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Welcome to my movie blog, containing reviews and articles. I've been writing since 2004 - with a short break during 2009.

Film Studies Survey


I'm out of ideas today, and clearing out my film studies folder - so I thought I'd treat you to a tour of a moviesurvey we had to write and present our results. Nothing lifechanging, but fun in its own way.

Section 1: the voters

Total number of surveys filled in:
· Men: 12
· Women: 14
Only one voter had difficulty answering this question correctly; we can only assume he ticked female by mistake.

Age range:
· 1-13: 0
· 14-21: 13
· 21:40: 5
· 40+: 8

At this point we asked what people's favourite films were, mostly for nosy snobbishness.

Section 2: film

What genres of film do you enjoy?
We specified all the obvious genres, of which the most popular were:
Comedy
Thriller
Action
Adventure
Crime

The least popular were:
Horror
Sci fi
Romance
Western
Art-house

All genres recieved a fairly large number of votes however, and two voters also added "asian films" and "feel good films" to the list.

Predictably enough, lots of men disliked romantic films – however, a similar amount unexpectedly disliked horror. Women were more predictable, liking romance, rom-com and drama best, disliking westerns and sci fi – thrillers being the only anomaly. Film taste was more universal over all ages.

Five people ticked the box claiming they have very wide taste – so some of them are probably lying.

What influences your decision when deciding what film to see?

Again we suggested a series of reasons. Hardly anyone takes notice of what reviewers say, much preferring the opinions of people they know – particularly women. Most people think the genre and story are very important factors, however are unconcerned by the amount of “objectionable” content. The number concerned about the cast are about equal with that of the crew. Though posters help promote awareness of the film, most people wouldn’t go to see something on the grounds of the poster alone.

Do subtitles put you off?
The majority of people (16) had no problem with subtitles, although 3 preferred dubbing. 7 people never watch foreign films anyway – particularly women.

What do you think of all the remakes in Hollywood?
Most people were against remaking old films, with 5 out of 13 proposing to round up and shoot people who tried. 2 people remained neutral, and 7 had no problem with it. Only one person thought they were a good idea. In general, women thought they were a worse idea than men.

Sequels?
17 people would definitely see the sequel to a film they had enjoyed, though 8 people said they would be wary, as they sometimes spoil the original. Nobody complained that too many sequels were happening.

Section 3: watching film

What’s the most recent thing you’ve seen at the cinema?
There were a wide spread of answers to this question. 4 had not been since Pirates of the Caribbean – two people had seen Fellowship of the Ring most recently and one person had most recently seen Titanic.

Who do you usually go to the cinema with?
Most people go to the cinema with somebody – most people go with either family or friends, very few ever go alone. Alarmingly, five people don’t take into account what they’re watching before deciding who to take…

More women went with their families than men, both sexes were equal with taking friends and partners. Women were more emphatic that they would never go on their own.

Is cinema food overpriced?
Most people said yes – 17 would be happier if it were cheaper, though 4 didn’t mind too much. 4 people thought it was about what they’d expect to pay. Women are far more stingy about the cost of cinema food.

And nobody said it was cheap…

Are the tickets at your local cinema…
12 people said they thought it was alright – 11 said it was overpriced. Again, nobody thought they were too cheap. This time, men had more problems with the price.

Do you prefer going to the cinema or watching films at home?
12 people said it depended on the film – of those with a preference, 10 preferred home viewing to the cinema.

How often do you go to the cinema?
About every 2 weeks:………0
About every 2 months:……..11
Once or twice a year:……….12
Less:……………………...…1
Never:……………………….1

Women went to the cinema frequently than men

How many of these are a problem at your local cinema?
Too many adverts – 10
Bad picture quality – 6
Never anything good on – 4
Other people – 8
Talking – 11
Eating – 12
Mobiles – 4
The misanthrope - I object to the very existence of the other audience members: 6

Perhaps our cinema is just bad, but someone found issues with every suggestion we listed. All the votes came from locals, and thus all about the same place. In addition, we received these complaints:
Cold
smells
Rubbish sound
Small screen (6 complaints!)
People’s heads
People laughing at inappropriate times
People throwing sweets at the screen
Don’t show all films

Ever seen something more than once at the cinema?
9 people said they never did this, though 11 said they had once for a particular film. Four people admitted to doing it pretty frequently. Women rewatched more than men, by a very very tiny amount.

What do you usually eat there?

Chocolate -11
Sweets -11
Sweet popcorn -10
Popcorn -7
Hot dog/burger -5
Mints -4
Nothing-4
Ice cream -3
Usually, I go out to eat beforehand - 3
Salty popcorn -2
I go out of my way to buy something quiet-1
Nachos-0

Two people commented on drinks – diet coke and water respectively. It’s interesting to note that ¾ of the nothing voters were female, and all the people who voted for salty popcorn over sweet were men.

Section 4: merchandising!

The majority of people will consider getting the soundtrack or the source novel if they liked the film – replica/actual movie props were the least popular piece of merchandising. 4 people would agree to purchase actor spittle. The majority of people, however, never buy anything. Apparently, women are willing to spend more on merchandising, a fact which probably won’t surprise anyone…

If you’ve seen it at the cinema, will you buy the dvd as well?
Most (13) people would definitely buy the dvd, and 12 said they probably would. Only one person claimed they would not normally.

How much would you be willing to pay for an ordinary dvd?
£1-£3 -0
£4-£6 -1
£7-£10 - 6
£11-£15 - 18
£16-£20 -0
more -1

How much would you want to pay for a special edition or boxed set?
14 people said it would depend on the set.
£11-£15 -
£16-£20 - 5
£21-£25 - 6
£26-£30 - 1
£31-40 - 2
more - 1
Men were willing to pay more.

Do you buy dvds as soon as they come out?
If they really wanted to see a film, 16 voters would buy the dvd immediately. 9 would wait for the price to fall, and 1 person doesn’t buy dvds.

Which of these would make you more likely to buy a dvd:
I buy dvds to see the film, not the extras -15
special editions (remastered, directors cut etc) -10
deleted scenes -8
extra disc(s) -6
directors commentaries -5
free gift (art prints, statue, poster etc) -5
Making-ofs -5
special packaging - 2

Generally, the girls more were attracted by bumper deals.

Section 5: randomness
These weren't part of the survey, I was just curious...

Is Star Wars a cult film?
16 people thought it was, 9 people did not (grumble! Shows what they know, eh?)

Ever knowingly purchased a pirate dvd?
Six people had – four said they thought it was worth it. Of this number, half were male.

Ever claimed to like a film you really don’t?
Never -14
Once -3
I sometimes tell white lies-13
Frequently -1

The guys had far more integrity than the girls – only three admitted to telling the occasional white lie.

If you could shoot any one person in the movie business, who would it be and why? (all answers quoted directly from the sheet…)

Artistic differences:

-The director of Star Wars for giving us the prequel after the original first film (Ed: do you mean George Lucas :) ?)
-James Cameron (for making Titanic)
-Michael Bay – ruining good premises with too much brainless action
-Any director/actor who claims they have never seen the original of a remake they just made.
-The President of Fox TV (they cancelled Firefly!)
-Sid Sheinburg (recut Brazil) or any other studio head which cramps decent directors (Ed: yes, this one was me...did you guess?)
- Kiera Knightly – she is in everything and is a terrible actress
-The director of Ideal Husband

Personal insults:
-Steven Spielburg (Egotistical)
-Jennifer Lopez – she is way too full of herself
-Colin Farrell
-Michael Wood
-Jenny McShane – has a steamy scene with a fave actor! I hate her!

Irrational hatred:
-Jim Carey – I don’t find him funny!
-Jim Carey – I hate him with a vengeance
-Angelina Jolie- I just don’t like her
-Drew Barrimore – why not?
-Roger Rabbit – Haven’t a clue why
-Damon Albarn. He played a cockney taxi driver once.

Everyone else:
-Daniel Radcliffe
-Amanda Bynes
-The Ministers for Sport and Culture
-Anyone who uses fire arrows in film

Did you have difficulty narrowing that list down to one?
Eleven people voted yes, hating their victim with a single minded passion – the other eleven people voted no, proving what a high number of idiots there are in the industry.

Hottest male star:
According to the guys…
Sean Bean
Russel Crowe
Johnny Depp
Samuel L Jackson
Jude Law
Brad Pitt x2
Paul Newman
Nick Cage

According to the girls…
Bruce Willis
Tom Hanks
Johnny Depp
Zac Efron
Patrick Swayze
Jeremy Sumpter
Joaquin Phoenix
Hugh Jackman
Robert Redford
Ewan McGregor
Orlando Bloom
Rufus Sewell

40+ group

Bruce Willis
Brad Pitt
Paul Newman
Patrick Swayze

21-40 group

Sean Bean
Russel Crowe
Tom Hanks
Johnny Depp x2
Samuel L Jackson

14-21 group
Jude Law
Zac Efron
Jeremy Sumpter
Nick Cage
Joaquin Phoenix
Brad Pitt
Hugh Jackman
Robert Redford
Ewan McGregor
Orlando Bloom
Rufus Sewell

Most votes: Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt

Observation: a few men refused to name a hottest male actors, while the women all happily put down their opinion of both male and female stars.

Hottest female star:

According to the guys…
Keira Knightly x2
Meg Ryan
Kim Basinger*
Scarlett Johanson
Halle Berry
Natalie Portman x2
Monica Belluci
Helen Hunt

According to the girls…
Julia Roberts x2
Sandra Bullock
Natalie Portman x2
Cameron Diaz
Kate Winslet
Monica Belluci x2
Keeley Hawes
Reese Witherspoon
Juliet Aubrey


40+
Sandra Bullock
Meg Ryan
Scarlett Johanson
Monica Belluci
Helen Hunt
Julia Roberts

21-40

Keira Knightly
Julia Roberts
Kim Basinger*
Natalie Portman
Halle Berry

14-21
Natalie Portman x2
Kate Winslet
Keira Knightly
Monica Belluci x2
Keeley Hawes
Reese Witherspoon
Juliet Aubrey

*(from about 10-15 years ago – she’s getting a bit old now -ed, added by a voter)

Most votes: Natalie Portman (4), Monica Belluci (3), Keira Knightly and Julia Roberts (2)

Worst film ever seen:

Army of Darkness
Blair witch project
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie)
Dark City
Dodgeball
Evolution
Fritz the Cat x2
Hercules in New York
Ideal Husband
Lady in Black
Langaliers
Lord of the Rings
O Brother, Where art thou?
Open Water
“Can’t remember, but Sting was in it”
The 60s
The Cube
The Good Girl
Titanic


And the vigilante– someone couldn’t narrow it down to one and felt the need to put down a shortlist of the really bad films watched all the way through:
A Town called Bastard
Bats
Hawk the Slayer
Heaven’s Gate
Pete’s Dragon
Star Trek V: The Final Fronteir
The Long Chase
The Pad – And how to use it
The Sphynx
The Ultimate Warrior

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