100 Film Facts About Me
Having been engrossed with all varieties of cinema for about 4 years now, I’ve learned a thing or two about my preferences, tastes, and habits. Certain cinemas strike me in deep, thought-provoking ways, while others make me happy and excited. And some do all the above. So I’ve compiled a list of things I’ve learned about myself through my adventures in film.
Here we go:
1. I’ll watch any Japanese film in existence
2. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think “I’d love to watch Once Upon a Time in the West RIGHT NOW”
3. I can’t find one Alfred Hitchcock film I haven’t enjoyed
4. I watch Brick at least once a month
5. Most days I want to be a samurai….
6. …the rest of the days I want to be Clint Eastwood
7. I always forget how great The Warriors is until I’m 5 minutes into it, then I grin from ear to ear
8. I want Roger Deakins to light my house
9. The Criterion Collection logo at the start of a film is more exciting to me than any Michael Bay action sequence
10. I may not love every Lars Von Trier film, but I want to watch EVERY ONE OF THEM
11. I associate Krzysztof Kieslowski with a mood and a state of mind
12. I want Ennio Morriconne to score my life
13. The Social Network should have won Best Picture
14. More people need to see Blood Simple.
15. I have a replica Maltese Falcon on my shelf in between casts of Jay and Silent Bob
16. I’ve seen films from 24 countries
17. I want to know why more Kenji Mizoguchi films aren’t available on DVD….
18. ….also Edward Yang
19. I want my daily conversations to consist of Ingmar Bergman-ian monologues
20. In this blog post James Cameron says Godard had cinema all backwards, which might be the funniest thing I’ve ever heard
21. I enjoy Ichi the Killer way more than I should
22. When I mention Kicking and Screaming I want people to think of Noah Baumbach, not Will Ferrell
23. Peeping Tom is immensely under-appreciated in the horror genre
24. Just assume I’m talking about the original, not the remake
25. My thoughts now have subtitles
26. My Criterion Collection AK100 box-set is my most treasured film item
27. On that note, Akira Kurosawa is the greatest of all time
28. A Nightmare on Elm Street scared me until I was 25 years old
29. Quentin Tarantino is the worst part of any movie he acts in
30. My dreams aren’t as surreal as a Luis Buñuel film
31. Every time I think about the deaths of Brandon and Bruce Lee I want to scream
32. The longer the take, the better
33. Episodes I-III do not exist as far as I’m concerned
34. I found In the Realm of the Senses to be…..interesting
35. Koreyoshi Kurahara’s The Warped Ones is incredible in ways I can’t describe
36. I haven’t enjoyed one M. Night Shymalan flick. Yup, even that one
37. My “good mood” film is L.A. Confidential
38. I could watch Orson Welles sip iced tea in a rocking chair for 3 hours
39. My guilty pleasure is Sylvester Stallone movies
40. I may have blacked-out the first time I saw Brigitte Bardot in Contempt
41. I hated Chicago
42. I have gambled on the Oscars
43. Michael Haneke is a type of genius I will never fully understand
44. Stanley Kubrick was pretty good too
45. No Country for Old Men > There Will Be Blood
46. I dislike almost every remake, reboot, and re-imagining
47. I believe in the “show, don’t tell” principle
48. I haven’t truly enjoyed a Quentin Tarantino flick since Jackie Brown
49. I think Jean-Luc Godard was a pleasant balance of brilliance and insanity
50. The Wire is probably better than 95% of all films in existence
51. While I may not agree with Luis Buñuel’s religious point of view, I’ve still managed to enjoy every movie of his I’ve seen
52. For a Few Dollars More is the most purely entertaining film Sergio Leone ever made
53. Hugo Weaving’s performance in V For Vendetta is drastically underappreciated
54. Spider-Man does not hold up well
55. The Burmese Harp was so amazing all I could do was cry
56. Stop reading this right now and watch Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang…
57. …seriously, how great was that?
58. Fritz Lang and Stanley Kubrick are the most diverse filmmakers in the history of film
59. I don’t care that the music in The Sting isn’t authentic for the era portrayed. I really don’t
60. I slightly prefer The Godfather to The Godfather II
61. Ranking Rocky’s: I > IV > III > Rocky Balboa > V
62. I still like Tom Cruise
63. River’s Edge is one of the 10 best films of the 80’s
64. The theme from Stripes is permanently burned into my brain
65. Here’s the ranking everyone wanted: Yojimbo > A Fistful of Dollars > Sukiyaki Western Django
66. A Hard Day’s Night is more fun than any other film ever…
67. …except maybe Evil Dead II
68. I wouldn’t mind living in Zombieland
69. I wish Christopher Walken was the voice of my inner monologue
70. From a theoretical stand-point, I think Andre Bazin had it right
71. Watching Spaceballs when you’re 7 and watching it at 30 are two very different experiences
72. My seasonal viewing traditions: Christmas – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Easter – The Ten Commandments, 4th of July – Jaws, Halloween – Halloween/Trick ‘r’ Treat, First Day of Summer – Summer School, St. Patrick’s Day – State of Grace/The Boondock Saints, Thanksgiving – Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Any Friday the 13th – Friday the 13th
73. I think Claire is, indeed, a fat girls name
74. It’s impossible to deny the sheer energy of Hairspray, and I love it
75. I’ve only seen one sneak-preview: Serendipity
76. I used to say “you’re so fuckin’ money!” at an annoyingly high rate
77. I don’t find Will Ferrell funny at all
78. I saw Sin City in the theater twice on opening night
79. The “crab walk” sequence from The Exorcist still eludes me
80. All About Eve is the ultimate bitch movie
81. The Samurai Trilogy is the official trilogy. There, I said it
82. David Fincher > Christopher Nolan
83. I don’t ever want to watch Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left again
84. I still don’t fully understand 2001: A Space Odyssey
85. Irreversible was the most uncomfortable film viewing experience I’ve ever had
86. I’ve never watched Black Hawk Down at less than maximum decibels
87. Gary Oldman deserves something better than an Oscar for his role in True Romance
88. I can’t bring myself to watch Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom
89. The mother’s song and the suicide scene in Sansho the Bailiff always gives me chills
90. If I had a choice, I’d want John Cassavettes to direct a movie about me, as only he could turn a slow, mundane, nuanced existence into a film
91. The ironing scene with Juliette Binoche in Code Unknown is so perfect I can’t even describe it
92. My film tastes tend to frighten and/or bore my friends
93. Human Centipede 2 is the worst movie I’ve ever seen. This will never change
94. “A Film By Steven Spielberg” before a movie no longer excites me
95. Toshiro Mifune has the greatest on-screen presence in film history
96. I can’t believe Andrew Sarris tried to pawn off his “auteur theory” as a rightful companion to les politiques des auteurs
97. The moment when Orson Welles’ “Harry Lime” first appears in the doorway in The Third Man is a Top 10 film moment for me
98. I actually believe the tagline for The Exorcist: it is the scariest movie of all time
99. I didn’t think Louise Fletcher’s “Nurse Ratched” was THAT great in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (unpopular opinion alert!!)
100. Film has been around for over 100 years, and I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. This is my favorite aspect of film: the unending possibilities of an art-form I love so dearly
Thank you to anyone who read the whole thing. It took me quite some time to extrapolate the peculiarities I have as a unique film viewer. Whether you agreed or disagreed with some of these points, I do hope you enjoyed them.
Any thoughts?
Great list,man.I love “I want Ennio Morriconne to score my life” and The mother’s song and the suicide scene in Sansho the Bailiff always gives me chills the most.Did you have the Criterion Kurosawa box-set? wow,that’s amazing!! “I still don’t fully understand 2001: A Space Odyssey” is the one everyone could and should include in this kind of list.
Thanks, David! I love my Kurosawa box-set. I got it as a gift and I love everything about it. As for 2001: A Space Odyssey, I have to watch it again to try and come up with something. It’s a challenge at this point. Glad to know I’m not the only one though!
Thanks, for reading man! I really appreciate it.
I’ll agree with you on quite a lot of them, but mostly on #98; I haven’t even seen the Exorcist, but even just by looking at a picture of her face I poo myself haha
Haha! Even more than the face, the mood and the way that flick is executed is note perfect. It’s not only scary as hell, it’s also a tremendous film. You should check it out at least once.
Thanks for reading!
Yeah maybe one day, but I’m ok for now haha.