BestPictureWinners

Question 1

begins with motivational song with men running on the beach

Answer 1

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Question 2

French romantic comedy-drama mostly silent movie shot in black and white, takes place in the 20s focusing on the relationship between an older silent film star and rising young actress as silent cinema falls out of fashion and is replaced by “talkies”

Answer 2

The Artist (2011)

Question 3

British historical drama about King George VI (Colin Firth) who has a stammer, sees a speech coach played by Geoffrey Rush, his brother abdicate the throne, he takes over and makes a speech announcing declaration of war on Germany in 1939

Answer 3

The King’s Speech (2010)

Question 4

War film starring Jeremy Renner about a 3-man bomb disposal team during the Iraq War, an innocent Iraqi has a bomb strapped to his vest but he can’t save him in time and he blows up, he comes home but decides its all he knows and re-enlists

Answer 4

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Question 5

Coen brothers direct, the paths of 3 men Tommy Lee Jones (sheriff), Javier Bardem (hitman), and Josh Brolin (ordinary guy) interwine in 1980 West Texas, Brolin finds 2MM in drug money and flees as hitman is hired to recover the money and sheriff goes after the hitman

Answer 5

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Question 6

directed by Paul Haggis, several charcters’ stories interweave during racial and social tension in Los Angeles, Matt Dillon, a cop, abuses his power during a traffic stop to feel up a black woman, then saves her later in the film from a burning car

Answer 6

Crash (2005)

Question 7

Directed and starring Clint Eastwood, an underappreciated boxing trainer in a quest for atonement helps an underdog amateur boxer achieve her dream of becoming a professional boxer, she gets knocked out with a sucker punch during a match and falls on a stool left in the corner of the ring leaving her a quadriplegic, he kills her by giving her a fatal injection of adrenaline at her request

Answer 7

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Question 8

Musical where housewife Roxie Hart (Rennee Zellweger) and showgirl Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), two murderesses in 1920’s ___, find themselves in jail together awaiting trial, they fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows, Richard Gere plays the lawyer who turns his clients into celebrities to gain public support for them, they both get off and become stars together, “All That Jazz”

Answer 8

Chicago (2002)

Question 9

A love affair involving Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) while he’s writing “Romeo and Juliet”, Viola volunteers to replace the boy who can’t play Juliet but is found out, Queen Elizabeth (Judy Dench) comes in and saves her, Shakespeare writes Twelfth Night thinking of her (Viola)

Answer 9

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Question 10

In the final days of WW2, a burned man (Ralph Fiennes) is found in a plane crash who speaks English but refuses to reveal his own name, he flashbacks to getting in a love affair with a woman, the husband tries to kill him but kills himself and injures his wife instead, he can’t save her and she dies, the burned man convinces the nurse to give him a fatal dose of morphine

Answer 10

The English Patient (1996)

Question 11

movie about Pu Yi (based on his autobiography), the final ruler of the Qing Dynasty, depicts his life from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his abdication, reinstatement for Japanese-supported puppet reign, imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Chinese Communists

Answer 11

The Last Emperor (1987)

Question 12

Directed by Sydney Pollack, based on the book by Isak Dinesen (pseudonym for Karen Blixen) starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, woman marries a man for convenience and moves to Africa to start a dairy farm (but he buys a coffee plantation instead), she meets Robert Redford and dumps her husband, the plantation fails, he dies in a plane crash, and she moves back and tells people about her experience

Answer 12

Out of Africa (1985)

Question 13

directed by James L. Brooks, follows 30 years of the love-hate relationship between Shirley MacLaine (love interest Jack Nicholson) and her daughter Debra Winger (she dies)(love interest Jeff Daniels), Danny DeVito, and John Lithgow

Answer 13

Terms of Endearment (1983)

Question 14

directed by Richard Attenborough (Hammond from Jurassic Park), Ben Kingsley as ___, covers his life from 1893 when he is thrown off a whites-only South African train and concludes with his assassination and funeral in 1948

Answer 14

Gandhi (1982)

Question 15

British historical drama which tells the fact-based story of two athletes (one a Christian who runs for God, one an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice) in the 1924 Olympics, title comes from a William Blake poem “Bring me my ___”

Answer 15

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Question 16

directoral debut of Robert Redford, film about the disintegration of an upper-middle class family (Mom is Mary Tyler Moore) in Lake Forest, IL followoing the death of one of their sons in a boating accident

Answer 16

Ordinary People (1980)

Question 17

Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep get divorced and how it impacts everyone, including their young son, she leaves Hoffman and the son, then comes back 15 months later and wins custody of the son, she decides not to take the kid in the end and lets him stay with his father

Answer 17

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Question 18

An American caper film involving two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) who con a mob boss, the title refers to the moment when a con artist finishes the “play” and takes the mark’s money, features “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin prominently

Answer 18

The Sting (1973)

Question 19

American biographical war film about General ___ during WW2, the opening monologue delivered with an enormous American clag behind him is an iconic often quoted image in film

Answer 19

Patton (1970)

Question 20

British film based on the play of the same name about Sir Thomas More who refused to ask Pope Clement VII (requested by Cardinal Wolsely played by Orsen Welles) to annul King Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragona nd resigned, he is portrayed as a tragic hero motivated by his Roman Catholic faith, he is executed in the end

Answer 20

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Question 21

British adventure comedy adapted form Henry Fielding’s classic novel “The History of ___, a Foundling”, raunchy comedy that features silly scenes like Tom covering the camera with his hat

Answer 21

Tom Jones (1963)

Question 22

American musical romantic comedy based on the novella of the same name by Colette, songs by Lerner and Loewe, a young girl is raised by two veteran Parisian couresans (upper class prostitute) to be the mistress of wealthy young Gaston, Gaston falls in love with her and asks her to marry him, “I Remember it Well”

Answer 22

Gigi (1958)

Question 23

Phileas Fogg makes a bet that he can circumnavigate the world, in India he rescuces Princses played by Shirley MacLaine, he is arrested (falsely accused) only hours short of winning the wager (but remembers he crossed the International Date Line and gained a day), arrives just in time and wins the bet

Answer 23

Around the World in 80 days (1956)

Question 24

A middle-aged butcher (fat, ugly guy that we feel sorry for) and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love, meet at a dance and fall in love, everyone (his mother and friends) doesn’t approve of her but he defies them and calls her at the end

Answer 24

Marty (1955)

Question 25

Set in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, stars two trapeze artists (The Great Sebastian and Holly) competing for the center ring, Charlton Heston plays the circus manager, he has to hire Sebastian to star in the show to replace his girlfriend Holly, Jimmy Stewart plays a mysterious clown who never removes his make-up even between shows (he’s really a doctor who killed his wife), there’s a train crash (staged by a disgruntled worker), the clown saves Heston but is arrested, she show is saved

Answer 25

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

Question 26

based on Robert Penn Warren novel of the same name, reporter follows the rise and fall of ruthless corrupt politician Willie Stark initially starting from innocence who makes his friends richer and retains power by a fake populist appeal, eventually becomes governor, gets impeached

Answer 26

All the King’s Men (1949)

Question 27

Movie based on a Shakespeare play directed by and starring Laurence Olivieras the main character

Answer 27

Hamlet (1948)

Question 28

directed by Elia Kazan, based on book by Laura Z. Hobson, a drama about a journalist (Gregory Peck) who goes undercover as a Jew to conduct research for an expose on antisemitism in NYC and the affluent community of Darien, CT, controversial at the time due to antisemitism subject, in the end he and his wife break up because she will not lend her house to a Jew, he comes back to her when he learns she changed her mind

Answer 28

Gentlemen’s Agreement (1947)

Question 29

directed by Billy Wilder, based on Charles Jackson’s novel of the same name, Don Birnam, a long-time alcoholic goes through a four day drinking bout (with flashbacks)

Answer 29

The Lost Weekend (1945)

Question 30

“One drink’s too many, and a hundred’s not enough.”

Answer 30

The Lost Weekend (1945)

Question 31

musical comedy-drama about a young priest (Bing Crosby) taking over a parish from an established old veteran, his unconventional style transforms the parish life, church is damaged in a fire, they gather in a temporary church and the priest is transferred to a new assignment

Answer 31

Going My Way (1944)

Question 32

based on novel by Jan Struther of the same name, the film shows how the life of an unassuming British housewife in rural England is touched by WW2, she sees her eldest son go to war, finds herself confronting a German pilot who parachuted into her village, her husband is in the Dunkirk evacuation, and loses her daughter-in-law as a casualty

Answer 32

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Question 33

directed by John Ford, based on a novel by Richard Llewellyn, tells the story of the Morgans (he stern, she gentle), a close, hard-working Welsh mining family living in the South Wales Valleys in the 19th century, chronicles the destruction of the environment in South Wales coalfields, and the loss of a way of life and its effects on the family, title refers to the time before coal covered the place

Answer 33

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Question 34

directed by Alfred Hitchcock (his first American project), brooding aristocratic widower’s (Laurence Olivier) first wife ___ died before the story starts, he meets a second wife who is belittled by the first wife’s memory (and the maid’s intimidation), finally is revealted that the first marriage was a sham and she tried to get her husband to kill her (effectively suicide) by telling him she was pregnant with another man when really she had cancer, maid sets fire to house

Answer 34

Rebecca (1940)

Question 35

directed by Frank Capra, a film about rich snobs (James Stewart is one) who become engaged to a woman from a good-natured but eccentric family (she’s the only normal one), she’s worried that her family would be looked down upon by his rich family, the families break up then get back together

Answer 35

You Can’t Take It with You (1938)

Question 36

biographical film about French muckraking author Emile Zola, describes sharing an apartment with Paul Cezanne, he writes the best-seller Nana and becomes famous, and of course his letter “J’Accuse” (I Accuse) and involvement in the Dreyfus affair

Answer 36

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Question 37

a fictionalized tribute to Florenz (Flo) ___, Jr (the founder), a cinematic adaptation of “___ Follies”, a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway (also radio program), shows actual acts from the real cast, he makes and loses many fortunes

Answer 37

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Question 38

A ___ (formal procession of people) of English life from New Year’s Eve 1899 to 1933 seen through the eyes of two well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot, events include the Boer War, death of Queen Victoria, sinking of the Titanic and the Great War

Answer 38

Cavalcade (1932/1933)

Question 39

A Western (only one to win Best Picture) about a couple Yancy Cravat and hiw wife Sabra who move from Wichita, KS to Oklahoma territory which the govmt just opened up for settlement, he quickly becomes a leading citizen of the boomtown settlement of Osage, but after he disappears to settle the new Cherokee Strip, his wife is left behind to fend for herself

Answer 39

Cimarron (1930/1931)

Question 40

musical, first sound film to win Best Picture, Harriet and Queenie Mahoney, a vaudeville act, come to Broadway, gets in a love trianble with Eddie Kerns and Jock Warriner, eventually they get with the right people

Answer 40

The Broadway Melody (1928/1929)

Question 41

first movie to win Best Picture, silent film about 2 WW1 fighter pilot friends, both involved with the same beauty (who gets left behind), helped launch the career of Gary Cooper, one of them is shot down but survives and steals a German biplane and flies back to Allied territory but is shot (unknowingly) by the other and dies, goes back home and realizes he loves the girl

Answer 41

Wings (1927/1928)