FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

Best Picture and Director Trivia Quiz

Most of the time the winner of the Best Director Oscar is the same as the winner for Best Picture. There are a few exceptions, however.

A multiple-choice quiz by bonanza22. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
bonanza22

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
234,414

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
1636

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. "The Life of Emile Zola" won Best Picture of 1937. Which movie won Best Director? Hint

The Awful Truth

The Good Earth

Captains Courageous

A Star is Born

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Director John Ford won four Best Director Oscars. Which of his Best Director movies also won Best Picture? Hint

How Green Was My Valley

The Grapes of Wrath

The Informer

The Quiet Man

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Gene Kelly's "An American in Paris" (1951) won Best Picture. Who won Best Director? Hint

George Stevens for "A Place in the Sun"

John Huston for "The African Queen"

Elia Kazan for "A Streetcar Named Desire"

William Wyler for "Detective Story"

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Which of these Best Picture winners did NOT win Best Director? Hint

Rocky

The Godfather

The Best Years of Our Lives

West Side Story

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. The film "All the King's Men" (1949) won Best Picture. Which film won Best Director? Hint

A Letter to Three Wives

12 O'Clock High

The Heiress

Battleground

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. 1967 was a year of good movies. "In the Heat of the Night" won Best Picture. Which director won the Oscar? Hint

Stanley Kramer

Norman Jewison

Arthur Penn

Mike Nichols

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Warren Beatty won Best Director of 1981 for "Reds". Which movie won Best Picture? Hint

On Golden Pond

Chariots of Fire

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Atlantic City

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Steven Spielberg won his second Best Director Oscar for which Best Picture nominee? Hint

Schindler's List

Saving Private Ryan

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. "Chicago" won Best Picture of 2002, but which film won Best Director? Hint

The Hours

The Pianist

Gangs of New York

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Frank Lloyd won Best Director for 1928-1929 for his film "The Divine Lady". Which movie won Best Picture? Hint

The Broadway Melody

In Old Arizona

Alibi

The Patriot

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "The Life of Emile Zola" won Best Picture of 1937. Which movie won Best Director?

Answer: The Awful Truth

"The Awful Truth" starred Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, and was directed by Leo McCarey. "The Life of Emile Zola" starred Paul Muni and Joseph Schildkraut and was directed by William Dieterle.

2. Director John Ford won four Best Director Oscars. Which of his Best Director movies also won Best Picture?

Answer: How Green Was My Valley

"How Green Was My Valley" won Best Picture for 1941. Ford won Best Director for "The Informer" in 1935, but "Mutiny on the Bounty" won Best Picture. He won Best Director for "The Grapes of Wrath" in 1940, but Hitchcock's "Rebecca" won Best Picture. Ford won Best Director for "The Quiet Man" in 1952, but "The Greatest Show on Earth" won Best Picture.

3. Gene Kelly's "An American in Paris" (1951) won Best Picture. Who won Best Director?

Answer: George Stevens for "A Place in the Sun"

1951 was one of those "upset" years. Most people were confident the real battle would be between "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "A Place in the Sun". Interestingly, George Stevens won Best Director for "Giant" in 1956, and that movie didn't win Best Picture either; it lost to "Around the World in 80 Days".

4. Which of these Best Picture winners did NOT win Best Director?

Answer: The Godfather

"The Best Years of Our Lives" won the Best Picture of 1946, and director William Wyler also won the award, beating out Frank Capra for "It's a Wonderful Life". "West Side Story" won Best Picture for 1961, and Best Director for Robert Wise, who won again in 1965 for "The Sound of Music". "Rocky" won Best Picture in 1976, and director John G. Avildsen.

However, "The Godfather"'s director Francis Ford Coppola lost Best Director to Bob Fosse in 1972 for "Cabaret". Coppola won Best Director two years later for "The Godfather, Part 2".

5. The film "All the King's Men" (1949) won Best Picture. Which film won Best Director?

Answer: A Letter to Three Wives

Joseph L. Mankiewicz won Best Director for "A Letter to Three Wives". He also won Best Director in 1950 for "All About Eve", which also won Best Picture.

6. 1967 was a year of good movies. "In the Heat of the Night" won Best Picture. Which director won the Oscar?

Answer: Mike Nichols

Mike Nichols won Best Director for his film "The Graduate". Stanley Kramer was nominated for "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", Arthur Penn for "Bonnie and Clyde", and Norman Jewison for "In the Heat of the Night".

7. Warren Beatty won Best Director of 1981 for "Reds". Which movie won Best Picture?

Answer: Chariots of Fire

Mark Rydell was nominated for "On Golden Pond", Steven Spielberg for "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and Louis Malle for "Atlantic City". "Chariots of Fire" director Hugh Hudson never received another nomination.

8. Steven Spielberg won his second Best Director Oscar for which Best Picture nominee?

Answer: Saving Private Ryan

"Saving Private Ryan" was nominated for Best Picture of 1998, but lost to "Shakespeare in Love". "Schindler's List" did win Best Picture in 1993. "E.T." lost to "Gandhi" in 1982 and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" wasn't even nominated, although Spielberg was.

9. "Chicago" won Best Picture of 2002, but which film won Best Director?

Answer: The Pianist

Roman Polanski won Best Director for "The Pianist". Stephen Daldry was nominated for "The Hours", Martin Scorsese was nominated for "Gangs of New York", but Peter Jackson was not nominated for "The Two Towers". Jackson won Best Director the following year, however, for "The Return of the King".

10. Frank Lloyd won Best Director for 1928-1929 for his film "The Divine Lady". Which movie won Best Picture?

Answer: The Broadway Melody

This Academy Awards ceremony was only the second in history, and it was the first to have only one directing category, instead of one for comedy and one for drama. He won two Best Director Oscars.

Source: Author bonanza22

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