Week 2

Question 1

Blockbuster Film

Answer 1

a film that is highly anticipated and typically has a large budget, with the expectation of achieving significant commercial success

Question 2

Blind Buying

Answer 2

the practice of purchasing a film or other media product without first previewing it

Question 3

Block Booking

Answer 3

a practice in the early film industry in which theatre owners were required to book large blocks of films, often including low-quality “B” movies, in order to secure the rights to show more popular films

Question 4

“B” Movie

Answer 4

a low-budget, commercially oriented film that is often used as the second feature in a double bill

Question 5

Doctrine of Socialist Realism

Answer 5

a cultural and artistic policy that was enforced in the Soviet Union beginning in the 1930s and 1940s, which called for the creation of works that promote the values and goals of socialism

Question 6

Kuleshov Effect

Answer 6

a film-making technique named after Soviet filmmaker Lev Kuleshov, in which the audience’s interpretation of a shot is influenced by the shots that come before and after it

Question 7

Leitmotif

Answer 7

a recurring musical or sound theme that is associated with a specific character, event, or idea in a film

Question 8

Overbuying

Answer 8

a film distribution strategy in which a distributor buys the rights to a large number of films, often more than it can actually release or distribute, in order to secure a larger market share

Question 9

Pure Cinema

Answer 9

A term that refers to the idea of cinema as an art form that can convey emotions and ideas solely through visual means, without relying on other art forms such as literature or theatre

Question 10

Synchronous Sound

Answer 10

A type of sound recording that is synchronized with the images on screen, allowing for naturalistic dialogue and sound effects

Question 11

Vitaphone

Answer 11

A sound-on-disc technology that was used to synchronize sound with motion pictures in the late 1920s and early 1930s

Question 12

Surrealist Film

Answer 12

A type of experimental film starting in the 1920s that explores the subconscious and irrational aspects of the human mind, often using dream-like imagery and symbolism