Blown Away by the Four Winds Quiz | Something in Common

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Based on a true story, this 1996 movie follows a crew of teenage boys, led by "Skipper" (Jeff Bridges), on a school sailing ship. When their ship, Albatross, encounters a storm at sea, the boys must band together to get themselves and the ship through in one piece. Which movie is described above?

Answer: White Squall

A 'white squall' is defined as "a sudden and violent windstorm phenomenon at sea which is not accompanied by the black clouds generally characteristic of a squall." - Wikipedia

The boys are on the ship at the insistence of their parents, who feel they need discipline, respect, and to gain some life experience. The trip is set to be for eight months and even though the boys make it through some tough times (and have some pretty slack times!) the biggest lesson is having to work together to get through the white squall they encounter.

"The Perfect Storm" (2000) is about a commercial fishing boat and not a school sailing ship. "Flood" (2007) is a TV movie based on the same-titled book by Richard Doyle about the Thames Barrier in London being overwhelmed by water and subsequent flooding of London. "Arctic Blast" (2010) follows Jack Tate (Michael Shanks) as he tries to find a solution to the world starting to freeze after a solar eclipse.

2. Lots of storms set the scene for this 2004 movie, including tornadoes in Los Angeles, snowstorms in New Delhi and hailstorms in Tokyo. To make matters worse, three astronauts at the International Space Station discover one massive storm (soon to turn into three hurricanes with eyes that instantly freeze everything they come into contact with) covering the northern hemisphere. Which stormy disaster movie stars Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal and Sela Ward?

Answer: The Day After Tomorrow

According to paleoclimatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), this type of freezing (or Ice Age) should happen over hundreds or thousands of years, not a few days or weeks. "The Day After Tomorrow" follows several groups of people as they try to survive the ice storm bearing down on the US. Of course each group has some relation to the next making for more suspense as they try to find each other across a frozen country.

"Absolute Zero" (2006) was a movie made for TV, yet had a very similar in storyline to "The Day After Tomorrow". "2012: Ice Age" (2011) is billed as a 'mockbuster' (a film created to piggy-back on the success of a recent movie, usually released straight to DVD) using elements of "The Day After Tomorrow". "End Day" (2005) is a BBC docu-drama depicting several different doomsday scenarios.

3. What could be worse than weathering a storm on a Pacific island? Dealing with racist white colonials, a sadistic jailer and several attempts to escape from a sixteen-year jail sentence is just a start in this tropical 1937 film starring Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall. Which movie, filmed as a flashback, does this plot describe?

Answer: The Hurricane

"The Hurricane" (1937) was produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions and directed by John Ford. The film starts with Dr Kersaint (Thomas Mitchell) telling his story to a fellow passenger as they sail past his former 'home' (cue: flashback).

An interesting bit of information regarding this film is that Jon Hall's uncle, James Norman Hall, wrote the novel that the film was based on.

"Tornado" and "Tsunami" were titles I made up, although who knows?, they could get used for future films. "The Big Wet" is a film about wildlife in Australia's tropical north, nothing to do with natural disasters at all!

4. Most people try to avoid the path of a storm, but there are some who are fascinated with the wind and the power and destruction it can wreak. What 1996 movie starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton shows that even when a couple divorces, their fascination with tornado winds can blow them together again and again?

Answer: Twister

The windy disaster movie is indeed "Twister". Also starring in this windswept action flick are Cary Elwes and Jami Gertz. "Castaway" starred Helen Hunt and Tom Hanks, but it did not have to do with tornadoes or hurricanes. "As Good As It Gets" stars Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson, but it has no windy weather to speak of. "The Wind in the Willows" sounds like a good candidate for this question, but it is a children's movie that has no severe weather either.

5. Tom (Christian Slater) and his uncle Charlie (Edward Asner) get their armoured truck stuck in a ditch during the worst recorded rainstorm in Midwest US history. They are ambushed by Jim (Morgan Freeman) and his band of armed robbers before Tom can get away with (and hide) three million dollars, but not before Charlie is shot dead. Which 1998 VERY wet movie does this plot describe?

Answer: Hard Rain

Also known as "The Flood" this VERY wet disaster film stars Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater caught in the worst recorded rainstorm in the history of the US mid-west. Tom is also chased by the armed robbers who somehow get their hands on jet skis and a boat. Of course there are the expected fights (and ensuing death of 'bad guys'), a love interest, and worsening of the weather and flooding, before more fights and dead 'bad guys'. Don't watch this one if you are afraid of drowning either!

"Waterworld" is a Kevin Costner fantasy movie that doesn't fit this question. "Rain, Rain, Go Away" is just a title I made up (imagine that!) and "The Perfect Storm" (2000) takes place on the water (ocean) in the middle of a storm.

6. Another movie from the classic period that hinges on the power of the wind starred a child actress getting her big break. It pioneered the use of black and white and color photography. What is the name of this 1939 classic?

Answer: The Wizard of Oz

An adaptation of the book of the same name by L. Frank Baum, the movie starred Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale and was instrumental in getting her career off to a flying start. In the movie, Dorothy is unable to make it to the storm cellar in her house in time to escape the oncoming tornado. Swept away by the wind along with the house and her dog, Dorothy finds herself all alone in a strange village and must find a way to make it back 'home'.

There are many windy references in the movie, Dorothy's last name of Gale, for example. But the most amazing thing by far is special effects expert, Andrew Gillespie's tornado. After numerous attempts using rigid replicas of a tornado, Gillespie came on the idea of using dark colored muslin fabric coming through a slot on the floor to imitate the movement of a real tornado. His inspiration came from his experience as a pilot and the wind socks he had seen in his flying days.

7. The desert is another place where the wind can be a deadly foe. Which 1962 movie directed by David Lean tells the story of an intrepid soul who braved the desert winds and survived against the odds?

Answer: Lawrence of Arabia

"Lawrence of Arabia", starring Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, among many others, used breathtaking cinematography and the wide screen to show the desert as a dry hot endless sea of sand. The sandstorm scenes are what many remember most about the movie. "The Searchers" is a John Wayne movie that took place in the old west. "Nomads" is a horror film from 1986, and it actually deals with urban nomads and not those who wander the desert. "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" is a more modern film starring Jake Gyllenhall, and it does not have any sandstorm scenes.

8. Anytime a person is on the open seas in a boat, it is obvious that the wind can be a force to be reckoned with. Storms that can be weathered in a storm cellar while on land are devastating and dangerous on the water. Which 2000 movie starring George Clooney and Diane Lane is based on the true story of the Andrea Gail getting caught in a record-breaking storm?

Answer: The Perfect Storm

"The Perfect Storm" is based on a real storm from 1991. The ship was lost in the storm and though what really happened may never be known in full detail, the movie does a good job of presenting one likely scenario. "Dark Waters" (2010) is a psychological thriller set in Wales and doesn't have to do with a storm. "The Abyss" is a disaster movie about the ocean, but doesn't fit the description required here. "Master and Commander" is another movie about the high seas, but it is set many years before the story of the Andrea Gail.

9. With a plot that seems inspired by Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe", in which movie starring Tom Hanks did disaster strike during a storm, resulting in an airplane crash and the lead character getting stranded on an uninhabited island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for four long years?

Answer: Cast Away

Tom Hanks plays the role of Chuck Noland, a Fed-ex employee who is so caught up with his work that he can't even make time to marry his girlfriend, Kelly, played by Helen Hunt. While on his way for a business trip, his plane gets caught in a fierce storm and though he survives the ensuing crash into the Pacific Ocean, he is stranded miles away from civilization on a remote, uninhabited island.

10. A plane caught in a storm, crash landing on a deserted island, fighting for survival - sounds familiar? The ensuing story is not so bleak though. In which film is the unlikely lead pair of Anne Heche and Harrison Ford stranded on an island giving Cupid enough time to get the two together?

Answer: Six Days, Seven Nights

Robin (Anne Heche) is a workaholic journalist whose boyfriend, Frank (David Schwimmer) whisks her off to a South Pacific island to spend some alone time and increase the romance in their relationship. Having been asked by her boss to fly urgently to Tahiti for some work, Robin enlists the help of a pilot, Quinn Harris (Harrison Ford) to take her there. Unfortunately for them, they get caught in a violent storm and crash land on a remote, deserted island. What follows is a series of comic adventures as the two try to get over their mutual dislike of each other and find some way of escaping from the island.

Source: Author zorba_scank

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

Blown Away by the Four Winds Trivia Quiz

The Four Winds have nothing to do with the havoc wrought by storms in these ten Hollywood films. Do accompany us though and see if you remember these movies where important plot twists and turns took place during a storm.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>