Me, Me, Call on Me!

When your teacher is as hot as Cameron Diaz, you might act like a clown to get her attention. So even though I'm late with my answers to the latest Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule Film Quiz, I still want to get to say, "Hey, teacher! Call on me!"

1) Name a line from a movie that should've become a catch phrase but didn't
I'm going to have to go with Eugene Pallette's "Where's my breakfast?" from The Lady Eve. At least, it's a catch phrase in my house.

2) Your second favorite William Wellman film 
Great question! Public Enemy, with Nothing Sacred first, and Beau Geste third, with Lady of Burlesque somewhere a little way down. There's still a bunch I haven't seen, though.

3) Viggo Mortensen or Javier Bardem?
Is this supposed to be Strider vs. Anton Chigurh? Because I haven't seen much more from either. We just saw Old Men, but I'll go with Mortensen.

4) Favorite first line from a movie 
"Call me, Ishmael." No, that's not right - "It was a Dark and Stormy drink..." No, not that either. I guess if I could think of one first line from a movie, that would be my favorite.

5) The most disappointing/superfluous “director’s cut” or otherwise extended edition of a movie you’ve seen?
This doesn't count studio re-edits that just change the ending, like Brazil or Bladerunner? The added scenes in 1941 didn't really add much - the flour scene in particular wasn't so much tasteless as slack. Also, it's nice to be in a place where it's safe to admin that you love 1941.

6) What is the movie you feel was most enhanced by a variant version?
I will always watch the extended Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies. Any chance to spend a little more time in the magic of Middle Earth.

7) Eve Arden or Una Merkel? 
Our Miss Arden.

8) What was the last DVD/Blu-ray/streaming film you saw? The last theatrical screening?
I'm lucky with this question, because the last streamer I watched was an episode of the Charlie Cox Daredevil series, and the last DVD was the Ben Affleck Daredevil (which I own, thank you). Amazing how similar they are in tone and style. But even though I love the Affleck movie (haters shut up), the series has better fights and stunts.
We are also re-watching Stardust to catch a different Charlie Cox. As usual, we haven't watched anything in a theater for years.

9) Second favorite Michael Mann film
Never seen even one.

10) Name a favorite director’s most egregious misstep
Richard Lester is certainly a favorite, and Royal Flash is pretty egregious. Done.

11) Alain Delon or Marcello Mastroianni?
This was on the last quiz, wasn't it? I picked Marcello for his sense of humor and humanity, so this time I will go with Alain for his inhuman beauty. Like, David Bowie levels of alienness and glamour.

 12) Jean-Luc Godard famously stated that “all you need for a movie is a girl and a gun.” Name one other essential element that you’d add to the mix.
I was going to be a wise guy and say a camera to record it. In Godard's case, however, I'll have to say: a rich history of film language to reflect, comment on and argue against.

13) Favorite one-sheet that you own, or just your favorite one-sheet (please provide a link to an image if you can)
Possibly the only one we own is Waga Seishun no Arukadia (My Youth in Arcadia), the first movie we saw in Japan, in the teeth of a taiphoon, guided by our 9 year old niece (once removed, father's side). Below is the closest I could find:

14) Catherine Spaak or Daniela Giordano?
Pass - don't know either.

15) Director who most readily makes you think “Whatever happened to…?”
Old What's His Name.

16) Now that some time has passed… The Interview, yes or no?
If you like that kind of thing. Gross-out, stupid comedies of today don't really grab me personally. As for the political implications, (silence and blank look).

17) Second favorite Alberto Calvalcanti film
Again, I haven't seen a single one.

18) Though both displayed strong documentary influence in their early films, Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog have focused heavily on the documentary form late in their filmmaking careers. If he had lived, what kind of films do you think Rainer Werner Fassbinder, their partner in the German New Wave of the ‘70s, would be making now?
Again, haven't seen any of his stuff, so I'll say musicals.

19) Name a DVD you’ve replaced with a Blu-ray. Name another that you decided not to replace. 
I'm sort of too cheap for that. For ex, I saw a $5.00 cut-out bin Blu-ray of Fantastic Four, and didn't bother to replace my DVD. And I LOVE Fantastic Four, even more than Daredevil.

20) Don Rickles or Rodney Dangerfield?
Rickles for being the original, and for Kelly's Heroes.

21) Director who you wish would hurry up and make another film
Tarsem Singh. He may not be reliable - his Immortals was a bit of a misfire - but even those are pretty entrancing. And his best are visually stunning.

22) Second favorite Michael Bay film
Never saw one. Can I pick my favorite Anthony Mann film instead?

23) Name a movie that, for whatever reason, you think of as your own
The completely unknown Once More, My Darling, directed by and starring Robert Montgomery, co-starring tiny, radiant Ann Blyth. Taped it off of AMC back when it played movies, and watch it often with someone I love.

24) Your favorite movie AI (however loosely you care to define the term)
Got to be HAL 9K. There are several from books that haven't become movies yet, like Mycroft from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Iain M. Banks' Culture ship-minds. But movies seem to have trouble making really sympathetic AIs.

25) Your favorite existing DVD commentary track
I don't listen to many, but Joe Bob Brigg's Presents: Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter was great. I was expecting goofy snark, but got a ton of information about William One-Shot Beaudine and the twilight of his career.

26) The double bill you’d program on the last night of your own revival theater
I guess it's closing because I'm not that great a programmer, but since it's closing anyway, I'll go with a couple of movies that will make everyone glad it's gone. Also, I assume I can magically get my hands on anything I want? I definitely want to play Renaldo and Clara, the longest least edited version I can find. Then I'd throw on some of the raw footage from the Kesey Furthur/Acid Test days, and crank the Dead until the landlord shuts us down.

27) Catherine Deneuve or Claudia Cardinale?
I'll have to say Cardinale for playing Maria Gambrelli in Son of the Pink Panther. It was a beautiful and touching update of the role Elke Sommer made famous in Shot in the Dark.