Film Final
What two rare studio made musicals starring Hollywood's top black entertainers were released during WWII?
Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather
What director, known for biblical and Roman Empire epics, helmed seventy films including The Ten Commandments?
Cecil B. DeMille
What two early comedy greats starred in 1952's Limelight?
Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton
1950s epics became even more extravagant with the introduction of what?
CinemaScope
What media-related drama tops many critics' lists as the best film ever made?
Citizen Kane
What crime/gangster film was fabled to be Al Capone's favorite?
City Streets
In 1971 the popular and profitable Dirty Harry series was launched with what actor?
Clint Eastwood
By the 1970s, no film had surpassed Gone with the Wind as the biggest money making box office hit. True or False?
False
Classic Film Noir was usually shot in Technicolar. True or False?
False
Classic action star Errol Flynn was famous for biblical epic adventures like The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur. True or False?
False
Director Anthony Mann discovered John Wayne on a cowboy ranch in Utah. True or False?
False
Epics are intimate, personal movies often filmed independently of major studios. They require only small budgets and few locations. True or False?
False
In the early days of film dramas, when dealing with topical issues, movies would blame society for a character's problems and not the individual. True or False?
False
Parodies and spoofs are made from screenplays that tell original stories not based on any other existing story, genre, performer, or film. True or False?
False
Preston Sturges was known for his broad slapstick comedy. True or False?
False
The Busby Berkely choreographed film 42nd Street caused the decline of the revue musical at MGM. True or False?
False
The central goal of a western is to find a buried treasure. True or False?
False
The events surrounding the Prohibition Era did little to encourage the crime/gangster genre. True or False?
False
The musical is the first major genre in the American Film tradition. True or False?
False
The primary moods of classic Film Noir are optimism, hope, idealism, and social solidarity. True or False?
False
The typical action film box office goals traditionally rely upon male and female adult audiences 35-55 years old. True or False?
False
War films as a major genre emerged after the outbreak of World War II. True or False?
False
When writing about film genres, the most important thing is to be aware of which actors star in the film and who the director is. True or False?
False
When writing about film, one should always include a detailed and complete summary of the film's plot. True or False?
False
Paul Newman played what role in both 1961's The Hustler and 1986's The Color of Money?
Fast Eddie Felson
The main female characters in Film Noir are known as what?
Femme Fatales
Two of the most successful gangland mafia films ever made are The Godfather pts 1&2. Who directed them?
Francis Ford Coppola
What director's films exemplified hard work, virtue, and common sense values of hardworking Americans?
Frank Capra
Who coined the term Film Noir
French critics
The epic biopic Patton, about the controversial military genious, won an Oscar for what actor who subsequently refused the award?
George C. Scott
1962's To Kill a Mockingbird was based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by what author?
Harper Lee
What 1918 D.W. Griffith propaganda film encouraged American entry into the European conflict of WWI and used actual 1917 battle footage?
Hearts of the World
According to Guinness World Records, the most profitable films series is what?
James Bond
1997's technicolored crime drama L.A. Confidential is a screen adaptation of whose crime novels?
James Ellroy
Which director helmed his 'crime trilogy' between 1973-1995?
Martin Scorsese
The demise of the original cinematic musical coincided with what other event?
The end of the studio system
Conflict in westerns often occurs between native and settler, outlaw and sheriff, man and nature, and what else?
The hero and his own dark side.
film writing, point of view is what?
The position from which a story is told, seen, and implied.
Howard Hughes's 1943 film The Outlaw and King Vidor's Duel In the Sun are infamous because they were what?
The were protested because of their revealing costumes and scandalous love triangle.
George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg starred in what 1999 absurdist retelling of the first Gulf War?
Three Kings
What 1997 epic tied Ben-Hur's all time Oscar record with a eleven trophies?
Titanic
The characters in a western often include a masculine hero, a sheriff and his deputies, Native Americans, and who else?
Tough frontier women.
1939's Gone With The Wind was the most definitive of all the epics films. It was a hybrid of the genre combining costume, war, and romantic epics. True or False?
True
1996's Evita was the only successful live action musical of the 1990s. True or False?
True
Arguably the greatest musical ever produced, Singin' in the Rain had the distinction of being co-directed by its star Gene Kelly and acclaimed director Stanley Donen. True or False?
True
Bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution rings in film paralleled newspaper headlines of the Prohibition Era. Mobsters were lifted to folk hero status by the media. True or False?
True
Early film entrepreneur Mack Sennett formed the Keystone Company in 1912, ushering in the genre of American comedy in film. True or False?
True
Epics are often presented in an episodic manner as they follow the continuing adventures of the hero. True or False?
True
Film Noir is more a mood, style, or tone of film than it is a true genre. True or False?
True
Hollywood began producing action films in the silent era. They have stayed popular throughout cinematic history. True or False?
True
In the 60s and 70s a new type of western emerged in the form of parody and spoof. True or False?
True
Many epics suffer from authenticity problems because they take dramatic license while rewriting history. True or False?
True
The 1950s brought about the trend of crime organizations ("the mob") taking over in crime/gangster films. True or False?
True
The criminal, violent, or greed elements of Film Noir are a metaphor for society's evils. True or False?
True
The distinction between adventure and action films is that action movies' predominant emphasis is on violence and fighting. True or False?
True
The dramatic film genre is difficult to define because almost all the films fit into one or more subgenres. True or False?
True
The earliest epics displayed some of the most cutting edge special effects of their time. True or False?
True
The first full length sound film, 1927's The Jazz Singer, was a part-talking part-singing film that included seven songs and a few lines of dialogue. True or False?
True
The subject matter of disaster films has changed in terms of the fictional threat involved in order to be more relevant to current threats in society. True or False?
True
When writing about film, one should include specific examples from the film to support analysis. True or False?
True
World War II is Hollywood's most popular choice for war/anti-war films because of its clear cut political struggle against the Nazi regime. True or False?
True
What film, directed by Josef von Sternberg, is considered the first modern gangster film?
Underworld
The musicals of the late 1920s were primarily what?
Variety revues
In 1925, Warner Brothers and Bell Telephone developed what sychronized sound on film process which became obsolete by 1931?
Vitaphone
A popular storytelling technique in Film Noir is what?
Voice over narrative during flashbacks
Which studio was considered the best at making gangster films in the 1930s?
Warner Brothers
All the President's Men was a docu-drama about what real life political scandal?
Watergate
1931's Public Enemy, starring James Cagney, contains the controversial scene of James Cagney assaulting his girlfriend at the breakfast table with what?
a grapefruit
What fictional Noir character was featured in films such as The Big Sleep and Murder, My Sweet?
Philip Marlow
1928's The Racket was banned in Chicago because of its negative depiction of whom or what?
Police
Modern Noir, or Neo Noir appeared after the classic period with a revival of the classic Noir themes. How is this group of films categorized?
Post-Noir
In film writing, theme refers to the soundtrack heard in the movie. True or False
false
In the early 1990s what young director redefined the crime/gangster genre by inserting multi-storied plots, rapid fire dialogue, and humor mixed with violence?
Quentin Tarantino
The great dance duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made musicals for what studio during what decade?
RKO 1930s
What comedy sub-genre, known for its lunacy, eccentricity, and ridiculous behavior gained and maintained prominence in film from the mid 1930s to the mid 1940s?
Screwball
Delmer Daves' 1950 film Broken Arrow was the first film to do what?
Seriously take the side of the Indians and emphasize peaceful coexistence.
What 20th Century Fox child star became a musical sensation in the mid 1930s?
Shirley Temple
What was the major technical innovation that director Ernst Lubitsch used to allow himself more freedom with the camera as he filmed?
Shooting without sound and dubbing it in later
The earliest category of cinematic epics are called what?
Silent Epics
Comedies usually are made in one of two general formats. They are comedian led and what other type?
Situation comedy
The first full length animated feature was also the first animated musical. What was it?
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1916's Intolerance was a war epic that argued for what?
pacifism
King Vidor's 1925 The Big Parade was the first war film to do what?
portray the horrors of battle
Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark revived what action subgenre?
swashbuckler
Why did early filmmakers steer away from producing war pictures?
the enormous cost of uniformed and equipped extras
1991's Hook and 1995 Cutthroat Island were unsuccessful revivals of what genre?
the pirate film
Oftentimes action films are box office hits but lack critical appeal because of what?
two dimensional heroes
During what decade did lush expensive epics fall out of fashion because of the limitations of the war years?
Spartacus
Who directed 1989's Do the Right Thing?
Spike Lee
Where does the musical film genre find its roots?
Stage musicals, operettas, revues, and vaudeville
The setting of a western often includes frontier towns, stagecoaches, saloons, ranches, and what else?
Sweeping landscapes
During their period of popularity, silent biblical films were referred to as what?
Sword and Sandal Films
The first war film to be documented was a one-reel 90 second propaganda film called what?
Tearing Down the Spanish Flag
What new entertainment form had a damaging effect on comedy film ticket sales in the 1950s?
Television sitcoms
Edwin S. Porter is commonly referred to as "the father of the story film" because his 1903 movie, The Great Train Robbery, was the first to do what?
Tell a narrative story.
What southern American playwright has had over ten of his plays adapted for the screen?
Tennessee Williams
In 1998, this organization, committed to the preservation of American film, introduced a list of the best 100 American movies of the last 100 years. What is the name of that organization?
The American Film Institute.
Which of the following films is an example of a Crime/Corruption Noir?
The Asphalt Jungle
The first genuine musical, fully integrating singing and dancing into the plot was what MGM film?
The Broadway Melody
Who directed 1991's Barton Fink, a surreal story about a playwright attempting to write a movie script?
The Coen Brothers
What great clown of the silent era was known for his acrobatic visual gags and his deadpan, expressionless "stoneface"?
Buster Keaton
What 1991 film was the first Best Picture nominated animated musical feature?
Beauty and Beast
One of the earliest anti-war films to effectively denounce the horrors of war was All Quiet on the Western Front which was based on whose novel?
Erich Maria Remarque
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.'s silent era action hero persona was succeeded by what actor?
Errol Flynn
Many early Noir plots were based on what existing material?
Best selling crime novels
Much of the subject matter in the first epics was what?
Biblical
Literally translated, "Film Noir" means what?
Black Film
What two films about disaffected youth starred Sidney Poitier, first as a student and then as a teacher?
Blackboard Jungle and To Sir, With Love
What WWII event caused Hollywood to dramatically change its mood regarding war-themed movies?
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Slapstick comedy depends on what?
Broad, aggressive, physical, and visual action.
What film was the first to feature the gangland massacre on St. Valentine's Day?
Bad Company
One of the earliest business drama was "Sherlock Jr." Who directed it?
Buster Keaton
MGM produced more successful musicals than any other studio. Many of its best were produced by what former lyricist/composer?
Arther Freed
War and anti-war films fell into decline because of increasing US isolationism during what decade?
1930s
What decade is considered the beginning of the Golden Age of the Musical? Answer
1930s
During what decade did lush expensive epics fall out of fashion because of the limitations of the war years?
1940's
Who directed the 1967 landmark film Bonnie and Clyde, famous for its ultra-violent slow motion finale?
Arthur Penn
Star studded, big budget disaster films such as Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno became popular during what decade?
1970s
About what decade does the reading give no information?
1980s
In Charlie Chaplin's first all talking film, The Great Dictator, what political figure did Chaplin lampoon?
Adolf Hitler
Epics often share elements of what other film genre?
Adventure
Which Godfather star went on to make a string of successful crime/gangster films including Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Carlito's Way?
Al Pacino
What sci fi action series was the first to feature a female hero?
Alien
A common theme found in gangster sub-genre prison films is what?
All of the above
Adventure films may combine elements of other genres including what?
All of the above
Epics that emphasize the pageantry, costume, decor, and spectacle of a specific historical setting are called what?
Costume Dramas
High Noon, White Heat, and Sunset Boulevard can be categorized as what?
Cross-Over Noirs
The Musketeers of Pig Alley was one of the first films to utilize organized crime as a storyline. Who directed it?
D.W. Griffith
The first film to represent the box office potential of war/anti-war films was The Birth of a Nation. Who directed it?
D.W. Griffith
Two westerns won Academy Awards in the 1990s. What films were they?
Dances With Wolves and Unforgiven
1962's Lawrence of Arabia combined the epic and biographical adventure genres. Who directed it?
David Lean
Who directed the Film Noirs Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive?
David Lynch
Arthur Penn's film The Left Handed Gun proposed that history does what?
Distorts itself as it unfolds.
1981's Body Heat, a twisted romantic Film Noir, bares a resemblance to what classic Noir?
Double Indemnity
What actor, who performed in both Zorro (1920) and Robin Hood (1922), was the first successful swashbuckler star of the 1920s?
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
What director became famous for his series of "women's films" about life in suburban America?
Douglas Sirk
What 1964 Stanley Kubrick directed film is considered one of the best examples of dark/black comedy?
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
What 1964 dark comedy war film satarizes the insanity of war in the story of a nuclear disaster brought on by the mental breakdown of one man?
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
When did Film Noir first develop in the U.S.?
During and after WWII
John Ford's Stagecoach (1939) was the first western to elevate itself from "B" status to "A" status because it did what?
Emphasized character and mood.
Hollywood's first major indictment of racism came in the form of what film?
Home of the Brave
What famous innovator advanced the fields of both film making and aviation?
Howard Hughes
The popular James Bond spy action series is based on the novels of what author?
Ian Fleming
What are the conventional settings of Film Noir?
Interior shots and urban night scenes
What directing and producing team create period films using historical settings as backdrops for their dramas, often taken from the writings of E.M. Forster and set in Edwardian England
Ismail Merchant and James Ivory
In 1934, what Frank Capra classic was the first screwball comedy to win the top four Academy Awards?
It Happened One Night
The Graduate (1967) predicted the trend of "coming of age" movies that would thrive in the 1970s and 1980s. One of the most prominent directors of this subgenre to come out of the '80s was whom?
John Hughes
What actor, best known for westerns, starred in over eight films about World War II?
John Wayne
What 1914 film, from D.W. Griffith, is considered the first epic movie?
Judith of Bethulia
What studio excelled at sweeping at historical epics during the mid 1930s and again in the 1950s and 1960s?
MGM
Dustin Hoffman established a new kind of romantic lead in 1967's The Graduate, directed by whom?
Mike Nichols
During the golden era of westerns, many mentioned in the reading were filmed in what geographical area?
Monument Valley
The first film to begin the renaissance of musicals in the new millenium was what?
Moulin Rouge
In 2004, Mel Gibson revived the religious drama with what controversial film?
Passion of the Christ
What director produced his Vietnam Trilogy from 1986-1993?
Oliver Stone
What 1980 Robert Redford directorial debut won both Best Picture and Best Director Oscars?
Ordinary People
Which of the following films could be categorized as a biopic?
Patton
M*A*S*H, the dark comedy that led to the long running tv series, was set during the Korean War. Who directed it?
Robert Altman
In 1976 Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver, the film which starred what actor known for his frequent collaborations with Scorsese?
Robert De Niro
Two popular actors of the squeaky clean 1950s courtship/romance comedies were...?
Rock Hudson and Doris Day
Melodramatic Film Noirs featuring deadly female characters are referred to as what?
Romance Noir
The late 1980s and 1990s saw a strong comeback for what comedy sub-genre?
Romantic Comedy
1966's A Man For All Seasons and 1968's A lion in Winter are two films that explore one of the most common epic topics. What is it?
Royalty
George Steven's classic Gunga Din was adapted from a poem by what author?
Rudyard Kipling
The action/adventure film first became popular in what form?
Saturday serials
What film, criticized for being too brutal in 1932, was remade by Brian de Palma in 1983?
Scarface
Sophisticated comedy, which finds humor in the lives and activities of the rich and centers on marital and romantic relationships, became popular during what time period?
The Great Depression
Only one Vietnam film was made during the actual conflict. What was it?
The Green Berets
In 1934 what forced the end of glorified crime and acceptance of the criminal lifestyle in Hollywood movies?
The Hays Production Code
What early action/adventure disaster film included a spectacular storm, displaying special effects that were far ahead of its time?
The Hurricane
One of the first detective films to use the Noir style was what?
The Maltese Falcon
What 1962 political drama was remade in 2004 with a cast that includes Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep?
The Manchurian Candidate
What film set during the Korean War examined the fearful, sinister consequences of brainwashing?
The Manchurian Candidate
What film catapulted Humphrey Bogart to fame long before he made Casablanca.
The Petrified Forest
Robert Altman savagely criticized the motion picture industry in what film?
The Player
What film was based on a nonfictional account of US Air Force pilots who train to become astronauts?
The Right Stuff
In the eleven-minute film Kid Auto Races In Venice (1914), Charlie Chaplin introduced what immortal trademark character?
The Tramp
Why did screwball comedies become popular in the mid 1930s during the Great Depression?
Their escapist entertainment allowed people to forget their problems.
What real life parallel is often drawn between On the Waterfront's Terry Malloy character and director Elia Kazan?
They both testified against their peers before government crime commissions.
The 1970s and 1980s gave us this director, famous for his self-effacing, satirical humor. His films are usually in a NYC setting. Who is he?
Woody Allen