Question 1 of 20DirectorsEasy
Movie quiz
Grab the popcorn and find out how well you really know the big screen. This movie quiz serves up 20 film quiz questions spanning silent-era pioneers, Hollywood classics and world cinema through the 2010s, mixing directors, Academy Award winners, stars, settings and famous firsts, from easy warm-ups to real head-scratchers.
A free quiz from Megan Moran.
Question 2 of 20Classic HollywoodEasy
In The Wizard of Oz (1939), which US state is Dorothy's home before the tornado carries her away?
Question 3 of 20Famous firstsMedium
Which 1927 Warner Bros. film, the first feature-length movie with synchronized singing and speech, kick-started the era of the talkies?
Question 4 of 20AnimationEasy
Released in 1995, which was the first feature film made entirely with computer animation?
Question 5 of 20World cinemaMedium
Who directed the Japanese epic Seven Samurai (1954)?
Question 6 of 20OscarsHard
Which World War I aviation drama won the top prize at the very first Academy Awards ceremony, in 1929?
Question 7 of 20OscarsMedium
Which South Korean film made Oscar history in 2020 as the first non-English-language winner of Best Picture?
Question 8 of 20AnimationEasy
In Finding Nemo (2003), what kind of fish are Nemo and his father, Marlin?
Question 9 of 20OscarsMedium
Who became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director, for The Hurt Locker (2009)?
Question 10 of 20OscarsHard
In 1940, who became the first African American to win an Academy Award, for her role in Gone with the Wind?
Question 11 of 20DirectorsMedium
Which Italian director made the 1966 Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood?
Question 12 of 20StarsEasy
Which actor won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing the title role in Forrest Gump (1994)?
Question 13 of 20SettingsMedium
Jurassic Park (1993) is set on Isla Nublar, a fictional island off the coast of which country?
Question 14 of 20Famous firstsHard
Which French filmmaker, a stage magician who ran a Paris theater of illusions, made the 1902 science-fiction short A Trip to the Moon?
Question 15 of 20StarsMedium
Which actress won a record four Academy Awards for Best Actress?
Question 16 of 20SettingsEasy
Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed largely in which country?
Question 17 of 20Film musicMedium
Which composer wrote the scores for Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park?
Question 18 of 20World cinemaHard
Which Swedish director made The Seventh Seal (1957), in which a knight returning from the Crusades plays chess with Death?
Question 19 of 20AnimationMedium
Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001), an Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, was made by which Japanese studio?
Question 20 of 20World cinemaHard
Which Indian director made his debut with Pather Panchali (1955), the first film of the Apu Trilogy?
Answer all 20 to see your score.
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Show all the answers, with the facts behind them
- Who directed the 1960 thriller Psycho? Alfred HitchcockThe roughly three-minute shower scene took about a week to shoot, from December 17 to 23, 1959.
- In The Wizard of Oz (1939), which US state is Dorothy's home before the tornado carries her away? KansasIn L. Frank Baum's original book Dorothy wears silver shoes; the film turned them red to show off Technicolor.
- Which 1927 Warner Bros. film, the first feature-length movie with synchronized singing and speech, kick-started the era of the talkies? The Jazz SingerDespite its reputation, it contains barely two minutes of synchronized talking, much of it improvised by star Al Jolson.
- Released in 1995, which was the first feature film made entirely with computer animation? Toy StoryIt also became the first animated film nominated for an Academy Award in a writing category, Best Original Screenplay.
- Who directed the Japanese epic Seven Samurai (1954)? Akira KurosawaHollywood remade it in 1960 as the Western The Magnificent Seven, swapping the samurai for hired gunfighters.
- Which World War I aviation drama won the top prize at the very first Academy Awards ceremony, in 1929? WingsIt remains the only fully silent film to win Best Picture, and a young Gary Cooper appears in a small role.
- Which South Korean film made Oscar history in 2020 as the first non-English-language winner of Best Picture? ParasiteBong Joon Ho's film had already won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2019, the first South Korean film to do so.
- In Finding Nemo (2003), what kind of fish are Nemo and his father, Marlin? ClownfishAll clownfish are born male, and the dominant fish in a group can change into a female.
- Who became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director, for The Hurt Locker (2009)? Kathryn BigelowThe Hurt Locker, about a US Army bomb-disposal team in Iraq, also beat Avatar to Best Picture and won six Oscars in all.
- In 1940, who became the first African American to win an Academy Award, for her role in Gone with the Wind? Hattie McDanielAt the ceremony in the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove, she was seated at a segregated table against the far wall.
- Which Italian director made the 1966 Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood? Sergio LeoneDespite its American setting, it was filmed mostly in Spain, including the Tabernas Desert in Almería.
- Which actor won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing the title role in Forrest Gump (1994)? Tom HanksIt was his second Best Actor win in a row, after Philadelphia; only Spencer Tracy, for Captains Courageous and Boys Town, had done that before.
- Jurassic Park (1993) is set on Isla Nublar, a fictional island off the coast of which country? Costa RicaHurricane Iniki struck Kauai, Hawaii, on the last scheduled day of filming there, and Spielberg used storm footage in the movie.
- Which French filmmaker, a stage magician who ran a Paris theater of illusions, made the 1902 science-fiction short A Trip to the Moon? Georges MélièsA rare hand-colored print found in Barcelona was restored and premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
- Which actress won a record four Academy Awards for Best Actress? Katharine HepburnHer wins stretched from Morning Glory (1933) to On Golden Pond (1981), nearly half a century apart.
- Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed largely in which country? New ZealandThe Hobbiton set on a farm near Matamata was rebuilt permanently in 2010 for The Hobbit and has since become a popular tourist attraction.
- Which composer wrote the scores for Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park? John WilliamsWith more than 50 Oscar nominations, he is the second most-nominated person in Academy Awards history, after Walt Disney.
- Which Swedish director made The Seventh Seal (1957), in which a knight returning from the Crusades plays chess with Death? Ingmar BergmanMax von Sydow played the knight, Antonius Block, and the film won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1957.
- Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001), an Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, was made by which Japanese studio? Studio GhibliIt was Japan's highest-grossing film for 19 years, until Demon Slayer: Mugen Train overtook it in 2020.
- Which Indian director made his debut with Pather Panchali (1955), the first film of the Apu Trilogy? Satyajit RayShort of money, he pawned his life insurance policy and sold his gramophone records; shooting took about three years.
