Ultimate Questions On Film: Trivia Quiz!

1. This film was updated as You've Got Mail in 1998.

Gigi

Carmen Jones

The Shop Around the Corner

Imitation of Life

Explanation

2. This is both the most expensive and the highest-grossing black-and-white film ever made.

Raging Bull

Metropolis

Doctor Strangelove

Schindler's List

(Cost and gross adjusted for inflation.)

Explanation

(Cost and gross adjusted for inflation.)

3. This non-silent film includes 88 minutes that are completely dialogue-free.

The Deer Hunter

All Quiet on the Western Front

City Lights

2001: A Space Odyssey

I'm sorry, Dave ...

Explanation

I'm sorry, Dave ...

4. Comedian and social critic Richard Pryor has a National Film Registry credit as a screenwriter. Which of the following films did he share a writing credit?

The Muppet Movie

Airplane!

Blazing Saddles

The Producers

He shared the credit with Andrew Bergman, Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger.

Explanation

He shared the credit with Andrew Bergman, Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger.

5. Cecille B. DeMille, Hedda Hopper, and Buster Keaton all have cameos in this classic film.

The Thin Man

Sunset Boulevard

The Ten Commandments

Double Indemnity

DeMille and Hopper play themselves; Keaton plays a waxwork playing bridge.

Explanation

DeMille and Hopper play themselves; Keaton plays a waxwork playing bridge.

6. How many Godfather movies have been inducted?

0

1

2

3

All three movies of "The Godfather" series have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. These films are recognized for their cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.

Explanation

All three movies of "The Godfather" series have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. These films are recognized for their cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.

7. This is the highest-grossing western of all time.

Unforgiven

The Searchers

The Man who Shot Liberty Valance

Dances with Wolves

With Kevin Costner, Graham Greene, and Mary McDonnell.

Explanation

With Kevin Costner, Graham Greene, and Mary McDonnell.

8. Milos Forman was inspired to make this film as realistic as possible after watching Frederick Wiseman's Titticut Follies.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Amadeus

The Hospital

The People vs Larry Flynt

Explanation

9. Insult comedian Don Rickles has one film on the National Film Registry. Which of the following is his film?

Stranger than Paradise

The Producers

Airplane!

Toy Story

He voiced Mr. Potato Head in all of the Toy Story films.

Explanation

He voiced Mr. Potato Head in all of the Toy Story films.

10. This was the first film shown in the White House.

Civilization

Fatty's Tintype Tangle

Birth of a Nation

The Great Train Robbery

President Woodrow Wilson screened the film in the White House in 1915.

Explanation

President Woodrow Wilson screened the film in the White House in 1915.

11. What film is this quote from? "Oh, the humanity."

Hindenburg Disaster Newsreel

Apocalypse Now

M*A*S*H*

Citizen Kane

Herbert Morrison was the Chicago radio reporter who uttered the famous line in his emotional report from the scene.

Explanation

Herbert Morrison was the Chicago radio reporter who uttered the famous line in his emotional report from the scene.

12. This was the first film in major release to use the dolly zoom camera technique.

Rear Window

Vertigo

White Heat

Taxi Driver

Also known as the "Hitchcock zoom" or the "Vertigo zoom," Hitchcock employed it using miniatures.

Explanation

Also known as the "Hitchcock zoom" or the "Vertigo zoom," Hitchcock employed it using miniatures.

13. This film was shot in three weeks, and the director gradually used longer and longer focal lengths to create a feeling of claustrophobia by the climax.

12 Angry Men

Citizen Kane

Halloween

Vertigo

12 Angry Men was directed by Sidney Lumet, released in 1957 and inducted into the Registry in 2007.

Explanation

12 Angry Men was directed by Sidney Lumet, released in 1957 and inducted into the Registry in 2007.

14. It is in this film that Greta Garbo utters the famous line, "I want to be alone."

Ninotchka

Grand Hotel

Queen Christina

Anna Christie

She repeats it, too.

Explanation

She repeats it, too.

15. Which of the follwing was not shot in San Francisco?

D.O.A.

The Hustler

Bullitt

The Conversation

Bullitt's San Francisco car chase scene is a classic.

Explanation

Bullitt's San Francisco car chase scene is a classic.

16. In nearly all of the shots in this film, the action moves left to right, an intentional framework the director used to evoke a sense of a journey.

It's a Wonderful Life

Lawrence of Arabia

Stagecoach

The African Queen

According to the BBC, director David Lean explained this as his reasoning for the technique.

Explanation

According to the BBC, director David Lean explained this as his reasoning for the technique.

17. In creating the climactic scene in Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese borrowed an editing technique from which other Registry inductee?

Psycho

Bonnie & Clyde

Rear Window

The Conversation

Scorsese says he used the shot-list from Psycho to cut the scene together when LaMotta is up against the ropes in the final fight, because he wanted it to be just as horrific.

Explanation

Scorsese says he used the shot-list from Psycho to cut the scene together when LaMotta is up against the ropes in the final fight, because he wanted it to be just as horrific.

18. Which of these seminal African American films was directed by a woman?

Killer of Sheep

Within Our Gates

Daughters of the Dust

Malcolm X

Julie Dash wrote, directed, and produced this independent film about three generations of Gullah women, and is told from the perspective of an unborn child.

Explanation

Julie Dash wrote, directed, and produced this independent film about three generations of Gullah women, and is told from the perspective of an unborn child.

19. Ronald Reagan beat out William Holden and John Wayne for a role in this Registry inductee.

Bedtime for Bonzo

Knute Rockne, All-American

Hellcats of the Navy

The Killers

Explanation

20. This inductee was rejected by the Academy for nomination in the Best Documentary category because portions of the film were scripted reenactments.

The Thin Blue Line

Hoop Dreams

Harlan County, U.S.A.

Why We Fight

Errol Morris's groundbreaking film couldn't have been told without reenactments of a crime, and its investigation, that had happened 12 years earlier.

Explanation

Errol Morris's groundbreaking film couldn't have been told without reenactments of a crime, and its investigation, that had happened 12 years earlier.

21. This is the only case in which two films adapted from the same book were inducted into the National Film Registry.

12 Angry Men

Freaks

Frankenstein

Ben Hur

The 1925 silent version starred Ramon Novarro.

The 1959 version starred Charleston Heston.

Explanation

The 1925 silent version starred Ramon Novarro.

The 1959 version starred Charleston Heston.

22. The iconic footage of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse (also an inductee) appeared in this 1958 experimental film which was inducted in 1994.

Gun Crazy aka Deadly is the Female

Hospital

A Movie

Freaks

Bruce Conner made the film A Movie with found and appropriated footage, and pioneered associative editing with his experimental films. Below, the bridge collapse footage as seen in a newsreel.

Explanation

Bruce Conner made the film A Movie with found and appropriated footage, and pioneered associative editing with his experimental films. Below, the bridge collapse footage as seen in a newsreel.

23. Which classic film is an allegory about the Hollywood blacklist and McCarthy's House Un-American Activities hearings?

Twelve O'Clock High

The Night of the Hunter

Shane

High Noon

John Wayne was known to consider the film anti-American, but collected Gary Cooper's Best Actor Oscar on Cooper's behalf at the Academy Awards that year.

Explanation

John Wayne was known to consider the film anti-American, but collected Gary Cooper's Best Actor Oscar on Cooper's behalf at the Academy Awards that year.

24. The Prison Commission of the State of Georgia brought suit against the producers of this Registry inductee in order to stop filming, alleging that the content of the film was libelous of the state.

I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

Gone with the Wind

Deliverance

Sherman's March

The court ruled in the producers' favor.

Explanation

The court ruled in the producers' favor.

25. This film won the Oscar for Best Picture, but was overshadowed by a streaker crossing the stage just as David Niven was introducing Elizabeth Taylor to present the award.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Godfather II

The Exorcist

The Sting

The streaker's name was Robert Opel, a photographer and gallery owner. Niven famously remarked, "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"

When things calmed down, the Oscar went to The Sting.

Explanation

The streaker's name was Robert Opel, a photographer and gallery owner. Niven famously remarked, "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"

When things calmed down, the Oscar went to The Sting.

26. Which of the following dogs does not have a film on the National Film Registry?

Rin Tin Tin

Benji

Asta

Sirus

Rin Tin Tin has a riveting biography.

Explanation

Rin Tin Tin has a riveting biography.

27. This Registry film portrays violence amid the narcotics trade along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Traffic

Touch of Evil

The Immigrant

Chulas Fronteras

Featuring a 3-minute, continuous tracking crane shot for the ages:

Explanation

Featuring a 3-minute, continuous tracking crane shot for the ages:

28. This gritty inductee released in 1967 includes a scene at a drive-in, where you can see another inductee playing on the screen. What are the two films?

The Graduate and Giant

Bonnie & Clyde and Gold Diggers of 1933

In Cold Blood and Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Cool Hand Luke and The Killers

Violence, sex, and obscure cinema facts!

Explanation

Violence, sex, and obscure cinema facts!

29. Of the following, which year has zero releases represented on the Registry?

1985

1965

1990

1987

We also don't know why this, 1987's biggest grosser, hasn't been immortalized yet.

Explanation

We also don't know why this, 1987's biggest grosser, hasn't been immortalized yet.

30. Don Johnson auditioned for the lead role, which ultimately went to Martin Sheen, in this film.

Kennedy

Apocalypse Now

Badlands

The Believers

A Terrence Malick masterpiece.

Explanation

A Terrence Malick masterpiece.

31. David Letterman and Barry Manilow were originally considered for the protagonist role in this inductee.

Tootsie

National Lampoon's Animal House

Airplane!

Eraserhead

Robert Hays ultimately landed the role as Ted Striker, the shell-shocked former pilot.

Explanation

Robert Hays ultimately landed the role as Ted Striker, the shell-shocked former pilot.

32. Which of these experimental films was made by a medical doctor?

Dog Star Man

The Fall of the House of Usher

Meshes of the Afternoon

The Lead Shoes

Released the same year as Jean Epstein's horror film of the same name, this American version by James Sibley Watson is a short experiment in the avant-garde.

Explanation

Released the same year as Jean Epstein's horror film of the same name, this American version by James Sibley Watson is a short experiment in the avant-garde.

33. Which of these is not a propaganda film?

Why We Fight

Tulips Shall Grow

A Time Out of War

Duck and Cover

A classic George Pal Puppetoon, Tulips Will Grow was a very thinly veiled allegory and statement against the Nazi advance in Europe.

Explanation

A classic George Pal Puppetoon, Tulips Will Grow was a very thinly veiled allegory and statement against the Nazi advance in Europe.

34. Barry Fitzgerald won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in this wartime film.

The Bells of St. Mary's

Going My Way

From Here to Eternity

Laura

Because of wartime metal shortages, Fitzgerald's was one of the plaster Oscars presented that year.

Explanation

Because of wartime metal shortages, Fitzgerald's was one of the plaster Oscars presented that year.

35. Which actress is tied for the most films on the National Film Registry?

Judy Garland

Elizabeth Taylor

Lillian Gish

Mae West

Gish is tied with Katherine Hepburn, Terri Garr, and Joan Blondell with five films on the Registry.

Explanation

Gish is tied with Katherine Hepburn, Terri Garr, and Joan Blondell with five films on the Registry.

36. He is tied for the most credits as a screenwriter in the Registry.

Preston Sturges

Ben Hecht

Billy Wilder

Charlie Chaplin

Chaplin is tied with Ernest Lehman with 5 film writing credits in the Registry.

Explanation

Chaplin is tied with Ernest Lehman with 5 film writing credits in the Registry.

37. Devil's Tower National Monument figures prominently in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and which other Registry film?

North by Northwest

My Darling Clementine

The Great Train Robbery

Once Upon a Time in the West

(Yes that's Francois Truffaut as the French scientist.)

Explanation

(Yes that's Francois Truffaut as the French scientist.)

38. This Registry inductee held the title of the film with the greatest number of Academy Award nominations until Titanic tied it in 1998.

Gone with the Wind

Citizen Kane

Chariots of Fire

All About Eve

Explanation

39. The score for this Registry inductee from the 1940s won the Pulitzer Prize for Composition, the only time film music has ever won a Pulitzer.

Louisiana Story

Jammin' the Blues

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The Ox-Bow Incident

Here's an excerpt, restored by the UCLA FIlm & Television Archive.

Explanation

Here's an excerpt, restored by the UCLA FIlm & Television Archive.

40. This is the earliest surviving film shot by a Native American, although it was produced by the French company Pathé.

Through Navajo Eyes

White Fawn's Devotion

Drums of Winter

Clash of the Wolves

Made in 1910.

Explanation

Made in 1910.

41. This inductee is the shortest film ever to be nominated for a Academy Award for Best Picture.

She Done Him Wrong

To Be or Not to Be

Wings

Tabu

One of the classic pre-Code films in American cinema history.

Explanation

One of the classic pre-Code films in American cinema history.

42. Which of these films in the Registry was not officially "condemned" by the Catholic Legion of Decency?

Dawn of the Dead

Some Like it Hot

All That Jazz

Flesh and the Devil

The Catholic Legion of Decency (later called the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures) was founded in 1933, six years after Flesh and the Devil, starring Greta Garbo, was released.

Explanation

The Catholic Legion of Decency (later called the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures) was founded in 1933, six years after Flesh and the Devil, starring Greta Garbo, was released.

43. Which film features a death by telephone?

Detour

D.O.A.

The Conversation

Goodfellas

In 1972, Director Edgar G. Ulmer said in an interview that the film was shot in six days. It is now in the public domain.

Explanation

In 1972, Director Edgar G. Ulmer said in an interview that the film was shot in six days. It is now in the public domain.

44. Only one of the following films is an inductee. Which is it?

The Times of Harvey Milk

The Castro

Castro Street

Milk

Castro Street is actually a 1966 non-narrative experimental film shot on a street that runs along alongside an oil refinery in Richmond, California.

Explanation

Castro Street is actually a 1966 non-narrative experimental film shot on a street that runs along alongside an oil refinery in Richmond, California.

45. The oldest film inducted into the Registry, this was shot on an experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film at Edison Laboratories in East Orange, New Jersey.

Roundhay Garden Scene

The Horse in Motion

Newark Athelete

Le Voyage dans la Lune

Made in 1891 and inducted in 2010.

Explanation

Made in 1891 and inducted in 2010.

46. Which of the following is not in the National Film Registry?

Quasi at the Quackadero

Porky in Wackyland

Yankee Doodle Daffy

What's Opera, Doc?

George M. Cohan's 1942 picture Yankee Doodle Dandy, however, was inducted.

The surreal Porky in Wackyland, made in 1938, was inducted in 2000.

Explanation

George M. Cohan's 1942 picture Yankee Doodle Dandy, however, was inducted.

The surreal Porky in Wackyland, made in 1938, was inducted in 2000.

47. This film was the first to be described as a "documentary."

In the Land of the Head Hunters

Kannapolis, N.C.

A Trip Down Market Street

Nanook of the North

Explanation

48. Which actor has the most films on the National Film Registry?

Harrison Ford

James Stewart

Ward Bond

John Wayne

Kind of a trick question! Ward Bond is tied with Donald Crisp for the most. Each has 8 in Registry.

Explanation

Kind of a trick question! Ward Bond is tied with Donald Crisp for the most. Each has 8 in Registry.

49. This inductee is thought to be the first American instance of a mockumentary.

David Holzman's Diary

The Rutles

Spinal Tap

Take the Money and Run

Jim McBride's 1967 film purports to be the video diary of a young filmmaker.

Explanation

Jim McBride's 1967 film purports to be the video diary of a young filmmaker.

50. Which of the following adaptations of a Dr. Seuss story was inducted into the Registry?

Gerald McBoing Boing

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins

The Grinch who Stole Christmas

Horton Hears a Who!

The film was adapted by Phil Eastman and Bill Scott from a story by Dr. Seuss, directed by Robert Cannon, and produced by John Hubley. In 1994, it was voted #9 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field, and in 1995 it was inducted into the Registry.

Explanation

The film was adapted by Phil Eastman and Bill Scott from a story by Dr. Seuss, directed by Robert Cannon, and produced by John Hubley. In 1994, it was voted #9 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field, and in 1995 it was inducted into the Registry.