Wednesday afternoon – to the Finchley Phoenix to see Performance (second time in four days), followed by Deep Blue. The former really does benefit from repeated viewings on the big screen. One can keep on spotting future echoes, symbolism, references and in-jokes. This time I notice the Mars Bars left outside Mr Jagger’s front door like milk bottles. An in-joke for those aware of the then recent story concerning Ms Faithfull and the local constabulary.

I also notice Mr Fox improvising with an eel. Lurking in long shot upon the House of Naughtiness’s kitchen table is a tank dominated by two gigantic gulping fish. As Mr Fox comes into the kitchen to exchange dreamlike dialogue with the decadent residents, he notices a long, black eel slip out onto the table. While continuing to deliver his lines, Mr Fox nonchalantly returns the creature to the tank one-handed, as if it’s something he does every day. Can Act While Handling Escaping Eels – handy to have on one’s CV.

Performance, now a staple of Best British Film polls, continues to be unavailable on DVD. Seeing it whenever possible in the cinema is the only way of noticing such details.

In honour of Mr Fox’s fish handling prowess, I stay for the Phoenix’s next matinee movie. Deep Blue is a 90 minute cinema version of the BBC TV series The Blue Planet. The most popcorn-compatible, child-pleasing footage from the programme is presented here: seals, penguins, sharks, whale-on-whale violence, and the otherwordly denizens of the inky abyss. Of this last category, we marvel at that toothy fish that’s part lamp-post, plus the transparent thing that confuses its prey by shooting out little delayed-action fireworks around it. One doubts very much that this creature makes the Star Wars laser noises assigned by the film, but no one is complaining.

Mr Attenborough’s aloof educational tones have been taped over and replaced by Mr Gambon’s dramatic, Dumbledore voice-over. His narration is also very sparse, with often the briefest of introductory lines for scenes lasting some time. Deep Blue is unashamedly more spectacle than education, so the bigger the screen the better. Interesting that it was once Disney who were synonymous with cinematic nature documentaries, lying to us about lemmings. Now it’s the BBC who rule the waves.

*******

Return home to an email from the organisers of the Boogaloo’s monthly film quiz. They’ve invited me to the next quiz on September 1st, and have already reserved me a table some weeks in advance at which to form my own team. I accept this kind offer, and start to worry about who I could get to accompany me.

Normally the quiz concerns itself more with popcorn than carrot cake, but on this occasion they will include some questions on art-house and foreign language titles, due to my presence. I am flattered.

Do I really prefer arthouse fare to blockbuster films? I keep a sporadically updated list of my favourite movies lurking on my computer for those times when people ask to be recommended something, or just want to know my preferences. Now would be a good time to peruse it.

There are so many films I enjoy that to narrow the list down one must include additional criteria. As well as being films one loves, they must be films one can also re-watch forever. On top of that, they must be films one is happy to be represented by. In the same way some people make a compilation of favourite songs in the hope of friendship. Or more than friendship. The List As Self-Portrait. What kind of a person am I? Well, here’s my favourite films.

In no particular order:

Rope
If….
O Lucky Man!
Liquid Sky
Picnic At Hanging Rock
The Boys In The Band
Orphee
Broadcast News
London (dir. by Patrick Keiller)
Metropolitan
The Naked Civil Servant (if one is allowed a TV movie)
Memento
Performance
Network
Topsy-Turvy
Cabaret
Brief Encounter
The Ladykillers (Ealing version)
A Matter Of Life And Death
Hannah and Her Sisters

Although some of the above aren’t strangers to an Odeon distribution, it’s true I’m generally not keen on Hollywood blockbusters with a fondness for Gratuitous Explosions.

I was appalled to discover the makers of the British film 28 Days Later deliberately included a scene in the first reel where a petrol station explodes spectacularly for no good reason. Its presence, according to the DVD audio commentary, was so the movie would be taken “seriously” by the young American moviegoing boys who rule the world. Only by featuring such an explosion could the film hold its own alongside the oeuvre of Mr Schwarzenegger. Or so the makers depressingly maintained. This revelation rather soured my enjoyment of 28 Days Later. Some DVD commentaries can make one enjoy a film more. Others can make one loathe to see anything made the same director ever again.

So I must now gather a team for the film quiz. I think I shall name it The War Against Gratuitous Explosions.

If, Dear Reader, you consider yourself a film buff and are willing and able to be on my team at the Boogaloo come the evening of September 1st, please email me. Oh, and there’s a couple of rules.

The first rule of Fop Club is you do not wear trainers.

The second rule of Fop Club is you DO NOT wear trainers.