Filmed in Alberta Trivia Quiz

Answer: Doctor Zhivago

Most of the exterior winter shots for this 1965 film directed by David Lean were filmed in Spain (the primary filming location) and Finland, but the scenes of a train travelling across Siberia required a broader expanse of snow than was available in Spain, so those scenes were shot in Alberta. The connection may be a bit tenuous, but how could I resist including one of my favorite films, in which Omar Sharif, who portrayed Yuri Zhivago, consolidated his claim to international stardom that had previously been made by his portrayal of Sherif Ali in David Lean's 1962 epic 'Lawrence of Arabia' (also filmed in Spain).

This adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel followed Yuri as he fell in love with, and married, the daughter of the family that had adopted him when he was orphaned as a child. Despite his love for Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), the vagaries of war (World War I and the Russian Revolution) kept forcing them apart, and bringing him into contact with Lara (Julie Christie), who was both the mistress of the influential Victor Komarovsky (Rod Steiger) and the wife of Pasha Antipov (Tom Courtenay), a student who became the revolutionary leader Strelnikov. It's a long movie, with plenty of scenes to provoke tears for the soft-hearted. And don't worry too much about its historical authenticity - it's a romantic drama, not a history lesson.

Answer: Superman

Actually, there were three different films in the franchise filmed in Alberta. 'Superman: The Movie' (1978) follows the escape of infant Kal-El from his doomed home planet through his arrival in Kansas, where he is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, and given the name Clark. We see him growing up, discovering his superpowers, and moving to Metropolis, where he gets work as a reporter on the 'Daily Planet' and falls in love with Lois Lane. He then faces his first major confrontation, with a super-villain, as Lex Luthor plans to destroy all of the USA west of the San Andreas Fault. The town of Smallville was simulated in Alberta, with several small towns providing relevant sites: Blackie was used for the Kent home, and Baron for the high school football.

Some of 'Superman II' (1980) was filmed at the same time, although it was later finished under a new director. Christopher Reeves (Superman), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) and Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor) were key figures in both films. 'Superman III' (1983) saw the introduction of a new arch-enemy, Ross Webster (played by Robert Vaughn). Once again, although interior filming was in London, most exterior scenes were shot in Alberta, many of them in Calgary. The St. Louis Hotel in Calgary was used to film Superman's drinking binge that was a prelude to his splitting into two distinct personae, 'bad' Superman and 'good' Clark. (Don't worry, they sort it out and reunite in the cause of defeating evil.)

Answer: Unforgiven

Clint Eastwood not only starred as William Munny, he produced and directed 'Unforgiven', which won four Academy Awards, including one for Best Director. Described as a revisionist Western because it changed the 'traditional' (romanticised) Hollywood approach to the genre, its gritty depiction of the impact of violence on those involved (not only as victims, but also as perpetrators and spectators) found widespread acclaim. Munny is convinced to help a young man get the reward offered by a group of prostitutes in the town of Big Whiskey for the death of two cowboys who had savagely attacked one of them, and were punished with a slap on the wrist - giving some horses to the owner of the brothel as compensation for his loss of income. Gene Hackman plays the sheriff, who doesn't want revenge killing in his town; Morgan Freeman plays an old friend Munny recruits to help in the job, and Richard Harris plays another gunman in search of the reward.

The town of Big Whiskey was constructed in multiple sets near the town of Longview. Other filming locations included areas in and around the towns of High River, Brooks and Drumheller.

Answer: Cool Runnings

How could we have a quiz about films set in Alberta without including this classic, whose climax is set in Calgary? It is loosely based on the real events that saw a Jamaican team competing in the 1988 Winter Olympics - and you can see the original bobsleigh on display in Calgary. The fictional characters on the team include Derice Bannock (Leon Robinson), a sprinter looking for a chance at the Olympics after failing to qualify for the summer event; Sanka Coffie (Doug E. Doug), a push-cart champion; and the two runners involved in the incident that kept Bannock from qualifying for the Summer Olympics, Yul Brenner (Malik Yoba) and Junior Bevil (Rawle D. Lewis). To whip them into shape, they engage Irving Blitz (John Candy), a friend of Bannock's father and former gold medallist who had been disqualified in disgrace for cheating. I won't be surprising you to state that they don't win - in fact, they come last, as the only team in the four-man competition that failed to complete all of their runs - but they are triumphant nevertheless.

The film used live footage (filmed in Jamaica and Calgary) as well as footage from the American Broadcasting Company's coverage of the 1988 Olympics.

Answer: Legends of the Fall

Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) retired from the army to settle on a remote property where he raises three sons: Alfred (Aidan Quinn), Tristan (Brad Pitt) and Samuel (Henry Thomas). The story deals with their interactions with nature and each other, including some tension over romantic relationships, and how the two surviving brothers deal with the death of Samuel in World War I.

The battle scenes, involving all three brothers, were filmed near the town of Morley, the family ranch was in the Ghost River Wilderness Area, and the Bow River near Banff was used for outdoor scenes including the cemetery scene when Tristan discovers Samuel's fiancée crying over his grave.

Answer: Mystery, Alaska

Russell Crowe plays John Biebe, the sheriff of Mystery, a small Alaskan town which is obsessed with the game of ice hockey - so much so that the entire town turns out to the local pond each Saturday night to watch "the game". Former resident Charlie Danner (Hank Azaria), now on the staff of 'Sports Illustrated', organises a demonstration match between the locals and the NY Rangers, to be televised live. It eventuates that he is actually seeking revenge on the town that he feel rejected him, and hopes they will be humiliated. Given that the movie is described as a comedy-drama, you should be able to predict that they will not be humiliated, win or lose.

The town of Mystery was created outside Canmore, Alberta, near the southeast corner of Banff National Park, where the remaining exterior scenes were shot.

Answer: Brokeback Mountain

Despite being found controversial by some due to the homosexual relationship which is the movie's core, this 2005 film starring Heath Ledger as Ennis and Jake Gyllenhal as Jack was well received by most critics, who focused on the development of a complex relationship between two compelling characters. Jack and Ennis first met when they were working together as shepherds on Brokeback Mountain one summer, and continued to see each other over the years, even as they married and had families. Although it is set in Wyoming, it was filmed in Alberta, much of it in the Canadian Rockies near Kananaskis.

The campsite scenes were filmed in Goat Creek, Upper Kananasksis Lake and Elbow Falls, while the mountain was a composite of Mount Lougheed, Fortress Mountain and Moose Mountain.

The Texas bar where Jack met his wife was actually Ranchman's Cookhouse and Dancehall, in Calgary.

Answer: The Assassination of Jesse James

To give the movie its full title (which was too long to fit nicely in the answer slot),'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' is a 2007 movie that explores the complex motivations of Robert Ford (played by Casey Affleck), who notoriously shot the outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) in the back of the head while the latter was hanging a picture. Ford had wanted to join the James gang, of which his brother Charley (Sam Rockwell) was a member, and resented his rejection. Combined with the fact that there was a hefty reward offered for killing Jesse James, and a lot more bad blood engendered along the way, Ford hoped to not only become rich, but also gain celebrity. Sadly for him, it was James who became elevated into the status of folk hero, while he became popularly reviled as a coward.

This is another movie for which a lot of the filming took place in and around Kananaskis, as well as scenes in Calgary (Heritage Park and the Palliser Hotel), Fort Edmonton Park, and Goat Creek (where the town of Creede, Colorado was recreated).

Answer: Inception

Leonardo DiCaprio is the con man who is asked to use the experimental technology of shared dreams with which he had been conducting corporate espionage in reverse - instead of extracting information, he is to implant an idea. In exchange, his criminal record will be erased. Needless to say, it all gets complicated, as the team travels through multiple levels of the dream world, encountering a range of obstacles, including dangers from within their own minds. Along the way, the line between dream and reality becomes a bit blurred.

After locations around the world - Tokyo, London, France, Morocco, Los Angeles - the final dream stages were filmed in Alberta, on a set constructed near Fortress Mountain ski resort.

Answer: The Revenant

In 1823, Hugh Glass was abandoned by his companions and left for dead after being mauled by a bear. His subsequent survival ('revenant' means returned, as in one who has returned to life) has become the stuff of legends, despite there being little in the way of contemporary accounts. A story was published in a Philadelphia journal in 1825; in 1915 John G. Neihardt published the poem 'The Song of Hugh Glass' which was the basis for Michael Punke's 2002 novel 'The Revenant', which formed the basis for the screenplay of the 2015 film in which Leonardo DiCaprio played the title role.

The original plan was to film 'The Revenant' entirely in Canada, and that is where the bulk of filming took place, but the weather did not cooperate as well as it might have, so some scenes were filmed in Europe (including the town in Italy where Leonardo DiCaprio's grandfather was born) and Argentina. Most of the filming took place in the region known as Kakanaskis Country, with the use of natural lighting placing significant constraints on the production - part of the reason why they ran out of winter before they finished.