Starring Natalie Portman in the lead role, "Black Swan" (2010) is a psychological thriller. The film uses Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" as the setting for displaying the psychological pressures on the lead dancer competing for the contrasting roles of the White Swan and the Black Swan, and the consequences which follow. Echoing the film story, it is possible to imagine similar pressures occurring on actors during the film auditions.
2. Rain (1989)
Answer: Black
The 1989 Ridley Scott film "Black Rain" is a crime thriller where two New York police detectives are escorting a prisoner to Japan. The prisoner escapes whilst in their custody and they get dragged deeper and deeper into the Japanese crime world. Strict firearms laws in Japan eventually resulted in the final climactic scenes being filmed in California, which in turn resulted in visa problems for some actors and lookalikes needing to be found.
3. Panther (2018)
Answer: Black
A 2018 American superhero film, "Black Panther" was the first of this particular Marvel Comics-sourced franchise. Winning three Academy Awards (or Oscars), it was the biggest money-maker for a black film maker at the time. A meteorite-sourced element vibranium confers superpowers on an African warrior thousands of years in the past, leading eventually to a hidden civilisation with advanced technologies.
This story of rivalry takes place in modern times.
4. Cauldron (1985)
Answer: Black
Add in the word "The" and you get "The Black Cauldron". This 1985 animated film is a dark fantasy adventure film from Walt Disney with a wicked emperor looking to secure a magical cauldron with a view to conquering the world. He is opposed by a young swine herder and the friends he collects along the way. The film is a loose adaptation of the first two of the five books forming "The Chronicles of Prydain" by Lloyd Alexander, written during the 1960s.
5. Dragon (2002)
Answer: Red
Part of the 'Hannibal Lecter' franchise, "Red Dragon" (2002) is a psychological thriller based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. It is a prequel to "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991) and involves a serial killer known as the 'Tooth Fairy' with Lecter using him to attempt some revenge. It ends with a link to the 1991 film with Lecter being told about a visitor, a young woman from the FBI.
6. Dawn (2012)
Answer: Red
An American action movie, the 2012 film was a remake of the 1984 film of the same name. This time it was an invasion of America by North Koreans. A group of young people form the Wolverines to provide local resistance. The movie release was delayed by MGM's financial problems. Leaks of the film script drew strong criticism from the China state-run newspaper 'Global Times'. This resulted in MGM making changes to turn the villains from Chinese into North Koreans. Although now with access to the Chinese box-office market, the film bombed unlike the 1984 version.
7. Sonja (1985)
Answer: Red
American sword-and-sorcery film "Red Sonja" (1985) has a power-hungry queen chasing an unstable magic talisman whilst Red Sonja and her band seek to destroy it and the queen. In her first acting role, Brigitte Nielsen plays Sonja opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Italian version of the film was called "Yado", the name given to Schwarzenegger's character in that version, thus changing the emphasis of the film.
8. Baron (2008)
Answer: Red
This is a 2008 biographical film on the life of the German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, who was nicknamed the Red Baron. It is set during World War One and was criticised for factual inaccuracies and the fictional love interest. A German production, it was filmed in English to appeal to the international market. It did not do well in Germany where glorification of war heroes was frowned on.
9. Soylent (1973)
Answer: Green
The 1973 film "Soylent Green" is a police procedural in a dystopian world. Various issues such as the greenhouse effect, overpopulation and pollution have caused world-wide shortages of food and water. Only the elite live in some comfort with the vast majority in New York living in poverty and subsisting on food produced by the Soylent Corporation. Soylent Green is the latest, more flavourful product, supposedly using plankton. NYPD Detective Robert Thorn is called in to investigate the death of a Soylent Corp. board member.
10. Mile (1999)
Answer: Green
Based on Stephen King's 1996 novel "The Green Mile", the book (and film) is an example of magical realism. Tom Hanks plays a prison guard who witnesses supernatural events on death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary during 1935. The "Green Mile" is a reference to the green linoleum floor covering which condemned prisoners walk on when going to their execution. Seeing the 1935 film "Top Hat" in 1999 acts as a trigger to the recounting of the story.
11. Hornet (2011)
Answer: Green
The Green Hornet is part of a crime-fighting duo (including his martial arts sidekick Kato) created in the 1930s by the same people who created the Lone Ranger. In fact, the Green Hornet (with a 'bad guy' image) was the son of the Lone Ranger's nephew. Both started off on the radio.
The 2011 film version of "The Green Hornet" sees the masked duo do battle with crime in a similar way to Batman and Robin.
12. Card (1990)
Answer: Green
The title of this 1990 film is a reference to the permanent resident card which is a stepping stone to US citizenship, permitting residence in the US in the meantime. The film "Green Card" is a romantic comedy following a scenario where a marriage of convenience is arranged so that a Frenchman, played by Gérard Depardieu, can gain a green card. Andie MacDowell plays the American half of the relationship.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
