In a 2014 interview, Daniel Craig said that his James Bond characterization is darker in tone because who put paid to the zaniness that was earlier prevalent in the franchise?
Mike Myers (referring to Austin Powers' movies, of course)
In the world of cinema, a Dutch angle is one where a camera is set at an angle and is usually used to film shots to convey a character's emotional angst.
Because he employed this technique too many times during the shooting of The Third Man (1949), the crew allegedly presented the director Oliver Reed what object to encourage him to use more traditional shooting angles?
Spirit level!
What is the name of the franchise created by Osman Sınav whose multiple iterations have achieved the highest box office in Turkish cinema, in addition to fanning anti-western sentiments?
Valley of the Wolves ((Turkish: Kurtlar Vadisi)
What influential 1960 film, known for its ambiguous final dialogue, gets its title from how the protagonist Michel dies while on the run from the police?
Breathless directed by Jean-Luc Godard
In the 2014 zombie comedy Life After Beth, a character takes offense when asked about zombies just because she is from what country?
Haiti
Composer Frode Fjellheim was praised by Norway's president in a New Year's speech for his contribution to what 2013 hit film that amply features elements of the country's native culture?
Frozen
It was also praised in Norwegian Sámi media as showcasing Sámi culture to a broad audience.
(Acknowledgement)Name the 2000s movie from the clues.
1. The title has a country that is not in the continent where the movie plays.
2. It netted a Best Actor Oscar for the lead.
3. Symbolically, the theatrical release poster has the credits set in an X symbol.The Last King of Scotland (2006)
The X refers to the Saltire found on Scotland's flag.
(Acknowledgement)In a 1997 short film Doodlebug, a man in a seedy apartment is attempting to squash what looks like a tiny insect. It is subsequently revealed that the 'insect' is in fact a miniature version of the man himself who is engaged in the same action. The movie ends with a logically satisfying turn of events.
This was directed by whom, who went on to use a loosely similar Russian nesting doll theme for his 2010 blockbuster?
Christopher Nolan
The 2010 blockbuster is of course Inception.
(Acknowledgement)What popular internet site known for its aggregated rating was criticized by a film critic as the internet's revenge on individual expression?
Rotten Tomatoes
The camera technique of panning and zooming on still photographs often seen in documentaries has come to be known as the effect of what filmmaker?
Ken Burns
The feature enables a widely used technique of embedding still photographs in motion pictures, displayed with slow zooming and panning effects, and fading transitions between frames. The technique predates Ken Burns' use of it, but his name has still become associated with it.
(Acknowledgement)If you see the name of the organization American Humane Association in the credits of a movie or a television show, what 4-word phrase are you also most likely to see?
"No Animals Were Harmed"
The American Humane Association began its work in film in 1939, after an incident that occurred on the set of the film Jesse James. As of 2014, the American Humane Association is under investigation by law enforcement agencies and animal rights groups as to whether or not its iconic disclaimer, "No Animals Were Harmed...", is supported by the facts of the productions the group oversees.
(Acknowledgement)Performers called benshi in Japan provided what service to film-goers particularly in the days of silent cinema?
Live narration
During silent films, the benshi stood to the side of the movie screen and introduced and related the story to the audience. In theatrical style, benshi often spoke for the characters on-screen and played multiple roles. Stemming from the traditions of kabuki and Noh theaters, the benshi's narration and general commentary were an important part of the Japanese silent film experience. The benshi would also provide translation for foreign (mostly American) movies.
(Acknowledgement)What 1956 film was to be called The Reno Brothers when a hit song passing the one million sales mark was noticed by the producers causing a change in the title?
Love Me Tender
It was Elvis' debut, of course.
(Acknowledgement)Reginald Rose was once part of a jury that debated a manslaughter case for eight hours. This incident inspired him to create what drama that has seen multiple adaptations?
Twelve Angry Men
Rose received an Emmy for his teleplay and an Oscar nomination for its 1957 feature-length film adaptation.
(Acknowledgement)In 2010, China's state-run distributor withdrew what blockbuster from the country's theaters presumably because its themes mimicked real-life forced relocation of people by corporations?
Avatar
The Los Angeles Times reported that the decision was due to concerns that the film would trigger dissent over the country's phenomenon of home owners holding out against real estate companies.
(Acknowledgement)In the 1983 thriller WarGames, the protagonists prevent nuclear war by directing a computer to play what game against itself?
Tic-tac-toe
When both players play flawlessly, tic-tac-toe games always end in a draw. This results in a long string of ties, forcing the computer to learn the concept of an unwinnable game. With missile launch codes on hand, the computer cycles through all the nuclear war scenarios it has devised, finding they too all result in stalemates. Having discovered the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, it concludes that nuclear warfare is "a strange game" in which "the only winning move is not to play."
(Acknowledgement)What classic of world cinema tells the story of the Ekdahl family while focusing on two siblings?
Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander
The film won four Academy awards in 1984.
Producer Laurie David said that she created her well-recognized 2006 documentary after watching whose slideshow at a global warming town-hall meeting in 2004 in New York?
Al Gore's (An Inconvenient Truth)
At the time of the film, Gore estimated he had shown the presentation more than one thousand times.
(Acknowledgement)The Sapphire Affair of 1962 connected with the Cuban Missile Crisis was the basis of what similarly titled 1969 Hitchcock thriller?
Topaz
It was based on a 1967 novel of Leon Uris which had the same title. The similarity in the question refers to sapphire and topaz, both gemstones.
In what film does General George Marshall read the Bixby letter, a real-life missive sent by Abraham Lincoln to a bereaved mother of five sons, before flagging off the titular mission?
Saving Private Ryan
The events of the 1995 drama Before Sunrise in which Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy spend the night walking around a city is set on what day/date during which literature fans do something similar?
Bloomsday (June 16)
Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of James Joyce during which the events of Ulysses (which is set on 16 June 1904) are relived. It is observed annually on 16 June in Dublin and elsewhere. The movie however is set in Vienna and not Dublin.
(Acknowledgement)During the production of the 2004 movie Troy, Brad Pitt suffered an injury of what body part?
Does the question feel random? Think!
Achilles tendon!
Pitt of course played the role of the warrior Achilles in the movie.
(Acknowledgement)Introducing what eventual Best Picture winner at the 76th Academy Awards ceremony in 2004 did host Billy Crystal quip that it received eleven nominations, one for each ending?
Return of the King
It won all 11 awards for which it was nominated.
What 3-word term is given to the genre of kitschy Italian films of the mid 20th century that sought to emulate the historic epics of Hollywood like Spartacus?
Sword-and-sandal
They are also called 'peplum' films referring to the dress accessory sported by the leading men.
(Acknowledgement)Which nation launched the "Heart of Eurasia" campaign to counter the cultural learnings from a 2006 movie?
Kazakhstan (Borat)
A meeting between Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and U.S. President George W. Bush in September 2006 had Kazakhstan's post-Borat international image among the items on the agenda.
(Acknowledgement)Porn actress Linda Lovelace is best associated with what landmark 1972 film?
Deep Throat
She later denounced her pornography career and became a spokeswoman for the anti-pornography movement.
(Acknowledgement)In 2013, in a gruesome incident in Italy, a mob boss was fed to pigs by a rival while he was still alive. Several newspapers reported this while evoking a scene from what 2001 movie?
Hannibal
In the movie, Mason Verger (played by Gary Oldman) plans to have Lecter eaten alive by wild hogs.
(Acknowledgement)The 1994 book Lost Moon is the basis of what subsequent year's Hollywood hit?
Apollo 13
It was written by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger about the failed Lunar landing mission, of which Lovell was the commander.
(Acknowledgement)Which British producer of newsreels and documentaries whose work is synonymous with footage of the World Wars released its entire collection on YouTube in April 2014?
Pathé News
British Pathé was once a dominant feature of the British cinema experience, renowned for first-class reporting and an informative yet uniquely entertaining style. It is now considered to be the finest newsreel archive in existence.
(Acknowledgement)What actor is associated with the ad-line "Shrimp on the barbie" which he used to promote his country's tourism?
Paul Hogan (Australia)
It has since been used, along with some variations, to make reference to Australia in popular culture.
(Acknowledgement)In which 2008 movie of Clint Eastwood are the Hmong people prominently featured?
Gran Torino
In Caddyshack, Bill Murray as Carl Spackler fantasizes winning the Masters golf tournament while comparing himself to which character in his monologue?
Cinderella
In The Motorcycle Diaries, at what location does Che Guevera muse how a civilization capable of creating such beauty could be destroyed by the creators of the urban decay of a nearby city?
Machu Picchu
He refers to the city squalor of Lima.
(Acknowledgement)The 1952 movie Bwana Devil that had on its poster the lines "A lion is in your lap!" and "A lover is in your arms!" is known for sparking what craze?
3-D
It is also the first 3-D feature film entirely in color and the first 3-D sound feature in English.
(Acknowledgement)The 1968 comedy short-film The Dove in which the protagonist plays a game of badminton with death is a parody of whose films?
Ingmar Bergmans'
Each year the National Film Registry selects up to 25 films for preservation in the United States Library of Congress on the basis of 3 parameters of significance.
What are the three adjectives used as the parameters?
Culturally, historically, or aesthetically
If you are used to reading about classic films, you would have seen the above three several times.
Writing about a 1980s Oscar snub, what two movies was Roger Ebert referring to when he mentioned the irony of a movie with white people in a land of blacks winning and one with black people in a white land losing?
Out of Africa and The Color Purple
The Color Purple was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won none of them, tying the record set by 1977's The Turning Point for the most Oscar nominations without a single win. Out of Africa won 7 awards including Best Picture.
A 1999 movie starring Peter O'Toole as Father Damien had the name of what island of the Hawaiian archipelago as its title?
Molokai
Father Damien who was canonized in 2009 was known for his work at the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement on that island.
(Acknowledgement)What phrase used by Jack London in John Barleycorn to describe alcoholism was later referenced in Dumbo when the elephant hallucinates after drinking water spiked with champagne?
Seeing pink elephants
In the movie, Dumbo sings "Pink Elephants on Parade."
In the 2010 movie Devil, a group of people each with their own secret are trapped in what location?
Elevator
It was produced by Night Shyamalan.
What classic of world cinema which hints that there is no absolute truth takes its title from the city gate outside the city of Kyoto?
Rashomon
Contradicting accounts of the same incident are heard from a bandit, a samurai, the samurai's wife and a woodcutter. It is based on the stories of Akutagawa.
Barton Fink, The Shining, The Lost Weekend, and Adaptation are some of the movies in which the protagonists are struggling from what?
Writer's block
What connects Martin Scorsese to the names The Dead Rabbits, The Daybreak Boys, and The Whyos (among others)?
Gangs of New York
In the 19th century, New York saw a lot of crime perpetrated by several gangs. Scorsese's 2002 movie is loose adaptation of a 1928 non-fiction book by Herbert Asbury.
(Acknowledgement)A sword called Green Destiny occupies a prominent spot in the story of what 2000 world-wide hit movie?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
A planned sequel has the name of the sword in the title.
In 2005, an American Airlines flight was diverted back to Fort Lauderdale after take-off because a crew member found a napkin with the words "Bomb, bomb, bomb ..." followed by the name of what 2000 comedy film?
Meet the Parents
In the climax, Ben Stiller's character repeatedly shouts the word "bomb" while being detained by airport security.
After playing the role of Farmer Hoggett in what 1995 movie did actor James Cromwell decide to become a vegetarian?
Babe
He said "I decided that to be able to talk about this [movie] with conviction, I needed to become a vegetarian."
Which Best Picture Oscar winning movie did Spielberg nearly walk out on saying that holocaust and humor do not mix?
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
He was convinced to stay by his wife Kate Capshaw.
According to IMDB.com, what was the first film Jimmy Carter watched during his presidential tenure? Appropriate since it showed what led to his electoral win!
All the President's Men
Based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. Ford's pardon of Nixon is said to have played a major role in his defeat in the 1976 presidential election against Jimmy Carter.
(Acknowledgement)Referring to what iconic 70s movie and its opening song did Robert Altman say that while he made only 70K for directing the movie, his son who wrote the song lyrics made far more?
MASH ("Suicide is Painless")
What 1968 film during whose filming the music composer wore a gorilla mask for inspiration is said to hold the record for the highest make-up budget (when adjusted for inflation)?
The Planet of the Apes
Talking about what hit 2004 film did its writer say, "The dad is always expected in the family to be strong ... moms are always pulled in a million different directions ... teenage girls, are insecure and defensive, ... ten-year-old boys are hyperactive energy balls ..."?
The Incredibles
It was written and directed by Brad Bird.
Who is the movie character whose best known name contradicts that he is addressed as Joe, Manco, and Blondie in an action trilogy?
Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood)
He is Joe in A Fistful of Dollars, Manco in In For a Few Dollars More and Blondie In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Commenting on the death of screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala in April 2013, which film company issued the statement "The passing of our two-time Academy Award winning screenwriter is a significant loss to the global film community."?
Merchant Ivory Productions
Ruth won Oscars for A Room with a View (1985) and Howards End (1992) and was known for her long collaboration with Merchant Ivory.
In what classic 1953 French-Italian thriller do four truckers attempt to transport nitroglycerine over treacherous roads where a tiny bump would blow them sky-high?
The Wages of Fear
It was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot also known for Les Diaboliques.
The executive producer of what 2004 biopic stated that the main character in the movie "is more akin to Jack Kerouac or Neal Cassady than Marx or Lenin"?
The Motorcycle Diaries
The character is of course Che Guevara.
In 1995, two Stanford researchers came up with a selected list of film clips able to elicit a single emotion. What 1989 film's scene that takes place in Katz's Delicatessen was the top-rated clip for amusement? (hint: what was she really having?)
When Harry Met Sally
That scene of Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal!
(Acknowledgement)Solve and come up with a movie.
Zebra, laughing/spotted, 'person of the forest' (Malay), "Eye of the ___" (Survivor)
(or)
Buddhist, cook, mother, protagonistLife of Pi
Laughing/spotted - hyena, 'person of the forest' (Malay) - orangutan, "Eye of the ___" (Survivor) - tiger.
If The Quiet American (2002) is to Vietnam, The Killing Fields (1984) is to Cambodia, then The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) is to what country?
Indonesia
The story is about a love affair set in Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno.
The African-American David Hampton whose 'exploits' inspired a 1990 play and a 1993 movie convinced many New Yorkers that he was the son of whom?
Sidney Poitier (inspiring Six Degrees of Separation)
He was an American con artist who gained infamy in the 1980s after milking a group of wealthy New Yorkers out of thousands of dollars by convincing them he was Sidney Poitier's son. His story became the inspiration for a play by John Guare and later a movie starring Will Smith and Donald Sutherland.
Because Disney funded Kundun, the biography of Dalai Lama, the Chinese government was not pleased. What subsequent 1998 animated release did Disney pitch hoping to better relations?
Mulan
China had threatened to curtail business negotiations with Disney over Kundun and, as the government only accepts ten Western films per year to be shown in their country, Mulan's chances of being accepted were low. Finally, after a year's delay, the Chinese government did allow the film a limited Chinese release.
What invention of Garrett Brown that 'smoothens' movie viewing experience saw its debut in Bound for Glory and subsequently in the chase scenes of Marathon Man?
Steadicam
It essentially combines the stabilized steady footage of a conventional tripod mount with the fluid motion of a dolly shot and the flexibility of hand-held camera work. While smoothly following the operator's broad movements, the Steadicam's armature absorbs jerks, bumps, and shakes.
The English actress Diana Dors once called herself "the only sex symbol Britain has produced since" which person? No peeping or you'll go blind.
Lady Godiva
Diana Dors was considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood.
What is the only movie on IMDB.com that is rated out of 11 stars instead of the standard 10?
This Is Spinal Tap
To understand why, you must watch the movie!
He lives by the following three rules.
1. Don't hurt anybody.
2. Don't steal from anyone who doesn't deserve it.
3. Play the game like you have nothing to lose.His partners in the order of recruitment are Frank Catton, Rusty Ryan, Reuben Tishkoff, Virgil Malloy, Turk Malloy, Livingston Dell, Basher Tarr, 'The Amazing' Yen, Saul Bloom and Linus Caldwell.
Who?
Danny Ocean (Oceans Eleven and the sequels)
What character of a path-breaking 1988 movie was said to be a combination of "Tex Avery's cashew nut-shaped head, the swatch of red hair ... like Droopy's, Goofy's overalls, Porky Pig's bow tie, Mickey Mouse's gloves and Bugs Bunny like cheeks and ears"?
Roger Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The film combines live action and animation in a big way.
The documentary Lousy Little Sixpence (1983) and the feature-film Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) focus on 'Stolen Generations' in which country?
Australia
The term Stolen Generations refers to the forcible separation of native children from their families. Lousy Little Sixpence was the first film to deal with the Stolen Generations. It is now standard fare in educational institutions, and has been highly influential, including on the Australian Prime Minister's apology to the Stolen Generations, more than a quarter of a century after the film's release. The extent of the removal of children, and the reasoning behind their removal, are contested. Documentary evidence, such as newspaper articles and reports to parliamentary committees, suggest a range of rationales.
Ignoring the dubious historical accuracy of his 1991 movie, who is the director who said that it was "counter-myth" to Warren Commission's "fictional myth"?
Oliver Stone talking about JFK
Upon it's theatrical release, American newspapers ran editorials accusing Stone of taking liberties with historical facts, including the film's implication that President Lyndon B. Johnson was part of a coup d'état to kill Kennedy. The Warren Commission was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963 to investigate the assassination of JFK.
What American drama that was inspired by an incident in which black youths were chased out of a pizzeria by white youths takes its title from what Malcolm X said one ought to do?
Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989)
The movie tells the story of a neighborhood's simmering racial tension, which comes to a head and culminates in tragedy on the hottest day of the summer.
(Acknowledgement)What Hitchcock classic is said to use the Madonna-whore complex to represent a lead figure, the same woman simultaneously representing virtue and debasement?
Vertigo (1958)
Kim Novak portrays two women that the hero cannot reconcile: a virtuous, blonde, sophisticated, sexually repressed 'Madonna' and a dark-haired, single, sensual 'fallen woman.'
A 2009 documentary that chronicles the history of Disney animation from 1981 to 1994 is titled as Waking which much-loved character?
Waking Sleeping Beauty
"At night they fly, you better run, these winged things are not much fun."
"In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read five or eight."
"A tiny bite can make you itch, make you sneeze, make you twitch."
"This will not be an easy mission, monkeys slow the expedition."Clues from what 1995 movie game?
Jumanji
It is about a supernatural board game that makes wild animals and other jungle hazards materialize upon each player's move.
In fact: Lucchese, Bonanno, Gambino, Luciano/Genovese, and Profaci/Colombo.
In a 1972 movie: The ___, the Tattaglias, the Barzinis, the Cuneos and the Straccis.Who's missing in the second list?
Corleones (from The Godfather)
The real-life names are the five original Italian American Mafia crime families that are known in popular culture as 'the Five Families' which have dominated organized crime in the United States since 1931.
What 1920s silent film classic was conceived when its German director gazed upon the skyscrapers of New York from a ship?
Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang
Describing his first impressions of the city, Lang said that "the buildings seemed to be a vertical sail, scintillating and very light, a luxurious backdrop, suspended in the dark sky to dazzle, distract and hypnotize."
(Acknowledgement)The 1985 Japanese comedy Tampopo was publicized as not sphagetti, but what type of western?
Ramen
Cheoah Dam in North Carolina was the real-life location of the 'dive scene' in what 1993 movie in which the protagonist is wrongly accused of murder?
The Fugitive
Harrison Ford jumps into the water after being cornered by Tommy Lee Jones.
Pintel and Ragetti are a recurring comedy pair in a 2000s adventure film franchise set on high seas. What possession of Ragetti that is repeatedly hit by a fork is he usually seen to be searching for?
Wooden eye
They are from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.
The demon Pazuzu is the main antagonist in what classic film that is based on a 1949 case of Roland Doe?
The Exorcist (1973)
What sound effect named after a character in The Charge at Feather River has been used so often when someone is shot, falls or thrown that it is now a cinematic cliche?
Wilhelm scream
Harry Davis and John P. Harris opened a small theater in Pittsburgh in 1905 and popularized the exhibition of movies at low cost. What was the cost of admission?
Five cents (nickel) and hence 'Nickelodeon'
They found great success with their operation and their concept of a five-cent theater showing movies continuously was soon imitated by hundreds of ambitious entrepreneurs, as was the name of the theater itself. Statistics indicated that the number of nickelodeons in the United States doubled between 1907 and 1908 to around 8000, and it was estimated that by 1910 as many as 26 million Americans visited these theaters every week.
A hand holding marionette strings hovers over the title in the theatrical release poster of what classic movie?
The Godfather
The producer of what 1970s film wanted to call it The Sidewalk Vigilante as he felt the title (which stayed) was too morbid?
Death Wish
It stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, a man who becomes a vigilante. The film was disliked by many critics due to it advocating vigilantism and unlimited punishment to criminals. Yet, it was seen as echoing a growing mood in the United States as crime rose during the 1970s.
(Acknowledgement)The villain in which multi-award winning film was based on three serial killers - one who skinned his victims, one who employed fake handicap to lure women, and who kept the victims in his basement?
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The villain Buffalo Bill is the combination of Ed Gein, Ted Bundy, and Gary Heidnick.
Clue - record disappointment. What's the missing 1962 film?
___ ___ ___ (1962), Becket (1964), The Lion in Winter (1968), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), The Ruling Class (1972), The Stunt Man (1980), My Favorite Year (1982), Venus (2006)
Lawrence of Arabia (Peter O'Toole's eight acting Oscar nominations)
He holds the record for most competitive Academy Award acting nominations without a win. He has won four Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and an Emmy, and was the recipient of an Honorary Academy Award in 2003 for his body of work.
For an American Express ad, Tiger Woods once donned the role of Carl Spackler, a character from what 1980 comedy set at the Bushwood Country Club?
Caddyshack
In the movie Bill Murray plays the character of Carl Spackler. The movie of course revolves around golf.
(Acknowledgement)The title of what unintended hit musical within a 1968 film is missing in "___ ___ ___ and Germany/Winter for Poland and France"?
Springtime for Hitler
It is from the comedy The Producers (1968) that tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop.
The name of the master of bears in Inuit mythology lends itself to what 1922 path-breaking work of film set in the Arctic?
Nanook of the North by Robert J. Flaherty, the first documentary
Flaherty captured the struggles of the Inuit Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic. But Flaherty has been criticised for deceptively portraying staged events as reality. Much of the action was staged and gives an inaccurate view of real Inuit life during the early 20th century. In Inuit mythology, Nanook is the master of bears and decided if hunters deserved success in finding and hunting bears and punished violations of taboos.
Look closer and rearrange 'Humbert Learns' and you will get the name of which character from a 90s Oscar-winning movie, one that makes several references to Lolita?
Lester Burnham from American Beauty
'Look Closer' is the tagline of the movie and Humbert Humbert is the principal character and narrator of Lolita.
(Acknowledgement)Who's the character?
Peter Sellers (6), Alan Arkin (1), Roger Moore (1), Steve Martin (2)
Inspector Clouseau (The Pink Panther films)
The numbers indicate the number of films the actors played him in.
Because many parents brought children to see it for its fantasy elements, theaters in Mexico placed warnings about the graphic violence while exhibiting what 2006 Oscar-nominated film of Guillermo del Toro?
Pan's Labyrinth
At its Cannes release, the film received a 22 minute standing ovation.
(Acknowledgement)The 18th century human-like Jaquet-Droz automata that are capable of drawing intricate sketches inspired a key plot element of what 2011 film?
Hugo
These automata are still in working condition (they can be seen at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland) and are capable of drawing figures as complicated as the drawing depicted in the film. Many nuances such as the head following the pen as it was drawing and dipping the pen in ink were also present in the automata in real life.
(Acknowledgement)The 2-word title of what 2005 documentary about the moon landings comes from how Buzz Aldrin described the moonscape while conversing with Neil Armstrong?
Magnificent Desolation
The unusual spelling of what 2006 Will Smith hit has its origins in what a homeless Chris Gardner (on whom the film is based) saw on a sign?
The Pursuit of Happyness
In the film, 'happiness' is misspelled as 'happyness' outside the daycare facility the son of Will Smith attends.
Called the biggest regular cultural event on the African continent, FESPACO, the largest African film festival takes place in the capital of which country? (hint: formerly Upper Volta)
Burkina Faso
The most prestigious award given out at the festival is the 'Étalon de Yennenga' (Stallion of Yennenga), named in reference to the legendary founder of the Mossi empire.
The climax of what great 1952 Italian film, Ingmar Bergman's favorite, has the title character attempting suicide on a train track with his pet dog?
Umberto D.
Umberto's attempts to find shelter is one of the most heartbreaking stories ever filmed and an essential classic of world cinema.
The main lead Rick from what classic marking its 70th anniversary in 2012 was once compared to President FDR with the similarity reinforced by the English translation of the film's title?
Casablanca (1942)
The English equivalent is of course White House. In the words of critic Howard Koch, Rick gambled "on the odds of going to war until circumstance and his own submerged nobility force him to close his casino (partisan politics) and commit himself-first by financing the Side of Right and then by fighting for it."
In Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, in a famous scene shift intended to show progress, a bone thrown in the air becomes what object?
Orbital satellite
The match cut helps draw a connection between the two objects as exemplars of primitive and advanced tools respectively, and serves as a neat summary of humanity's technological advancement up to that point.
Rick Baker won the inaugural Oscar award for make-up for his showcasing of beastly transformation in which 1981 John Landis' cult classic?
An American Werewolf in London
After the duet "Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto" from The Marriage of Figaro plays on loudspeakers in a film, a voice-over goes: "I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. [...] I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. [...] It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in ___ felt free."
What is the missing word?
"Shawshank"
Editor Thelma Schoonmaker's successful collaboration with which director fetched her three Oscars in 1980, 2004 and 2006? (hint: the director won only once till date in one of these years)
Martin Scorsese
She has edited all of Scorsese's films since Raging Bull and won for Raging Bull, The Aviator and The Departed.
In 1978 following a public campaign to restore it, the following nine gave $27,777 for each of its components: Terrence Donnelly, Giovanni Mazza (Italian movie producer), Les Kelley, Gene Autry, Hugh Hefner, Andy Williams, Warner Bros. Records, Alice Cooper and Thomas Pooley.
It was a campaign to preserve what nine letter symbol?
Hollywood sign
Alice Cooper led the campaign. The new letters were 45 feet (14 m) tall and ranged from 31 to 39 feet (9.4 to 12 m) wide. The new version of the sign was unveiled on Hollywood's 75th anniversary.
What frightening sci-fi film character, also called a xenomorph, was designed by H. R. Giger from a lithograph titled Necronom IV?
Alien
Giger won an Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects for his design work on the film Alien.
Cal Trask, Jim Stark and Jett Rink are the only film characters played by whom called "too young to die" in a hit 70s song?
James Dean (in East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant respectively)
The hit song, also called "James Dean" was by The Eagles from their 1974 album On the Border.
The set piece of what classic 1955 one-word French film is a 30-min heist scene filmed in near silence and which has inspired real crimes around the world?
Rififi
The plot revolves around a burglary at a jewelry shop. The film was re-released theatrically in 2000 and is still highly acclaimed by modern film critics as one of the greatest works in French film noir.
The fictional '34 Bisgrove Street, Pacific County, California' is the titular location of what 2003 gut-wrenching drama that features Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly?
House of Sand and Fog
A Swedish publication review of what 2011 movie end with the declaration 'Hollywood wins'?
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The comparison was with the original Swedish version.
In 1954 the British genius Alan Turing was found dead with a half-eaten apple next to his body. Although the apple was not tested for cyanide, the cause of his death was established as cyanide poisoning. It was suggested that Turing was re-enacting a scene from which 1937 film that was based on his favorite (and universally loved) fairy tale?
Snow White
In the movie there is a scene in which the Wicked Witch immerses an apple in poisonous brew. Turing is widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence.
The main setting in what 1994 classic is modeled after Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya where crew members of the film spent time to study on the film's setting and observe the animals?
The Lion King
The main setting in the film is The Pride Lands.
A 2002 article titled What's Sarong with this Picture? in an online film journal profiled which yesteryear actress?
Dorothy Lamour
She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to ... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. The role that made her a star was Ulah (a sort of female Tarzan) in The Jungle Princess (1936). She wore a sarong, which would become associated with her.
Think of a film series and fill-in the missing two names in this unique list.
___ ___, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, ___ ___
Chris Columbus, David Yates (directors of Harry Potter film series)
Chris Columbus directed the first two movies and David Yates did the last four.
What eerie 1973 British film that tells the story of an upright Christian police officer investigating the disappearance of a young girl has been called by a film magazine as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies"?
The Wicker Man
The activist Marie Cruz because of whose actions the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences ruled out proxy acceptance of Oscars from 1973 onward is better known by what name?
Sacheen Littlefeather
She represented Brando and his boycot of the Best Actor Oscar for The Godfather (1972), as a way to protest a siege at Wounded Knee and Hollywood and television's misrepresentation of American Indians.
According to imdb.com, the title of what Michael Douglas 1984 hit that is set in South America refers to a step in the preparation of a gem for use in jewelry?
Romancing the Stone
The film was followed by a 1985 sequel, The Jewel of the Nile.
What 20th century genre of Italian film that focuses on murder and mystery takes its name from the (Italian) word for yellow?
Giallo
The term stems from the origin of the genre as a series of cheap paperback novels with trademark yellow covers.
Bill Gold whose most noted creations are for films as varied as Casablanca, A Clockwork Orange, Mystic River and The Sting is renowned for what type of work?
Poster designs
The 1998 Canadian movie The Red Violin that traces the story of a mysterious violin across Vienna, Oxford, Shanghai, and Montreal starts off in what Italian location?
Cremona
The town is strongly associated with violin making.
The plot of what 80s movie that featured an Oscar-winning acting performance is centered around a violent incident in a bar called The Mill?
The Accused starring Jodie Foster
Foster was awarded the 1988 Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as the victim of a rape. The movie is based on the real-life gang rape of Cheryl Araujo in Massachusetts in 1983 and was one of the first Hollywood films to deal with rape in a direct manner. The movie also starred Kelly McGillis.
What video-distribution company known for standardizing features like letterbox ratio, bonus features, and special editions started in 1984 with the releases of Citizen Kane and King Kong?
Criterion Collection
Martin Scorsese might have belatedly won the Best Director Oscar for The Departed but he was snubbed earlier for Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990), arguably his two best films. Both times he lost to known actors making their directorial debut.
Can you name either of the films or the actor-directors?
Ordinary People (Robert Redford) and Dances with Wolves (Kevin Costner)
Which 1970 film that portrays a key incident of 20th century takes its thrice repeating title from a code word that the antagonists used to indicate the surprise they achieved in their belligerence?
Tora! Tora! Tora!, that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Tora is translated in the Japanese as "tiger", hence making the code for achieved surprise "Tiger, tiger, tiger." The film is famous for Yamamoto's quote likening the attacks to "awakening a sleeping giant", although it may have been apocryphal.
Which filmmaker who spent much of his life on the island of Fårö in the Baltic was once called by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera"?
Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007)
Several of his films were filmed there, among them Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Persona (1966), Hour of the Wolf (1968), Shame (1968), The Passion of Anna (1969), and Scenes From a Marriage (1972). The Bergman Festival is a weeklong tribute to the filmmaker held on the island every June.
Which movie villain who 'resides' on Discovery One was voiced by Douglas Rain? I wouldn't skip this question if I were you, Dave!
HAL 9000, the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey
What 'arty' 2003 film had the lead actress netting a cool $25 million, the highest ever earned by an actress for a role?
Mona Lisa Smile, starring Julia Roberts
Huge! What 1988 film was the first film directed by a female to have grossed over $100 million at the US box office?
Big by Penny Marshall (that starred Tom Hanks)
Her other major features include Awakenings (1990), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, A League of Their Own (1992), Cinderella Man (2005) and Bewitched (2005).
Because it would require most of Antarctica to melt to submerge New York to the level it was shown in this film, which 2004 flick was lampooned by a climatologist as "This movie is to climate science as Frankenstein is to heart transplant surgery"?
The Day After Tomorrow
In 2008 Yahoo! Movies came out with a list of Top 10 Scientifically Inaccurate Movies and this movie took the 5th spot.
(Acknowledgement)In June 2011, FBI arrested Boston mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger near Los Angeles after a 16 year manhunt. He was the inspiration behind the character of Frank Costello in which Oscar-winning film?
The Departed
The title of what Ridley Scott movie that means con-men is also a term used to describe human figures in the paintings of the British artist L. S. Lowry?
Matchstick Men (2003)
Con artists are also referred to as matchstick men because they create temporary personas that are fleeting and simple. Lowry is famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of Northern England during the early 20th century. He had a distinctive style of painting and is best known for urban landscapes peopled with human figures often referred as mentioned.
What 1920 horror classic from Germany that tells the story of a doctor and his sidekick Cesare in the village of Holstenwall is said to have introduced the concept of twist ending in cinema?
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
What 1961 American teen-drama that highlights sexual repression takes its title from a Wordsworth poem that goes as follows?
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of ___ ___ ___ ___, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind ...Splendor in the Grass
It stars Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood, was written by William Inge and was directed by Elia Kazan (note: In Wordsworth's poem, splendor is spelled as splendour).
What runs for about 1.3 miles on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles county and is said to attract 10 million tourists every year?
Hollywood Walk of Fame
There are more than 2000 stars symbolizing five categories within the entertainment industry that are placed at 6-foot intervals.
Estimating that an average inch of hair weighs 50 micrograms, animators of what 2010 movie said that the hair of the lead character weighs 4.2 kg/10.4 lbs?
Tangled, referring to Rapunzel
Focusing on a superhero movie of 2011, about what director did Entertainment Weekly carry a story titled 'From Hamlet to Hammers'?
Kenneth Branagh (who directed Thor)
He is best known for Henry V, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and Love's Labour's Lost.
The Bengali films Pratidwandi, Seemabaddha and Jana Aranya directed by the Oscar winning Satyajit Ray are known as the trilogy of what Indian city to which he was strongly associated?
Calcutta
It is also the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal.
The use of a dance double in which 2010 film was highlighted by a blog entry that read "Do people really believe that it takes only one year to make a ballerina? We know that ___ ___ (the main actress) studied ballet as a kid and had a year of intensive training for the film, but that doesn't add up to being a ballerina ..."?
Black Swan starring Natalie Portman
Dancer Sarah Lane served as a "dance double" for Portman in the film and stated that out of all the dancing that was in the movie, only 5% was performed by Portman. This claim was disputed by Darren Aronofsky, the director of the fim.
The documentary about the making of which 1970s groundbreaking film was titled Hearts of Darkness alluding not just to the novel that inspired it but also to it's chaotic production?
Apocalypse Now
Which Hollywood heartthrob got his first name because his pregnant mother felt his first kick while she was viewing the painting of a famous Italian artist?
Leonardo DiCaprio
"... once dreamed of seeing a beautiful nameless woman on the street and having sex with her without ever knowing who she was."
This fantasy of a director was the idea behind the production of which envelope pushing 1972 film that is set in a European capital?
Last Tango in Paris
It was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and portrays Brando, a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman played by Maria Schneider. Schneider died in Feb 2011.
With connection to films, what is the claim to fame of Don LaFontaine who is identified with the phrase "In a world ..." and who has been called 'Thunder Throat'?
He was a voice-over artist who recorded more than 5,000 film trailers.
For a time, LaFontaine had a near-monopoly on movie trailer voiceovers. Some notable trailers include Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Shrek, Friday the 13th, Law & Order and Batman Returns.
Which actor, the epitome of American masculinity has the appropriate distinction of being the only one on every annual list of Harris Poll's 'America's favorite film stars'?
John Wayne
In 1999, the American Film Institute named Wayne 13th among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.
The authentic Nazi submarine used in Raiders of the Lost Ark was rented from the production of what 1981 epic war film that tells the fictional story of the crew of U-boat U-96?
Das Boot
It was written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
The title of which 1979 British comedy has its origin in a flippant remark by a comedy troupe member who said their next release would be Jesus Christ - Lust for Glory?
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian
It tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Graham Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.
Paul Brickhill, an Australian pilot during WWII was shot down over Tunisia and became a POW in Germany; his experiences at the camp, which not every Tom, Dick or Harry could have had were dramatized in what 1963 'break-out' drama?
The Great Escape
Tom, Dick and Harry are the names of the 'escape routes' in the movie.
The screening of the classic satire Dr. Strangelove was originally scheduled for November 22, 1963 but was delayed until January 1964 for what particular reason?
Kennedy's assassination
It was felt that the public would not be in a mood for a black comedy so soon. One line in the movie - "a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff" - was dubbed to change "Dallas" to "Vegas," Dallas being the city where Kennedy was killed. The original reference to Dallas survives in some foreign language-dubbed versions of the film, including the French release.
The 1973 Japanese film Lady Snowblood that is about a woman seeking vengeance upon her parents' killers was the inspiration behind what 2000s 2-part blockbuster?
Kill Bill
The Dodecanese Campaign of WWII that was an attempt by the Allied forces to capture islands in the Aegean Sea was the inspiration for which acclaimed 1961 commando film?
The Guns of Navarone
The campaign followed the surrender of Italy in September 1943, and the allies wanted to use the captured islands as bases against the German-controlled Balkans. The Allied effort failed, with the whole of the Dodecanese falling to the Germans within two months, and the Allies suffering heavy losses in men and ships. The operations in the Dodecanese, lasting from 8 September to 22 November 1943, resulted in one of the last major German victories in the war.
What film set in Fantasia was the most expensive film produced outside of the USA or the USSR at the time of its 1984 release?
The NeverEnding Story (from Germany)
It is based on the novel of the same name written by Michael Ende. The majority of the story takes place in the parallel world of Fantastica (referred to as Fantasia in the films), a world being destroyed by the Nothing, which represents and constitutes people's lack of imagination in the real world. The first protagonist is a young warrior, who is asked by the Steward of The Empress of Fantastica, to set off and find a way to stop The Nothing.
The Penrose stairs, a staircase with four 90-degree turns forming a loop is called the 'impossible staircase' as it is not possible to create such an object in 3-dimensions. They appear in a stunt sequence in what 2010 hit movie?
Inception
In the movie, it is explained that normally-impossible structures can be created within lucid dream worlds. It is also used as an example of realization, as one character uses it purposefully to get behind a guard, then forces himself to realize it is an illusion and thus creates a sheer drop in front of him which he then throws the guard off of.
The plot of what 2003 German film centers around a young man trying to preserve the illusion of the existence of East Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall for the sake of his ailing mother?
Good Bye Lenin!
In 2003, screenwriter Paul Schrader was fired while working on a prequel to which 1973 classic as the production company felt that his version was too cerebral without being scary?
The Exorcist (the prequel was Exorcist: Dominion)
After the film was completed under Schrader's direction, the production company, Morgan Creek Productions/Warner Bros. disliked the resulting film and had it re-shot under director Renny Harlin; it was released as Exorcist: The Beginning in 2004. Scharder is best known for writing the De Niro classic Taxi Driver.
In AFI's 100 Heroes and Villains, who is the only character present in both lists 'morphing' from a villain in a 1984 film to a hero in a 1991 film? Give it some thought, you are gonna love the answer!
Terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger
The title of what poignant 1971 drama film set in Anarene, Texas refers to the fact of the town's only cinema closing forever?
The Last Picture Show
It was directed by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1966 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry.
Which 1992 romantic-thriller that had two Oscar nominated songs in "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You" has spawned the best-selling movie soundtrack of all time?
The Bodyguard
The soundtrack features three other hit singles for Whitney Houston: "I Will Always Love You", "I'm Every Woman", and "Queen of the Night."
The 1969 drama film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? provides a glimpse into which 1920s/30s American fad?
Dance marathons
It is an event in which people stay on their feet for a given length of time. It started as a popular fad in the 1920s and 1930s, when organized dance endurance contests attracted people to compete to achieve fame or win monetary prizes.
The 2006 film The Good Shepard based on the birth of the CIA has the following dialog. Fill in the missing words.
"Let me ask you something ... we Italians, we got our families, and we got the church; the Irish, they have the homeland, Jews their tradition; ... what about you people, Mr. Wilson, what do you have?"
"___ ___ ___ ___ ___. The rest of you are just visiting."
"The United States of America"
Although it is a fictional film loosely based on real events, it is advertised as telling the untold story of the birth of counter-intelligence in the Central Intelligence Agency. The film's main character, Edward Wilson (portrayed by Matt Damon), is loosely based on James Jesus Angleton and Richard M. Bissell.
In the list of the 100 Greatest Movie Heroes and Villains chosen by the American Film Institute in 2003, can you name either of the two films that had both the hero and the villain make it to the top 10?
It's a Wonderful Life (or) The Silence of the Lambs
James Stewart as George Bailey and Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life; Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.
What Oscar nominated 2010 movie was adapted from the book The Accidental Billionaires and advertised with the tagline "You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies"?
The Social Network
The film focuses on the tumultuous early years of Facebook, which was founded in 2004.
Commenting about which 1942 film that portrays the life of an ideal British couple in WWII did Winston Churchill tell Louis B. Mayer "... it is propaganda worth a hundred battleships ..."?
Mrs. Miniver starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
The 1996 movie The Evening Star starring Shirley MacLaine who reprises the role of Aurora Greenway is a sequel to which Oscar-winning movie of the 1980s?
Terms of Endearment
The movie takes place about fifteen years after the original following the characters from 1988 to 1993.
In 2003, when he was honored with an Academy Award for lifelong contribution to film, which charming actor hesitated (before accepting) saying that he was "enchanted ... but still in the game" and would like more time to "win the lovely bugger outright"?
Peter O'Toole
He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most competitive Academy Award acting nominations without a win.
The 2008 documentary Man on Wire chronicles stunt-man Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk at what ill-fated location?
Between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
The title of the movie is taken from the police report that led to the arrest (and later release) of Petit, whose performance had lasted for almost one hour.
Hammer Film Productions, the British company which made a series films from the mid-1950s until the 1970s is best known for which genre?
Horror
Hammer films had low budgets, but nonetheless appeared lavish, making use of quality British actors and cleverly designed sets. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. The term "Hammer Horror" is often used generically to refer to other films of the period made in a similar style by different companies, such as Eros Films, Amicus and Tigon.
Which 1979 Russian movie that tells the story of three women who come to the titular city was watched by Ronald Reagan prior to his meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev in order for him to gain a better understanding of the 'Russian soul'?
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
It won the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1980.
The 2009 biographical film The Last Station starring Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren is about the last year in the life of which literary figure who died in 1910 at Astapovo train station?
Leo Tolstoy
Roger Corman, the American producer nicknamed 'King of the B-movies' once joked that he could make a film about the fall of what entity with two extras and a sagebrush?
Roman Empire!
Corman has apprenticed many now-famous directors, stressing the importance of budgeting and resourcefulness.
Which Brazilian bombshell was known for her habit of wearing exotic headdresses adorned with fruit and inspired the logo of Chiquita bananas?
Carmen Miranda (1909-1955)
She is often associated with her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's All Here.
If anyone ever thought that life as was depicted in the black-and-white sitcoms Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best was perfect, which 'amiable' 1998 movie is likely to change their opinion?
Pleasantville
It stars Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon.
What 1997 science fiction drama that deals with eugenics takes its title from a combination of the initial letters of the four DNA bases of Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Thymine?
Gattaca
The film presents a vision of a society driven by liberal eugenics.
Which 2001 film is based on the story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long by Brian Aldiss that deals with the age of machines where child creation is controlled?
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
If you are given the words - City Slickers and push-ups, can you name the person?
Jack Palance
Four decades after his film debut, Palance won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1992 for his performance as cowboy Curly Washburn in the 1991 comedy City Slickers. Stepping onstage to accept the award, the intimidatingly fit actor looked down at the Oscar host Billy Crystal, and joked - mimicking one of his lines from the film - "Billy Crystal ... I crap bigger than him." He then dropped to the floor and demonstrated his ability, at age 73, to perform one-handed push-ups. This has been part of Oscar lore ever since.
"Lara's Theme" which remains to this day one of the most recognizable music themes for a movie was written for which film by the composer Maurice Jarre?
Doctor Zhivago (1965); Lara is the film's heroine
While working on the soundtrack for Doctor Zhivago, Maurice Jarre was asked by director David Lean to come up with a theme for the character of Lara, played by Julie Christie. Initially Lean had desired to use a well-known Russian song but could not locate the rights to it, and delegated responsibility to Jarre. After several unsuccessful attempts at writing it, Lean suggested to Jarre that he go to the mountains with his girlfriend and write a piece of music for her. Jarre says that the resultant piece was "Lara's Theme", and Lean liked it well enough to use it in numerous tracks for the film.
What 2009 hit that rewarded a woman director opens with the quotation 'The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug'?
The Hurt Locker
The title of what classic 1959 French film that details the life of a troubled adolescent named Antoine Doinel refers to an expression 'faire les quatre cents coups' which means 'to raise hell'?
The 400 Blows
Directed by François Truffaut, it is one of the defining films of the French New Wave. On the first American prints, subtitler and dubber Noelle Gilmore gave the film the title Wild Oats, but the distributor did not like that title, and reverted it to The 400 Blows, which led some to think the film covered the topic of corporal punishment.
What word that refers to a rite of passage among aborigines is also the title of an acclaimed 1971 British film that features an urban brother and sister in the Australian outback?
Walkabout
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, the three films Strictly Ballroom (1992), William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! are called as what type of trilogy referring to their theatrical motifs?
Red Curtain trilogy
Strictly Ballroom is based on the David and Goliath Bible story; Romeo + Juliet is based on the Shakespeare play of the same name; and Moulin Rouge! is based on the operas La Traviata and La Boheme. Each film has a thematic device through which the story is told. In Strictly Ballroom, this is the dancing, in Romeo and Juliet it is the poetry, and in Moulin Rouge! it is the music. All films use techniques seen within the Western, Musical and Romantic-Comedy movie genres. The style is meant to be heightened, and non-realistic, so that at all times the audience are aware that they are being entertained in a theatrical way.
Which unforgettable 80s film character is claimed to be partially based on an arbitrageur called Ivan Boesky who gave a speech on greed at the University of California, Berkeley in 1986?
Gordon Gecko from Wall Street
Gekko was portrayed by actor-producer Michael Douglas, in a performance that won him an Oscar for Best Actor. In 2003, the AFI named him number 24 of the top 50 movie villains of all time. Gekko has become a symbol in popular culture for unrestrained greed (with the signature line, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good"), often in fields outside corporate finance.
The landmark 1960s films I Am Curious (Yellow) and I Am Curious (Blue) were named after the colors of the flag of which country?
Sweden
In what 1949 classic English comedy from Ealing Studios does Alec Guinness play 8 roles?
Kind Hearts and Coronets
It is loosely based upon the novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal (1907), by Roy Horniman. The title derives from Tennyson's poem Lady Clara Vere de Vere (1842): "Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood."
With 11 wins and 34 nominations, which country holds the record for most honors in the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars (as of 2009)?
France
Followed closely by Italy (10 wins and 27 nominations). Note: Previously, this site listed Italy over France as the answer.
Which French comedian is best known for his portrayal of an irascible Italian village priest at war with the town's Communist mayor in the Don Camillo series of motion pictures?
Fernandel
In 1930, Fernandel appeared in his first motion picture and for more than forty years he would be France's top comic actor. His horse-like teeth became part of his trademark.
The title of what 2007 film starring Tommy Lee Jones comes from the name of the place in the Bible where David fought with Goliath?
In the Valley of Elah
The title of what 1991 film is derived from a song by the B-52's which the director Van Sant heard while visiting a particular US state?
My Own Private Idaho from "Private Idaho"
Monster movies wouldn't have been the same without the Japanese producer Tomoyuki Tanaka. What is he most famously associated with?
Godzilla movies
The classic Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1954; released in the U.S. in 1956) would spawn a series of sequels, adding up to 28 films by 2004. In addition to other sci-fi thrillers such as The Mysterians (1957) and Matango (1963), Tanaka produced films directed by the acclaimed Akira Kurosawa. Their film Kagemusha (1980) was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar and took the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
Since weekend box office top 10 rankings were first recorded in 1982, what are the only two Best Picture Oscar winners (1996 and 1984) to have never enter the weekend box office top 5?
The English Patient (1996) and Amadeus (1984)
Which classic 1966 film by Gillo Pontecorvo was shown in the Pentagon in 2003 with the flyer reading as follows?
How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film.
The Battle of Algiers
The film depicts an episode in the war of independence in then-French Algeria, in the capital city of Algiers. It reconstructs the events of November 1954 to December 1960 in Algiers during the Algerian War of Independence, beginning with the organization of revolutionary cells in the Casbah.
Can you connect Jack Nicholson and the piano works?
1. Fantasy in F Minor Op.49 (Chopin)
2. Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue (Bach)
3. E-flat Maj. Concerto K.271 (Mozart)
4. Prelude Opus 28 in E Minor no. 4 (Chopin) and
5. Fantasy in D Minor K.397 (Mozart)The pieces in his 1970 movie Five Easy Pieces
Monuriki is an obscure island in the Pacific Ocean in a group known as the Mamanuca Islands. For what particular reason connected to films did it become famous after 2000?
Cast Away starring Tom Hanks was filmed here
Until Pirates of the Caribbean revived the genre in 2003, the failure of which 1995 film significantly reduced Hollywood's production of piracy-themed films?
Cutthroat Island
Cutthroat Island had a budget that approached $100 million and the total U.S. gross was approximately $10 million; it contributed to the demise of 'Carolco Pictures.'
In a 2007 interview, which actor 'animatedly' bemoaned "I hate that cat! Ever since I did that cat, I disappear. It's all about the cat. It stole everything from me."?
Antonio Banderas
He voiced Puss in Boots in Shrek, that's why!
With connection to films, how do we better know Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought in the Boshin War in 19th century Japan?
As The Last Samurai
The film's plot is based on a story by John Logan which is set in the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori. The historical roles in Japanese westernization by the United Kingdom, Germany and France are largely attributed to the United States in the film, and characters in the film and the real story are simplified for plot purposes. While it is not an accurate source of historical information, the film illustrates some major issues in Japanese history.
(Acknowledgement)What series of documentary films directed by Michael Apted follow the lives of fourteen British children since 1964, when they were seven years old?
Up Series
The children were selected to represent the range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the explicit assumption that each child's social class predetermines their future. Every seven years, the director, Michael Apted, films new material from as many of the fourteen as he can get to participate. Filming for the next installment in the series, 56 Up, is expected in late 2011 or early 2012.
When he visited Turkey in 2004, screenwriter Oliver Stone apologized for what specific reason?
For his movie Midnight Express that shows Turkey in bad light
Stone admitted that he overdramatized the script. Midnight Express was adapted from the book by Billy Hayes, an American who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempting to smuggle hashish out of Turkey, and eventually escaped.
In the 1949 movie The Third Man, this is a famous dialogue. Fill in the missing words.
"In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? ___ ___ ___."
"The cuckoo clock"
Graham Greene, on whose book the movie is based, has conceded that this remark was not his own invention, but rather Orson Welles' contribution to the script. Welles himself admitted that he was inspired to his speech by a much smaller and older quote that implied the same from a Hungarian play.
David Chase, the creator of which super-hit TV series called the movie Goodfellas his inspiration?
The Sopranos
Nobody puts this movie in a corner. A survey by Britain's Sky Movies in 2007 listed which 1987 movie as number one on 'Women's most-watched films' above the Star Wars Trilogy, Grease, The Sound of Music, and Pretty Woman?
Dirty Dancing
The film's popularity has also caused it to be called "the Star Wars for girls."
Mammy Two Shoes, a recurring character in MGM's Tom and Jerry cartoons was inspired by which African-American actress and singer?
Hattie McDaniel
She played 'Mammy' in Gone with the Wind. As a partially-seen character in the cartoons, she was famous for never showing her head (although it is briefly visible in Saturday Evening Puss and Mouse Cleaning). Mammy's appearances have often been edited out, dubbed, or re-animated as a slim white woman in later television showings, since her character is a mammy archetype now generally regarded as racist.
It's not just the title, even the profits were corpulent. What ethnic 2002 romantic comedy is the highest-grossing film to never have been number one on the weekly North American box-office charts?
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
It became a sleeper hit and grew steadily from its limited release. An independent film with a meager $5 million budget, it ultimately grossed over $368 million worldwide.
Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee who lived in the departure lounge of the Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 until 2006 may have been the inspiration behind what 2004 movie?
The Terminal
Nasseri's life at the airport ended in July 2006 when he was hospitalized and his sitting place dismantled. Towards the end of January 2007, he left the hospital and was looked after by the airport's branch of the French Red Cross; he was lodged for a few weeks in a hotel close to the airport.
Which largest privately-owned home in the United States was prominently featured in the 2001 movie Hannibal among others?
Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina
This location was chosen by Ridley Scott to signify the huge personal wealth of the character Mason Verger. It built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1888 and 1895 and occupies 175,000 square feet. Still owned by Vanderbilt's descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age.
As of 2010, what is the only non-American film to win the award for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars?
Spirited Away (2001-Japanese release)
It is also the first anime film to win an Academy Award, and the only winner of that award to win among five nominees (in every other year there were three nominees).
According to the British tabloid The Sun, which much-loved 1965 musical was selected by BBC executives as one to be broadcast after a nuclear strike to improve the morale of survivors?
The Sound of Music
The soundtrack album of the film was also included in the stockpile of records held in 20 underground radio stations of Great Britain's Wartime Broadcasting Service, designed to provide public information and morale-boosting broadcasts for 100 days after a nuclear attack.
Which of his films did Stanley Kubrick call as overall optimistic because "anything that says there's anything after death is ultimately an optimistic story"?
The Shining (1980)
What 1971 coming-of-age movie is based on the memoirs of screenwriter Herman Raucher and is set on Nantucket Island off the coast of New England?
Summer of '42
It tells the story of a boy in his early teens on his 1942 summer vacation where he embarked on an ill-fated, one-sided romance with a woman whose husband had gone off to fight in World War II.
The title of which 2003 movie comes from the work of Dr. Duncan MacDougall who sought to measure the weight purportedly lost by a human body when the soul departed it upon death?
21 Grams
MacDougall weighed dying patients in an attempt to prove that the soul was material, tangible and thus measurable. These experiments are widely considered to have had little if any scientific merit, and although MacDougall's results varied considerably from 21 grams, for some people this figure has become synonymous with the measure of a soul's mass.
In The Matrix films, the hovercraft of Morpheus is named after which ancient ruler of Babylon?
Nebuchadnezzar
A landmark legislation in the 1930s in the US that is designed to protect a child actor's earnings by depositing some of them in trust funds was named after which 'kid'?
Jackie Coogan
As a child star (famous in The Kid with Chaplin), Coogan earned as much as $4 million, but the money was taken by his mother Lilian and step-father Arthur Bernstein for cocaine and heroin. He sued them in 1935, but only received $126,000. The legal battle did, however, bring attention to child actors and resulted in the state of California enacting the California Child Actor's Bill, sometimes known as the Coogan Bill or the Coogan Act. This requires that the child's employer set aside 15% of the child's earnings in a trust, and codifies such issues as schooling, work hours and time-off.
Strange, love. Who became the first man to be put on the cover of Playboy when he appeared on the April, 1964 issue?
Peter Sellers
What 2004 sci-fi film starring Vin Diesel that was a sequel to Pitch Black received poor reviews from critics who called it 'riddickulous'?
The Chronicles of Riddick
In the 1984 adventure film Romancing the Stone set in Columbia, what type of precious mineral is the stone?
Emerald
Even if you haven't see the film, just the fact that it is set in Columbia should give you a hint that it is an emerald.
While shooting a movie in 1981, Warren Beatty lectured his extras on the capitalist exploitation of labour, attempting to inspire them. A magazine called it the 4th dumbest decision in movie history because the extras went on strike, demanding higher wages!
What film was Beatty making?
Reds
The film centers on the life of John Reed, the Communist, journalist, and writer who chronicled the Russian Revolution in his book Ten Days that Shook the World.
What 2005 movie starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn that deals with African politics has been banned by President Mugabe of Zimbabwe?
The Interpreter
There are strong parallels between the movie and the real country of Zimbabwe. Among others, the name of the fictional country of Matobo is an apparent reference to the name of the Matobo National Park in Zimbabwe.
Which 1975 cult movie has taken in over $139 million since its release making it the highest grossing movie to have never played in more than 1,000 theatres at the same time?
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The length of its run in cinemas (weekly for over 30 years) combined with its considerable total box office gross is unparalleled by any other film. The Museum Lichtspiele in Munich, Germany has been screening the movie without interruption since September 19th, 1975, and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has the longest running United States engagement, having shown the movie since January, 1978.
On which 1953 film poster are Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr sharing a passionate kiss on a beach?
From Here to Eternity
The famous beach scene was lampooned in the movie Airplane!, where Robert Hays' and Julie Hagerty's characters become covered in seaweed.
Before being made famous by Scorsese in The Aviator, Howard Hughes was also the idea behind the character of Willard Whyte in which James Bond movie with a 'precious' title?
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Referring to a character in which film did Malcolm X say "When Butterfly McQueen went into her act, I felt like crawling under the rug"?
Gone with the Wind
He was referring to the stereotypical portrayal of black characters in the film.
The title of what 1966 film comes from a dialog which expresses that if one had enough time and money, it would be possible to follow a season around the world, making it everlasting?
The Endless Summer
When the movie was first shown, it encouraged many surfers to go abroad, giving birth to the "surf-and-travel" culture, which prizes finding "uncrowded surf", meeting new people, and finding the perfect wave. It also introduced the sport, which had become popular outside of Hawaii and the Polynesian Islands in places like California and Australia, to a broader audience.
Which 1972 movie musical has the distinction of winning the most Oscars (eight) without winning the Best Picture award?
Cabaret
It lost to The Godfather. In 2006 this film ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals.
In 1966, which scientist was asked to contribute an interview to a proposed introduction to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey? He wasn't offered billions and billions though!
Carl Sagan
According to an unsourced anecdote in The Independent, Sagan "responded by saying that he wanted editorial control and a percentage of the film's takings, which was rejected."
What military doctrine is central to the plot of the 1964 Stanley Kubrick film Dr. Strangelove?
MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction
It is a doctrine of military strategy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by one of two opposing sides would effectively result in the destruction of both the attacker and the defender. It is based on the theory of deterrence according to which the deployment of strong weapons is essential to threaten the enemy in order to prevent the use of the very same weapons. The strategy is effectively a form of Nash Equilibrium, in which both sides are attempting to avoid their worst possible outcome - nuclear annihilation.
In 2003, the American Film Institute came out with a list of 100 Heroes and Villains and a lawyer and a doctor topped the list in each respective category. Can you name the characters and/or actors?
Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mocking Bird) and Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)
In the movie Rain Man, what airline does Raymond insist on flying as it has a perfect safety record?
Qantas
While the airline's safety record is respected around the world, the safety fact is that the company has never lost a jet airliner and not any kind of plane. Between 1927 and 1951, Qantas had eight fatal accidents with the loss of 62 people. Half of these accidents occurred during World War II, when the Qantas aircraft were operating on behalf of the Royal Australian Air Force.
Truman Capote, who sold the film rights of his novella to Paramount Studios, wanted Marilyn Monroe to play the role of Holly Golightly. But when ___ ___ was cast instead of Marilyn, Capote remarked: "Paramount double-crossed me in every way ..."
Who took the place of Marilyn Monroe and what is the novella/movie?
Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's
Wisp-thin Hepburn as Holly, carrying a cigarette holder, is considered one of the iconic images of 20th century American cinema.
What period film of Stanley Kubrick that recounts the exploits of an 18th century Irish adventurer is loosely based on a novel of William Makepeace Thackeray?
Barry Lyndon
Ryan O'Neal stars as the title character. Although the film was only a modest commercial success at the time, and had a mixed critical reception, in recent years it has come to be regarded not only as one of Kubrick's finest films, but also as a classic of world cinema.
Spoiler alert. Skip this question if you haven't seen The Shawshank Redemption.
In the climax of that movie, which bombshell's poster does warden Norton rip to reveal the secret behind the escape of Andy Dufresne?
Raquel Welch
Andy Dufresne first starts his task when he has the poster of Rita Hayworth on his cell wall.
Which 1985 film starring Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and John Candy has a cult following among many generations of Peace Corps personnel?
Volunteers
When he won an Oscar for Philadelphia, Tom Hanks gave a speech thanking two people and inspired the 1997 comedy In and Out. What is the missing word in the following excerpt from the speech?
"... two of the finest ___ Americans, two wonderful men that I had the good fortune to be associated with ..."
"gay"
Burkittsville in Maryland, USA gained notoriety in 1999 after the release of which 'fake real' film that supposedly took place there?
The Blair Witch Project
Contrary to popular belief, however, the majority of the film was not filmed in Burkittsville, and the events depicted in the film and the legend of the Blair Witch itself were entirely fabricated by the producers themselves. The majority of the film was shot in the state of Virginia, with parts filmed in Maryland.
What chilling 1968 film is set almost entirely in Bramford apartment building in New York City?
Rosemary's Baby
Outside shots of the movie's Bramford apartment building were in fact The Dakota, the future home of the main lead Mia Farrow's friend John Lennon, and his wife and son, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon. Director Roman Polanski filmed the exteriors at the Dakota; however, the interiors were created in a Hollywood soundstage. The building does not allow filming inside.
Tataouine in Tunisia was the setting for many scenes in the movies of which blockbuster franchise?
Star Wars franchise
Four of the Star Wars films (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope) were partly filmed here. George Lucas notably usef the name 'Tatooine' for the home planet of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker.
Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue was the inspiration for the character of Miranda Priestly in which surprise hit of 2006 set in the world of fashion?
The Devil Wears Prada (the character of Miranda Priestly was played by Meryl Streep)
Although the movie is set in the fashion world, most designers and other fashion notables avoided appearing as themselves for fear of arousing the wrath of the powerful Anna Wintour. Wintour later overcame her initial skepticism, saying she liked the film and Streep in particular.
What 2000 film tells the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for the Rolling Stone magazine while covering the rock band Stillwater?
Almost Famous
It was written and directed by Cameron Crowe. The film is semi-autobiographical, as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone. The film is based on Crowe's experiences touring with rock bands The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
You may be one if you know this answer! What is the only Hitchcock film to be remade by himself?
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The remake is in colour and stars Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day. Hitchcock considered his remake to be superior, saying that the 1934 version was the work of a talented amateur, while the 1956 version was the work of a professional.
Who are Kambei Shimada, Katsushiro Okamoto, Gorobei Katayama, Shichiroji, Kyuzo, Heihachi Hayashida, and Kikuchiyo? Confused? Count em'!
The samurai in The Seven Samurai
It is usually regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, and is one of a select few Japanese films to become widely known in the West for an extended period of time. It follows the story of a village of farmers that hire seven masterless samurai warriors to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops.
Which epic 1960s film is unique in the sense that the only female featured in the entire film is a camel named Gladys?
Lawrence of Arabia
It is unique in being the only film to win the Best Film award without containing a single female speaking role.
In which award winning 1990 movie is much of the dialog in the Lakota language?
Dances With Wolves
It is a 1990 epic film which tells the story of a United States cavalry officer in the 1860s who befriends a band of Sioux, sacrificing his career and ties to his own people.
Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming, USA features prominently in which landmark 1977 science fiction film?
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Tribes including the Arapaho, Crow, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Lakota, and Shoshone have had cultural and geographical ties to the monolith long before European and early American immigrants reached Wyoming.
During her state visit to Beijing in the 1980s, Queen Elizabeth II was unable to visit the Forbidden City because of a specific reason. Why?
The Last Emperor was being shot there and the production was given priority over the queen by the Chinese authorities.