Walkin’ in a movie wonderland…

Hello everyone! Today I’ve got a type of post for you that pops up now and again on TMP: a popular tag/meme, altered to make the questions all about film. This time around I’ve kleptoed the Winter Wonderland Tag from the “booktube” community. Videos/blog posts like this are always fun for me to watch/read, so when I see them floating around I can’t help but want to adapt them. I discovered this one through Astrid the Bookworm. Let’s get to the questions!

1. What film is so happy and sweet that it warms your heart?
The Clock always gives me the warm-n-fuzzies.

2. What is your favorite film with a white cover/poster?
Ghost World, without a doubt! I love everything about this film and it’s one of my most frequently re-watched, so its DVD cover was the first thing that came to mind when I read this question.

3. You’re sitting in a comfy chair, wearing a onesie (or the cozy PJs of your choice), with a warm mug of hot chocolate on a snowy afternoon. What monster of a film are you watching? (Try to think of one that’s 2.5 hours or longer)
Gone with the Wind is the obvious choice here, but I feel like I mention that one every time a question like this is asked of me, so in the interest of changing things up I’ll go with the 248-minute Cleopatra (1963), starring Elizabeth Taylor. This film catches a lot of flack but I’m not ashamed to declare my love for it. It’s one of my go-to “monster films” to watch when I’m in the mood for something very long.

4. It’s snowing, and you’ve decided you want to have a snowball fight! Which fictional film character would you want to throw snowballs at?
I’ve had to think long and hard about this one. Initially I was going to choose a Cary Grant character, just because having a snowball fight with Cary Grant would mean that I would get to meet Cary Grant. That’s a cop-out, though, so I kept thinking and I’ve decided on Tom Joad. The guy could use some fun in his life, and though being pelted with balls of snow may not be one’s immediate idea of fun, playing around in the snow brings out the toddler in all of us, making it a good ol’ time.

5. Sadly, your fire is beginning to dwindle, and it is a fire that can only be fueled by discs. Which film from your DVD/Blu-ray collection do you sacrifice?
I actually have a few DVDs in my collection that I wouldn’t mind losing, so I’ll use them all as fuel to keep the fire going all week.

The first would be 127 Hours. I have no desire to watch this film. There are some things I’m just not into, and one of those things is watching a man chop his own arm off. It was given to me as a hand-me-down. I tried to give it to my dad because I thought he’d be more interested in it… but then he gave me his entire DVD collection to absorb into mine. I can’t seem to get rid of it! The only way is to kill it with fire!

Next would have to be Hard Candy, which I watched once and… appreciated(? not sure what the right word is here, haha) but can’t see myself watching again. It’s a very effective film but also very difficult to watch.

As much as I love the film, I would burn one of my copies of A River Runs Through It, because I don’t need to own two copies. (I actually own three copies — two on DVD and one on Blu. Oops! I ended up with the second DVD when my dad gave me his collection.) Same goes for Stand By Me, which I own two DVD copies of.

6. What classic or silent film is so close to your heart that you’d gift it to someone on Christmas who hasn’t watched many classic films, but is interested in watching more of them? (In other words, choose a “gateway drug” film that you would use to get others interested in classics/silents.)
My go-to “YOU MUST WATCH THIS” silent films are It starring Clara Bow and He Who Gets Slapped starring Lon Chaney. My dad, who had never seen a silent film before, left our screening of He Who Gets Slapped interested in watching more silents, so I’d say that one’s a pretty dang successful gateway drug. It’s also my favorite silent film, and Lon Chaney one of my favorite silent film stars.

For a friend who just wanted to get into classics and wasn’t yet ready for silents, there are a few I would gift: Charade, Roman Holiday, For Me and My Gal, The Big Sleep, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang and finally, Stella Dallas. I don’t hit classic film newbies with any of my corn favorites because I realize those are an acquired taste, as close to my heart as they are! I feel like these six films offer good variety, showcase some of old Hollywood’s most talented folks (Stanwyck!) and are just good stories to get wrapped up in. I’ve never been brave enough to try to narrow down my favorite films to just ten, but if I did, these six would likely be on the list.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this winter-y walk through movieland! Feel free to answer these questions on your own blog, or in the comments section.