Deck 12: Historical changes in film art: conventions and choices, tradition and trends

Question 1

Citizen Kane (1941) reflects the trend toward a(n) ______ style of cinematography, which developed in the late 1930s.

A) iris in/iris out
B) long-shot
C) rack-focusing
D) deep-focus

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT one of the typical characteristics of French Impressionist films?

A) little external action
B) a large cast
C) love triangles were common
D) use of superimposition and rhythmic editing

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following factors did NOT contribute to the decline of German Expressionism?

A) increasing competition from foreign films
B) the departure of actors and directors to Hollywood
C) increasingly high film budgets that led to financial problems
D) censorship imposed by the Nazis

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following does NOT characterize American filmmaking in the 1910s, as exemplified by Cecil B.De Mille's The Cheat?

A) Studios used artificial lighting instead of mixed daylight and electric light.
B) Classical continuity had been established, and patterns of narrative were linear.
C) Filmmaking was highly subjective and used distortion of images to represent emotional states.
D) The system of staging, shooting, and editing was developing and becoming standardized.

Question 5

Expressionism, Impressionism, and Surrealism were all finished as film movements by about

A) 1920.
B) 1925.
C) 1930.
D) 1935.

Question 6

Louis and Auguste Lumière

A) developed a peep-show machine, the Kinetoscope, for exhibiting early short films.
B) analyzed animals' movements using an early cinema camera of their own invention.
C) held one of the earliest public presentations of films projected on a screen.
D) were assistants to Thomas A. Edison and invented the first film camera.

Question 7

Which of the following was NOT among the earliest early pioneers of film?

A) Étienne-Jules Marey
B) Eadweard Muybridge
C) François Truffaut
D) Jules Marey

Question 8

People today have difficulty understanding older films primarily because those films

A) operate according to different conventions.
B) are not as visually stunning as modern movies.
C) involve plots that do not appeal to contemporary sensibilities.
D) have in many cases been damaged by time and poor care.

Question 9

Which of the following statements about the introduction of synchronized sound in the late 1920s is NOT correct?

A) Though The Jazz Singer (1927) is sometimes referred to as the first talkie, Don Juan (1926) had some prerecorded sound.
B) Fierce competition between film companies such as MGM and Warner Bros. delayed the industry-wide adoption of sound.
C) At first, sound actually represented a setback from the silent era, with its rich visual storytelling.
D) Early in the sound era, cameras and microphones could not be moved easily, and this made for static scenes and staging.

Question 10

Which of the following was NOT one of the earliest feature films?

A) A Trip to the Moon by Georges Méliès
B) The Great Train Robbery by Edwin S. Porter
C) Rescued by Rover by Lewin Fitzhamon
D) The Black Maria by Thomas Edison

Question 11

The most significant technological development in film during the 1930s was the

A) introduction of synchronized sound filmmaking.
B) creation of large-scale sets for filming epics.
C) widespread availability of color film stocks.
D) development of dollies and tracking mechanisms.

Question 12

The film movement that emphasized bizarre and evocative imagery while attacking traditional notions of causality and coherence was known as

A) Impressionism.
B) Expressionism.
C) Surrealism.
D) Dadaism.

Question 13

The movement known as Neorealism emerged in ______ after World War II.

A) Italy
B) France
C) Germany
D) Great Britain

Question 14

Which of the following does NOT characterize German Expressionism?

A) emphasis on cinematography and editing
B) distorted, exaggerated shapes
C) All elements of the mise-en-scene interact graphically.
D) Actors wore heavy makeup and moved in unusual ways.

Question 15

Which of the following does NOT characterize the American film business in the 1910s and 1920s?

A) Most film companies relocated to California.
B) American companies faced heavy competition from European firms.
C) Smaller film companies merged to form larger ones.
D) The pattern for the next few decades was established.

Question 16

Which of the following was a serious problem faced by the Soviet film industry after the 1917 Revolution?

A) shortages of film equipment and raw stock
B) the shutdown of the State School of Cinema Art
C) the New Economic Policy, which caused the economy to stagnate
D) Lenin's view that cinema was the least important of the arts

Question 17

One cinematic genre that flourished in the 1930s as a result of recent technological developments in filmmaking was the

A) musical.
B) Western.
C) crime thriller.
D) romantic comedy.

Question 18

Directors in the Soviet Montage movement put the greatest emphasis on

A) mise-en-scene.
B) storytelling.
C) cinematography.
D) editing.

Question 19

The most important change that occurred in Hollywood during the late 1920s was the

A) development of the studio system.
B) arrival of synchronized sound filmmaking.
C) consolidation of film companies.
D) introduction of color film.

Question 20

In modern times, the types of films that most resemble the earliest films are

A) music videos.
B) amateur videos on YouTube.
C) videos shot on cell phones.
D) TV commercials.

Question 21

The Soviet Montage movement emphasized individual personalities by using actors with very distinctive appearances and mannerisms.

Question 22

A major turning point in Hollywood history occurred in 1968 with the

A) dissolution of the studio system.
B) birth of the modern blockbuster.
C) establishment of the film ratings system.
D) advent of the "film brat" movement.

Question 23

During the 1980s and early 1990s, a great number of innovative directors and films emerged from

A) Hong Kong.
B) Paris.
C) Tokyo.
D) Singapore.

Question 24

A "tentpole" film is one that

A) attracts enormous critical and popular attention.
B) features a large amount of special effects.
C) makes enough money to shelter other, smaller pictures.
D) exerts a wide appeal across demographic boundaries.

Question 25

Which of the following did NOT contribute to the rise of independent filmmaking in the 1980s?

A) studios' loss of faith in auteurs' blockbusters
B) the growth of home video and cable television
C) the low costs involved
D) studios' decision to invest in independent film.

Question 26

In contrast to traditions, shorter-lived trends in film are known as movements.

Question 27

Thomas Edison was quick to understand that movies would one day be a big business.

Question 28

Which of the following does NOT accurately characterize the state of the American film industry during the period from World War II to about 1970?

A) The rise of television hurt the film industry.
B) Despite challenges, the studio system remained in place.
C) New technologies, such as widescreen and stereophonic sound, appeared.
D) A number of big-budget films failed at the box office.

Question 29

Among the major factors that contributed to the decline of the French New Wave in the late 1950s was the

A) spread of television.
B) apathy of the French government.
C) rise of other film traditions.
D) failure to attract an international following.

Question 30

Which of the following traits is NOT typical of French New Wave films?

A) casual humor and references to other films
B) many tracking, panning, and handheld camera movements
C) shooting in real buildings using available light
D) frequent criticism of the French government

Question 31

Unlike the Soviet Montage filmmakers of the 1920s, the Italian Neorealists were

A) opponents of Communism and defenders of liberal Western democracy.
B) experienced filmmakers who had studied Hollywood and European film traditions.
C) dedicated to experimentation and innovation in editing.
D) inclined to use highly subjective styles, including distorted imagery.

Question 32

The most important Surrealist films of the 1920s were made in England.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT a typical trait of Italian Neorealism?

A) mixing of professional actors with nonactors
B) loosely constructed narratives with ambiguity and open endings
C) use of the three-point lighting system on location
D) shooting scenes silent and postsynchronizing the sound

Question 34

By the late 1910s the Hollywood studio system had come into existence.

Question 35

The kinds of movies that saved Hollywood in the 1970s are known as

A) exploitation films.
B) extravaganzas.
C) independent films.
D) blockbusters.

Question 36

The French Impressionist filmmakers worked largely within the mainstream commercial film industry.

Question 37

The young directors of the French New Wave

A) were deeply opposed to classical Hollywood cinema.
B) studied under older French filmmakers and worked their way up in the studios.
C) borrowed money to make short films and features using location shooting.
D) formed a filmmaking cooperative, the "Société des Auteurs."

Question 38

Most of the "movie brats" who emerged in the early 1970s had

A) gone to film school, where they studied film traditions.
B) come up through the ranks of the studio system.
C) gone into the business without any knowledge of filmmaking.
D) come out of a strong Surrealist tradition.

Question 39

Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Last Picture Show (1972), and a number of works directed by John Cassavetes have in common the fact that they were

A) major box-office successes that rejuvenated a flagging business.
B) anti-blockbusters, featuring ordinary people with ordinary lives.
C) made in an attempt to protest American foreign policy.
D) all shot by cinematographer László Kovács.

Question 40

The Cabinet of Caligari was a commercial success that helped popularize German Expressionism in the early 1920s.

Question 41

From the beginning, the French film industry was hostile to the New Wave and eventually contributed to its decline.

Question 42

Select any film from the United States produced in the last 25 years and trace the significant influences from previous historical movements or influences from international works.

Question 43

The introduction of sound and color radically changed the classical Hollywood approach to constructing narratives.

Question 44

Many writers believe that cinema actually benefited from the fact that it emerged as an art form before the development of synchronized sound filmmaking.

Question 45

Virtually all the Italian Neorealist directors were young film critics who made their first films just after World War II.

Question 46

Cite at least two ways in which [film title] exemplifies the [film history section] movement.Give specific examples from the film and from the discussion of [film movement] in lecture and in Film Art.

Question 47

French New Wave films continued the experimentation with plot construction begun by the Italian Neorealists.

Question 48

The most famous graduate of the Hong Kong studio system was Bruce Lee.

Question 49

The greater levels of light needed for Technicolor, introduced in the 1930s, permitted filmmakers to experiment with deep-focus shots in black and white.

Question 50

American blockbusters in the 1970s included few major established stars.

Question 51

What does a film movement consist of? Give two specific examples from Film Art, lectures, and films seen in class.