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Quiz about Canadian Literature  Film Adaptations
Quiz about Canadian Literature  Film Adaptations

Canadian Literature -- Film Adaptations Quiz


I just saw "Life of Pi," Ang Lee's awesome film based on Yann Martel's novel, which made me think about similar projects. These questions deal with Canadian works that started on the page and were adapted into films.

A multiple-choice quiz by makidadi. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
makidadi
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
354,864
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
282
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Question 1 of 10
1. Margaret Atwood is a droll writer who has explored a wide variety of genres and forms. Her dystopian sci-fi thriller about the U.S.A. after a right-wing religious take-over was made into a film which debuted in 1990. What was the name of the book and the movie? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Sarah Polley wrote the screenplay and directed this beautiful film adaptation of Alice Munro's "The Bear Came Over the Mountain." It tells the story of Fiona (Julie Christie) suffering from senile dementia under the care of her formerly philandering husband, Grant (Gordon Pinsent). What did Polley name the movie? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Mordecai Richler's novels chronicle the men of his generation from his neighbourhood in Montreal, famous for bagels and... well... Mordecai Richler. What was the name of the book and movie that launched the career of a young Richard Dreyfuss, in the eponymous role? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Speaking of Richler, 2010 saw the release of "Barney's Version," an adaptation of his 1998 novel of the same name. What American star played the role of Barney Panofsky? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Willem Dafoe struggles with a Canadian accent in this adaptation of a Michael Ondaatje novel which was famously alluded to in a Seinfeld episode. What is the title of the book and the film directed by Anthony Minghella? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Here's a tricky one. What "Grey's Anatomy" star played the lead character in "The Diary of Evelyn Lau," the screen adaptation of Evelyn Lau's "Runaway," an autobiographical tale of her escape from her oppressive Chinese Canadian home to the mean streets of Vancouver? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. W.P. Kinsella's mystical baseball novel "Shoeless Joe" became a very successful Kevin Costner film. What title did the movie carry? Remember the catch phrase, "if you build it, they will come." Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. "Rachel, Rachel" is the name of the film adaptation of Margaret Laurence's classic novel, "A Jest of God." It stars Joanne Woodward and was directed by her blue-eyed hunk of a husband. What was his name? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Timothy Findley's novella about the coming of age of young man during The Great War was made into a film of the same name directed by Robin Phillips. What was the two word title? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Claude Jutra directed an adaptation of this Anne Hébert novel which is a fictionalized account of a 19th century murder in rural Quebec. What is the name of the novel, the film, and the region where they are set? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Margaret Atwood is a droll writer who has explored a wide variety of genres and forms. Her dystopian sci-fi thriller about the U.S.A. after a right-wing religious take-over was made into a film which debuted in 1990. What was the name of the book and the movie?

Answer: The Handmaid's Tale

Robert Duvall is especially creepy as a hypocritical authority figure in this compelling, if flawed film. Miranda Richardson stars. British playwright Harold Pinter provided the screenplay.
2. Sarah Polley wrote the screenplay and directed this beautiful film adaptation of Alice Munro's "The Bear Came Over the Mountain." It tells the story of Fiona (Julie Christie) suffering from senile dementia under the care of her formerly philandering husband, Grant (Gordon Pinsent). What did Polley name the movie?

Answer: Away from Her

The dilemma posed by both the story and the film is delightful: does the former adulterer love his soul-mate enough to make her happy, even if it means replacing himself with her new love? Christie, Pinsent, and the supporting cast are all superb.
3. Mordecai Richler's novels chronicle the men of his generation from his neighbourhood in Montreal, famous for bagels and... well... Mordecai Richler. What was the name of the book and movie that launched the career of a young Richard Dreyfuss, in the eponymous role?

Answer: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

Although cast a little against type, Dreyfuss is charming as the upwardly mobile schemer, Duddy, who seems to always have an angle. The parody of the English ex-pat from the National Film Board is particularly memorable.
4. Speaking of Richler, 2010 saw the release of "Barney's Version," an adaptation of his 1998 novel of the same name. What American star played the role of Barney Panofsky?

Answer: Paul Giamatti

Giamatti won the Golden Globe Award for best actor in a comedy or musical for his version of Barney, a hard-drinking, cigar-chomping t.v. producer who somehow remains likeable through it all.
5. Willem Dafoe struggles with a Canadian accent in this adaptation of a Michael Ondaatje novel which was famously alluded to in a Seinfeld episode. What is the title of the book and the film directed by Anthony Minghella?

Answer: The English Patient

The complicated story includes a severely burned "soldier" played by Ralph Fiennes (who turns out not to really be English), a Sikh bomb defuser (Naveen Andrews), an Anglo-Canadian thief (Dafoe), a Franco-Canadian nurse (Juliette Binoche) and a married British woman (Kristin Scott Thomas) who is up for a little extra-marital fun.

Despite the complexity of the flashbacks and density of the story, Ondaatje and Minghella make it all riveting, no matter what Elaine Benes says.
6. Here's a tricky one. What "Grey's Anatomy" star played the lead character in "The Diary of Evelyn Lau," the screen adaptation of Evelyn Lau's "Runaway," an autobiographical tale of her escape from her oppressive Chinese Canadian home to the mean streets of Vancouver?

Answer: Sandra Oh

Oh had recently graduated from the National Theatre School in Montreal when she was tapped to play the runaway teen in Lau's memoir of life on the streets. Lau went on to a literary career once she got off the streets. At one point she was romantically linked to the much older writer W.P. Kinsella.
7. W.P. Kinsella's mystical baseball novel "Shoeless Joe" became a very successful Kevin Costner film. What title did the movie carry? Remember the catch phrase, "if you build it, they will come."

Answer: Field of Dreams

John Sayles' "Eight Men Out" also deals with the 'Chicago Black Sox' scandal. In "Shoeless Joe" an Iowa farmer receives a calling to build a ball diamond in his cornfield and lo and behold, the Sox of lore appear, somehow redeeming themselves. One interesting difference between the novel and the screenplay involves the character of the famous reclusive novelist contacted and rejuvenated by the protagonist.

In the book, this novelist is the real J.D. Salinger; in the film it is the fictional Terry Mann, played by James Earl Jones. Apparently there was fear that the litigious Salinger might take legal action against the film.
8. "Rachel, Rachel" is the name of the film adaptation of Margaret Laurence's classic novel, "A Jest of God." It stars Joanne Woodward and was directed by her blue-eyed hunk of a husband. What was his name?

Answer: Paul Newman

The film switches the setting from Saskatchewan to New England, but retains most of the plot that features a non-religious 'spinster' experiencing confusion as she receives the gift of tongues.
9. Timothy Findley's novella about the coming of age of young man during The Great War was made into a film of the same name directed by Robin Phillips. What was the two word title?

Answer: The Wars

Brent Carver stars as Robert Ross, a son of the Toronto establishment, who journeys from innocence into experience while trying to act as an officer in the chaos of the First World War. No horses were harmed in the writing of this question.
10. Claude Jutra directed an adaptation of this Anne Hébert novel which is a fictionalized account of a 19th century murder in rural Quebec. What is the name of the novel, the film, and the region where they are set?

Answer: Kamouraska

The story revolves around Elizabeth's murder of her oppressive husband, the Signeur (lord) of Kamouraska, aided by an American doctor. Elizabeth is played by the delightful Genevieve Bujold, the doctor by Richard Jordan.
Source: Author makidadi

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