Everlong Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cleopatra

"Cleopatra" nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox, as its planned $2 million budget turned into $44 million during production, significantly exceeding its take of $26 million during the first year of release. The film tells the story of the Roman attempts to conquer Egypt, as a soap-opera affair. Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor) first entangles herself with Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison); after his death, she is involved with Marc Antony (Richard Burton) in his struggles with Octavian (Roddy McDowell) for control of the Roman Empire. It won Oscars for Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design and Visual Effects, and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound Mixing. What most film fans associate with "Cleopatra", however, is the very public affair conducted between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

They subsequently married and divorced twice (15 March 1964 - 26 June 1974 and 10 October 1975 - 29 July 1976).

Answer: And Quiet Flows the Don

Mikhail Sholokov won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1965 for his Don trilogy. The three-part, 1958 film, called "Tikhiy Don" in Russian, was adapted and directed by Sergei Gerasimov. "And Quiet Flows the Don" won the Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the Best Picture Award at the All-Union Film Festival. We follow the leading character, Grigori Melekhov, through World War I, the Russian Revolution and the Civil War, as he struggles to sort out his personal life against the spectacular background of these events.

The conflict between his obligations to his wife and his desire for his first, true, love mirrors the larger historical events within which it is shown.

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

"Mahatma: Life of Gandhi, 1869-1948" was produced in 1968 by the Gandhi National Memorial Fund in cooperation with the Films Division of the Government of India. The original version ran over five hours, but there have been many abridged versions released for various markets.

The film includes animation, live film footage and old photographs; most of the soundtrack consists of Gandhi's own words to portray the personal and political events that formed his life.

Answer: La Revolution Francaise

"La Revolution Francaise", co-produced by companies from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada, ran for six hours when it was released in 1989, 200 years after the beginning of the French Revolution. Shot in both French and English, it shows the course of the revolution from the calling of the Estates-General in 1789 to the death of Maximilien de Robespierre in 1794.

The film was originally released in two parts, the first part dealing with the complex historical events leading up to the French Revolution, and the second with the more dramatic events associated with the Revolution and the Reign of Terror.

Answer: Little Dorrit

"Little Dorrit" is not one of Dickens's most popular works, but it was the basis for an intriguing movie. Arthur Clennam returns to England and finds himself involved in assisting Amy Dorrit, his mother's seamstress, and her father, who is in debtors' prison.

After a number of intricate plot twists (the novel was originally published in serial form, as was the case for many of Dickens' works) Arthur and Amy end up married and financially secure. The 1988 film (one of several film adaptations of the novel) was constructed in two parts - the first shows us events through the eyes of Arthur, the second overlaps, retelling and continuing the story from Amy's perspective.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

"Napoleon" ran for five-and-a-half hours and portrayed Napoleon's developing military skills from childhood (masterminding a snowball fight) through the French Revolution, and on to his victorious invasion of Italy in 1797. The film stops before most of the events for which Napoleon is commonly remembered, because it was intended to be the first installment of his entire life story. "Napoleon" is famed for its advanced camera techniques, including the filming of the last twenty minutes as a triptych, alternating wide-screen panorama shots with interweaving montages on the three screens. MGM purchased the film shortly after release, and cut it drastically (only leaving the central screen of the triptych segment) before an unsuccessful US release.

The film, directed by Abel Gance, starred Albert Dieudonne as Napoleon, Antonin Artaud as Jean-Paul Marat and Edmond van Daele as Maximilien de Robespierre. Marguerite Gance (the director's wife) portrayed Charlotte Corday, and Yvette Dieudonne was Napoleon's younger sister Elisa.

Answer: Resan (The Journey)

"Resan (The Journey)", which was filmed between 1983 and 1985 on several continents, is structured around interviews with ordinary people on such topics as nuclear weapons, military spending and poverty. It was screened at the Toronto Film festival in 1987, and at the Mexico City International Festival of Contemporary Cinema in 2007.

"Culloden" (1984) was Watkins's first television feature film, describing the pivotal 1746 battle of the Jacobite uprising through pseudo-interviews with participants and observers. "The War Game" (1965) was also produced for television, but later had theatrical release, and won an Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 1966. Due to its controversial nature, it was not screened in the UK until 1985. "The Gladiators" (1969) considers the possibility of staging a war as if it were a sporting event between two teams, and broadcasting it for public consumption, as an alternative to a World War. "Punishment Park" (1971) is pseudo-documentary, with journalists ostensibly accompanying soldiers and police as they pursue a group of 'hippies' across the desert.

Answer: Fanny and Alexander

"Fanny and Alexander" tells the story of the Ekdahl children, whose parents, Oscar and Emilie, are the director and leading lady of a local theatre company. After Oscar dies and Emilie remarries, the children are miserable in their new life, until they are smuggled out to be looked after by a family friend.

Much drama ensues, with a (fairly) happy ending. The film won four Academy Awards, for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design, and was nominated for both the Directing and the Writing (Original Screenplay) awards. Bergman had intended the film to feature Liv Ullman and Max von Sydow who had featured in many of his earlier films, but they were not available, so the parts went to Ewa Froling and Jan Malmsjo.

Answer: War and Peace

"War and Peace" has had a number of theatrical and cinematic adaptations, including this Soviet production filmed over seven years. The central love story between Countess Natasha Rostova and the unhappily-married Count Pierre Bezukhov is played out against the background of Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia.

The scene of the Battle of Borodino included 120,000 soldiers, qualifying as one of the largest battle scenes ever filmed. Despite winning the 1969 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, it is more renowned for its length than for its quality.

The 1956 version, directed by King Vidor, starred Audrey Hepburn as Natashs, Henry Fonda as Pierre and Mel Ferrer as Andrei, and was much more successful both critically and commercially.

At three-and-a-half hours, it was long, but not everlong!

Answer: Les Miserables

"Les Miserables", which can be translated into English as "The Wretched Ones", was published in 1862 and is considered one of the great novels of the 19th century. It follows Jean Valjean as he attempts to redeem himself, after being released from prison, through his relationships with the downtrodden citizens he encounters. Relentlessly pursued by a police officer intent on arresting him for a trivial violation, he assumes a new identity and devotes himself to helping others, notably Fantine and her daughter Cosette. The complexities of the story have lent themselves to numerous adaptations, some using the same title, some with a title reflecting the smaller part of the book that is in focus. The first theatrical adaptation was in 1863, produced by Hugo's son. There have been at least 50 adaptations (partial or full) for the screen.

The 1934 version starred Harry Baur as Jean Valjean and Charles Vanel as Inspecteur Javert; a much shorter 1935 version starring Frederic March and Charles Laughton in the same roles received four Academy Award nominations.