Hollywood's Top 10 Favourite Movies Quiz

Answer: Schindler's List

Released in 1993, "Schindler's List" starred Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley, with Steven Spielberg in the director's chair. It won seven Oscars.

The movie was based on the book "Schindler's Ark" byThomas Keneally.

At the heart of the true story was an industrialist called Oskar Schindler (played in the move by Liam Neeson) who was credited with saving about 1,200 Jews from transportation to death camps by employing them in his factories.

Schindler was a member of the Nazi party but worked to shield Jews in Krakow from the occupation forces. He did this by using his influence and by paying bribes. By the end of the war, Schindler had lost the bulk of his fortune through his actions.

Steven Spielberg had not initially wanted to direct the movie himself, but had a change of heart. He did not accept any payment for his work.

Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson and Warren Betty were all in the frame to play Oskar Schindler. Spielberg chose instead the relatively unknown Liam Neeson, whom he had seen acting on Broadway. The film was shot in black and white - against the initial wishes of the studio.

Answer: 2001: A Space Odyssey

In 1968, Stanley Kubrik directed Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, and William Sylvester in this big screen version of Arthur C. Clarke's book. The movie won one of four Oscar nominations.

The movie opened with a pretty standard manned flight into space. Things took a new direction when the computer system - HAL - began to malfunction and took over the mission.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" has been described as one of the most boring movies made, partly due to the fact there is no dialogue for the first 30 minutes and partly due to its length: two hours and 44 minutes.

Answer: ET: The Extra Terrestrial

Steven Spielberg was director again for the 1982 blockbuster that starred Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace.

"ET" won four of the nine Oscars it was nominated for.

This was the story of a young boy called Elliott (Henry Thomas) who found and befriended an extra-terrestrial left behind in California when others in his party were forced to flee Earth.

As the story unfolded, attempts were made to communicate with ET's family and return him home.

Answer: The Godfather Part II

In 1974, Francis Ford Coppola directed the second outing of the series based on Mario Puzo's mafia tale. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton led the cast.

"The Godfather: Part II" equalled the original movie in winning seven Oscars. It was also the first sequel to take the Best Picture award.

The movie picked up the story of the Corleone family seven years after the events with which "The Godfather" concluded. By this stage the family had established itself at the top of the Mafia family tree in New York City and was looking to expand elsewhere.

Tensions with other families, and within the Corleone clan itself, continued. The events of 1958 were one story line, while the other picked up the story of the original family head as he established himself in New York from about 1917.

The picture clue alludes to passage in the film in which Michael Corleone (Pacino) attempted to do business in Cuba just as the communist insurrection took hold.

Answer: Casablanca

Here's looking at you if you got the right answer about this 1942 tale of love against the background of war. Director Michael Curtiz got some smouldering big-screen chemistry between the star-crossed lovers Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Okay, it was an upright piano rather than a grand that Dooley Wilson played in "Casablanca" to entertain Ingrid Bergman. And nobody said "play it again, Sam" in as many words.

That scene, in which Dooley played piano and sang "As Times Goes By", is one of the most famous in the movie.

"Casablanca" won three of the eight Oscars it was nominated for.

Humphrey Bogart played an expatriate American who ran a bar in Casablanca, Morocco, in WW2.

Deep memories and emotions reemerged when he was asked to help former lover Ingrid Bergen and her new husband Paul Henreid escape from the Nazis.

Answer: Pulp Fiction

"Pulp Fiction" was directed by Quentin Tarantino in 1994 and starred John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, and Ving Rhames.

The movie won just one of seven Oscar nominations.

Travolta and Jackson played two hitmen in a multi-layered tale that wove in other characters and their stories.

The hitmen set out to retrieve a suitcase that had been stolen from their boss, Ving Rhames. In other plot lines, Rhames asks Travolta to shepherd his wife, Uma Thurman, about. Bruce Willis, meanwhile, is an ageing boxer paid by Rhames to throw a fight. All these diverse plotlines intermingle.

The movie as a whole was criticised for its scenes of violence, although some critics felt it was "comical and entertaining". It also left cinema goers puzzled for years over the contents of the suitcase. They were never shown and many theories have emerged.

In 2019, "Newsweek" ranked "Pulp Fiction" as the best ever Travolta movie.

Answer: The Shawshank Redemption

"The Shawshank Redemption" was adapted from a book by Stephen King who, "Hollywood Reporter" noted, was the most-adapted living writer. The 1994 movie was based on King's 1982 novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption". He also wrote the book "Green Mile" mentioned among the answers.

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman led the cast, directed by Frank Darabont.

Amazingly given the reaction of movie audiences, "The Shawshank Redemption" won none of the seven Oscars it was nominated for. In 2013, the movie was voted "the greatest film to miss out on a best picture Oscar". [independent.co.uk].

It starred Tim Robbins as a man jailed for life for two murders he did not commit. It dealt with his friendship with a long-time recidivist, Morgan Freeman, and his plans to escape from prison.

A poster of Rita Hayworth played an important part in these plans.

Answer: Citizen Kane

Orson Welles directed and starred in the 1941 movie "Citizen Kane", which was not that well received at the time, but since then has regularly been at the top, or nearby, in any list of 'greatest movies'. It was nominated for nine Oscars, but won just one.

Other leading actors were Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, and Ruth Warrick.

If you have seen the movie you will have noted the relevance of the picture clue. If you haven't seen it, I'm not giving any spoilers.

In a nutshell, the movie was the life story of a fictional newspaper magnate. Many felt that it alluded to real-life newspaper magnates of the middle part of he 20th Century, particularly William Randolph Hearst. As you may imagine, Hearst was not best pleased at the unflattering portrayal of the fictional magnate - particularly as it cast back many of the words he had written over the years.

Answer: The Wizard of Oz

The US Library of Congress has described "The Wizard of Oz" as the most-watched film of all time through big screen and small screen exposure. It also won four Oscars.

Victor Fleming directed this 1939 adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel. Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Jack Haley led the cast.

Many people have debated a 'deeper meaning' in the movie, seeking allegorical comparisons. In 1957 the book was banned in libraries in Detroit.

Garland, who was not the first choice for the lead, played Dorothy, a young girl who was swept away by a tornado from her Kansas home, along with her dog, to the magnificent land of Oz. There, nothing was what it seemed.

Answer: The Godfather

Francis Ford Coppola directed the first movie outing from Mario Puzo's novel in 1972, "The Godfather". Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Talia Shire led the cast.

The movie won seven Oscars - even if Marlon Brando refused to attend to pick his up.

The book, and movie, told the tale of a young boy from Sicily who fled to New York City and rose to become head of a mafia 'family'.

The movie opens at the wedding of a daughter of crime boss Marlon Brando. He has risen to the top of the family through many years of crime and violence.

But other crime bosses seek to take the Corleone family's place and gang wars and murder ensue.