Deck 10: Film History

Question 1

Who is credited with advancing the development of the narrative film and the production of the first "Western"?

A) Thomas Edison
B) Georges Méliès
C) Edwin S. Porter
D) Louis Lumière
E) G. A. Smith

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The most important and stylistically influential director during the early years of Hollywood filmmaking was

A) Edwin S. Porter.
B) D. W. Griffith.
C) Erich von Stroheim.
D) King Vidor.
E) Alice Guy Blaché.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The four traditional approaches to film history are

A) aesthetic, technological, economic, and social.
B) technological, historical, financial, and international.
C) pre-cinema, aesthetic, neo-cinema, and contemporary.
D) geographical, social, cultural, and political.
E) domestic, international, technological, and social.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

By drastically reducing ________, gelatin-covered paper made it possible for photographers to capture action spontaneously.

A) copper
B) sunlight
C) exposure time
D) hyposulfite thiosulfate
E) the thickness of glass film

Question 5

A device that projects an exterior image onto one side of a darkened room is called a

A) lens.
B) camera obscura.
C) glass-plate.
D) heliograph.
E) silhouette projector.

Question 6

The development of ________ served as the bridge between still photography and cinematography.

A) series photography
B) motion capture cameras
C) gelatin emulsion
D) negative projection
E) heliography

Question 7

German expressionist film reflected an atmosphere of ________ in post-World War I Germany.

A) despair and self-reflection
B) national pride
C) fascism
D) revolution
E) cynicism, alienation, and disillusionment

Question 8

Although a commercial and groundbreaking success, why did The Birth of a Nation (1915) spark nationwide controversy upon its release?

A) It was the longest film ever produced.
B) It was the most expensive film ever produced.
C) It featured a graphic reenactment of Lincoln's assassination.
D) Its content was overtly racist.
E) It "borrowed" cinematic techniques developed by other filmmakers.

Question 9

The classical Hollywood style is built upon the principle of

A) parallel action.
B) cinematic innovation.
C) discontinuity.
D) invisibility.
E) genre pictures.

Question 10

A term synonymous with the aesthetic approach to film history is the

A) artistic approach.
B) narrative approach.
C) masterpiece approach.
D) great director.
E) auteur approach.

Question 11

Not only could the Cinématographe operate as a motion picture camera and film printer, it also served as

A) a film studio.
B) a projector.
C) a sound recorder.
D) an editor.
E) a peephole viewer.

Question 12

Which film genre was most notably influenced by German expressionism?

A) sci-fi
B) melodrama
C) screwball
D) film noir
E) musical

Question 13

William Henry Fox Talbot's greatest contribution to photography was

A) glass-plate negatives.
B) fixing an image on transparent material.
C) mass production of photoreactive chemicals.
D) the photosensitive copper plate.
E) the camera lens.

Question 14

The transition from short films to feature-length movies led to an emphasis on the quality of

A) mise-en-scène, cinematography, acting, and editing.
B) movie stars and complex narratives.
C) the structure of the screenplay.
D) movie palaces and early sound systems.
E) the characters' dialogue.

Question 15

Of all the arts, cinema seems to rely most heavily on

A) cultural influences.
B) artistic movements.
C) changing social attitudes.
D) marketing.
E) technology.

Question 16

In addition to differences in narrative, what distinguishes Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (1922) from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)?

A) natural light versus artificial light
B) long takes versus rapid cuts
C) still versus moving cameras
D) stylized versus naturalistic acting
E) cinematic effects versus graphic effects

Question 17

In addition to studying the studio system, historians who take the economic approach toward the film industry also take into account

A) censorship and the rating system.
B) on-screen stereotypes.
C) directors and genres.
D) lighting styles.
E) screenwriters.

Question 18

The ________ was the first motion picture camera.

A) fusil photographique
B) Cinématographe
C) Kinetoscope
D) magic lantern
E) Kinetograph

Question 19

The films of French magician and filmmaker Georges Méliès are best known for their innovative use of

A) color film.
B) crosscutting.
C) close-ups.
D) special effects.
E) flashbacks.

Question 20

The social approach to film history attempts to establish a link between motion pictures and

A) technology and science.
B) the global marketplace.
C) character development.
D) government, religion, and labor.
E) financial and critical success.

Question 21

Why do Jean-Luc Godard's French New Wave films from the early 1960s still look modern to today's audiences?

A) He used advanced motion picture cameras.
B) French New Wave techniques are still used by contemporary filmmakers.
C) Many of the films' subjects remain topical.
D) He used highly sensitive color film stock.
E) Actors were trained in a naturalistic style.

Question 22

Which dreamlike French avant-garde film was created by Spanish artists Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí?

A) Ballet mécanique (1924)
B) The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)
C) An Andalusian Dog (1929)
D) The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928)
E) Viridiana (1961)

Question 23

One of the driving forces behind the emergence of the French New Wave movement was ________, which seeks to make individuals more responsible for their actions.

A) naturalism
B) nihilism
C) expressionism
D) surrealism
E) existentialism

Question 24

The intent of dada and surrealism is to shock the viewer with the ________ juxtapositions of images.

A) predictable
B) conventional
C) unexpected
D) seamless
E) logical

Question 25

Which first-time filmmaker created a masterpiece that broke many of the cinematic conventions of Hollywood's golden age?

A) Victor Fleming
B) Alfred E. Green
C) Alan Crosland
D) Orson Welles
E) Bryan Foy

Question 26

Which Soviet filmmaker is considered as important and innovative as D. W. Griffith?

A) Lev Kuleshov
B) Sergei Eisenstein
C) Dziga Vertov
D) Vsevolod I. Pudovkin
E) Konstantin Stanislavsky

Question 27

Which famous director in 1931 failed to complete Que Viva México, an epic account of Mexico's history, leaving a large Marxist influence on subsequent Mexican cinema?

A) D. W. Griffith
B) Sergei Eisenstein
C) Orson Welles
D) Josef von Sternberg
E) Germaine Dulac

Question 28

French New Wave filmmaker Claude Chabrol studied the films of what Hollywood director to learn the effect of suspense?

A) Alfred Hitchcock
B) Orson Welles
C) Howard Hawks
D) Fritz Lang
E) John Ford

Question 29

How did the Italian government influence the decline of Italian neorealism?

A) It reduced taxes on foreign movies.
B) It subsidized Hollywood films.
C) It encouraged the proliferation of foreign films.
D) It subsidized domestic films that focused on postwar Italy's prosperity.
E) It banned movies that were critical of the government.

Question 30

Italian neorealist films used actual locations, natural lighting, deep-space cinematography, and ________ to maintain an air of realism.

A) complex working methods
B) nonprofessional actors
C) short takes
D) storylines about the upper class
E) Italian cinematic conventions

Question 31

In 1934, Joseph Breen became the head of the ________, which was created in 1934 by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) to self-regulate movie content.

A) Hays Office
B) Production Code Administration
C) New York State Censorship Board
D) Motion Picture Association of America
E) Studio Censorship Bureau

Question 32

Cinematographer Gregg Toland achieved a high degree of cinematic realism in Citizen Kane (1941) through the use of lighting, deep-space composition, and

A) framing.
B) editing.
C) deep-focus cinematography.
D) location-shooting.
E) soft focus.

Question 33

What element of filmmaking does Truffaut's adoration of such directors as Jean Renoir, Alfred Hitchcock, and Orson Welles seem to negate?

A) dialogue
B) collaboration
C) lighting
D) mise-en-scène
E) acting

Question 34

The Jazz Singer (1927) is historically significant because it featured several scenes with

A) slow motion.
B) montage.
C) synchronous dialogue.
D) a musical score.
E) color.

Question 35

Many films of the 1920s French avant-garde movement emphasized ________, which is based on the idea that a person's fate is determined by heredity and environment.

A) naturalism
B) free will
C) surrealism
D) Marxism
E) radicalism

Question 36

Which film by Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein is considered his most influential and important?

A) Battleship Potemkin (1925)
B) Alexander Nevsky (1938)
C) Mother (1926)
D) Strike (1925)
E) Que Viva México (1930-1932)

Question 37

What historical event led to the revitalization of Italian cinema and the emergence of the Italian neorealism movement?

A) the defeat and eventual execution of Benito Mussolini
B) the commercial success of Italian films during World War II
C) the founding of an Italian national film school
D) the artistic superiority of French films
E) the proliferation of large and lavish Italian production facilities

Question 38

French filmmaker Alexandre Astruc's insistence that directors use the camera as personally as a novelist uses a pen was the inspiration for what eventually became

A) montage.
B) French expressionism.
C) the auteur theory.
D) kino-pravda.
E) poetic realism.

Question 39

The power of montage, as expressed by Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s, lies in its ability to

A) create a seamless narrative.
B) internalize a character's troubled emotions.
C) elicit subjective point of view.
D) manipulate the viewer's perception and understanding.
E) confuse the viewer.

Question 40

Why would the original release of Baby Face (1933) have run into problems with the Breen Office had it been released after July 1, 1934?

A) It featured scenes of excessive violence.
B) its negative depiction of religion
C) The female protagonist was a stereotype.
D) It featured nudity.
E) the overt sexual behavior of its female protagonist

Question 41

Inspired by the Free Cinema movement, ________ was the first major British film to explore homosexuality in contemporary English society.

A) Victim (1961)
B) Room at the Top (1959)
C) We Are the Lambeth Boys (1958)
D) The Servant (1963)
E) Kes (1969)

Question 42

Which movie is considered the masterpiece of the Italian neorealism movement?

A) Luchino Visconti's Ossessione (1943)
B) Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945)
C) Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine (1946)
D) Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thieves (1948)
E) Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's L'Enfant (2005)

Question 43

Following the death of Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong in 1976, films of the People's Republic of China have

A) adhered more closely to communist ideology.
B) taken on traditionally taboo subjects.
C) directly challenged authority.
D) featured action-driven plots with an emphasis on martial arts.
E) focused less on individuals and more on the community.

Question 44

What effect did the reception of Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise (1984) have on independent film production?

A) It made it more difficult for independent films to find audiences.
B) It diverted financing from studio pictures.
C) It ushered in an era of minimalist films.
D) It revitalized the foreign film market in the united states.
E) It encouraged independent film production.

Question 45

If a socially provocative film produced in Chennai, India, is successful with audiences in southern India, why might it never find success with Mumbai audiences in the north?

A) The Indian distribution system is too restrictive.
B) Mumbai audiences are not interested in Indian cinema.
C) Mumbai audiences speak a different dialect and prefer Bollywood-produced musicals.
D) Regional censorship boards may ban it.
E) The storylines may be too complex for Mumbai audiences.

Question 46

Free Cinema, Dogme 95, Das neue Kino, and other new wave movements sought to break from cinematic conventions, revitalize filmmaking, and

A) increase profits.
B) reduce the influence of the director.
C) nationalize filmmaking.
D) explore cinema as a subject in itself.
E) shock audiences.

Question 47

A pre-sound era consisting of experiments with cinematic technique and subject matter, followed by a golden age of popular filmmaking that lapses into the state-funded production of sociopolitical film is a historical pattern largely applicable to what cinema region?

A) Latin America
B) Middle East and North Africa
C) United States and Canada
D) Germany and Austria
E) China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Question 48

Which of the following was NOT a requirement for Danish filmmakers who agreed to "The Vow of Chastity"?

A) All shooting must take place on location.
B) No use of flashbacks is allowed.
C) Plots must never revolve around murder.
D) The camera must remain stationary.
E) The film must be shot on Academy 35mm color film stock.

Question 49

Prior to 1990, East German film production remained under the control of

A) West Germany.
B) the Soviet Union.
C) Hollywood studios.
D) France.
E) Great Britain.

Question 50

How did independent movie producers of the 1960s, looking to hire film artists, benefit from the collapse of the studio system?

A) They were able to hire artists from anywhere in the world.
B) Artists' salaries were more affordable.
C) Competition from television created a labor surplus.
D) Audiences shied away from studio pictures.
E) Independent financing became less complex.

Question 51

Although Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, and Satyajit Ray are all Bengalese filmmakers with international success, what distinguishes Ghatak's and Sen's films from Ray's?

A) Their works are not considered part of the "new Indian cinema."
B) Their films focus on the individual over the political.
C) Their films reflect their political views.
D) Their films avoid socially provocative subjects.
E) Their films were not accepted by Western audiences.

Question 52

Filmmaking that seeks to express the identity of the filmmaker's country is called a ________ cinema.

A) new wave
B) political
C) patriotic
D) cultural
E) national

Question 53

The formal characteristics of wuxia and kung fu styles of Hong Kong filmmaking include spectacular studio settings and

A) disjointed editing techniques.
B) foreign-born actors.
C) naturalistic lighting.
D) desaturated color palette.
E) static imagery.

Question 54

The founders of the Das neue Kino movement believed that revitalization of the German cinema required recognizing both the divisive effects of Germany's Nazi past and

A) German nationalism.
B) French avant-garde cinema.
C) the importance of East German filmmakers.
D) commercial exploitation.
E) postwar Germany as a divided country.

Question 55

The framing, lighting, and experimental use of color utilized by emerging cinematographers of the New American Cinema were drawn from ________ filmmaking techniques.

A) classic Hollywood
B) naturalistic
C) French New Wave
D) European
E) Soviet

Question 56

Many of the new wave movements pursued by postwar European filmmakers stressed

A) continuity in editing.
B) Hollywood filmmaking styles.
C) social realism.
D) psychological truth.
E) complex political ideology.

Question 57

Hong Kong director John Woo's carefully choreographed scenes of violent action were inspired by the violent films of

A) Orson Welles.
B) John Ford and Howard Hawks.
C) the Wachowskis.
D) Jean-Luc Godard.
E) Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah.

Question 58

Which Italian neorealist film directly inspired Satyajit Ray to make the Apu Trilogy, a series of films that chronicles the everyday life of an Indian family?

A) Umberto (1952)
B) The Bicycle Thieves (1948)
C) Ossessione (1943)
D) Rome, Open City (1945)
E) Shoeshine (1946)

Question 59

Which Taiwanese director has had success in both his native country and Hollywood?

A) Hsaio-hsien Hou
B) Edward Yang
C) Tsai Ming-liang
D) Ang Lee
E) Stan Lai

Question 60

Films of Japan's Nuberu Bagu movement include what two notable characteristics?

A) romance and murder
B) humor and self-reflection
C) brutality and nihilism
D) violence and comedy
E) nationalism and black and white imagery

Question 61

Explain the factors and changes that transformed Hollywood in the postwar period and brought about the New American Cinema.

Question 62

What was the intended purpose of the Oberhausen Manifesto, and how did it ultimately contribute to the rebirth of German cinema?

Question 63

Which Japanese film features four different points of view and is credited with the birth of Japan's golden age of cinema?

A) The Life of Oharu (1952)
B) Seven Samurai (1954)
C) Rashomon (1950)
D) Ikuru (1952)
E) Late Spring (1954)

Question 64

How did D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) influence the evolution of the feature film and help develop "classical Hollywood cinema"?

Question 65

Why did most films produced during Hollywood's golden age lack the cinematic innovations that swept Europe?

Question 66

Although new wave movements of the postwar era embraced freedom of expression by breaking from cinematic conventions, why does the Danish Dogme 95 movement seem more restrictive than other movements of the period?

Question 67

Explain the similarities and differences between aesthetic and economic approaches to studying film history?

Question 68

What are the key stylistic characteristics of the highly influential yet short-lived Italian neorealism film movement?

Question 69

In addition to movies, what other artifacts might film historians use in their research?

Question 70

Why is Breathless (1960) by Jean-Luc Godard considered a definitive catalog of the French New Wave movement that reinforces auteur theory?

Question 71

What key factors led to the demise of the German expressionistic film movement?

Question 72

Describe the basic components of Thomas Edison's Black Maria, considered the first motion picture studio.

Question 73

With the exception of Satyajit Ray and a few others, many of India's filmmakers remain virtually unknown in the United States. What is it about Ray and his work that brings international recognition and sets it apart from the works of lesser-known Indian filmmakers?

Question 74

In what ways does Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) reflect Japanese culture, tradition, and attitudes?

Question 75

Citing the works of Thomas Edison, William Laurie Dickson, and others, explain how historic milestones such as the invention of movies are seldom the result of a single inventor or development.

Question 76

Explain what Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein meant by "montage of attractions" and how this approach differed from the classical Hollywood style.