What a Wonderful World...Movie! Quiz

Answer: Spoorloos

Sluizer's 1988 film is a disturbingly uncomfortable watch, with an atmosphere to die for and some beautiful cinematography. It's also probably the most macabre movie I've ever seen.

Answer: Oldboy

Chan-wook Park's masterpiece is a spectacular take on the revenge thriller, which twists and turns, keeping you guessing throughout. The film deservedly won 17 awards, with the Grand Prize Of The Jury at Cannes Film Festival being the most prestigious of these.

Answer: The Wall

This is the story of two brothers who choose opposite paths in life, one becoming a wealthy underworld crook, and the other following a more righteous path on his way to becoming a policeman.
This is a truly remarkable film from director Yash Chopra and it's no surprise that one of the actors in the film, Amitabh Bachchan, went on to become arguably India's greatest ever superstar.

Answer: The American Friend

Patricia Highsmith, who wrote the novel upon which this movie is based ("Ripley's Game"), initially disliked Wim Wenders' work of art, as she thought the screen version of her villain, Tom Ripley, was poles apart from her own literary depiction of him. She changed her mind, however, upon viewing the film at a regular screening, after which she admitted Wenders had him down to a tee.

Answer: Dog Fighting

So intensely realistic are the dog fighting scenes that the disclaimer "No animals were harmed in the making of this movie" comes right at the beginning of the film instead of in its standard place amongst the end credits.
The film itself beautifully interweaves three separate stories through the medium of a gruesome car accident.

Answer: Marie

Under the direction of Jean Becker, Paradis is something of a revelation. Of course, that won't make her any more popular in the eyes of millions of jealous women everywhere, due to her long term relationship with one Mr. Johnny Depp!

Answer: Dario

This is the first movie Argento directed, although he previously had writing credits on many fine movies before this, most notably arguably the greatest Western of all time - "Once Upon a Time in the West".

Answer: M

This highly controversial movie is based on an article Lang read about a serial killer from Dusseldorf called Peter Kuerten. And just to add authenticity to the courtroom scene at the end, Lang actually cast real life criminals as extras!

Answer: Italy

This is widely regarded as an all time classic by connoisseurs of foreign film. It's the charming story of a young boy named Salvatore da Vita and his lifelong passion for the big screen.

Answer: Jules et Jim

Sadly, Truffaut died from a brain tumour in 1984 at the age of 52. He is buried in the exclusive "Montmartre" cemetry in Paris.

Answer: Fat Girl

A bleakly unsettling coming of age drama, "Fat Girl" caused major disputes amongst the censors and picked up 4 major film awards within two years of its release.

Answer: Holland

Verhoeven has, of course, directed many other well respected films such as "Robocop", "Total Recall", "The Fourth Man" and "Basic Instinct" in a career spanning over 40 years. Personally I think he deserves the utmost respect for being the first person to turn up and accept a "Worst Director" award - for "Showgirls" - at the Razzies.

Answer: Akira Kurosawa

A fascinating film in that it recounts 4 different people's viewpoints of a grisly crime without ever letting the viewer know who is telling the truth, "Rashomon" is by far my favourite from Kurosawa's mighty pantheon of work. He died after a stroke in 1998 at the age of 88.

Answer: Leon Trotsky

Trotsky, apparently aware of his imminent assassination by Stalin's hitmen, saw his wife in the garden and wrote that, in spite of everything, "Life is Beautiful".
"La Vita è bella", to give its correct Italian title, is about a Jewish man called Guido and his son Giosué who are taken to a Concentration Camp, upon which Guido (played by the director himself) attempts to convince Giosué that they are taking part in a high profile game where the prize is your very own tank. It's a beautiful, devastating picture and richly deserved its Academy Award.

Answer: The Bible

This Swedish film was a landmark for World Cinema in its complexity. Its title was taken from "The Revelation of St. John the Divine", Chapter 8. Not only this, but Bergman based practically all the characters in the film on a set of murals in a church where his father used to preach.