video store with a perfect great movies / cool crap ratio, a solid wall of DVD-R’s downloaded from UbuWeb, and a cute clerk who plays Chet Baker records on the store hi fi while I’m browsing, Video Store.

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter
    Ah, if only Ben Hecht had closed out his career with “Queen of Outer Space”…

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?
    Anna. Even when she’s sulking or being a pain in the ass, which is the ultimate test. If you saw Pierrot le fou or Band of Outsiders when you were between the ages of 14 and 22 and you answered differently, the inside of your head is an inexplicable mystery to me. No offense intended to Monica.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?
    Eyes rolled when I said, “No, no, you’ll like it [Gaumont Treasures: The Films of Louis Feuillade], really.” ‘Bout de Zan steals an elephant’ and ‘Le récit du colonel’ brought the house down.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest
    I have not seen ‘Chimes at Midnight’ or ‘The Immortal Story.’

    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it
    “The Fearless Vampire Killers”? There’s a lot of snow, anyway.

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree
    The air gun William Powell used to shoot his Christmas ornaments off the tree in “The Thin Man.”

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014
    ENOUGH WITH THE FRIGGING GRITTY REBOOTS ALREADY!! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Answers also at my blog, with added pictures.

    1) Favorite unsung holiday film

    A. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence? for all having the word in the title, it doesn't get much attention for that element of it (even from me, and I have paid a lot of attention to it) - but - it probably should.

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved

    A. The most obvious was probably The Fall - a film I hoped I would think was okay, but that turned out to be wonderful. There are others (and I think I have used this a lot in these sort of quizzes) - but it is hard to beat the difference between expectation and result there.

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?

    A. I grew up on Fractured Fairy Tales, so what choice do I have?

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?

    A. No - haven’t seen it.

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past

    A. Michael Shannon should make Westerns.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere

    A. Anything by Altman? McCabe and Mrs. Miller notably.

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie

    A. Visconti is one of the holes in my experience - I have only seen The Leopard.

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?

    A. Theater - Nebraska; Blu-Ray - Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides (my damned nephew watched all four of them over Thanksgiving.) DVD - shoot: Winchester 73 (writing about it) - been a while since I have watched a lot of movies. And what the hey - streaming: Up - my nephew again, downloaded it from Netflix.

    9) Explain your reaction when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies? (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)

    A. I am generally inclined to argue, though probably with myself. If I'm in a conversation I might argue with the person - depends on the conversation, I suppose. In the past, some of these conversations could become less than amiable - now, I find myself less willing to start fights - so I just write up rebuttals to myself...

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?

    A. Joan Blondell! Over and over!

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping

    A. Isabelle Huppert, in another country, maybe...

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie

    A. I would say Holiday.

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)

    A. I will have to wait for the new year for write-ups, but:
    1. The Act of Killing
    2. 12 Years a Slave
    3. Blue is the Warmest Color
    4. Beyond the Hills
    5. Apres Mai
    6. Like SOmeone in Love
    7. 56 Up
    8. Stories We Tell
    9. Computer Chess
    10. The Hunt

    (Though since Inside Llewyn Davis hasn't opened yet, maybe the whole list should wait...)

    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction

    A. people always ask this. It’s very hard to answer. I might as well go with Batman & Robin, since it's something of an extreme case - to my horror, when I rewatched it, I found myself actually enjoying it. Not just Uma Thurman either.

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover

    A. McCabe and Mrs. Miller? I don’t know really.

    ReplyDelete
  23. part 2:

    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?

    A. Marcello, all the way

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)

    A. Aguirre: Wrath of God - it's hard to beat that shot...

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies

    A. Ozu over his whole career; Godard in the 60s, or Ozu in the 30s or 50s, or Capra in the 30s.

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?

    A. Elitism is good. One should be the best you can be, like the best you can find, and value everything.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film

    A. Beverly Hills Cop II? (I haven't seen a lot...)

    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?

    A. Joli Mai - rereleased on its 50th anniversary (I believe). This was an odd year - fewer of these than usual.

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy

    A. Guy Kibbee? or maybe Eugene Pallette? I guess that would have to be traditional... I pray that it's traditional...

    23) Video store or streaming?

    A. Um - I do stream movies now and then, so I guess that is the answer. It is not really an improvement over video stores, I admit that. (Netflix is, though, which is why I haven't been in a video store in 12 years or so - that and there aren't any left....)

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter

    A. Would Night of the Hunter count? probably not, since Laughton probably can't be called a "noted director" on one film - still... I think in it's place, among directors with a decent career as directors - it's Yi Yi, Edward Yang. There is quite a bit of competition - An Autumn Afternoon, Tabu, L'Argent, etc...

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?

    A. Anna Karina, very easily.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?

    A. I convinced some of my history nerd buddies (who were not really the type of film nerds) to see Kusterica's Underground - they liked it, very much, so there's that.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest

    A. I need to see Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Clan in a good print - I have seen it twice, but the print was a mess - badly damaged soundtrack. So there is that.

    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it

    A. Nightmare Before Christmas? I suppose Curse of the Cat People would be the best answer for real horror films.

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree

    A. Jimmy Stewart's cowboy hat?

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014

    A. Inside Llewyn Davis, to start.

    ReplyDelete
  24. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film

    The Ice Harvest. Second choice: Brazil.

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved

    I'm amazed at how much I like Munchausen, Joseph Goebbels' attempt to become the Nazi Louis B. Mayer. It's particularly astonishing that a movie produced made by the Third Reich would in some ways be subject to less censorship than a movie made by Hollywood. Goebbels hired a banned writer to do the screenplay, hoping he could sneak it through. The first thing Hitler says when he sees the movie is, "Didn't we ban him?"

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?

    I love Edward Everett Horton. My favorite old time comic character actor. Who is Ned Sparks?

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?

    No, I haven't seen it.

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past

    George Clooney would make a fine hardboiled private eye.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere

    McCabe and Mrs. Miller.

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie

    I'd have to see my first one first.

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?

    I saw this quiz immediately after coming home from a screening of a 1992 work print of the unfinished The Thief and the Cobbler at the Motion Picture Academy. You had to be around when animated features were at their low ebb to know what a legend this was. Richard Williams and some of the greatest animators in movie history were working in their spare time on this fabulous labor of love that was going to blow everyone away. It's been dragging on for 20 years when Williams gets some investor backing based on the success of Roger Rabbit. After continuing in its normal state of being unfinished for another couple of years the investors take it out of his hands and turn it into a release version that all agree is a travesty. Looking at it now it's more of an animated equivalent of the Orson Welles Don Quixote than an animated Magnificent Ambersons. While much of what was completed was spectacular, the version I saw could not have been more than two-thirds finished. In style it's most reminiscent of Yellow Submarine, or perhaps Allegro Non Tropo, and if it had come out in the 60s it would have been considered the Citizen Kane of trip movies. The plot is the most boilerplate Hollywood Arabian Nights possible – evil Grand Vizier/ineffectual caliph/beautiful princess/poor boy. Sequences are dazzling but it would have been a virtuoso display lacking feeling. However, I guarantee if it had been finished it would be a perennial midnight movie now.

    On DVD, The Mask of Dimitrios. Above average for Sydney Greenstreet/Peter Lorre programmers but (other than Three Strangers) those tended to be very average. On Blu-Ray, a compilation of George Pal Puppetoons, which if you're not familiar with them are the damnedest things you ever saw.

    9) Explain your reaction when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)

    I would disagree with them. It took a while, but I ultimately learned not to take these things to heart. I doubt that they actually like the movie and are lying.

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?

    Tom Sutpen has my proxy, and he says Joan Blondell.

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping.

    I don't know, Noel Coward. Charles Laughton. George Sanders. Not my milieu, really. If we're talking about the other kind of camping, which is not my milieu either, and movies released in 8mm count, Bettie Page. Who I would most like to have with me if I were lost in the wilderness, Robert Flaherty.

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie

    I love It Should Happen To You, and that's the only Cukor picture I really love. After that, Manhattan Melodrama, I suppose. I have no feeling for Hepburn/Tracy at all.

    ReplyDelete
  25. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film
    The Family Stone

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved
    21 Jump Street

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?
    EEH

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?
    Yes

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past
    Kevin Spacey. Noir and classic drama.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere
    Frozen

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie
    I'll get back to you.

    8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?
    Theatrically: Attack the Block
    DVD: Nebraska

    9) Explain your reaction when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)
    "You're a doody head."

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?
    I'll get back to you.

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping
    Jimmy Stewart

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie
    The Philadelphia Story

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)
    Still working on that. But on my top 10 are definitely Nebraska, The Conjuring and Man of Steel.

    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction
    Dawn of the Dead 2004. Liked it then, hate it now.

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover.
    Plan 9 from Outer Space.

    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?
    The latter.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)
    Dawn of the Dead 1978.

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies
    Either Alexander Payne or Richard Linklater.

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?
    Inevitable and sometimes necessary.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film
    Domino.

    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?
    The Big Gundown. I had to review it on DVD and loved it.

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy
    Meagan Good.

    23) Video store or streaming?
    Video Store.

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter
    Director: Eyes Wide Shut

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?
    I'll get back to you.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?
    I convinced my mom in to watching Perks of Being a Wallflower. She loved it.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest
    Linklater: Me and Orson Welles.
    Spielberg: Sugarland Express, Tin Tin, and War Horse.

    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it
    Bob Clark's Black Christmas

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree
    Zatoichi's sword, or Mal's pistol.

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014.
    A good Superman movie.

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  26. I was so ready for this quiz two weeks ago! But when it dropped last Tues I was caught flatfooted. I hope it isn't too late to enter at my home blog: http://coolbev.blogspot.com/2013/12/quiz-time.html

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  27. It appears my last three posts were lost, so here they are again:

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)

    I can't remember a year when there were more movies I was enthusiastic about seeing that turned out to be such a bust. I consider the year to start with the year-end releases of 2012. It started out well with Django Unchained, which I personally prefer to Glourious Basterds. From then on it was a total frost, and I don't mean Nick. I go by reputation here, but I've got to think The Human Centipede was more edifying than Zero Dark Thirty. Les Miserables (yeah, I know, my own damned fault, the trailer duped me) I almost walked out on. Life of Pi was twaddle from start to finish. Iron Man 3 had some good bits but I was wondering all the time why I was watching a Christmas movie in May. There was nothing I was more up for than a thinking person's giant robot movie, but Pacific Rim was a muddled, incoherent person's giant robot movie. Gravity was the opposite of Les Miserables -- the trailer had me convinced that it was something I had no interest in. Then all these reviews came is saying it was most fantastic thing anyone had ever seen so I give it a try. To me it illustrates why nobody wants to pay for manned space exploration: It's dead boring. Billions of dollars to send a privileged few into a barren wasteland. Meanwhile, unmanned space exploration gives you close up pictures of Jupiter.

    14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction.

    MASH is a movie I almost based my life on when it came out, and though I don't have the opposite reaction now, it really doesn't do anything for me now. It's hard to see what Nurse Houlihan does that justifies the traumatic humiliation in the shower scene -- things like that. There is a whole set of movies that will never be as good as the first time you see them because they depend on surprise. Miracle of Morgan's Creek is that kind of movie for me, though seeing it for the first time was one of my peak moviegoing experiences.

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover

    Trouble in Paradise, though it may be that the materials to do what you'd wish for don't exist.

    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?

    Mastoianni is a legend, Delon is just an actor.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)

    Raging Bull: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N4uXfnH2aA I'm having déjà vu on this question.

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies

    Strongest, Preston Sturges. Longest strongest, Ernst Lubitsch. If shorts count, Charlie Chaplin.

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?

    Depends on what kind of a cineaste. For an art film cineaste, definitely necessary.

    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film.

    True Romance. My favorite is about two and a half minutes of The Hunger.

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  28. 21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?

    Sacha Guitry was a minor revelation to me this year. Pearls of the Crown is my favorite of the ones I've seen. It's the story of how four pearls obtained by Pope Clement VII for Catherine de Medici wind up on (and off) the crown of England, and involves Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots, Madame DuBarry and both Napoleons, among others. It's Star Wars for history nerds. I bought the Eclipse Guitry collection on spec, because it sounded interesting. It can be streamed Hulu, if you Hulu.

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy

    Sydney Greenstreet. "A pony? That's preposterous. Think, boy, think! How would I ever get it into the bag? The reindeer would kick it to death! You have no idea how aggressive and territorial they are. There's no point in going forward if you can't be practical."

    23) Video store or streaming?

    Streaming makes me noivous – I'm always worrying that it will get to a good part and that little dial will start spinning. Plus the quality is lousy and you take pot luck. Particularly if you're old enough to remember the time before video stores, they were like a treasure house of the formerly inaccessible. Cable movie channels are a bigger thing to me then streaming, but we had the Z Channel where I lived.

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter.

    You know, I was thinking about this when I read your Prairie Home Companion post. I usually like to think of a filmmaker's second or third to last picture as their last picture, the way you think of The Long Goodbye as the last Raymond Chandler novel, though it's not. Gosford Park, Prizzi's Honor, Full Metal Jacket, Wilder's The Front Page, Unfaithfully Yours. I think of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance as the last John Ford picture though he made about ten after that. It's the nature of the business that a filmmaker's last film is almost always sad. It's usually the last one he makes because it's the last one they let him make. Best of these not-really-but-really -the-last-movies: Kurosawa's Ran.

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?

    Monica Vitti is seldom shitty, though Anna Karina could have been a ballerina.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?

    Had the damnedest time getting someone I'd never met before in my life to see A Fistful of Green Eggs and Ham. Kept saying something about it being treyf. Once he saw it he liked it.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest.

    The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend. Hardly ever seems to show in any venue. Everyone says it's awful, sort of like what Playback was to Raymond Chandler.

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  29. 28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it.

    Most Christmas movies are pretty horrible. I think the ultimate Christmas horror movie would be a film-within-a-film where a drug-addled old horror director is put in charge of a schlock version of A Christmas Carol and in a delirium he turns it into an exercise in blood-soaked carnage. Maybe go Blair Witch on it, where its executives watch ghastly bits of the finished rushes before consigning it all to the flames. The Ghost of Christmas Past reminds Scrooge that he was a brutal serial killer who killed Fezziwig and his fiancé but stopped for fear the police were catching up to him, and then the Ghost of Christmas Present goads him on to a new rampage, slaughtering the Cratchit family and then his own relatives, and the Ghost of Christmas Future shows him breaking all the lunatics out of the asylums and leading them on an apocalyptic murder spree through London, ending with Scrooge standing atop the dome of a burning St. Paul's Cathedral screaming, "LET'S KILL THEM EVERY ONE!"

    And to think that I don't have a job in the industry.

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree.

    An Oscar, with my name engraved under Best Picture, and it's real. Probably for that Scrooge picture in Question 28.

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014.

    That Quentin Tarantino would make movies faster and Jerry Bruckheimer would make movies slower.

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  30. Santa Loves You Baby! Here's my answers: http://susiebright.blogs.com/susie_brights_journal_/2013/12/1-favorite-unsung-holiday-film-2-name-a-movie-you-were-surprised-to-have-likedloved-3-ned-sparks-or-edward-ev.html

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  31. Thanks for another quiz, Dennis. These are always fun to do. I've posted my answers at the link below. Happy holidays.

    http://wherethestressfalls.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/holiday-quiz/

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  32. I would like to amend my answer to the "under appreciated" holiday film.

    The obvious answer is Dawn Davenport's in "Female Trouble," when she doesn't get her black cha-cha heels from Santa!

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  33. Hey, Dennis, I forgot to format my link to make it easier for others to click to. So, if I may: My answers.

    Thanks!

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  34. My answers: http://scepticsmiscellanea.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/larry-gopniks-movie-quiz/. I found the question about great directors' last movies interesting. I went through a list of great directors and in most cases, their final films were disappointments. I guess it makes sense that the creativity wanes with time, but I have never really considered it before. I wonder if it's the same for books and authors?

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  35. 1) Favorite unsung holiday film

    It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but I remember liking A Midnight Clear. Sam Phillips’s title song is truly haunting.

    2) Name a movie you were surprised to have liked/loved

    The Stupids. I first saw it at about 5 in the morning, after having stayed up all night reading an inscrutable philosophy book for my dissertation, and thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. My critical faculties were somewhat compromised at the time. But I still love it. Take that, Kendall Walton!

    3) Ned Sparks or Edward Everett Horton?

    Edward Everett Horton is magnificent. I’ve only seen two of Ned Sparks’ films, and I can’t place him in either one. EEH in a walkover.

    4) Sam Peckinpah's Convoy-- yes or no?

    Never seen the movie, but the song is fun, and Ali McGraw? I am there!

    5) What contemporary actor would best fit into a popular, established genre of the past

    I’d love to see James Marsden in an era when musicals were more popular.

    6) Favorite non-disaster movie in which bad weather is a memorable element of the film’s atmosphere

    “Bad weather” = “hot weather”. Maybe Do the Right Thing. Flight of the Phoenix (the Jimmy Stewart one) comes to mind too. Oh, no – it’s Lawrence of Arabia.

    7) Second favorite Luchino Visconti movie

    I’ve only seen one, Death in Venice, which I really disliked.

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  36. 8) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD/Blu-ray?

    Theatrically – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I’m deeply conflicted on these movies. I love the book, maybe not quite as much as Lord of the Rings, but it’s a delightful children’s story. And the movies are not. I read the book when I was about 13, but I don’t think I could have made it through this film, with all the graphic violence, until I was in college. Yes, I know there are darker things happening in the background of the Tolkien story (or at least they ended up being so in retrospect from LOTR), and dragons and orcs and goblins aren’t without their scary aspects, but the way the book is told is so much lighter. I don’t know, maybe Peter Jackson just has so much of a horror film sensibility that he sees the book this way, or maybe it’s Guillermo del Toro (ha, I suspect it’s both, kindred spirits). For me, the dominant feel of the book is whimsy, and Jackson seems to have trouble with that. I don’t know why – I thought he did a great job with the opening Hobbiton sequence in LOTR. I thought the complete lack of it in the rest of those films was more of a choice (in my opinion, a poor one) – but maybe he just doesn’t understand it. I think he’s trying to include whimsy in these films, but it all comes out rather ridiculous, like the over-the-top barrel ride in this film, or the escape from the goblin caves in the last one. Even the dwarf party in the previous film felt too literal to be whimsical. Maybe the most telling thing was that, in the one place where I actually recognized dialogue from the book (Bilbo trying to placate the dragon), it seemed completely out of place. It’s from another movie – the real Hobbit! Then, of course, there are all the added plot lines. I understand fleshing out the Necromancer story line, but orcs? Legolas? There’s just no reason this story should take 3 long films to tell.

    That said, I have to admit, I’m still enjoying them! It’s fun to see the story on screen, and some things he does really well (Smaug was brilliant, as were a few other scenes). I make it to so few films in the theater, and I’ve seen this twice already. It may not be Tolkien’s The Hobbit -- it’s certainly not mine – but I still find it compelling. I’ll be there next December. Sorry for venting.

    DVD -- The Lone Ranger. Fun, but awfully scattered, at times almost incoherent. I sure couldn’t follow a lot of that climactic chase. Favorite scene – Tonto trading the popcorn bag. A better sense of whimsy than anything in The Hobbit!

    Streaming -- Skyfall. What would you rather wrap presents to?

    9) Why do you react the way you do when someone eloquently or not-so-eloquently attacks one of your favorite movies? (Question courtesy of Patrick Robbins)

    Why? Because I’m self-absorbed and incapable of comprehending someone else viewing this film and seeing something not only different, but radically different. Hey, I’m a work in progress! :)

    10) Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell?

    Joan Blondell, please. Here Come the Brides! Holy moly, I remember that show.

    11) Movie star of any era you’d most like to take camping

    Thelma Ritter.

    12) Second favorite George Cukor movie

    This is really close between Gaslight and Born Yesterday. Favorite is My Fair Lady.

    13) Your top 10 of 2013 (feel free to elaborate!)

    10. A Good Day to Die Hard
    9. RIPD
    8. These spots reserved
    7. for days I did something else
    6. rather than going to the movies.
    5. Monsters University
    4. Star Trek: Into Darkness
    3. The Lone Ranger
    2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
    1. The World’s End

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  37. 23) Video store or streaming?

    “Unable to connect to Netflix – please try again at a later time.”
    “Hey folks, guess we’re done for the evening – thanks for coming over. Trust me – the last hour of the movie is really good!”

    24) Best/favorite final film by a noted director or screenwriter

    Others probably have more correct answers, but now that I’ve looked him up, seems like Tony Scott ended with an awfully good one.

    25) Monica Vitti or Anna Karina?

    Never seen Monica, but quite happy to pick Anna.

    26) Name a worthy movie indulgence you’ve had to most strenuously talk friends into experiencing with you. What was the result?

    I have a friend who I think would just love the Coens, but she was living with her elderly father, who hung out in front of the television and only liked westerns. So, I sent her a copy of The Big Lebowski and told her it was a western, so she’d get a chance to watch it. Apparently that did not go well – I think she’s forgiven me, now, but not yet the Coens.

    27) The movie made by your favorite filmmaker (writer, director, et al) that you either have yet to see or are least familiar with among all the rest

    I guess that would be the Coens. I’ve seen all their full-length films (not their segments within other films); of the features, Barton Fink is the one I need to revisit. I didn’t care for it originally, but that was something like 15 years ago – maybe it would resonate now.

    28) Favorite horror movie that is either Christmas-oriented or has some element relating to the winter holiday season in it

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. How the Grinch Stole Christmas?

    29) Name a prop or other piece of movie memorabilia you’d most like to find with your name on it under the Christmas tree

    Well, not really under the Christmas tree itself, but I wouldn’t mind looking out my front window and spying the fish fountain from Mon Oncle.

    30) Best holiday gift the movies could give to you to carry into 2014

    A new Coen brothers movie. Wella, whaddaya know? Joyeux Noel!

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  38. 14) Name a movie you loved (or hated) upon first viewing, to which you eventually returned and had more or less the opposite reaction

    Well, I pretty much hated Gone with the Wind the first time I saw it, but I was too young – I would have hated any movie that long. Finally had my eyes opened a little when I watched it again with a friend who was writing her dissertation on feminist film criticism.

    15) Movie most in need of a deluxe Blu-ray makeover

    I don’t even know what’s available and what isn’t. Well, how about the film version of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron -- that’s not even available on DVD.

    16) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?

    I am embarrassed to say that I’ve only seen Delon in one film, and Mastroianni in none. However, looking at Mastroianni’s films, I see two that I really want to see (Enrico IV and House of Ricordi). So, a very slight edge to Mastroianni.

    17) Your favorite opening sequence, credits or no credits (provide link to clip if possible)

    I can’t think of a better one than Raising Arizona.

    18) Director with the strongest run of great movies

    I’m inclined to say the Coens here too -- The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty seem like the weakest to me, and they’re pretty darn good. I’ve never been really big on Barton Fink, although I know that’s a minority opinion – more on that later.

    19) Is elitism a good/bad/necessary/inevitable aspect of being a cineaste?
    I guess I don’t think that striving for and seeking out quality, in any field, should be considered an elitist thing. It’s just a human thing, once we get past fears of inadequacy. To quote a friend, quoting someone else, "Expecting excellence doesn't mean that you are oppressing the novice - it just means you are not limiting them to the belief that they can only be mediocre."
    20) Second favorite Tony Scott film

    You know, I think it’s probably Top Gun! Unstoppable is my favorite.

    21) Favorite movie made before you were born that you only discovered this year. Where and how did you discover it?

    Appropriately enough for the season, it is The Bishop’s Wife. I had found a wonderful promo photo of Cary Grant playing the harp, and wondered where it came from, and a friend said, “For heaven’s sake, have you never seen The Bishop’s Wife?” So I did, and it was enchanting. And Cary Grant plays the harp! (Not a bad approximation, actually.)

    22) Actor/actress you would most want to see in a Santa suit, traditional or skimpy

    Pruitt Taylor Vince for the former, Penelope Ann Miller for the latter.

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  39. Great fun Dennis - thankyou. My answers are here: http://dancingonglass11.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/sergio-leone-and-infield-fly-rule-quiz.html

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