
I have seen this quiz, which was originally posted at the Sergio Leone and Infield Fly Rule Blog, appear on several different sites so I thought I would have a go at it.
This was a lot of fun but I will inevitably regret many of my answers and will have to stop myself from using the edit button at a later date.
PROFESSOR IRWIN COREY'S FOREMOSTLY AUTHORITATIVE SPRING BREAK MOVIE QUIZ:
1) What movie did you have to see multiple times before deciding whether you liked or disliked it?
The first time I saw Soderbergh's SOLARIS I was completely polarized, the second time intrigued and the third time convinced it was the best science fiction film since BLADE RUNNER.
2) Inaugural entry into the Academy of the Overrated
Kevin Smith, I absolutely can not stand this man's films and have never been able to grasp the appeal of them.
3) Favorite sly or not-so-sly reference to another film or bit of pop culture within another film.
Every frame of Roman Coppola's fascinating C.Q. The obvious references ranging from MODESTY BLAISE to BARBARELLA are obvious but the more you watch the film the more it gives you. A really lovely valentine to the 1960's and many of its most unique films.
4) Favorite Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger movie
THE RED SHOES
5) Your favorite Oscar moment
Even though even he deserved it for many roles before SCENT OF A WOMAN watching Al Pacino finally win and being visibly moved in his acceptance speech is something that I will never forget.
6) Hugo Weaving or Guy Pearce?
Guy Pearce
7) Movie that you feel gave you the greatest insight into a world/culture/person/place/event that you had no understanding of before seeing it
Tough one but I would say Roeg's WALKABOUT. There is something so mysterious and moving about that film. It draws me into a place that is completely foreign to me in a way that few films ever have come close to.
8) Favorite Samuel Fuller movie
Not a big Fuller fan but WHITE DOG is very intriguing.
9) Monica Bellucci or Maria Grazia Cucinotta?
Is this a real question? Bellucci is one of the most beautiful women on the planet and one of the best actors. She is the new Sophia Loren.
10) What movie can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT. No matter how low I might be re-watching this movie always brings a huge smile to my face. The sight of Romy Schneider nearly losing it towards the end next to Peter Sellers can clear up any nothing day.
11) Conversely, what movie can destroy a day’s worth of good humor just by catching a glimpse of it while channel surfing?
Any Kevin Smith film especially CLERKS.
12) Favorite John Boorman movie
POINT BLANK, but BEYOND RANGOON is one of the 90's most underrated films in my estimation.
13) Warren Oates or Bruce Dern?
Warren Oates will always be the man and he was born just a short distance from me. Respect to Dern but no contest.
14) Your favorite aspect ratio?
Tough, with guys like DePalma it's 2.35 but I would say overall 1.85.
15) Before he died in 1984, Francois Truffaut once said: “The film of tomorrow will resemble the person who made it.” Is there any evidence that Truffaut was right? Is it Truffaut’s tomorrow yet?
I think this has always been true of certain directors, Truffaut included.
16) Favorite Werner Herzog movie
STROSZEK
17) Favorite movie featuring a rampaging, oversized or otherwise mutated beast, or beasts?
Another tough one. I would have to say ALLIGATOR.
18) Sandra Bernhard or Sarah Silverman?
Silverman melts me and she's incredibly funny.
19) Your favorite, or most despised, movie cliché?
I will never tire of the criminal who needs just 'one last score'.
20) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom-- yes or no?
Not one of Speilberg's best and I miss Karen Allen but come on it's extremely entertaining.
21) Favorite Nicholas Ray movie?
Might be cliched to say, but REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Saw this at an outdoor theater a couple of years back and James Dean and Natalie Wood are absolutely immortal.
22) Inaugural entry into the Academy of the Underrated?
Dario Argento's career since PHENOMENA. He might never make anything as good as SUSPIRIA or DEEP RED but I think OPERA, STENDAHL SYNDROME, SLEEPLESS and THE CARD PLAYER are fine works that will be remembered in years to come. Honestly PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is the only film of his that I don't admire.
23) Your favorite movie dealing with the subject of television?
NETWORK came to mind first but then I remembered Kazan's FACE IN THE CROWD with a brutally brilliant Andy Griffith.
24) Bruno Ganz or Patrick Bauchau?
Bruno of course.
25) Your favorite documentary, or non-fiction, film?
Hard one...but Mark Kermode's documentary on Ken Russell's THE DEVILS (HELL ON EARTH) was a mind-blowingly important piece of work.
26) According to Orson Welles, the director’s job is to “preside over accidents.” Name a favorite moment from a movie that seems like an accident, or a unintended, privileged moment. How did it enhance or distract from the total experience of the movie?
Hardest one on here but I would have to say Jean-Luc Godard's casting of Brigitte Bardot in CONTEMPT. He originally did it because the studio wanted a major star and then after he cast her he attempted to make it seem ironic. No one would have guessed that she would come on and give such a wonderfully layered and complex performance. It is one of the great performances in any Godard film, and the self proclaimed 'businessman from Switzerland' ended up admiring her so much that he gave her a cameo in MASCULIN FEMININ.
27) Favorite Wim Wenders movie
PARIS TEXAS, my favorite moment in any film is the three minute close up on Nastassja Kinski's face.
28) Elizabeth Pena or Penelope Cruz?
When Cruz is working in Spanish films she is an absolute treasure so no contest here.
29) Your favorite movie tag line (Thanks, Jim!)
ROCKY: "His whole life was a million to one shot"
30) As a reader, film goer, or film critic, what do you want from a film critic, or from film criticism? And where do you see film criticism in general headed?
The main thing that bothers me about main stream film criticism is the idea that they review it after one viewing to meet a deadline. The greatest films demand time and re-viewings. I also have a pet peeve about critics who judge film based on a particular actor or director's real life problems.
EXTRA CREDIT: Do movies still matter?
Obviously they do to me. The public at large, I would say ultimately yes. They may not mean what we would like them to to most people but I don't think you can deny their importance to peoples lives.
This was a lot of fun, thanks to Dennis Cozzalio for posting this at the great Sergio Leone Infield Fly Blog.