Deck 2: Griffith and His Contemporaries: 19081920

Question 1

Early movies,before Griffith,were considered coarse and distasteful.___

Answer 1

True

Question 2

One of the main detractions of The Birth of a Nation is

A)the realism of its battle scenes.
B)the clear racism demonstrated in the film.
C)melodrama of the ride-to-the rescue climax.
D)Billy Bitzer's camera work/cinematography

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In Intolerance,Griffith used which of the following:

A)near-subliminal,stream-of-consciousness flow.
B)cross cutting,including shots lasting 8 frames.
C)a sort of "crane" shot.
D)all of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is true about Griffith's early camera work?

A)He filmed so that the projected image would move faster than normal.
B)He filmed human subjects up close to intensify emotion.
C)He shot in artificial lighting nearly exclusively.
D)He shot scenes in a completely spontaneous,unrehearsed manner.

Question 5

Who was probably responsible,though uncredited,with creating the Hollywood studio system?

A)William S.Hart
B)Max Sennett
C)Donald MacKenzie
D)Thomas Ince

Question 6

The movies first important comedienne was

A)Marie Dressler.
B)Lucille Ball.
C)Mabel Normand .
D)Mary Pickford.

Question 7

Which form of movie proved a staple of studios for 40 years?

A)sequel
B)noir
C)serial
D)romance

Question 8

All of the following major comedic talents worked for Max Sennett except

A)Buster Keaton.
B)Fatty Arbuckle.
C)Charlie Chaplin.
D)Harold Lloyd.

Question 9

Which of the following editing techniques did Griffith make use of?

A)parallel editing
B)cross cutting
C)both a and b
D)neither a nor b

Question 10

Who,of the following,was Griffith's most expressive female actor?

A)Dorothy Gish
B)Pearl White
C)Lillian Gish
D)Fannie Ward

Question 11

Which of the following companies was not a film leader in the Nickelodeon era?

A)United Artists
B)Biograph
C)Vitagraph
D)Kalem

Question 12

What was one technique that Biograph,as part of the Patents Company group,used to maintain rigid control of the early movie-making industry?

A)It kept the names of the actors in its films secret.
B)It limited the budgets of its directors.
C)It moved its operations to California.
D)None of the above
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Question 13

A director whom Griffith did not "train" was

A)Henry King
B)John Ford
C)Tod Browning
D)Raoul Walsh

Question 14

Early on,unwritten rules required movies be made to look like live theatre as viewed from front row center.___

Question 15

Unlike Sennett,Charlie Chaplin realized

A)nothing transcended character.
B)nothing transcended goof looks.
C)nothing transcended crude,physical humor.
D)nothing transcended editing style.

Question 16

Which Cecil B.De Mille movie was hailed by the French as a breakthrough in mise en scene?

A)Dream Street
B)The Cheat
C)Tumbleweeds
D)none of the above
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Question 17

The serial was a staple of second- and third-run theaters for forty years.___

Question 18

Which of the following is not true about Nickelodeons?

A)They were air conditioned.
B)Their audiences came from the professional and upper classes.
C)They showed full length (over 90 minutes)movies.
D)None of the above

Question 19

Griffith's strengths included all of the following except

A)creating clinical documentation.
B)creating emotional reactions.
C)creating lost worlds.
D)creating poetry and drama.

Question 20

Mack Sennett's comedy

A)worked off the odd idea that cops were funny.
B)often piled comic incidents to a "rally."
C)were populated by character types like the Unfaithful Wife.
D)all of the above

Question 21

Griffith's passion was for the extreme long shot so that he could capture action and spectacle.___

Question 22

Cecil B.De Mille's greatest gift was for getting actors to give wonderful performances.___

Question 23

What was the typical Nickelodeon like in terms of setting and comfort?

Question 24

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
Max Sennett ___

Question 25

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
Cecil B.De Mille ___ in Orphans of the Storm

Question 26

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
masking ___

Question 27

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
The Birth of a Nation ___ characters at a faster-than-life speed

Question 28

Thomas Ince,rather than Griffith,is the uncredited originator of what has come to be known as the Hollywood studio system.___

Question 29

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
The Sands of Dee ___ generation of filmgoers

Question 30

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
freeze frame ___

Question 31

What were some of the ways D.W.Griffith used editing,camera work,and acting to bring emotions to the stories of movies like Birth of a Nation and Broken Blossom?

Question 32

What was the rationale behind Biograph joining with Edison,Vitagraph,etc.in 1908?

Question 33

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
Lillian Gish ___

Question 34

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
Intolerance ___

Question 35

Griffith increased movie-making "language" with techniques like freeze frames,
parallel editing,frequent close-ups,and objects to synopsize and define character.___
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Question 36

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
Mae Marsh ___

Question 37

Matching
a.Griffith one-reeler containing 68 scenes
b.Our Lady of Constant Sorrows to a generation of filmgoers
c.hailed as the director who made the breakthrough with mise en scene
d.purposely photographed action and characters at a faster-than-life speed
e.after Lillian Gish,Griffith's most expressive actor
f.film technique altering frame size used in Orphans of the Storm
g.Griffith used this device for ironic contrast between hungry workers and a bountiful banquet
h.Griffith's artistically first-rate films,but a political/sociological embarrassment
i.powerbroker/kingmaker
j.four stories linked by titles,a symbolic mother image,and cross cutting
Marcus Hanna ___

Question 38

Max Sennett's success with his Keystone Studio was due to the fact that he "told" original stories and used only top actors.___

Question 39

Griffith began using mature,"Grand Gesture" actors wizened by years of barnstorming.___

Question 40

Griffith was willing to collaborate with others like Allan Dwan to create the effects that Griffith wanted for his movies.___

Question 41

Compare and contrast the nickelodeons of early cinema with the megaplexes like AMC theatres of today's cinema.

Question 42

To what extent was the confederation of Edison,Biograph,Vitagraph,et al.concerned with power,money,morality,and art?

Question 43

What were some of the humor techniques - camera work,acting,story lines - that Max Sennett used to strike "wildly responsive chords" in audiences?

Question 44

After watching one of his films on Youtube,what is 1)a structural analysis of the typical Sennett plot,b)types of humor (with examples)found in the story,and c)the portrayal of characters by manner,appearance,behavior,and possessions?

Question 45

What are some of the ways D.W.Griffith's filmmaking techniques compare and contrast with Steven Spielberg's filmmaking techniques?