December
31
Professor Kingsfield's Hair-Raising Bar-Raising Holiday Movie Quiz
Dennis Cozzalio at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule (a blogger after my own heart who loves baseball, spaghetti westerns and movies) has come up with yet another cool cinephiliac quiz. Your task: fill out the quiz with questions attached and cut and paste it as a comment here. I'm still working on mine, which is a work-in-progress on the jump. Yes, this is my idea of a good time. Enjoy, and have a Happy New Year.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 PROFESSOR KINGSFIELD'S HAIR-RAISING, BAR-RAISING HOLIDAY MOVIE QUIZ1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?
2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?
3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?
4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks
5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.
6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.
7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?
8) Are most movies too long?
9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.
10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.
11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?
12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?
13) Favorite road movie.
14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.
15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?
16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)
17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?
18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.
19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.
20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?
21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)
The rest of the quiz is here.
1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?
Ghajini, an Aamir Khan Bollywood remake of Memento. On DVD, Gomorra, the most excellent neo-realist gangster movie which is the Italian submission for foreign film.
2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?
My all-time fave is A Christmas Carol starring the very nasty Alistair Sim as Scrooge. Then comes Meet Me in St. Louis. Nice. And a Bob Clark's A Christmas Story. Naughty. And It’s A Wonderful Life. Nice.
3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?
McCambridge. Touch of Evil. Johnny Guitar. No contest.
4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks
Ray Wise (Leland Palmer) the crazed and possessed father of the murdered Laura Palmer.
5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.
Well, some would say that Michael Powell’s I Know Where I’m Going is a beloved respected film, but as few have heard of it at this point I'll suggest it (while admitting that it probably can't be improved). But I still have long believed that it would make a great updated remake. It stars Wendy Hiller as a modern go-getter determined to marry a rich man. Fortunately, she is waylaid by a storm and an equally determined Scottish Laird (Roger Livesy), who finally persuades her that maybe there are better things in life than money. At my first meeting with Brian Grazer, he asked me what I thought would make a movie, and I told him this. Years later I checked on the remake rights: they were owned at the time by Scott Rudin.
6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.
I’m torn between his most personal autobiographical film, Crooklyn, and his least personal, most effective studio film, Inside Man.
7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?
Tierney—how many actors appeared on both Star Trek and Reservoir Dogs?
8) Are most movies too long?
It depends on the movie. Woody Allen knows how to keep ‘em short, as do animated filmmakers. Dances with Wolves, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind and the Russian War and Peace were not too long. But there are arguments to be made that The Assassination of Jesse James by that Coward Robert Ford, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac, and King Kong could have been improved with some serious trimming.
9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.
James Cromwell as George Bush Sr. is delicious in W.
10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon vs. Beowulf's Grendel. Under Water!
11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?
Jean Peters in Pickup on South Street is genius.
12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?
The other night watching Meet Me in St. Louis for the nth time I noticed that Minnelli shoots much of the Garland solo songs in long single takes. How many times had I seen the film before I picked up on that?
13) Favorite road movie.
Thelma and Louise: two angry, smart, gorgeous women, Brad Pitt, an awesome car and a perfect ending.
14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.
The Tall T. Randolph Scott and Maureen O’Sullivan. Enough said.
15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?
When I was starting out in Manhattan, Tom Allen, junior critic for the Village Voice, acolyte of Andrew Sarris, and a Catholic Brother, took me under his wing, especially during my early days as an associate editor at Film Comment. My editor there, Richard Corliss, and Allen were among many mentors, including Stuart Byron and Lee Beaupre. But Allen was unusually generous with his time and energy and unflagging in his belief in me. Corliss is still plugging away at Time; sadly, my other mentors are no longer with us.
16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)
I know it’s a classic fave but I can’t help myself: Touch of Evil. I can watch it endlessly, with sheer joy at Orson Welles’ single take propulsive ticking time bomb Mancini-fueled bravura. I prefer the Mancini version, although Welles liked it better with source music.
Original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSZIejHVDnY&feature=related
Welles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg8MqjoFvy4
17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?
Kenneth Tobey: Strange Invaders and The Howling. Way more interesting.
18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.
I don’t buy that for a minute. There’s nothing wrong with It Happened One Night or Gone with the Wind or Casablanca or Lawrence of Arabia or The Apartment or Sound of Music or Titanic. And I challenge most people to even remember some of the obscurities given the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance or favored status on critics' ten best lists.
19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.
Stop Making Sense, partly because Talking Heads were my 80s band, discovered at their start as a trio at CBGBs. Demme's damned good at music docs and this was his best.
20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?
O’Neal was a strong child actress who starred in memorable trio of films (Paper Moon, Nickelodeon, Bad News Bears) but did not grow up well.
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1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?
In theatres, Doubt. On DVD, Grosse Point Blank.
2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?
It varies. My two favorite holiday movies are A Christmas Story, nice, and The Family Stone, nice but with more bite.
3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?
Mercedes McCambridge, no doubt.
4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks
Hated Twin Peaks, but I do like Ray Wise.
5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.
Heaven's Gate,because it was one of the most epic failures in the history of cinema. I think the plot is intriguing, and if done right, could be a callback to the days of the old Hollywood epics.
6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.
I love Do The Right Thing,Jungle Fever, and Inside Man. However, 25th Hour to me is his most mature and accomplished work.
7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?
Tierney, if only for Resevior Dogs.
8) Are most movies too long?
For me, no. I could sit through Che, Once Upon A Time In America amd Das Boot in one day. I just adore cinema, no matter how short or long.
9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.
Josh Brolin was great in W., as was Frank Langella and Sean Penn this year. In the end, Anthony Hopkins as Nixon gets my vote.
10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.
Godzilla vs. The creature from Cloverfield, battling it out in Washington D.C., on the day of the Presidential innauguration.
11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?
Jean Peters I guess, I dont really care for either one.
12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?
I'm a cinephile, I find something new to love and focus on each time I see a movie. I've seen Once Upon A Time in America around 15 times, and I always notice something new each time.
13) Favorite road movie.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Steve Martin at his funniest best, John Candy delivering his best preformance ever commited to celluloid. This movie gets me every time.
14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.
The Tall T was good, but I really enjoyed Bullfighter and the lady.
15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?
My childhood best freind Devin Aschbrener. He introduced me to film, encouraged my love of it and informed me more than anyone else I have ever known.
16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)
The prologue from The Departed. I was loving that 20 minutes of film thinking it's already started and then BAM! The title pops up on screen to the cue of Dropkick Murphy's.
17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?
Kenneth Tobey, loved The Howling.
18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.
I agree and disagree with that. When you look at some of todays most popular films such as Twilight, Transformers and High school Musical 3 I cant help but agree. Yet at the same time, back in the 70's, The Godfather was a popular smash hit. As was Jaws, Annie Hall, The French Connection, Star Wars, and Rocky. So it can go either way.
19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.
Married to the Mob and The Silence of The Lambs. A cop out of a tie, but I love both of those movies.
20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?
Tatum O'Neal. She was great in Paper Moon and The Bad News Bears, two movies I truly like.
21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)
The rat crawling past Matt Damon's dead body in The Departed. After more than two hours of thrilling, bloody entertainment, that rodent was the perfect dose of irony needed to close things out.
22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a movie of his.
23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.
Doubt. It was my favorite movie of 2008.
24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?
Benson.
25) Favorite movie about journalism.
All The Presidents Men, an obvious choice but a great film.
26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?
I'd love to hear a Paul Thomas Anderson commentary for Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and There Will be Blood. Unfortunately the mad genius is a little stuck up about commentaries at the moment.
27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.
Changeling. That was such a great movie, and it was criminally ignored.
28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?
Kurtwood Smith, That 70's Show is a guilty pleasure for me.
29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.
Woody Allen will win an oscar this year.
30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.
I hope that people will pay to see great films that not only win awards but make money. I'd also love to see Daniel Day-Lewis win a third oscar next year for Nine.
31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)
my top ten is at www.theoscarhut.blogspot.com
check out the list, and the blog.
BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):
32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?
I'm reaching a bit, but I recieved season 4 of Saturday Night Live which featured the first preformance from The Blues Brothers, which eventually was adapted into a movie.
Posted by: Tyler j. Pratt | January 01, 2009 at 08:09 AM
That quiz looks so much fun!
For the 1st question, I watched "Taare Zameen Par" (with Aamir Khan) on DVD, it's a good Bollywood film, not at all one of those typical MTV-esque crappy films.
Last film I saw in the cinema--- Benjamin Button, a marvelous film.
Tonight or tomorrow, I hope to either catch "Valkyrie" or "Revolutionary Road."
I hope you have a great New Year!
Posted by: Ugly Deaf Muslim Punk Gurl! | January 02, 2009 at 07:57 AM
Had no idea that you also knew Tom Allen. He was the film editor at the Soho Weekly News when i was added to the staff in 1976, and he was just incredibly kind and encouraging. A few months ago, Kent Jones and i had a little exchange about Tom; he really was someone who was an unsung hero in New York City film circles.
Posted by: Daryl Chin | January 05, 2009 at 09:04 AM
Random answers to selected questions:
Ida Lupino
toss-up between Richard Beymer and Russ Tamblyn
Lawrence Tierney
Michael Parks as RFK in PRIVATE FILES OF J. EDGAR HOOVER
THE TALL T
John Agar
THE BANK JOB
THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES
Posted by: Brian | January 05, 2009 at 01:42 PM