Chapter 7: Movies and the Impact of Images

The existence of the Motion Picture Patents Company led some independent producers to make their pictures in faraway Hollywood.

True

The first motion pictures were watched by only one person at a time.

True

The first movie theaters were called nickelodeons, a name that indicated the cost of admission.

True

The first sound movie, The Jazz Singer, was basically a silent film with a few spoken words.

True

Early silent films flourished in part because they transcended language.

True

Examples of genres include comedy, drama, romance, and action/adventure.

True

Which of the following did not have an effect on Hollywood in the postwar era (late 1940s, 1950s)? A. The rise of nickelodeons B. The Paramount decision C. The mass egress to the suburbs D. Television

A

Adolph Zukor formed the Famous Players Company in 1912 to A. Give young actors a start in movies B. Exert control over movie production C. Serve as an agent for established actors D. Make exceptional movies with the best directors available

B

Block booking was A. A studio production technique that doubled up on scripts B. A studio distribution technique that "bundled" films together C. A studio exhibition technique that used B-roll schedules to limit lengths of films D. A studio business ploy that "doctored" the accounting books

B

The sharp drop in movie attendance that occurred after World War II can be attributed to A. Competition from radio B. The population shift to the suburbs C. The Paramount decision D. All options are correct

B

Through the 1940s, more than 80 percent of all film revenue was generated by A. Small neighborhood theaters B. Downtown first-run theaters C. Multiplexes in shopping malls D. Home video rentals

B

To gain access to popular movies, early theater owners and exhibitors had to agree to rent untested or marginal films with unknown actors. This distribution technique was called A. International distribution B. Block booking C. Option time D. Zukor's law

B

Under the studio system A. Actors were independent contractors who could work for any studio B. Movies were made on an assembly-line basis C. The studios had no control over the private lives of their creative talent D. Producers were hired to direct the pictures

B

Which of the following is not an element of vertical integration in the movie industry? A. Production B. Syndication C. Distribution D. Exhibition E. All options are correct

B

__________________ demonstrated the Justice Department's attempts at breaking up monopolies within the film industry. A. Fin-syn B. The Paramount decision C. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 D. HUAC E. No option is correct

B

Grouping films by genre allows the movie industry to achieve both product standardization and differentiation.

True

Nickelodeons were A. Turn-of-the-twentieth-century theaters dedicated to screening children's films B. The first fancy downtown movie palaces, located mainly in business centers C. The original movie theaters, located mainly in working-class neighborhoods D. No option is correct

C

Who opened the first public movie theater in France in 1896? A. Auguste Lumière B. Adolph Zukor C. Georges Méliès D. Louis Lumière

C

__________________ is a transparent and pliable film that can hold a coating of chemicals sensitive to light.

Celluloid

After Edison, Adolph Zukor of Paramount tried to monopolize the film industry by controlling A. Production B. Distribution C. Exhibition D. All options are correct

D

American filmmaker Edwin S. Porter (maker of The Life of an American Fireman) A. Shot narrative scenes out of order B. Made what is considered America's first narrative film C. Used the first close-up in U.S. narrative film history D. All options are correct

D

How did Hollywood adapt to the development of home entertainment? A. By developing small-budget films better suited to TV B. By investing in home entertainment technology C. By urging government to restrict DVD distribution D. By developing a new market for renting and selling movies

D

In an early attempt to monopolize the film industry, inventor Thomas Edison formed A. The Motion Picture Monopoly of America B. The Edison Oligopoly Company C. Paramount Studios D. The Motion Picture Patents Company

D

U.S. film viewing decreased during the 1950s because A. Television cornered the family market B. Innovations like Technicolor were not enough to lure people downtown C. Americans chose to spend their money on material goods rather than movie tickets D. All options are correct

D

Which film was the first successful talking motion picture? A. The Great Train Robbery B. Snow White C. Birth of a Nation D. The Jazz Singer

D

Who launched United Artists? A. Mary Pickford B. Douglas Fairbanks C. Charlie Chaplin D. All options are correct

D

The three pillars of vertical integration include production, _____________________, and exhibition.

Distribution

In 1902, _______________________________ made America's first narrative film, The Life of an American Fireman.

Edwin Porter

A "consensus narrative" is a type of movie that seeks a small, select niche audience.

False

All commercial movies made in the world are now produced and shot in Hollywood.

False

American audiences refuse to watch foreign films.

False

Cinema verité is a style of documentary film making that closely resembles a big-budget, high-gloss Hollywood feature.

False

Despite the popularity of DVDs, theme parks, and soundtrack CD's, the movie business still gets 80 percent of its revenue from box-office receipts.

False

Documentaries generally avoid controversial or unpopular subject matter.

False

Film studios have generally resisted making product placement deals for creative reasons.

False

Georges Méliès made the first western, The Great Train Robbery.

False

Hollywood was the international center of early cinema.

False

Hollywood's primary "authors" are scriptwriters.

False

Movie palaces looked beautiful on the outside, but were often very shabby on the inside.

False

Movie studios in the United States still practice block booking and require that theaters accept lesser films so as to get blockbuster movies.

False

Movie theaters are still the largest single source of revenue for a typical feature film.

False

The Motion Picture Patents Company was established in 1908 to share film technology with independent filmmakers.

False

The Motion Picture Production Code was established in the 1960's to rate movies for age appropriate content.

False

The Paramount decision ended the dominance of the major studios over the commercial film industry.

False

The film industry makes much more money today from first-run releases in movie theaters than from home DVD/video releases.

False

The first public showing of Edison's kinetoscope projector system was in a Paris cafe in December 1895.

False

The government's 1948 order forcing the major studios to sell their theaters effectively ended their control of the movie industry.

False

The major film studios were able to dominate movie exhibition in the United States by acquiring all the country's drive-in theaters.

False

The movie industry responded to the success of TV by producing more films for children.

False

Thomas Edison was the first person who theorized about the possibility of motion pictures.

False

International box-office gross revenues are almost double the U.S. and Canadian box-office receipts.

True

The _______________ was an early movie camera developed by Thomas Edison's assistant in the 1890s.

Kinetograph

The _______________ was an early film projection system that served as a single-person viewing system.

Kinetoscope

Movie theater facilities with as many as fourteen or more screens are called _________________.

Megaplexes

____________, weekly ten-minute magazine-style compilations of filmed news events from around the world, were prominent in movie theaters between the 1920s and the 1950s.

Newsreels

Movies with sound, called ________________, began to appear in 1927.

Talkies

Six studios dominate the U.S. film business.

True

American studios were able to gain control of the world film industry during World War I.

True

An oligopoly exists when a few companies control an industry.

True

Birth of a Nation (1915) was the first feature-length film produced in the United States.

True