The Book Tower

With the Oscars fast approaching, I thought it was time for a sequel of sorts to last year’s Favourite Films meme. I quite like the Q and A memes, although it’s not so much fun when you’ve made them up yourself. Anyway, there’s fourteen questions in all.

The Oscars. Are you bothered?

Not really, although I’d love it if Peter O’Toole got one. I haven’t seen Venus yet, but I hear good things about it.

A really good film you’ve seen recently, although nobody else has seen it or even heard of it

There’s a film called The Assassination of Richard Nixon starring Sean Penn. Although depressing, I thought it was one of the best acted and most moving films I have seen for years.

The worst film you’ve paid good money to see

The second Bridget Jones film. I thought it was so dreadful, a film devoid of any charm or humour. I hated it and declared so loudly as I left the cinema.

Most pretentious film you’ve paid good money to see

There’s so many. The Piano probably. And Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books.

A film you’ve rented on video or DVD and turned off very quickly, shouting “this is awful!”

The second Matrix film. I’d really been looking forward to it as I loved the first Matrix but this was just terrible, terrible. Most of my DVD rentals are disasters. A friend of mine is an actor and he was in The Libertine with Johnny Depp. I only rented it because I knew he was in it, but couldn’t watch more than half an hour of it.

A film you know you should watch but you’ve never quite got round to seeing

I had The Mission starring Robert De Niro on video for exactly ten years before I gave up and taped over it. Most recent films by Ken Loach I always state loudly that I want to see, although secretly I don’t. I usually do quite well with serious, acclaimed or worthy films though. I’m a great fan of the Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Earliest cinematic experience

My parents took me to see Oliver! at the Wimbledon Odeon when I was four or five. I loved it (and still do).

Teenage memories

When I was 14, I rented a video of An American Werewolf in London with some friends when my parents were out. The main reason was because we’d heard about a rather raunchy sex scene with Jenny Agutter. We weren’t disappointed.

Strangest cinematic experience

I went to see The Passion of the Christ on my own. The only other people in the cinema were a man who walked out and a woman who wept uncontrollably throughout the film. I kept thinking “leave woman! Leave if this is so painful for you!” but maybe that’s partly the point of the film.

Is there a film that you’ve been waiting to see again for years that’s just vanished from the face of the Earth?

Bartleby, based on Herman Melville’s classic, made in the ealy 1970s I think. It’s about an office clerk who goes slowly mad. He keeps saying “I’d rather not, sir”. Paul Scofield is in it. I’m hazy on other details. I saw it once on TV when I was about 15 and I’ve been waiting for it to be repeated again. There’s a recent remake but that one’s to be avoided. Also a film of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich starring Tom Courtenay that’s completely vanished.

Your cinematic obsession that bores everyone else to tears

Horror films from the 60s and 70s. My wife hates them, even ones that are now considered classics like The Wicker Man. I tend to watch them on my own now, or with a friend – although he’s now gone to live in Cambodia. Perhaps he was trying to tell me something.

Someone else’s cinematic obsession that you’ve gone along with

Years ago, a friend was obsessed with Russ Meyer films and was always dragging me along to see them. If that wasn’t bad enough, a woman I used to work with was equally obsessed with John Cassavetes films and would drag me to see them. Meyer won out probably, at least his weird audiences were always amusing to observe.

Anyone from the world of cinema that you have a real love/hate relationship with?

Woody Allen. He’ll hate me for this, but I really do prefer his earlier, funnier films. Also Quentin Tarantino, who I can love, hate or be indifferent to depending on my mood.

I was going to end with favourite movie, but I can’t decide! So I’m going to narrow it down by picking a particular genre out of the hat:

Favourite romantic movie

When Harry Met Sally. Or Annie Hall. Or, for the ending at least, The Graduate.
An American Werewolf in London.