Film Facts in Common Trivia Quiz

Answer: Apocalypse Now

Francis Ford Coppola's 1979, anti-war film set in Vietnam was based on the book, 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad. It followed the journey up river of Captain Willard, a Special Forces officer on a mission to assassinate a senior US army commander, who had gone insane and was operating an out of control rogue force in Cambodia. It was shot in the Philippines using local army helicopters, which President Marcos kept recalling to fight in actual combat.

Martin Sheen (who was a last minute replacement for Harvey Keitel as the lead character of Captain Willard) had a heart attack during filming, which caused filming to shut down for some weeks and threatened to stop the production completely.

'Charlie don't surf' was said by Colonel Kilgore, prior to the attack on a Viet Kong coastal village by his helicopter-mounted, Air Cavalry. The attack was to insert Captain Willard's river boat patrol but the location was selected for the nearby good surfing. The helicopter attack sequence, carried out to the sound of Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries', was perhaps the most memorable part of the film.

Answer: American Graffiti

Directed by George Lucas in 1973, this was a landmark, coming of age film which inspired many others. It starred Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard and was nominated for 5 Academy Awards.

This film was Harrison Ford's first major Hollywood acting part, and the beginning of his partnership with George Lucas.

Answer: Star Wars

'Star Wars' was the first in a series of science fiction films about the conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. In the first 3 films of the series, Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker battled villain, Darth Vader to destroy the Empire and reinstate the Rebublic.

Created by George Lucas in the 1970s, by 2005 the saga consisted of 6 films and led to a franchise of books, comics, games, TV series, toys and other merchandising. The original film was considered to have launched the era of high-budget, special-effects movies. In 2005 Forbes Magazine estimated the revenue generated by the 'Star Wars' franchise at US $20 billion ranking it amongst the most lucrative film franchises ever.

Darth Vader was played by David Prowse, with the voice of James Earl Jones. Supposedly Prowse did not know his character would be voiced over until after shooting.

Answer: Sabrina

'Sabrina' was a remake of the original 1954 version starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. This in turn was based on the play entitled 'Sabrina Fair'. Harrison Ford played tycoon, Linus Larabee with Julia Ormond in the role of Sabrina.

Answer: The Fugitive

'The Fugitive' was an ABC series that ran from 1963 to 1967, starring David Janssen. In the 1993 film version Harrison Ford played Dr Richard Kimble, a surgeon falsely accused of murdering his wife. He escaped while in transit to prison, trying to prove his innocence whilst eluding US Marshal, Samuel Gerard, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Jones received the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role.

'The Prisoner' was a 1960's cult UK, TV series starring Patrick McGoohan. It was a follow-on from McGoohan's previous TV series, 'Dangerman'. 'Nowhere Man' was a 1990's US, TV series inspired by both 'The Prisoner' and 'The Fugitive'.

Answer: The call sign of any USAF aircraft carrying the US President.

It is commonly thought that 'Air Force One' refers to an actual aircraft that carries the US President. It is actually the call sign of any USAF aircraft in which the US President flies. In the film, the plane that rescued the President changed its call sign to 'Air Force One'.

Answer: False

'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' was an action film about an archaeologist adventurer trying to recover sacred stones, stolen from an Indian village.

The club was called 'Club Obi Wan' after 'Star Wars' character 'Obi Wan Kenobi'. The name could be seen when Dr Jones, Willie and Shorty escaped in the taxi.

Another reference to 'Star Wars' appeared in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. Where the Ark was being lifted from the Well of Souls one of the hieroglyphs resembled 'Star Wars' characters C-3PO and R2-D2.

Answer: False

Submarine K-19 was commissioned in 1961 and was the first Soviet submarine equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles. Unusually, it was christened by a man (Soviet vessels were normally christened by women) and the bottle of champagne did not break on the hull as it was launched. The crew considered these incidents unlucky.

A number of accidents occurred during the vessel's 30 years of service. Just 2 months after her launch she suffered a reactor coolant leak which killed 8 of the crew. This incident earned her the nickname 'Hiroshima' by her crew. The name 'Widowmaker' used in the film title appears to be a purely Hollywood invention relating to the fact that accidents on the vessel caused numerous fatalities.

Eight years later she collided with a US Navy ship suffering severe damage. Three years after that a fire killed 24 crew members. The vessel was decommissioned in 1991.

Answer: Blade Runner

'Blade Runner' was set in a future Earth, where special police, or Blade Runners, hunted down and killed or retired replicants, which were genetically engineered human slaves. The film was loosely based on Philip K. Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep'. The title 'Blade Runner' comes from a book by Alan Nourse about a person who sells illegal surgical equipment. Director, Ridley Scott bought the rights to the title but not the book.

At the end of the film Roy Batty, the lead replicant said these lines just before he died, after saving Blade Runner Rick Deckard's life. Apparently Rutger Hauer, who played Roy Batty, improvised the 'tears in rain' bit of his speech.

Answer: Harrison Ford

Between 1977 and 1983 Harrison Ford appeared in the top ten highest grossing films of the time. Currently (2005) worldwide grosses of his films total around US $6 billion; no other actor has had box office grosses as large, yet he has only been nominated for one Oscar, for his role in 'Witness'.