Deck 11: Historical Changes in Film Art

Question 1

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

A)1910.
B)1920.
C)1930.
D)1940.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Directors in the Soviet Montage movement put the greatest emphasis and priority on

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

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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

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

Answer 3

C

Question 4

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 where the lawsuits were resolved.
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 5

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 6

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 7

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

Question 8

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 9

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

A)lift on the ban by MPAA to show intimacy on screen.
B)arrival of synchronized sound filmmaking.
C)consolidation of film companies into only three studios.
D)introduction of color film.

Question 10

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

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

Question 11

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 (NEP),which caused the economy to stagnate
D)Lenin's view that cinema was the least important of the arts

Question 12

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

A)music videos.
B)amateur videos posted on YouTube.
C)television commercials.
D)All of the answer choices are correct.

Question 13

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 14

People today have difficulty understanding older films most often because those films

A)operate according to different conventions.
B)are not as visually well-crafted as modern movies.
C)involve romantic plots that do not appeal to contemporary sensibilities.
D)lack action sequences and are very slow paced.

Question 15

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

Question 16

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 17

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

A)Intimate psychological and subjective narratives
B)Loud action sequences,such as sword fights,to propel the narrative
C)Love triangles among a small cast of characters
D)Use of superimposition and rhythmic editing to evoke thoughts and moods

Question 18

Which of the following does NOT characterize German Expressionism?

A)Emphasis on creative 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 19

Louis and Auguste Lumière A.Edison and invented the Kinetoscope.

A)developed a peep-show machine for exhibiting bawdy short films.
B)used the Black Maria studio to capture and analyze animals' movements using glass plates of film.
C)held one of the earliest public presentations of films projected on a screen in Paris in 1895.
D)were assistants to Thomas

Question 20

Which of the following does NOT characterize American filmmaking in the mid-1910s,as exemplified by Cecil B.De Mille's The Cheat (1915)?

A)Glass-roofed studios that used natural light were related with closed studios with artificial light.
B)Classical continuity edited 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 21

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

Question 22

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

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

If a film is called a "tentpole," it means that the film

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

Question 25

The French Impressionist filmmakers made films that were focused on emotions,perceptions,experience,and moods.

Question 26

Which of the following contributed 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)All of the answer choices are correct.

Question 27

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

Question 28

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

Question 29

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

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

Question 30

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

Question 31

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

A)opponents of filming outside the studio and wanted to craft intricate realistic sets.
B)experienced filmmakers who had studied Hollywood and European film traditions and knew each other.
C)dedicated to experimentation and innovation in editing,but worried about censorship by the Italian government under Mussolini.
D)inclined to use highly subjective styles,reminiscent of Impressionism,including distorted imagery.

Question 32

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 33

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)resentment of the French government.
C)rise of Neorealism.
D)failure of directors to help one another absorb financial risk.

Question 34

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 caused audiences not go to the movies as much.
B)Despite challenges,the Hollywood studio system remained firmly in place.
C)New technologies,such as widescreen and stereophonic sound,appeared.
D)Few films yielded huge profits and the film industry declined.

Question 35

The young directors of the French New Wave

A)were deeply opposed to classical Hollywood cinema due to its lack of artistry.
B)studied under older French filmmakers and worked their way up through the studios.
C)borrowed money to make short films and features using location shooting.
D)formed a filmmaking cooperative,the "Société des Auteurs" that approved films for quality before release.

Question 36

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 MPAA film ratings system.
D)advent of the "film brat" movement.

Question 37

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 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

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

Question 40

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 41

Where does the film noir style fit into American filmmaking history? Discuss what new techniques developed in the 1930s were used later in film noir style films.

Question 42

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

Question 43

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

Question 44

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

Question 45

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

Question 46

Technicolor in the 1930s required lots of light on set which is provided by powerful lighting units.This addition of more light then permitted filmmakers to experiment with deep-focus shots in black and white.

Question 47

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

Question 48

Many scholars believe that cinema actually benefited from the fact that it emerged as a solely visual art form before the development of synchronized sound filmmaking.

Question 49

Discuss the current relationship between Hollywood and independent filmmakers.Consider the current role of tentpole films,star-driven comedies,film festivals,genre projects,prestige pictures,blockbusters,"Oscar bait" films,and Mumblecore.How do these kinds of films all work together to form the current state of the film industry? What are the main factors that influence the industry today?

Question 50

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

Question 51

Bruce Lee was an American that moved to Hong Kong to make martial arts films.

Question 52

In the 2000s we've seen a climate that discourages innovation in theatrical releases due largely to the increase of video on demand.How might this shift explain the jump in films being released in 3D,the move to remaking older films,the increase in animation,and the reliance on sequels/franchises such as Despicable Me,Spider-Man,The Fast and the Furious,and Hunger Games? What intersection do you see between the shift in filmmaking and the increase of cable television serials such as Game of Thrones,Downton Abbey,The Wire,and Breaking Bad?