The Film History of Robert De Niro (Part I) Quiz

Answer: Sam's Song

The 1969 film 'Sam's Song' was also alternatively known as 'Line of Fire'. 'The Swap' was the title adopted after a 1979 re-cut of the film. 'Greetings' and 'The Wedding Party' were both directed by Brian De Palma, a director with whom De Niro would work again in the future. Oddly, in 'The Wedding Party', De Niro's name was misspelled 'Robert Denero' in the credits.

Answer: No

I knew you'd see through my ruse. Robert De Niro also was featured in the 1996 film 'The Fan', co-starring Wesley Snipes. In that film, De Niro plays an obsessed baseball fan, rather than a player himself. As usual, in both cases, his acting was marvelous.

Answer: It garnered Robert De Niro his first Oscar nomination

De Niro's first Oscar nomination would come in 1975 for his role in 'Godfather II'. The Best Supporting Actor victory from the National Society of Film Critics was one of two acting awards he won in 1974 (the other being for 'Bang the Drum Slowly', again as a supporting actor, from the NYFCC).

'Mean Streets' marked the first of several fruitful collaborations with both Scorsese and Keitel for Mr. De Niro.

Answer: Marlon Brando

The 1974 film 'The Godfather: Part II' featured De Niro as Vito Corleone, portrayed by Marlon Brando in the first installment. De Niro plays Vito Corleone as a younger man in the film. Among the many Oscars received for work in this film was a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Robert De Niro. He won the award on this, his first of many Academy Award nominations.

Answer: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lots of interesting tidbits about this film. While Fitzgerald wrote the book upon which the film was based, the screenplay was written by the famed playwright Harold Pinter. This was the last movie directed by classic Hollywood director Elia Kazan. It featured acting performances by Jack Nicholson, Tony Curtis and Robert Mitchum, among others.

The story is supposedly based on the life of Irving Thalberg, one time head of MGM studios.

Answer: No

No, but he did receive his first such nomination for 'The Deer Hunter'. His first Best Actor award would have to wait until 1981, when he garnered the Oscar nod for his role in the 1980 film 'Raging Bull'. In 'The Deer Hunter', De Niro acts alongside Meryl Streep (also Oscar nominated) and Christopher Walken (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor).

Answer: Once Upon a Time in America

The 1984 film entitled 'C'era una volta in America' (in Italian) was the only moment of collaboration between these two giants of the film-making world. Also featuring the acting of James Woods, Joe Pesci, Treat Williams, Tuesday Weld and others, it's a classic cinematic treat that doesn't get as much attention as it should.

Answer: The Mission

De Niro co-stars with Jeremy Irons, Aidan Quinn and Liam Neeson in the beautiful and tragic 1986 film 'The Mission'. Directed by Roland Joffé from a story written by Robert Bolt, the movie also features a haunting score written by Ennio Morricone. If you haven't seen it yet...you must!

Answer: True

'The King of Comedy' is really an interesting turn for both Scorsese and De Niro, who both specialized in dramatic films prior to this dark comic collaboration. What makes the film even more interesting is the serious turn taken by Jerry Lewis for his role as a kidnapped talk show host. Despite the shift in roles for the featured actors (and the director), the film really does work!

Answer: Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil' was another interesting acting turn for De Niro, who again plays a comedic role as Archibald Tuttle (his good friends call him 'Harry'), a futuristic repairman. De Niro proved his incredible acting range with this film.

There are so many great De Niro performances that they all can't fit into one quiz, hence this is only part I. Thank you for playing; if you enjoyed this I hope you'll check out some of my other quizzes.