A Trip Around the World with Woody Allen Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. We start in New York. Woody Allen plays Isaac a divorced man who's having an affair with Tracey (Mariel Hemingway) who's still in high school, but then he meets Mary (Diane Keaton) and falls in love again. In which borough of New York does this film take place? Beautifully shot in black and white, it has been referred to as picturesque postcard of the city.

Answer: Manhattan

"Manhattan" (1979) opens with shots of the city including the Manhattan skyline, diners and hotels - one of which has "Manhattan" in flashing lights on the side. Key points in Isaac and Mary's relationship take place at famous Manhattan spots including Central Park, the Museum of Modern Art and the iconic short of the pair in front of the Queensboro Bridge - which spans over the East River connecting the boroughs of Queens and Manhattan.

The film also features Meryl Streep as Isaac's ex-wife who is now writing a book revealing personal details of their relationship. Mariel Hemingway (granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway) received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role, and Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman were also nominated for their original screenplay.

2. Our next Woody Allen classic sees him leave New York (twice!), but he doesn't like it much (either time!). But Alvy Singer (Allen) is determined to stay with Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) or follow her wherever she goes. What city does Annie jet off to, leaving Alvy to grumble about its lack of cultural advantages?

Answer: Los Angeles

"Annie Hall" (1977) is a somewhat dramatic, as well as comedic, adventure for Woody Allen in which we see the famed romance between Alvy and Annie fall apart, get built up, but just to stay apart. One of Allen's famous lines from the movie is about Los Angeles: "I don't want to move to a city where the only cultural advantage is being able to make a right turn on a red light." Their first trip to Los Angeles is when Alvy is going to present a television award. Alvy later travels there in an attempt to win back Annie, who has moved there with record producer Tony Lacey (Paul Simon).

3. Our next film involves two cities, neither of which are New York! In New Jersey, Cecelia (Mia Farrow) goes to watch a movie and watches the leading man, an archaeologist named Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), walk right off the screen and into her life. What city was the fictional Tom Baxter previously in? (Hint: it's in the name of the fictional film shared with this Woody Allen classic.)

Answer: Cairo

"The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985) is a romance fantasy film where the leading man is utterly in love with Mia Farrow's Cecelia, but he isn't real and she ends up having to choose between the fictional Tom Baxter and the real-life actor, Gil Shepherd, who's playing him.

In the beginning of the fictional film, three rich Manhattanites take a vacation to Egypt which is where they meet Tom and bring him back from.

4. In this movie, Woody Allen plays Fielding Mellish, a clumsy New Yorker who's in love with Nancy, but she wants a man who's more ambitious. In which movie does he move to the fictional Latin American country, San Marcos, and eventually become its President?

Answer: Bananas

"Bananas" (1971) is one of Woody Allen's early comedic farces, and it stars his second wife, Louise Lasser, as Nancy, the political activist. Nancy doesn't believe that Fielding Mellish has much leadership potential, and so he runs off to San Marcos where he gets involved with the rebels. The scenes in the fictional country of San Marcos were actually filmed in Puerto Rico.

5. In "September" (1987), Lane (Mia Farrow) has invited her friends to her country home. Howard is in love with Lane, but Lane is in love with Peter, but Peter is in love with Stephanie. Where does this tale of unrequited love take place?

Answer: Vermont

"September" (1987) does not star Woody Allen, but it was his attempt to make a film like a play and is loosely based on the plays by Anton Chekhov. The film takes place entirely in Lane's home in Vermont, but it was actually shot in a studio in New York.

The characters refer to the house being in Vermont, including in one exchange between Lane and her mother, Diane (Elaine Stritch), who is planning on moving back into the house with her husband, Lloyd, but Lane is planning on selling it. Diane says, "Lloyd loves Vermont, and I have always loved this place."

6. In "Don't Drink the Water" (1994), Woody Allen plays Walter Hollander, the patriarch of a family on vacation who gets the family marked as international spies. Set in the 1960s behind the iron curtain, where does this movie take place?

Answer: USSR

"Don't Drink the Water" (1994) starts with Walter Hollander (Woody Allen) who takes a photograph in a non-tourist area. The rest of the movie then takes place with the Hollander family holed up in the American Embassy in the USSR. Allen originally wrote it as a play and produced it on Broadway in 1966.

7. For a brief stop in New York again, Woody Allen sets his sights on a new venue he's not particularly well-known for. David Shayne (John Cusack) is a playwright whose latest work gets funded by the mob and is forced to hire a terrible actress. In what area of New York, with bullets flying over, does this film take place?

Answer: Broadway

"Bullets Over Broadway" (1994) is another straight comedy combining a frequent character type - the neurotic, struggling writer (played by John Cusack) - with the mob. The film netted seven Oscar nominations (matching a career-high for a Woody Allen film) and Dianne Wiest won for Best Supporting Actress.

8. In 2005, Woody Allen ventured out to Europe and left the comedy behind. "Match Point" stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Chris, a former tennis pro who now has his eyes set on Nola (Scarlett Johansson), an engaged woman. Where does this dangerous game of tennis take place?

Answer: London

"Match Point" (2005) opens with Chris interviewing for a job as a tennis instructor. He's asked if he wants to live in London and replies, "Yes, very much so." The next scene sees Chris renting a small flat in London. After meeting Tom and his wealthy family, including his sister Chloe, he quickly moves up in the world and he and Chloe get a spacious apartment over-looking the Thames River in London.

A lot of critics unfavourably compared "Match Point" to "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (more of a dark comedy which shares a lot of the same plot points), but "Match Point" is Woody Allen's second film to make a profit in the U.S., and it also marks his return to awards season, netting a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

9. Before we continue our modern European adventure, we're taking a look in the classic Woody Allen vault. Allen himself plays Boris, a neurotic Russian soldier, and finds himself falling in love with Sonja, his distant cousin (played by Diane Keaton). Together they get caught up in a plan to assassinate Napoleon. Which film features this hilarious take on philosophy and war set in czarist Russia?

Answer: Love and Death

"Love and Death" (1975) is one of Woody Allen's more philosophical comedies with characters frequently breaking into philosophical arguments, but it's done for the comedy and not necessarily any grand discussions on love and death. Although it is set in Russia, it was mostly filmed in Budapest, Hungary with a few additional scenes filmed in Paris.

10. In a 2008 film, two friends, Vicky and Cristina, take a summer vacation and meet Juan Antonio, a seductive artist. What city do these friends visit, sparking their own sexual adventure?

Answer: Barcelona

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008) stars Rebecca Hall as Vicky, happily engaged and slightly cautious, and Scarlett Johansson as Cristina, the sexy and daring one. Cristina falls for Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) and isn't fazed by the arrival of his fiery ex-wife. Penelope Cruz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the ex-wife.

11. In this 2011 film, Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) take a European vacation with her family. While she's out dancing, Gil is falling in love with the city and the golden age of the 1920s. Which film features this time-travelling hero and his idols of years past?

Answer: Midnight in Paris

"Midnight in Paris" (2011) is a fantasy film mixing in romance and comedy. Gil's walks at midnight lead him to a car holding T.S. Eliot and Ernest Hemingway and he meets all the literary and artistic greats of the 1920s. The film won Woody Allen the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was also nominated for Best Picture.

12. In 2012 Woody Allen explored a new European city with love. A retired American couple fly overseas to meet their daughter and her new boyfriend; A man accidentally hooks up with a prostitute while waiting for his wife, while she meets her favorite actor; an architect student meets his girlfriend's sexy friend; and overnight a man becomes a celebrity sensation. In which city do these four stories of love and fantasy unfold?

Answer: Rome

"To Rome with Love" (2012) was a poorly-received comedy. The structure of having four separate storylines is a rather new one for Woody Allen. It was filmed entirely in Rome, Italy.

13. In 2013 Woody Allen returned to the United States, but not New York (at least not ultimately). Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) is a former New Yorker who sees herself as a victim of a fraudulent financial scheme. Alone and broke, and in the throes of a nervous breakdown, Jasmine moves to which city in "Blue Jasmine" (2013)?

Answer: San Francisco

"Blue Jasmine" is a more dramatic foray into a character study of a mentally unstable woman. At the beginning of the film, Jasmine flies into San Francisco and takes a cab to her free-spirited sister's apartment in the gritty South Van Ness neighborhood. Jasmine attempts to put her life back together in San Francisco but after meeting a handsome politician starts following on bad habits.

At one point within the film, she remarks, "If you can't fall in love in San Francisco, you can't fall in love anywhere."

14. For our penultimate film, we're going everywhere with Woody Allen. Which film features Woody Allen as a "human chameleon" inserting himself into a party with F. Scott Fitzgerald, working with the Nazis in Germany before World War II, and playing baseball with Babe Ruth?

Answer: Zelig

"Zelig" (1983) is a mockumentary about Leonard Zelig, a man who wants to fit in so badly that he's able to physically and socially transform to resemble those around him. The film used real footage and used bluescreen technology to insert Woody Allen into the historical events.

It also includes color segments from real, present-day historians and academics discussing the celebrity of Zelig as if he was a real person.

15. In our final film, a Woody Allen classic, he's off to the future! Which film features Woody Allen as Miles Monroe, a New Yorker from 1973 who wakes up after an operation in 2173 and is recruited to defeat the current leader in America's totalitarian state?

Answer: Sleeper

"Sleeper" (1973) is a throw-back to the slapstick comedies of the silent era and is frequently referred to as one of Woody Allen's funniest movies. The film contains a number of references to "The Sleeper Awakes" by H.G. Wells, "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell and the film "2001: A Space Odyssey". The film was primarily shot in and around Denver, Colorado.

Source: Author napierslogs

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor jmorrow before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

From New York to Europe and beyond, this quiz uses the films of Woody Allen to take us on a trip around the world. You may be surprised how many times he has left New York.

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