But I’ll ask myself: What is my favorite film? Or I’ll skew the question slightly: What film would I most like to see again right now? The answer would not be “Kane.” After seeing it countless times and going through it a shot at a time, I dunno, 25 or 50 times, and recording a commentary track for it, I have sort of finished with it. I admire it enormously, but saints preserve me, it is not the movie I would most like to see again right now.

Right now, this moment, the answer that would spring most quickly to mind is Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960). I’ve seen it, oh, at least 25 times, maybe more. It doesn’t get old for me. Age has not withered, not custom staled, its infinite variety. I’ve grown so worked up just writing this paragraph that I want to slide in the DVD and start watching immediately.