Weeks of 2/6/00 and 2/13/00

Indie Quiz
Note: Move the mouse over each picture to see the title

The Quizmaster, Dan, decided to take a walk on the wild side, for two straight weeks, no less. Between February 6 - 19, he posted 8 indie films, and surprised quite a few regulars. As a college student, this set of quizzes should have been a breeze. What else do undergraduates do but watch non-mainstream films? I thought I was in slacker heaven, after week #1. Well, he fooled me in week #2. Many of you probably think I live in a bedroom above Dan's garage. After all, who else anticipates so many of his future movies? During week #2, he snuck in a one-two punch. If the first screen shot (David Holzman's Diary) didn't bamboozle participants, then the second one (Ganja and Hess) did. As a result, no one got a PhD in week #2. Surprising, since this is only the second or third time in three years that this has happened.

Now let's discuss some forensics issues. What exactly is an indie movie? Where does one go to find such a list of movies? If you have been using the VideoHound Guide to Independent Films, by Monica Sullivan, then you might have missed two important movies, namely, The Blair Witch Project and Ganja and Hess. Instead of getting a PhD on the quiz, you would only get a bachelor's degree. This book came out too early relative to the onslaught of DVD releases, and could not cover a number of cult and off-hollywood films that are now enjoying widespread distribution (in some cases, for the first time). Hopefully, Monica will update the next edition of her book, say before 2001. Another drawback of her current book- she gave Todd Solondz' Happiness a rating of 1 star (out of 4). I know this would infuriate Dan, who gave the film 4 stars, and praised the humor and irony of the story. Then again, he has a bias (he lives in New Jersey, the fictional suburban setting of the movie).

Thus, at the end of week #1, the quizmaster, seeing all the carnage from the first four shots, and anticipating more in the following week, decided to give everyone a really big HINT. He referred to a recently published book, Celluloid Mavericks, by Greg Merritt. Every one of the 8 films he did are described in this book! For those of you who are into making lists and checking them twice, be advised that this is as close as you'll get to Dan's movie bible. IMHO, Merritt's book is not entirely satisfactory, either. The quality of his writing is not nearly as good as Richard Skorman's work (see below), nor as informative as Danny Peary's books.

The Blair Witch Project, with Joshua Leonard

Would you believe I've never seen this film, and still got it correct? I thought the actor (Joshua Leonard) was some Steve Buscemi clone, and was playing a derelict or criminal. He looks like he has a bald spot and is over 35 in the top picture. This shows you what amateur camera work can do to an actor's face. Mr. DeMille, I'm definitely not ready for my shot. Check out the frame below this one to see what Josh really looks like. Handsome guy, according to my girlfriend, and some of my gay friends. Also notice that Dan cropped out part of the viewfinder frame, which would have told you this was shot on video. Sneaky guy, that Dan. As soon as I saw the remnant on the right corner of his shot, I knew something fishy was going on. I hijacked a DVD of the movie from a friend and quickly matched the frame. Another indication that the film may have been The Blair Witch Project is the fact that it was listed in Dan's Recent Film Impressions. If you're good at noticing patterns, then you will realize that he has done shots from Heaven, Election, and Analyze This, during the past few months. So study the as-yet undone movies from this page, and you'll be ahead of the game.

You should all recognize one of the screen's great female actresses, Gena Rowlands, in the above shot. She's just prepared spaghetti for her husband's work crew, after they completed an all-night emergency repair. In the 70's, her portrayal of a woman having a nervous breakdown was probably quite effective. In the post-90's, I consider her behavior to be quite normal. If you want real "nuts", then no one is nuttier than Isabelle Adjani.

This was an easy one if you recognize Robert Duvall. Alternatively, just search for Religion in the latest Videohound Golden Movie Retriever. Naturally, if you had a copy of Merritt's book, you would have been in phat city.

Well, it's about time he did a Samuel Fuller movie! I don't know how someone who hasn't seen this movie could guess it, but luckily, I've seen it. Perhaps someone could mistake Betty Bronson for Constance Towers, and accidentally stumble upon the answer. Dumb luck is better than skill, sometimes. Note that the aspect ratio of this film is 1.66:1. This can be used to reduce the number of possibilities to around 50 or so, if you're interested.

Beware the black cat. When you know the quizmaster likes cats, you remember every cat shot in the movies you view, no matter how insignificant. If you hate cats, then you could also use Ken Crane's to do a search on black & white widescreen movies. Clerks will pop up right away with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The other candidates are easily eliminated as non-Indie movies.

I believe only 5 people got this one right. Fortunately, I was one of them. It looks like an experimental film, akin to The Man with the Movie Camera, a much earlier film which Dan has done. A search for the keyword "filmmaker" or "cinema", using Cinemania, will pop up this movie. Then head to the TV Guide web site for a detailed review. If you've been diligently buying up Criterion Laserdisc cutouts, you will notice Holzman's face on the cover of this movie.

Here's a tough movie that does not appear in Cinemania or in Monica Sullivan's book. It does pop up if you search the TV Guide website, or if you spend enough time browsing new DVD titles. It's been available on DVD for at least 9 months. I even own a copy of the movie, but never viewed it. Shame on me! Here's why. A day before the quiz deadline, I got a copy of Merritt's book and began reading it from the back. The sink fixture in the photo looks like a post-1980 contraption. Well, stupid me. What the hell do I know about plumbing? It was available in the 1970's, damn it. Anyway, this archaelogical mis-dating vectored me to the film, Fresh, by Boaz Yakin. This film has lots of blacks and Hispanics, and features one or more well-heeled drug dealers. The guy (Bill Gunn) in the picture looks like someone from the hood. When I called up my buds, none of them recognized the brotha. These guys are experts on hood movies (you know, Boyz n Hood, Set it Off, etc.). Since I could not locate a copy of Fresh, I made a blind guess. That's known as the Eureka effect, as in Eureka, I found it. Big mistake, unfortunately. I should have read the chapter on the 70's decade movies in Merritt's book. Alternatively, I could have spent two excruciating hours at the library thumbing through Screen World. Everytime I don't use this book, it has the answer in it. That figures. Incidentally, Dan advised me of a misidentification error (traced to Screen World, vol 25). John Willis swaps the names/pictures of two of the actors in the movie (Bill Gunn and Duane Jones). Jones is the one with the full beard.

OK, Dan made this too easy. A full frontal shot of Julianne Moore's face, plus another actress in a surgical mask, and you guessed it, the film is about allergic disorders, AIDS, CFS, and whatever. Maybe he should have used the funnier shot I supplied beneath it.

Notes: One of Mr. M's favorite indie/foreign film review books is Richard Skorman's Off-Hollywood Movies. A bit dated perhaps, but the writing is first-rate, and the author really knows his subject. Some of Skorman's five star picks include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Lola, and The Marriage of Maria Braun. This book is definitely worth a look the next time you visit the library.

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