A Hero's Death in War Movies Quiz | Something in Common

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. An English general is killed defending an African city in 1885.

Answer: Khartoum

Charlton Heston plays British General Charles "Chinese" Gordon in this 1966 historical film, in which an Egyptian garrison, commanded by Gordon, is overwhelmed by Sudanese tribesmen at the Siege of Khartoum in 1884-1885. Heston's character dies when the city is taken, just like the real Gordon.

2. During the Thirty Years War, a mercenary captain spares a village from destruction.

Answer: The Last Valley

Set in Germany circa 1630, an itinerant teacher (Omar Sharif) stumbles into an idyllic village, miraculously untouched by the Thirty Years War, and persuades the Captain (Michael Caine) of a mercenary company to winter in the village instead of looting it.

After defending the village from fellow mercenaries, the Captain and his men rejoin the fighting, where most are killed. The Captain makes it back to the village, dying in the place he saved.

3. A 13th century Scottish rebel tries to free his country from the English.

Answer: Braveheart

13th Century Scottish farmer William Wallace begins a rebellion against the English troops occupying his country after his wife is killed by an English lord. At first he and his army are successful, but some Scottish nobles conspire with the English king Edward I and Wallace is captured and sent to London, where he is hanged, drawn, and quartered, the punishment for rebels at the time.

4. Outnumbered rebels defend a fort from Mexican troops in 1836.

Answer: The Alamo

John Wayne plays Davy Crockett in this entertaining, if inaccurate, retelling of the Battle of the Alamo during the 1836 Texas Revolution. Not only Wayne, but fellow heroes William Travis (Laurence Harvey) and James Bowie (Richard Widmark) also died when Mexican soldiers took the fort.

5. A Roman general is enslaved and becomes the most famous gladiator in Rome.

Answer: Gladiator

Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), having won a great victory over Germanic tribesmen, is enslaved after he suspects that the Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) murdered his father Marcus Aurelius to gain the throne. Maximus becomes the most popular gladiator in Rome, and gets his revenge against Commodus before dying in the arena.

6. A Jewish U.S. Army officer helps the Israelis win their independence.

Answer: Cast a Giant Shadow

American army reserve Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus is recruited by the Israelis to advise their army in the coming conflict with the Arab states. Reluctant at first and with more of an American identity than a Jewish one, Marcus throws himself into the cause and rediscovers his faith.

After helping the Israelis win their independence, he is killed by one of his own men on the eve of a ceasefire.

7. Three Australian soldiers are accused of murder during the Boer War.

Answer: Breaker Morant

Edward Woodward stars as Lt. Harry "Breaker" Morant, an Australian volunteer with British forces in the 2nd Boer War. He and two other Australian
lieutenants, Peter Handcock (Bryan Brown) and George Witton (Lewis Fitz-Gerald) are tried for shooting Boer prisoners, which they had been ordered to do, and for the killing of a German missionary. The odds are against the three defendants, and they are found guilty. Morant and Handcock are executed, while Witton is sentenced to imprisonment.

8. An 11th century Spanish nobleman fights the Moors.

Answer: El Cid

Castilian nobleman Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar fights for his king, Ferdinand, against the invading Moors. His loyalty is questioned when he makes peace with two captured Moorish lords, and he later is put in the middle of the struggle when King Ferdinand dies and his two sons fight for the throne. Rodrigo later dies during the Siege of Valencia, but his widow and his loyal men prop his body on his horse to lead one last charge against his enemies.

9. A U.S. Army captain leads a squad of men looking for a certain soldier during the 1944 Normandy invasion.

Answer: Saving Private Ryan

When it is learned by the American War Department that a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, James Ryan, has lost his three brothers in combat, a team of Army Rangers led by Captain John Miller is given the mission of finding Ryan somewhere behind the lines in Normandy.

The men find Ryan, but several of the squad, including Captain Miller, are killed while defending a French town from German counterattacks.

10. In Ancient Greece, a king leads a small force against a large Persian army.

Answer: The 300 Spartans

In 480 BCE, the disunited city-states of Greece face invasion by a massive Persian army. Spartan king Leonidas, though he does not have the whole Spartan army with him because of a religious festival, leads a united force of Greek soldiers, including Leonidas' personal guard of 300 Spartans, to the pass at Thermopylae.

He and his troops hold off the Persians for several days until he and his Spartans are annihilated.

11. A German youth and his friends join the Army and fight in World War I.

Answer: All Quiet on the Western Front

In 1914, German teen Paul Baumer (Lew Ayres) and his school mates join the German Army, expecting a quick victory and glory. At the front, the boys experience artillery bombardments, food shortages, lice, rats, and death, but no glory. Baumer is killed by a sniper when he tries to catch a butterfly sitting on the sandbags in front of his position.

12. A young white colonel leads one of the Union Army's first African-American regiments in the American Civil War.

Answer: Glory

In late 1862, the state of Massachusetts recruits and trains an infantry regiment made up of black men, commanded by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) and other white officers. The 54th excels in battle when finally allowed to fight, but a large part of the regiment, including Shaw, are killed in the unsuccessful assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina in July, 1863.

13. An American sailor is caught up in China's revolution in the 1920s.

Answer: The Sand Pebbles

American sailor Jake Holman (Steve McQueen) is newly transferred to a river gunboat, the San Pablo. Holman dislikes the system on the boat, where Chinese laborers do most of the work so the crew can drill for war. Revolution is beginning in China, and several incidents with the local population lead to fighting. Holman and the boat's captain (Richard Crenna) are both killed while trying to evacuate missionaries from central China.

14. This biopic tells the story of World War II German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

Answer: The Desert Fox

The film shows Rommel from his days commanding the Afrika Korps through his transfer to France and his role in building the Atlantic Wall defenses against Allied invasion. He is also shown plotting with other German officers to get rid of Hitler and the Nazis, even though he took no active part in the coup attempt. Even so, Rommel was suspected, and chose to commit suicide rather than have his reputation ruined and his family punished.

15. A group of German officers plots to kill Adolf Hitler in 1944.

Answer: Valkyrie

German colonel Count Claus Von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), grievously wounded in North Africa, is transferred to Army headquarters in Berlin. Here he joins a group of German officers who are plotting to replace Hitler and end the war before Germany loses. On July 20, 1944, Stauffenerg plants a bomb at Hitler's headquarters, but Hitler survives and the coup fails. Stauffenberg and three of his co-conspirators are executed that night by order of General Fromm (Tom Wilkinson), who knew of the plot and is trying to cover up his role in it.

Source: Author Reamar42

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A Hero's Death in War Movies Trivia Quiz

War movies have been around since movies began to be made in the late 1800s. These are 15 films in which the main character or characters, the heroes, die in the movie. Match the title to the plot description.

Questions		Choices
1. An English general is killed defending an African city in 1885.		Khartoum
2. During the Thirty Years War, a mercenary captain spares a village from destruction.		Valkyrie
3. A 13th century Scottish rebel tries to free his country from the English.		Glory
4. Outnumbered rebels defend a fort from Mexican troops in 1836.		El Cid
5. A Roman general is enslaved and becomes the most famous gladiator in Rome.		The Last Valley
6. A Jewish U.S. Army officer helps the Israelis win their independence.		The 300 Spartans
7. Three Australian soldiers are accused of murder during the Boer War.		The Sand Pebbles
8. An 11th century Spanish nobleman fights the Moors.		All Quiet on the Western Front
9. A U.S. Army captain leads a squad of men looking for a certain soldier during the 1944 Normandy invasion.		Cast a Giant Shadow
10. In Ancient Greece, a king leads a small force against a large Persian army.		Gladiator
11. A German youth and his friends join the Army and fight in World War I.		Braveheart
12. A young white colonel leads one of the Union Army's first African-American regiments in the American Civil War.		The Desert Fox
13. An American sailor is caught up in China's revolution in the 1920s.		The Alamo
14. This biopic tells the story of World War II German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.		Saving Private Ryan
15. A group of German officers plots to kill Adolf Hitler in 1944.		Breaker Morant