Age of Entertainment Trivia Quiz

Answer: Quest for Fire

"Quest for Fire" is a French movie made in 1981 and directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. The original French title is "La Guerre du Feu". Remarkable about the movie is that not a single word of an existing language is spoken. The members of the different tribes express themselves through a made-up language and sign language.

The movie is set in paleolithic Europe, about 80,000 years ago. A human tribe has possession of fire but doesn't yet know how to make it. After an attack by another hominid tribe the fire is accidentally put out. The tribe sends out three men to look for another source of fire. They come across a tribe of man-eating Neanderthals where they rescue a girl from the Ivaka tribe. She brings them to her tribe where they learn the craft of making fire. With that knowledge they then return to their own tribe. The Ivaka girl chooses to leave her tribe and join them.

The three wrong answers are titles of novels set in prehistory.

Answer: W. Michael Gear & Kathleen O'Neal

Both Michael and Kathleen are archaeologists. They got married in 1982. Although they are best known for the 'First North American' books both have also published individually. Michael started writing his first (unpublished) novel in 1978 because he was dissatisfied with the many historical inaccuracies he saw in other historical novels. Kathleen has authored over a hundred non-fiction books.

After working on an archaeological project in Utah their editor asked if they could write a novel that chronicled the migration of humans into North America. Because of the lengthy time span of the subject they found this impossible to cover in one book and the 'First North American' series was born. The first book of the series, "People of the Wolf", was published in 1990. It tells the adventures of the members of the first tribes that crossed the Bering Strait to settle in North America. Several novels followed, not always written in chronological order as each book tells a separate story and can be read in any kind of order. Because of the gigantic scope of the subject and new discoveries that are made from time to time the series in an ongoing effort.

Nicci French is the pseudonym of another husband and wife team of authors, Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. The two other wrong answers are also authors that are married to each other.

Answer: Quo Vadis

"Ben Hur" (1959), starring Charlton Heston, won 11 Academy Awards, a record that stood for a very long time until it was equalled by "Titanic" and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King".

Spartacus (1960) won four Academy Awards. Gladiator (2000) won five Academy Awards.

However, Quo Vadis was the highest grossing movie of 1951 but surprisingly didn't win a single Academy Award, despite being nominated eight times.

Answer: Claudius

1970's series "I, Claudius" is based on the novels "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God", written by Robert Graves in 1934. Claudius is a member of the first Roman imperial dynasty, the Julio-Claudian dynasty who ruled Rome from 27 BCE to 68 CE. The series starts with Claudius as an old man who writes his autobiography. Because he twitches, limps and stammers his family members consider him a fool. In reality he's an intelligent man who plays the fool to make others underestimate him. This way he can survive in a world that is dominated by intrigue and political murder. The series shows how his grandmother Livia (emperor Augustus' third wife) plots to elevate her son Tiberius to the imperial throne. While one by one the competing family members are picked off Claudius survives Livia's plotting and the reign of terror of Sejanus. After the murder of his nephew, the mad emperor Caligula, Claudius is unwantedly declared the new emperor.

The novels and series are based on the lives of historical people and more or less follows real historical events.

The series first aired in 1976 by the BBC and was a critical and commercial success. It won three Bafta awards and an Emmy Award. The main actors include Derek Jacobi (Claudius), Siān Philips (Livia), Brian Blessed (Augustus), George Baker (Tiberius), John Hurt (Caligula) and Patrick Stewart (Sejanus).

Answer: Ken Follett

"The Pillars of the Earth" centres around the efforts of prior Philip to build a cathedral in Kingsbridge, despite being constantly thwarted by the ambitious and corrupt bishop Waleran Bigod. The novel is intertwined with the political events of The Anarchy (1135 - 1153), the powers struggle between Stephen of Blois and Empress Matilda and the sinking of the white ship.

"World Without End" is set in the same fictional town in 1327, against the backdrop of the Hundred Years' War and the Black Death. Four children witness an attempted murder of a knight and the burial of a letter containing a secret. Some of the characters in this novel are descendants of the characters from "The Pillars of the Earth".

Both novels have been adapted into miniseries.

The three wrong answers are authors well known for historical novels, too. James Clavell is the author of "Shogun", adapted into a mini-series in 1980. Philippa Gregory wrote several novels about women who played an important role in history, such as "The Other Boleyn Girl", "The White Queen" and "The Red Queen". Hillary Mantel wrote "Wolf Hall" and "Bring out the Bodies", based on the life of Thomas Cromwell, and won the Man Booker Prize for both novels.

Answer: Deadwood

The series is set in the historical frontier town Deadwood. The main actors include Ian McShane (Al Swearengen), Timothy Olyphant (Seth Bullock), Dayton Callie (Charlie Utter), Robin Weigert (Calamity Jane) and Keith Carradine (Wild Bill Hickok). Some characters are loosely based on real historical figures, while others are completely fictional. The show first aired on HBO in 2004 and continued for three seasons. The series was highly praised by the critics and won 8 emmy awards and a Golden Globe.

Deadwood was founded in the 1870s as an illegal settlement. The announcement that gold was found in the Black Hills triggered a gold rush and the settlement soon reached over 5,000 residents. One of the earliest settlers was Charlie Utter who brought 'commodities' to the town to start businesses. The town became notorious for the murder of Wild Bill Hickok by Jack McCall. In 1877 Al Swearengen opened Gem Variety Theatre in Deadwood. Today Deadwood is a city in South Dakota with a population of 1,270 (2010 census).

Answer: World War II

The first series was called "The Black Adder" and started with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. It starred Rowan Atkinson as Edmund 'The Black Adder', second son of Richard of Shrewsbury, who becomes king after the Battle of Bosworth. This is historically highly inaccurate as in reality Richard was probably murdered before the battle of Bosworth and, had he been alive, would have been only 12 years old. The show was made with a high budget but wasn't the success the writers hoped it to be, so it was nearly cancelled after one season.

A second series was made with a much smaller budget and written by Ben Elton. It was set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and the characters were changed a bit. The sycophantic Black Adder character from the first series was transformed into the suave and shrewd Edmund Blackadder. Miranda Richardson stood out with a remarkable version of Elizabeth I.

In the third series Edmund Blackadder is the butler of Prince Regent George, played by Hugh Laurie.

The fourth series was set in WWI, not WWII. This time Edmund Blackadder is a captain on the Western Front who uses every trick in the book the get out of the war alive, in vain as it turns out. The last episode has an unusual ending for a comedy series, as all the main characters die in an fruitless attack, a reference to the absurdity of the tactics used in the first world war.

Answer: One (Metallica)

Dalton Trumbo is a novelist and screenplay writer best known for writing the screenplay for "Spartacus" and "Exodus". In the 1950s he was blacklisted after he refused to testify into an investigation against people in the entertainment business who were members or sympathizers of the American Communist Party.

"Johnny Got His Gun" is an anti-war novel about a soldier in WWI who is severely wounded by an artillery shell. He awakes in hospital with both legs and arms amputated and most of his face (eyes, ears, tongue and teeth) blown away, but with a perfectly working mind. The title refers to the phrase 'Johnny Get Your Gun', often used as an encouragement for young men to enlist in the military. The novel was published in 1939 and Trumbo directed the movie adaptation himself in 1971.

"One" is the third single from Metallica's album "... And Justice for All". The video clip shows parts of the movie adaptation and the gruesome lyrics clearly refer to Trumbo's novel:

"Landmine has taken my sight
Taken my speech
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Left me with life in hell"

Answer: Wolfenstein

"Castle Wolfenstein" was the first installment of the franchise, released in 1981. The objective was to escape from a Nazi stronghold. The game combined adventure and action elements. In 1984 the sequel "Beyond Castle Wolfenstein" was released in which the player had to kill Hitler in his secret bunker and escape unharmed. "Wolfenstein 3D" was released in 1992. As the title suggests it was the first game in 3D and is considered the best title of the franchise. Since then five more titles have been released. The more recent titles have strayed a bit from the original theme and include fantasy and sci-fi elements besides merely shooting Nazis.

The three wrong answers are all popular first person shooters franchises too.

Answer: Oliver Stone

In "Platoon" a new arrival (Charlie Sheen) becomes involved in a feud between sergeant Elias (William Defoe) and sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) in the midst of a battle in the Vietnam war. The movie won four Academy Awards, including best picture.

In "Born on the 4th of July" a patriotic sergeant (Tom Cruise) becomes disillusioned after he accidentally shoots one of his own men. After he is critically wounded in a patrol he finds himself confined to a wheelchair. Unable to adapt to the life back home he becomes an anti-war campaigner. The movie is based on the biography of Ron Kovacs and won two Academy Awards.

"Heaven & Earth" (1993) tells the life story of a Vietnamese girl (Hiep Thi Le) who is suspected by both the South Vietnamese and Vietcong to support the opposing side. She marries a traumatized American soldier (Tommy Lee Jones) and tries to find a better life in the USA. The movie is based on biographical books by Le Ly Hayslip.

The three wrong answers are directors of other well known Vietnam movies. Francis Ford Coppola was the director of "Apocalypse Now". Stanley Kubrick directed "Full Metal Jacket" and Brian De Palma directed "Casualties of War".