An Interesting Movie Quiz

Here's a movie quiz that a friend of mine showed me. It comes from the flim blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule. As my friend said, it doesn't really mean anything, but it's fun.


1) What was the last movie you saw, either in a theater or on DVD, and why?
-In the theatre: Apocalypto (because however one feels about Mel Gibson as a person, as a filmmaker he's quite good)
-On DVD: World Trade Center (because I wanted to see it in the theatre but missed it)

2) Name the cinematographer whose work you most look forward to seeing, and an example of one of his/her finest achievements.
Since we lost Conrad Hall (In Cold Blood) and Sven Nykvist (Cries and Whispers), I'm gonna say Gordon Willis (Manhattan), Roger Deakins (Shawshank Redemotion), Janusz Kaminski (Schindler's List), Vilmos Szigmond (Deliverance), Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now), Caleb Deschanel (The Natural) and Dante Spinotti (L.A. Confidential)

3) Joe Don Baker or Bo Svenson?
Joe Don Baker.

4) Name a moment from a movie that made you gasp (in horror, surprise, revelation…)
Any number of moments in The Exorcist

5) Your favorite movie about the movies.
I'm gonna be totally unoriginal and choose Singin' in the Rain

6) Your Favorite Fritz Lang movie.
Haven't seen any of Lang outside of Metropolis and M. Of the two I'd pick M.

7) Describe the first time you ever recognized yourself in a movie.
Danny Kaye's character in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

8) Carole Bouquet or Angela Molina?
Carole Bouquet. Bond girls are forever, baby!

9) Name a movie that redeems the notion of nostalgia as something more than a bankable commodity.
Almost Famous

10) Favorite appearance by an athlete in an acting role.
Michael Jordan in Space Jam (because it makes me laugh)

11) Favorite Hal Ashby movie.
Being There, but Harold & Maude runs a close second.

12) Name the first double feature you’d program for opening night of your own revival theater.
Bringing up Baby and What's Up, Doc?

13) What’s the name of your revival theater?
Um..... "The Big Screen?"

14) Humphrey Bogart or Elliot Gould?
Never saw Gould's take on Marlowe. Still, I gotta go with Bogey because.... well, he's Bogey!

15) Favorite Robert Stevenson movie.
I guess he didn't do Treasure Island, did he? So..... Mary Poppins

16) Describe your favorite moment in a movie that is memorable because of its use of sound.
When the woman's scream turns into the train whistle in Hitchcock's 39 Steps

17) Pink Flamingoes-- yes or no?
No. Thank you very much.

18) Your favorite movie soundtrack score.
Anyone who knows me fairly well knows that this is an impossible question for me to answer. I shall have to content myself with giving you just a few of my favorites:

JOHN WILLIAMS - Star Wars, Superman, Schindler's List, Jaws
DANNY ELFMAN - Batman, Beetlejuice, Nightmare Before Christmas
BERNARD HERMANN - Psycho, Vertigo
ELMER BERNSTEIN - To Kill a Mockingbird, The Magnificent Seven
JOHN DEBNEY - The Passion of the Christ
ALAN SILVESTRI - Back to the Future, Forrest Gump
JERRY GOLDSMITH - Star trek, The Omen
JOHN CORIGLIANO - The Red Violin
ELLIOT GOLDENTHAL - Interview with the Vampire
DAVID ARNOLD - Stargate, The World is Not Enough
NINO ROTA - The Godfather
ENNIO MORRICONE - The Good, Bad and Ugly

19) Fay Wray or Naomi Watts?
Fay Wray

20) Is there a movie that would make you question the judgment and/or taste of a film critic, blogger or friend if you found out they were an advocate of it?
Armaggeddon probably

21) Pick a new category for the Oscars and its first deserving winner.
-AWARD: Best Producer
-WINNER: anyone but Jerry Bruckheimer

22) Favorite Paul Verhoeven movie.
Robocop (runner-up: Starship Troopers)

23) What is it that you think movies do better than any other art form?
Transport us to another world (Sounds corny, I know).

24) Peter Ustinov or Albert Finney?
David Suchet. HA! Seriously, though, I prefer Ustinov's Poirot. I found Finney's to be somewhat annoying (though I actually think he's the better actor).

25) Favorite movie studio logo, as it appears before a theatrical feature.
You know, I really liked the 75th anniversary logo they had for Universal Studios (where it goes through all the past ones). I think it was far superior to their current one. I also miss the old United Artists logo where the white UA is slowly turning toward the camera.

26) Name the single most important book about the movies for you personally.
A History of Narrative Film by David A. Cook

27) Name the movie that features the best twist ending. (Please note the use of any “spoilers” in your answer.)
Psycho is the best. The Usual Suspects, Planet of the Apes, Memento, The Sixth Sense..... They're great, but Psycho trumps them all.

28) Favorite Francois Truffaut movie.
Only seen 400 Blows

29) Olivia Hussey or Claire Danes?
Hussey. Not a big fan of Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet.

30) Your most memorable celebrity encounter.
The night that Ben Stein walked into the video store

31) When did you first realize that films were directed?
Not exactly sure. Perhaps when I first started making movies with a video camera when I was very young.