COMM Practice Questions

What was Father Barry's speech in the hold of the ship based upon? Karl Malden improvised it based on his interaction with a Jesuit priest. Schulberg had been told about a similar speech by a man named Tony Mike. It was based on Rev John Corridan's speech which was reproduced in Malcom Johnson's book "Crime on the Waterfont." It was based on a character in one of Budd Schulberg's novels. Kazan insisted that the priest make an impassioned plea for justice and equality like this.

-It was based on Rev John Corridan's speech which was reproduced in Malcom Johnson's book "Crime on the Waterfont."

Lars Thorwald

-Who was the look and mannerism of this character based on?: David O. Selznick -David Selznick had the same hair, glasses and mannerism, and this was Hitchcock's jab at the powerful head of MGM who had given him such trouble in the past.

Rear Window was shot with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, which was the wide screen format established by Paramount in 1953. What was the standard aspect ratio used in sound films until 1953? 1.37:1 2.35:1 1.75:1 1.85:1 2.93:1

1.37:1 -This was the "Academy Ratio" established in 1932

What Hollywood studio first hired Elia Kazan? MGM Columbia Pictures United Artists Universal Studios 20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

What technique did Kubrick use to transition the film from the past to the future? -Superimposition -Dissolve of one image from the past into another similar image from the future -A jump cut between two similar looking objects flying through cinematic space -An inter-title that announced a shift in narrative time -He moved through the present before moving to the future.

A jump cut between two similar looking objects flying through cinematic space

Method acting is best characterized as: A theory of acting that asked actors to tap into their own affective memories in order to "experience" the emotions that they were trying to portray in a given scene. A method of preparation which involved meditation, diet and periods of inactivity A style of acting based on 19th century theatrical conventions A style of acting made famous by Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda A theory of acting based on the theories of Sergei Eisenstein

A theory of acting that asked actors to tap into their own affective memories in order to "experience" the emotions that they were trying to portray in a given scene.

The middle class men of Mr Robinson's generation in The Graduate could best be described as? -Hard working and driven -Dedicated to bettering society -Adolescents obsessed with their own creature comforts -equal partners with their wives -filled with angst

Adolescents obsessed with their own creature comforts

What does suburbia come to symbolize in The Graduate? -It was a new social space inhabited by Americans in a post-WWII society -It represented the dream of upward mobility for Ben's parents and friends -It marked an escape from the "city" and all that it had come to represent in American culture -It symbolized a kind of trap for Ben -All of these are correct

All of these are correct

Which of the following was not involved in the production of On the Waterfont? Correct! Daryl Zanuck Leonard Bernstein Boris Kaufman Budd Schulberg Sam Spiegel

Daryl Zanuck

In Rear Window, how did Jeff and detective Tom Doyle meet? At a party benefiting the poor of the lower East Side. On the job, when Jeff was working as a forensic photographer for the police Jeff had to file a police report when he was injured They grew up together During the war, when Tom flew the plane and Jeff took the pictures

During the war, when Tom flew the plane and Jeff took the pictures

True or False: Kubrick began working with Phillip K Dick after the success of Dr Strangelove to produce a film about the space race and man's expansion to the stars.

False: Arthur C. Clarke was the writer Kubrick collaborated with

True or False: HAL's action is presented in the film as proof that artificial intelligence, though menacing, was incapable of human error.

False: HAL was capable of human error; kept things from the astronauts and jeopardized lives

Rear Window was filmed on location in Greenwich Village. True False

False: The set was all built on the Paramount studio.

True or False: After testifying before the HUAC committee, Kazan was vilified by the left and embraced by the right because of his stance against the communists.

False: everyone hated him

True or False: Terry Malloy knew from the beginning of the film that in order to do the right thing he had to testify before the Crime Commission.

False: he just went along with everything at first

True or False: Kubrick got his start working as a photographer, and was hired immediately by the Studios to work as a director due to his talent.

False:He was not immediately hired by studios to direct

Which of the following techniques were NOT used in to create the space scenes in 2001? -Frame-by-frame animation -Matte Painting -Rear-Projected images exposed on the same negatives -Slitscan photography -Green Screen Computer Generated Images

Green Screen Computer Generated Images

In The Graduate, which of the following techniques is not used in the montage sequence characterizing Ben and Mrs. Robinson's affair, featuring the song April Comes She Will? -Jump Cut -Match Cut -Hand held camera -Self-Conscious Camera placement -foregrounding

Hand held camera

How did Jeff break his leg in Rear Window? He got too close to the action at a car race It is an old war wound Lisa tripped him going down the stairs He dropped a camera on it He fell off of a water buffalo

He got too close to the action at a car race

In Rear Window, how does Hitchcock use sound outside the window? It plays ironically against what is going on inside Jeff's apartment It peaks Jeff's (and the camera's) curiosity and causes him to look. It annoys Jeff, forcing him to shut his windows and put on music. It creates the fantasy of a character whom we never see but always hear. It is merely there for mood

It peaks Jeff's (and the camera's) curiosity and causes him to look.

Which is not a reasonable explanation for why Mrs Robinson is attracted to Benjamin? -He represents a chance to reclaim her lost youth -She wants to occupy the same symbolic position as Elaine -There is an unconscious Oedipal dynamic at work -She does it to get back at her husband for his philandering -She does it to escape the dreary boredom of her life

She does it to get back at her husband for his philandering

Which of the following characterizes the aero-space industry's response to the production of 2001? -They were worried, after the success that Kubrick had had satirizing the logic behind the Cold War, that he was going to skewer them -Though private industry, like Bell, G.E., Boeing and IBM, were interested in helping, NASA was worried that the film would make space unappealing. -The NASA scientists helped consult, and the various members of the industry donated designs and prototypes in return for product placements. -Kubrick and his team shut themselves away in the studio, so there really was no relationship between his film and the aero-space industry. -Kubrick mostly consulted with Science Fiction scientists who shared his dystopic view of the future in space.

The NASA scientists helped consult, and the various members of the industry donated designs and prototypes in return for product placements.

Which of the following themes does not belong to the cinema of the 1960s associated with the Hollywood Renaissance? -The moralistic representation of sex and violence -the explicit treatment of sexual conflicts and psychological problems -the offbeat antihero protagonists -the self-conscious use of cinematic effects -the mixing of the comic and the serious

The moralistic representation of sex and violence

What is the song playing when Miss Lonliheart is staging a dinner with an imaginary lover? I'm looking through you She's got the look To see you is to love you I'll be seeing you That's amore

To see you is to love you

By the late 1940's, Elia Kazan was one of the most important American directors. True False

True : all before he snitched

What was the main reason for using Simon and Garfunkel for the soundtrack to The Graduate? -The musicians had contractual obligations with the studio -It was part of a new approach, introduced by Nichols, which used media synergy in movies to sell records -The first choice of soundtrack, by Nichols himself, was deemed inappropriate by the studio -Using a music so associated with the generation of the protagonist allowed the music to be part of the cultural critique present in the rest of the movie -None of these

Using a music so associated with the generation of the protagonist allowed the music to be part of the cultural critique present in the rest of the movie

What is the final irony of The Graduate? -after working so hard to find Elaine, she rejects what Ben stands for -after working so hard to reject the normative lifestyle associated with his parents, Elaine and Ben seem destined to repeat it -after driving through the night his sports car fails when he needs it most -Ben and Elaine will, in the end, both need their parents in order to survive -Mrs Robinson welcomes Elaine's rejection of normativity, as she has always felt like an outsider

after working so hard to reject the normative lifestyle associated with his parents, Elaine and Ben seem destined to repeat it

What do Ben and Mrs Robinson have in common? (best answer) -they are both deeply resigned about their situation -both reject the artificiality o American suburban culture -both are caught in love-less relationships -both are alienated and bored by the foreclosed plastic world they are caught within -they both love art

both are alienated and bored by the foreclosed plastic world they are caught within

Which of the following is NOT used as a visual symbol or theme in The Graduate? -animal prints -submersion and drowning -plastic beauty and artificiality -nostalgic vistas and settings -cocktails and constant drinking

nostalgic vistas and settings