Isaac Mizrahi

“I’m going to start with… because I came in here looking for it, and you said it was in here: The Red Shoes. Because, I mean, isn’t that everyone’s favorite movie? Where is it? Got it. All right, so that’s a must. The Red Shoes. Powell, Pressburger. It’s, like, you… Everyone who is an artist has to see this movie. Everyone who’s a ballerina has to see this movie. Everyone who is just anyone should see this movie, because it’s all about how scary it is to be an artist. It’s amazing.”

“Oh my God, you have… you have a few Visconti pictures, right? You have The Leopard, which is amazing. Just the costumes in The Leopard, right?”

“And The Damned. Actually, the costumes in The Damned are really beautiful too. But that’s not the only reason we see Visconti, for costumes, but we see him also for, like… crazy, crazy…”

“Wait a minute. Except maybe we’re throwing in one French picture, which is Jules et Jim. Truffaut, darling. Jeanne Moreau. Where is the Jeanne Moreau festival? Where is that?”

“Here’s a kooky, kooky movie that I like that I see every once in a while. It’s called Dance, Girl, Dance, and it’s kind of a Damon Runyon tale about New York in the ’40s with a bunch of people, including… including Maureen O’Hara and Lucille Ball. Anyway, I’m going to go and watch that again. It’s really crazy, that movie.”

“And then there’s this. I mean, wow, I really limited it, did I not? I really have it narrowed down, okay. But this is the greatest. Everyone knows this is the greatest, sort of gayest documentary ever made. This is the Pennebaker documentary of the making of Company, which is the play with Elaine Stritch and Dean Jones and all these kooky people. It’s amazing. That’s coming in the bag. Wow, my bag is getting heavier and heavier, I like it.”

“Can you pass up Claudine, with the most gorgeous Diahann Carroll? I mean, if there’s anyone more beautiful… Okay, that’s coming with.”

“Wait, both of these. This is the greatest western: My Darling Clementine. This is the one western that I actually… Well, there are a few. There’s, like, three westerns I really like, and this is one of them.”

“Wait a minute. And then there’s this. This is, I think, literally my favorite western ever made: Destry Rides Again. Who knew I would be coming to this Closet and picking westerns, right? I thought I was coming in to pick Bette Davis pictures.”

“You know what? Now, Voyager is something so great and it’s so underrated because I guess it’s long and it’s melodramatic, but what would we do without a long, melodramatic Bette Davis picture, okay?”

“All About Eve. I mean, really? Can you? Can you, please?”

“Wait a minute, excuse me? You have Polyester in this Closet and I didn’t know about it? How did I not know about this? Who is responsible for not telling me you had this movie in the Closet? I’m taking this. Sorry. Too many pictures. What am I going to do? All right, that’s it. I better stop right now.”

“You do have Show Boat. Watch at your own risk, but it is the most magnificent thing in the world, the 1930s version. Not the ’50s version. The ’30s version with Irene Dunne and Paul Robeson. I mean, you’re kidding. Tragic, divine movie.”

“This is some kind of compilation. This is Pasolini. Oh, that’s Pasolini. Are we talking about, like, Italian movies right now? Because Pasolini, I mean, this… You have Mamma Roma, you have Oedipus Rex, you have Teorema, which is the greatest movie ever made, and has been referred to a thousand times by everybody else, and they never say it’s Teorema, do they? Terence Stamp, he just comes in and just has sex with everybody. Okay, so that’s coming. This is a fabulous thing. Pasolini. I forgot all about Pasolini. So maybe that’s it, right? Maybe it’s an Italian film…”

“Oh, and then, of course, look, darlings, if you leave here without this, you’re just being crazy, because a Fellini compilation, you have And the Ship Sails On, which is very underrated and so incredible. Right, the chicken standing on one leg for the entire thing. That’s so funny. It’s hilarious.”

“And then, of course, darling, how could anyone leave the Closet without the Jacques Tati? This is– I mean, I don’t even know what movies… Does it matter? You just put a disc in and you will be happy.”