# Cinematic Preferences Survey **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381 "2002-06-04T21:53:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/1 "2002-06-04T21:53:00Z")
(Mods, sorry if this belongs in HO. There’s a bit more to it than a simple poll, and I thought it might interest Cafe Society regulars, but if you feel it should be moved, I won’t object. Thanks.) **Part 1** _From among the following movies, please select the 5 that you like best overall, ranked from most liked to least._ Airplane Almost Famous Barton Fink Beetlejuice Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Close Encounters of the Third Kind Doctor Zhivago The Empire Strikes Back The Exorcist The Evening Star The Godfather The Graduate Forrest Gump Hoosiers The Karate Kid Monty Python and the Holy Grail Risky Business Saving Private Ryan Silence of the Lambs West Side Story **Part 2** _From among the following genres, please select the 3 that you generally prefer most often, ranked from most prefered to least._ Comedy Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) Drama (Melodrama) Fantasy Horror Mystery Romantic Comedy Science Fiction Suspense Western **Part 3** _From among the following cinematic elements, please select the 2 that you believe are most critical to making an already good film great, ranking them in order of importance._ Acting Casting Cinematography Costumes Directing Editing Music Screenplay Set Design Sound (including Foley work) Special Effects **Part 4** _From among the following actors, please select the 1 male and the 1 female whom you believe to be the most versatile._ Robert Duval Anthony Hopkins John Jurt Billy Bob Thornton Robin Williams Kathy Bates Sally Field Jodie Foster Shirley McClain Reese Witherspoon * * * Thanks to all who participate! I’d like to hear your comments about why you made your selections. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/2 "2002-06-04T21:58:55Z")
Oops. John Jurt should be John Hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/3 "2002-06-04T22:13:18Z")
Okay, I’ll play. 1 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail 2 - The Godfather 3 - Airplane 4 - Forrest Gump 5 - Beetlejuice 1 - Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) 2 - Suspense 3 - Romantic Comedy 1 - Screenplay 2 - Casting Robert Duval Jodie Foster In the first section, I hadn’t seen all the movies listed so I had to eliminate several choices. Of the remaining ones, I’d only place _Holy Grail_ and _The Godfather_ as great movies; my other picks were fill-ins. I would have questioned some of the choices in the third section; what is the distinction between acting and casting for example? And I’d have broken screenplay into two categories; dialogue and story. I’m also curious about how you chose the ten names in the last section. (And I assume John Jurt should actually be John Hurt.) Was this a poll you wrote yourself or are you working on some outside project? And is it just a survey about movies or is there supposed to be a hidden dimension to people’s chocies? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/4 "2002-06-04T22:41:10Z")
**Part 1** \*Close Encounters of the Third Kind Monty Python and the Holy Grail The Godfather The Graduate \* (not even bothering with a 5th since this is IMHO a pretty weak list to begin with) **Part 2** I have no favorite genres. A list of my favorite movies would consist of representatives from all of them, and I don’t gravitate toward one or steer clear of another. **Part 3** An element that makes a “good film great”? This is a meaningless phrase to me. For example, I’d argue you can’t have a good film 99.9% of the time without a good screenplay, so screenplay wouldn’t be one of my two choices. If a good film isn’t great, it usually isn’t because of one single element, either (“Oooh, that good movie would’ve been great if only those costumes were better”?!?!?). If I have to pick two elements, I’ll choose _Directing_, then _Acting_. **Part 4** Robert Duvall Shirley MacLaine (although again, pretty lame choices) ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/5 "2002-06-04T23:06:56Z")
Part 1 Godfather Silence of the Lambs Almost Famous Saving Private Ryan Airplane Part 2 Suspense Dark Comedy Drama Part 3 Screenplay Directing Acting Part 4 Robert Duval Kathy Bates ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/6 "2002-06-04T23:16:01Z")
This was pretty fun, especially since there’s a narrow list to choose from, and the questions are not so broad as to get a lot of opinions, but still good enough to debate. Especially the fourth part – much better than just asking, “When I say ‘versatile actor’, who do you think of?”. I didn’t consider it ‘lame’ but something of a challenge. (I hope that isn’t taken the wrong way if you really were trying to come up with ‘great’ lists; I just really didn’t see it that way.) Part 1 : The Graduate Airplane Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Godfather West Side Story I actually made this list by first crossing off a few I knew I wasn’t keeping, and then moving the ones I knew I was (_Airplane!_ and _The Graduate_) to the top. Then I began to trim a few more off until I got down to about 10 or so I though were okay, and then down to 7, and I picked my three favorites of those to keep. I tried to keep my judgments independent, but in some sense I did keep _West Side Story_ for sentimental reasons and kicked _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ off since I had too much comedy already (but it was a close call, there). I’ll also admit to knowing very little about _Barton Fink_(all I know is it was a Coen bros. production) and _The Evening Star_(was that a sequel to something or other?). Part 2 Suspense Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) Drama (Melodrama) This was pretty difficult. The first two weren’t hard to choose, but the third seemed close. I had to consider my last few rental options to decide it. Part 3 Screenplay Directing This would have been much harder with three. I think Cinematography & Music would be too difficult to decide. It is interesting that I don’t consider Acting that much, though when I think about it, I might say, hey, so-and-so did a good job in that movie but I don’t always feel it improves the movie that much (I do consider it the most important element for making a movie at least good, but that’s not the question.) As for why screenplay over directing, I kind of base that on an ‘average’ principle. If it’s a Kubrick movie, the writing doesn’t need to be stellar (e.g. _2001:A Space Odyssey_) but there aren’t many Kubricks around these days. So if I have to go with competent director and great screenplay vs. competent writing and great direction, I go with the writing; I usually want a good story, and most of the time you need the writing to carry that. Taking the negative view, it’s much easier for bad writing to destroy an otherwise good film as it can ruin the mood. Bad directing has to be really bad to have the same effect, and is easier to hide it than bad writing. Part 4 For the actors, it came down to these three, and I had to compare listings on the IMDB to jog my memory. Robert Duval : Well, certainly a very fine actor. And some memorable and varied characters – we’ve got THX 1138, Tom Hagen of the Godfather, Col. Kilgore in _Apocalypse Now_, _The Apostle_ E.F., _John Q._'s Frank Grimes – wait! FRANK GRIMES?! Someone made a movie about Grimey! Wow! Anthony Hopkins : Quite impressive. I would say the best actor on the list, but we’re looking for versatility. Let’s see, David Lloyd George, Richard Nixon, Adolf Hitler, Yitzhak Rabin, C. S. Lewis, John Quincy Adams … he’s got a good list, but he does tend toward the intelligent, powerful types. John Hurt : I had a strong suspicion that I should pick him, but wanted to check out his listing first. I knew about the obvious (Quentin Crisp, Caligula, Winston Smith, John Merrick). I noticed he’d done animation voice work as well, _Aragorn_ in _The Lord of the Rings_ and _Hazel_(and in 1999, General Woundwort in a _Watership Down_ TV series). Then there were a few times I said, oh yeah, I’ve seen that and now I remember him, like Montrose in _Rob Roy_ or Jesus in _History of the World, Part I_ (“Yes?”). Honestly, I think the first four I put in was enough to decide, and the rest of his work makes it clear that he’s the winner here. Jodie Foster This one’s a little easier : Put _Nell_ next to _Taxi Driver_ next to _Contact_ next to _Freaky Friday_ to see what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/7 "2002-06-04T23:52:55Z")
**One** ; five movies Empire Strikes Back Almost Famous Doctor Zhivago Godfather Forrest Gump Comments: Interesting list. Strange to include Zhivago instead of Lawrence of Arabia, or Bridge over the River Kwai. Still, the experience of a David Lean film is too great to be left off my preferences from your list. I think all those movies have an epic quality, a character journeying from one place in his life to a vastly different faraway place. I like seeing whether the characters change in such a story, or retain their original motivations. **Two** ; three genres Dark Comedy Drama Science Fiction Of course the greatest film ever made, Dr. Strangelove, had elements of all of these. So did another of the greatest movies, Clockwork Orange. A good combination of these genres seems to be winner for me. Nobody really has a flair for dark comedies these days, though Peter Jackson’s early work came close to capturing the spirit, though with such trivial subject matter as puppets and zombies. **Three** ; cinematic elements Cinematography Screenplay A film is really just a script brought to life with imagery. If the cinematography is lacking, you might as well read the screenplay. And if the screenplay is poor, why even bother? A good screenplay tends to make mediocre actors exceed their usual capabilites. **Four** ; versatile actors Anthony Hopkins: he’s gone from period dramas to making an action flick with Chris Rock…that’s diversity for sure Reese Witherspoon: From Election, a hip and sometimes disturbing comedy in the vein of Wes Anderson… to Legally Blonde…to another attempt to put Oscar Wilde to film this year…she’s developing a pretty diverse resume. ---
**Author:** ![spiceprincess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@spiceprincess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiceprincess)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/8 "2002-06-05T00:19:52Z")
1. The Exorcist 2. Silence of the Lambs 3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 4. The Godfather 5. The Karate Kid - sentimental fave. What can I say I had a wicked crush on Ralph Macchio in jr high school. These are the ones that I have watched over and over. While movies like Saving Private Ryan are excellent, I just don’t find myself wanting to watch them multiple times. And movies like Airplane and Beetlejuice are funny, but I don’t quote them like I do with Monty Python. 1. Dark Comedy 2. Suspense 3. Science Fiction I’ve got a real sick sense of humor. 1. Casting 2. Editing Bad casting in some movies can just ruin it. Likewise, I’ve seen some real sucky movies and enjoyed them just because a certain actor. Male - John Hurt Female - of these i would have to reluctantly go with sally field. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/9 "2002-06-05T02:33:02Z")
Part 1: 1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 2. Risky Business 3. Close Encounters 4. The Godfather 5. Airplane Part 2: (Actually, I don’t choose films on genre alone.) 1. Comedy 2. Drama 3. Science Fiction Part 3: (The question is oddly worded; the screenplay is essential and without it, you don’t have a good film to make great. However, a good screenplay isn’t enough.) 1. Directing 2. Acting Part 4: Robert Duvall (but I suspect Thornton will be my choice in a few years). Jodie Foster ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/10 "2002-06-05T05:01:19Z")
The Godfather Close Encounters of the Third Kind Almost Famous The Exorcist The Graduate Drama (Melodrama) Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) Romantic Comedy Screenplay Acting Billy Bob Thornton Kathy Bates The only comment I feel moved to include is this: all the great direction, acting, and cinematography in the world can’t save a bad script. And on the flip side, a great script can carry bad directors and lousy actors a long way. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/11 "2002-06-05T05:16:23Z")
The Empire Strikes Back Almost Famous Godfather The Exorcist Close Encounters of the Third Kind Drama Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) Suspense Directing Screenplay Anthony Hopkins Sally Field ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/12 "2002-06-05T05:29:09Z")
Today it’s: Monty Python and the Holy Grail Almost Famous The Graduate The Empire Strikes Back Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) Fantasy Comedy Screenplay Editing Cinematography Robert Duval Jodie Foster ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/13 "2002-06-05T06:18:28Z")
**Part 1** The Empire Strikes Back Barton Fink Beetlejuice Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Godfather Well, that was easy. After eliminating all the choices I knew I wouldn’t pick, I only had to choose five out of seven. Order was a little iffy. Intellectually, I wanted to put _Godfather_ first, but sentimentality keeps it below the other four. **Part 2** Comedy Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) Science Fiction Evidentally, **Part 1** was a pretty fair sampling of my tastes. **Part 3** Acting Directing These are the two criticals. Good acting and directing can carry a movie that is deficient in any of the other categories. **Part 4** Anthony Hopkins Jodie Foster Although I’m not much of a fan of Jodie Foster, she’s easily the most competent actor from among the female selections. Anthony Hopkins, however, was a no-brainer. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/14 "2002-06-05T06:31:03Z")
**Part 1:** Monty Python and the Holy Grail Saving Private Ryan The Empire Strikes Back The Graduate Airplane **Part 2:** Dark Comedy Comedy Horror **Part 3:** Screenplay Acting **Part 4:** Anthony Hopkins Kathy Bates ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/15 "2002-06-05T07:36:48Z")
**Part 1** 1. Silence of the Lambs 2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 3. The Empire Strikes Back 4. Airplane 5. Forrest Gump (Note: I don’t believe any of these would fall under “movies I like best overall” of all the movies I’ve seen, and these are being judges as “movies I like” rather than “best movies”.) **Part 2** 1. Comedy 2. Fantasy 3. Science Fiction It was difficult to decide the ranking of 2 vs 3. I would have probably preferred to combine Fantasy and Science Fiction and then put Suspense as number 3. Added bonus: Horror goes at the bottom of the list. **Part 3** 1. Screenplay 2. Acting Comment: I think a good screenplay can survive poor acting better than good acting can survive a poor screenplay. **Part 4** Robert Duval (tough choice between him and Hopkins) Jodie Foster ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/16 "2002-06-05T10:48:55Z")
I’ll address the questions asked and some of the comments, and then give my own preferences. > [@](#): > > I would have questioned some of the choices in the third section; what is the distinction between acting and casting for example? Acting is the skill of the actors who have been cast. Are they giving us subtle facial expressions that make lines come alive? One good example is the woman in _The Replacements_ from the topless bar who’s trying out for cheerleader. When she delivers her line, “Oh, my God, I forgot to tell you something,” she glances down and aside with an expression that tells us not only that she forgot to say something, but that she’s forgotten why she was going to say it, what it had to do with anything, and even where the heck she is. Her simple action makes an otherwise forgettable line memorable. Casting is the skill of a production staff member to tie together a role with a person. Finding Patrick Fugit for _Almost Famous_, for example, was a casting coup. It can be quite dramatic. Casting Christopher Walken as Sergeant Toomey in _Biloxi Blues_ was sheer genious. And the entire cast of _The Brady Bunch Movie_ is nearly perfect. > [@](#): > > Was this a poll you wrote yourself or are you working on some outside project? And is it just a survey about movies or is there supposed to be a hidden dimension to people’s chocies? I derived it when I noticed that, although dark comedy is my favorite genre, I can watch _Overboard_ or _Groundhog Day_ or _Contact_ again and again and thoroughly enjoy them. It then occured to me that various combinations of the cinematic elements, combined with the versatility of actors, can make me drop my prejudices and really enjoy a film of practically any genre. > [@](#): > > An element that makes a “good film great”? One example, for me, is _The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc_. Casting Milla Jovovich as Joan was a monumental mistake. The casting director should have (and might have) screamed at the producer (or director) that she wasn’t right for the role. And the way Luc Besson interpreted the screenplay, Joan of Arc came across as one of history’s most pathetic throw-away characters. Plus, he bungled Dustin Hoffman’s role entirely. You couldn’t tell whether he was Joan’s conscience or the devil or just some dirty old magician. It’s a good movie with fine cinematography, great editing, and epic set design, but I thought the shortcomings of those two elements — casting and directing — kept it from leaping into the top tier. > [@](#): > > The question is oddly worded; the screenplay is essential and without it, you don’t have a good film to make great. That’s a good point, but I think there are movies like _Sleepy Hollow_ where other elements have been elevated to rescue a mundane screenplay. Solid acting performances, stunning visuals, and some of the best foley work ever assisted Tim Burton in pulling a great rabbit out of a tattered hat. > [@](#): > > I think all those movies have an epic quality, a character journeying from one place in his life to a vastly different faraway place. Very perceptive of you! I looked for a commonality that might keep the list from fanning out too broadly, something to connect the films so that the decision would be based on their elements. * * * Now, my choices: 1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2. The Evening Star 3. The Karate Kid 4. Silence of the Lambs 5. Almost Famous 6. Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) 7. Comedy 8. Drama (Melodrama) An odd list of films for someone who likes dark comedy, I think. But even though I could pop in _Barton Fink_ as often as I like, I watch the others more. Why? Mainly because of these: 1. Casting 2. Directing I do believe I’ve never seen a more versatile actor than Billy Bob Thornton. Had I included _Slingblade_, it would have been at the top of my list of movies. He did for that movie what I think Tom Hanks failed to do for _Forrest Gump_. Don’t get me wrong; Hanks was good, but Thornton was standing ovation perfect. And, although Sally Field and Reese Witherspoon are great and versatile actors, I don’t think anyone can top Jodie Foster. Kathy Bates relies too much on method acting, and I think she’s the Timothy Hutton of female actors. I might have been tempted to select Goldie Hawn had she been include. Okay, keep 'em coming! And thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/17 "2002-06-05T13:50:09Z")
Part 1 1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2. The Empire Strikes Back 3. The Exorcist 4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 5. Silence of the Lambs This is purely on first reaction–The Godfather, Almost Famous and Saving Pvt. Ryan are right up there as well, probably in ties with these five. Part 2 From among the following genres, please select the 3 that you generally prefer most often, ranked from most prefered to least. 1. Horror 2. Science Fiction 3. Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) Dark comedy, when done right, I consider to be the opposite side of horror; the same ideas used for a different effect. The Black Knight getting all his limbs hacked off in “Holy Grail” is funny; in another movie with a different tone, it’s horror. And the 1-2-3 ranking for these three is really more 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3. A quick glance through my DVD collection bears that out. Part 3 1. Editing 2. Acting The greatest direction in the world can be for naught if the pieces aren’t all put together correctly. Even the soon-to-be-legendary Steven Spielberg needed Verna Fields to rescue “Jaws” for him. Editors are the great unsung heroes of Hollywood. Part 4 Robert Duval : Out of this list, the man is a deity. Not only can he act, he can direct to amazing effect. And he truly inhabits a part, no matter how small, and he almost never phones it in. Tender Mercies, The Godfather (esp. Part 2, with his speech to Frank Pentangelo), Sling Blade, The Apostle, Rambling Rose, The Great Santini . . . his resume is filled with amazing performances. Jodie Foster : Quite probably my very favorite actress. She makes a part seem at the same time to be an Everywoman and a real individual with real personality traits. Not to mention that, even as a child actress, she was able to hold her own and more on the same screen as people like DeNiro and Matthau. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/18 "2002-06-05T14:11:54Z")
**Part 1** The Godfather Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Empire Strikes Back Silence of the Lambs Risky Business **Part 2** Dark Comedy (Comedy Drama) \*\* - though I would argue that those terms are not synonymous\*\* Comedy Suspense **Part 3** Screenplay Cinematography **Part 4** Billy Bob Thornton **- you said most versatile, not best** Kathy Bates \*\* - ditto\*\* ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/19 "2002-06-05T14:13:13Z")
**Part 1** The Godfather The Empire Strikes Back Saving Private Ryan Airplane! Silence of the Lambs **Part 2** Dark Comedy Suspense Drama **Part 3** Screenplay Casting Acting **Part 4** Anthony Hopkins Jodie Foster ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381/20 "2002-06-05T14:57:28Z")
Part 1: 1-The Godfather 2- Empire Strikes Back 3- Saving Private Ryan 4- Monty Python & the Holy Grail 5- Almost Famous Part 2: 1- Comedy 2- Suspense 3- Mystery Part 3: 1- Screenplay 2- Casting Part 4: Anthony Hopkins And… uh… I’ll bite. All of them are very good in the right role, but none strikes me as terribly versatile. I guess I have to take Jodie Foster… but there are LOADS of roles she can’t play. She can’t do comedy very well, and is hopeless in roles that call for romance. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-preferences-survey/112381.md?page=2)