Film evaluation Final quiz

Ang Lee's film Taking Woodstock is an example of a film that Select one: a. is a thematic character study of a deeply disturbed individual. b. relies chiefly on plot elements to provide an escape from reality for the viewer. c. provides a balanced combination of two emotions in which it is difficult to tell which is dominant. d. uses its central idea to shed light on flawed social institutions.

?

The talent agencies who assemble "deal packages" have usurped some of the power of the big studios in determining what films are made and who stars in them. Select one: True False

True

In evaluating the theme, one standard commonly applied in identifying a good film is how closely the film conforms to the well-known "classic formulas." Select one: True False

False

In most cases, sequels are designed in such a way that the individual films comprise parts of a preconceived, larger whole. Select one: True False

False

It is becoming more common for modern films to sustain the subjective point of view over the course of a film. Select one: True False

False

It is not possible for moviegoers to become totally involved in the sensory experience of enjoying a movie and also remain critically objective and detached in evaluating it. Select one: True False

False

Most great directors wanted to make their films in color when color film became available. Select one: True False

False

Parallel cutting has the effect of lowering the tension and relaxing the viewer. Select one: True False

False

Philosophical reflections are among the elements of a novel that are more effectively translated into film. Select one: True False

False

Since the late 1970s, about 80 percent of all American feature films have been made in color. Select one: True False

False

Sound always functions in a purely objective way, conveying only things we could actually hear in any given scene. Select one: True False

False

Stock characters and stereotypes really add very little to a film, and are usually written out of the script whenever possible. Select one: True False

False

Synthesizer and electronic scoring first appeared in the late 70s and has since grown in popularity; roughly a third or more of major studio releases today are scored electronically. Select one: True False

False

Television advertisers now almost completely avoid using black-and-white commercials, for fear of losing viewer's attention. Select one: True False

False

The decision of whether or not to shoot on location is usually dictated by the director's preference. Select one: True False

False

The eclectic approach represents one of the narrowest approaches of film analysis. Select one: True False

False

The stage is better equipped to portray physical violence than is film. Select one: True False

False

A film which dramatizes the idea that life is a continuous series of paradoxes and contradictions, characterized by ambiguities and discrepancies, is said to contain cosmic irony. Select one: True False

True

Commercial considerations play an important role in deciding whether or not a novel will be made into a film. Select one: True False

True

Film is limited by its difficulty in summarizing what happens over a long period of time. Select one: True False

True

In Woody Allen's Annie Hall, color patterns are used ironically. Select one: True False

True

In reading a film review, we should consider whether or not the author carefully considered the level of ambition of the film. Select one: True False

True

Music can often be very effective in covering weak acting or banal dialogue. Select one: True False

True

One disadvantage of film acting is that actors have no direct link with the audience. Select one: True False

True

Point of view in sound is usually directly linked to the visual viewpoint. Select one: True False

True

The Freudian perspective of analysis assumes that a movie is an expression of the filmmaker's psyche. Select one: True False

True

The genre film simplifies filmmaking and film watching. Select one: True False

True

The prime motivation for producing sequels and remakes is making money. Select one: True False

True

The sense of reality that film can convey is of even greater importance than its unlimited range in subject matter and treatment. Select one: True False

True

Why was Henry Fonda's performance during the initial shooting of his first movie not acceptable? Select one: a. He was acting as if he was giving a stage performance. b. His method and research approach clashed with the vision of the director. c. He allowed too much of his real personality to bleed into the character. d. He failed to project either voice or emotion enough because he was used to indoor shooting.

a. He was acting as if he was giving a stage performance.

The exact, calculated synchronization of music and physical action or movement in films is called Select one: a. Mickey Mousing. b. an implicit score. c. musical codes. d. Peter-and-the-Wolfing.

a. Mickey Mousing.

How did Frank Capra and John Ford interact with the star system? Select one: a. They used it as a myth-making apparatus. b. They rebelled against it, preferring to cast unknown actors. c. They publicly complained that it ruined the magic of the cinema. d. They intentionally miscast certain stars in order to gain themselves more freedom.

a. They used it as a myth-making apparatus.

Communication primarily through symbols or images occurs in a movie that focuses on Select one: a. a moral or philosophical riddle. b. the complexity of human relationships. c. the struggle for human dignity. d. plot.

a. a moral or philosophical riddle.

When a scene begins with a close-up detail shot and then, in a series of related shots, backs off from the detail to show its relationship to a larger visual setting, the editor is using Select one: a. an inside/out editing pattern. b. an outside/in editing pattern. c. parallel editing. d. juxtapositional montage.

a. an inside/out editing pattern.

The struggles of boxers are often the focus of films with what kind of theme category? Select one: a. central idea about the struggle for human dignity b. central idea about moral implications c. central idea about human nature d. central idea about social problems

a. central idea about the struggle for human dignity

Complementary harmonies result from Select one: a. colors directly opposite one another on the color wheel, such as red and green. b. colors adjacent to one another on the color wheel, such as red, red-orange, and orange. c. variations of the same hue, with differences in value and intensity. d. three colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel, such as the primary colors red, yellow, and blue.

a. colors directly opposite one another on the color wheel, such as red and green.

The "Rembrandt effect" in The Taming of the Shrew is used to Select one: a. create a sense of a past time. b. express a subjective state. c. create a surrealistic state. d. lend strength to the first-person narration.

a. create a sense of a past time.

Ambient sounds refer to Select one: a. sounds natural to the scene's environment. b. sounds recorded on location. c. sounds that do not emanate directly from visible objects or figures on the screen. d. nondiegetic sound, such as a film's musical score.

a. sounds natural to the scene's environment.

Which of the following might be considered an example of name typing? Select one: a. the choice of a hard, unpleasant-sounding name for a character of similar personality b. the repeated repetition of a name by a character in order to increase that character's symbolic importance c. the deliberate failure to mention a character's name in the service of a plot line or theme d. the use of leitmotif to inform the audience of a character name

a. the choice of a hard, unpleasant-sounding name for a character of similar personality

Which of the following began during the 1970s? Select one: a. the film industry's most recent obsession with sequels and remakes b. the resurgence of the western genre c. the apparent end of the film noir genre d. the film industry's acknowledgement of genre films as both popular entertainment and potential vessels of film art

a. the film industry's most recent obsession with sequels and remakes

One benefit of learning how to analyze films involves Select one: a. the sharpening of the viewer's critical judgments. b. discovering how key decisions are made in the moviemaking process. c. understanding the role of marketing in a movie's box-office success or failure. d. a better understanding of often difficult and complex academic film theories.

a. the sharpening of the viewer's critical judgments.

Which of the following would be considered a form cut? Select one: a. A cut from a wide panoramic shot to a close-up of the human eye looking at it. b. A piece of bone flung into the air dissolves into a similarly shaped orbiting object in the following sequence in the film 2001. c. A cut in an action sequence that eliminates part of the action. d. A cut from a person looking off screen to a shot of the object that the person is looking at.

b. A piece of bone flung into the air dissolves into a similarly shaped orbiting object in the following sequence in the film 2001.

Which of the following arguments does cultural critic Bruce Kawin make about the difference between the horror and science fiction genres? Select one: a. Science fiction is about the future, while horror is about the present. b. Science fiction appeals to consciousness, horror to the unconscious. c. Science fiction is about the search for the unknown, while horror is about the fear of the unknown. d. Science fiction seeks to explore the limits of humankind, while horror seeks to inspire fear of the inhuman.

b. Science fiction appeals to consciousness, horror to the unconscious.

A film's sequences roughly correspond to what aspects of stage plays? Select one: a. sets b. acts c. scenes d. tableaus

b. acts

A narrator who is not a character or participant in the story's events, tells the tale, and can read the thoughts of others is Select one: a. a limited third-person narrator. b. an omniscient third-person narrator. c. a stream-of-consciousness narrator. d. an objective narrator.

b. an omniscient third-person narrator.

At least one western convention is structural. Which of the following describes this convention? Select one: a. the three-act structure that begins with introduction, elevates with complication, and ends with a climactic (usually action-oriented) confrontation with the antagonist b. beginning with the hero riding in from the left side of the screen and ending with him riding into the opposite direction, usually at sunset c. the introduction of a romantic relationship between the hero and a female character that is never consummated d. the end of the villain's reign of terror through either death in a gunfight or imprisonment in a jail

b. beginning with the hero riding in from the left side of the screen and ending with him riding into the opposite direction, usually at sunset

Many experimental, underground, or unstructured films Select one: a. are movies that lend themselves to systematic critical analysis extremely well because of their plotless and purely personal symbolism. b. communicate effectively as purely intuitive, subjective, or sensual experiences. c. are usually commercially viable despite their limited budgets and audiences. d. are of value to film analysis as a counter example to traditional narrative.

b. communicate effectively as purely intuitive, subjective, or sensual experiences.

The text offers the films Blade Runner, The Thing, and Bram Stoker's Dracula as examples of Select one: a. films that involve transformation sequences with more emphasis on the character than the visuals. b. films in which the special effects visuals overwhelm the story and characters. c. films that use special effects to create complete fantasy worlds. d. suspense and horror films that make extensive use of all the special subjective camera shots and lenses.

b. films in which the special effects visuals overwhelm the story and characters.

The use of concrete images and sounds in film Select one: a. has the same effect as verbal images in novels and stories. b. helps movies communicate directly to their audiences. c. makes movies less realistic than other art forms. d. tends to deaden the emotional impact of the narrative.

b. helps movies communicate directly to their audiences.

Actors who color a role by filtering it through their own personal qualities, instincts, and abilities are known as Select one: a. impersonators. b. interpreters. c. action stars. d. personality actors.

b. interpreters.

Panning Select one: a. involves moving the camera's "line of sight" in a vertical plane, up or down. b. involves moving the camera's "line of sight" in a horizontal plane, left or right. c. can often be used to convey certain subjective states, such as shock or confusion. d. is the creation of a sense of three-dimensionality by moving a camera 360 degrees around the subject.

b. involves moving the camera's "line of sight" in a horizontal plane, left or right.

A changing movie audience, the advent of television, and changes in social values Select one: a. forced the western genre to simplify its formula. b. made some of the conventions seem too limiting. c. led to a nostalgic revival in popularity of the western genre. d. created an even greater demand for the predictable and familiar repetitions of the western formula.

b. made some of the conventions seem too limiting.

Surrealistic and expressionistic settings are Select one: a. more common in film than on stage. b. more common on stage than in film. c. usually duplicated for adaptations of plays to film. d. rendered even more abstractly in film than on stage.

b. more common on stage than in film.

Actors whose primary "talent" is to be themselves are called Select one: a. impersonators. b. personality actors. c. supporting players. d. interpreters.

b. personality actors.

When filmmakers or critics say that editing is "invisible," they are claiming that Select one: a. mistakes in continuity should be avoided at all costs, even if it means reshooting the offending footage. b. the audience shouldn't be able to notice its role or pay special attention to it, if the editors do their job properly. c. cutting to different angles within a scene should be avoided except in action scenes. d. aspects of the production and the camera itself should be edited out of the final cut of the film.

b. the audience shouldn't be able to notice its role or pay special attention to it, if the editors do their job properly.

As a mode of criticism, film analysis presupposes Select one: a. that the film under consideration has been viewed by a wide audience. b. the existence of a unified and rationally structured artistic whole. c. collaboration by a great many individuals, each working on diverse aspects of production. d. a directorial vision that is built around a universal theme.

b. the existence of a unified and rationally structured artistic whole.

Jack Palance's portrayal of the gunfighter Wilson in Shane is a classic example of Select one: a. the importance of casting for voice. b. the power of body language. c. the power of dramatic acting. d. the strength of interpretive acting.

b. the power of body language.

To what effect does Woody Allen use the freeze frame in his film Match Point? Select one: a. to put a punctuation mark on a very dramatic ending b. to create plot suspense based on linkage between two freeze frames c. to reveal the emotional state of the main character d. to compress time

b. to create plot suspense based on linkage between two freeze frames

Which of the following is NOT a function of slow motion? Select one: a. to stretch the moment to intensify its emotional quality b. to exaggerate effort, fatigue, and frustration c. to deemphasize the passage of time d. to emphasize the grace of physical action

c. to deemphasize the passage of time

The rate at which film runs through a movie camera or projector is Select one: a. 15 frames per second. b. 20 frames per second. c. 24 frames per second. d. 28 frames per second.

c. 24 frames per second.

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic assumptions about the effects of color and the way it communicates? Select one: a. Color can create feelings of temperature. b. Color can contribute to three-dimensionality. c. Color can overshadow the power of a narrative. d. Color attracts attention.

c. Color can overshadow the power of a narrative.

What is the basic problem with ground rules for watching, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating films? Select one: a. They tend to change with each reviewer. b. They tend to favor the humanistic and eclectic analytical approaches. c. They tend to be inflexible. d. They tend to have too much influence on the consumer of film reviews.

c. They tend to be inflexible.

How does Aldous Huxley's classic novel Brave New World depict the film experience of the future? Select one: a. as a political tool filled with propaganda b. as an experience enhanced by devices that produce a tactile experience c. as a vapid, colorless medium devoid of intelligence d. as a method of linking minds together for telepathy

c. as a vapid, colorless medium devoid of intelligence

The descriptions of the Usher house in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is an example of setting Select one: a. for verisimilitude. b. as determiner of character. c. as reflection of character. d. as microcosm.

c. as reflection of character.

The key function of a reviewer is to Select one: a. provide a context in which to judge the film. b. challenge the quality of the work, so as to elevate the filmmaker to greater talent. c. bring about a better understanding or a keener appreciation of a film. d. analyze a film and assess its artistic value.

c. bring about a better understanding or a keener appreciation of a film.

A telephoto lens Select one: a. renders distance between objects as the naked eye sees it. b. exaggerates the distance between objects in the foreground and background. c. compresses or shortens the distance between objects in the foreground and background. d. magnifies objects in the foreground and background without affecting the sense of distance.

c. compresses or shortens the distance between objects in the foreground and background.

The resolution of the gangster film usually depicts the gangster hero Select one: a. reforming because of a redemptive romantic relationship. b. in a more powerful position than he was in at the beginning. c. dying or going to jail. d. turning against the temptations that brought about his rise.

c. dying or going to jail.

To what effect is the low-angle shot of the British naval officer used at the end of the 1953 film Lord of the Flies? Select one: a. surprising the audience with the reveal of his arrival b. infusing his figure with benevolence c. exaggerating his size and dominance d. framing him as the antagonist

c. exaggerating his size and dominance

Films that concentrate on the total personality of a unique individual tend to exhibit which of the following? Select one: a. focus on idea: moral or philosophical riddle b. focus on idea: human nature c. focus on character d. focus on idea: complexity of human relationships

c. focus on character

What is achieved by soft focus in the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? Select one: a. a dream state b. the conveyance of a state of drunkenness c. indication of the subject's love for another character d. a state of confusion for the characters

c. indication of the subject's love for another character

The text makes the argument that the use of the color red in Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers Select one: a. creates an effective illusion of higher temperatures in the setting. b. is extremely effective at conveying the theme of the film, which centers on the strength of love between family members. c. is so appealing to the eye that it distracts attention away from the subtle drama. d. is an effective ironic use of color, as the theme of the film centers on the characters' inability to get in touch with their own emotions.

c. is so appealing to the eye that it distracts attention away from the subtle drama.

Film is considered unique as an art form because Select one: a. it is both an industry and an art form. b. it can communicate through both dialogue and nonverbal action. c. it possesses qualities of free and constant motion that convey an overwhelming sense of reality. d. it combines the rhythmic qualities of both music and poetry.

c. it possesses qualities of free and constant motion that convey an overwhelming sense of reality.

One difficulty facing film actors is that they Select one: a. have too direct and revealing a link with the audience. b. must continually worry about projecting their voices and using broad gestures so that the microphones and cameras can record their performances properly. c. perform their roles in discontinuous bits and pieces. d. have limited opportunities for nonverbal communication.

c. perform their roles in discontinuous bits and pieces.

What purpose is served by the use of a dramatic foil? Select one: a. to provide comic relief in the form of a character with deep philosophical flaws b. to provide a strong opposition to the goal of the main character c. to show characteristics opposite to those of the main character, and thus amplify the characteristics of both d. to create plot complications for the main character

c. to show characteristics opposite to those of the main character, and thus amplify the characteristics of both

Musical codes tend to be used by composers for which of the following? Select one: a. to switch from the internal life of a character to the external, or vice versa b. to experiment with new musical variations on familiar themes c. to use audience conditioning to signal certain upcoming narrative developments or actions d. to increase or decrease the rhythmic pace of a score

c. to use audience conditioning to signal certain upcoming narrative developments or actions

"Compilation" works are musical scores that Select one: a. use popular songs to create a surrealistic impression of the internal life of a character. b. use symphonic cues to build suspense or other major emotions through the course of a film. c. use nostalgic music that comes from the off-screen score but can also come from on-screen sources. d. build on well-established narrative themes.

c. use nostalgic music that comes from the off-screen score but can also come from on-screen sources.

The approach to film that shows a strong anti-intellectual bias is the Select one: a. humanistic approach. b. "film as technical achievement" approach. c. "film as conventionalized form" approach. d. "film as an emotional or sensual experience" approach.

d. "film as an emotional or sensual experience" approach.

What factor in film-going helps form or influence an opinion toward a movie? Select one: a. reviews from professional critics b. studio publicity about the film c. "word of mouth" from people who've already seen it d. All these answers are correct.

d. All these answers are correct.

What kind of film did film critic and theorist Rick Altman call "the most complex art form ever devised"? Select one: a. film noir b. horror films c. science fiction films d. American film musicals

d. American film musicals

Which of the following is true of interpretive actors? Select one: a. Their primary objective is to disappear into a role, so that the audience is not aware that they are seeing an actor they have watched before in other films. b. They must avoid revealing their own thoughts and feelings about a character through the performance. c. The ideal end result of an interpretive performance is roughly three-fourths fictional character and one-quarter of their real personality. d. The range of roles available to them is not as wide as those available to impersonators.

d. The range of roles available to them is not as wide as those available to impersonators

Which of the following is true of genre films? Select one: a. They are made for very limited, discriminating audiences who value different kinds of complex experiences when going to the movies. b. They are often testing grounds for experimental techniques by adventurous directors, and thus are rarely commercially successful. c. They rarely provide enough variations to satisfy our demand for novelty. d. They tend to reinforce the values and myths sacred to the mass audience for which they were made.

d. They tend to reinforce the values and myths sacred to the mass audience for which they were made.

When the shape of an object is matched to a similarly shaped object in the next shot, this type of editing device is known as Select one: a. a jump cut. b. an establishing shot. c. intercutting. d. a form cut.

d. a form cut.

Deep focus Select one: a. makes use of reflections to create three-dimensionality. b. frames the subject with an object or objects in the near foreground. c. creates a kind of three-dimensionality by focusing the camera lens, in turn, on objects in different planes of depth. d. approximates the human eye's ability to see a deep range of objects in clear focus.

d. approximates the human eye's ability to see a deep range of objects in clear focus.

Watching a movie on videotape or disc Select one: a. provides the same impact as seeing the film in a theater. b. generally makes analyzing the film more difficult because it downgrades the size and quality of the image. c. is more satisfying than the theatrical experience because it is less expensive. d. can help viewers become "cineliterate" by allowing them to replay any part of the movie for further scrutiny and enjoyment.

d. can help viewers become "cineliterate" by allowing them to replay any part of the movie for further scrutiny and enjoyment.

Which of the following is the goal of crosscutting? Select one: a. creating the impression that two different characters are emotionally linked b. creating a frantic, exciting mood, as if the viewer is agitated or nervous c. creating the impression that a figure is covering a great deal of distance in a short amount of time d. creating the impression that actions in different locations are happening simultaneously

d. creating the impression that actions in different locations are happening simultaneously

In the introduction to his collected reviews, On Movies, film critic Dwight Macdonald discusses the difficulty of Select one: a. evaluating political or gender statements in films. b. using a single analytical approach. c. defining theme. d. defining general principles.

d. defining general principles.

What is the only novelistic viewpoint that can be directly translated into cinema? Select one: a. omniscient narrator b. third-person limited c. first-person d. dramatic

d. dramatic

Dramatic irony derives its effect primarily from a contrast between Select one: a. character dreams and reality. b. character intent and character action. c. symbolism and reality. d. ignorance and knowledge.

d. ignorance and knowledge.

Which of the following is applicable to stream of consciousness? Select one: a. a story participant giving an eyewitness account of the events of the story b. an all-seeing, all-knowing, mind-reading narrator telling the story c. an omniscient narrator, except for the fact that his/her powers of mindreading are limited to one central character d. images and thoughts from within a character's mind without the conscious acts of selectivity, organization, and narration

d. images and thoughts from within a character's mind without the conscious acts of selectivity, organization, and narration

The voice-over narration in Days of Heaven Select one: a. had a poetic rhythm and texture that permeated the entire film. b. was used with so little restraint that many audiences found it overbearing. c. is too pervasive and explanatory to allow for much viewer intuition into plot or character. d. is postmodern in the sense that it comments on the structure of the filmmaking process itself.

d. is postmodern in the sense that it comments on the structure of the filmmaking process itself.

The most common use of the freeze frame is to Select one: a. allow the audience time to take in the information of a frame. b. mark the introduction of a principal character. c. signal impending violence in the story. d. mark the end of a powerful dramatic sequence.

d. mark the end of a powerful dramatic sequence.

The great Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein advanced influential theories of which of the following? Select one: a. transitions b. the use of stills to create narrative c. framing d. montage

d. montage

Film shares the ability to exploit the subtle interplay of light and shadow with which art form(s)? Select one: a. live theater b. dance c. poetry d. painting and photography

d. painting and photography

The first and most essential property of the cinematic film is its Select one: a. freedom from the spoken word. b. ability to create an illusion of depth. c. powerful use of color, light, and shadow. d. quality of continuous motion.

d. quality of continuous motion.

Which of the following does the text argue is NOT truly part of the classic horror genre formula? Select one: a. the "slasher" film b. "romantic" horror themes c. fantastic horror entities d. self-consciousness

d. self-consciousness

The basic screen size/ratio for traditional television frame and 16mm presentations for movies is called Select one: a. Cinemascope. b. wide screen. c. Panavision. d. standard screen.

d. standard screen.

Voice-over narration is considered postmodern when Select one: a. the narrator deliberately misleads the audience about the narrative events. b. it is clear that the narrator is speaking about events long after the story is being recounted. c. the narrator conducting the voice-over seems to have less knowledge about the story than the characters themselves. d. the narrator continually comments on not only the events of the story, but also the elements of filmmaking used to dramatize them.

d. the narrator continually comments on not only the events of the story, but also the elements of filmmaking used to dramatize them.

A type of lens that keeps an image in constant focus while appearing to glide toward or away from the subject without any camera movement is called Select one: a. foreground framing. b. the Steadicam. c. fixed-frame movement. d. the zoom lens.

d. the zoom lens.

The first step in analysis should be to get a fairly clear idea of the film's Select one: a. level of ambition. b. subject matter. c. visual style. d. theme.

d. theme.