Are you really a Paris Movie Buff?

1. In which movie do we get the following synopsis of the Spanish Civil War? “I wanted to be a dancer. My father was a coal miner. An anarchist. Our house was full of politics all the time, but I was always finding a way to dance. When they declared the Socialist Republic, our house became a hospital. I tried to help, but I didn’t know anything, and people were dying in my arms. Then the soldiers came. I tried to stop them from taking my brother – that’s when they hurt my leg. After that, I knew I could not be a dancer. I wanted to help people, so that’s why I became a nurse. And why I need to go back to my country.”

Casablanca

The Sun Also Rises

Ronin

Head in the Clouds

The speech is actually lifted verbatim from Hemingway’s novel of the same name. No, I was only kidding. It’s from d. Head in the Clouds. Penelope Cruz should have received an Oscar for giving that speech with a straight face.

Explanation

The speech is actually lifted verbatim from Hemingway’s novel of the same name. No, I was only kidding. It’s from d. Head in the Clouds. Penelope Cruz should have received an Oscar for giving that speech with a straight face.

2. They say that every protagonist in every movie about Paris has a room with a view of the Eiffel Tower. This is a gross exaggeration: the Arc de Triomphe and the Sacre Coeur will equally do. As a matter of fact, only one of the following does actually see the Eiffel Tower from the window in his / her flat or hotel room. Which one is it?

Marion Cottilard in La Mome

Melvyn Douglas in Ninotchka

Meg Ryan in French Kiss

Linguini, the young cook, in Ratatouille

Yes, it’s the cook. Meg Ryan in French Kiss fails to spot the Eiffel Tower for the entire length of her stay in Paris – it’s a sort of running joke in the film.

Explanation

Yes, it’s the cook. Meg Ryan in French Kiss fails to spot the Eiffel Tower for the entire length of her stay in Paris – it’s a sort of running joke in the film.

3. An easy one to start off – or is it? Which of the following movies – all set in Paris – won the most Oscars?

Casablanca

An American in Paris

Gigi

Is Paris Burning?

Gigi won 9 Oscars in 1958, beating the previous record of 8 (for Gone With The Wind). Gigi is also one of the very few multi-nominated films to win all Academy Awards for which it had been shortlisted. (An American in Paris won 6 Oscars in 1951.)

Explanation

Gigi won 9 Oscars in 1958, beating the previous record of 8 (for Gone With The Wind). Gigi is also one of the very few multi-nominated films to win all Academy Awards for which it had been shortlisted. (An American in Paris won 6 Oscars in 1951.)

4. Audrey Hepburn probably starred in more “Paris” movies than any other Hollywood actress. Not, however, in Gigi, a movie that appears to have been written with Hepburn in mind. Nevertheless, there is a connection between Hepburn and the movie. Which of the following is it?

She was originally given the role but could not push through with the shoot because she got pregnant.

She was originally given the role but could not push through with the shoot because she fell ill.

She had played the part in the original play on Broadway.

The correct answer is that Audrey Hepburn had played the part in the original play on Broadway. This suggests that although she did not star in the movie adaptation of Gigi, she had prior experience and familiarity with the role.

Explanation

The correct answer is that Audrey Hepburn had played the part in the original play on Broadway. This suggests that although she did not star in the movie adaptation of Gigi, she had prior experience and familiarity with the role.

5. For Hollywood even more than for anybody else, Paris is the city of love. But which of the following screen couples never exchanged a passionate kiss by the banks of the Seine or in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower?

An NBA referee and an airline employee

A US customs officer and an heiress in distress

An American newspaper reporter and a beautiful young princess

A banker and a chauffeur's daughter

That’s Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in what should have been but was not the quintessential Parisian romance. (No prizes for guessing where it was actually shot.) The other movies are: a. Forget Paris (Billy Crystal and Debra Winger), b. Charade (Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn), c. Sabrina (Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond – the 1954 version with Bogey and Hepburn never makes it to Paris and ends on the boat).

Explanation

That’s Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in what should have been but was not the quintessential Parisian romance. (No prizes for guessing where it was actually shot.) The other movies are: a. Forget Paris (Billy Crystal and Debra Winger), b. Charade (Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn), c. Sabrina (Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond – the 1954 version with Bogey and Hepburn never makes it to Paris and ends on the boat).

6. Actresses in musicals must, as a genaral rule, be able to dance and sing. If, however, their singing voices are not quite up to professional standard, there is always a way out. Bearing that in mind: which of the following performances is the odd one out?

Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face

Leslie Caron (Gigi) in Gigi

Eva Gabor (Duchess) in Aristocats

Demi Moore (Esmeralda) in The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Audrey Hepburn’s singing voice is the only one we hear in these four films. But what was good enough for Funny Face, was obviously not good enough for My Fair Lady a few years later where her singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon. (The media storm which ensued when the story broke is said to have cost Hepburn the chance for an Oscar. My Fair Lady won 8, but she was not even nominated.)

Explanation

Audrey Hepburn’s singing voice is the only one we hear in these four films. But what was good enough for Funny Face, was obviously not good enough for My Fair Lady a few years later where her singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon. (The media storm which ensued when the story broke is said to have cost Hepburn the chance for an Oscar. My Fair Lady won 8, but she was not even nominated.)

7. If Audrey Hepburn is the queen, the king of the Paris movie is – disappointingly, perhaps – Kevin Kline. No other actor seems to have impersonated as many different people with a “French connection” over the years. But which one of these performances is the odd one out?

A French Jewel Thief

The Head of Parisian police

A famous American composer

A dashing officer in 15th century Paris

Phoebus in the cartoon version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, a part for which Kline only provided his voice. The other films are a. French Kiss, b. The Pink Panther and c. De-Lovely (as Cole Porter).

Explanation

Phoebus in the cartoon version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, a part for which Kline only provided his voice. The other films are a. French Kiss, b. The Pink Panther and c. De-Lovely (as Cole Porter).

8. In terms of Paris and the movies: which of the following directors is the odd one out?

Ernst Lubitsch

Alfred Hitchcock

Martin Scorsese

Steven Spielberg

Same story: While Hitchcock (Topaz), Scorsese (Age Of Innocence) and Spielberg (Munich) shot at least some of their Parisian scenes on location, Lunitsch’s Ninotchka was entirely made by in the studio.

Explanation

Same story: While Hitchcock (Topaz), Scorsese (Age Of Innocence) and Spielberg (Munich) shot at least some of their Parisian scenes on location, Lunitsch’s Ninotchka was entirely made by in the studio.

9. In terms of Paris and the movies: which of the following actors is the odd one out?

Fred Astaire

Marlon Brando

Gene Kelly

Paul Newman

Fred Astaire (Funny Face), Marlon Brando (The Last Tango in Paris) and Paul Newman (Paris Blues; Mr and Mrs Bridge) all shot their Paris movies on location in Paris while Gene Kelly never left Hollywood for An American in Paris.

Explanation

Fred Astaire (Funny Face), Marlon Brando (The Last Tango in Paris) and Paul Newman (Paris Blues; Mr and Mrs Bridge) all shot their Paris movies on location in Paris while Gene Kelly never left Hollywood for An American in Paris.

10. People who come to Victor Hugo’s novel, having watched the Disney version of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, will be in for a few surprises: there is a lot less singing, for one, the mood is altogether much darker, and there is no happily-ever-after ending either. Disney, meanwhile, took freedoms not only with the novel: the film makers also treated French history with a certain amount of poetic license. Which of the following errors did they commit?

The film is set in 1482 when the actual church of Notre Dame was only about half-way completed.

The original church had no gargoyles – not even ones that could not sing or dance. c. There is a character

There is a character in the film called the Archdeacon, but there is no such office in the Catholic church.

When Gothic architecture became fashionable again, at some stage in the 19th century, Notre Dame Cathedral, having been one of the first churches built in the Gothic style, was felt to be insufficiently medieval and received a facelift. The new features that were added included the large gargoyles on the bell tower.

Explanation

When Gothic architecture became fashionable again, at some stage in the 19th century, Notre Dame Cathedral, having been one of the first churches built in the Gothic style, was felt to be insufficiently medieval and received a facelift. The new features that were added included the large gargoyles on the bell tower.

Are You Really A Paris Movie Buff?