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The Films of David Lean Trivia Quiz

A few questions on this great (some say greatest) British director and his films.

A multiple-choice quiz by jeffa. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
jeffa

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
92,183

Updated
Sep 14 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
523

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. David Lean is the first British director to be nominated for an Academy Award. But for which film? Hint

'Great Expectations'

'Brief Encounter'

'Oliver Twist'

'Summertime'

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which actor appeared in the most Lean films? Hint

John Mills

Omar Sharif

Trevor Howard

Alec Guiness

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Question 3 of 10

3. Lean badly wanted, but was never able, to film a biography of a great statesman. Who? Hint

Winston Churchill

Charles de Gaulle

Abraham Lincoln

Gandhi

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Question 4 of 10

4. Lean's version of 'Oliver Twist' is today regarded as one of the best adaptations of Dickens ever put on screen. But when released, it caused a huge outcry. Why? Hint

Alec Guiness' portrayal of Fagin was seen as anti-Semitic

He set it in the modern era

He changed the ending

He left out the character of the Artful Dodger

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Question 5 of 10

5. Asked to star in 'Ryan's Duaghter', Robert Mitchum initially turned down the offer. What highly original excuse did he give to screenwriter Robert Bolt? Hint

He said he'd never heard of David Lean

He said he was going to commit suicide

He claimed he was entering the priesthood

He said he was contracted to star in 'Hello Dolly'

6. Lean's 16 movies garnered a total of 56 Academy Award nominations, resulting 27 Oscars. Lean himself was nominated 10 times throughout his career, and won twice. Which movie of his movies received the most nominations? Hint

'Doctor Zhivago'

'Bridge on the River Kwai'

'Lawrence of Arabia'

'A Passage to India'

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Question 7 of 10

7. 'If anyone can convince me she's a virgin, I'll give her the part' said Lean of this famous actress, a candidate - at least in her husband's mind - to play Lara in 'Doctor Zhivago'. Who? Hint

Claudia Cardinale

Elizabeth Taylor

Sophia Loren

Julie Andrews

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Question 8 of 10

8. Once he began making epics, Lean loved shooting on location - usually to the discomfort of everyone else involved in the movie. But the result was often worth it. Which country never hosted a David Lean crew on location? Hint

The Soviet Union

Finland

Canada

South Africa

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Question 9 of 10

9. After the critical slamming Lean received for 'Ryan's Daughter', he took some time off from movie-making, but planned to return with a movie on a famous historical incident. His plans fell through, but the script written by Robert Bolt formed the basis for a movie made in the mid-1980's, starring Anthony Hopkins. Which movie?

Answer: ( Two Words ... think of Gable, Laughton, Trevor Howard and Brando)

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Question 10 of 10

10. Christopher Jones was cast as Major Doryan in 'Ryan's Daughter', after Lean saw him in the movie 'The Looking Glass War'. Lean had originally gone to see the movie after its producer, John Box, had recommended another of its stars. Who? Hint

Anthony Hopkins

Terence Stamp

Oliver Reed

Michael Yorke

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. David Lean is the first British director to be nominated for an Academy Award. But for which film?

Answer: 'Brief Encounter'

'Brief Encounter'(1946), a monument to English stiff upper lip passion, was ranked as the 2nd best British film of all time by the British Film Institute. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard starred.

2. Which actor appeared in the most Lean films?

Answer: Alec Guiness

Guiness appeared in 6 movies directed by Lean - 'Great Expectations', 'Oliver Twist', 'Bridge on the River Kwai', 'Lawrence of Arabia','Doctor Zhivago' and 'A Passage to India'. He said he enjoyed working with Lean on only three of them. During the filming of 'Bridge', for example, he and Lean fought constantly over different interpretations of the role.

After the movie came out, he sent Lean a letter of apology.

3. Lean badly wanted, but was never able, to film a biography of a great statesman. Who?

Answer: Gandhi

'By the time Lean gets around to filming Gandhi,' Trevor Howard once remarked, 'He'll have to get Katharine Hepburn to play the Mahatma, since she'll be the only actor still talking to him.'

4. Lean's version of 'Oliver Twist' is today regarded as one of the best adaptations of Dickens ever put on screen. But when released, it caused a huge outcry. Why?

Answer: Alec Guiness' portrayal of Fagin was seen as anti-Semitic

An uncut version of the movie was only shown in the U.S. in 1970.

5. Asked to star in 'Ryan's Duaghter', Robert Mitchum initially turned down the offer. What highly original excuse did he give to screenwriter Robert Bolt?

Answer: He said he was going to commit suicide

On hearing Mitchum's excuse, Bolt apparently told the actor that 'well, if you'll just do this wretched little film of ours and then do yourself in, I'd be happy to stand the cost of your burial'.

Answer: 'A Passage to India'

It garnered 11 nominations, but only 2 awards. 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Bridge on the River Kwai' won the most awards - 7 each.

7. 'If anyone can convince me she's a virgin, I'll give her the part' said Lean of this famous actress, a candidate - at least in her husband's mind - to play Lara in 'Doctor Zhivago'. Who?

Answer: Sophia Loren

Loren's husband, Carlo Ponti, was the producer, so maybe he thought she deserved the role, which went to Julie Christie. MGM, incidentally, wanted Paul Newman for the role of Zhivago, on the grounds that he'd played a writer in the movie 'The Prize', and so could also play a poet.

Answer: The Soviet Union

Lean was unable to get permission to film 'Doctor Zhivago' in the Soviet Union, so he shot the movie in Spain, Finland and Canada instead. He also shot some of 'Ryan's Daughter' in South Africa.

Answer: The Bounty

Roger Donaldson directed. Originally, Lean and Bolt had planned to make two movies, one dealing with the mutiny and one with the aftermath.

Answer: Anthony Hopkins

Jones was one of Lean's biggest casting mistakes. He was not - to put it charitably - a success in the movie, and after making a few youth-oriented films (anyone remember 'Wild in the Streets'? Anyone want to?), disappeared into obscurity. Hopkins, on the other hand ...

Source: Author jeffa

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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