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Best Picture Upsets Trivia Quiz

The 2005 Best Picture winner "Crash" was a huge upset, as most people anticipated the win would go to "Brokeback Mountain". Though this may be the biggest surprise Best Picture winner, it's certainly not the first.

A multiple-choice quiz by zee93. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
zee93

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
228,160

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
2740

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The last Best Picture upset before "Crash" was when this romantic comedy beat out a Spielberg favorite. Which movie won? Hint

Elizabeth

La Vita E Bella

Shakespeare in Love

The Thin Red Line

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Question 2 of 10

2. What Oscar winner literally gasped before uttering the name of the Best Picture winner "Crash"? Hint

Jack Nicholson

Meryl Streep

Tom Hanks

Denzel Washington

3. "Crash" became the second eligible movie to win the Best Picture Oscar, without even being nominated for a Best Picture Golden Globe, which often helps in predicting the winner. What was the first? Hint

Midnight Cowboy

Patton

The Sting

The Silence of the Lambs

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Question 4 of 10

4. Gary Cooper had a showdown in "High Noon", but the film itself had a showdown at the Oscars with this 1952 John Ford film. Hint

The Bad and the Beautiful

Moulin Rouge

Ivanhoe

The Quiet Man

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Question 5 of 10

5. A big reason people are so prone to upsets is because of precursor awards. 2005's favorite "Brokeback Mountain" was the first film to win the Producers, Directors, and Writers Guild awards and not win a Best Picture Oscar.

True

False

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Question 6 of 10

6. Sometimes upsets are expected, just not the right ones. This was the case in 1995 when people noticed "Apollo 13" and "Sense and Sensibility" lacked an important Best Director nod. Instead of turning to the ultimate winner "Braveheart", people turned to this charming family film. Hint

Toy Story

Babe

The American President

Pocahontas

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Question 7 of 10

7. Nowadays this Best Picture winner captivates audiences everywhere. People would never believe what an upset it was back in its day. "The Song of Bernadette" was the frontrunner at the Oscars that year but lost out, certainly justifiably, to this classic World War II romance movie. Hint

Gone with the WInd

From Here to Eternity

The Sound of Music

Casablanca

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Question 8 of 10

8. This 1948 upset Best Picture winner truly came out of nowhere. It was so far off the radar it came all the way from England! What was it? Hint

Oliver!

Henry V

Hamlet

Chariots of Fire

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Question 9 of 10

9. The delightful 1951 Best Picture "An American in Paris" defeated what psychological drama that was supposed to win, as it did at the Globes? Hint

A Streetcar Named Desire

Decision Before Dawn

The African Queen

A Place in the Sun

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. At the 2002 Academy Awards, this Best Picture nominee seemed to be slowly and shockingly climbing its way to the Oscar top, upsetting for Best Actor, Screenplay and Director. It seemed inevitable that it would upset for Best Picture, but ultimately the frontrunner "Chicago" took home the prize. What was this ALMOST upset Best Picture winner? Hint

Gangs of New York

Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers

The Hours

The Pianist

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The last Best Picture upset before "Crash" was when this romantic comedy beat out a Spielberg favorite. Which movie won?

Answer: Shakespeare in Love

The 1998 winner "Shakespeare in Love" beat Spielberg's war movie "Saving Private Ryan". The film detailed Shakespeare's inspiration to write "Romeo and Juliet" after falling in love with his beautiful muse Viola.

2. What Oscar winner literally gasped before uttering the name of the Best Picture winner "Crash"?

Answer: Jack Nicholson

The sound of the word "Crash" made the movie's entire cast and crew jump into the air like bloodhounds, as everyone expected to hear "Brokeback Mountain". The Academy obviously preferred a film demonstrating multi-layered racial conflicts in Los Angeles, over a western about two gay cowboys hiding their love affair from a homophobic 1960s society.

Answer: The Sting

A comedy about an elaborate con led by two best friends, 1973's "The Sting" only received a Best Screenplay nod at the Globes. Best Picture went to its closest Oscar competitors Best Drama Picture "The Exorcist" and Best Comedy Picture "American Graffiti".

4. Gary Cooper had a showdown in "High Noon", but the film itself had a showdown at the Oscars with this 1952 John Ford film.

Answer: The Quiet Man

"The Quiet Man" was about an American boxer who found love in Ireland, despite protests from his girlfriend's hot-headed brother.

Both films lost out to the upset winner "The Greatest Show on Earth", a grandiose tale about the ups and down of circus life.

Answer: True

Best Picture Oscar winners that until this year have proven this theory are "Dances With Wolves" (1990), "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), "Schindler's List" (1993), "Forrest Gump" (1994) and "American Beauty" (1999).

Answer: Babe

Despite a weak year in cinema, "Babe", a visually innovative tale of a pig's amusing journey towards sheepherding, delighted adults and children alike, but not Oscar voters.

Answer: Casablanca

What shocked people about the win was most likely the film's rough and shady characters. "Casablanca", the story of a nightclub owner's reunion with a lost love that ultimately led him to a heroic sacrifice, also won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

8. This 1948 upset Best Picture winner truly came out of nowhere. It was so far off the radar it came all the way from England! What was it?

Answer: Hamlet

Shakespeare's classic tale of revenge beat out favorites "Johnny Belinda" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", which had both tied for the Best Picture Golden Globe.

9. The delightful 1951 Best Picture "An American in Paris" defeated what psychological drama that was supposed to win, as it did at the Globes?

Answer: A Place in the Sun

"A Place in the Sun" looked at a man's tragic attempt at happiness in a world he had not been born to.

Many attributed the surprise win largely to the beautiful grand finale of "An American in Paris".

Answer: The Pianist

The World War II story of a Jew who became a refugee in the Warsaw ghetto, taking comfort in his music, made jaws drop with its three unexpected wins.

Source: Author zee93

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nannanut before going online.
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